Viva La Juicy Eau de Parfum by Juicy Couture

I was lucky enough to attend the Viva La Juicy fragrance event yesterday and boy was I in for a treat (literally).  Juicy Couture is a fashion brand that has focused their target market on the glamorous, stylish, fashion forward girl about town.  This girl is one that knows what she wants and goes out to conquer her goals while maintaining her chic appearance.

 Juicy Couture showcased three of their gorgeous fragrances yesterday, all of which I'm loving.  Viva La Juicy is the most perfect  daytime fragrance.  Viva La Juicy Noir is a little bit more alluring, mysterious and quite sexy.  Noir is my favourite of the fragrances because, as you know by now, I love stronger fragrances that are perfect for wearing out at night.  New to the range is Viva La Juicy Gold Couture which I'm extremely excited to try out as I've never used it before.  

To celebrate all things Juicy Couture we had the most wonderful high tea at The Patisserie in Illovo which is one of my absolute favourite spots for tea and a slice of cake so I was in my element.  We learnt a little bit more about the brand and that there will be a lot more from Juicy Couture coming to South African shores soon so watch this space for more details on that! 

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

Believe in your #Selfie

Free To Be You t-shirt, Kelso jeans (both from Edgars), Woolworths heels, Foschini hat, Black Cherry bag

I could only laugh when I found this t-shirt.  It's so funny how selfies have become a global phenomenon and now form part of our culture.  I knew I had to have this t-shirt the moment I saw it and naturally the first thing I did when I put it on was take a selfie!  You can find that selfie on my Instagram @ArumLilea if you're curious.  Any way, it's always important to believe in yourself.  And I also think it's really important to laugh at yourself and not take things to seriously.  To me this t-shirt is a subtle reminder of that and it's the reason that I absolutely love it.

Fitness Post - How To Stay Motivated

Lulu Lemon top (USA), Cotton On Body tights, Nike running shoes

Today is the first day of Stroke Awareness Week in South Africa.  While nothing could have prevented my stroke, the fact that I lead a healthy lifestyle has been one of the reasons that I have recovered so well.  Keeping fit and taking care of your nutrition is so important for everyone to do, not only stroke patients.  Many religions state that your body is a temple and I believe this to be true.  It is worth looking after.  Your health is an investment in your future.

I know that health and fitness is something that not everyone is crazy about and that's okay.  The aim of this post is simply to encourage you to incorporate some small change into your daily life for the purpose of looking after yourself.  I, personally, think that diets are a horrible idea.  I'm also pretty much certain that I will never run a marathon.  If anything, I just hope that after reading this post you are more inclined to make sure that you take interest in whether you and those closest to you have had a good daily dose of fruits and vegetables, water and perhaps a little amount of exercise today.  I hope that today slowly becomes twice a week, gradually three times a week and, if we can be extremely hopeful, every day.  I have come up with a few tips for keeping you motivated to stay healthy because we can all be lazy creatures sometimes and, when health is an issue, laziness simply isn't good enough.

Let's Do It:

1.  Grab a friend:

Start with a walk in the evenings with your mom, sister or a friend.  You will naturally end up chatting for the duration of the walk and it will feel like its over before it even began.  It's such a lovely way to catch up with loved ones and also to encourage them to lead a healthier lifestyle too.  

2.  Sound the alarm:

If you know that you don't drink enough water during the day, set yourself alarms on your phone for every 3 hours.  Have a glass of water at every alarm.  This way you won't forget to drink water.  There are also many water-drinking apps that you can download that will do exactly the same thing for you.

3.  Dress to impress:

I have always worn such ugly gym gear.  This past year, though, I decided to treat myself to some fun, vibrant workout wear and it has completely changed my mind set.  Having bright sports bras, printed tights and bold coloured tops has had me feeling excited for a great workout and make me feeling instantly motivated.  It's so incredible to find what a difference this makes.

4.  Smoothies anyone?

Ensuring that you have the right amount of fruits and vegetables in a day can be quite a daunting task but a smoothie in the morning is an easy solution to the problem.  Throw in 2 bananas, strawberries and mixed berries into a blender in the mornings along with some coconut milk and you've already had a huge amount of vitamins into a single quick drink... and it's delicious which is an added bonus.

These are just four simple tips to encourage you to lead a healthier lifestyle.  I know that there are many of us that are constantly juggling a family life with appointments, studies and careers and as a result we are dealing with a tremendous amount of stress.  All the more reason why you should treat your body as a temple and look after yourself.  Make time for that yoga class/spinning session/ glass of water.  No one can look after your health other than you.

To learn more about Stroke Awareness Week you can visit the Heart and Stroke Foundation by clicking here.

Revlon Highlighting Palette Review

I'm always on the lookout for a great blush and highlighter.  I love how blush instantly adds another dimension to my face so that I don't look flat and washed out.  Highlighter adds that beautiful healthy and vibrant glow to my skin that I think everyone is always looking for.  I've found the best combination of these in the Revlon Highlighting Palettes.  They're great quality, beautiful shades and they're super affordable.  To find out exactly what I think about these products please keep watching! 

Date Night look

Mr Price t-shirt, Topshop skirt, Zuri necklace, Black cherry bag, Woolworths heels

Just a quick look at an outfit a wore one evening last week.  Hope you're having a great day so far!  Thank you so much for reading xxx

Current Beauty Favourites

Hi everyone!  I've done my first Current Beauty Favourites for you.  This was a serious trial and error scenario and you will notice that I had my camera on auto-focus the whole duration of the video so it makes a really terrible noise while it keeps refocusing.  I also need to find myself a new location for these videos so I will be doing that before the next video.  I stumble on words a bit in the middle and my editing skills pretty much don't exist.  So after really having sold you on watching this video (dramatic sarcasm) I'll be eternally grateful to anyone who decides to actually sit through it.  Thank you for all your support.  You mean so much to me!

Halloween Costume - Ancient Roman Empress {Zuri Giveaway}

It's almost time for Halloween and I've been so excited to plan my costume for this year.  Last year I happened to be in San Francisco for Halloween with a big group of friends and we decided to be different characters from Alice in Wonderland.  We had Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts (that was me by the way) and Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dee.  It was the most incredible experience being out in such a beautiful city on such a fun occasion where everyone takes their costumes very seriously.  There were absolutely no party-poopers who hadn't taken their costumes seriously which I thought was fantastic.

This year I have decided to be an Ancient Roman Empress.  I found the most beautiful accessories at Zuri to create my Halloween costume.  For my theme I looked for gold accessories preferably with coins or medals on them.  When I found this head piece and necklace which actually had Roman Emperors on them I knew it was meant t be.  I also picked up another gold necklace with a large medal on it and I decided to wrap this one up to make the perfect wrist piece for my costume.  Lastly I found gold rings all in different sizes, some being normal sized rings while others are midi rings.  Some are thick and others are thin which I thought created a lot of variation.  I used a blush maxi dress with gold braiding on it for my Roman toga and added flat sandals which also have gold in them.  I amped up the drama with bold make up with lots of gold, dramatic winged eyeliner and gold dust lips that you can only get away with on Halloween.  If you want a full tutorial on this make up look, let me know and I'll organise one.  So that is what I have planned for my Halloween look.  Now I just need to find something fun to do on the night!

If you'd like to be an Ancient Roman Empress on Halloween too you're in luck because Zuri and I are giving away all the accessories I'm wearing this costume to one lucky reader!!!  All you need to do is follow these easy steps to enter:

1.    Leave a comment letting me know how you follow Arum Lilea; AND

2.    Follow Zuri on Twitter @Zuri_SA, Facebook (here) and/or Instagram @Zuri_saf   (2 minimum).

3.    For an extra entry Tweet: “WIN some SPOOKTACULAR jewellery TREATS with     @ArumLilea and @Zuri_sa this Halloween! See how here: http://goo.gl/5Uq0mf #ZuriHalloween”  

4.    In your comment please tell me what steps you've taken to enter.

The winner will be announced on 28 October 2014 so hurry and enter to win!

Gumtree.co.za

This morning I thought I'd share some gorgeous items I've found for sale on Gumtree.co.za at the moment.  I think Gumtree is such a great way to sell items that you no longer want or need because you're looking to upgrade or replace them.  Those sunglasses that you've been wearing since you were in high school you might be bored of and think it's time for a change.  If they're still in good condition, why not place a free advert to sell them on Gumtree?  If you sell them this way you will also have generated some capital to buy your next pair of sunnies.  What about a pair of Ray-Ban aviators just in time for summer?  

Are you the kind of person that likes to change your look fairly often?  Why not buy the Ray-Bans off Gumtree and once you're ready to move on to a pair of cats-eye Prada sunnies, you can sell them on Gumtree again.  This keeps you looking stylish with your evolving style but also saves you money which is always an added bonus.

This beautiful Louis Vuitton purse, Michael Kors watch (which happens to be very similar to mine) and Ray-Ban aviators are currently for sale on Gumtree and they were only some of the items that have caught my eye.  They're selling at such great prices too!  While these may be fashion accessories, Gumtree does not stop there.  You can find almost anything you may need on Gumtree from cars, cameras and even timeshare vacations.  Stay smart when you're shopping though.  If something is being sold for way below the retail value, you probably want to keep looking for your perfect purchase but you will definitely find it and it will be well worth the search!  Happy shopping!

Thank you to Gumtree.co.za for sponsoring this post. 

Tresemme Product Review

I've been using Tresemme hair products on my hair since high school and I've always loved them. The huge bottles of shampoo and conditioner are always always in my shower and every time I travel I always make sure to buy the travel sized bottles to take with me.  Lately I've been trying out the Tresemme mousse and finishing spray too so I decided to do a review sharing my thoughts on these.

Tresemme Styling Mousse  

My hair is probably as flat as flat could be and I will do absolutely anything to give it some lift.  I'm all for volume!  This styling mousse has been great for me when I do a full blow dry at home.  A little bit of this product certainly goes a long way.  I was so happy to find that this mousse is really light and isn't going to leave a sticky feeling in you hair or decrease the time period between washes.  It really adds great body to my hair and when paired with my Tresemme 44mm round brush for a great home blow dry, this dynamic duo gives me wonderful results.

Tresemme 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray

After having blow dried and styled my hair, I generally backcomb my roots slightly for added volume and to hold this body in place I will use this hair spray.  Once I'm happy with the amount of body in my hair I will also spray the ends to hold in the curl or waves for long lasting style.  This hair spray is also light weight and it doesn't leave any sticky residue in my hair.  It still allows movement in my hair but definitely secures the style.  The fragrance of this perfume is absolutely beautiful.  I've never come across a hair spray that smells like this one does.  They generally don't smell too great but this one often tempts me to spray more than my hair needs just so that the fragrance lingers in the air.  This hair spray hasn't dried out my hair at all which is also fantastic because I've tried a couple that definitely have.

These two products will most certainly become staples in my hair care routine.  They both give such great body and texture to my hair.  Neither product has left my hair feeling weighed down or sticky but rather quite touchable and I've also noticed that both add shine to my hair.  Overall I'm super impressed and if you're looking for a little more volume and style that lasts these two products come highly recommended!

Tiki Pattern Dress

Forever New dress | Mr Price clutch | Woolworths heels

I'm all for summer patterns and bright colours.  This tiki print dress is just perfect for getting me into a holiday mood.  It's a pity I live so far from the beach because this outfit made me want to sip a glass of wine on a balcony with a view of the sea.  It's not too long though until I'll be in Cape Town and I'll definitely be packing this dress!

I hope you like this look!  Please comment below and share it with your friends on Facebook or Twitter if you do :) xxx