The Great Gatsby hits cinemas in May and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and a whirlwind of other A-listers. Based on the classic best seller by F. Scott Fitzgerald, high expectations surround this lavishly glamorous film.

   2Chillies dress (sorry for the poor lighting!)
Sportsgirl necklace

I love the floral print and how it pops with colour and the fabric is super soft and silky. The lace panel at the bottom is also a super cute addition!

My only issue with this dress [and also the plain black version I own..hehe] is the boning on the sides of the bodice. It sticks out the top and digs into my sides, but mostly only on the floral version. I fixed this by stitching up the sides to prevent the boning from escaping again. Fingers crossed it stays like this!

Have been playing around with my new DSLR so here is a weird slightly-arty photo.

I purchased this dress from the 2Chillies store in Darwin, which amazingly is an outlet store and has amazing prices on their clothing and swimwear. They have stores in most states around Australia and it’s worth checking out their website too, they have incredible prints and use great materials for their swimwear!

Sportsgirl necklace

Aurelio Costarella – hair director Lee Preston:

Get the Look:

1. Directionally blow-dry the hair smooth towards crown using Goldwell® StyleSign® Hot Form® heat styling lotion.
2. Take a C Section from the outside eyebrow points around under the crown. Secure the hair out of the way with a section clip.
3. Spray the bottom section with Goldwell® StyleSign® Diamond Gloss micro-fine shine spray and put into a ponytail just below crown. Secure with hair elastic or a band pined in for thicker hair.
4. Take the ponytail and back comb using bristle brush to create a padded texture. Roll hair into a bun and secure with bobby pins.
5. Take the top section of hair and back comb from roots to ends with a brush to create texture. Back comb the hair back first working forward toward face.
6. Once a good padding base has been created, begin smoothing out over top with a brush going back towards pony to create the shape. Begin to roll ends under and secure under ponytail with bobby pins.
7. Smooth lightly. The hair is supposed to look slightly fluffy to give softness.
8. Add a coloured hairpiece under the back and drape over the top of the shape,
swirling across the top and down slightly onto the face. *
9. Once the hairpiece is in place secure gently with fringe pins.
10. Give style a light spray with Goldwell® Hair Lacquer regular hold to secure in place.

Camilla – hair director Jenny Kim:

Get the Look:

1. Prepare the hair by spraying Goldwell® StyleSign® Just Smooth® moisturising styling milk from root to ends.
2. Dry the hair and create volume at the roots while stretching and smoothing the ends.
3. Create a clean parting down the middle of the entire head all the way back to the nape.
4. Starting a half-inch away from the parting, create another section all the way back to the top of the occipital bone. Repeat on the other side.
5. Take all the hair below this section on both sides and smooth back into a clean tight ponytail at the very base of the hairline and spray flat with Goldwell® StyleSign® Sprayer hair lacquer.
6. Glue a coloured hairpiece in front of the ear at a 45 degree angle. Glue a piece the same size at the top of the sprayed down section, right to the hairline. Repeat on the other side.
7. Glue in the sewn together hairpieces on the back of the head along the top of the sprayed down section, from ear to ear.
8. Drop the top section down, fill and create length with matching natural hairpieces.
9. Flat iron the hair with Goldwell® StyleSign® Sleek Perfection thermal spray serum.
10. Finish off the hair with Goldwell® StyleSign® Diamond Gloss micro-fine shine spray to add shine.
11. Cut the ends of the hair straight.

Willing to try this out at home? Let us know how you go!

Staple the Label ‘Crystalline’ collection:

Jamie Ashkar ‘Reflection’ collection:

Did you have a favourite?

You can find the recipe I used at the above link.

My batch turned out pretty good, however I found that 3/4 cup of raw cacao powder was a little too much for me. I also found that the amount of Stevia Nat uses in the recipe didn’t work out for my batch. While she includes 1/8 a tsp of Stevia, I found myself having to put in about 5 or 6 tsp to get the nutella tasting a little sweeter. The result was still quite a bitter, chocolaty flavour with a peanut butter kick.

My nutella also turned out kind of runny, but storing it in the fridge gave it a thicker texture, a little like mouse but not as sticky and stringy as nutella.

For those who are a little unsure, Stevia is a plant extract that is recorded to be a lot sweeter than your normal sugar (some sites suggest that it is even 300 times sweeter). I use a powdered form by the brand Nativa that is recommended for baking and coffees, however I am not so sure it is as concentrated as the Stevia extract Nat used in her recipe. Next time, I think I will purchase are more concentrated Stevia extract. Sarah Wilson suggest the use of Stevia over other sweeteners such as honey and agave nectar as it doesn’t contain fructose or glucose, the things you need to skip when you’re trying to quit sugar.

As for the raw cacao powder, some people get confused between cacao powder and cocoa powder. Basically cocoa powder is what you’ll find in the baking section of the supermarket and is heat-treated and robbed of its goodness. You can find raw cacao powder in health food stores, it’s a little pricier than cocoa but is much better for you.

When week 3 of the detox is over and it’s time to ween sweet stuff back in, I’ll be trying out Sarah Wilson’s version from the IQS Cookbook and a bunch of other recipes too!

My sugar-free nutella

Have you got a sugar-free nutella recipe worth trying out?

A little while ago I popped into Darwin’s only Sportsgirl store [this is where I am currently situated for certain reasons, I'm originally from Sydney, read here to understand what my deal is]  and picked up a few things that I am very much in love with now.

I can’t remember how much each piece was, but I’m pretty sure nothing was over $10.

I wore the earrings to death and as a result they blackened a little around the sides and after dropping them several times, one of the jewels fell out. Nothing a bit of super glue wont fix!

My favourite piece has got to be the coloured panel piece. Such pretty colours and loving the bronze/rose gold looking chain.

Where do you go to shop a fantastic bargain? TFJ wants to know!

x

Sarah has published two ebook/hardcopies, one which is a guide to an 8 week sugar detox, and another that is a collection of sugar free recipes for those young and old.

Her books are also jam packed full with great information about what you should and shouldn’t be eating and the kind of effects that sugar can have on you. She explains that healthy fats are nothing to be afraid of and sugar is definitely not your friend.

Currently I’m in week 1 of the detox and am playing around with recipes from the books and online while I try to ween out fructose and glucose and replace it with stevia and coconut oil [yum!]. While weeks one and two are fairly simple, eat less sugar, eat more fats, week three is already looking scary. In the third week of the detox you’re asked to give up sweet stuff all together. That includes stevia! That’s the week I am most frightened of, but bring it on!

To find out more about Sarah and the I Quit Sugar books visit www.sarahwilson.com.au. You can buy them in hardcopy at all good bookstores and department stores or buy the ebooks on iTunes.

I’ll be sharing recipes I’ll be trying out and my struggle with giving up sugar so stay tuned!

Here’s to clean eating! *ching* [with our glasses of sparkling mineral water of course.]

Of course while visiting such places, it’s always fun to check out the local shopping scene, and Caloundra markets was just the place to start!

Plenty of amazing jewellery, clothing, beauty products and much, much more made it difficult not to purchase everything each stall had to offer.

But here are the pieces TFJ did pick up!

 Gold Cuff

Silver Tree Earrings

Each buy was approx. $10 and a super cute addition to any outfit! While the gold cuff quickly got covered in the odd scratch, they’re barely noticeable, and the earrings are still in perfect condition despite a lot of wear!

To find out more about Caloundra, its markets and everything else it can offer you visit caloundracity.com.au

The good thing about my encounter with t he scale this very first day of April was that it shocked me into action. Officially being the heaviest I have ever been in my life I have decided that a bit of exercise and the odd salad here and there aren’t going to cut it, and to lose the weight I have gained since last July, I’m going to have to try a whole lot harder.

Enter a bunch of crazy ideas I am planning to use to shed the kilos.

Crazy idea number 1: Meal replacement shakes. Now I know what some of you might say about this. “It’s not healthy”, “They’re all sugar” “etc. etc. etc.” Well I am going to thank you for your advice and gracefully ignore you. I have been on shake diets before and while they only worked short term, it was my own fault they didn’t hang around for the long term. Instead of starving myself by having 3 shakes a day like I have previously, I’m only doing 2 shakes a day, snacking on fruit and veggies throughout the day and then eating a very healthy dinner. Not to mention exercising will be a must at least 5 days a week. Minimum.

Crazy idea number 2: Exercising on stairs. In Darwin it can get pretty, damn, hot. And me being a lowly journalist with very little career prospects can’t afford a gym, not to mention walking doesn’t really get my blood pumping. Luckily Mr Mel [I can't remember if I gave him a name in my previous posts but let's just roll with this for now] knows of a few flights of stairs that will leave me blinded and keeled over on the side of the footpath after having run up and down them 3 times [this actually happened to me]. When I returned from European Adventure 2012 I hired a personal trainer and while I didn’t lose any weight because I was too lazy to change my eating habits, I did tone up pretty well. So I am planning on combining my stair running with my personal training stuff in the hope of shedding these evil 11kgs and some.

Crazy idea number 3: Become a health nut. It’s a dream I’ve had since late last year and it was actually one of my new years resolutions. To become one of those snooty health freaks who talk about super foods and how terrible sugar and trans fats are for you. Currently I am stocked up with Acai Berry powder and Chia Seeds. Don’t ask me what I’m meant to do with them just yet, I have no idea.

Crazy idea number 4: Quit sugar. So a friend of mine introduced me to Sarah Wilson and her “I Quit Sugar” gold mind and I think it’s something I should embark on. I am a bit fan of sugar. Actually, chocolate is my name and ice cream is my game. How disgusting is that. Anyway, after scale-oh-shock on that daunting April day, I decided I need to change my name to “I-don’t-eat-chocolate-unless-it’s-sugar-free-and-made-by-me” and that sugar is officially band in this house hold! With this idea firmly locked into my head I turned to a personal trainer I had been facebook stalking for a while and her “50 Days No Sugar” campaign. While once again, I am much too poor to invest financially, the idea is a great one. However 50 days is quite the mile-stone so I think I’ll just start with 30 days beginning April 2nd 2013.

Now while I can set my goal as counting my kilos, for now my main goal is to fit back into this skirt.

HERE’S HOPING!!!

To motivate me, and perhaps you? I’ll try to post up my food ideas and exercise regimes and will pray to all the gods out there that my hard work will pay off..

Here goes nothing!!!

mel. xx

Here’s a look at some general pros and cons:

At-Home Whitening Pros/Cons

• At-home bleaching will not get teeth that are dark-stained white.
• There are endless whitening toothpastes, gums, and over-the-counter bleaching kits available, all of which are cost effective in comparison to an in-office visit.
• Gums may be exposed to the bleach.
• At-home whitening kits are formulated with ingredients that are not as strong as the bleach used during in-office procedures, therefore if you need fast results or have severely damaged teeth, at-home may not be effective.
• The mouth guards are the same size for everyone with at-home kits, which can cause gum irritation, sensitivity, and/or bleaching unintended areas.

In-Office Whitening Pros/Cons

• Will run five times or more the price of over-the-counter bleaching.
• Dentist use stronger products allowing for better and faster results.
• Dentists make sure gums are protected from the bleach.
• Even in-office procedures can’t change the color of crowns or porcelain veneers.

No matter what route you opt for, there’s no denying that even a slightly brighter smile can have a tremendous impact on ones self-esteem, which is a key to success and overall happiness. It has also been shown that people with whiter smiles tend to be more vigilant about maintaining the health of their mouth. That said, it’s important to remember that bleaching may cause some people to experience tooth sensitivity and possible irritation of the mouth and gums. Further, while in-office procedures tend to last longer (usually around six months), results are, for the most part, not permanent so expect to be back in your dentist office about once a year and back to bleaching with at-home trays every few months.

You’ll also want to remember to get product recommendation from your dentist when opting for the at-home route and only purchase products from well-established brands. It’s also worth noting that lower concentrations of bleach used over a longer period of time have been shown to get better results than blasting teeth with high concentrations.

Most importantly, however, always follow package directions and don’t leave anything on longer than recommended or use it more frequently than recommended. Lastly, it’s crucial to remember to brush and floss regularly and avoid foods and drinks that are known to stain teeth, as this will help extend your brighter smile and ensure an overall healthier mouth. Conversely, load-up on foods known to help whiten your smile like lemon juice and strawberries.

Guest blogger Rachel Gilroy is a content writer for www.TopDentists.com as well as www.EverydayHealth.com