Makeup Vanity Reorganizing

Hey everyone! Today I thought I would share a quick before and after of my makeup vanity reorganization. I haven't got tons of new makeup since I'm on the 10$/week project, but I did purge quite a few things back in may. Also things were getting a little messy and I felt like the setup wasn't working that well for me anymore. Also, if you have the MALM vanity from Ikea, you probably know that the drawer doesn't pull all the way out, making products placed at the back of the drawer quite hard to reach. There are tutorials online on how to fix that problem, but you have to be a little handy and have a couple tools which I have neither. There were a few products I found hard to reach which was annoying so I tried to figure out a way that all would be easily accessible. Check out the results!

What's changed :

• I no longer keep my falsies, medium palettes and lip balms in the drawer. It was starting to get out of hand and it was hard to find what I was looking for.
• I purged a LOT of mascaras.
• I divided my single shadows, cream shadows and gel liners using a ice cube tray to help me see them more easily.
• I rearranged the baskets to ensure maximum use and a minimum of products in the back where it's hard to reach.
• I added 2 primer baskets, one for face and one for eyes (which also holds my two brow products).
• The hardest products to reach are the lipglosses, which I don't use a lot and my less used/not my color right now foundations. Even then, because the baskets aren't high, they're pretty easy to get.

Close-up

I'm really pleased with how it looks now! Everything is easy and quick to find! Hope you enjoyed this quick before and after update on makeup organization system! Let me know which of the three your prefer in the comments! :)

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Beginner Series : Applying False Lashes in 10 Easy Steps

Hey everyone! Today, I'm back with another advice post for beginners : how to apply fake lashes. Many girls (including me) struggle with applying false lashes at first. With a little practice I've developed a few tips and tricks to make my life easier so I'm sharing them with you today!

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What you need

- Tweezers

- Eyelash Glue
- Fake lashes
- Black gel or liquid liner
- An object that you can put glue on. I use a concealer.

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Choosing your lash glue 

Brand : The first thing to keep in mind when buying a an eyelash adhesive is the brand. Not all brands perform equally therefore choosing a high quality glue will give you better results.

Eye Sensitivity : Some brands can be irritating for your eyes. In my experience, the glue sometimes included with Ardell lashes does this, it stings my eyes so it doesn't work for me.

Color : Lash glues come in either clear or black. If you are a beginner, it's easiest to stick to clear to avoid getting black glue all over your lid while you work on getting them placed correctly.

With all of this said, my favorite glue is the Duo Clear Eyelash Glue.  It's fairly around the 6$.

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Applying False Lashes in ten steps

1. Finish your makeup look as you normally would with liner and mascara.

2. Apply some glue on your chosen object. Let it sit for ~30 seconds until it becomes a bit tacky.

3. Pick up the lashes with tweezers and apply the glue uniformly onto the lash band.

4. Before applying, hold the lashes in front of your eye and adjust the lashes' placement.

5. Once you have adjusted the placement, stick the middle portion of the lash on the center of your lid as close as possible to your lash line. Then, stick both ends as well.

6. Adjust the lashes while the glue is still wet to ensure proper placement.

7. Let it sit for 10-15 seconds.

8. Using your thumb and index finger, press the lashes with your own natural lashes to ensure that they blend well with your lashes and that they are secure.

9. Let the glue dry for a couple minutes. It should become clear mostly clear, but it may affect the look of your eyeliner underneath. No worries, we can fix it with a little eye liner.

10. Make sure that the lash band is hidden by applying liner wherever the band is noticeable.

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Removing the lashes

The best way to remove lashes is with makeup remover and a cotton bud. I advise against pulling them off since it can damage the sensitive skin on your eyes as well as your natural lashes. 

To remove lashes, I saturate a cotton bud with makeup remover. Then, I hold it at the base of my lashes for a few seconds so that the makeup remover has time to loosen the glue. After that, I carefully rotate the cotton bud near my lash line until the lashes come off on their own. Here is a little video showing the technique I use.

The video quality isn't all that great, sorry about that!
Gotta figure out how to work my camera's video mode.

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Caring for your lashes

If you plan on reusing your lashes more than once (which I usually do), you need to care for your fake lashes in order to keep them nice and in good shape. Here are a few tips to help you make sure that you care for your lashes well.

- Don't pull off the lashes. It can be damaging your your sensitive eye area as well as the lashes.

- Try to avoid putting mascara over the lashes. Apply mascara beforehand.

- Remove any glue that is stuck to the lash band using tweezers.

- Keep your lashes in their original packaging when you store them.

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That's all for this advice post! I hope it helps and that you enjoyed this :) Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see more beginner posts and what you'd like to see!

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Beginner Series : Drugstore Starter Makeup Kit

Hey everyone! Today I'm introducing a brand new series here on my blog : a beginner series. I will be posting tutorials on makeup basics for anyone starting out ! I'll include also include  a few easy everyday makeup tutorials.

First, this post is a drugstore starter makeup kit. I'll take you through all the basic makeup items you may need in your makeup collection when you start out with makeup. These are the items that will be used in future tutorials to create everyday looks.

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These are all the products I am recommending today. Of course, you can add or substract products from this list according to your needs and preferences.

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Face Makeup

1) Moisturizer : First you will need a good moisturizer that is well suited to your skin type. I use Garnier Ultra-Lift day cream. It's quite hydrating so it might not be the most suited for oily complexions.

2) Oil-Absorbing Sheets : If you get oily during the day, oil absorbing sheets such as these from Clean & Clear are the best to keep your skin from getting shiny without smudging the makeup underneath. 

3) Foundation : Liquid foundation helps even out the skin. You can also mix it with moisturizer for a natural look. My favorites are : Revlon ColorStay : Flawless look, high coverage, matte finish and Maybelline Instant Rewind : Natural, light coverage, dewy finish.

4) Finishing Powder : Powder will help the foundation set and stay on all day. This Stay Matte Powder from Rimmel is great and doesn't look powdery.

5) Blush : blush livens up your complexion and make you look healthy and glowing. Wet n Wild have incredibly pigmented and super affordable blushes. One of my favorites is the color Heather Silk.

6) Bronzer : Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to be tanned to pull off bronzer. The key is to find a shade that suits your skin tone and that isn't too dark or orange. I like the N.Y.C Sunny Bronzer for my skin. 

7) Concealer : Concealer hides blemishes and discoloration on the skin.  To choose a concealer you must consider where you want to apply it. Blemishes require a thicker consistency while the under eye area needs the opposite. My favorite is Maybelline Mineral Power.

8) Face brushes :  For foundation, you can either use a brush for an airbrushed effect, or your hands for a more natural look. I like the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush because it's soft and it buffs the foundation in really well. For powders, I recommend the multipurpose Eco Tools Blush Brush.

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Eye Makeup

1) Eyelash curlers : Not everyone like eyelash curlers, but if you have straight lashes like me, it really does make a difference and helps make your eyes look bigger. This is a Revlon Eyelash curler.

2) Eye shadow : Neutrals are the easiest pull off so I recommend starting out with those. I recommend Wet n Wild shadows. They are  affordable, easy to apply and the most pigmented drugstore shadows I have ever come across. My favorites : Silent Treatment, Comfort Zone and Walking on Eggshells.

3) Mascara : No eye look is complete without mascara, but everyone's preferences for mascara differ so it's impossible to recommend one that everyone will love. Finding what you like is often a trial an error process and you may need to try a few before your find one your like. My current favorite is the Clump Crusher mascara. It's separating and volumizing.

4) Liner : For beginners, I recommend a pencil liner for the waterline and liquid liner for the upper lashline (in black or brown). My favorite pencil, Milani's Liquif'Eye Liner, has great staying power and is very dark. For liquid liner, here I have a good one by N.Y.C., but  my fave is L'Oréal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liner.

5) Eye Brushes : Brushes are the key to a successful eye makeup look.The three brushes I'm recommending are all Eco Tools. I recommend a fluffy blending brush for blending out eye shadow, an angled liner brush for brows or lining the eyes and a small flat shading brush for patting on eye shadow.

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Lips

1) Lipstick : You need a color that is wearable and that isn't too different from your natural lip color. That way you are sure that it will compliment your skin tone. It's also easier to apply when you're not used to applying lipstick.

For me, the color I chose is B52 by NYX. Their lipsticks glide on the lips and are very moisturizing.

2) Lipbalm : Everyone needs a good lipbalm, right? This babylips lipbalm has SPF 25, is super smooth and leaves the lips silky feeling.

3) Gloss :  This is optional  but if you like a glossy pout, you'll need at least one lip gloss in your collection.  Here, I'm presenting two different ones, a sheer shimmery one (Forever 21) and pinky more opaque one (BonneBell).These two lip glosses would suit most everyday looks.

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That's all I'm recommending for a beginner starter makeup kit! Everything is very affordable and will help you achieve a full face of makeup without breaking the bank! These are some of my favorite products because of the quality and value for the money. I hope this post has helped! Let me know in the comments if this was any help to you!

Don't forget to follow my blog and like my Facebook page for more beginner friendly makeup posts soon!

My Affordable Beauty Storage : Makeup, Nails, Hair and Accessories Organisation Tips and Ideas!

Today I'm back with a post about beauty products organisation! I love to have everything organised in my home so I have been perfecting my makeup, nail, hair and accessories storage system ever since I started getting into makeup a few years ago.

I'm relatively pleased with how things are organised at the moment, so I thought I'd show you all how it looks along with a few tips and tricks I have picked up along the way to store everything neatly. Right now, everything is easy to reach and I can find what I'm looking for super quickly. It looks nice (in my opinion at least :P) and it's efficient! Do you have any makeup storage tips for me? Let me know in the comment section! ♥

Full Set Up

A few things you need to know about my set up :

- The white dresser does not contain any beauty products. It's just my clothes in there.

- I don't have a very big collection of beauty products. My full makeup collection fits within the first three drawers of the rainbow tower. Everything else is other beauty related items.

- Most of my nail polish is is the pink basket on top of the dresser. For reference, it can contain about 50 polishes (but they are tightly packed in there). I got the pink basket at Dollorama.

- All of the dividers that are inside the drawers were bought at the dollar store as well.

The vast majority of the stuff I use for organisation is very affordable and budget friendly.

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Rainbow tower

This rainbow tower contains all my makeup, nail tools, hair accessories, skin care and hot tools. I got it at Costco for 35$ It's great for keeping organised and it's super cheap :)

At the top, I keep :

- my light up double sided mirror

-a cute box (from the dollar store) which I store rarely used nail polish in

- my everyday skin care items : moisturizer  spot treatment, eye cream, lip scrub, eyelash curlers, body splash, eye makeup remover, hand lotion.

Dresser top

This is what I keep on my dresser. 

- I keep my makeup brushes in three vases I got from the dollar store filled with small plastic bead to help the brushes stand up.

- I keep my large palettes in a clear plastic file sorter from, you guessed it : the dollar store!

 Necklace organisation and clear tower

In the second white and clear tower, I keep hair products and tools plus travel sized items. I got this storage system at Walmart for 30$.

At the top I keep :

- 2 Double sided mirrors (both from the dollar store)

- My makeup wipes in their plastic container

- Cotton buds in a glass jar from the Dollar Store

-  Cotton Balls in an empty  Bath and Body Works candle which I recycled

- A small 8X magnifying mirror

As you can see, this is also where I keep my necklace collection. In order to help me find what I'm looking for quickly and to keep the necklaces from tangling up, I keep them on small nails that I have attached to the wall. They are divided by length and color.

This storage idea couldn't be more simple and cost-effective! It only costs 4 nails (so I'm guessing no more than a few pennies) and it looks cute on display like that!

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Now let's have a look at what's inside the drawers!

 ♥ First up is my eye makeup drawer! ♥

As you can see, I have divided this drawer using three plastic baskets. I have left one portion of the drawer empty to fit larger items. 

First basket : Liners and bases

Second basket : Mascaras

Third basket : Eyeshadow singles

To the side I have larger eye shadow duos, quads, small palettes, etc. I also keep my lashes and eyelash glue there.

 ♥ Lips drawer ♥

You can easily spot my lip balm addiction here :P

I have divided this drawer using 4 baskets.

First basket : Lipbalms (there is more than one layer of lip balm and it could fit another one easily)
Second basket : Lip sticks (also has two layers of products)
Third basket : Glosses
Fourth basket : Lip balms in a pot and backups

Super easy and neat looking, in my opinion :)

♥ Face drawer ♥

These pink dividers a a little different from my grey ones but they are also from the Dollar store. The small long ones are 3 for 1$ and the large rectangular one is 1$.

The baskets aren't exactly divided by type of product, more by the size and shape of the products. As you can see, the third basket contains small round products while the fourth has concealers and primers mostly.

 ♥ Bracelet drawer ♥

In this drawer, I squeezed four long and thin dividers.

First basket : Watches (mostly my boyfriend's watches)

Second basket : Fabric/string bracelets

Third basket : Stretchy bracelets

Fourth basket : Bangles

♥ Nails Drawer ♥

Again, different dividers, but also from the Dollar Store. These clear ones were a tad more expensive, but still not over 1$ a piece. The are also longer than the other plastic kinds. I love that they are clear they look very nice and clean.

First basket : Nail art plates, nail art stamp and scraper, buffing blocks, nail clippers, nails files, nail polish thinner.
Second basket : Cotton rounds, cotton swabs, pure acetone and toes separators
Third basket : Rhinestones, sponges, tweezers.

This is my least favorite drawer because it's a little messy looking in my opinion. Please let me know if you have any ideas for improving on this one :)

 ♥ Skin care drawer ♥

For this drawer, since product size vary so much and since some products are quite big, I couldn't find a proper way to place them into baskets. Instead, I chose to place an anti-slip fabric at the bottom so the products don't roll around when opened. 

The drawer is a little empty looking right now because I'm working on using some of these products!

♥ Beauty Tools drawer ♥

In here I keep makeup sponges, cosmetic cotton swabs, backup makeup wipes and perfume samples (inside the pink makeup bag - which is from the dollar store). Not very exciting, but you gotta put these things somewhere right?

♥ Bath and Body Works drawer ♥

Right now it's pretty empty looking, because I'm working on using up my products. I haven't been to Bath and Body Works in a few months! This drawer is divided with four baskets, three thin and one square.

First basket : Hand sanitizers

Second basket : Spare wallflower with recharges.

Third basket : Backup body splash

Fourth basket : Empty at the moment

♥ Hair accessories drawer ♥

In this drawer, I keep all of my hair accessories. This is the only way that I have found that is neat and organised to keep them. Otherwise I keep loosing all my hair ties and my clips. I think this looks very nice and clean and it's probably one of the drawers I am most happy with. I can always find what I'm looking for uber quickly.

First basket : Large hair clips

Second basket : Small hair clips and bobby pins

Third basket : Hair ties

Fourth basket : Headbands

 ♥ Hair tools drawer ♥

This is where I keep all of my hot tools. A great tip that I picked up from my mother is to keep the cords inside an empty toilet paper roll. It's not the cutest thing, but it helps keep the cords organised and protected. That way you're not damaging them by twisting them around the straightener. It also doesn't cost anything which is brilliant!

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Second tower

♥ First hair products drawer ♥

In this drawer, I keep my hair products which are in large cans or bottles.

 ♥ Second hair products drawer ♥

In this second drawer I keep smaller hair products.

♥ Hair brushes and combs drawer ♥

In this drawer I keep all of my brushes and combs. I have one basket which I put all the combs and small travel sized brushes in. For the brushes I like to put them side by side, but facing different directions so that the larger part of the brush isn't always on the same side. That way, I can save space and cram more brushes into the same amount of space.

I skipped two drawers after that because they just contain rubbish pretty much XD

♥ Travel sized products drawer ♥

Nothing too fancy in here. This is just where I keep all of my travel sized products and bottles. 

 ♥ Candles drawer ♥

Last but not least, this is my candles drawer (and the reason why I'm trying to finish off products before I go to Bath and Body Works again :P).

That's it for my affordable beauty storage tips! I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful! I hope that it gave ideas to those of you who are still trying to figure out inexpensive ways to store your products!

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Travel Series : A Recap!

I realised that I have quite a lot of travel posts on here so I thought I would regroup them all in one post for easy access! They are subdivided according to their topic :)

Travel advice

Packing :      
How to pack for backpacking
Packing list : Electronics

Packing list : Fashion
Packing list : First Aid
Packing list : Travel Essentials
Packing list : Toiletry Items

Packing light : toiletries (2)
Packing light : toiletries (1)

 Planning :
Planning a backpacking trip
Tips for organizing a backpacking trip

 Go to know :
Overland crossing Thailand-Cambodia

International Cuisine

Panama & Costa Rica

My travels

Why I love backpacking
My Backpacking Hit List
Scuba Diving

South East Asia :
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
My Bucket List

Central America :
Itinerary
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,
Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

 Vegas :
Part 1, Part 2

Reviews

Central America :
Big Daddy's Grill & Patio
Cafe de Encuentro
Pension Marilos
Hostel Balboa Bay
Hostel Casa Verde
Hostel Casa Max
Hostel Pangea

Backpacking tips : how to pack for South East Asia

So I'm leaving for a 10 weeks backpacking trip to South East Asia in less than twelve hours. This means that my bag is ready to go, so I thought I would share how I fit all the stuff I need in there! :D

Backpack
First, here is my backpack. It's an Outbound 55L backpack I got from Canadian Tire. I think it was around 79$. It has a front load pocket which I can access the bottom of the pack through, ajustable straps, padded back, internal frame and side pockets, to only name a few. It's perfect for a female's size in my opinion and it is very comfortable and affordable. It fits all my stuff perfectly, even though I have a tendency to over pack in terms of clothing.

This is everything I am packing into my back. Only thing that will not go into the pack is what I'm wearing on the plane (number 8 + a pair of leggings and a cami) and number 9, which will go into my boyfriend's pack.

As you can see, I divide my clothing into large freezer bags for easy packing and to help me find what I'm looking for quickly. It's neat and efficient when packing. I also divide the clothes by type, in this case : underwear, tops and bottoms.

What I'm bringing

1) Toiletry bag, if you want to see what's in there, check out the detailed post I made about it here

2) This a clothing bag, it contains all my tops

3) Hiking shoes

4) This bag holds yarn to make friendship bracelets to keep me entertained

5) Rain jacket, there is also my hoodie to the right, but you can't really see it because it's black

6) Toilet paper in a ziplock bag. Trust me, you will need it in South East Asia :P

7) This is another clothing bag containing underwear, socks, pjs and bathing suits

8) Croc shoes; those will be worn on the plane

9) First aid kit

10) Travel towel

11) Last clothing bag containing bottoms

12) Flip Flops

13) Sunscreen

A Closer Look 

First Aid Kit

This is my first aid kit, including medication, other useful accessories and insect repellent. It's quite large, but considering the duration of the trip, I don't think it's too much. We pretty much have everything covered.

I put everything in two makeup bags for easy packing. The larger the items you put in your pack, the trickier it will be since it doesn't leave many options. This way we can pretty much jam these in any available corners of the pack. We can also put only bare necessities in one of them for treks and day trips, which means we don't carry a bulky first aid kit everywhere.

Clothes

As I mentioned, I divided all my clothes by category into freezer bags. I rolled everything up in the bags to make them as compact as possible.

I have three bathing suit tops, 2 bottoms, 1 pair of pj bottoms, two tube tops. Not pictured : I also have 18 pairs of underwear in there (perhaps overkill, but I'm leaving for 72 days and hopefully I won't need to do the laundry too many times), 7 pairs of socks and 5 bras

I'm bringing 3 pairs of shorts (two of which are jeans material), a pair of hiking capris, a pair of black leggings, a jeans skirt and a pair of jeggings.

I might be bringing too many tops here, but again, 10 weeks is a long time and it all fits :P These are all tank tops. I also have a short sleeved shirt, but I was wearing it when I took the pictures. I figured since it will be really hot in SE Asia I don't really want to wear too many times the same shirt before washing it. These are all cotton and quite light weight.

How to pack it all in a backpack

It might seem like a lot to put inside my small backpack, so I thought I'd show you all how you can achieve the same :) 

First, I fit my toiletry bag at the bottom of the bag. It's the heaviest item in my pack and I like to have quick access to it. Since my pack has a front load pocket, I can still reach it easily even though it's at the bottom of the pack.

Then, I fit my hiking shoes on top before I zip up the pocket. They are heavy and kinda dirty so I don't want them in contact with my clothes. I don't mind having them touch my toiletry bag since it's plastified.

Then, I start filling the upper part of my pack through the opening at the top. I start by placing two of the freezer bags containing the clothing standing up side by side. 

Then, I place the third freezer bag flat over the two other bags. I also add my sunscreen (which is protected by a cosmetic bag in case it explodes) on top.

Then I just keep adding lighter things over until the pack is completely filled. Here, I added the yarn and my rain jacket which I rolled up.

Lastly, before I close the pack, I added my backpacking towel on top. (I can't wait to give it a try, I brought and extra large and was really surprised of how big it is even though it packs really tiny).

Now that the main compartment is filled, I place the toilet paper in the pocket inside the hood of my pack. That way I can reach it really easily at all time. Last thing you want is to dig inside your pack every bathroom break!

As of right now, I only have one of the side pockets filled. It contains my flip flops. Again, easily accessible, which is great.

This is how the pack looks when it's finished and full. I weighs 20,4 pounds which I think is very reasonable for a 10 weeks trip. Last time I went on a backpacking trip, I stayed 1 month and my pack weighed 17 pounds (at the time I also thought it was quite light). Anyhow, 20 pounds is quite easy for me to manage and doesn't block my movements, so it's perfect.

Plane Necessities

Here is my carry-on for the 29 hour flight ahead of me! It contains all my long haul flight necessities for comfort and entertainment.

I chose this cross body shoulder bag I got in Honduras a couple years back. I love it because it's lightweight, can contain a lot and it's festive for travelling, but most of all, because it's cross body, making it safer to keep your belongings when you're on the go!

In my carry-on :
-Plaid bag : Ipod, charger, ear phones
-Pink bag :  Camera and kindle chargers
-Zebra and red holders : Passeports (this way they are protected from humidity in SE Asia)
-Fuzzy socks (I hate getting cold and I'm wearing open shoes)
-Camera in Hello Kitty case
-Pen
-Ear plugs in case things get noisy
-My glasses in their case and my sunglasses
-Pink notebook
-Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and Pseudoephedrine (oral decongestant in case I get a runny nose, it's also useful if your ears are sensitive to the quick altitude variation when landing since it's often related to your airways being congested, which I often am)
-Kindle with tons of books
-Inhaler
-Tissues
-Inflatable neck pillow with fuzzy cover (it's really soft and packs up tiny)
-Baby wipes and makeup wipes to freshen up during and after the flight
-Eye cream
-Hand Salve
-Antibacterial gel
-Toothbrush and tooth paste
-Lip balm

That's all my must haves on a long haul flight! Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything and will be able to be comfy during the flight. I also have my immunisation booklet (not a clue how it's called in english), IDs, credit cards, plane tickets and all that good stuff in there as well.

And this is all I'm bringing on my 10 weeks trip to SE Asia! Hope you enjoyed and that it helped :) I will start updating with my trip soon, since I'm leaving in 6 hours!

Big thanks to my mom for helping me make this post happen! She helped me loads with pictures since I was a little short of time :)