So Spring is actually here. IT'S HERE!!!

You don't have to completely overhaul your wardrobe for Spring (who am I kidding, if you're anything like me, of course you do) but it is easy to get a fresh look without spending huge amounts of bucks and you know I'm all about that. 

When GlassesShop.com offered to send me a pair of specs to test out, I was happy to have a go because who doesn't love cheap glasses. And ZZ Top's classic "Cheap Sunglasses". Oh YEAH [riff].



I popped online to check out the range available to me as part of their blogger program and selected the Seine Aviators - a statement pair that were quite bold and different to what I would usually wear because, well, free.

GlassesShop.com offers prescription eyeglasses as well as prescription sunglasses and regular sunnies. Obvs do your research first if you're thinking about moving away from your local optometrist but it may be a good way to save some coin on a back-up pair of specs or two. Or three. Or four.

My parcel duly arrived in a month, which is what I would normally expect for a product that was coming from China (and they did contact me prior to advise of a delay), complete with a sturdy plastic case and lens cleaning cloth. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the look and feel. They are sturdy and have a good weighty quality to them with nice clear lenses.





Unfortunately, as is so often the case, they turned out to be too big for me and my pin head. (Seriously, I own sunglasses from the children's section so this wasn't a surprise). 

Instead, I enlisted Restyle 2015 finalist and sunglasses collector Stacie to model them for me and I think you can agree, she did a fine job.




GlassesShop.com are currently running a campaign called First Pair of Glasses Free where, as the name suggests, new customers can get a pair of free glasses (actual optical prescription ones or sunnies) plus shipping and handling fee which might be of interest to you. 

Also, readers of Almost Posh can use the coupon code GSHOT50 to nab 50% off a pair of full-priced specs with free lenses thrown in (sale frames are excluded). Yay!

What's the best part of Spring for you?


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I was gifted this product for review by GlassesShop.com. All opinions are my own. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

Did you know that here in South Australia, we've had a ban on lightweight checkout-style plastic shopping bags since 2009, resulting in almost 400 million less plastic bags per year?

You can still get the heavier kind at department stores like Myer and David Jones but when it comes to groceries and some discount stores like Kmart or Big W, it's BYO bags or buy a reusable bag for 15 cents each.

[image credit]

Sure, at first, it was a bit of a pain to remember to take the reuseable green bags with you into the shops and supermarkets soon had to issue edicts that shoppers brought enough to comfortably fit all of their groceries and not try and cram a week's worth of items for a 4-person family into two bags to avoid the 15 cent charge on further bags but otherwise, most normal people just cracked on with life.

There are arguments that people now have to buy plastic bin liners instead of using their shopping bags and that the environmental impact has been minimal. Personally, I feel it's about changing habits and even though I'm not rampagingly green, I like to do what I can; including recycling, waste sorting and minimising consumption of one-use bags.

For this reason, I (and most women I know) carry a small foldable shopping bag in the handbag permanently for those impulse buys carefully considered purchases or nicking into the shops for the few necessities like bread and milk and heavily reduced Maybelline products.

Practical? Yes. Stylish? Not heaps.

So when local South Australian business Pleatopia got in touch with their chic and clever fashion bags, I was so on board. Fashion? Bags? I'm there!

Pleatopia Fashion Bags in "Flamingo" and "Nocturnal" RRP - $19.95 each

As you might know, I'm on a mission to downsize my handbag and have been working at downsizing the things within it to save on space; including my Kindle, my purse (still in progress) and my card holder (need to buy a phone cover that will hold my Metrocard so I can ditch the card holder altogther). 

The Pleatopia in pouch form is a little bigger than my original foldable bag but squishes much flatter.






The innovative pleating allows the bags to expand and contract as required. So you are only carting around a bag the size of the object inside. 

Nifty.



The Pleatopia bags are a little shorter than the "standard" folding shopping bag but the expansive design means you can probably get the same volume in. 




Pleatopia offer free shipping Australia-wide, which is a big thumbs-up from me. They also ship internationally and there are 9 appealing colours to choose from. They're made of polyester and you can wash them . . . just don't iron them! (As if you I would)




Being green isn't all hemp pants and world music. Now you can be environmentally friendly and styling too! 

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This post is sponsored by Pleatopia Fashion Bags. Items were gifted for review. For more information, please see my PR and Media Policy.

As the cooler weather sets in (at least, in this part of Australia), it’s time to start enjoying all the good bits about winter; boots, snuggly socks, warm baths and did I mention curling up in front of the heater, binge-watching Real Housewives?

Unfortunately, all this lovely warm dry air and hot water does wonders for sucking the moisture out of your skin, leaving bits of your body looking like Lake Eyre during a drought year.

Remember kids: crack is wack

Yes, we know we should be exfoliating. I give my heels a going-over with a file and some foot scrub in the shower whenever I a) remember and b) have the time. So about once every two months. 

"It's okay, nobody will see my feet for months! I'll just start an intensive care program before summer!" But what's this? An invitation to a formal event, when only the strappiest of heels will do? Girl, you in trouble.

Luckily, Scholl have been all over foot care since 1899 and can get that nasty dry skin on feet looking sweet in just three days with Eulactol Heel Balm Gold.

To illustrate, this was the state of my heels last Thursday:

Don't say I didn't warn you

After three days of using the heel balm as directed, these are the results.



You can see the improvement in the skin texture already and there is no horrible dry scraping sound when I pull my tights on over my feet. Result!

Winter also means new footwear (yay!) Some jazzy cut-out ankle boots or a stiff pair of patent brogues, perhaps? The last thing you want is a painful blister from new-shoe rub. I have pretty poor circulation in my feet, which are essentially freezer blocks from 4.30pm on 16 April to 2.30pm on 21 November. I can stick my feet in an eski to chill the beer and any kind of blister or irritation take an absolute age to heal, relegating me to daggy well-worn shoes in the meantime. That, my friends, is not cute. So a Scholl Blister Shield plaster is where it's at; to cushion that angry skin with HydraGuard technology and keep you comfortable while still rocking your super cute kicks.



Don't neglect your toenails either! Make sure they're clipped and filed right down so you don't bust holes in your snazzy tights. Your feet will also fit more comfortably into those closed toe shoes.

You can find Eulactol Heel Balm Gold and Blister Shields at your local chemist, Priceline or supermarket. Winter is coming! Hurrah!

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These products were kindly provided to me for review. All opinions are my own. See my PR and Media policy for more information.