Napoleon Perdis...makeup master!!

So yesterday (Saturday 1st May) i met Napoleon Perdis....he was at Target in Parramatta for a little chat and Book signing!!

I LOVE makeup as you would know by now :)

i love lots of different brands, i dont really have one favourite brand...just a few that i like as i believe there are good and not so good products with every brand!!

I love Estee Lauder foundations, Mac fluidtrack liner, brushes and eyeshadows, some Napoleon eyeshadows and foundations, Bodyography eyeshadows.....etc etc the list goes on and on......

so even though i do like some Napoleon products i dont love them all....but i do think Napoleon is a great makeup artist and a great businessman and i think he has done a FANTASTIC job with his company!!!

and seeings he grew up in Parramatta, it was cool to meet him there!!

everyone waiting for him to arrive!

Charli previously from Hi5 and is now a radio host!!

Charli chatting to one of the Napoleon makeup artists

i bumped into a friend in the line, we met in our makeup class last year!

more chatting...waiting for Napoleon

and he arrives.....

time for some signing!!

i got to meet him and he signed my new book!

here is the book....its all about makeup for every age! it is a good book but i still would have to say that the best makeup book i have ever come across is the Rae Morris makeup book (she is one of Australias top makeup artists!) i will take some pics of that book soon, it really is amazing!! so even though i do like Napoleons new book, it is nowhere near as good as Rae Morris' book!!! hers goes into great detail and she teaches you how to do all her looks, whereas i feel like Napoleons book is a lot about his products, so its a bit of a selling tool!!

my personal message from Napoleon!!! :)

was definitely a fun experience!!!! lots of fun!

hehe

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Love HollieD

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Kings Cross

Kings Cross is a world of its own!!!!

for those that dont know what 'it' is.....its an area in Sydney City known as 'THE CROSS', its full of night clubs, strip joints, junkies, brothels etc etc.....

Its always very busy, crazy on weekends, and a lot of money is wasted there day after day!!!

Kings Cross has become more famous i guess since the Underbelly series on Channel 9 (The Golden Mile). its all about the late 80's thru the 90's where The Cross was a crazy place and people marked their territory by getting involved with clubs and strip joints etc...

Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney.The area is known as Sydney's red-light district and home to the most dangerous organised crime groups operating in Australia. Once home to musical halls and grand theatres, it was rapidly transformed after World War II by the influx of troops returning and visiting from the nearby Garden Island naval base. Today, it is still dominated by bars, restaurants, nightclubs, strip clubs and adult bookstores.

Im not at all promoting the series because i think its pretty fowl....but i am very interested in the stories that come from there...not sure why, the whole thing just got my attention...

 

Underbelly: The Golden Mile is set in King Cross in 1988-1999, where bent cops, straight cops, cool criminals and colourful characters all converged to make their mark. But by 1995 the Wood Royal Commission had put the “black empire” under threat of collapse as strong and honest police fought to take back control of the most infamous strip in Australia.

The main charcter is about John Ibrahim.....a lebanese guy who got involved with the clubs etc back in the late 80's....

John Ibrahim is a young up-and-coming nightclub owner in Kings Cross. He's a natural businessman, intelligent, charismatic and handsome.  (so the website says)   :)

I actually saw him and his girlfriend in Bondi Junction the other week when i was working

So because of all the hype on tv over here in Sydney and in the papers...and i guess cause i actually saw him in person...i kinda wanted to know what the deal is all about!! i had never been to The Cross before, had no interest...its a filthy place that can get dangerous....but i wanted to see for myself!!

So i went there about a week ago with Emmanuel....mind you we went during the day so it was nothing like it wouldve been if we went at night....but i just wanted to see the area in the daytime!!

waiting for our train at the station....

you know you are in Kings Cross when you see lots of places like this!!! adult shops and strip joints everwhere....

we had lunch in a really cool lil cafe that was Columbian style!!

this was on the wall....i really liked it!! "Go confidently in the directions of your dreams....live the life you have imagined"........great quote from Henry David Thoreau

Yep im at The Cross....

The pleasure chest....kinda speaks for itself!!!

Lots of Gentlemens clubs!!

Even the Sydney Swans Footy team have a night club there...

The Bourban night club....getting renovated!

nice water fountain!

Big apartment block...thought it looked like a giant needle!!

Homeless persons place...very sad!!

Cop station is right at the end of the street in Kings Cross...sure they would see so many things working there!!!

Tourist bus

Random shops and weird doors everywhere :)

My hubby mucking around!!

think you get the picture!! and mind you this is ALL on 1 street!!!!

Train station

i didnt even get all the places...this was only a few...kinda proving a point....

heading away from Kings Cross but still on main street...this is a view of the city...so its not that far from the main city centre!!

when you see this Coca Cola sign you know you are in The Cross....this is the most well known sign in Sydney :)

Nice cars

and then we walked away and went into the city!!!

so there you are, a tour of Kings Cross during the day....there were lots of junkies and "interesting" people.....if i went there of a night, the photos would have been VERY different...prob not the safest place to be!!!

hope you enjoyed :)

Love always

HollieD

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Where i live now...........SYDNEY

Sydney has a way of winning you over!!!

when i first moved to sydney, i had been married only 2 days!! I left all my family and friends in Perth WA to start a new life with my hubby.....i left my job, church and everything familiar to me and moved to a big city where i didnt really know anyone!!!

I knew some of Emmanuels family, but not so much on a personal level....i knew some people at the church he went to, but once again not on a personal level, it was more of a "hi, how are you" kinda relationship with most people.......i came to Sydney having never moved out of home, never been without my family....in Sydney i had no job or hobby lined up, i didnt know if i wanted to study or work........i was COMPLETELY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE!!!!

to go from a young woman who had always lived with my family, had great friends and church in Perth etc etc.....to then get married and move to a bigger city where i didnt know the roads, areas, no job, no friends (at first), no family....nothing familiar or comforting!!!!!!

It really was very difficult....but i did CHOOSE it....when Emmanuel and I decided to get married and he lived in Sydney and me in Perth....we had to make a decision on where to live......and I decided i would move to Sydney....i wanted an adventure, and as much as i knew there would be hard times....i also knew it would be good for me in some way!!!

I have always thought Sydney is a beautiful place!!! it truly is a gorgeous city....but i wasnt happy here for a while......i LOVED being married and was very happy being Emmanuels wife...i just struggled and was very homesick!!! i also seemed to meet very rude obnoxious poeple and drivers!!! i remember getting beeped so much one day on the road that i went home and cried-LOL-little things would get to me!!!

the first job i got was horrible....it was in a clothing store and i had the worst manager....she was so rude and would say things to you in front of the customers etc....i had a fight with her oneday and i only stayed there about 3 months!!!!

since then though i have had great jobs....i got the job at Sportsgirl which i love (i have been there 1.5 yrs now) and also my recent job with Estee Lauder which i work the 2 jobs together!

since living in sydney (1 year 10 months now!!!!!) i have changed A LOT!!!

i have gotten a lot stronger in who i am and what i believe in life.....Im more confident and out spoken and sure of who God has made me.....going thru some really lonely hard times here in Sydney has definitely shaped me and is continuing to shape me!!!

i know i always have ways to improve, and i have days when i dont feel so strong and confident.....but in general, living in Sydney has MADE me face my fears on a daily basis, has MADE me become more outspoken and confident.....and for that, going thru the hard times has made it worth it!!

It has made me really think life thru....what is the reason i believe this?what is the reason i do that? It has made me closer to Emmanuel (i just adore my husband) and also made me closer to God!!

I dont believe we will be living in Sydney forever....but i will always look back on my time here with a smile.....living here had its hard times, but also great times.....and its made me grow up!!

Sydney is such a fast paced environment to live in.........I love the fact there are trains to everywhere and there are always people out....great night life!!!

Sydney is very multi cultural which is good and bad in some ways....as some cultures just should never be put together!!!!

I love the city....it has the most amazing feeling there.....I love hanging out there some weekends!!!

There is always something going on in Sydney....its a hub of excitement!!

Sydney has some beautiful beaches!!

and also fantastic shopping!!!!!

I have to admit i have fallen in love with Sydney.....it is home to me....i do still consider Perth as my ultimate home.....but Sydney will do for now!!! Im grateful i live in a beautiful city with so much opportunity for work etc....

I am a very lucky woman to have lived in such beautiful places in Australia......Im glad some of my life has been spent in Sydney.....it is totally different to other places i have lived before!!!


If you have never had the opportunity to travel to Sydney then i would encourage you too....you wont be let down (i hope) LOL


Love HollieD
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