INFUSED A Gorgeous Excuse
M A G A Z to catch I upN with the E girls
POSITIVITY! It's all you need
A Helping Hand
for local Australian winegrowers
t r a t S h Fres to your makeup
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14/
LIF ESTYLE
6/
FOOD & BEV E R AG E
8/
WELL BEING
JANUARY/2020 6/FOOD & BEVERAGE
10/ BEAUTY
Our resident wine expert, Kate Day talks about how we can help our local winemakers.
Do you know when to throw away your mascara? Time to refresh your makeup bag.
8/ WELLBEING
12/ENTERTAINMENT
It's all about positive vibes!
Some great podcast recommendations
14/LIFESTYLE Flatpacking advice, how to save your sanity.
Dear Reader, Welcome to the January issue of Infused. We at Infused are very excited about the year ahead. Our new events coming in 2020 are like an extension of Infused. If you love carving out twenty minutes every month to enjoy the content we bring you on food, wine, health, beauty, lifestyle and wellbeing, you will love our handcrafted new events. Our new events are smaller and have limited seating – ticket price includes wine, tapas-style brunch, lunch or dinner, masterclasses and boutique stalls. Some are already sold out! Check the website to see if you and your girlfriends can book your special 2020 experience today! They will allow you to spend time with the special people in your life over a beautiful meal while you enjoy exclusive masterclasses run by experts in their fields. For example, a wellness masterclass run by Dr Natalie Flatt (see page 8 for Dr Nat’s advice on developing a positive mindset). Or a beauty seminar by celebrity makeup artist Melli (this month, Melli tells us how and when to replenish our make-up bag. See page 10 for her wise words).
Here’s my best tip for 2020 – you must sign up to A Gorgeous Excuse or risk missing out on getting intel on our new exclusive events. Even if you have been to our previous events, you will need to express interest in A Gorgeous Excuse for us to be able to give you the latest updates, exclusive deals and competitions. More information here. Subscribe and you will also receive a $20 discount code for your next A Gorgeous Excuse purchase. Best,
Also this month, our resident wine expert Kate Day tells us how we can help the Adelaide Hills wineries move on from the devastating bushfire season on page 6.
Want to say hello, have a question or feedback? Drop us an email at admin@thepeppermintgroup.com.au
FOOD & BEVERAGE
A Helping Hand After a devastating bushfire season there is a way all of us can help local winegrowers get back on their feet. Kate Day explains.
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t’s been a hectic start to 2020 to say the least, and I am not just talking about the lack of AFDs (alcohol free days)! However, on a serious note, it’s hard to celebrate the start of a new decade with the utter destruction, loss and sadness that these unprecedented fires have caused to so many communities, animals and our country as a whole. Adelaide Hills in South Australia has been one of the worst hit wine regions, with nearly a third of the region’s vineyards lost in late December. It’s a huge blow to the livelihood of many growers and wineries, as well as to tourism to the region. It’s devastating to growers heading into their busiest time of the year. Many will now have a five-year lag until replanted vineyards are viable and producing again, on top of having to deal with smoke taint in any of their remaining vines.
I know that many of us not directly affected by these fires want to help, and already have in our own way. May I suggest that, once you have implemented your New Year exercise regime and had a few AFDs, that you look to replenishing your wine cellar with wines from the Adelaide Hills, and specifically from the wineries which were worst hit by this tragedy. Supporting them by buying direct from the winery and not through national retailers puts 100% of the profits back in their pockets to help with the rebuilding process. We are one, but we are many. And as Australians we will all stand together and rise from the ashes as we have done before, and do so with the amazing Aussie spirit that we all share. Now that is something to raise a glass to.
Tilbrook Estate and New Era Vineyards both lost everything. Their entire livelihood gone in one afternoon, vineyards, winery, stock and machinery. Please keep them in your minds and abreast of fund raising activities via their websites or social media.
TILBROOK ESTATE
NEW ERA VINEYARDS
Other wineries you can purchase wine directly from are as below: VINTELOPER
ANDERSON HILL WINES
TURON WINES
HENSCHKE WINES
BARRISTERS BLOCK
BIRD IN HAND WINES
SIMON TOLLEY WINES
RIPOSTE WINES
TOMICH WINES
NOVA VITA WINES
HOWARD VINEYARDS
PETALUMA
GOLDING WINES
ART WINE
GEOFF WEAVER
EMMELINE WINES
Kate Day is a sommelier and wine making expert who will be presenting special workshops at various Gorgeous Excuse events in 2020 – watch our website to see when she is on next!
WELLBEING
All you need is
A
y t i v i t i s Po
positive mindset offers compounding returns by giving more confidence, improving your mood, and reducing the likelihood of developing high levels of stress and anxiety. Dr Natalie Flatt shows us how to bring more positivity into our lives. WAKE UP TO A POSITIVE AFFIRMATION
How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Say, out loud, “Today will be a good day” or “I’m going to be awesome today.” Additionally, have it written down next to your bed as the first thing you see in the morning. You’ll be amazed by how much your day follows that line of thinking. FIND THE HUMOUR IN BAD SITUATIONS Allow yourself to experience humour in even the most challenging situations. The more we age, the more life events we encounter; positive or negative. Remind yourself that you have got through worse or similar before and you can do it again. Further, this situation may make for a good story later, so try to crack a joke about it.
CREATE LIFE LESSONS FROM FAILURES You aren’t perfect. You’re going to make mistakes and experience failure in multiple contexts, at multiple jobs and with multiple people. Instead of focusing on how you failed, think about what you can do next time and how you may be able to handle yourself in that situation which will create a more positive outcome. TAKE HOLD OF NEGATIVE SELF-TALK Negative self-talk can be insidious and can create misconceptions of yourself automatically. Try to catch yourself when you say those finite negative statements such as “This ALWAYS happens to me” or “I’m NEVER going to be able to achieve this goal” and replace with realistic positive statements. For example, “I’m so bad at this” becomes “Once I get more practice, I’ll be way better at this”. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVITY When you surround yourself with positive people, you’ll hear positive outlooks, positive stories and positive affirmations. No one needs toxic people in their lives and if there are people who bring you down you may want to consider how much of a role they will play in your life. Friends and family should be supportive of you and help you to be the person you realistically strive to be. So start to take note of how people make you feel and your energy levels when you catch up with them. Do they leave you feeling on a high or feeling angry, jealous and anxious? CELEBRATE THE GOOD THINGS IN YOUR LIFE The little things in life matter so much and you should take a moment each day to be grateful for each good thing in your life. Celebrate if you achieve a goal, get a new job or pay rise, or find a new friend. Conscious acknowledgment makes it that little bit sweeter. WRITE DOWN FIVE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THE DAY There’s no such thing as a perfect day, however, there are always ‘rays of light’ which you have the opportunity to acknowledge, no matter how insignificant they seem. For example, noticing nature or animals, or when someone smiled at you down the street or a colleague paid you a compliment. Writing these situations down in the evening before bed will provide positive reflection and allow you to be in a more relaxed state of mind. Almost anybody can apply a positive attitude. Positive thinking does require practice, so the more often you employ these strategies, the greater benefits you’ll realise.
Dr Natalie Flatt is the co-founder of Connect Psych and Connect Wellness. She is passionate about wellness and support for all women. Dr Natalie is one of our wellbeing experts at our 2020 Gorgeous Excuse events. Check out the website for more information!
BEAUTY
FRESH
STA RT There’s no time like a New Year (or decade, for that matter) for a fresh new look and the first place to start is with your makeup bag. Melli Carter gives us the best advice on keeping our kit fresh.
Ok, so I know it can be hard to throw out that Coty lipstick you bought in high school. I’m as sentimental as the next person. But, seriously, makeup does have a use-by date, and it’s best paying attention to it for all sorts of reasons. Expired makeup can start to harbour bacteria and then there’s general performance and quality of the product, which can be lacking. Look for a symbol on your cosmetics jar, often an open lid with a number and the letter “M”. For example, 12M would mean that the product expires 12 months after you open it. However, sometimes we don’t need the guidelines, as we can tell when our make-up is due for replacement. Here are my tips on what to replace, and when.
Mascara is a pretty obvious one. It simply just stops performing. Your lashes will be clumpy and the dreaded flaking will be present. A great way to know if your mascara is ‘turning’ is listen out for the absence of a ‘POP’ noise. If your mascara is fresh, when you pull the wand from the tube you’ll hear a pop noise. Once it’s drying out and on the empty side the noise simply disappears. If you’re finding your mascara is drying out too quickly, it could be that you are pumping the brush into the tube, pushing air into the tube which will cause the product to dry out long before it should. Instead, twirl the mascara wand in the tube to pick up extra product. Timeline: Usually lasts 3-6 months.
Foundation can start to separate or even dry out. But you can always add a little of your moisturiser to your foundation to make it go further if you’re caught out with a nearly empty bottle. Timeline: Usually lasts 12 months after opening.
Lipsticks that are ready to retire will often have a funky smell about them. Time to toss! Often lipsticks don’t last too well in the heat. Have you ever left a lipstick in the car in summer? Oh dear. The fridge is actually a great place to keep lippies that may have become a little too soft thanks to the summer heat. Also, if you find your eyeliners are also a little too soft in summer you can store them in the fridge as well. It also delays the aging process of the product. Timeline: Lipsticks and lip glosses usually last 12 months.
Most people store their makeup in the worst possible place. The bathroom is humid and moist – it’s the perfect environment for bacteria to breed in your makeup. Try storing your makeup in your bedroom instead. Now you’ve detoxed that bag it is time to start thinking about changing up your look. The way you did your make-up ten years ago may not be working for you now and the best thing about make-up and trying something new is that it washes off! So, if you try a new look and you’re not quite feeling it, it’s not like getting a drastic new haircut. A new year is so full of new possibilities, it’s time to start loving what you see in the mirror . When not creating addictive wearable shades and pretty packaging for her Cruelty Free Makeup Range, Melissa “Melli” Carter freelances as a makeup artist looking after some of Australia’s best-known faces in the TV and film industry. Her favourite thing to do is to share the ‘magic tricks’ she has collected over the last few decades with everyday women to bring out their confidence and natural beauty. Meet her at our exclusive Gorgeous Excuse events in 2020. Click here for more details.
ENTERTAINMENT
Best podcasts to listen to There’s now always something good to listen to. Here’s our pick right now of the current batch of podcasts. Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell A great podcast about historical moments, ideas and people that you might not have considered before, or thought about quite from this particular point of view. When you start a Gladwell podcast you can never quite be sure where it will end up, but my advice is just to sit back and enjoy the ride! Who the Hell is Hamish? This true crime podcast is utterly riveting. It’s about the man who conned ordinary people out of millions of dollars. Hamish wormed his way into the lives and trust of people and convinced them to invest in bogus scams. You might think that you wouldn’t be taken in by such a man but after listening to this podcast you’ll think twice! Dolly Parton’s America This genius podcast is not just about Dolly Parton and not just about America. Each episode takes a Parton song or aspect of her life and uses it to examine something that unites or divides people. I bet you
never knew Dolly Parton’s connection to Dolly the Sheep, or that Nelson Mandela was a huge fan of Jolene. Listen to this podcast for fascinating facts like these and more. Heavyweight I have recommended this before, but it’s still good! Jonathan Goldstein finds out what’s bothering his friends and helps them fix it. One episode sees him reunite his father with his estranged uncle, another sees him help an old high-school friend master maths. In yet another, Goldstein helps two sisters solve the mystery of what happened to the babysitter who didn’t pick them up from school one day, 20 years ago, and was never heard from since. All the stories are funny and touching and I’m never disappointed. Everything is Alive This wacky podcast imagines that inanimate objects have feelings, opinions and memories. The first series features Louis, a can of soda and Tara, a bar of soap. It’s a great relaxing and humorous podcast and most episodes would be good for older kids to listen to in the car.
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LIFESTYLE
Flatpacking advice
How to assemble flatpacked furniture without compromising your relationship or losing your sanity Last time I bought a bunch of furniture from IKEA my friend offered to help, but it’s a twoperson job, so I said, “No, I think we’ve got the furniture assembly covered, but we may need some marriage counselling afterwards.” I’m very pleased to report that our marriage survived the assembly process. But after a table, a sofa-bed with chaise longue, six chairs and a TV bench, I learned a thing or two. So here are my top tips for self-assembly furniture. Or how to survive a flatpacking weekend. Clear a space to work. Take out all the old furniture, if there is some. You need room to work, peeps. Count. It’s totally worth it. You’ll have confidence later that all your nuts and bolts are there and it will save you time and frustration down the track in the unlikely event that something is missing. We got plastic lunch containers and sorted the screws and bolts accordingly. This is especially helpful if there are some that look similar and you don’t want to get them confused. Get a drill. Every seasoned Ikea person I spoke to over the weekend advised that we get a drill. There are drill bits for Allen keys. It will save you HOURS (Note that there are some occasions when a drill isn’t suitable, especially if you don’t want to go too deeply into the wood or splinter it, so be judicious with this step.) Two people. No more, no less. One of these people should be detail-oriented. This is the person who carefully examines the pictures and ensures you use the bolt without the pointy bit for the appropriate places and the bolt with the flat bit for the other appropriate places. The other person can work the drill. I’m not going to make any sexist suggestions about who does what. You work it out according to your personalities.
If you’ve got children, get them looked after. If you don’t have a babysitter at the ready, do what we did and banish them to their rooms and also use them to make regular trips to the recycling bin after you’ve unpacked stuff. Be kind. If you have to alert your assembly partner to a mistake (he) has made, say it in a nice way. Avoid phrases like “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” and “WHY DID YOU PUT THIS ON UPSIDE DOWN?” and “WHY DID YOU GET SUCH A BIG TABLE?” Keep your sense of humour! This too will pass. And then you’ll have a lovely new couch to sit on.
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