Afternoon, you gorgeous lot! And I guess a slightly premature 'Happy Easter!' is in order too! I hope y'all have some incredible plans for the weekend, namely: eating, seeing family, eating, chillin' with friends, eating, followed by some more eating! (I mean, can you see where my weekend's headed?! Give me ALL the chocolate).

For today's 10 Ways, we're talking about sharing life with your fellow sisters and I'm not gonna lie, this gets me EXCITED.

I mean, I freakin' LOVE being a woman. While I'm not one for stereotypes, and do truly believe in a spectrum when it comes to gender, there is something totally rad about being a woman, being part of a earth-wide sisterhood. Dayum, it's amazing what happens when women stick together and look after each other!

So, today we're looking after YOU, sisters! (and any brother's who're into this stuff too, of course, you're welcome!) We're sharing a favourite beauty secret that will change your foundation game big-time, we're talking inspiring Instagram sisters, a couple of badass podcasts, how to express empathy when the going gets rough, the perfect April mate date and our favourite app this month.

If you're a foundation wearer, but you don't always want that super 'made up' look, then girl, you're in the right place today!

The absolute QUEEN that is Jaclyn Hill, taught me this tip a while back in one of her youtube videos: mix a single drop of any beauty oil into your foundation before applying.

Sounds odd right? What could you possibly gain? How about...

• A more sheer natural look, that lets your skin shine through your foundation - perfect for the summer
• A healthy looking dewy effect from almost any foundation
• A flawless (no really, trust me!) finish
• Glowy foundation that lasts all day without caking up in creases or sticking to any dry patches

Hit up this Jaclyn Hill video for all her secrets to a flawless base (although this one, at 5:30, is by FAR the best!), and check out the oils linked below (click the pictures) for my top three add-ins!

Right now though, I just cannot get enough of the luscious tropical Lani serum! I add it in my foundation, it's my moisturiser, heck I even run the leftovers through my hair as a smoothing serum!

I should add, that if you're kinda scared of oils, especially on your face, this tip works just as well by adding a small amount of moisturiser to your pump of foundation, read more here!

Those who know me personally, know I am an Instagram / Pinterest addict. There's really no other way to put it! I am just so inspired by it all! Whether it's awesome artists or interior design ideas on Pinterest, or following some seriously neat brands and people on Instagram, I just love gaining insight into how other people live and what they're into. It's undoubtedly my main source of inspiration!

So you gotta love a sister who shares her secrets, how she does her eyebrows so beautifully natural every day, what she puts in that yummy looking smoothie, and where she got those dang CUTE glasses...

One of my current favourite feeds on Instagram right now is Gold Coast dweller, @vanessa_prosser and her sweet fam.

And the most recent obsession she's induced in me? Perspex frame glasses. Girl's got STYLE.

Ps. Vanessa's glasses are by Ellery!

Another amazing source of inspiration who I originally knew from good ol' IG is Rachel Brathen aka @yoga_girl! Followed by millions, and with good reason, this sister is beyond inspiring in terms of yoga, entrepreneurship and compassionate living.

So you better believe that when she released her podcast, 'From the Heart', this month, I was ALL OVER THAT! (Along with the rest of the internet!)

So far Rachel's shared her incredible birth story, and shared on manifesting abundance (a show about entrepreneurial success, financial abundance) and most recently, a show on overcoming adversity and healing trauma.

Believe me when I say, this is worth a subscription. Rachel talks as though she's a friend sat catching up over a cuppa in your living room; she shares her life in a big way and wonderful things come of it!

Speaking of being 'in this together', we all know that a huge and very valuable part of sisterhood is empathy, but boy, can that be hard to practice sometimes.

When the going gets tough, (and when I say 'tough', we're talking really tough), it can be near impossible to know what to say, especially if you have no experience in the area your friend or family member is suffering in. All the words you can think of seem empty, you can feel helpless and useless in your endeavours to lift your sister out of her troubles.

Enter: Emily McDowell's Empathy Cards

Now, obviously I'm not professing that these cards are gonna solve all the world's problems, because that's not what empathy's about, but if you're having trouble expressing your feelings of compassion and understanding, they sure as heck can be a helping hand...

They're not your average 'Get well soon' or 'With Sympathy' card and that's precisely why we love them. If you're not a wordsmith who can eloquently express your compassion, or even if you are, there's an empathy card appropriate for almost every circumstance.

They're not trying to make it better and they're not just a polite gesture. They're right there, in the dark nitty-gritty, putting an arm around you and saying 'Babe, this is utter sh*t. I can't make it better, but I'm right here with you'. And that's empathy.

Onto lighter and brighter ideas, although maybe not for some: Spring Cleaning.

Ha! I can hear the collect groan from here! I feel you, sisters!

But I like to keep the end goal in sight at all times because, like most, the idea of fresh bed linen, or a fresh clean space gives me all the good vibes!

With that in mind I thought I'd share this little gem of a series with you, as Slow Your Home (you know, that podcast I'm obsessed with and mention almost fortnightly right now!) have done a series of very seasonal cleaning shows!

Was that a very sarcastic 'whoopee!' I just heard?!

Seriously though, they've chatted Cleaning Rhythms (so useful for establishing a routine!) Green Cleaning (reducing toxic chemical cleaners is such a good call) and therefore their Cleaning with Vinegar (don't knock it 'til you've tried it) is another awesome show, and finally Minimising Cleaning Waste (absolutely fascinating, think biodegradable Jay cloths and plastic free cleaning products!)

Now, I know people have some seriously mixed opinions about this dude, but I'm going out on a limb here and saying I am on board with Russell Brand.

Between his reformed viewer Q+A style Trews videos and his new podcast Under the Skin, Brand's creating some very interesting and, at times, challenging dialogue that if you aren't already listening to, I feel obliged to share with you.

For my ladies, his fourth podcast (yes sorry, ANOTHER, podcast!) on Feminism is particularly interesting. If you're looking to broaden your horizons, question and challenge your self and society as a whole, give Russell a chance!

I love that idea of 'collude and collaborate'! Collude means to come to a secret understanding, which is such an exciting concept in terms of coming together as a sisterhood to change society.

Now it's no secret we love a bit of meditation here at Festival Brides. We've shared about it a fair bit in these posts recently, and cannot commend its benefits for mind and body enough, so when the Insight Timer app entered my world, I knew I had to share it with you!

Not only is this app an incredible tool for both guided and unguided meditation, but it also creates a dynamic of community for your meditation, as you can see who else is meditating across the globe (!!) and what kind of practice and duration they've chosen. You can even send them a 'Hey! Thanks for meditating with me!" message... Kinda like a Facebook poke with a sense of higher consciousness.

Meditation can be a solitary act, but this app creates a sense of shared life that I just love! Honestly, I sound like I'm sponsored, I'm not, I'm just stoked on this app!

Download for free here and get some zen.

Not much to say here other than this song has been my JAM so far this month! Noah Slee is the artist and not much is known about him - he's as millennial as it gets - seemingly existing purely on social media, which would make him kinda annoyingly aloof if it wasn't for his oh-crap-I'm-drooling gorgeous vocals.

He's a multi-instrumentalist, who harmonises the sample pitched-up Shiloh Dynasty vocal, on top of a fusion of a very easy-on-the-ears guitar melody and a rolling future-beat-inspired drum pattern.

...And if all that means nada to you, just trust me on this, it's GORGEOUS.

Summer. Anthem.

Spending good quality time connecting with your sisters is hella important. Why only date your partner? Date your mates too!

A few conversations recently lead me to find out about a roller disco in my hometown, and I've gotta tell you, my inner seven year old has got a real hankering to go!

An alternative to cinema dates and drinks/food out that's pretty affordable, calorie-free (in fact, calorie burning!) and a whole load of nostalgic fun, find out about your local roller disco, mark yourself 'busy' in your calendar and enjoy!

This concept has been on my radar for a good while now, but a good friend of mine reminded me about it recently when she sent over this video. If you don't know what the practice of 'Holding Space' is, go ahead and click that link, because the video explains it beautifully in under two minutes.

In essence, very much like being empathic, when you hold space for someone it means to simply be there for them. It's being fully present, and free of judgement, for someone who needs you. When you hold space you listen without having any agenda to respond or to create change (you're not trying to fix the situation or offer advice). It's just listening without expectation and without criticism which allows the other to express what's really going on inside without fear of your reaction.

Holding space creates a safe, supportive place that emotion can flow into and ebb from. It's a powerful empathic practice that takes effort to master (the temptation is always to try and fix what hurts, right?!), but this practice allows us to share life in a raw, uncut way.

You can read more on the importance of this practice here and another's experience of it here. It's one of those things that could change the world if we all practiced it! But in the more immediate future (ha!) it can make your life and that of those aroud a whole lot lovelier.

(If I could, I'd add like 10 heart emojis right now!)

Have an amazing bank holiday weekend, and we'll see you on the flip side!