[thecasualfree]

This Is What You Came For - Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna (Ana Free x Marié Digby cover)

Thanks for watching our cover of Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna - This Is What You Came For! We had a blast filming it, I always love working with my talented fri...

We had so much fun driving to the forest and filming this video for you guys. In case you don’t know about Marié Digby, well, she’s amazing and talented. Watch our video and see for yourself. I hope you enjoy this video as much as we did making it (whilst also getting lost in the mountains haha). If you do, have a cheeky little share with your family and friends! Love you all xxAxx

[thecasualfree]

CANDLES ARE SO EASY TO MAKE! It is madness how much I was spending on candles before I realised that they really are a piece of cake to make at home... 

Here’s what you need:

- KITCHEN SCALES (if you want to measure out the wax by weight, otherwise you can just use Cups). You'll need about 2/3 to 1 Cup of candle wax flakes in solid form but make sure you add more or less depending on your container size.

- CANDLE WAX - I used Natural Soy Wax: http://tinyurl.com/hbcplmn

- ESSENTIAL OILS of your favorite scents - you can get some from Amazon, Wholefoods etc.

- CONTAINER TO MELT WAX INSIDE - I used a glass Pyrex jug but you can use a metal bowl or saucepan.

- SAUCEPAN to gently boil a little water inside of to get your wax warmed up and melted.

- GLASS JARS / CANDLE TINS - Something to put your candle inside of! These are the ones I used: http://tinyurl.com/hew8hzp

- CANDLE WICKS - I got these from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/zaxzg5w

- GLUE GUN or SUPERGLUE - I got a glue gun from the Dollar Store but you can find little ones on Amazon or Home Depot

- METAL SKEWER - This is to wrap your wick around while the candle sets but I used a chopstick

Enjoy loves!

xxAxx

[thecasualfree]

7 Cool iPhone Apps to use with Instagram

Hey-lo! (Sorry, it’s just that I went to the Beyoncé show last Saturday and I’m still inspired.)

Today we’re talking all things social and Instagram-related. As you know, I’ve been picking up a steady pace photographing and posting to my Instagram and in the process have picked up some apps on my iPhone that I think really complete the package for creating, editing and posting.

First off, and on a side note, when I’m shooting photos I’ve started using only my Canon 60D DSLR camera with a Prime lens to take my Insta piccy’s, it just makes it that much better. 

Here are my top iPhone apps that just complement whatever it is I want to do on Instagram to express myself!

1. VSCO

This is my favorite go-to photo editing and filter app. It has a very wide range of filter options (vintage, soft, high key, black and white) and it really incorporates an analog camera feel into a digital world. The different extra filter packages (which are super cheap to buy and they have deals all the time) often contain about 4 or 5 different filters within the series. All my friends use totally different editing apps - it’s quite a personal preference. When you find the one you think works with your brand and style then it’s hard to be poked into changing it. I use the E’s and F’s the most!

2. Facetune

Ok. So you have a little pimple on your face? Cover it up with the Patch Tool. Your shirt is creased? Smoothen it out with the Smooth Tool. The angle you stood at makes your left arm look giant? Resize it. You want a defocused background? Head to the Defocus menu. Problems go bye bye. That’s what Facetune is for and if you haven’t heard of it yet then where have you been? You will be enlightened. You can mess with everything in this app. Try not to go too wild though, still gotta do you. Self-love and all that jazz. ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME. Get Facetune!

3. Perfect365

Since we’re on the subject of editing photos - let me share Perfect365 with you. If you forgot to put on makeup, this handy dandy little app will come to your rescue. This shit really will smoothen out your imperfections to the point where you might look a little bit like a cartoon if you’re not careful. It’s really just a Make Over app. It’s not as versatile as Facetune because it can’t fix backgrounds and resize your left arm. But it can resize your nose, slim your face, make your eyes bigger, deepen your smile and put lots of crazy makeup on your face which wasn’t there before! Go playyyy!

4. WordSwag

Awwww. One of my favorite word manipulating apps. Want cutesy quotes on cutesy backgrounds? This is a great app for that. You can choose one of the in-house backgrounds or else pick a photo you took yourself. It’s so much fun. The only teeny issue I have with it is that sometimes the presets split up sentences and quotes in their designs which I can’t control. Perhaps I want the word “CONCERT” highlighted and yet the app will choose the word “AND” (which is useless and not what I want my audience to focus on). I’d like to be able to mess with that stuff - then again - maybe I’m doing something silly.

5. Followers for Instagram

This is a super simple app. It basically tells you about your Instagram following. It’s show you how many follows you’ve had since you last Reset the counter, how many unfollows etc. It’s a good little demographics app so you can keep track on what posts are generating the most engagement.

6. VideoHance

Oh, I do love this one. It’s got such beautiful filters for video. Way better than the Instagram ones. You can add Light Leaks, Vignettes, Blurs and Gradients to your videos. You can mess with the motion of the video too (i.e. make it zoom in slowly or out slowly etc). Mess with the speed of the video too. I don’t use it much but when I do I always enjoy what this app has to offer.

7. Layout

Ok, I never really use this app. But that’s only because I never post things with multiple photos in one frame. However, if you’re showcasing various angles of an Outfit Of The Day for example, this is a really solid photo remixing app/mixing and matching pictures together.

Voilà, c'est tout. Hope you guys enjoyed my rundown of cool apps that will complement your Instagram posting. Remember, a lot of these will also translate over to posting on Facebook and other socials you might use.

Join me and be friends on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube! See you next time!

xxAxx

[thecasualfree]

Hi my babies!!

Come along and let me take you on a joyous and groovy tour of my Early Spring Favorites! I’m quickly covering my go-to March items for skincare, make up, home and snacks! I hope you guys enjoy it <3 Don’t forget to Subscribe and follow on the Instagramzzzz!

Much love Ana

[thecasualfree]

5 Tips To Help Overcome Anxiety/Negativity

Nothing is quite as scary as the deep abyss of our imagination and minds. You know what I’m talking about. Those days on end where you have the all too similar annoying thoughts about that annoying person or thing whose presence is floating in your mind, stuck to every thought you seem to have like old gum on the bottom of your shoe? It’s there in all the noise and also all the silence? Yeah. We’ve all been there and we’re probably all going to be there again many times as we grow throughout our lives. Our mental state is very complicated to predict but what I’ve found is that more often than not, our mental anxiety usually has a pretty good reason for popping in to visit us. Sometimes, it is a reflection of our physical state, perhaps a reaction to a sudden interruption of our normal rhythm of life, rather than an actual let’s-panic-and-freak-out-it’s-all-over thing, I’m no therapist of course, but personally, I know perfectly well when my mind is getting fried (and we’ll get to more on this in a second) and although I’m still learning how to stay away from the Panic Button when I get stuck in these phases, I have a couple of tips I’d like to share about how I tackle these:

Your body knows before you do.

For the longest time, in phases when my life was forming itself, transforming or changing (like going to college, new relationships, really important work commitments), I used to get really excited about things and a little while into it, I would start feeling weird. After the excitement, I would start concerning myself about things that could go wrong or not feel good. I would get myself in a rut and just couldn’t stop my mind from racing around more negative thoughts. Never once did I stop to think about what my body was trying to tell me (via my mental state obviously). The body is one of nature’s gift to us. As naturally as the sun tells us the time by casting it’s shadow, the body tells us what rhythm it would like us to pace at without us even realizing it. Sometimes I think I’m in total control of my mind and thoughts but really my body had already taken over, letting me know I have to slow down a little; maybe get a good weekend’s rest, go get dinner with girlfriends, you know, sharpen the axe a little. The body is inseparable from the mind and vice versa. When the mind is weak, strengthen the body. Move it. Literally. Go work out, maybe a long hike with the dog or a friendly game of sock tennis with friends (OK. I might have invented this game where you play “tennis” with the palm of your hand with a sock for a ball. I was bored in a hotel with a friend once). Often strengthening the body, strengthens the mind.

Assess your potential triggers.

There is nothing worse than not knowing WHY you feel the way you do, right? I, for one, get anxious easily. I’m a pretty zippy peppy person naturally and sometimes that can work against me. What’s my trigger? Exhaustion. For me it’s always mental exhaustion (sometimes it can come from boredom also, if life is a little slower etc.) for example, when I’m working on something mundane and mentally taxing for a long period of time. I burn the midnight oil making music and musing upon my future, I get to bed way too late, think too much and eventually all that comes back to bite me in the ass. Everyone is different. Try and think about what things happen in the days or weeks leading up to your anxiety or negative thoughts. Once you figure out some of your triggers, you’ll see the tidal wave coming and have time to move out the way. You’ll be able to avoid a great portion of your anxiety.

Embrace the thought.

The temptation to run for the hills when you’re in this state is very strong. All you do is tell yourself to stop it. Put it out of your mind. My mother always told me to let my thoughts wash over me and not to be scared of them. They will come and then they will go. They may come back again but then they will go again. And eventually life will take care of the rest. One day you will wake up and realize you haven’t thought about this or that thing in forever. Don’t push back, it’s worse and will just make you more exhausted.

Don’t feel guilty.

Thoughts and reactions are natural. Don’t feel guilty about having them. There isn’t much more to say about this, you just have to accept that just as you have positive thoughts, you also have negative ones. There is no rhyme or reason, the world must be balanced. Light must also have dark and it is in everyone. Don’t make matters worse by judging yourself.

Don’t despair.

This shit happens to everyone. I swear. In some form or another, in some time of their lives (past or future), everyone gets stuck in a rut. There are some things in life we simply go through and knowing you are not alone is really key. Isolation does not usually lead to positive outcomes so perhaps have a heart to heart with a friend, your sibling, your therapist. Write it down in a journal or a song. If the subject of the thoughts is to do with a person in your life, consider talking to them about whatever it might be that’s holding you back. Just don’t despair. You are not alone in the dark. There are people all around you that you can count on who can hold a torch for you to see all the hope and certainty of good things to come.

This is what has worked for me. Again, everyone is different so try out a variety of tactics to see what feels right for you. These are my 2 cents and I hope sharing my experiences helps you in some way when you hit rough waters.

xo Ana

[thecasualfree]

Indian Summer.

OK. So it’s not really an Indian Summer because apparently there’s all sorts of official rules about what a real Indian summer is but the point is: it’s HOT in Los Angeles at the moment! Every year I’ve lived in California, around the Spring and Fall, we get a super warm spell of weather for about a week where it’s ridiculously hot, like up between 28 and 33 degrees C (sorry, I can’t wrap my head around Fahrenheit yet). They say it’s called Santa Ana (usually it’s really dry wind coming in from the desert but there’s been no wind this week), but I don’t know. That is what my weekend beaching has been all about this week on Instagram and Facebook. I was craving the cold and winter but I got my fill of that in Portugal in December and it was pretty cold in January here. I’m ready for a little sunshine as long as it doesn’t get too crazy with the heat!

I’ve been working on music things here and there, I’ll be sending out my Patreon and StageIt rewards very soon! I’ve had more admin and business stuff to attend to this month and it’s consuming all my time and energy but by March I should be on the radar a little more! I can’t wait to get back to music!

OK, bed time. I just wanted to get this little blog post in before I went to sleep and keep my promise of blogging every Thursday! :)

xoxo Catch you guys on the socials!!

Ana

[thecasualfree]

This week I decided to dive right in and make a home decor video. This adventuring into other things on my sister channel is going to take a little practice. Why is it so hard to get on the adventure train sometimes!?

When I hit 100 subscribers I can finally name the channel! So if you haven’t already, it would be awesome if you could hit the SUBSCRIBE button (or just click here cuz that’s so much easier!)

I’ve been into this lately - since I work in the living room it’s important that my space is calm and geared towards focusing on my work. It is so easy to get distracted at home, definitely one of the challenges I think. So.. this has been helping me!

Ok babes, hope you guys enjoy it and get some inspiration for your homes!

xo Ana

[thecasualfree]

Friendly Adventures & NAMM

Good Thursday loves!

How are things? I have had some busy weeks this January! I had lots of back to back visitors at home - mainly from our best friends. It’s been really fun to hang out with them all as they each come drop in and say hi! How is it that when you grow up all your friends seem to spread around the world?! My best friends are currently spread throughout Portugal, Greece, Singapore, Kenya and Japan. Umm, you couldn’t get much more dispersed!

In all this friendly kerfuffle (lol, I love that word!) I managed to get myself down to the NAMM Music Convention for 2 days in a row (yes, be proud because going to NAMM is like hiking a long-ass trail for about 15 hours but inside a never-ending arena with multiple levels and blasting music and often weird people all in your way and you’re lost and also hungry and need to pee etc). It exhausts me just talking about it! Marié Digby (who came with me on Day 2) had never been before and swore she would never go again, it was so mad! NAMM happens every January and all music brands far and wide come and set up their booths and show off their awesome new gear, people play in the booths and there are loads of geeky music talks. I played for one of my favorite brands that make my vocal pedals, TC Electronic. I’ve just struck up a wonderful collaboration with them. As an artist, it’s so nice when you genuinely like a product, use the gear and have a synergy with them. To an artist, NAMM is definitely about connecting with the people who make your favorite shiz, that’s what I love about it; you never know who you’re going to run into! Expect lots more gear reviews from my YouTube channel as well as my music videos. I know a lot of you play guitar and sing so this is going to be a fun year of connecting you with the gadgets and music gear I’m using...

Here’s a photo of Rodrigo and I playing at the TC Electronic booth. Yes I’m in jeans and sneakers, remember? The hiking?...

Ok babes! Check out the latest video if you haven’t already.. It’s one of my favorite songs in all of music history... Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls!

Also I’m guessing you know my new EP is out already!?!? Have you got a copy yet? If not then I’ll make it super easy.. click HEREEEEE! :)

Much love to all and speak on the inter-webness! (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!)

xo Ana

[thecasualfree]

Last Years Lessons / NEW EP

Hey loves...

How are you? I hope everyone has been keeping well and had an amazing Christmas. Welcome to 2016! I apologize for being so crap with the blog lately, it’s hard to keep up with everything social sometimes but I promise I’m trying to be better!

To that end, I’ve actually taken the first half of January 2016 to implement some changes (more about that below). I’ve been thinking, having conversations and being as honest as possible with everything, especially what I want for this year from things like work to friendships to my expectations of life. That’s taken a little time but I’d really like to stick to my guns! I hope you guys have made some good changes also (if you think you needed them, of course!) and that the New Year has started out on a good note.

Let’s talk about December. I RELEASED MY NEW ALBUM!! YES!! It’s HERE for downloading if you’d like to hear 5 folk/pop songs about love, life, revenge and heartbreak. It’s called “The Weight Of The Soul” and I’m super proud of it. It came out on December 4th and I was back home in Portugal promoting the album doing television, radio, digital and printed press. It was a lot of fun and a packed schedule.

Like I said, I’ve been in the think tank lately, maybe it’s the start of the year or something! So... I learned a lot in 2015. It was a tougher year than I thought it would be, to be honest. Making an album is always such an emotional journey, putting your ideas and thoughts into words with honesty without falling into the trap of trying to impress or think about what shit the industry expects of you, what’s “popular” or what’s going to make the most money. I made some great friends, I also lost some. I managed to follow my 2015 resolution to say “no” more to things I really didn’t want to do, kinda happy about that. I learned I don’t always have to be friends with someone to work with them and, surprisingly, it’s quite a liberating feeling to not feel pressured to use my friendship as a currency. I’m a Cancerian star sign so we like to fix, nurture and be generous but sometimes that’s exhausting and I’m learning how to separate things better now. Life reminded me also that not everything can be achieved with a conversation, it might take more time and patience to get where you need to go. I forgave myself for making stupid mistakes. What have you guys been thinking about? Let me know on Facebook and Instagram if you want!

Thank you so much to everyone choosing to support each of my videos on the micro-crowdfunding platform Patreon. You are really showing me the love by donating your hard earned money to my music. You rock!!

Can’t wait to hear from you all and keep you updated on The Casual Free (which by the way has a YouTube channel now, did you know!?)

Much love xoxo

Ana

[thecasualfree]

Blending in to the flowers and scenery with my #ootd today! My new bird shirt which I am loving, high waisted shorts and ankle boots. Tap for details! (at Los Angeles - Santa Monica)

[thecasualfree]

Win my SMASHBOX lip gloss shade!

Hey everyone!

How is it all going? I’m so excited and proud to present you all with my beautiful shade of gloss that I mixed with the lovely team at Smashbox over the summer. We thought about what a shade of my lip gloss would look like and during my Made At Smashbox session I mixed it up with the super cool Jill Tomandl. We made a peachy/pink colour with hints of nude lip. Something to wear whatever the occasion.. during the day and on a night out!

The best part is you lovely things can get your hands on a bottle by entering the sweepstakes HERE*. 100 winners will be selected at random and sent my gloss. If you would like more details you can watch my YouTube video here!

*Sweepstakes are US only.

Have fun and don’t forget to send me snaps to my Instagram @anafreeworld or on Facebook!

xo

Ana

[thecasualfree]

Chanel Le Vernis fall colors: I am just in love! I have used Chanel polish for years but I keep coming back to these colors, especially now that fall is on the horizon. 

The Rouge Noir (no. 18) has been a staple of mine in my collection for those chic outfits you want to complement with a deep red nail. I whipped my good old no. 18 out the other day for a wedding (because it's wedding season!) and just reminded myself how much I loved it. It inspired me to go out to Sephora and pick up another Chanel. 

I can’t resist a classic bright red nail so I bought Rouge Flamboyant (no. 38). Bright red is hard to pull off without it being really good quality. And Chanel does not disappoint when it comes to quality. You can go over the nail color many times whilst you apply it wet and it doesn't pull the polish or streak. I think they're a dream! 

You can see I'm sporting no. 38 at the moment in the mornings with my coffee! 

I have a feeling my bank balance is going to suffer a little this month but, alas, what is a girl to do? 

Enjoy!

xoxo Ana

[thecasualfree]

Debut single “Say It To Me” is released!

Hello loves!

So happy to finally announce that the first single “Say It To Me” featuring Costa Rican talent Debi Nova is now available! This song is a fun, flirty summer jam off my upcoming EP “The Weight Of The Soul”. It is out on all platforms - iTunes, Spotify and many more!

Click here to download “Say It To Me” and add it to your summer playlist!

Happy dancing,

Ana

[thecasualfree]

Summer is right around the corner so I decided to recreate my favorite “sun kissed” natural makeup look with one of my favorite makeup brands Smashbox! I went over to their studios in Los Angeles and we had a blast all day filming this tutorial for you. I also made my own shade of lip gloss, of which 100 will be bottled up and sent to you in a giveaway competition!! So girls stay tuned and guys - better get these for your ladies!

Watch the tutorial and at the end I played a couple of songs in this look!

Love you!

Ana

[thecasualfree]

Say It To Me: On Soundcloud!

Hey everyone!

Hope you’ve all been doing great - I’m entering my last busy week here in Lisbon, Portugal where I’ve been back to back with interviews and other fun adventures for the press tour of the new single “Say It To Me” off my upcoming EP “The Weight Of The Soul”. It’s been super fun and hectic but everything for a wonderful reason that I am so grateful for.

“Say It To Me” is coming out soon on iTunes and all other platforms this coming week I HOPE! I have sent it out there to the world so look out for it. If you’re in Portugal you can already buy it in the Portuguese iTunes store and I’ve uploaded it onto my Soundcloud for you guys to hear in advance so click here!

Love you all and see you soon,

xoxo

Ana

P.S. New videos are out on YouTube! Yay :)

Photo credit: Kelly Lee

[thecasualfree]

The Weight Of The Soul

Hey everyone! It’s been a little while since we’ve spoken :) I have some updates and fun things to tell you!

OK. First and most IMPORTANTLY... the EP has found itself a name! As you all know, I had been searching for the right title for this record. I went around a couple of options, brainstormed with friends and family but nothing really resonated. I really tried to resist the urge to push a circle into a square, it was important that the title would just ‘happen’ instead of forcing something to fit just for the sake of needing a name, you know? 

The album is called The Weight Of The Soul. This title really stood out to me when it flew into my head. This is the first album I’m making since my move to the USA. It’s a collection of very personal songs that all approach themes like love, ambition and the impact that moving to Los Angeles has had on me. It’s also a return to my guitar and folk roots. The way I see it is that the soul is where my emotions come from and when you listen to this album, hopefully you will feel those emotions coming through. Emotions (whether good or bad) have a weight. That’s why I need to write them out of my head. When you play these songs you’ll feel the weight of each of the emotions I was feeling at the time in the lyrics and music, and that would be like weighing the soul. It’s all to say, this record is a snapshot of my mood and emotions since my 2013 debut album, Together.

Secondly... I can’t believe it’s already my 3rd album. It’s so cool to see a path being forged. You start to count your career by albums and achievements rather than years. Thank you guys so much for always supporting me through Patreon and StageIt, watching my YouTube videos and following what I do. Thank you for believing. I’m so excited to bring you The Weight Of The Soul this year! More posting to come soon.

Love you all

xoxo Ana

[thecasualfree]

Just restrung my little baby Mandolin with new @elixir_strings for the recording of the next tracks on the EP!