TheBalm TimeBalm White Tea and Rose Cleanser

A big loot of cleansers hit my desk quite some time ago, and the first one I made grabby hands for was the prettily packaged Time Balm White Tea Rose Cleanser from TheBalm (which is available for us Aussies from David Jones and Adore Beauty) It is marketed for normal-dry skin which is the category I think mine would probably fall under at the moment, and so I was looking forward to seeing how it handled my temperamental (at times) skin. The scent is light and smells only faintly of rose to me, and the texture is a light cream which spreads over the face with ease. I used this each night in the shower after removing my makeup at the sink with a separate remover (I always do this as I prefer fuller coverage foundations and always wear powder and blush, and I find I waste too much cleanser if I don't remove my makeup first!) 

 

Truth be told, I’ve sat on this review for far too long. I finished the bottle in 2014 and I found it difficult to formulate a strong opinion about it - it's not something I love, but I didn't hate it either! I don't think it is a bad product by any means (I did feel a mild tingle during and after using it on a few occasions, which supports its claims of gentle exfoliation) but I generally like a thicker cream cleanser or cleansing balm for my skin. I would recommend this as a nice cleanser for normal skin types, but I didn't find it particularly moisturising for my dryness. Sometimes the tingly exfoliating aspect of it irritated my skin, so I would suggest that very sensitive skin-types look into the ingredients list (included below and which contains fragrance + plant extracts) before throwing down money for this one.

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Overall I think the TimeBalm White Tea Rose Face Cleanser a pretty solid cleanser that has made me want to try out more skincare from TheBalm - I hauled a White Tea Carrot Makeup Remover that I am yet to try, and the eye makeup removing balm seems pretty interesting...

-Emma x

 

*This product was provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Ingredients

Water (Aqua) Eau), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycolic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Glyceryl Stearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, PEG-100 Stearate, Stearic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ammonium Hydroxide, Ceteareth-20, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Hexylene Glycol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract (Saccharum Officinarum), Tilia Cordata Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Rosa Canina Flower Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Tussilago Farfara (Coltsfoot) Leaf Extract, Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Extract, Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Seed Extract, Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Extract, Equisetum Hiemale Extract, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Sambucus Nigra Flower Extract, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract.

Makeup Look : Peach Pop & Rendezvous

(I am off on my honeymoon until December so this post is a scheduled one. Would still love to read comments and feel free to hit me up on Instagram @emmabovary to see holiday snaps along the way! - Emma)

Each time the warmer weather rolls around it's like a switch in my brain is flicked and screams 'rock orange and peach, baby!' I don't mean to roll with the cliché seasonal makeup but when it works, it works, you know?

I love nothing better than a nice easy neutral eye and a super glowy cheek highlight when I wear peach and oranges on my cheeks and lips, and you can't get much better than TheBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer and the Too Faced Chocolate Palette. Still swooning over the cocoa scent of that palette, by the way, just wish the packaging wasn't so bulky so it was easier to travel with!

Was this look spurred on by my recent Sally Hansen Kook-A-Mango gel manicure? Possibly! I think that peach tones warm up my features enough to make me look healthier than normal, so that is always a positive thing. The Revlon Balm Stain in Rendezvous is seriously amazing - dare I say my favourite orange lip shade?! I've been wearing Clinique's Cheek Pop in Peach Pop a whole lot lately too so of course that had to be rocked in this look.

Nothing like a wee bookshelf shot to enhance a makeup post - what do your bookshelves look like? What is your ultimate orange lip shade?

 

Emma x 

TheBalm Instain - Strawberry Toile

To a blush obsessed beauty blogger, it doesn't get much better than being able to trial a new blush formulation in a stunning shade! As soon as TheBalm Instain in Toile* hit my desk I threw it on my cheeks, and loved how pigmented but blendable the strawberry coloured powder was. I applied it using my Real Techniques Stippling Brush (as I do with most pigmented blushes) and layered it a little bit and found it easily buildable, so it would definitely work for those who only like a sheer shot of colour on their apples, too. Here are the other products I used to complement the strawberry shade Toile!

TheBalm describes this as a strawberry colour, and try as I might I couldn't find a lip shade with the name strawberry in it. Days like these I wish I owned Revlon Strawberry Suede let me tell you now! I decided to choose my lip shade on colour alone and so the Covergirl lipperfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Coral Twist* made the cut (these feel so nice on the lips, have you tried them yet?) The rest of the look was pretty simple, and I was impressed that I only used 7 products and about 7 minutes to finish this look!

 Anytime I use a beautiful bright blush it negates the need for a detailed eye look, so after applying TheBalm's Put A Lid On It eyelid primer* (which I had never even heard of before I received it!) I hastily scribbled the champagne shade of my Revlon Colorstay Smoky Shadow Stick in 201 Torch all over my lid, and then used the amazing deep brown shade as a liner on the outer third of my upper and lower lashline. The dark shade of this has actually snapped off (not happy Jan...) but I still use it as I love the shade that much - this speaks volumes I think!

 My inner corner highlight was mint (as usual!) with the essence Me & My Ice Cream 03 Always in my Mint marble shade. My plan is to use this wet sometime this week to see how vivid I can make it - things like this can be highlights of my day, seriously! Base needed to be simple for a hot Melbourne day so I used my favourite BB cream, the Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream*. To top off the look I used my new Revlon Lash Potion mascara which I bought at half price last week and I'm enjoying it so far.

So there you have it - a strawberry blush-centric easy makeup look that anyone could do!

TheBalm Instain blushes retail for $26.95 AUD and you can buy them here!

What do you base your makeup looks on - the eyes, the lips or the cheeks?
Have you tried much from TheBalm?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

 

Blush Week 02

Any time I feel as though I am in a blush rut, I set myself a challenge to use a different blush each day for a whole week. I find blush week really helps me to dive into my overflowing blush drawer to try shades that haven’t graced my face in a while. I pulled out a few favourites as well as some as yet unloved new shades for this second blush week round, and I hope you enjoy peeking into what I wore last week!

Prom Princess was the first to hit my cheeks, the mid tone pink berry Veronica shade from the MAC Archie’s Girls collection was well worth the hunt. I have been wearing Cream Soda from the Betty side of the collection more often than this pink shade, so I made an effort to put the satin finish onto my apples first off the bat. I tend to wear toned down lip shades when I use this so that I don’t look overdone, I prefer to keep this the star of the show with lots of mascara.

 

I really wanted to incorporate a cream blush into the mix this blush week, and the best cream blush I own is definitely Powdery Rose from YSL’s Crème de Blush range. I use the Samantha Chapman for Real Techniques Stippling Brush to apply this and I think it does a perfect job of blending it seamlessly into my cheeks. I think the benefit of cream blushes are definitely how great and seamless the finish can be if applied correctly, and the YSL pots are simply perfection for me, as I love that these are a crème to powder and don’t look too dewy without losing the glow.

Of course, during a blush week a moment of weakness is a definite possibility. I thought it would be a case of me reaching for Tarte Exposed (are you getting sick of me mentioning it yet?) but it turned out that L’Oreal The Muse’s Blush was what I gravitated towards without meaning to. The peach shade is really easy to wear and I love how large the pan is, I wish this Project Runway range was available in Australia but unfortunately I bought this from overseas (specifically from Lilladylife’s blog sale!)

Thursday saw me tired and with sore feet as I spent the day teaching and the night working retail, so I was pleased at the pretty flush that Laura Mercier’s Rose Desire left on my cheeks. I’ll be honest and say that I tend to reach for the eyeshadows in the Lingerie palette more than the two cheek shades that sit aside it, but now that I know how pretty Rose Desire is on my fair skin tone I think I will be wearing it a lot more often. Having said that, I will just drop in a mention of how amazing LM palettes are in general- very, very amazing. Highly recommend that you snatch up any you come across, as they sell out quite quickly (as Sleep and Water can attest to!)

Friday was another all day all night work day, and I leant on Rimmel’s Autumn Catwalk blush which is an old favourite of mine that is highly underrated. I’ve seen quite a few US bloggers/Youtubers mentions this line of blushes and I think that they are seriously impressive. The packaging is slimline and the colour of Autumn Catwalk is so lovely (I mix the three shades together, for reference) I am itching to get my hands on other shades from this range, perhaps I will turn to eBay or have a gander at ASOS as I know they stock some Rimmel goodies.

I had been chatting with Sarah from More than Adored and I managed to talk her into buying one of the Illamasqua Blush Duo’s* that I posted about here. I decided to take Ambition* out for a spin and wow, I had forgotten how pretty this shimmery blush is! I love the glow it gives my face and the muted berry tone of it is so pretty in pan and on cheek. I am pretty much a sucker for all things Illamasqua and this is a lot easier to throw on than some of the brighter shades, which my early mornings have appreciated.

To round up the week, I decided to take one of my brand new blushes for a spin! TheBalm’s Frat Boy is described as a peachy apricot and I think it is really pretty on the cheek. It reminds me of NYX Peach but perhaps a tad nicer on? I’m still undecided but either way I really like this, and the slimline pans the TheBalm are famous for really are awesome for storing and travel.

Are you as obsessed with blushes as I am?

What blushes have you been wearing lately? .

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always

 

beauty week at a glance #1

When I saw the concept of beauty at a glance on Larie’sblog, I knew it was a series I would love to install on the blog. After getting the A-OK from Larie (whose posts I adore whole heartedly!) I began snapping pictures of the main players for a week’s worth of makeup looks. This won't be a weekly series, but will occur when I feel like sharing some makeup shots with you. I hope you enjoy seeing what I wore during the week!

 

Monday:

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronze Universel, Tarte Exposed, Face of Australia Lychee Crush*, L’Oreal Metallic Lilac, MAC Moth Brown, Face of Australia Impact Curl, Barry M Toffee lipgloss.

Loved the combination of purple toned eyes with a flush of natural bronze cheeks! I am still getting the hand of the Chanel Bronze Universel, it is so unlike anything else I own. 

 

Tuesday:

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, L’Oreal Metallic Lilac, MAC Moth Brown, MAC Sheen Supreme  Asian Flower, essence I like Candy gloss, YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat*, MAC Rosy Outlook, Poison Apple Apothecary White Rabbit (thanks Dee!)

Really loved this purple look, the lips didn’t compete too much with the eyes, which I think was thanks to the blush which tied it all together. 

 

Wednesday:

Sally Hansen Complete Care*, Illamasqua Freak*, L’Oreal Infallible Endless Chocolate, YSL Touche Eclat*, Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude, Rimmel  Nude Delight, Barry M Toffee, Sportsgirl Give some Lip in Stardust.

Nude central today, I adore the L’Oreal Infallible’s and don’t give this chocolate shade enough love. Barry M Toffee is such a winner as well.

Thursday:

essence Asian Sensation blush, MAC Painterly paintpot, essence quad in Dreaming Under a Cherry Tree,  Inglot teal shadow, Urban Rituelle CottonCandy*, Maybelline Dream Matte Powder, Face of Australia Impact Curl mascara, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous.

Was quite obviously trialling out the new essence products I bought on this day, and I ended up really loving the warm and pretty coral look. Rendezvous needs to come out in Australia, it is an amazing shade! For the eyes I used the taupe shade from the essence quad all over the lid, with the peach and the coral blended into the crease. The teal Inglot shade was a lower lashline colour to tie the look in with the dress I had on.

 

Friday:

Guerlain Champs Elysees, Revlon Balm Stain in Rendezvous, Face of Australia Impact Curl mascara, MAC Painterly paint pot, Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat*, BYS Fierce Fuschia, Face of Australia Loose Powder in Outback Translucent*.

Finally getting around to using my Color Tattoo, and am really enjoying the ease of it all. The Guerlain is my favourite perfume, such a stunning scent and I’ve gone through bottle after bottle of the stuff.

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I really enjoyed taking some quick snaps after I finished my makeup in the morning, and I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my beauty week!

*Marked items were provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

January Beauty Bag

As well as spending the majority of January curled up on the couch watching Once Upon a Time and painting my nails, I have compiled an updated beauty bag. These are some of the products I’ve been using lately, and my plan is to create a new beauty bag each month to rotate through my beauty stash and make sure I’m only keeping the things that work for me.

 

I’ve been content switching up my lip shade day in and day out, and in heavy rotation are the ones featured here.  MAC Party Parrot is a party starter in every respect, and with the mention of it being relaunched with a new collection, my love for it was reignited. A paler scenario is also tempting me, so I have thrown Rimmel’s Nude Delight and Barry M’s Toffee into the bag as well. Last but not least is a glossy red in the form of Maybelline’s Cranberry Cocktail, which is a beautiful shade but smells awful.

 

I’ve gone out and repurchased my Lush lip scrub, but this time have chosen Sweet Lips, which has a delicious chocolate scent. I’ve also stepped into the world of Grown Alchemist with their new lipbalm in Watermelon Vanilla*…yes, the best mix of scents for a lip balm, hands down.  A glam touch to my beauty bag is the shimmer infused dry oil from Nuxe*. I usually use the regular Nuxe Dry Oil, but have been loving this for a glow on my legs whenever I throw a dress or bathers on. I’ll admit, this doesn’t get a whole lotta loving when I’m in front of the TV with Ginnifer Goodwin aka Snow White.

 

Since the temperature is sitting around 37 degrees here (99 farenheit for my international readers!) I have been preferring a glowy, sunkissed look when I have been bothered to make my face up. Into my January beauty bag I’ve thrown one of my favourite highlighters in the form of TheBalm’s Mary-Lou Manizer. Love the smooth champagne glow this gives me, and it needs more love from me. Eyes will hopefully be just as glowy, with L’Oreal’s Infallible in Hourglass Beige as an everyday shade, and Inglot Pearl 423 for a deeper look.

Do you like the concept of a designated beauty bag each month? I find it pushes me to use things I’ve neglected in my collection, and forces me to create new looks with the basics I choose. I’d love to hear something you’ve been using a lot of this month in the comments!

*Marked products were provided for editorial consideration. Honesty, always.

Aquatic Blue Eyes // Recreating a Look from YouTuber Chloe Morello

The beauty of YouTube and blogs is the chance to get inspired by makeup looks that I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. I am a big fan of Chloe Morello on YouTube, and when I saw her aquatic eyes tutorial using a Sigma palette, the urge to follow along with the tutorial was unstoppable. I pulled out the products I thought I needed, and set to work trying to follow Chloe’s makeup look.

 

 

 

Products Used:

 

Max Factor Masterpiece Colour Precision Eyeshadow in Stardust - all over base

essence duo from 50’s Girls Reloaded collection (LINK) in 03 Come on Board Captain (navy shade) - in crease

TheBalm Tempting Tara from the Shady Lady Vol.2 palette (LINK)- along waterline as colour base and as inner corner highlight

L’Oreal Color Infallible in All Night Blue- in crease

SHE Dusting Powder in Karma – centre and inner lid

Various sky blue and turquoise shades from Inglot –gradiant over lid

Face of Australia Impact Curl mascara- on the lashes, obviously!

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara – for lower lashes

 To create the look, I pretty much followed Chloe's video to a tee, just using the above products. I suggest you go and watch it after leaving a comment here, she is so nice to watch and creates some beautiful makeup looks.

 

So many eye brushes for this look!

 

 

How do you think I went at recreating the Aquatic Blue Eyes look? Do you use YouTube tutorials for inspiration as well? I’d love to know who your favourite YouTubers are so I can follow some new ones!

 

 

* I personally purchased everything used to recreate this look. Honesty, always.

 

TheBalm // Haul from OzSale

When I saw TheBalm pop up on OzSale a while ago, I decided to indulge in a few items I’d been looking at instore. As you saw in my TheBalmcollection post, I have quite a few bits and pieces from the brand, and am happy to have grown my collection (even though shipping from OzSale is notoriously slow)

 

The words ‘carrot’ and ‘eye makeup remover’ didn’t really compute for me, and I was intrigued enough to grab a big bottle of this White Tea Carrot Eye Makeup Remover to try it out for myself. Sexy Mama is a translucent powder that I’d been looking into, and I love the slimline packaging of it. Frat Boy is a gorgeous pink blush that I hope can replace my NYX Peach (which I’ve almost used up but has now gone missing?)

What have you tried from TheBalm?

Have you ever ordered from OzSale ?

 

*I purchased these products. Honesty, always.

Falling Leaves & Sunsets // FOTD ft. TheBalm

Spring has sprung, yet I am feeling autumnal in my makeup choices. This in-between sort of weather has my face confused, so I've just been reaching for pretties in my collection without caring about season.

I didn't have a direction for this look, but daydreamed about falling autumn leaves (can you tell I watch a lot of U.S. based YouTubers?) What eventuated was this look that mixed khaki green with a golden amber sort of shade, to create a fall style look. On a side note, I am trying to talk my mother into hitting up a Bath & Body Works while she is in America purely to snaffle me a 'Leaves' candle!

Chris kept complementing me when I wore this look, which of course made me feel a million dollars. Nothing better than a compliment when you try out something new! 

 Face:

Face of Australia Face Base primer

Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation in 51

The Body Shop Honeycomb bronzer (lightest shade)

Benefit Dallas blush

 

Eyes:

MAC Painterly paint pot

TheBalm Mischievous Marissa & Makeout Mary (here)

TheBalm Tempting Tara (inner corner & brow highlight)

Revlon Grow Luscious mascara in Shimmering Black

Smashbox Photo Op Undereye Brightener

 

Lips:

Face of Australia Divine Shine lip plumper in Lavish Instinct

 

Do you base your looks on season?

What do you think of this khaki and amber combination?

I wish TheBalm shadows didn't blend out as easily as they do, I find it hard to keep the colours as vibrant as they swatch!

 

theBalm Shady Lady Vol.2 // swatches, photos, review

 The first thing I indulged in when I saw that TheBalm had hit Australian shores was their Shady Lady palette in its second volume, which contains a mix of different shades without too much direction.

I loved how many possibilities this random grouping presented to me, and because of that I would recommend this as a travel palette if someone was a fan of the shades included. There aren't any matte shades in the palette, so some may feel the need to bring along some blending or highlighting shades if they were taking this away with them. The packaging is light and slim, which is another plus in my opinion.

Of these three darker shades I have worn Insane Jane quite a bit by itself all over the lid. I love the chocolately tones of Caught in the Act Courtney and now that I'm getting into purple eyes, I am planning on wearing Feisty Felicia in the crease with some of my favourite pale purple shades.

Though the first two glittery shades seem quite sheer, they can be built up easily and appear much nicer in person than these swatches would have you believe. Insane Jane is a satin finish and glides on the lid really easily.

The shades begin to lighten as you move down the palette, and I like having a deep blue shade like Bossy Bobbi in the palette as I lean towards blue shadows when creating smokey looks. Makeout Mary is something I wear during the day quite a bit, and Just This Once Jamie is getting me onto the purple shadow bandwagon, it is such a wearable taupey shade.

Looking at these swatches makes me want to pair Jamie and Mary together, for reals.

 The lightest shade sit at the bottom of Shady Lady Vol.2, and I find these good to mix in with the brighter shades to create a whole look. I like to use Mischievous Marissa all over the lid or with the khaki Makeout Mary (this FOTD is coming up tomorrow!) I generally use Tempting Tara as an inner corner highlight, and Devilish Danielle either as a brow highlight or all over the lid.

Mischievous Marissa is really beautiful when swatched, I wasnt't expecting to like it as much as I did.

Overall I think this palette is a beauty. If I were to hand pick the shades, I may swap in different finishes for the first two shades and the last two (Courtney, Felicia, Tara and Danielle) as I find them to be less wearable and not as silky as the rest of the bunch. I also love the risque names of the shades, there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to name the shade you are raving about and I think this type of cheek is better than the flat out sexual Nars style.

 

TheBalm's Shady Lady Volume 2 retails for $49.95 AUD and is available from David Jones nationally. Get ready for more TheBalm posts as I placed an order on Ozsale and am eagerly waiting for it to arrive.

 

Have you tried anything from TheBalm?

Which shades stand out to you from this palette?