January Purchases & Pick-Ups

THE PURCHASES!

It isn't often that I can fit an entire months beauty purchases into a single photo, but here you have it folks - a total of TWO beauty related items purchased so far in 2015! Perhaps this will be a good thing to look back on once I post my extortionate honeymoon haul for the world to see? I picked up and looked at many a pretty during January, but nowadays it needs to be seriously amazing for me to part with - as it so happens, these two products are indeed amazing so I'm sticking to my new-found shopping mantra quite well! 

I had a Christmas voucher in my pocket and my sister took me shopping at Doncaster for my birthday on January 2nd, so the natural thing to do was finally tick the limited edition Chanel Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow in 234 Poesie off my wishlist. It originally featured on my pre-USA wishlist but it was sold out everywhere I checked during our trip, so to hear that Doncaster had a solitary palette left was music to my ears! It's actually my first real Chanel eye product so it was quite an exciting purchase for me (normally I beeline for their blushes, you know me!)

My second (and last) beauty purchase for the month was towards the end, during the infamous Priceline 40% skincare sale. I knew I wanted to have a nosy around but didn't feel the urge to pick anything up, until I remembered that I'd been wanting to bring this Garnier Moisture Match Light Softening Cream for Normal-Dry Skin back into my routine as a morning moisturiser. I've previously reviewed it here and the love still stands, this is a wonderful product.

A non-beauty related purchase, but something I wanted to feature because stationary rocks! I am about to order another planner from Personal Planner with a code they provided me, and I'm super excited at the thought of personalising a planner, and using The Belle Lumiere and various #planneraddict Instagram images as my inspiration I hope to pretty it up and get myself organised with these gel pens, stickers and tags.  

PICK-UPS!

This part will feature some of the press samples I received during the month - it's like a little heads up on what may be featured soon on the blog, and serves as a reminder for myself about the new things I'm trialling! Not everything I'm sent will be featured, just the bits and bobs I feel like popping into these posts. I turned down more press samples than usual this month as I've been selective about what I'd like to trial, and so far it's made me far more exciting about all of these new things than I usually would be!



After my recent primer obsession (documented here) it seemed fitting to try out the latest primer release from makeup giants Max Factor! When I first opened this Facefinity All Day Primer ($31.95) I thought it was a super-pale foundation - d'oh!

Dare I say, the most exciting press sample this month? I absolutely adore Urban Rituelle and frequently buy bits and bobs from the brand, so the launch of the new amber based Romance Fragrance Diffuser Set ($36.95/190ml) got me a bit more excited than it probably should have...but once I smelt this thing, I knew my excitement was warranted. HEAVEN! Goodness knows Mister Bovary and I aren't the most romantic (perhaps we will be now that we're married? pah!) so any hint of romance (especially in amber form!) is welcome in our house!

Now this is a step outside of my comfort zone - my scalp is a finicky thing and I'm always hesitant to trial shampoos (truth be told there is a still a chance I will rope in a guinea pig for that and hit the conditioner up solo!) but I accepted this Pantene Colour Therapy Shampoo & Conditioner ($7.99ea/350ml) with the hope that I can move on from my Garnier shampoo and mix things up a little bit. Wish me luck!

Last but not least was some surprise drops from my beloved L'Occitane - the Relaxing Pillow Mist ($30/100ml) looks brilliant and I can't wait to pop it alongside my current L'Occitane Lavande Cologne that I use as a luxe room spray to help me catch some ZZZ's. Also pretty pumped about the Revitalising Body Scrub ($45/200g) (it's been too long since I've used a good one!) and the Immortelle Brightening Essence ($89/30ml)

I think 2015 is working out really well on the product front so far - I'm excited to plump up my bodycare routine and use my Chanel quad a bit more before popping up a swatch/review post! How much did you purchase or pick-up this month?

-Emma x

*Pick-Ups are, as stated above, press samples. If you aren't interested in seeing what I'll be trialling, feel free to skip these monthly posts - I won't be offended! Honesty, always.

Smelling Sweet for your Sweet this Valentine's Day

The idea of Valentine's Day is something I like - the romance in the air, the pent up expectations of a sweet gift, expressing your devotion to someone...the reality, however, doesn't always come through with the goods. Though Mister Bovary and I have shared a few nice dates over the years on February 14th, we aren't true romantics at heart and often choose Breaking Bad and homemade pizza over a fancy restaurant. It's the little things that he does that really make me swoon, the insignificant details he remembers and the way he always looks out for me.

Enough of the swooning - let's get to the 'heart' of things! ;)

I find fragrance to be a mood breaker every day, and at this time of year when the weather is sticky and love hearts decorate promotional images, I like to smell sweet like candy. Cotton Candy* to be precise.

 

This yummy Urban Rituelle scent originally only came as a purse spray until the brand wised up to how amazing Cotton Candy was, and created the larger EDP for us to enjoy. Considering I've gone through many of the purse sprays over the years, receiving this really made my day!

Even the classic bottle that Urban Rituelle chose to house this sweet scent in makes me swoon, and I love the way it looks on my vanity. I can't wait to get our new bedroom suite so that I can organise a daily scent tray on my dresser - it is how I hope to rotate my scents from now on, so we've been looking around for new furniture to make it happen already!

Those who aren't big fans of spun sugar scents probably wouldn't get on well with this, but I find it to be amazing and it is said to be their best seller, so I know that I am not alone in loving this pink treat.

I was perusing their website and saw that they also have a limited edition Romance soy candle for sale right now - jasmine, musk and amber, now doesn't that sound lovely!?

Urban Rituelle's Cotton Candy EDP retails for $34.95 AUD, and the range also contains hand cream, reed diffuser, candles and a lip balm for those who want to inject a bit of sweetness into their Valentine's day.

Will you be following my lead and buying yourself a Valentine's gift this year?
Are you a fan of sweet scents?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Pretty Heart Blushes

The much lauded day of romance that is synonymous with hearts and flowers has passed us once more, and yet still love remains in all facets of life. Rather than sharing these beautiful product images on February 14^th, I chose to withhold them and celebrate love in an everyday setting- today is just a regular day, and here they are! I am a strong advocate for pretty cosmetics, and blush is just about the prettiest a product there is. Patterned blushes are among my favourites within my blush drawer (yes, I need a whole drawer just for them!) and these sweet choices make me swoon with ease.

Physician’s Formula are known for their interesting powder designs, and this Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Rose ($21.95 AUD) is no exception. Comprised of various shades of pink ranging  from baby pink to neutral and plum toned pink, the overall shade is best described as a hot pink shade. The formula leaves a great glowy look to the cheek, thanks to the multi-reflective pearls within the powder itself. Though I can’t vouch for the plant extracts that are there to produce endorphins to promote a feeling of happiness, I definitely break out into a smile every time I see this pan of hearts so I guess it works anyway.

The Stila Make me Blush powder is yet another stunner that was sadly limited edition from a few years back. The great news is that Stila are definitely on the pretty blush bandwagon, and each year release a new heart designed blush around this romantic time of year. The 2013 offering (a 4 square pale pink pan, check 'emmabovary' on Instagram for an image) is better suited to fair complexions, whereas Make me Blush is perhaps a tad darker than necessary. A light hand is vital for a nice application on Snow White cheeks like mine.  Much more red-toned when compared to the PF Rose, the fine golden overspray imparts a warm shimmer to the cheeks before revealing coral hearts underneath, and the true colour of the blush is definitely coral overall. I use a stippling brush when I wear this, and prefer the shade that sits under the hearts rather than the initial shade with the overspray included. The great thing about the Stila limited editions is that they retail for around $25 AUD, making them much more affordable than the majority of blushes us Aussie’s have at our disposal, pretty or otherwise.

Are you one of those people who love pretty blush pans but don’t actually use them, or are you like me and snap a million pictures before throwing it onto your chipmunk cheeks? What do you think of the over the top heart craze?

*Both of these were purchased by me. Honesty, always.

May Empties

I'm not finished up as many make-up items as I'd like to, and I think it is because the only things close to being finished are things I don't want to be without=( I despise limited edt/discontinued favourites, always breaking my heart. Anyway, on goes the empties!

*Treacle Moon 'That Vanilla Moment' body scrub 225ml- Am reviewing this shortly, love it!
*Priceline Round Cotton Pads- a make-up bag necessity, have repurchased.
*Dove Silk Dry Deodorant with moisture cream '24hr'- didn't find this to work all that well, won't repurchase
*Scarlett, Cacharel EDT sample,1.5ml-Nice, but nothing amazing for me
*Romance by Ralph Lauren- liked this, but Mum wears it so I'll leave it to her to rock
*Maybelline Falsies mascara- Dried up quite a bit and got 'crunchy', byebye. Loved it,though. Review here
*Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash sample,29ml- fragrance free and a little too bleh for me

Have my fingers crossed I get thru more in June. Have you tried any of this months empties?
emmabovary  x