Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Soft + Sexy Eye Shadow Collection

I’d often overlooked Too Faced during my jaunts to Kit Cosmetics and Mecca Maxima, but something about the Boudoir Eyes palette transfixed me, and begun an obsession that I fear is snowballing at an alarming rate...

Encased in a slim and functional pink + gold metal tin, the Boudoir palette is feminine and pretty much like the rest of the Too Faced line. I tend to prefer these new slim palettes that they have updated to, as the previous cardboard style was a bit too bulky and not as cute in my opinion.  In this palette you get some really pretty neutral shades, most being shimmer/glitter with one matte shade (In The Buff) which is lovely to blend out and highlight the brow with.

Lap Dance is a shade I find supremely flattering on the lid as a stand-alone colour, which can be said for many pretty taupe shades out there. I also adore Voulez-Vous as a deep purple which isn’t the ‘bright purple’ you tend to see around, but a smoky and deep aubergine which can be blended out for everyday wear. My favourite from the palette is probably Garter Belt, which is the grey I’ve been hunting for since I began collecting makeup. The hint of brown in it is a bit of somethin’ somethin’ that makes my heart go BOOM!

Swatched from top to bottom, left to right.

I’ll be honest and say the shade names aren’t my cup of tea; I am not a fan of the way that brands like Nars and Too Faced try to make cosmetics sexy. It is quite awkward when someone asks you what eyeshadow you have on, and you have to say ‘Fuzzy Handcuffs’ or ‘Lap Dance’… I do adore the brand aesthetic though, which is why it has fast become my second favourite Kit Cosmetics brand (first is Mario Badescu, my skin saviour) I immediately make my way to the Too Faced counter anytime I step near a Myer, so they are definitely doing something right! I have some more Too Faced posts coming up soon (a clue is hidden in my last Shopping Edit post!) so keep your eyes peeled for that if you like.

 

Too Faced Boudoir Eyes palette retails for $53.95 AUD from Mecca Maxima and KitCosmetics.

 

What brand do you go BANANAS for?

Do you dig sexified cosmetics, or do they make cringe too?!

 

Failing a Beauty Challenge

For those who are regular blog readers, you probably see various beauty challenges across a range of different sites. I’m definitely not strong-willed enough to partake in a project pan (I love too many products to rid myself of them!) but the Perfume Purge I undertook before we moved in the house was something that I almost enjoyed.

my initial perfume challenge

Using the same group of perfumes day in and day out was a little bit frustrating, but not having to cart some of these bottles to my new house was well worth the challenge!  I ultimately failed this Perfume Purge as I didn’t manage to get through my Bvlgari Rose Essentielle bottle, but the other four are empty so I’m not too down about the whole situation.

the scents I manage to use up!

I often ponder the idea of beauty bloggers and their obsession with empties (an obsession I share!) and think about the reasoning behind it all. The feeling of adding new products to my collection is often wonderful, but other days I feel weighed down by the amount of my stash that isn’t getting very much love at all. Ultimately I don’t really crave a pared down collection, I definitely don’t fit into the minimalist outlook of life, but a more manageable collection full of great products is definitely something I am aiming for overall.

What are your thoughts on project pans, perfume purges and paring down your collection?

Do you enjoy your collection, or stress a little about how big (or small!) it is?

4 of the Best Body Lotions for Any Season!

When the weather begins to heat up, blog readers are often inundated by moisturiser reviews and the focus is generally on getting your body ‘smooth and bikini ready!’ I like to keep my body moisturised all year round, and so have been loving a few bottles of body cream for quite some time now. Winter means scaly skin inundated with indoor heating and summer means air con ravished skin, so whatever weather you are enjoying these products are for you!

I have a bit of an obsession with the Victoria’s Secret body products, and the best I’ve tried is the Amber Romance body lotion which I bought from Sydney airport when I was over for IMATS 2012. A strong mix of “sultry amber and crème anglaise”, this is a ‘sexy’ scent and I am head over heels for it. The lotion itself is thick and moisturising but not greasy or heavy on the skin, which of course means I now want to add to my VS lotion stash as soon as I can! I’ve heard of a website called Secrets on Sale where you are able to buy VS online, have any of my readers ordered from them before? It is so hard to get your hands on here in Australia!

 

In contrast with the heavily scented Amber Romance, the Dove Body Milk* ($8.39/400ml) is a plain creamy scent that I love using when I don’t want my body lotion to clash with my perfume. It sinks in with ease and is more of a light lotion than a body cream (hence the term body milk I suppose!) though it does a really great job of moisturising nevertheless. I would say those who are in hot climates would be drawn to this, as it is a perfect summer lotion to throw on when the sun is blazing and you don’t want to faff around with luxe lotions.

The Clarins Eau des Jardins Smoothing Body Lotion Cream* is definitely the more luxe out of the four mentioned, with a lovely floral scent and a great formula that sinks in fast enough and is thick and nourishing on the skin. I have used and loved the matching Body Wash in this scent before, and the two together is a match made in heaven! The Palmer’s Skin Smoothing Lotion with Alpha/Beta Hydroxy & Shea Butter ($7.40/250ml) is a favourite of Chris’ as it rids him of the dreaded ‘chicken skin’ or keratosis he gets on his upper arms. I believe Palmer’s have repackaged and rebranded (possibly reformulated?) with a mention of anti-aging on the bottle, but if it remains similar it is definitely worth picking up! The scent is quite strong and masculine, and if I’m in the mood for a scented lotion I like keeping my skin smooth with this lotion.

What is your favourite body lotion?

What do you recommend  I buy next?

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

 

 

Currently Wearing

I normally post current loves and #todaysmakeup on my Instagram page (@emmabovary if you’d like to follow!) but today I felt like babbling a little bit more about what  I have on today.  I’m still on placement, teaching English at a secondary school quite a bit further from our new home than I’d like, and the distance means earlier-than-usual mornings and groggy makeup application. I’ve been pretty boring when it comes to makeup choices, because I have a small selection of beauty products unpacked with the rest locked away. I have had some pretty rad deliveries recently though, one being the new Clarins Instant Concealer* which is for reviving tired eyes that’s me alright. I’ve been using it for almost a week now, and I must say I am pretty impressed with it. Another power packed product I’m using today is the Lush atomiser in Lust*, which is so strongly scented with lovely Jasmine that one spray is about all I need! I made the mistake of spraying it in my office the other day…sorry fellow teachers!

A consistent love of mine is not surprisingly on my mug today, to keep my face matte and helping to cover up some blemishes. Maybelline Dream Matte really is amazing, you should try it! One of the more exciting products today was applied after my morning coffee (from a barista who remembered my order from day 2!) is the new Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach. It’s a pale and pigmented glossy crayon that I’ve loved wearing with a peachier blush, and I can see it looking absolutely beautiful on skin tones darker than my own as well. So that rounds up most of what I am currently wearing!

What are you currently wearing?

What perfume or lip crayon have you been using lately?

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Honey Jasmine

Sometimes I contemplate a new blush purchase for weeks, and other times I know from the moment the shade is released that I will be adding the shade to my collection. Initial posts about the All About Orange collection and Honey Jasmine had me sitting up in my desk chair, and as soon as it popped up online (Australia, why so delayed?) I plugged my card details in and grinned like a Cheshire Cat.

I truly regret not purchasing Fresh Honey when it came out with the Naturally collection, and I’ve sort of viewed Honey Jasmine as my consolation prize. It does require a little bit of effort to blend in nicely, but the way it looks against my pale complexion more than makes up for that flaw.

 

Described by Temptalia as “medium orange with subtle warm, yellow undertones and a barely-there satin sheen”, Honey Jasmine is darker and more red-toned than something like Chanel Frivole (which I also own and love) I can see this working on skin tones across the board as it is pigmented and seems to stand out on Christine’s cheeks, but as always it is all about what you feel comfortable wearing. I quite like wearing orange tones on my cheeks, so I am really pleased to have this in my collection.

cheeky Marc Jacobs Honey in the background ;)

 

What do you think of orange tones on the cheeks?

Do they float your boat?

What colour do you wear most on your cheeks? Vote in the poll at the top of this page and feel free to comment below to let me know!

 

The shopping edit : September

There comes a time in every beauty blogger on a budget’s life in which a wish-list is naturally built.  Despite the fact that I actually have a cheeky haul post coming up coughcough, I’ve been quite good lately and have decided to post this wish-list as I muse over how much I really want these products.

Fan Brush: I’ve been using the Samantha Chapman for Real Technique’s Contour Brush to apply my highlighter for quite a while now, but I’m finding it too large to highlight as carefully and subtly as I need it to. A nice thin fan brush would be perfect for the job, so I am on the hunt and would appreciate any recommendations you have!

Too Faced Pretty Rebel palette: The Kit Cosmetics emails always tempt me, if I had any common sense I would unsubscribe and avoid temptation, but the store is just too darn awesome to do that! Too Faced eye palettes are my obsession at the moment, and the bright pink Totally Fetch in this Pretty Rebel palette is calling a siren song into my ears.

Hourglass Ambient Light powder: I’d always liked the look of this, but it was reading Tine’s post that this into official wish-list territory. The sensible side of me suggests I just grab out my pot of Guerlain Meteorite balls and use those instead, but the sensible side of me never wins.

Samantha Chapman for Real Techniques Blush brush: Back onto brush lust, but this time the apples of my cheeks are in need of some loving. I‘ve been so lazy with washing brushes since we moved in, so I need to add another blush brush to my collection to tide me over.

Do you use a fan brush for applying highlighter?

Have you bought any new brushes lately?

Sweet Orange Scrubbin'

As a big fan of body scrubs in general, I was pleased when the A'kin Sandalwood & Sweet Orange Invigorating Body Scrub* hit my desk. Being a gel based body scrub means that this isn’t as ‘scrubby’ as something sugar or salt based, but I still find it gets the job done nicely and is perfect for those who like a light gentle exfoliation, or those who perhaps scrub it up daily! I have used this as a shower gel in a pinch and find it to be pretty rad at that as well, which perhaps makes the semi-steep price tag slightly more palatable ($24.95 for 200ml) The scent of this is really nice, with essential oils making the sweet citrus a nice natural scent that to my nose is slightly jammy. As with many products available at Echolife it is sulphate and paraben free, so those who keep their eye out for those details should be pleased with A’kin for that.

Ultimately the scent is the saviour for this product, though I would much prefer a tub of rough scrub in this scent. It is available for purchase from Echolife (hooray for free shipping!) and I’d love for you to share your scrub loves in the comments below!

How often do you use a body scrub?

Have you tried any awesome body scrubs lately?

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Violet Candy Styler - ghd's new Candy Collection!

Sometimes a beauty product is so hyped up that you cannot help but overthink things when you get to use it for the first time. I think it often helps to step back from the details and think about how a product makes you personally feel when organising a written piece about it, so when I was send a beautiful Candy ghd styler* to trial recently I did just that.

 

During my high school years, hair straightening was just about the coolest thing you could do in the beauty realm. Not many girls wore much makeup at my high school (bar a little bit of eyeliner and maybe some gloss) but if you had your hair straightened, you were the coolest! I didn’t have a straightener for a long time, but we would all go to one of my friend’s houses and she would painstakingly run the ghd over our locks before we would head out to our underage discos. I used to practise not putting my hair behind my ears so that I wouldn’t cause kinks, and if we were heading out to the shops the next day I would sleep stiff as a board so I woke up with my hair still glossy and lovely.

 

I always yearned for a ‘proper straightener’, which of course is the ghd branded one! My sister lovingly bought me a Vidal Sassoon straightener (which I still use and love!) but I still wished for the sleek style and ‘cool girl persona’ that comes along with a ghd. It wasn’t until this year (in my early 20’s!) that I finally got my wish! The Violet Candy ghd Styler is a thing of beauty, and though I am an adult and should know better – I am totally feeling like the ‘cool girl’ right now!

before (photos were taken before I darkened my hair)

After using the GHD Candy Styler

This glides over my long (and crazy!) locks really easily, and because the styler isn’t very heavy it doesn’t cause pain in my weak wrists that are prone to sprains. The packaging is absolutely stunning (of course!) and if you were looking at getting a beauty gift for somebody, this gives a great wow factor and is something that is luxe but totally useful at the same time. I admit that I am hardly what you would call creative with my hair styling, but for a simple straight look this totally hits it out of the park for me. Having a blow wave or freshly straightened hair always has a positive effect on my mood, and this made my hair really silky (I also used the ghd Heat Protect Spray* beforehand)

For more creative hair styles with the ghd Candy Styler, ghd have put together a great bunch of ideas and inspiration here – my personal favourite? The Power Beehive!  I'm not sure that it would totally suit my chipmunk cheeks, but I'd still love to rock that one night To check out the other stylers that are available (the Pink Diamond Styler is so pretty!) head over here!

Did you have a fascination with ghd stylers in high school?

How often do you straighten or curl your hair? Only on weekends, or during the week too?

*Provided for consideration, but all childhood flashbacks belong to me ;) Honesty, always.

Empties + Chuckers // July + August // The Moving House Edition

So as it turns out, there is no better motivation to clear out some beauty loot than having to pack up all of your worldly possessions to move for the very first time. I have chucked out some things and used up others, and waited until I was about to move before snapping a picture of what had accumulated.

Innoxa Body Wash* – a nice lather and inoffensive smell made this easy to use, but not exciting enough to repurchase

Bodycology Sweet Petals – absolutely loved this, the scent was amazing and I am frustrated because I think it is a discontinued product (I bought it for $1 from Priceline…)

Kit Cosmetics Tan Prep Body Scrub* – a truly great body scrub, doesn’t leave any residue and the scent reminds me of hot summer days and coconuts

Deodorants – The best from this bunch is the travel Rexona + the Clinical Protection cream deodorant. The Dove wasn’t that impressive and the pink Musk Rexona at the back of this photo burned my underarms!

Garnier Fructis Sensitive Scalp Shampoo – my staple, I switch between this and the Classic version

Smackers Strawberry Body Spray – I used this as a room spray as it was too sweet for the body! Nice faux strawberry scent, but more suited to my niece’s age range than my own

Impulse Paris Body Spray – loved this, also used this as a room spray and it reminded me of Dior My Cherie which is always a good thing.

Clearasil Skin Perfecting Wash with microbeads – I think Mum bought me this when I had just begun high school, I found it so far back in my bathroom cabinet! A chucker, for sure.

Ten O Six Deep Pore Toner – Another chucker, I remember despising this alcohol filled toner than smelled scarily strong and hurt when I applied it. The beginning of my skincare regime was not a pretty one!

L’Oreal Powder Concealer – packaging is cracked and I never liked the formula to begin with. Another one to chuck in the bin!

L’Oreal Vita Lift 5 Facial Moisturiser* – Technically Mister Bovary’s, but I used this as a night cream every now and again and really enjoyed it. The scent is quite strong and masculine, but it did the job nicely and Mister said he would repurchase (or perhaps he has already, I’ve forgotten)

Uriage Thermal Spray* – A nice hit of thermal water for powdery makeup moments and when the heating at work is on full blast.

L’oreal Triple Active Day moisturiser – I have used up a few of these and really love the formula, I still have one in back up which I’m looking forward to using.

Burt’s Bees Anti-Blemish Solutions moisturiser* – Adored this moisturiser, kept my skin really happy but the damn packaging was a fail! Beautiful glass bottle with a pump (all good so far…) but the formula is too thick to come through when you get near the end of the bottle, so a whole lot of product is sitting there, unable to be reached.

Soap & Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser* – A true skincare love of mine, and I’ve already repurchased! Kept my acne away and my face is never better than when I’m using this.

Face of Australia Impact Curl Mascara – My whole family uses this, and I love how affordable it is to repurchase! Really holds a curl in my lashes, though it must be noted that my family are generally blessed with good lashes so results may vary.

Chanel travel mascara –woeful! This came in a Chanel pack Mister Bovary bought for me on our first holiday years ago (before I was interested in makeup!) and it did so little for my lashes that it made me hold off on buying from Chanel for quite some time…I certainly am over that fear now though!

Dermalogica Precleanse – Another skincare love that I will definitely repurchase! A great first cleanse product that smells citrusy and lovely.

 

FCUK For Her – A nice but bland scent, I can’t help but think of how cheap it is every time I apply this. Mister Bovary has the male version, and it is much the same in experience for him as well.

Vera Wang Princess – I had quite the obsession with this before I received it for a Christmas gift a few years ago, and after using it I discovered that it doesn’t sit very nicely on my skin at all. It’s lovely in the bottle, but the special quality disappears when I wear it.

Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean –Absolutely love this scent, and have decided that the next time I see it on sale I am going to grab myself a big bottle for my stash.

Paco Rabanne Black XS – A great sweet scent that reminds me of my cousin Claire, who wore it while living with my family for a few years. I love it, but I feel I have to leave it to her to rock! 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.