Rita Ora x Rimmel - Glaston-Berry

I'm quite pleased to see the back of winter here in Melbourne - I'm welcoming spring with open arms and bright poppy red coloured nails! I couldn't stop myself from snapping up this happy coral leaning red shade from the newly released Rita Ora x Rimmel London collection - especially when I caught it at half price from Priceline on my lunch break!

The Glaston-Berry shade is right up my alley - happy and bright but with an edge! I love the formula of these 60 Second Super Shine Rimmel polishes and find them to be really pigmented with a nice wide brush, which I find a lot easier to use than other brands.

I snapped a few of these swatch photos with a Balinese map in the background as I've spent a whole lot of time poring over the travel books my agent gave me...my husband and I have just booked a trip to Bali for early 2016! Our closest friends are getting married there and we can't wait to have a relaxing holiday and explore Bali together.

I definitely give this Rita Ora shade two thumbs up - not only is the bottle adorable and the formula lovely, the shade selection is really fresh and modern, too. I'm tempted to pick up Bestival Blue, Neon Fest and Go Wild-er-ness after seeing this awesome blog post with swatches...

These polishes retail for $7.95/8ml and are available at Chemist Warehouse, Priceline and anywhere else Rimmel is sold!

What do you think of the Glaston-Berry shade?
Where will your next holiday be?
Emma x

The Quick High End Makeup Look

Sometimes I just feel like slapping a whole load of pricey products onto my mug, and on this particular morning it seemed like a good way to trial some of my new press samples while still giving some love to my Chanel sweethearts. I'm really into a hazy purple eye right now, and although Chanel Poesie pulls quite neutral on me I've still been reaching for it every few days. The Joues Contraste Blush 'In Love' has also been getting a bit of a work out around Chez Bovary - it's just a bit different from my standard neutrals so it's been quite refreshing!

 

I'm still unsure about my feelings towards the Lancôme Miracle Cushion Compact Foundation in Pure Porcelaine* - while I like how cool (literally!) it feels on the skin and the whole cute cushion aspect, it only provides light coverage and I'm a full-coverage girl all the way these days! I'm still trialling it though so should be able to pop up a proper post on it soon. 

I decided to forgo the whole 3 step process of the Bobbi Brown Sunset Pink Lip Trio* from the new Telluride collection and instead just swipe on the pretty lipgloss in Sunset* - a pink coral shade that is my first gloss from the makeup mega house.  I'm in neutral palette heaven at my beauty desk right now with a whole load of new releases staring at me including the neutral Telluride shadow palette, but since Chanel Poesie won out I will have to leave those until next time. So here is the complete quick and easy high end makeup look!

It was a pretty random bunch and next time I wear the Bobbi Brown Sunset Lipgloss I'm going to try pairing it with a pink blush to see if it further enhances the pink tones of the gloss. Everything I wore for this face of the day was perfect for a swipe-on-quickly makeup look, which I like to do on mornings when I've hit the snooze button a few times too many!

 

What is the nicest high end lipgloss you've ever tried?

Are you a fan of high end makeup products, or do you stick to the drugstore when it comes to beauty?

 

-Emma

*Products provided for consideration. Honesty, always!

Laid Back Sample Project - Update 3

Back for another project update - I've squirreled away some of the samples that I know and love for my upcoming weekends away, but apart from that I feel like the stash is getting lower and it's making me feel very positive! After a few fails in my last project update, I seem to have jinxed myself as I've had marvellous luck and created some possible lemmings this time around...

Benefit Hello Flawless Custom Powder Cover-Up
For some reason I wasn't prepared to like this one, but it turns out I was wrong! Not only was the coverage and feel of this powder quite nice, I was very impressed with the sample packaging, which came complete with sponge for easy application.

L'Oreal Skin Perfection Correcting Day Moisturiser
This was a little magazine freebie that I'm pretty sure I've fallen in love with on first (and second) application...it reminds me of my beloved Lancôme Dreamtone and I'm definitely going to pick up a full size of this sometime down the line.

L'Occitane Sun Verbena Eau de Toilette
I mentioned this in my recent Week in Perfume post; I quite liked the scent but have to admit that it wore quite close to my skin and was a lighter fragrance than I'd be happy to personally purchase. The fact that it is a discontinued scent means any possible lemming would have been squashed anyway!

Smashbox Photo Finish Colour Correction Foundation Primer in Adjust
This is yet another product that impressed me, it was the first sample I received from Sephora on our honeymoon and the green tint in the primer was a nice way of counteracting redness around my nose and cheek area. This tiny yet long-lasting sample pot turned me into a silicone-primer lover, so you can take that as a ringing endorsement!

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One definite and two possible purchases in my future, only after I finish off some full size products within my collection of course. The L'Oreal moisturiser has me all heart eye emoji'd, and I don't even feel bad about the new lemming as it's relatively affordable and has the prettiest packaging! I've been on the hunt for a new staple moisturiser and I'm so happy to have found one I enjoy using.

 

Here are the links for my previous updates -
Original Project Post
Update 1
Update 2
I hope you are all enjoying reading about my snails-pace project, because it makes me very happy to write about it!
-Emma

Satsuma Sunshine

As I type this I'm curled up on the couch with Charlie the Cavalier, hair sopping wet in a towel and exhausted from scrubbing out our ensuite shower. Since showers are on my mind I thought it the perfect time to share my thoughts on The Body Shop's limited edition Satsuma Shower Gel!

Originally an annual Boxing Day launched scent, the Satsuma scent is currently available at The Body Shop in a whole big range of products - but by far, my favourite product from the brand is their sudsy and delicious-smelling shower gels! The lather with these is perfect and I've hoarded this particular bottle from a Boxing Day splurge many moons ago - I have to admit that I often pop open that lid for a sniff when no-one is looking! TBS shower gels are a bit pricier than the average that our household uses (we go through the stuff so fast!) and as a result of that, Mister isn't allowed to use any of TBS stuff and is relegated to the Original Source bottles I stock up on for us (as evidenced in this Instagram post!)

Satsuma is a whopping great hit of tart and tangy tangerine in a bottle for me - the scent immediately makes me happy and it's probably my favourite from the brand, followed closely by the lovely floral Moringa from the permanent line. The only negative about this that I could think of was that I'm unsure about the other products in the Satsuma line up - do I want a perfume or body mist to make me smell like a walking tangerine?! I can't really knock that as I haven't personally tried it out, but I can't see myself reaching for it like I do my vanilla body mists...

TBS shower gels are soap free and this satsuma scent is naturally fragranced with satsuma peel essential oil- how lush is that?!  The 250ml bottle retails for $9.95 AUD but it also comes in a jumbo 750ml size for $19.95 AUD, along with products like hand sanitizers, mini gift cubes, beautifying oil and the famed body butters! I'm considering grabbing one of the Body Sorbet's ($19.95/200ml) as it seems like a perfect summer moisturiser for me...

Are you a citrus gal at heart, or are florals more your thing?
What is your fave Body Shop scent and product?
-Emma


*Purchased this product myself - honesty, always!

Week in Perfume - August 2015 (The Sample Size Edition)

I'm a huge fan of travel sized perfumes, both for their handbag portability and the fact that they allow me to try a range of scents without encumbering me with 100ml bottles to store in my beauty room. Inspired by Larie's recent 'Scents of the Week' and a discussion we had in the comment section of the post, I went about gathering up a few perfumes to set aside and use for the week. It wasn't until I got to number 5 that I realised I had only chosen sample and travel sized scents - seems this sample trend was meant to be!

Kim Kardashian - Kim Kardashian EDP

This is a strong, sexy white floral that I really enjoy wearing. I've gone through a full bottle of this in the past and when I saw this travel rollerball in Las Vegas last year I jumped at the chance to buy it in this format - one of my favourite things about visiting Sephora and other American stores is the huge travel size selection available! It's something we definitely miss out on as Australian's!

Candide Bath & Body Chocolate Macaron Fragrance Oil*

This smells just like I've baked something delicious...in fact, not long after applying it I popped into the kitchen and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, I just couldn't help myself! The rollerball leaked a little bit before it got to me so it's a slippery little sucker to open, but delicious nevertheless.

 

Urban Rituelle Caramella Petit Parfum*

After the immense success of the Cotton Candy parfum (one of my all time favourites!) this was a greatly anticipated release from the team at Urban Rituelle! It's definitely sweet and the edge of caramel gets me comments each and every time I wear it (much like Cotton Candy, actually)

 

Lush Lust Gorilla Perfume*

This scent is definitely full on - wear with caution! I originally had the solid perfume in this strong jasmine scent and had wanted to pick up the travel spray, so when I was offered a wee Lush spree at an event I took the opportunity and love that a little spray goes a long way with this stuff.

L'Occitane Sun Verbena EDT

This was the scent I wasn't expecting to like as much as the others, verbena isn't typically a scent I wear as perfume very often...but as it turns out, I quite like wearing a citrus scent! I have a feeling the orange blossom note in this is what turned it from a cleaning product to a happy little jolt of sunshine on my wrist. I think it was my first time using a perfumed towelette to apply a scent sample - that was a pretty interesting experience! Sadly I just found out this is a discontinued scent - L'Occitane do have a regular Verbena scent though!

 

Do you change your perfume daily, or do you have them sorted into work/weekend scents? Are you equally fascinated with travel sized sprays, or is it just me?

-Emma

 

 

*Marked items provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Current Blush Rotation

As a self-proclaimed blush fiend I have my fair share of cheek colours, but lately I seem to be rotating the same handful of shades and formulas leaving all others by the wayside. Soon I will attempt to branch out into my collection (perhaps a blush challenge is in order?) but for now, these are the blushes that have been gracing my cheeks.

TOP: Alezane, Golden Sun
BOTTOM: Jersey, In Love

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blushes in:
260 Alezane
280 Golden Sun
80 Jersey
55 In Love

The Chanel powder blush formula is easily my favourite on the market, and I can even say that Chanel blushes are my favourite beauty product - period! Nothing gives me a thrill quite like adding a new shade to my collection and I've been using my very favourite Jersey (a neutral) as well the coral In Love that Mister bought me for Christmas. Recent additions to the mix are the new Fall 2015 shades which deserve their own post, the shimmery Alezane and Golden Sun. They are so easy to apply, the rose scent is addictive and I highly recommend trying them out if you are a sucker for blushes like I am.

Max Factor Crème Puff Blush in 10 Nude Mauve
Physician's Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Blush in Rose

I was apprehensive about these two initially as drugstore blushes find it hard to compete with the likes of Chanel and co, but lo and behold these two hold their own and I'm proud to say I'm a big fan of them. Nude Mauve is my perfect work shade and it brightens my face up with ease, and Rose steps up to the plate when I'm craving a pretty flush of pink for something different.

As you can see, neutral and nude blushes practically rule my makeup life right now! I think I need to dive into my blush drawer and sift through some pans to make room for these new Chanel beauties, but as a blush fiend a clean out is such a hard thing to do...

 

What shades are in your current blush rotation?

What is the best drugstore blush, and which is the best high end you've tried?

-Emma

Cozy in Cashmere

Mention the word cashmere and the word cozy immediately springs to mind, along with visions of snuggling up on a couch with the heater blaring drinking some hot tea - at least, that is what springs to my mind! Cashmere is luxe and Essie have clung onto that idea with their new Cashmere Matte collection. At first I was hesitant as I don't always appreciate a matte finish on my nails, but this Cozy in Cashmere* shade is soft and not at all chalky, and I can definitely see the cashmere aspect of the finish on my nails.

The taupe shade has incredible blue microshimmer when you look at the bottle, but because it dries down to a matte finish these are basically undetectable once the shade hits your nails. I took what seemed like a million bottle shots to try and show you the beauty of this shade, and below is the closest I could get to capturing how gorgeous it is. I also went ahead and applied the Kit Cosmetics topcoat* on my ring and middle finger in the two shots below to show you how easy it is to transform a matte polish into a traditional glossy finish - it's like two polishes in one! I realized that this shade is called Comfy in Cashmere in America - something worth noting if you're an Aussie trying to hunt it down at the shops!



with topcoat on middle fingers



topcoat on middle fingers

 

This kind of ladylike-with-an-edge shade is very me, and it's a pretty easy shade to wear. I like the fast drying time (thanks to the matte finish) and the fact that I can transform it into a glossy shade with ease means this is a keeper in my collection! I'm currently weeding through my polishes and giving a whole stack away, and I think I'll be posting as I sort through the stash and make my decisions. My reward at the end will be a nice new nail polish rack installed in my beauty room, something I am very much looking forward to!

Essie polishes retail for $16.95 AUD and are available at Priceline. The Cashmere Matte collection is limited edition August through September, you can see the rest of the shades swatched here.

Would you have kept this Essie Cozy in Cashmere shade, too?
What are your thoughts on the matte nail trend?
-Emma


*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Collective Haul - Mid 2015

I've fallen off the wagon when it comes to posting hauls...not only have I neglected to post about my kinda recent Colourpop haul, I haven't even touched on the glorious U.S honeymoon haul that happened at the end of last year! I think I'm going to round up a post on that as a way to prepare you for some upcoming reviews (and because I want to share the pretties!) but for now, here is a collective haul of what I've bought recently.

 

My obsession with tea knows no bounds, and I was excited to find this new Kromland Farm Organic Rooibos Caramel Tea on our weekly grocery shop. I found out about the Madame Flavour Tea Treats Mint Choc Rooibos when a friend posted about it on Facebook - she was not joking when she said it tasted amazing!

Not only am I addicted to tea this winter, I'm also addicted to adorable mugs! Despite having an overflowing mug cupboard as it is, I couldn't resist these patterns at Kmart when I went out shopping with my sister. The black and white is so chic and the watermelon one makes me happy - because of both the print and the fact that it holds HUGE amounts of peppermint tea for me!

I've tried to stop myself from accumulating more polishes but am currently working one a 'one in, one out' policy which seems to alleviate guilt a wee bit. The W7 'Red Debris' glitter screamed Christmas to me, and the Essie Ruffles and Feathers is a back up of the bottle I received in a PR parcel - I love it enough to need a back-up, trust me on that one! I found the Sensationail Gel Polishes on sale for $5 at Target and couldn't help but pick them up to add to my gel nail stash. I chose the shades Coral Sunset, Pink Chiffon and Pink Daisy. I also picked up one of the new Rita Ora for Rimmel shades (not pictured); that collection is seriously stunning by the way!

On the makeup front I'm doing quite well at choosing quality over quantity - I picked up two new Chanel Joues Contraste Blushes from the new Fall/Autumn 2015 collection (post up soon!) along with the Covergirl Full Lash Bloom mascara. I also grabbed the new Fragrance Mist of Britney Spears Curious (seen here in my Favourites!) and my sister picked up a tube of my beloved La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + during the Priceline 40% sale.

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I've really been focusing on reducing my stash and seriously thinking about products before purchasing them and it seems to be working quite well for me. We have a few upcoming weekends away planned that we are saving for and it's a great excuse to shop my own stash more often which is more enjoyable now than it has ever been! We're also heading overseas in 6 months and my ideal plan is a big Bath & Body Works haul...a reasonable dream, right?!

 

What have you bought recently?

What tea should I buy next?

-Emma

 

Laid Back Sample Project - Update 2

I think I could be moving through this sample project a little faster, but the 'laid back' nature of it negates all guilt and the fact that I'm clearing out my sample stores is a wonderful thing no matter the pace! Perfume samples seem to be the fastest movers as I find them wonderful to try out on work days, and I already have another scent ready to be reviewed in the next instalment of the project. You can read my original Laid Back Sample Project post here, and the first update here.

Balenciaga Rosebotanica

I'm generally a fan of Balenciaga fragrances but this didn't sit well on me. It was soapy and overtly musky on me, and definitely not something I'd like to add to my perfume collection.

 

Biore Gentle Make-Up Removing Wipes

This was a lot more textured than other wipes I've used, but it wasn't a wet enough formula for me to consider picking up.



 

Missha B.B. Boomer

In essence a luminesce primer, this felt nice on the skin and I liked how the shimmers looked when swatched. I'm more of a matte finish kinda gal though so don't think I would personally buy this.

 

Mario Badescu Buttermilk Moisturiser

I had two of these little samples that I received from Kit Cosmetics, one had turned and this one was still in fine condition. I didn't like how this felt on my skin, you had to warm it up for it to apply evenly and overall it didn't impress me. This is actually the only M.B. product I've used that I didn't fall in love with!

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Four fails out of four, huh? I suppose it's safer than having new lemmings to constantly add to my list. None of these products were 'bad' just nothing I want or need - if you've had luck with any of them, be sure to let me know in the comments!

-Emma

July Favourites



I didn't think I had much to bring to the table in regards to monthly favourites for July, but the work essentials made me smile and I thought that alone deserved their inclusion into this post. I fell back in love with an old favourite scent, found some accessories that made me feel a million bucks and had a staple makeup routine down pat for the weekdays!

I have decided that it is official - I have an obsession with fragrance mists! I have quite the collection happening (would you be interested in a collection post for them?) The latest in my stash is Britney Spears Curious. This one really pulls at my heartstrings - it was the first perfume Mister bought me many years ago and just one sniff takes me back to those early-dating butterflies (mushy though that may sound!) I actually really like the smell of most Britney scents I've tried - sweet and celebrity aren't a turn off for me when it comes to perfume it seems!

Another love of the month (and beyond) has been my collection of Chanel Joues Contraste Blushes; here I've showcased Jersey and In Love, but most of my shades have been in the rotation for a while now and my love for them only grows with each use.

When it comes to my daily face, I've been doing well by using my Laura Mercier Sweetheart Lip Glace which is part of my Project Use It Up (which is going terribly, in case you were wondering!) It's an easy thing to swipe on for work and it keeps my lips in nice condition without being high maintenance. I've also been using my L'Oreal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation* daily and am loving the finish it gives my skin - I recently finished up my Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème Makeup and this is what has taken that place in my daily drawer.

I've also come to appreciate my Napoleon Perdis Crease Brush more than ever, it's always been in use but perhaps this is the first time I've singled it out as a favourite? It's the perfect shape for applying and buffing colour into my crease and I love how easy it makes any eye look. A lifestyle favourite for my has to be my iPad, and more importantly the reading apps I have on it (iBooks, Kindle etc) I was recently sent Sex, Lies, and Cruising* by Cathryn Chapman and I really enjoyed it! It made me yearn for a cruise and I can't wait to read the follow up novel which is out in October: Love, Drugs, and New York. I also love that it was written by a fellow Australian!

More lifestyle favourites, a bit of a change from the usual for me! I've been smashing the Eclipse Spearmint Mint's lately, they aren't too spicy for me and the flavour is addictive - a bonus is that they stop me from snacking so much throughout the day! I've been loving little pouches lately to help with handbag organisation and while I lust over a Mimco design, I'm content (for now) with my little cheapie from Cotton On in the blue/leopard colourway. On the accessory front I've become interested in earrings once more - the golden discs have been my go-to for special nights out and the sterling silver shepherd's hook style balls have been my favourite for weekdays!

I hope August is shaping up to be a lovely month for you thus far - I'm laid out with a cold but am taking the self-imposed house arrest as time for redecorating and clearing out some unwanted bits and pieces so it isn't all bad. Do you have any tips on how to let go of possessions around the house? I would love to know!
Emma x

*Products provided for consideration but are honest favourites!