Mister Bovary's Current Favourites

When it comes to my husband, low-key is the perfect way to describe him! Since I've slowly been working beauty products into his routine he has enough of a product pool to pick some favourites for me, so here is his inaugural current favourites post! 

Scent is a driving factor for so many of his favourites, so it makes sense that two of his favourites are aftershaves! His very favourite is Polo Red by Ralph Lauren, but he recently hijacked my bottle of Calvin Klein CK2* that is marketed as a unisex fragrance. It doesn't mesh all that well with me but he loves the oceanic scent on himself so I was happy to let him take over use of the bottle.

Another seemingly random favourite of his? Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist, which smells divine and is another item we 'share' but that he uses more of by far. He loves that it relaxes him and his skin drinks it up, plus I love the cool mist and luxurious scent right before bed every evening.

He hardly ever does anything to his hair (beanies are his newfound love!) but when he does it's all about the MUK Hard Muk Styling Mud, which is a firm paste that tousles his short hair perfectly. I buy him the 2 pack when it goes on special at Hairhouse Warehouse so we always have it on the go for special occasions. Staples in his routine are his beloved Rexona (we share as I prefer the male selection to the floral and sweet female deodorants!) and the Biore Pore Strips - grossly satisfying, am I right?

Is your man into primping or preening? What is his favourite product? Is there anything cool you think I should buy for Mister to try out and review for you?
-Emma x


*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Melbourne Tea Festival - Review & Haul

Coming from Melbourne I'm a big fan of a good cup of coffee, but in recent years I've become partial to a good cup of tea as well, which is what drew me to the Melbourne Tea Festival! I spotted a mention of it on Facebook and marked it as something I'd love to attend, so at the end of May my husband and I hopped on a train into the city to see what the first ever Melbourne Tea Festival was all about! Keeping in mind that my husband doesn't really drink tea I knew I didn't want to spend the whole day at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, and despite their being specialist workshops available I wasn't interested in spending the extra money on those this time around (entry was $15 at the door, and workshops ranged from $20-$44 each on top of that)

 

We ended up visiting every stall as they festival wasn't a big one, and I spent quite a bit loading up on lots of new tea brands to try. It was a little bit difficult to access each stall as there were people standing around each one drinking tea from the provided tasting cups, but it was still great to see so many Australian brands spruiking their wares. My favourite stall was the Madame Flavour one (they make my favourite choc mint rooibos tea!) because they had lots of different teas to sample, and had the owners daughter serving (seen here!) and she was an absolute star.

catching up with Mum after the festival
Melbourne CBD
Sliders on Tyres
Our sliders!
Tea Ceremony on show

Sliders on Tyres were a highlight of our day, I had The Fisherman which was fried tender calamari, crisp lettuce and lemon mayo, while Mr has The Boss with pork sausage, BBQ capsicum, double cheese, lettuce and aioli. The hand cut chips were way too thick though, next time I'd definitely get a few sliders each and omit the fries altogether. I thought it was clever to have a range of food trucks at the venue with a picnic area set up, as it gave another dimension to the event and provided much needed fuel after sampling so many tea flavours. The hauling was easily my favourite part of the day though...

I definitely didn't hold back when it came to buying new teas to try!
-Madame Flavour Afternoon in Paris tea + a stack of samplers
-Truly Tea Coconut Tea (Byron Bay)
-The Art of Tea Choc Mintea (Tasmania)
-The Dragon Tea Company Doublemint & Moroccan Berber (Bendigo)
It felt great to be supporting Australian companies and I can't wait to try all of these new blends. I love my tea sweet or minty, as evident in the flavours I chose.

Some new tea accessories I bought after attending the Tea Festival!

You can check out their facebook and website if you are interested in the next tea festival (they also hold one in Sydney!) I had a good time but wouldn't be able to spend a whole afternoon there - it was a nice part of a day in the city though, and I think I would go again if I had the chance.
Are you a tea or coffee drinker, or both? What is your favourite thing to sip?
Emma x


*Not a sponsored post, just my thoughts on an experience I paid for myself. Honesty, always.

Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub - Product Review

I'm hard pressed to think of a Dermalogica product I've tried that hasn't been terrific...this Skin Prep Scrub* sample cements that, and I was pleased with how long this 22ml sample tube lasted with regular use. I can't remember if I came across this in a subscription box or through the Dermalogica PR but it has no bearing on my thoughts anyway - this is one of the few manual exfoliators I've really enjoyed! If I had to classify my tastes I'd say I preferred chemical/fruit acid exfoliants, but I do appreciate a scrubby facial scrub and I like to alternate use between the two for optimum results. Goodness knows that this is better than the scratchy formulas out on the market!

"This skin polishing scrub with finely-granulated Corn Cob Meal gently removes dulling surface debris, allowing for improved absorption of moisturizing treatments. Skin is left with a smooth, healthy-looking finish. Formulated without artificial fragrances and colors." Taken from the Dermalogica website. It's also worth noting that Dermalogica are Cruelty Free and PETA Accredited.

Water (Aqua), Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate, Glyceryl Stearate, Zea Mays (Corn) Cob Meal, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Citric Acid, Malva Slyvestris (Mallow) Extract, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Sambucus Nigra Flower Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Parietaria Officinalis Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate, Potassium Sorbate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, Benzyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).

It's quite a thick paste-like texture and you hardly need any to get a good scrub (even on my giant chipmunk cheeks!) and as you would want from a facial scrub, it leaves your skin smooth and soft. I love applying a hydrating mask after using this and find that it allows product to penetrate the skin more deeply. This doesn't leave my skin tight after use which means I look forward to using it when my skin needs rid of all the dead skin cells. I tend to only avoid using this if I have a rare angry spot as I don't like using manual scrubs when my skin is sore, as the abrasive nature aggravates the blemish giving me dramas I don't want to deal with.

Overall a big thumbs up for me, this is a product I'd happily buy once I've worked through my stocks of scrubs. Nothing better than a smooth face, right?

Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub $49.50 AUD/75ml
Available at Adore Beauty
-Emma

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

May Favourites

All it takes to reinvigorate my love for beauty is a few new products to trial, finding an old favourite and seeing beauty products through someone else's eyes. A few weeks back my niece asked me to do her makeup for a party she was going to, and it was fun to rifle through the beauty drawers to find products that would suit a 15 year old, and that I was confident enough to use on someone for the first time. The star of the show for that makeover (apart from my gorgeous niece, obviously) was the Rimmel Kate Moss Sculpting and Highlighting Palette* - a surprise favourite of mine, since my typical cheek choices are distinctly mid-high end. The bronzer is what really sold me on this one, buttery and pigmented, and blends without effort which is what I need for my fair skin.

In terms of other base products I've returned to my half-full tube of Rimmel Matte BB Cream in Light*, which has impressed me so much that I recently purchased a back-up tube during the half price sale at Chemist Warehouse. It has the coverage of a foundation with the ease of application that a BB Cream would typically provide, making it a morning routine go-to when I've spent too long hitting the snooze button on cold mornings. The other face product that made it into the top tier for May was the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural, which I'm much more enamoured with now than when I first trialled it. It gives a healthy glowing finish to the skin rather than the stark matte base I typically lean towards, which is quite refreshing for this cold weather and my dry skin seems to appreciate that.

Eyes have been done up with either my Too Faced Bon Bons palette or my Revlon Photoready Eye Art Lid + Line + Lash in Peach Prism with a slash of Maybelline Master Graphic Liquid Liner*. I'm loving how the addition of a jet black liquid line can really frame my eyes, and I can apply it really quickly with this sharpie-esque liner which is just what I was after. Lips have been pretty low-key (read; lazy) with my NYX Butter Glosses getting a workout - possibly my favourite gloss formula of all?

NYX Butter Gloss
Revlon Peach Prism (lid colour + glitter liner)
Rimmel Kate Moss palette - highlight, bronzer and blush

Last but not least we have the sweet Britney Spears Intimate Fantasy perfume, which I alternate with my staple Guerlain scent and genuinely adore, and my very first Kate Somerville sample which I was immediately impressed with. I received the Exfolikate Cleanser sample in my Mecca Beauty Loop Box (post here) and loved how luxuriously it cleansed my skin - it's been placed onto my running to-buy list for when I work through my backlog of skincare products (so I might get a chance to buy it in the next 5 years, ha!)

Emma x