Birthday 2016 // Gifts I Received & Casual Celebrations

It's been over a month since my birthday but I wanted to post about the gorgeous little gifts I received and about the day in general, for reflection and a record of my special day. I'm a big fan of birthday shopping sprees but unfortunately I had to work through this year, so Mister took me out for breakfast beforehand which was really lovely. After work our family came over for pizza and cake to celebrate, and we finished off the night, as we often do on my birthday, with some board games!

breakfast with Mister- thick French toast slathered with butterscotch sauce + banana!
my cookie cake!
with Mumma Bovary
playing Logo and snacking

Gorgeous Sue Sensi bracelet from my brother and his family! 
I also received a gorgeous handmade card from my niece, it was gorgeous!

Mister bought me the perfume I'd been asking for, the new Britney Spears
Intimate Fantasy.

Mister knew I was sad to miss out on my usual Doncaster birthday shopping day,
 so he gave me a raincheck and a voucher!

Super cute black patent Colette by Colette Hayman crossbody bag with gold hardware from my sister and her family.

Golden snakeskin passport holder from my sister, also from Colette
I used this on our trip to Bali the next week!

Lisa T for Target rose gold paper bag style plant pot holder, how cool is this?!

Since we were flying to Bali the week after my birthday I received a lot of spending money (which you just know I blew in Bath and Body Works, right?) I also bought myself a new bottle of my all-time favourite perfume Guerlain Champs Elysees with some birthday money and I am so happy to be reunited with my signature scent.

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Do you have any birthday traditions?
Are you a fan of low-key birthday celebrations, too?
-Emma x

 

The Birthday Face

Hip hip hooray, it was my birthday yesterday! Another year older and hopefully wiser as well. I had a lovely little day out with my family, and thought it important to share my 'birthday face' here to keep a record of the makeup memories. Every year my sister takes me out but keeps our destination a secret (some years it has been bowling, mini golf, fancy lunch, shopping spree etc) and no matter what we do I have an amazing time with her, so it is one of the main reasons I love my birthday so much. This year my niece Ella and nephew Hamish came along as well as Mumma Bovary, which makes the day even better! We went out for a nice lunch and I indulged in a bit of a shopping spree before we stopped off at Dairy Bell for a scoop of ice-cream!

I woke up in the morning to Charlie snuggles and a nice coffee made by Mister Bovary before he left for work, and spent the morning watching YouTube videos and reading Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant. Pretty perfect morning, right? The night was great as well, all of my family came around for pizza and my beautiful best friend Candice made the trip down from the country to make my day!

Products:

I took my time doing my makeup so it looked a bit spesh for my special day, and layered my foundation to cover any blemishes. I used my Urban Decay Naked 2 to create a daytime smoky eye with Pistol all over the lid, Busted in the outer crease and Foxy to highlight my brown bone. I then went in heavy with my essence Hot Chocolate liner as I wanted a thick line on my top lid, and I absolutely loved the effect.

I used my favourite Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed but topped it with a little bit of Chanel Accent to spice it up a little, and then dusted some Dior Amber Diamond on top of my cheekbones like I do everyday. Lips were finished off with my Kardashian Au Natural Lip Set for a layered glossy nude look.

The Face:

no such thing as too much bling on your birthday!

Mumma Bovary and I out for lunch!

I'll be posting about the gifts I receive for my birthday next, I received such thoughtful gifts but am hoping that mister postman delivers my Naked3 in time for the post, and so that I can enjoy its awesomeness.

Do you have any birthday traditions?
Is it just me, or is the act of buying yourself a birthday gift (or 5...) so much fun?!

Emma x

HIP HIP HOORAY!

It's my Mumma's birthday today!!

The best shopping buddy I could ask for, the best-dressed lady I know (though we do share clothes so it just makes sense;)) and one of the most honest person I have in my life. The kind of person to tell you if you have lipstick on your cheek, she's worth having around. I won't share her age with you, let's just roll with 21 and keep her happy. She raised all four of us kids and I'll be honest, she did a stellar job!

In the past few years she has:

Quit smoking- yaaay!

Joined a gym, and goes 3 times a week without fail

Culled some of her extensive shoe collection (to make room for more pairs)

Planned an overseas holiday to enjoy time with my Dad

Pretty good job, I must say.

*

So here's to you Mum, I love you dearly

At Moomba festival, sporting the mask she made with my neice!

Our 'bestie' woven bracelets ;)

emmabovary xx

Hummers-4-Hire

A few weeks back we celebrated Chris' Mumma's 50th birthday! The whole family went out to a Greek Restaurant in Collingwood (review to come) and we decided to surprise Vicki with a ride to restaurant in style! I was already following the lovely Jason Lock, the director of Hummers 4 Hire, on Twitter, so DMed him to suss out what we could do for my future MIL. A few short tweets later the Hummer was booked, and we had the surprise ready! Jason was super-easy to deal with and just needed a time and date, I found the whole process so simple and would recommend this service to anyone!
On the night, our area in Melbourne experienced some terrifying winds, about half and hour before Jason and the Hummer were due to arrive. The doors inside were almost ripped off their hinges, a mess was made outsite, and a whole part of the roof flew off and hit next doors house. We are still in the process of fixing the roof and the damage caused, we were lucky nobody (not even Marie the cat) were hurt.

Jason arrived soon after this, when Chris' Dad was on the phone to the insurance company. He quickly wiped over the car so it was sparkling, and we all led Vicki outside. She was so excited when she saw the Hummer, and said she felt like a superstar as we took paparazzi pictures of her and Jason organised a glass of champers! (She doesn't drink at all, so her having a glass was a 'whoa!' moment, very cute)Chris' Mum and Dad, so excited!the hummer pulling out of the driveway ! our view from the other car, papparazzi style! pulling up to the restaurant

It was fun to watch the other cars around us pointing at the hummer while our family was in it, and while were heading into the restaurant Jason offered Chris and his older brother a ride around the block in the hummer. Needless to say the boys were ecstatic, and hopped right in!

The genuine and friendly service makes Jason and Hummers4Hire a stand-out company for me, and the little touches made our gift mean even more to Vicki. If you have a special occasion coming up such as an anniversary or wedding, consider hiring a hummer for it! It's a tough car that stands out, and makes an exciting night even more so.

Contact Jason:

on facebook

on twitter

online

emmabovary xx

(In order to be honest, here I will mention that I hired the hummer at a discounted price in exchange for this review. This is no way affects my opinion on the service, this review remains completely truthful.)

Eutopia Cherry Blossom Diffuser

I received this as a gift, and it sat on my shelf for quite a while before I took it down and let the scent loose! It's a nice scent that permeates the whole room, and is particularly effective in the bedroom in my opinion. I'm of the mind that citrus scents belong in the bathroom, and most others throughout the rest of the house. It's simple to use, all you have to do is place the reeds into the glass jar and you're done. Flipping the reeds upside down reinvigorates the scent, so I do that a few times each week to get a stronger burst of scent. I have had this going for almost a month now, and as you can see from the images it still has quite a life ahead of it.
I have seen this brand in Target, and am unsure of other stockists. The prices are reasonable, I believe they are around the $20 mark, and come in a range of fragrances:
*Pomegranate & Frangipani
*Pearberry & Vanilla
*Vanilla Plum (!)
*Coconut & Lime
*Creme Caramel (!)
*Wild Rose & Geranium
The exclamations indicate the scents I want to get a sniff at-delish! And if I find the creme caramel, I will grab it for my boyfriend's Mum!

I find candles lovely, but a pain to care for. These diffusers are perfect as you can leave them be, and be done!