Spring Peaches

It finally feels like spring is actually upon us, and I've been taking advantage by spending as much time as I can outside with the dogs and soaking up some much-needed Vitamin D! Being heavily pregnant has meant walks are short and very tiring so I've just been popping a chair in the garden and letting the boys run around while I relax- never have I appreciated our front fence more! The fresh air has been lifting my spirits and I've also gotten some reading done which has been lovely. I was also inspired to dig through my makeup drawers a little and came up with some products I haven't used in a while to freshen up my everyday look - I was very much drawn to peach tones! 

The Too Faced Sweet Peach palette has a lot of mixed reviews from what I've seen online, but I really like it and appreciate that there are some easy to wear neutral shades in it that I can just throw on when I'm tired. I do wish the green shade shone through more when I put it on my lids but it's still lovely and I've been getting a fair bit of use from it lately. I also pulled out my favourite peachy gloss Revlon Pango Peach which I adore as I don't need a mirror to apply it, which makes it so easy to reapply while I'm out and about. Possibly the most exciting additions to my routine are MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque (which never fails to remind me of Ingrid Nilsen aka Miss Glamorazzi, who introduced me to the shade on her YouTube channel!) and MAC Springsheen Blush which is a darker orange-peach shade. I haven't bought anything from MAC in the longest time but have been enjoying exploring my old favourites from the brand - such a throwback! 

Have you thrown anything new into your routine with the change in weather? When is the last time you purchased from MAC?

-Emma 

Flushed with Love - Romantic Makeup Look & Product Round Up

I'm in a very loved up state of mind at the moment - I've got the weddings of close friends coming up which I'm very excited about, and after being ill I've come to realise who truly loves and cares for me completely which has been humbling. 

Valentine's Day is usually a pretty quiet affair in our home, Mister and I will either go out for dinner or bring home some takeaway, so the focus seems to be on not being the ones who have to cook! I think it's nice to celebrate love in whatever form it takes in your life, I'll be at home with the doggies all day and plan to shower them in love with healthy treats and lots of tummy rubs - it doesn't have to just be about a romantic partner, you know!

Another thing I'll be making heart eyes at today? My makeup collection. We finally caved and bought an Ikea Alex which Mister lovingly built for me, so it was a helluva lot easier to grab out some romantic makeup to get me in the mood for love! I used some of the products to create a soft and easy makeup look - please go easy on me, it was the first time I had worn makeup in weeks!

Products Used 
MAC Painterly Paint pot
Too Faced Bon Bons palette - shades Almond Truffle, Satin Sheets and Divinity
L'Oreal Infallible Shadow in Golden Mahogany
Max Factor Masterpiece Glamour Extensions Mascara*
Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation in 810
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light
essence Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Highlighter in 01 Lady's Night
Too Faced Love Flush Blush palette - shade Love Hangover
Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet - Don't Pink Of It!

How are you spending Valentine's Day?
Emma x

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

New on Shelf

I’m totally guilty of snapping pictures on my iPhone as I peruse the shops, and love popping them up on Instagram or just looking back while considering which pieces I’d like to purchase. I find this to be helpful if you’re unable to regularly visit your Priceline or Myer as it gives you an insight into the ‘shiny and new’ things without you having to run out and buy each and every one. There are some pretty neat new things out that caught my eye on recent outings, and after noticing just how many I’d snapped I thought it only fair to share their ‘newness’ with you, too. Enjoy!

I made an attempt to buy the Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous foundation while in Hawaii but they didn’t have my shade in stock – it just launched in Australia last week and was half price at Woolworths so I snapped up one in the shade 105. Trialling at the moment and so far, so good!

Out of the two new essence collections, Good Girl Bad Girl definitely contained the products that tempted me most. Out exclusively in Priceline, the shimmery star-embossed ‘Good Girls Wear Peach’ is stunning and I can see the lipsticks selling out fast in shades of dark vampy purple and bright fuchsia.

essence have also rolled out another collection exclusive to Target, Like an Unforgettable Kiss which is whimsical and romantic looking. The nail polish shades are quite nice and the duo heart blushes seem like a matte, pale version of the Too Faced blushes that are popular.

Always fond of a new Australis nail polish, I have to admit I chuckled a little bit when I looked at all of the names of these- well done Australis! I definitely want to check out the bright pink Mexican Madness in store and Swagger Like Us purely for the name…

Quite an impressive display for the Revlon Ultra HD Lipsticks, don’t you think? I remember watching this video and thinking they sounded alright, but I think a re-watch is in order to help me decide on which shades I should try!

An ultra-affordable new release on shelves now is the bath and body range from Kmart! I’ve heard good things about the body scrub and the fragrance mist in Jasmine smells wonderful, very similar in quality to something like Victoria’s Secret from what I can gather. I have enough fragrance mists to sink a battleship but I have a feeling these will still come home with me…

 

Enchanting Nightbird sounds so enticing and it definitely suits the winter theme for Bourjois 2015. The crème 24hr shadows are supposedly really nice but I’m all about those new lip crayon shades – Sweet Macchiato, come to your coffee-loving Mama!

A new player in the affordable micellar water realm is fine by me, and I like the packaging of the new L’Oreal Skin Perfection 3in1 Micellar Cleansing Water !

 

I’ve actually heard that the new Max Factor Crème Puff blushes are akin to the Hourglass Ambient Light Blushes…that has definitely made me want to pick one up even more!

 

Speaking of Hourglass, the new Modernist eyeshadow palettes have launched at Mecca and are pretty stunning! I wasn’t too sure about the joint shade idea and overall look of them at first but the shadow texture is quite impressive and the shades all seem quite lovely.

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So there you have it – a round-up of lots of new goodies on beauty shelves right now! Have you bought any of these yet? Which of these looks most tempting to you?

-Emma

 

 

Addicted to Blush Tag (#blushfiend)

I recently decided that there was a distinct lack of blush love on here considering my status as a #blushfiend, and so when I saw the gorgeous Kat from Kitsch Snitch had created a blush tag I was all up on it! Blush is definitely my favourite thing in the beauty world and I had a blast rifling through my rather large blush drawers to pull product for this tag. These answers will definitely change for me as time goes on - sometimes the life of a #blushfiend is fickle, ya know?

What colour blush suits you the most?
I think peach tones suit my skin tone the most, despite it not being my favourite blush shade to wear (neutral wins that, with ease!) I find I receive more compliments when I wear peach tones and it seems to photograph relatively well also.

- peach tones suit me best -
Clinique Cheek Pop 'Peach Pop*'
 Chanel Joues Contraste ' 76 Frivole'
Chanel Joues Contraste '55 In Love'

Pressed/cream/loose blush?
The majority of my blush collection is definitely pressed powder blushes - I find them the easiest to work with, and it takes a really good cream formula for me to want to try it out! I recently bought the new MUFE HD Blush and I've heard it's a great cream formula, so I'm looking forward to testing that out.

YSL Crème de Blush '6 Rouge Passion'
Topshop Cream Blush 'Head Over Heels'
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush 'Exposed'
Illamasqua Powder Blusher 'Naked Rose'
 

Favourite shimmery blush?
I tend to favour Satin finishes in general, but sometimes a nice fine glitter or shimmer doesn't go astray and I like the glow it adds to my face on 'good skin' days. My most recent favourite is MAC's Warm Soul blush which I picked up on my honeymoon, but more glittery favourites are Chanel Pink Explosion (like a satin finish with fine glitter mixed in) and the MAC Mineralize Blush in Hand-Finish. I think the MAC Mineralize blush range is the best way to dip your toe into shimmery blushes if you are unsure of them!


MAC Mineralize Blush 'Hand-Finish'
Chanel Joues Contraste 'Pink Explosion'
MAC Mineralize Blush 'Warm Soul'

Favourite matte blush?
I actually had trouble finding a good range of matte blushes in my collection - most were satin finishes when I looked at them properly! The best matte blushes that come to mind are from Illamasqua - the pigmentation is insane and the colours are usually pretty awesome, so even though I don't wear them very often I'd have to say they are my favourite matte offering!


Illamasqua Powder Blusher 'Naked Rose'
Illamasqua Powder Blusher Duo in 'Lover/Hussy'

Favourite cream blush? 
As I mentioned, cream blushes have to be pretty darn awesome to catch my eye and these two releases certainly are! The YSL Crème de Blush range is an old favourite and the Powdery Rose shade is everything, but the brand new Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Sticks have impressed me and I really wasn't expecting them to!

YSL Crème de Blush '2 Powdery Rose'
YSL Crème de Blush '6 Rouge Passion'
Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick 'Just-Pinched Pink*'
Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in 'Pink Fever*'

Favourite drugstore blush?
It's not until you complete a tag like this that you notice trends in your makeup drawers - it seems I have a weakness for high end blushes! These BYS Blush Trios are definitely the best quality 'drugstore' blush I've tried - the pigmentation is stellar, the lasting power is akin to a Myer branded blush and the shades are exciting and varied! The are affordably priced at around $5-6 and they are worth so much more in my eyes. Gorgeous!

BYS Blush Trio in:
On The Brightside
Coral Me In
Endless Summer
Heart Skipped a Beat

Favourite high end blush?
Easiest question in this tag by far - my beloved Chanel Joues Contraste collection took a while to kick off it must be said, but once the ball began rolling it took over my blush love! I used to read posts like this by Pink Sith and swoon over the idea of owning one, but never understood just how amazing they were until Mister bought me one for Christmas a few years ago. My collection has grown fast since then and shows no signs of stopping, Chanel JC's make me so happy!

Chanel Joues Contraste Blushes in:
80 Jersey
76 Frivole
55 In Love
64 Pink Explosion

Favourite bright blush?

I'm not afraid of a good whack of colour in a blush, so I had quite a few to rifle through for this question. I ended up choosing the bright shades that get my heart racing as they haven't been something I reach for too often lately (I'm all about the neutral cheek right now!) The most wearable bright shade is definitely my Chanel JC 'Pink Explosion' which was my first Chanel blush, and I love the way it brightens up my whole complexion when I apply it with a Real Techniques Stippling Brush. Actually, that is how I apply all of my bright blush shades!



BYS Blush Trio 'On the Brightside'
essence Beauty Beats Blush 'Groupie at Heart'
Chanel Joues Contraste 'Pink Explosion'

Biggest blush disappointment/regret?
I've spend years trying to understand the Nars blush phenomenon (perhaps I just haven't tried the right shade?) and the hype surrounding the Bourjois Blush Pots, like this one in Rose D'Or. I had to scrape away a thick layer to get my swatch to show up (and it was gorgeous once I did, for sure!) but so much effort for a blush that keeps hardening up is not worth my time. The worst blush I've ever purchased is definitely the essence Bloom Me Up Blush Stick '01 Chaising Lacy' - not only is the name spelt strangely which irks me, the texture is terrible and pills on my skin no matter what I try, with hardly any pigment to speak of. I just had to swatch you to explain it well - it looks like an arm rash, am I right?

Bourjois Blush '34 Rose D'Or'
essence Bloom me Up Blush Stick '01 Chaising Lacy'

Bourjois swatch, essence swatch

Best blush packaging?
I can appreciate many different blush packaging, but I'm not sure whether or not I have a favourite in this regard...I love how clean and clear Illamasqua pans are but hate breaking my nails opening them, I love my Chanel JC's (which I keep in their boxes) but it's hard to quickly distinguish the blush shade, and other brands have their pro's and con's as well. As long as it is relatively pretty and keeps the product safe, I'm usually a happy camper!

What's on your blush wish list?
I am looking at trying some of the Colourpop Blush line, and also really want to hunt down the MAC Pro Longwear blush 'Make You Mine' which I neglected to buy in America and now really regret it. I always wait with baited breath for a new Chanel blush release and the upcoming Crescendo looks pretty interesting...the new Bobbi Brown Blush Trio's also look utterly delectable to me!

Number 1 holy grail blush?
I have to stay true and choose my wedding day blush for this question - my beloved Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush 'Exposed'! I also snuck in my other HG blush because I'm a rebel like that...the stunning Chanel JC 'Jersey'!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush 'Exposed'



Tarte Exposed, Chanel Jersey

 

I would love to see everyone I follow complete this blush tag, it's so refreshing to think about your collection as a whole and it's made me pull out old favourites from my drawers to play with! That being said, I would especially love to tag Vita, Norlin, Ling, Sleep and Water, Tracy, Monika and Liz! Feel free to leave any blush recommendations in the comments, too - I would love to know what your favourite blush is, and which is the worst you've ever tried!

-Emma x

Makeup Pile Inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey

I’m sure by now some of you have spotted the racy Fifty Shades of Grey film trailer online – I know a few people on my Facebook feed have been counting down and can't wait to see the film when it is released tomorrow! I feel a little hint of shame when I admit that I have indeed read the three books in the series, and am actually rereading the first in the line-up now…perhaps that stems from studying literature for so many years!

The 50 Shades franchise definitely isn’t the best written works I’ve ever read (so far from it that it’s laughable to be honest) but I will step up to the plate and say that I’m planning on seeing the film, if only for curiosity’s sake. Using the title as inspiration, I played around in my makeup and nail stash to grab some of the rare greyscale pieces that live within my drawers.

Eyeshadows in grey are always wonderful in theory, but sometimes they make me feel a bit too ‘rock chick’ unless they verge on taupe or I warm them up with another shadow in the crease. I think it has something to do with having dark hair and very pale skin...

If I ever need a true silver or grey look I reach for my Australis Paparazzi Perfect Palette in Frock and Roll, which I used in this frosted winter makeup look. I also have a few grey and grey/brown shades in my custom Inglot palette, and one of my most loved grey shades is Too Faced Garter Belt from the Boudoir Palette. I’d consider Mercury from Topshop a taupe shade more than a true grey as the purple tones pull through enough on me to make this something a bit out of the ordinary. Two other pops of grey in my stash that haven’t yet been touched are the Bourjois single eyeshadow in 14 Gris Delicat and the Maybelline Charcoal Smokes quad*.

The best way that I know how to inject some smooth grey shades into my beauty routine are on my fingernails – I’m always up for a deep metallic blue, but a grey tone also doesn’t go astray and these are some that are residing in my polish drawers right now. 

For an elegant and simple greige shade, essie Master Plan* is my very favourite – but for a bit of bling essie also brings it to the table with Ignite the Night*! It’s a darker more charcoal sort of glittery colour and I’m thinking it would work perfectly in an ombre nail look. An affordable nail polish comes via German brand essence and their dark metallic grey Movie Star. The final beauty product we have is not technically a grey shade but I'm taking inspiration from the sleek gunmetal tube - Smashbox lipstick in Flirty is a true stunner of a bright pink and one of the first ‘higher end’ non-Priceline lipsticks I ever bought myself. Memories…

I really enjoyed rustling through my drawers to pull colours for this post – fingers crossed I have that much fun watching the Fifty Shade of Grey film at the cinema!

-Emma

*Provided for consideration, honesty always.

I've Been Shopping! - A Collective Haul

I’ve picked up some pretty lovely things lately, and even though a few online orders are yet to arrive it is time to share my new stash items with you.  Most are from Priceline and the supermarket, but I forgot to include my Clinique products (and GWP!) so they’ll have to feature in the next round up instead. Moving is messing with my mojo, but we’ll get there eventually.

Covergirl seems to be my Achilles heel this month, and I found all 3 of these trios on sale at various points of the month and treated myself to them. No restraint there, I tell ya! Majestic Hazels (bottom left) has a really nice mix of browns along with a mint and a cream shade, and I think I am going to really enjoy playing around with it and finding new combinations. Country Woods (bottom right) had caught my eye a few times, and those neutrals needed to be mine. Blossoms (top palette) is not something I thought I’d buy, but I love the intense mix of pink and purple as they are so pretty.

 

The Innoxa blush duo might have been a silly purchase as I really don’t need another blush and I definitely don’t need two but the purchase happened, and the free kabuki brush was procured. The BOE products I believe are Big W exclusive, and I couldn’t help treating myself to a matte lip cream and two lip lacquers for the pricely sum of $2 each! The lip loving trend continues with a Pink Lolita tinted Baby Lips by Maybelline hopping into my Priceline basket, along with a slew of new lip products that I don’t regret and am still swooning over.

 

The Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balms in Watermelon Twist + Plum Twist were inevitable purchases – one inspired by Ingrid from Miss Glamorazzi and the other a nod to a vampy side of me that needs some attention. The final lip crayon to enter my overloaded crayon collection is the Bourjois Colour Boost Glossy Finish crayon in Peach at the Beach. Could it be the cutest name ever? My vote is a yes at the moment, since I am so smitten with this shade. I am so tempted to head back for another shade, but on principle I’m waiting for a Bourjois sale. Stares intently at watch.

 

La Roche Posay’s Effaclar Duo is an absolue miracle for my skin, and now that it is available at Priceline I was able to repurchase and avoid a skin meltdown - crisis averted! I read about the Nivea In-Shower Body Lotion first on Styling You, and the very next day I popped into Big W and bought it on sale for $5! I’m yet to try it as I’m saving it for my new place it’s the little things, but 5 of my family and friends have since bought it and have been quite impressed! The Grown Body Exfoliant and Facial Moisturiser were spotted for $5 on a clearance shelf at Priceline, and I love the aesthetic of the brand so much that I just had to buy them.

 

That rounds up (most of) my collective haul! I’d love to know what you think of the products I chose, or what you have picked up lately that you think I should check out.

Happy hump day!

Sweet Paris // A Bourjois Inspired Makeup Look

Drawing on a collection from Bourjois which was released last year for spring, I created a Parisian makeup look influenced by macarons, sweet pastels and sugary goodness. I decided to recreate the look from the campaign poster down to the detail, and gathered up as many Bourjois products as I could muster to get in the French feel of things.

 

Creating a base with my Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation, I then went in with my Laura Mercier blush in Rose Desire to create a sweet but striking strong pink cheek akin to that which the model wears for the campaign. The eyes aren’t something I would wear myself, but I find it a wonderful experience to walk through a look step by step and see how close I can get to the image with the products at hand. I used a shimmery pale pink shade from my Bourjois Eyeshadow Trio to create the pop of light in the centre of the eye, and went in with a mix of Rose Desire (blush on eyes, take note!) and a random hot pink shadow to create a defined crease. I then mixed a few of my bright greens (MAC Bitter, MAC Juxt + Inglot) to create the chunky definition around the outer thirds of the upper and lower lash line.

I like the way the Clinique High Lengths mascara stretches my lashes out, but ultimately I think what this look needed was a good set of flared falsies to really add to the drama. Duo glue, I’m coming for you! If there were ever another time where I would rock this look, I would definitely tone down the green and bring it closer to the lash line, but I wanted to stay true to the advertisement so crazy it had to be!

I cracked out my Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake (which admittedly doesn’t get much love from me) and topped it with a little bit of Smashbox O-Gloss* to create more shine and gloss to the lips. I actually can’t stand the Smashbox gloss as I find it thick and uncomfortable to wear, but back when I created this look lazy blogger alert I was trying to use it up.

 

How often do you wear pastel shades?
Do you think I made it close to the campaign poster (keeping in mind that I am NOT a model, lol)?

*Marked items provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

The Blush Files : 7 Days of Blush (evidence from a blush fiend)

My obsession with blush has been well documented (just take a look inside my overspilling blush drawer to see!) and those who have gone shopping with me in the past have adamantly labelled me a blush fiend. Some people have a penchant for beautiful lip products (see Norlin and her wonderful #lippyaday challenge!) while others have a skincare stash to rival their local Kit Cosmetics. My soft spot is definitely for those pretty pans of colour that warm up my face, and I find them the most fun aspect of makeup application. I challenged myself a while back to wear a different blush pan each day for a week, to get used to rotating what I wear and to get Tarte Exposed out of my clawing hands for once! Here are the spoils of my challenge, which was a success!

 

As well as my rosy neutrals, I threw a few brighter pinks into the mix for the week to give my cheeks a good pop of colour. Chanel’s Pink Explosion was naturally involved, and I love the shade stippled on with my Samantha Chapman for Real Techniques Stippling Brush. Truth be told, I absolutely love using that brush for the majority of my blushes, whether cream, powder, pigmented or not. BYS Pink Velvet was another pink that got a turn, I adore the BYS blush formula and even the packaging is sturdy (especially when compared to their lipstick casings) Illamasqua’s Naked Rose is one of my favourite blushes, and the matte dusty pink looks great against pale skin like mine.

 

Milani Berry Amore is a shade that took me a while to get used to, but the gold veining really works when used with a light hand. I did cheat slightly during the challenge, as I used my staple blush on one of the days where I was running out of the door to work. Tarte Exposed is a neutral rosy blush that is too beautiful for words, Chris bought it via eBay for me as a Christmas gift and I fall more in love with it every day. See, blush fiend!

 I also tried out my Korres Pink Zeas May blush for the first time, and really like the wearable pink shade. The final choice for my 7 day challenge was a mix of two Bourjois shades, I first applied Rose D’Or before topping my cheekbones and the apples with Lune D’Or, just to play around with it and see if I could change the shades up a bit.

 

So, has my status of a blush fiend been upheld, or do I need to do more to convince you, dear readers? Which blush shade would you nab from this loot given the chance?

 

*All of these blush pans were bought by me, or given as gifts from my fiancé. He knows the way to my heart is through my chipmunk cheeks ;P Honesty,always.