Malibu Barbie FOTD

                   

When a piece from my cosmetic collection jumps out at me, I tend to base my whole look around it. While getting ready for work I came across my stunning Face of Australia Malibu Barbie lipstick, and I decided to choose products to compliment it.

Bourjois Healthymix Serum is a foundation I use quite regularly, it gives a luminous finish and is easy to apply with my fingers, which is how I applied it for this look. I find that I need to scrub my lips a few times a week to keep them in good condition, and I scrubbed them with Lush's Mint Julips before applying Malibu Barbie to make the most of the gorgeous shade.

The Urban Decay Naked palettes have been out in full force lately, and I used a mixture of shades from each to create a subtle eye look that wouldn't compete with the bright lip. Benefit Hervana was a perfect blush choice to pair with this look, the pale pink shade is very wearable and went well with the essence highlighter in Flamingo Pink, which is a very subtle shimmer powder.

Malibu Barbie is a stunning bright pink shade that I find really comfortable to wear, it is smooth and creamy without being too slippery, which also helps it last quite well on my lips. It is the sort of shade that would look good on most skin tones I think, and it seems to brighten my pale skin quite well. I have a few of the Face of Australia lipsticks from this line and so far I have been really impressed with them all, both in colour and in formulations.

How often do you wear bright pink lip shades?

Have you tried the Face of Australia lipsticks yet?

Malibu Barbie is available at Kmart,Priceline and Big W, and on Fashion Addict here (they ship internationally!)

Australian!

Yesterday was Australia Day, a day off to celebrate the amazing country that I am lucky enough to live in. Though my parents were both born in Scotland, they count themselves as true blue Aussies, too (Mum wore an Australian flag tshirt, so cute) I was brought up with backyard barbies and the Dad's from the street sharing a tinnie at the letterbox with their kids around their feet, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Proud to be Australian:) 

I spent our National day the best way I knew how- lazing around, being taken out for lunch, and watching the Australian Open on the telly. I snapped some iPhone pictures along the way.

A slap dash face today, as I have limited makeup at Chris' and had to make do. Main features were Essence Silky Touch Blush in 'Adorable' topped with a little bit of MAC's 'Hand-Finish' (shimmerbomb!) MAC paintpot in 'Chilled On Ice' over my lid with some mascara and the winner of the day...Face of Australia's Malibu Barbie! A full post on this will be up soon, adore this bright pink lipstick.

My outfit of the day (though I spent the first half in my pjs!) I'm in love with my new maxi skirt, total bargain from Kmart right there. Wore it with a t-shirt I stole from Chris' Mum, told you I had limited resources at his place;)

hey fatty photo! with Chris' Mum's sunnies, yeesh.

But my FOA Malibu Barbie lipstick looks pretty rad, you must agree. This was taken at the cafe Chris took me to for lunch, yum yum

Popeye pizza! Smothered in spinach and fetta, my kinda indulgence right there. Chris ordered gnocci with bolognese sauce, no picture because it was all meaty and gross looking.

San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa, my favourite flavoured soft drink

Yep, that's me as we went through the car wash. Weeeeeeeeeeee

Sat in front of the telly with Sox aka Soxy Soxington and watched Federer and Nadal square off.

A lovely Australia Day indeed :)

What did you do this fine day?

Even if you aren't an Aussie, I'd love to know!

Fresh and Innocent- Lara's FOTD

After watching my BareMinerals makeover, my niece Lara asked if I would do a makeover on her! I am always doing up my Mum's face when we're hanging about at home so didn't think anything of it, but I know her Dad (my brother in law) isn't a fan of his little girl growing up too quickly so made sure I kept the look simple and pretty, and appropriate for a 10 year old.
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We went for shimmery eyes (she is a girl after my heart!) and perfect pink lips! I think the effect really enhances her amazing blue eyes and I added the slightest wash of shimmer to her cheeks to excentuate her adorable freckles.

A slighly blurry image but this is here to show you how nice the shimmery eye looks when the light catches it.

I used a thin layer of Face of Australia's Mini Mousse eye colour in Midas Touch over the whole lid, and amped up the shimmer even more by adding the golden champagne shade from the Clinique Strawberry Fudge quad over the top. The quad was a GWP from quite a while ago so I don't know the exact shade, but it can be substituted with any champagne shade you like. I then used Strawberry Fudge itself in the crease of the eye with a fluffy brush to add a little bit of dimension and sweetness to the look. No liner or mascara needed as I think shadow alone is best for this age.

I use these products on myself quite a bit so know that they are really wearable and good quality, so thought they were perfect for my nieces little face.

I've previously reviewed the Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Plumper, and again you can see how stunning it is! I get compliments every time I wear this and Lara liked that it wasn't too sticky. Rather than being a glittery or sparkly shade, this has a great sheen to it that is natural but in a colour that is incredibly beautiful. For both Australian and International readers, these glosses as well as the rest of the Face of Australia range are available at Fashion Addict for crazily reasonable prices. They have pretty good prices on shipping, including International, so hop over there and check it all out!

Swatches of the products I used on Lara, including:

*Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Plumper in Sterling Blossom

*Champagne and pink from the Clinique Strawberry Fudge Quad

*Face of Australia mini mousse eye colour in Midas Touch

*BYS loose shimmer in brush (you can barely see the swatch here as it is a very subtle shimmer, but Lara loves this type of packaging!)

How gorgeous does she look?! I believe that young girls don't need cosmetics to be beautiful, but I'll be honest and say I love her fascination with lip gloss and sparkle! She might end up following in her beauty-obsessed aunty's footsteps!

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Do any young ladies in your family share Lara's lipgloss love?

Are you ever roped into doing family makeovers?

emmabovary xx

Spring has Sprung!

While the other side of the world is settling into fall trends, we here in Australia have stepped into spring! Living in Melbourne, I am used to experiencing four seasons in a single day, but still greet the beginning of a new season with a smile. I feel as though my makeup mindset is reinvigorated, and this is what I see as 'spring makeup' from within my collection.

 A palette of pastels and sweet shimmers have got me excited about makeup again! I've been loving healthily glossy lips and pink tones of every description.

*Revlon Minted nail polish is a sweet minty pastel green shade that I fell in love with at first sight. I'm planning on doing a mani with this under the new Pink Breast Cancer OPI shatter.

*Ulta3 Bo Peep is a sexy hot pink shade. I love the Ulta3 formulation and this is one of my favourite colours from them, I love it under a glitter polish.

*Kit Shop Loves Sunset featured in this mani, and is a muted yet bright coral orange shade designed by my favourite magazine Shop Til You Drop.

*Revlon's Super Lustrous balm in Peach Crystal smells amazing, and leaves a super subtle tint on my lips, and lots of glossy goodness. Review here

*MAC Dollymix blush is so scary in the pan, but I love it on cheek when I sheer it out enough. A nice pop of colour for everyday.

*Lanolips Sunshine is in my spring set despite being loved all year round. A super moisturising formula, this colour is amazing.

*Whole Lotta Honey is the last shade I would've chosen from the launch of Clinique's glossy crayon, the 'chubby stick', but when I won this I fell head over heels. It's the perfect MLBB (my lips but better) and it perfect to pair with a bright eye or cheek.

*I purchased the Clarins Cream Colours from a blog sale ages ago, and have only recently gotten use from them. I use them as layering shades underneath other shades to bring light to my eyes- they act in a similar way to the next product...

*Face of Australia, yet again, hits it out of the park. I have most of the shades in the Mini Mousse range (discontinued) and this is in my top 3 shades. Magic Mist is a neutral sort of minty green shade that is amazeballs under neutral shadows as well as greens.

*MAC Painpot in Chilled on Ice is from the Cham Pale collection, and is a crazily shimmery base that I use for bright eye looks. This looks great on it's own with a bright pink lip and a slick of black liquid liner. Since this is discontinued, I would suggest the Bare Study paint pot as a less shimmery but still beautiful substitution.

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ONTO THE SWATCHES!!

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Even though the weather has not been very 'spring-like' lately, I've been enjoying playing with these new textures and shades. Have any of you tried these products and have an opinion to share, or tips?

What looks do you lean towards in spring time?

emmabovary xx

(Please note that all items were purchased by me except for the Clinique Chubby Stick which I won from Clinique on Twitter and the Shop Loves Sunset polish which was free with coupon in conjunction with Shop Til You Drop and Kit Cosmetics.

All opinions are mine, honesty always. x)

August Favourites!

Had a quiet month with most of my time spent in the uni library or at home studying, and these are the products I used and loved most.

Face of Australia 'Outback Translucent' Powder* and Models Prefer 'Glitz and Glamour' highlighter were an everyday staple for me. The FOA powder is everlasting, I can't imagine ever finishing it despite using it all the time. I have a review of the highlighter almost ready, it's a lovely product.

Essence Palm Tree Party trio from the Return to Paradise collection, MAC Painterly and Shiro Cosmetics S.S. Anne loose pigment were eyeshadow winners for me this month! I use Painterly under every eyeshadow and it works well for me. I use S.S.Anne over a natural eye look to finish it off, and I love the shimmery, multi-dimensional effect it gives. From the Essence palette I've been using the third shade across which is a beauty in disguise- so so in swatches, this pops hard on the eye! It's a hard shade to describe, for me it leans brown, purple, grey and taupe all at once. Beautiful!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation was a wonder for me this month, the original is my HG and this is just as good! Not very serum like, but great coverage and very moisturising. My Sugar Baby Vanilla hand cream was a bargain at $4.95 from Portmans, and the smell is incredible! Non greasy which was a must as I was (am still!) contantly typing on the computer.

Essence mini Colour and Go polish in Space Queen was popped over every other colour this month! I originally bought it to go over a navy for a galaxy inspired mani (post up soon) and loved the effect! A really pretty sparkle for over the top of other shades, but I'm also on the look out for a glitter fest polish to wear all on it's own. If you know of a great one, let me know!

That's it for August, did any of these products catch your eye?

emmabovary xx

(Face of Australia's translucent powder was sent to me for consideration for review from PR, but all opinions are honest and not influenced by that. Promise!)

August Empties

Happy spring my little birdies! August was a busy month for me in terms of uni work, and I'm proud to say I got a lot of work done and stayed generally on top of things. Hoping to finish more makeup items in September though, to make room for the inevitable IMATS/ABBW haul.

So it seems the shower and removal of makeup process is the one most done this August!

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Rose Body Scrub, whose brand I am unsure of as I don't speak a language other than English. I purchased this from Daiso in Doncaster (Victoria) and found to be a wonderful light scrub for everyday. Sadly they had none left when I went to repurchase (though they did have matching items in same scent) but I will keep my eye out and definitely get this again.
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Avon Naturals Grapefruit and Mint shower gel 200ml. Dad bought me a set of these for xmas and I've only just gotten around to using them. A nice lather and scent, but I'd like the scent to be a bit stronger as I like them full on. From memory they're around $2 each at xmas time, and come in a variety of nice scents. Will be grabbing more come December.

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Crabtree & Evelyn Clarifying Body Scrub with Eucalyptus and Essential Oils (50g) was a punch in the face! Scent was powerful and formula was nice and gritty, so if you like eucalyptus this could be for you. Smells too strong for me, so I won't be repurchasing.

Priceline Re-Balance Vitamin Enriched Moisturising Complex Facial Cleansing Wipes (25pack) are my holy grail of wipes. Nothing has beaten them so far, and I really can't see it happening.

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Swisspers Facial Wipes (25pack) stung like crazy, and I really regret purchasing a double pack of them. I used this for swatching purposes and to spot clean brushes after use. Will not buy again.

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Priceline Round Cotton Pads (100) are great for removing make up at night, and I find these to be great quality and cheap. Will be repurchasing when I run out of the pack of random brand ones I'm using right now.

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Face of Australia Gentle Makeup Remover is used in conjunction with the above cotton rounds for removing makeup, this doesn't sting and gets the bulk of my makeup off really well. I have found it to have trouble with the mascara I'm using at the moment, but since I don't like the mascara anyway I will not hold it against them;)

Batiste Tropical Dry Shampoo is a life saver for me, as my hair becomes oily quite quickly the more I work with it. To make blow drys/curls/straight hair styles last longer I spray this on the middle layer of my hair (lifting up top section to avoid the 'grey' look) wait a while and then massage it in. I find it gives me hair volume, too, which I love. The scent isn't my favourite but now that I am in the midst of planning my Thailand trip, I think I'll fall in love with it again! Tropical hair and holiday, be mine!

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Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara had a big wand that took me a while to get used to, but I did enjoy using it once I had a technique down pat. This is in my empties because I'm trying to be good and toss mascaras regularly, plus it had become quite dry and less comfortable on my eyes. This was a freebie with a magazine purchase, which was an awesome gift in my opinion!

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How much did you manage to use up in August? Have you tried any of the products I finished this month?

emmabovary xx

*Avon shower gel was gift from Dad, Benefit mascara was gift with magazine and the Face of Australia remover was a gift from PR which I have since repurchased. All other items were paid for by me, and I was not compensated for these mini reviews by anyone :)

A Mixed Bag-FOTD,OOTD and day in the life

You know when you have one of those stellar days and nothing can wipe the smile from your face? That's today for me, so I thought I'd throw this post together and show you why I'm smiling!

A very sleepy FOTD

Prodz used: Face of Australia primer*-Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Gel in Ivory*-YSL Creme de Blush in #2 Powdery Rose-Face of Australia liquid liner*-Benefit Bad Gal mascara-Clinique and Essence quad as featured in previous post-L'Oreal Colour Riche Serum lipstick in Freshly Candy-Essence Lipgloss in 'Me & My Icecream'-Face of Australia translucent powder-

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Felt great with this look,I scrubbed my face with my Alpha-H Gentle Daily Exfoliant last night and my skin feels so much nicer. I felt pretty all day, naw



A recent acquisition

OOTD which does not do my new leather skirt justice! It's lazer cut along the bottom with tear drops and a floral pattern, it's perfectly high waisted and not too short. Bought it in Portmans last week while shopping with my Mumma, it was love at first sight! I've paired it with a plain black singlet and my Granny's black cardi today, and some el cheapo Rubi leopard flats that are my comfy walking shoes.

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So as well as feeling great about my outfit and face today, the main reason I'm so happy is because I went to Doncaster with my Mum and my Aunty, who is on holidays from work (rare to see her mid week!) We met my cousin and a family friend there, and chatted while we wandered around and had lunch together. Sadly, none of them are makeup mad, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I normally would in my fave shops, but the day was so lovely it didn't matter.

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Regatta leather loafers

I dress quite old for my age, and I've been looking for a nice leather loafer to wear to uni and to the shops. These seemed really comfy on, and were 50% off the already reduced price in Myer. These look nice on, and more modern once I pair them with jeans and a cute top. They do look quite nanna in the box, but I don't mind :)

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Drink Bottle from Daiso

I was excited to hear there was a Daiso near me in Melbourne, and visited for the first time today. Thought it was super cute, despite not knowing/understanding what a lot of the products were due to the language barrier. I picked up this drink bottle for uni, to motivate me to drink more water! It's plastic, not metal, and I liked that as I'm worried the metal ones would leave a metallic taste in my mouth. My skin is dehydated and my fitness isn't great, so I'm trying the 'Swap It' program the Australia Government has proposed. You make small changes (water over soft drink, walking instead of taking a lift etc) to try to improve overall fitness. Being a lazy ass, this is a much better way for me to attempt to overall my fitness!

Love my body scrubs, and since everything in Daiso is $2.80 I had nothing to lose so decided to try this. Our family friend lives out that way and had tried the Daiso eyelashes too, she said they were really good so I might give them a go next time.


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A Kit Cosmetics goody!

Stopped by Kit to gush over the gorgeous Viva La Colour displays they have up- such a great concept, with a gorgeous hint of Mexican flavour. I'm having a Viva La Colour make over next week so didn't buy everything I wanted, just this beauty. Swooned over it in the tube, and once I saw the gorgeous SA had it on I knew it was coming home with me.



Kit Cosmetics Viva Rose



The stunning Viva Rose



Tried it on instore and my family agreed that it was a stunner. The SA who served me was also the loveliest I've had in a long time (bar Illamasqua Melbourne, who are #1 and awesomesauce) The coral lippy and wine shade they had out looked gorgeous as well, I will probably buy them next week. I have nail swatches from the collection coming up next week, too. Wearing Viva Rose lipstick right now, this is what it looks like on me



Viva Rose

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I also got a few bits and bobs during the week, but I think I'll leave that for another day.

Happy Friday to all, I hope you have amazing weekends! Let me know what you get up to!

emmabovary xx

(*Marked products were sent from PR for consideration or were received free with magazine purchase. The rest were purchased by moi)

Wearing This Week

My skin is acting out like mad this month, but my make up has my smile beaming despite that. I'm really happy with some of the combinations I've found, so much so that I've been wearing them day after day. Here is what I've been reaching for and loving this week!

All of this weeks faves, spilling out of the cute new make up bag I bought. The bag comes in a set of 3 at Priceline for $5 with two other sizes included, a small with the same print and a medium plain black with orange trim. Also comes in yellow and pink-caaayooot!

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I was going to refrain from this post as I thought it too similar to a monthly 'favourites' but then I was like hey! I blog to make myself happy, and that up there certainly does. Plus, I haven't been using the whole lot all month so it didn't seem fair to pop them in my monthly favourites. Here are my thoughts on the prodz!

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Bourjois Healthy Mix #52-I currently have two bottles on the go, one is at Chris'. I think my next will be a shade down, just to see the difference. This goes on like moisturiser, and has a lovely feel and smell.

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Nars Laguna Bronzer- I've been using the tiniest amount of this to try and detract from the deathly pallour I've got-seems to work well!

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Clinique Quad- was a GWP that I adore! Great shades, but the one I've been rocking this week is the bottom left hand corner, which is a gorgeous shimmery pale toned shadow (similar to MAC Retrospeck)

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Essence Quad in Chic-Ly-Again, bottom left hand corner shade is a killer taupe that I've been using to define my crease. Found this and the Clinique shade all over to be a great everyday eye look!

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Face of Australia Liquid Liner- my heart belongs to this, I'd never been able to use liquid liner before this came along. Big review and rave coming up.

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Benefit Bad Gal mascara- Chunky lashes are go!

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MAC Baby Sparks Dazzleglass- I realise that this is in pretty much every favourites I've done lately, and you're guaranteed to see it in my July Faves too. It is the bomb diggity, we're officially an item.

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So that is what has been getting the most use with me this week, now do share-

What have you been wearing this week?

emmabovary xx

A Bronzed FOTD ft. Illamasqua, MAC and the Naked Palette

Neutrals are my best friends, and this look was created with some of my favourites from brands like Urban Decay, MAC, Illamasqua and Face of Australia.

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Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Liquid Foundation in Beige

Illamasqua concealer

Eco-Tools concealer brush

Essence Shimmer Powder in Flamingo Pink

BYS blush in Candyfloss

Jack Black Balm

MAC lip gelee in Straight to the Head

Urban Decay eyeshadow in Buck (from Naked Palette)

Urban Decay pencil in Zero

Napoleon Perdis brush (holiday collection)

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My base products for this look consisted of Face of Australia's Mineral Therapy foundation which I am in the midst of testing. The shade 'beige' was a little too dark for me, but still wearable. This Illamasqua concealer is one I use everyday, sadly my skin is not in top condition and I have quite a few blemishes that need covering.

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BYS have some great shades in their blush range, and Candyfloss is my favourite. I used this with Essence's Flamingo Pink highlighting powder along the cheekbones to try and brighten up my dull skin.

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Mister Christopher bought me Illamasqua Bronx for Christmas, and when I received the Naked palette for my birthday the next week I assumed I had no use for the shade anymore. Not so! This shadow is a true stunner, and I'm glad we lost the receipt and couldn't exchange it. I layered Bronx over Buck from the palette, next time I create this look I would blend lighter shades up higher for a more intense look. I finished the look with a smudge of Urban Decay liner in Zero, and Benefit's BadGal Lash mascara.

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I originally went with my clear Jack Black balm for this look, before I remembered that I had just received MAC's lip gelee in Straight to the Head from Lilit's blog sale. It's quite opaque and gives a sort of frosted finish, I will be reviewing it in depth soon.

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This look is my version of an 'everyday' casual look. I found it to be pretty subtle but Bronx really made it all pop just that little bit.

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I hope you enjoyed this FOTD, if you have any ideas of looks I should try do let me know.

I would love some inspiration!

emmabovary xx