The Lip Product Addict Tag

I’ve watched so many of these videos on YouTube and decided I needed to join in the fun! It originally started with this video and just kept on rolling through my favourite YouTubers (check Jessica’s here, my favourite!) I couldn’t stick to just single product answers though, so settle in for some lip product musing!

 

Favourite balm/treatment?
I didn’t think I had this many favourites, you’d think having this many I’d have softer lips than I do! Before bed I like to use my Korres Jasmine Lip Butter which smells amazing and is thick and nourishing. During the day at home I’ll often use one of my Jack Black lip balms, right now my scent of choice is Black Tea + Blackberry but the Lavender is #1 in my books. I keep my Maybelline Baby Lips Energizing Orange in my handbag (cute packaging is a win!) and the one I couldn’t leave out was Carmex Moisture Plus – pictured is Sheer Pink Tint* but any of the varieties are loves of mine, even the original clear one.

Best eye-catching red?

Natural Compatibles ‘Berry’* really knocks it out of the park for me, it’s deep and bold and makes me feel like I can do anything when I wear it.

 

Best luxury& best drugstore?
Lately I’ve dipped my toe into some luxury lip products that I hadn’t tried before, but the luxury line I know best is from YSL and their Rouge Pur Couture in Rose Bergamasque is an incredible lipstick. For drugstore, the first line that came to mind was the Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balms – they are pigmented, give a great satin sheen and are comfortable on the lips. Haute Pink Twist* is probably my favourite shade from the line so far!

Best MAC lipstick?
MAC Girl About Town is my favourite show stopping pink and I love to whip it out in the dead of winter with a cute beanie – I have a photo on my fridge of Mister and I and I have Girl About Town on, makes me smile every time. Viva Glam Cyndi is another amazing lipstick from MAC that is one of my favourite lipsticks – what can I say, the brand is good when it comes to lippies!

The most disappointing?
Illamasqua Maiden* is so opaque, it felt like I was applying acrylic paint to my lips. The colour in the tube looks really nice but the intense formula is just not for me with Illamasqua, sheer glosses and opaque lipsticks are definitely the way to go with this brand. The Rimmel Vinyl glosses are my sisters favourite but are disappointing to me because they go off so quickly! It isn’t a problem for her though because she always loses them before they turn…

Liner - yes or no?
Far too lazy to use lipliner – I think I only own a red and nude toned one, but I don’t remember ever using them.

Best gloss?
Dior makes the prettiest glosses, though I often wish they had more crème options as a lot of the shades I love have quite a bit of shimmer in them, which makes them a bit harder to wear. I also adore the Nars gloss formulation, though I’ve only tried the old version and not the revamped one so I can’t speak much about that. I bought a mini gloss pack from Mecca Maxima a few years ago and have loved it hard!

Something extra!

The lip products I’ve used lately! These are the tubes that have been kicking around in my Muji or in my handbag for the past little while – a beautiful Sisley Phyto Lip-Twist crayon in a gorgeous pink shade, a sheer red essence gloss and two of the new Maybelline Colour Elixir’s!

I hope you enjoyed my lip product addict tag, I would love to see your answers so feel free to copy + paste and link me up to your posts if you don't feel like writing it into the comments.

Emma x

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Favourite balm/treatment?

Best eye-catching red?

Best luxury and best drugstore?

Best MAC lipstick?

The most disappointing?

Liner- yes or no?

Best gloss?

Something extra!

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Love Birds - This Gold Finch is Melting My Matchy-Matchy Heart

When I saw that Napoleon Perdis has jumped onto the matchy-matchy train, I was all aboard! My weakness for matching colours has been well documented on the blog (recently with a rosy Chanel blush and earlier with an American theme...) and seeing the pretty glosses that matched the varnish bottles made my heart leap! I quite liked the idea of getting a stunningly designed makeup bag with the products too, so was elated when the Gold Finch* duo hit my desk. If I was handing over my dollars for this collection, Flamingo would be my first pick for sure, with Gold Finch coming in runner up!

 That pop of blue totally has my heart singing - get it? Ha!

I love nude polishes that flatter my hand, this one is a pale beige with an oh-so-subtle shot of fine golden shimmer in it which gives a nice bit of depth while keeping it totally office appropriate if that's your thang. I feel really hot when I wear nude nails like this - is this strange or totally common...?

 Accent nail is two coats of Illamasqua Blizzard*, because sometimes I just can't stop myself dipping into some glitter.

 Lately I'm all about the gloss, and frequently I go through stages where all I look at while shopping is squeezy tube lipglosses. Keeping in mind the fact that I hardly ever use this style applicator, the madness continues and I think my mind finds them more 'fun' than wand style applicators. You only need a tiny bit of the Napoleon Perdis Gold Finch lipgloss otherwise the nude shade can look a bit stark, and I like how the tackiness prolongs the wear time on the lips. Overall I don't think I'd go out of my way just for the gloss in this shade, but the nail polish is a cutie and I'm very fond of the Felicia Aroney bag that the duo comes with.

Bird themes ahoy! If I were creating a duo I'd want to base it around a swamp hen, because they are the birds I see most frequently around my place and they are pretty snazzy.

What do think of matching lips to nails? An easy way to tie a look together or something you never think about?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

*Love Birds set was provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Hello Kitty Cosmetics-Collection Overview and Mini Reviews

A few weeks ago I heard a whisper of a Hello Kitty cosmetics line being brought into Priceline stores. I'm not a mad HK fan by any means, but thought the collection would be cute and so dragged Chris down there when we spent the day in the city together last week. I found the collection in the back corner of the Bourke St. Priceline store opposite Myer, the stand was thin and could be easily missed if you don't have eagle eyes.

Clockwise from left we have:

* Eyeliners ($11.95) khol pencil ($9.95) mascaras ($14.95) and balms ($9.95) 

*Bright polishes in front, pale shades behind them ($9.95)

*Hello Kitty plushie/ears with purchase (buy 2 products get gift free)

*lipsticks ($12.95)

*cheeks ($12.95) and powders ($14.95)

*matte lipsticks ($12.95)

*magnetic gloss ($13.95) diamond gloss ($9.95) Diamond Stars Roll On for Face and Body ($9.95)

*eye shadow singles ($9.95) and duos ($11.95)

*whole stand

I chose two pieces from the Hello Kitty collection, and was eligible to choose from the gift of a plush toy or kitty ears. I chose the ears as I figured I would get more use from them (kitty dress up,haha) This is what I took home with me:

A magnetic gloss in the shade 'Baby Lip' and the blush in 'Venise' with my gorgeous ears!

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The blush compact feels really sturdy

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How cute is the dotted Kitty logo on the lid!

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A heavy swatch



Venise is a warm pink shade that would be a perfect winter blush, and though it can be quite pigmented (as shown above) it's also pretty buildable. Will play around with it a little more before commenting on lasting power and other attributes. Am happy with the purchase, it's a very pretty colour in a cute and sturdy compact.

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ooh magnetic *attracts admiring glances thanks to my gloss*

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Love the subtle and cute HK touches on the prodz

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Not 'Baby Lips', just 'Baby Lip' ;)

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The Magnetic Gloss is the star of the collection in my opinion, it feels wonderful on the lips and has a strong lolly-like smell that I personally like (but I'd give the tester a sniff if you're unsure about scented glosses). Baby Lip reminds me of my Nars Orgasm gloss but a little more sparkly, and on the lip it's not a glitter bomb but more akin to a shimmery loveliness that does indeed have a 'magnetic' effect that draws the eye. It isn't sticky but very moisturising, and lasts a long time on my lips. It's the sort of colour you can whack on without a mirror, which I appreciate as I live in front of the uni library computers at the moment. I think Sanrio have hit the nail on the head with the packaging of the collection, I think it's cute but classy and much less 'cheap-looking' than I thought it might be. I especially love the little dotted Hello Kitty faces that adorn the products, I'm happy to whip these out in public without looking like I've stolen from my niece's makeup bag.

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Have you had a look at the Hello Kitty collection at Priceline?

Are you a Hello Kitty fan?

(*All items were purchased with my own money and I am not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned. Honesty, always.)

Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Plumpers

 Face of Australia is a solid brand that consistently comes up with stellar products, that remain kind on the purse. Though I am generally a lipstick loving girl, when the time comes to gloss it up I often crave a bit of minty tingle. Formulated with Ginger, Cinnamon and Menthol, these Divine Shine Lip Plumpers combine the minty tingle with a bit of warmth that I find perfect for winter (Ginger is the winner here) The two shades I own from this range are Lavish Instinct and Sterling Blossom.

  

Lavish Intinct* is a bronzed neutral, and not something  I have a dupe for in my collection. I tend to wear brighter shades, but am planning on trying this over a nude lippy and pairing it with a bronzed smoky eye. I saw Sterling Blossom at my local FOA stand, and knew she was to be my princess. I love the bright colour in the tube, and I also love the sheered out shade that develops on my lips when I wear this. I always get compliments when I wear this, which naturally deepens my love for it!

Divine Shine swatches

I adore the packaging of these glosses, they feel classic and sturdy despite the low price tag. I'm not sure about the plumping capabilities of these glosses, but it's not what I'd buy them for anyway.I would recommend these to just about anyone, the tingle and gingery scent take a while to get used to but I think most would learn to love it, just as I did.

Face of Australia's Divine Shine Lip Plumpers retail for $10.95 for 9.4g.
Stockists include Priceline, Big W,Kmart and selected pharmacies Australia wide.
For more information, visit the FOA website.

emmabovary xx

(*Note, the Lavish Instinct shade was sent to me for consideration, and impressed me so much I ventured out and bought Sterling Blossom with my own pennies.)
(*Note, the last two images prove I have been spending a fair chunk of time watching Yas over at Primped. Guilty as charged!)

Bargain Haul!

After working every day last week, all I wanted to do today was wander around my local Westfield and relax before heading into work tonight. I'm so glad I did, I found bargains galore!

*Two 'weekend' t-shirts from K-Mart, $5 a piece. I live in the coral one in the above pic, so today I grabbed it in baby pink and a turquoise shade. Super casual and great to throw on with jeans. Am always told I look thin when I wear it, too, so the loose fit must be quite flattering. I have been eyeing this 'Through Thick and Thin; in bookshops in the city where it was $35, but it was $7.99 at QBD today!! I adore Gok Wan and his shows on Foxtel, so will be an interesting autobiography to read. The two little geisha girls were $2.95 at a homewares store called Raging Earth, Mum chose the white one for herself and I bought the purple for my sister. Too cute!

The Rimmel & Australis eye shadows and palettes at the bottom of this picture were $1.00 a peice from K-Mart. I probably didn't need any of it, but I thought at that price why not. Some of them are doubles that I plan on giving to my bestie Candice,as she has a limited make-up collection and these sorts of colours would look beautiful on her. The other items are from Target:the lipgloss is a Rimmel Vinyl gloss that I love, I've just about finished mine up so bought this for $2.98 from a clearance bin. The two purple tubes of Rimmel lippy are in Plumful which is super dark, and Rose Sorbet which I am yet to try. These were $3.48 each. The little Rimmel square next to them is a blush in Pink Rose which I bought for $3.00!

I plan on swatching and reviewing these soon, so check back if you are interested and let me know what you'd like to see first. What have you hauled lately?

emmabovary xx

Australis Mulberry Glow

I'm not sure whether or not it's my Christmas spirit shining thru or just the need for some change, but I'm creeping into 'I love plum + wine lip shade' territory. It's a place I've never been before, so my steps are tentative, but I think come Christmas day and NYE I will be rocking these like I've been doing it for years! These dark shades seem festive to me, and remind me of winter coats, snow, and Christmas trees. Great, considering we are heading into summer...

I picked up this Australis lip gloss in Mulberry Glow in Priceline today, and you wouldn't believe the price... $0.01c AUD! That's correct, ONE CENT! I looked at the checkout chick bewildered when she scanned it...but then quickly hurried thru the transaction lest she change her mind about such a bargain! I also grabbed an eyeliner at this price, and another shade of gloss for $1.47. Not the worst $1.50 I've spent!

The girl at the checkout said it was an old colour, and a bit of the silver writing had rubbed off this particular gloss, but it was sealed and in otherwise perfect condition.

It feels a lot darker on than it appears in these images, though it is quite a sheer wash of dark colour, if that makes sense! The gloss is a little stickier than I'd like it to be, but I'm really not in a position to complain with this one. Bargain of the year!