TheBalm Instain - Strawberry Toile

To a blush obsessed beauty blogger, it doesn't get much better than being able to trial a new blush formulation in a stunning shade! As soon as TheBalm Instain in Toile* hit my desk I threw it on my cheeks, and loved how pigmented but blendable the strawberry coloured powder was. I applied it using my Real Techniques Stippling Brush (as I do with most pigmented blushes) and layered it a little bit and found it easily buildable, so it would definitely work for those who only like a sheer shot of colour on their apples, too. Here are the other products I used to complement the strawberry shade Toile!

TheBalm describes this as a strawberry colour, and try as I might I couldn't find a lip shade with the name strawberry in it. Days like these I wish I owned Revlon Strawberry Suede let me tell you now! I decided to choose my lip shade on colour alone and so the Covergirl lipperfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Coral Twist* made the cut (these feel so nice on the lips, have you tried them yet?) The rest of the look was pretty simple, and I was impressed that I only used 7 products and about 7 minutes to finish this look!

 Anytime I use a beautiful bright blush it negates the need for a detailed eye look, so after applying TheBalm's Put A Lid On It eyelid primer* (which I had never even heard of before I received it!) I hastily scribbled the champagne shade of my Revlon Colorstay Smoky Shadow Stick in 201 Torch all over my lid, and then used the amazing deep brown shade as a liner on the outer third of my upper and lower lashline. The dark shade of this has actually snapped off (not happy Jan...) but I still use it as I love the shade that much - this speaks volumes I think!

 My inner corner highlight was mint (as usual!) with the essence Me & My Ice Cream 03 Always in my Mint marble shade. My plan is to use this wet sometime this week to see how vivid I can make it - things like this can be highlights of my day, seriously! Base needed to be simple for a hot Melbourne day so I used my favourite BB cream, the Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream*. To top off the look I used my new Revlon Lash Potion mascara which I bought at half price last week and I'm enjoying it so far.

So there you have it - a strawberry blush-centric easy makeup look that anyone could do!

TheBalm Instain blushes retail for $26.95 AUD and you can buy them here!

What do you base your makeup looks on - the eyes, the lips or the cheeks?
Have you tried much from TheBalm?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

 

Antipodean Beauties - Winter

Week three of the Antipodean Beauties challenge saw me pondering the ‘winter’ theme, which seems quite apt considering the cold weather in Melbourne at this time of year. Icy winds and smatterings of rain put me in a pale blue and grey frame of mind, so I leant towards those shades to create this winter makeup look.

winter essentials : comforting lip balms and beautiful grey shadows

The L'Oreal Infallible shadow in Sassy Marshmallow had been in the back of my mind since the Miss Candy collection was released quite some time ago, but I was yet to pick it up to add to my (rather large!) Infallible collection. After a long study session last week I stopped by Target with my friend Carly, and ended up finding Sassy Marshmallow for less than $5 in a clearance tub! With the Antipodean Beauties Winter theme in mind, I took the iridescent pale blue shade filled with pink/red shimmer home with me and set to work.

 

I tapped some Sassy Marshmallow (still giggling at the shade name) over the lid, concentrating the pale shimmery colour on the inner half of my eye as I knew I was going back in with another colour for the outer corners. I swept a little bit of my brown toned grey Inglot shade into the crease but found it didn’t have enough impact, so I went back in with Garter Belt from my Too Faced Boudoir palette. Garter Belt has been my favourite shadow for darker eye looks since I bought this palette, and I think it looks nice with the pale blue shadow to bring it to a more wearable level.  I then mixed the dark grey Inglot shade with the shimmery greys from my Australis Frock + Roll palette and tapped them under the eye for some definition.

I finished off the eye look with these products:

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Light*
Maybelline Dream Matte Powder
YSL Touché Éclat*
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
MAC Patisserie lipstick
BOE Lip Lacquer in Milk Chocolate
Covergirl Clump Crusher mascara

What makeup looks do you turn to for cold weather?

Do you fancy pale blue shadows, or find them too '80's' for your style?

Be sure to check out the other Antipodean Beauties below for their take on the 'WINTER' theme.

 *Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.