What I Wore // January 2016

For a chunk of January I was away with friends in Canggu, Bali having the time of my life and enjoying a bare face, but when I have worn makeup after the new year ticked over, this has been the face of choice. I have been enjoying playing with some other blush shades and will have a post up on those soon, but in general these were the staples I relied on during the month of January!

Inglot Freedom Palette Trio - perhaps the best fluke ever, these colours are utter perfection and were just chosen on a whim at Inglot after they applied my makeup for an event. January saw me using the third and lightest colour all over the lid, and the matte chocolate shade thrown through the crease if the need arose for something a bit more 'done up' 

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème Foundation - I caved in and repurchased this after seeing that it was half price at Chemist Warehouse, and I don't know how I managed without it for so long! I'll have to drum up a full review of this at some point as it's just so good. 

Chanel Jersey Joues Contraste - Chanel, need I say more? But in all seriousness, this has become my favourite go-to blush and I took it away on both of my recent overseas trips as it goes with every look you can think of!

Covergirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara -  I usually only have a mascara or two open at any given time and right now this is the one I'm trying out. Love the cute packaging and it works quite well with my lashes, but it does seem a bit harder to remove than some of my other mascaras so I'm still undecided about it.

Maybelline Master Graphic Liquid Liner* - This is a surprising winner in my books, and has gotten me back into liquid lining, and black liner in general after my long stint with chocolate eyeliner crayons. It has a slanted sharpie-esque tip that I find really easy to manoeuvre, and I'm finding it faster to apply than my Face of Australia brush tip liner, so that's a definite plus.

Inglot Trio &
Chanel Jersey Joues Contraste

I have a heap of new goodies to play with after our holiday as well as my usual trial products, so I'm looking forward to changing things up and getting creative with my makeup again. I'd love to know what eyeshadow/palette you've been loving this year, too, so let me know!
-Emma

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

2015 Empties - Second Quarter

Another lacklustre quarter on the empties front unfortunately (see 2015 first quarter here) but I am making headway with a few samples thanks to my #LaidBackSampleProject and I'm making dents in a few makeup pieces too. Hopefully the third quarter will see even more skincare, a few makeup bits and a whole lotta samples via the aforementioned project...I'm currently rounding up a stack of beauty products to give away as I've become even more overwhelmed by my collection in recent weeks, so hopefully the extra breathing space will allow me to focus on half-used products to burn through.

I found the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation basically empty in a drawer, goodness only knows why it hadn't been tossed but it's in the trash now, and I completely used up the Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème Foundation despite having intentions of finishing up Illamasqua Skin Base first. I think of the three I'd repurchase the Revlon as I like the high coverage, but disappointingly the lid cracked for no reason (it never left my desk!) and it was a pain in that regard. Other highlights include using up my bottle of Benefit So Hooked on Carmella which was sweet and strong, and the Garnier skincare which was fun to try out. I'm glad to see the back of the Hollister Laguna Beach mist which I ended up using as a room spray to get through it!



As always, Original Source is well represented in my empties - I actually accidently tossed a few other bottles of the shower gel that didn't make it to this photo! The British Strawberry Shower Gel was a hit with Mister and the Lime is a household favourite that we always repurchase, but the most surprising hit out of this lot was the Pantene Colour Therapy Conditioner*. I wasn't totally keen on this one as Pantene can be hit and miss for me, but I loved how light but hydrated this kept my long hair and it lasted a really long time, too!

 

How are you going in regards to using up product?

Any tips for using up makeup and not getting tempted by shiny new/different things?!

-Emma

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Current Beauty Favourites

I've been all about a flawless base and warm lips lately, and my favourites also seem to reflect my efforts to wean myself off of an obsession with neutral blushes, with pink shades filling my blush drawers. I've taken to layering blushes often in an effort to spice things up, and with a new hairstyle comes new (hair) responsibilities so the rare hair-care appearance is in part thanks to that new development. All in all, a pretty stellar line-up of currently loved products!

L'Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray* (Normal Hold)

Never did I expect to have 'hairspray' in a favourites post - no sirree I didn't see that coming! Now that I have a fringe though I need to set it every day with spray and I've tried 3 or 4 so far, and this is easily the best - no residue, holds well enough, brushes out and comes in both full-size and mini which is great.

 

Batiste Tropical Dry Shampoo (Mini)

It's a similar scenario with this - I appreciate a good dry shampoo like most people but using it to plump up my fringe is wonderful and the Tropical scent is my favourite from Batiste.

 

Rimmel Provocalips 'Make Your Move'*

Seen in action here, this long-last lip colour wasn't a colour I thought I'd fall for but it works so well with my pale skin and I've been reaching for it a whole lot since it hit my desk! Sometimes I find the formula a touch too drying but it's only happened twice so far, so perhaps it's a hint to load up on the balm at the beginning of my makeup prep.

 

Bite Beauty Matte Lip Crème 'Gavi' (mini Holiday edition)

It's definitely in the same colour family as 'Make Your Move' so I guess warm lip colours are floating my boat at the moment! The formula of these is actually insane, they feel so comfortable on the lips and look amazing, too.

Lancôme Dreamtone Serum*
My only wish is that this was within my current price range for skincare...*cries* I honestly believe that this changed the texture and tone of my skin and the acne scarring on my left cheek - it's empty now and the heart breaks! See my full review here.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (in particular, Verve)
Obsession isn't even the word for this shade, and the palette in general to be frank. I've reached for it over all of my other beautiful shadows and am enjoying dipping into shades I've neglected and just generally playing around and getting to know this palette. That is such a #beautyblogger thing to say, isn't it?

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème Foundation (150 Buff)
I'm all about the full-coverage base right now - give me (almost) flawless skin all day errday. This bad boy is wonderful, shame it took me so long to dip into the glass jar but I'm making up for lost time now (whilst still indulging in Illamasqua Skin Base in an effort to use it up...)

Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick 'Just-Pinched Pink'*
Love how pigmented this is, and the shade is a neutral pink that totally suits my complexion!

In2It Blush 'Sensation'
I pulled this from my blush drawers to admire the pretty embossing (now almost gone!) but fell in love with the easy colour and the thought of how little time it will take to use up this tiny little pan...I've been dusting a bit of this over the top of the aforementioned Maybelline Blush Stick and they are a great pair!

 

Current blush loves? Dreamtone dupe? Favourite Naked palette shade?

-Emma

 

*Products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.