Hens Night Nails - Oh What A Knight from the Gelish Once Upon a Dream Collection

Considering the amount of time I spend (as a beauty blogger) thinking about nail polish, you would think that I would come prepared to my hens night nail appointment, right? Yet there I was, standing with the Gelish swatch board at my favourite nail place not knowing what I was going to do. I was planning on working my makeup style around my nail colour, and wanted it to look good against the gold bar detailing on the black peplum dress I was wearing that night.

wearing a replacement ring as my engagement ring is off getting resized and buffed for the big day!

I had originally wanted a nice shimmery forest green or maybe a bright coral orange colour to really pop against the black, but as soon as I saw Oh What A Knight on the swatch board I was drawn to it like moth to flame.

It's a strange mix and I can't quite pin down the exact colour - some descriptions say it is copper, at times I definitely see rose gold in there, but it has also got a really nice cooler tone to it which works well with my pale skin tone. The bright yellow golds they were offering me were just too extreme and would have looked terrible on my hands! I also got them to layer a silver glitter over the top of both middle fingers as an accent, in hindsight I probably would've liked the extra glitter on all 10 fingers!

I had an amazing time at my hens night, we hired a party bus to take us around the city and it was so nice not to have to arrange a taxi at the end of the night! My feet were aching the next day from all of the dancing I did, I stayed at the parentals place for the night and the French toast cooked by my Pappa the next morning was the cherry on top for me!

 

I'll leave you with two snaps from early on in the night - would love about the best hens night you've ever been on?

 

Emma x

on the bus heading into the city!

with Mumma Bovary having some food before we left

 

Rose Gold Obsession

Though many fashion experts stand by the ‘skin tone’ rule when it comes to gold or silver colour choices, I throw caution to the wind and wear it all! Though it may sound strange, I don’t mind if a piece of clothing, nail colour or shadow doesn’t suit me, as long as it makes me feel pretty and happy. Rose gold definitely fits that bill, and these recent additions can attest to my love for the middle of the road shade.

mani is just Australis' Rose Tattoo in this image 

I see rose gold as a more modern and chic metal when compared to silver (or white gold) and the traditional yellow gold. Working in the retail jewellery sector, I often advise people on what styles look good and what suits them. I always say, go with your gut, and customers are always content with a new piece of jewellery if it makes them feel the warm and fuzzies. This rose gold phone case from Portmans gives me the warm and fuzzies, no doubt!

 

 

I didn’t hesitate to buy the new Australis nail polish in Rose Tattoo when I saw it land in my local Priceline (side note: check out the new polish range, they are all ace!) This glittery Rose Gold topcoat from Portmans was stashed inside my stocking on Christmas morning, and the two were totally made for one another. I love the way the rose gold glitter flakes sit atop the metallic rose gold, and next time I am going to try it out the glitter with a nude underneath to let it really stand out. I have worn the Australis shade by itself as a mani, and absolutely loved it.

 

What metal tones do you gravitate towards? I’d love to know who wears what!

*I purchased the Australis shade myself, and as stated the Portman’s polish was a gift.

Sinful FOTD and Wellbeing Wednesday

I'll be honest- in the morning, the thing that gets me out of bed is the thought of a flat white from my favourite cafe near work. As the sun rises it's the place to be, or so says those who are also there early (one grandfather, and a business man who never seems to be working) On these mornings, I generally can't be bothered with intricate eye looks, and today I willl show you my recent fall-back look. Inspired, as always, by the amazing Jess at The Belle Lumiere, I cracked out my Urban Decay Naked Palette and went to town with one of the best shades it contains:

Sin!

Hello mascara smudges, 'sup

A super classy sheen of a shimmer, no chunky glitter fest here! (Though I am fond of those at times, too) Sin is a beautiful champagne shade that I can't imagine looking bad on anyone.

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A super wearable shade

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Ooh look,sunrise! I jest, this is here to show you how Sin is one of those kick ass shadows that make you look as though you have more than one shade on. It appears darker in the crease which fancies it up a notch, a big win for me.
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Products used:

Bourjois HealthyMix Serum Foundation #52

Sleek Rose Gold Blush

Urban Decay Buck eyeshadow for brows

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

Clinique High Impact Mascara

Nothing on the lips, though I did pop some Korres Jasmine on during the day

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I really love Sin as a wash of colour over the lid as I'm running out the door, and am glad that Jess mentioning it rekindled my love for the shade.

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HOW WICKED IS YOUR WELLBEING?

Mine is going along pretty well, I was uber successful in last weeks challenge so am a happy camper! The group challenge last week was to keep a food diary, and it became a habit for me so I breezed through the challenge. I can now see patterns of eating and the sneaky calories that have been my downfall, and am now working on altering decisions with my food intake. I also found out just how much hommus I really eat! Yowza!
How did everyone else go with the food diary?
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My personal challenge last week was to spend more time with the people I love, and it makes my heart swell to say I excelled at this challenge. More afternoons with my Mum, coffee and shopping with elderly family friends, dinner at a work friends place, city trips with my bestie, my niece's dancing concert as well as nightly walks with Chris meant my vibe meter was skyrocketing! It felt nice to just sit and enjoy their company, without thinking about assignments or work issues.
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I kept up with the previous weeks challenges which involved downing more water and chomping on lots of fruit and veg, as well as getting active at least 4 times each week. This Wellbeing Wednesday initiative has been so good to me!
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Image Source Unknown, let me know if it's yours!

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This weeks Group Challenge is to spend more time with loved ones, and avoid lifts and escalators in favour of taking the stairs. Your tush will thank you for it!

My Personal Challenge is to cut out alcohol for at least 6 out of the 7 days this week (I may have decided to do 6 days because of the upcoming annual MBBE ;) ) and to eat chia seeds each day. I got this great challenge idea from Sabine at Echolife !
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Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in 84 Epatant- swatches,review and EOTD

This little pot has stolen my heart with it's shimmering beauty, and I waited with baited breath for it to be released in Australia. The week that it did I headed into the city to swatch my heart out, though I already knew that the magnificent Epatant would be the first to come home with me. And yes, the previous statement makes it clear that I plan on bringing more into my makeup family;) Next up will be Ebloui I do believe. Pink Sith posted here about them, so I blame her for the lemming, but I digress.

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The new Chanel Illusion D'Ombre long wear luminous eyeshadows are a permanent collection (yay!) and are encased in classy glass jars with black gloss lids. The consistency is awesome, they are a bouncy cream gel style formula with plenty of shimmery loveliness. They claim to be long wearing and luminous, and I agree with these claims. 
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The shadows come in 6 shades, Epatant being a shimmering khaki green taupe that is flecked with gold.

 Glossy black box with product details

The two main ways the shadows can be used are outlined on the lid, I first used the shadow all over the lid but lately have been rocking Epatant as a liner (upper and lower)

You get a specially designed brush with your shadow, created to compliment these shadows. I find it to work perfectly with them for both a wash of colour or for use as a liner.

Cute little brush with cover to slip it into

A nice angle for liner as you can see. As you can also see, I couldn't wait to use this, so the brush is not perfectly clean.

Luxurious packaging of the shadows

Sigh

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Glides on so easily, the above image is a single light swatch. The colour is so deep, and the more you build it up the better it gets. As a liner it's stunning, and I think that it is my favourite way to wear it.

A slightly blurrier swatch to give you an indication of the shimmer factor.

Not the clearest photo, but you can see the effect it has on the eye.

Love Love Love this on the lower lashline. If a body part were to be included in my August favourites, my lower lashline would be it! 
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So far I've worn Epatant as a liner (top and bottom) more often than an all over colour, but I will continue to experiment and let you know how I go. I used this shadow with MAC Painterly paint pot as a base and found no creasing, so am a happy camper. I initially thought I wouldn't get a heap of wear out of this, but I have been reaching for it a bit and think it will serve me well. Looking forward to bringing new bouncy Chanel babies into my makeup family in the near future.
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Illusion D'Ombre's retail for $48 AUD and can be purchased from Myer, DJ's or wherever you normally get your Chanel fix from. Mine was purchased with my own cash from the Chanel counter in Bourke St Myer (Melbourne)
 Internationally, please check your Chanel site for more details.
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Have you succumbed to any of these little pots of beauty?
emmabovary xx

Holiday Make Up Bag 'Weekend Away' edition

I went away with Mister Christopher this past weekend for our 3 year dating anniversary. We went to Rye, and despite it being winter the weather was really nice! This is the loot I took along with me for the 3 night stay, it may seem a lot but I love playing around with different looks when I have the time.

THE LOT

I tried to get some organisation going in there, but as soon as the case lifts it all jumbles around.

THE BASE PRODUCTS

Illamasqua Concealer

Face of Australia Primer

Face of Australia translucent powder

Bourjois HealthyMix Foundation 52

Clinique foundation

THE CLEANERS

Mini versions of Benefit's new range

THE PEEPERS

Clinique E/S Strawberry Fudge Quad

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Estee Lauder Orange Pop

Australis palette in Frock and Roll (used here)

Napoleon Perdis eye dust in StarDust

Face of Australia Mousse shadow in Magic Mist

THE SMACKERS

Softlips balm in Chai Latte

NARS Carthage

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy

MAC Dazzleglass in Baby Sparks

Revlon Super Lustrous in Pink Pop

Revlon Super Lustrous in Coral Reef

Lanolips LemonAid

MAC Ever Hip

Clinique Citrus Rose

Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey

Savvy lip crayon in Cafe

Jack Black balm in Vanilla and Lavender (reviewed here)

THE CHEEKS

Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

Essence Highlight Powder in Famous Flamingo(shown here)

Lacura blush

NYX Peach

Stila Gladiola

W7 Bronzer/Highlight

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So as you can see from the display I've made of my makeup case lid, I brought heaps to play with while I was away! Admittedly not all was used, but that's the pleasure of driving to your holiday destination- no excess baggage fees!!

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Scent of the weekend was Guerlain Champs Elysees for moi, and a David Beckham for Chris.

All that was in Chris/ toiletries bag was deodorant and a roll on concealer!

If you'd like to see me review any of the above products, let me know and I'll send them to the front of the queue. Hope you had a great weekend, I'm back to reality now and drinking coffee by the boatload!

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emmabovary xx