Pale Girl Nudes

Finding a nude lip shade that is flattering is about as hard as finding a highly sought after MAC blush a week after its limited edition release! Luckily I've managed to pile up my 'awesome nude lip product' count to four, all of them wearable and little loves of mine. 

The Elianto Nutrilip Lipstick in Baby Nude was a Malaysian purchase from a few holidays ago, and I love the (weirdly greyish...) pale nude shade and how light and pleasant it feels on my lips. The one thing I despise about it is the flimsy packaging - I definitely wouldn't recommend leaving this in your handbag as the lid flies off with ease at a moments notice! Would still repurchase if we ever return to Malaysia for a holiday.

I am a big fan of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, and Honey is one of the best shades in the line up for me! It is nice and rosy (making it ace for pale skin in my opinion) The peppermint buzz is lovely and the stain it leaves behind means I don't stress about how it wears off. A winner all around and definitely an underappreciated shade, as I will admit it lacks the excitement of some of the brighter colours in the range (think Rendezvous, Smitten + Crush)

What is that, another lip crayon in a blog post on emmabovarybeauty? I am obviously terrible at hiding my love for this lip formula, and as far as I remember the Clinique Chubby Stick was my first foray into the crayon trend - the original and the best, right? I won Whole Lotta Honey in a social media competition and it has had a pretty permanent spot in my handbag ever since. Glossier than the Revlon version, this is less rosy but dark enough to look nice on my complexion. If I'm wearing a lot of eye makeup I often wear this, and I can easily see myself finishing the whole stick in the near future.

Last but not least we have the token gloss of the group, the Mineralogie Lipgloss in Shell* which is definitely the peachiest of this bunch, but on my lips I feel it is the most 'traditional nude' shade once it hits my lips and pale face. I quite like topping all of the other nudes with this gloss to give them a bit of oomph, and I am a big fan of the packaging as well.

How easy do you find it to wear nude lip products?
Have you hopped on the lip crayon trend, or are you sticking to bright lipsticks instead?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

NEON + neutral Makeup Look with Australis

note to self: hair oil exists for a reason, Ms Frizz!

 

Cheeks: Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
Lips: Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey + Barry M Toffee gloss

As promised, I put the Australis Neutrals & Neons palette to the test and created a wearable look to show you! The colours didn’t blend away (as some affordable brands tend to do!) and I found the shadows soft and easy to blend together for this look. I popped a bit of the acid green on the inner corners and used the first 3 neutral shadows to create an easy natural look with a twist. I used the Australis Curve Ink liner* to ground the look down (a great tip for those who are frightened of wearing brights!) and used lots of mascara as well, as I always do.

 

What shades from this palette would you like me to create a look with next?

Are you excited about affordable brands bringing out amazing palettes like this?

Which of the NEON shades are you most afraid of?

*Marked items were provided for consideration. The Clinique item was won on a social media competition. Honesty, always.

What I Wore on My Face // L'Occitane Drinks Edition

Earlier in the week I spent the day Christmas shopping for all of the little ones in my family, and spent the evening having Christmas drinks with the lovely ladies at L'Occitane. I had been hanging out to sniff the new Magical Leaves collection, and was happy to finally get a chance to look at it!

The beautiful Melbourne Central store front.

Some gift packs from the new Marvellous Flowers and Magical Leaves collections.

Norlin getting a hand massage with some L'Occitane products

 

I decided to rock a taupey purple eye look to go with my purple statement necklace, but I ended up forgetting to wear the beads to L'Occitane anyway! I used a mix of brands to get my purple look, and was happy to get some compliments from staff when I was buying gifts during the day.

 

 

Eyes:
L'Oreal Infallible in Metallic Lilac
Clarins purple from the Enchanted palette*
Inglot purple shade
Physicians Formula purple liner (from the Brown Eyes Trio)
Face of Australia Impact Curl mascara

Cheeks:
NYX Peach blush
Clarins Bronzing Duo in 03 Dark*
BYS Fierce Fuschia blush

Face:
Illamasqua Skin Base
Face of Australia Outback Translucent Powder*
Maybelline Dream Matte powder (for touch ups)

Lips:
Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey*
Smashbox gloss in Overexposed*

I felt really nice with this eye look on, it didn't photograph as well as it looked in reality (in my opinion) I highly recommend every eye product I used for this look-very happy with them all! The lip duo is something I've been wearing almost every day lately, I can easily put it on without a mirror and it keeps my lips happy and goes with the dramatic eye looks I've been wearing.

What do you think of my eye look?
What is your favourite L'Occitane product? The almond range has stolen my heart!

*The Clinique product was won in a competition, and marked items were provided for editorial consideration. Honesty, always.

The Hunger Games: A Katniss Everdeen Look

The Hunger Games film came out in Australia last Thursday, and I was excited to see how the adaption would turn out! I have read the first two books so far and am holding out on the 3rd 'til uni holidays, but watching the movie has made me want to dive into it right now!
Chris and I went to a restaurant before the movie on Friday night, and I was inspired by The Hunger Games protagonist Katniss Everdeen when I was doing my makeup.

Katniss is quite a natural beauty in both the book and the film, and so I decided to create a healthy flushed look (from running around the forest!) with bright eyes to open my face up. A natural lip look was necessary as Katniss doesn't seem the type to wear makeup anyway, and wears simple balm for most of the film.

Face:

Bourjois Healthymix 52

YSL Creme de Blush in 02

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzing Powder

Benefits Watts Up! highlighter*

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Cream

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Urban Decay Sin (Naked Palette)

Urban Decay Virgin (Naked Palette)

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

Lips:

1skinsolution Vanilla lip balm

Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey

Katniss rocks quite a few brighter looks in the film when her stylist Cinna takes control over her look, and I can't wait to try some of them out! Cinna's gold liner is also gorgeous, and I will definitely be using him as inspiration in a look soon!

I decided to use my YSL Creme de Blush as I think it gives a great natural finish compared to powder blushes, and it lasts really well which is also part of the reason why it is one of my favourite products. I have an in-depth post coming up on these blushes, they are incredible.

I wore my khaki cargo pants and a long sleeved black top with chunky boots to see the film, I felt a bit funny semi-dressing up but it sure got me into The Hunger Games mood! I also wore my hair to the side with a plait to really channel Katniss' look, and I decided I really like my hair this way.

And now, I leave you with my 'I can't wait to see The Hunger Games movie' face.
 You're welcome!

This look has coincided with a challenge from Sara-May at Makeup Utopia as part of their regular challenges. This round has challenged us (here) to create a look inspired by The Hunger Games- I urge you all to have a look at some of the inspiration there and give it a go yourself! I had this post ready before the challenge but am glad to be finally involved in a challenge- I may give another look a go in the coming week!

Have you read The Hunger Games series, or seen the film?

What do you think of the look?

Are you Team Peeta, or Team Gale?

Do you think the film adaption did the novel justice?

Items marked * were provided for consideration.

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)

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