Anniversary Weekend Away : The Makeup Bag

I have to say, this may just be the proudest I've ever been of my weekend away packing efforts! If we take a look back to the ridiculousness that was 2011 in Rye, a family trip in 2012 and the pink craze that happened mid-June 2014, I think it's safe to say I've toned down my packing and am happy to report that I used almost every piece that came into the city with me for my wedding anniversary! I brought the foundation/base basics, some easy to wear eye colours, my current favourite highlighter, a good selection of lip shades and the most impressive part? Only one blush!

We were out and about for the 4 days we were away and I wore neutral eye shades the whole time, sometimes topped with a glitter or a duochrome to add a bit of pizazz to make me feel dressed up. I felt it worked well because I didn't have to think too hard about what lip colours I wore with everything, I had some pinks to layer, nudes to throw on and the 'showstopper' shade in the form of Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Frambourjoise for our anniversary dinner on Saturday night.

The staple blush I brought along was also the only shade to come on our honeymoon last year, the gorgeous and very wearable Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Jersey! I brought along the Colourpop Highlighter in Wisp primarily for our special dinner, it never fails to make me feel just that bit more glam than I otherwise would!

If you have any questions about the contents of my makeup bag or would to know specific shade names/how I feel about a certain product, feel free to ask in the comments as I'd love to chat makeup with you!

How do you think I went with packing this time around?
-Emma

Anniversary Nails; Rose Cashmere with Razzle & Dazzle

When it came to choosing a nail colour for our anniversary weekend away, I knew I wanted to choose a feminine looking shade that would push me outside of my comfort zone a little bit. As soon as I saw Michele1218 wearing a chic neutral in this video I decided to go down that route...what I eventually decided on was much more pink in tone but I was still happy with the dusty nature of the shade and how the glitter made it a little more festive for our mini-break!

I'm definitely happier with how this looks on my newly applied acrylics, my nails are too weak to polish so I like to get clear acrylics and be able to enjoy my nail polish collection properly! I chose L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Le Vernis in Rose Cashmere, which is a dusty pink mauve crème that screams chic to me, almost like a grown up Barbie colour? It's pulling a bit more purple in these photos than it looks in reality, I definitely recommend checking out this L'Oreal range in store as most of my favourite shades come from this line and can be hard to capture on the fly!

I topped my last two fingers with a coat of Savvy by DB's Razzle & Dazzle which is way prettier on the nail than the bottle would suggest (check out this full mani I found online, it's stunning!) I love the way the fine gold shimmer and pink hexes tie in with the base shade perfectly, I can't wait to see what this topper looks like on top of other manicures, too!

When you wear a glitter accent, which fingers do you paint?
What is your favourite feminine nail shade?
-Emma x

Anniversary Weekend Away : Curated Travel Skincare

Mister Bovary and I returned last night from a long weekend in the city to celebrate our first wedding anniversary - it's amazing to think it was a whole year ago that I walked down the aisle and celebrated with all of our family, and so funny to think that I've not yet posted any wedding snaps/details here on the blog! I wonder if that is something you would find interesting? But I digress; I wanted to share with you the curated travel skincare I brought along with me for our 3 night stay in Melbourne, as I am quite proud of all of the travel-sized and mini products I saved up for the occasion!

Quite a simplistic routine was on the agenda for a busy weekend of sightseeing, romantic dinners and the like, so I brought along a few bits for makeup removal and the basic staples for everything else.

• Neutrogena Make-Up Removing Cleansing Towelettes
• Bioderma Crealine H2O 20ml
• Bioderma Sebium H2O 10ml
• Chanel Gentle Biphase Eye Makeup Remover 10ml
• Bioderma Cotton Rounds
• Dermalogica Precleanse 30ml
• Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel
• Bioderma Sebium AKN Purifying Corrective Care
• Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask (decanted into pot)
• OPI Avojuice Coconut Melon Lotion

I had been squirreling away my baby skincare bits for this trip and another we have mid-November, and it made such a difference to the weight of my overnight bag! Mister was very impressed with my restraint and thought the stash very cute, and I was pleased that I used everything I brought with me bar the Chanel remover (used Bioderma instead!) and the Bioderma Crealine (the 10ml Sebium sachet lasted the whole trip so I didn't need to reach for it) I have another post detailing the makeup I brought along with me forthcoming and I must say I did very well with packing for this weekend away.

 

How do you fare when it comes to packing for short trips?

What is the most romantic date you've ever been on?

-Emma

Beauty News // Shop + Report

Though I’m just back from a weekend away with Chris for our 5^th anniversary, I kept true to my title of beauty blogger and had my eyes peeled for new beauty news in the area while we were away. I thought it might be helpful to share some of the exciting beauty news with you all, and if you would like to keep up to date with the news faster add me on Instagram (@emmabovary) or Twitter (@emmabovaryblog)

 We spent Friday wandering around Rosebud, and I was elated to see tickets on the shelf and space cleared for some of my most loved French skincare brands! Uriage, Bioderma and La Roche Posay make some products that really work for me, and I can’t wait for these brands to roll out across all Priceline stores so everyone can take advantage of some lovely French skincare. For those who are yet to try any of these brands, I would recommend these products:

Uriage

Eye cream

Day Cream

Facial Spray

Bioderma

Crealine H2O

Facial Scrub

La Roche Posay

Effaclar Duo

I’m planning on picking up another tube of LRP Effaclar Duo as mine has just run out, some Bioderma H2O and a new moisturiser or sunscreen from LRP as well.

Speaking of exciting Priceline developments, they have finally rolled out Hydraluron and Eysilix (which I was very happy to receive from Priceline!) and us Aussie’s now have regular access to some top notch skincare. For information about the famed Hydraluron (which will no doubt sell out fast so run!) see the amazing Caroline Hirons, who is always recommending it as a serum to use underneath moisturiser to lock in hydration. It retails for $35 AUD- if you have tried it, let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below!

It is becoming quite evident that I don’t mind a gander in a pharmacy, fair to say? I was in Rosebud Terry White when I spotted a new Bubblegum themed nail collection from Revlon, including the famous Whimsical nail polish that I have had in my saved searches on eBay forever! I also ended up getting Girly from the same collection, and I am mighty pleased with both shades.

The new range of Ulta3 nail polishes have also been spotted at a few pharmacies (including TW Rosebud) and I grabbed a few of the shimmer + glitter shades, one of which was the amazing black + white dotted topcoat called Stop the Press. For a mere $2 these polishes are great quality and some of the shades are really unique, so I highly recommend picking up a few if you can.

Do you have any beauty news to share?

What is the latest beauty item you’ve purchased?

 

Anniversary Haul // Burberry, Illamasqua + Bioderma

Chris and I celebrated our anniversary almost a month ago, but I still thought you'd like to have a gander at what I bought during our weekend stay in Melbourne CBD.

Picked up a bottle of Bioderma Crealine H20 as I had finished my bottle and missed it terribly. One of my very favourite beauty finds, I've reviewed it here if you want to see my thoughts on it.

I stopped by the Illamasqua counter in Myer on Bourke St and fell in love with the new Naked Strangers collection. They really have the best imagery, the brand can do no wrong in my eyes. I've reviewed this Naked Rose blush here.

After watching Zoe Foster knock out a smokey eye in two minutes over here, I knew I needed to pick up the MAC paint pot she used. Constructivist is nice and easy to work with and blend, nice chocolately colours like this always remind me of Zoe!

More lipsticks is not what I need, but I can never stop myself with Face of Australia as they are so damn cheap. Trying to branch out with red lip shades to see what I suit best, and this ruby and orange toned shade seemed nice. Have a post on these coming up!

Chris usually buys me jewellery for anniversarys, but this year I hadn't stumbled upon anything I liked enough to choose so we avoided the shiny stuff this year. I think having my engagement ringAs we passed by Burberry the MUA asked if I'd like a free makeover, and Chris urged me to try the things I'd had on my Burberry wishlist!

Pale Barley eyeshadow was numero uno on my Burberry wants list, and I am so happy to finally own it! I have a Burberry specific post coming up soon with swatches and photos! The MUA used the Golden Brown eyeliner on me and I loved the way the colour defined my eyes and went with Pale Barley. The Copper Lip Mist was a free GWP on the day, which was a big surprise for me! Free Burberry isn't something that occurs often. The MUA also threw in a ton of fragrance samples (mostly male scents for Chris, some of which I have stolen) and was generally amazing at her job.

The Burberry part of this doesn't really count as a 'haul' as it was Chris' anniversary gift to me, but still thought I'd show it! Here is one of the photos from our weekend together.

I had such a great weekend away, Chris has had some health problems lately and we have been pretty stressed out so this getaway was needed! I am yet to get the engagement party photos from the photographer, but when I do would any of you be interested in seeing some of them in a post?

I picked up a few other items over the weekend but this was the main beauty stuff.

What do you think of my haul?!