Currently Trialling - April '16

I fell off the trialling wagon for a while there while my house was having a run of bad luck, but now I'm back in the game and enjoying all the new bits and bobs that are cluttering up my desk and makeup drawers. A new fragrance, skincare bits and a wonderful new Color Tattoo that I am quite enamoured with.

Maybelline know what they're doing when it comes to that paint-pot style cream product for eyes. I love Bad to the Bronze as does practically everyone I've spoken to about it, but this new Creamy Beige Color Tattoo that I bought on sale while doing the groceries is seriously enhancing all of the powder shadows I've been piling on top of it - nice work MNY!

Another new drugstore release that I'm sure you've seen a review or two of is the Rimmel The Only 1 lipstick* - creamy, very pigmented and colourful! They are a bit more intense and moisturising than I have been going for lately (I'm all about matte everyday kinda colours) but gosh I can see these being favourites for those who sport bright lips all day errrday.

Thanks to my favourite The Belle Lumiere I won a Paula's Choice skincare pack; I finally get to try the brand that everyone raves about! This Hydralight Moisture-Infusing Lotion isn't my favourite for hydrating and is a bit whiffy, I think I need to try something targeted to a drier skin type. Another mascara hit my stash, the Rimmel Scandaleyes Xtreme* which gives me a great lash look, but can tend to smudge on my eyelids and brow bone unless I'm super slow and careful with it....

Something really cool I've added into my routine in recent months is the Australis Banana Powder! Many moons ago I almost picked up Kim Kardashian's favourite Ben Nye Banana Powder but wimped out at the last moment, so to be able to try a similar product for $14.95 made me very happy indeed. I've been using this to set my undereye concealer and haven't decided how I feel about it yet...

 

I'm sure you've seen the new unisex Calvin Klein CK2 fragrance around on social media, I think the bottle is very cool and modern but the scent smells nicer on my husband than it does on me so it has been passed on. The new Sisley products never fail to impress and I'm trying out the new Sisley Nutritive Lip Balm*, which is nice but the Black Rose Face Mask* from the brand is definitely the star product from them at the moment!

Last but not least I am trialling the new Too Faced Born This Way foundation that I shared in my recent haul - I love the high coverage but I need to get some moisture back into my skin before I can totally enjoy this product.

What are you currently trialling?

-Emma x

*Products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

all week long - Ben Nye Eye Shadow and Rouge Palette

A while ago I pulled out my Ben Nye Essential Eye Shadow and Rouge Palette, as I ashamedly had not used it once since buying it at IMATS in 2011! I wanted to give it a good run, and have been dabbing my brush into the cheek and eye colours for over a week now. I thought that I would get sick of it, but I'm still going quite well and have only strayed a few times.

Vanilla, Shell, Cork, Espresso, Smokey Taupe and Black
Nectarine, Blushing Bride, Dusty Pink, Vintage Rose, Pink Bliss and Fresh Coral

 For what is I think the first time in my beauty-loving stage of life, I have been wearing a super toned down eye look every day! I feel quite strange not rocking the shimmer, but the fact that wearing a matte cream eyeshadow like Shell over the lid makes me excited is a wonderful thing. I sometimes run a little bit of Cork, Espresso or Smokey Taupe through the crease, but generally it is Cream and some essence Hot Chocolate eyeliner before I'm out the door. The matte shades in this palette are done so well, they aren't chalky and blend on the lid with such ease it makes mornings simple. Cream + Hot Chocolate, see?

I've been steadily working my way through all of these blushes, and I am happy to report that all of them are really lovely! Some are quite pale so might not suit darker complexions than mine, but I find them to sit really nicely on my fair skin. There is a definite stand out shade though, in the form of the booming bright Nectarine which is just divine. I've been returning to this shade quite a bit and pairing it with my Revlon Pango Peach lipgloss, which is also a big love of mine. Now that the weather is slowly heating up I refuse to take lipstick out with me in my handbag for fear of it melting, so I am turning to some lovely glosses like this one!

 

What do you think of this eye and cheek palette?

Have you tried anything from Ben Nye, or have you been to IMATS?

Do you like wearing gloss in the summer too?

 

Emma @emmabovarybeauty

IMATS Haul

I had been meaning to post this sooner, but it is better late than never! I picked up quite a few goodies outside of IMATS during the week I stayed in Sydney, but will save that for a separate haul.

Last year I came home from IMATS regretting my hesitation in buying certain things, and I was sure to leave with all boxes ticked this year, as you can see. I've kept the brushes in a separate image below, you best believe I bought some!

I once again visited the Gorgeous Cosmetics booth, and bought a powder highlighter in the shade Prism, and some Duo Lash glue (the clear variety) The sales assistant kindly gave me a sample of the Snowberry night cream as well. I stocked up on lashes at the Blync Lashes stand, and bought a stack of big Red Cherry lashes. I had a pair  of 510's applied at the stand (BBU headed to Legally Blonde: The Musical that night so I wanted big lashes!) and they were really comfortable on, so I bought more of that style to take home.

I was excited to visit The Face Paint Shop and check out their face paint tools. I decided not to purchase any just yet, but indulged in some crazily-cheap glitter pots to get creative with! I also visited Scotty's Makeup and bought some of their infamous Studio Brush Sterilizer (ran into Rae Morris and had a chat about palettes and brushes, which resulted in this purchase.)

With a lack of Z Palettes and the shoddy nature of the Unii palette stand (here, have a look, oh we don't have any you can buy, here is a wait list- I've been on a 'wait list' since IMATS 2011!) I turned to Scotty's and Girlee Cosmetics instead. Scotty's palette (very top of photo) is quite heavy and comes with pans for you to fill. I will probably be popping the pans away and placing my own shadows in there. I  bought an empty large Girlee palette in snakeskin, and a small filled with four shadows.

The sweetheart of the haul would have to be my beautiful Ben Nye Rouge & Glam palette, filled with matte neutral shadows and a row of blushes. Each Ben Nye pan was $10 at IMATS and this palette was only $70, so I ended up saving money and getting a lot more pans for it!

I dipped my toe into almost every brush brand IMATS had to offer!

My very first Hakuhodo purchase, sigh. I bought three eye brushes from the famous Japanese brush brand, and though they were the most expensive I treasure them. I also bought the large black brush roll from Girlee for only $5!

I literally just threw a bunch of Crown brushes into a basket and paid for them, I figure the more brushes you have the less you have to clean them!

I stopped by Rae Morris' stand and of course the Radiance brush was sold out (I have one but was contemplating getting it as a gift for somebody) I chose to buy the mini kabuki, to use with my powder highlighters. Lizzi also gave me this precision bent liner brush with a promise that it is easy to use :)

The Royal & Langnickel stand was pretty much wiped clean when I got there late in the day, and so I only managed to get a few pieces. I got the powder brush for myself, and two more of those contouring brushes for my sister and my best friend Candice. I also picked up some of the mini brush sets for them, and one for myself which I forgot to photograph.

 

Now can you see why I had to split my Sydney haul from my IMATS loot?

In all seriousness, I had expected to get this much and was very happy with everything I chose. They are all things I'll get a lot of use out of, and were very well priced.

 

Did you go to IMATS this year?

What item do you like best from my haul?

 

 

*All of the items were purchased by me (except for Lizzi's gift) I did not include any of my press items in this haul. Honesty, always.