New on Shelf - April 2016 Edition

It may be well and good to love decluttering and ridding yourself of great chunks of your makeup and beauty stash, but for someone like me who adores trying new things (and spending money in general) I have to balance my purging efforts with a good window shop (or in most cases, an online beauty shop where I don't check out my cart!) I've spotted some new products that have hit the shelves in April and wanted to share my window shopping bounty with your eyes - feast, my friends!

 

I don't know how I managed to do it, but I've misplaced my Violet Candy Styler from ghd straightener and my VS Sassoon set that had lasted me over 10 years has finally carked it. I am struggling without a straightener for this crazy mop, and thinking of a new VS Sassoon since the quality is definitely there. The VS Sassoon Goddess Ultimate is mighty pretty and sparkly ($142.95AUD)

I have such a soft spot for Bobbi Brown, and after seeing Jessica on YouTube rave about the Art Sticks I'm lusting over the new Bobbi Brown Art Stick Duo ($80AUD) The colours seem so pigmented and they look like a fancy version of my beloved Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils.

Dermalogica always knock it out of the park and I'm eyeing off the new Hydrablur Primer ($70AUD) I'm a fan of primers that blur pores as I have some large areas around my cheek and nose that could do with some spackle before I apply foundation!

I've been waiting for Garnier to release an updated anti-dandruff shampoo as my stockpile of the discontinued blue bottles is running low! Grow Strong Anti-Dandruff Shampoo ($5.95AUD) looks like it is worth a try, and I might pick up the hair mask from this release to give it a whirl.

Kiehl's Turmeric + Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Masque ($58AUD) is reminiscent of the Peter Thomas Roth masks, and goodness knows I do love a good face mask! I have my go-to moisture masks and a great clay mask from Kiehl's for spotty days, but radiance is always a plus and I love the turmeric aspect of it most of all.

I had to include something for Mister as I scrolled through the new beauty bits for the month, and he's in need of a good moisturiser for his flaky cheeks and he likes the L'Oreal Men packaging. L'Oreal Paris Men Expert HydraPower 48hr Moisturiser ($15.95) sounds like a safe bet to grab for him at Priceline, so he can stop stealing my products!

I also liked the look of the new The Body Shop British Rose Collection so I may have to sniff that in store soon...

 

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I love being able to chat about new product releases without buying each and every one when they're released - are you like this as well, or does it frustrate you not to own all of the exciting beauty goodies that are out now? How do you maintain a balance in your makeup and beauty collection, do you purge frequently or limit what you buy?

 

-Emma

 

*Not a sponsored post, just an honest window shop for you to peek at!

New Beauty Releases

The tried and true products are still well-loved, but playing with the new kids on the block makes me so happy and excited about makeup and beauty again in a big way ('cause they've got the right stuff, babyyyy - points if you get the reference!)

Despite being deep into a Netflix-induced old school Gossip Girl obsession right now, I'm still totally up for trying out new things and the best way I know how is by taking a peek at the new beauty bits on shelves and slapping them on myself for a whirl! My cheeks have been glowing thanks to the new Sisley Phyto-Touche Illusion D'Ete* which is one of those awesome gel powders that fake a really healthy look (no real rays for this fair maiden!) and naturally I'm still stuck on the new Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blushes - the pictured Alezane shade is a serious stunner. I've been popping those over the new L'Oreal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation in Vanilla* - annoyingly transfers easily but I quite enjoy the finish of this base so I'm sure use up the tube despite that!

New lip releases are a dime a dozen and since my drawers are stacked high I'm picky about what I'll try - the Carmex Green Tea Jasmine Lip Balm sounded too delicious to pass up, the Bobbi Brown Telluride lipgloss in Sunset* is gorgeous (see it in action here!) and may replace my old Nars lipgloss obsession, and the packaging of the new Lancôme Shine Lover Lipstick in Twisted Beige* is definitely the brands best yet. The sheer and shiny finish may not last the longest on my lips, but I like the colour a whole lot and as long as the weather isn't too hot I like toting this tube about in my handbag (not a fan of melted lip products!)

Twisted Beige, Sisley bronzing gel powder, Alezane, Sunset

I'm still loving the first three Urban Decay Naked palettes, but practising my smoky eye game with the fresh Naked Smoky Palette has been a lot of fun and I'm really glad I added it into my UD collection. Something I'm less chuffed about is the new Rimmel Wake Me Up Mascara* - at first I liked the pretty green tube, awesome cucumber scent and wet formula, but it takes what seems like an eternity to dry on my lashes and I always manage to get mascara all over my lids before it sets properly. I'd rather buy a few Rimmel nail polish bottles instead of this, a much better investment I think!

Rounding out the newbies? The Body Shop Italian Summer Fig EDT*, a jolt of strong figgy goodness that I've been wearing a ton of! I just saw in store that they have those cute little gift cubes in this scent for Christmas gift-giving - how perfect is that!? I have to pick up an early KK present this week so I'm going to hit them up for sure. 

 

Tried anything new lately?

What's your best $20 and under KK gift idea for a lady?

What lipgloss formula is your all-time favourite?

Hands up who got the song reference at the start of the post?!

-Emma x

 

 

*Marked products provided for consideration. Honesty, always!

The Quick High End Makeup Look

Sometimes I just feel like slapping a whole load of pricey products onto my mug, and on this particular morning it seemed like a good way to trial some of my new press samples while still giving some love to my Chanel sweethearts. I'm really into a hazy purple eye right now, and although Chanel Poesie pulls quite neutral on me I've still been reaching for it every few days. The Joues Contraste Blush 'In Love' has also been getting a bit of a work out around Chez Bovary - it's just a bit different from my standard neutrals so it's been quite refreshing!

 

I'm still unsure about my feelings towards the Lancôme Miracle Cushion Compact Foundation in Pure Porcelaine* - while I like how cool (literally!) it feels on the skin and the whole cute cushion aspect, it only provides light coverage and I'm a full-coverage girl all the way these days! I'm still trialling it though so should be able to pop up a proper post on it soon. 

I decided to forgo the whole 3 step process of the Bobbi Brown Sunset Pink Lip Trio* from the new Telluride collection and instead just swipe on the pretty lipgloss in Sunset* - a pink coral shade that is my first gloss from the makeup mega house.  I'm in neutral palette heaven at my beauty desk right now with a whole load of new releases staring at me including the neutral Telluride shadow palette, but since Chanel Poesie won out I will have to leave those until next time. So here is the complete quick and easy high end makeup look!

It was a pretty random bunch and next time I wear the Bobbi Brown Sunset Lipgloss I'm going to try pairing it with a pink blush to see if it further enhances the pink tones of the gloss. Everything I wore for this face of the day was perfect for a swipe-on-quickly makeup look, which I like to do on mornings when I've hit the snooze button a few times too many!

 

What is the nicest high end lipgloss you've ever tried?

Are you a fan of high end makeup products, or do you stick to the drugstore when it comes to beauty?

 

-Emma

*Products provided for consideration. Honesty, always!

Scotch on the Rocks - A Makeup Look

The first Christmas party of the season rolled around over the weekend and surprisingly enough it was for my Dad’s workplace, who were putting on a family event to enjoy with their workers. Since the event was early (it began at 6:30, presumably to accommodate younger families) I shied away from the typical (and beautiful) holiday addition of red lips at the thought of it fading awkwardly, and went for a more neutral lip colour and a careful eye look made entirely with my new Bobbi Brown palette.

 

Base & Cheeks:

I started with a thin layer of my Face of Australia Face Base (a dupe for the Napoleon Perdis primer!) before buffing in some Illamasqua Skin Base all over. I set it all with my Maybelline Matte Maker powder* and then set to work on bringing some colour back into my face. I couldn’t stop myself from using my Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed (I must admit it was something I missed while overseas) but brought out a new highlighter for the festive season – the Bobbi Brown High Light powder in Bronze Glow* ($80 AUD) from the gorgeous new Scotch on the Rocks holiday collection. I’ve also been trying out the Skindivania Makeup Setting Spray* and so far it’s faring well.

Eyes:

I was aching to try out my new Bobbi Brown Deluxe Lip & Eye Palette* ($130 AUD) which is also from the Scotch on the Rocks collection so I put it to work. Over a base of MAC Painterly Paint Pot I applied the peachy brown Antique Rose then went over it with Bronzed Pink Metallic. I used Black Chocolate along the lashline to beef up my lashes and also as a crease colour, and then smudged some of Malted along the lower lashline to balance out the look.  I used Ivory Eye for my brow bone and Cream Metallic for my inner corner, and I was pretty impressed with how the palette came with all the basic shades you would need – so often palettes lack a good brow bone highlight!

Lips:

The beloved Bite Beauty Matte Lip Cream in Leche was my natural choice, the formula of these is phenomenal.

 

 

The festivities were great fun and we enjoyed some drinks in the sunshine as the kids played on the Jurassic park themed jumping castle. It was a pretty low-key event and sometimes that is exactly what you need on a Friday afternoon!

Have you been heading out for work drinks or Christmas parties lately? I am really into the Christmas spirit at the moment and am loving being able to spend more time with family!

Emma x

*Marked items were provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

The Honeymoon Wishlist (Part Two)

We're less than two months away from the wedding - which also means the honeymoon is looming closer! Since my last Honeymoon Wishlist we've booked the whole lot, so now I know we are definitely heading over the the U.S for the very first time. We'll be spending the majority of our honeymoon in Hawaii (Maui + Waikiki) with jaunts in LA and Vegas beforehand, suffice to say shopping is on my mind along with the lolling around relaxing.

I have been perusing the Sephora website to no end looking at all the things I will get to check out, and the things that have intrigued me greatly are the palettes - surprise surprise!

Tarte Amazonian Clay eyeshadow palette v1

Anything Tarte is going to tempt me on this trip, I can see myself grabbing a whole bunch of products from the brand to try out and this palette looks like the best value so far. The shades look very wearable and I hope they swatch smoothly, too!

 

Chanel Poesie palette

I've been eyeing this one off at the Myer counter since it launched, but think I might wait until we hit US shores where everything is cheaper to indulge in my first Chanel eye quad.

 

Marc Jacobs The Lolita palette

I definitely want to pick up one of the MJ palettes as we don't have access to his beauty brand here in Australia. I love the look of the bright palette in this range but realistically speaking I will get more joy from the neutral palette options, so they are probably what I will head home with.

 

Kat Von D Monarch palette

As a celebrity, I'm really not a fan of Kat Von D's style or mannerisms - in fact I always ask Mister Bovary to turn over the channel if he starts watching her while I'm in the room! Her makeup line has a pretty good reputation though so I'm looking forward to swatching some of the shadows and lip products to see if anything catches my eye.

 

Nars Narsissist palette

I have to say that I don't have as much experience with Nars as many other bloggers seem to - the blushes are yet to amaze me and I only have the odd eyeshadow duo to use, so I don't know much about the shades in this 15 strong palette. They definitely look like colours I would wear often and I'm thinking of picking up the Nars eye primer also, so if this is in stock I want to see how it fares. I have always wanted the Coconut Grove single shadow and since it's in here it would be a shame to pass on it...

 

Bobbi Brown Nude on Nude palette

This is something I want to swatch, but I'm not necessarily going to pick it up. I find Bobbi Brown shadows quite sheer and I've never been able to take the plunge and buy any, though I am always intrigued by them. Perhaps this trip will topple me over the edge of Bobbi Brown mountain?

 

 

Thinking about the percentage of these that I may actually pick up is equal parts exciting and ridiculous, so there's that...what can I say, I know what I like and what I'll use and it just makes sense to haul these rather than a bunch of random stuff I might not enjoy!

 

We'll see how we go, honeymoon countdown timer is ticking and purse-strings are pulled tight to save for this lot!

 

Emma x