Olive Green and the Power of Compliments

Years ago when I was an undergraduate at university, I walked into an afternoon tutorial on an average Wednesday rugged up in a big scarf and with my bag heaving with a new stack of library books. The lady running the tutorial at the time is a local author and she stopped speaking to compliment my makeup and ask me where I was heading after class! The quickest and most simple compliment (I was heading home to read after class!) stuck with me for all these years, and subsequently every time I wear olive green or khaki eyeshadow I'm reminded of that moment and it makes me smile. It also reminds me that if you think a nice thought while out and about, it's often worth saying something to the person, it could make their day! I often throw quick (genuine!) compliments if I see someone wearing something lovely and some may think me strange, but I'm happy to take the risk so that they have a chance at that lovely feeling that I had years ago. Here are some of my favourite olive toned shades that I love to wear (not including the MAC shade I was actually wearing for that tutorial, Mink & Sable!)

-MAC Cosmetics 'Grand Entrance' from the Intriguing Scarlet Warm Eyes Palette (MAC Passions of Red collection, 2008)

-Chanel Illusion D'Ombre '84 Epatant'

-Prestige Total Intensity shadow 'Bewitched'

-Inglot Eyeshadow Pearl '419'

-Lancôme Ombre Hypnose 'Erika F'

-Colourpop Super Shock Shadow 'Hammered'

-Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Crayon 'Urban Camouflage'

Swatches! MAC, Chanel, Prestige, Inglot, Rimmel, Colourpop, Lancome

Have you ever given someone you don't know well a compliment? Or have you been given one yourself?
Are you a fan of green shades like the ones I've shared today?
-Emma 

Face of the Day // The January Look

I've just sat down to blog after a lovely brunch with a girlfriend from work, and I thought it worth documenting my makeup look since it was primarily based on the products that I wore throughout the month of January (seen here in this post!) I'm about to switch out my everyday makeup drawer to save things getting repetitive, but in an effort to use up some staple liquid products (like primer and foundation etc) I'll be keeping those in rotation so I can use them up. I want to switch out eyeshadows and blushes mainly, since I tend to gravitate towards the same bunch all of the time and I want to show some love to the rest of my makeup collection. I'll have a post up on what I decide to switch out next week, but for now here is the makeup look I wore today for a casual brunch with a friend.

Products:
Face of Australia Face Base Primer (Napoleon Perdis dupe alert)
Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème Foundation (repurchase, yay!)
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25HR Powder Foundation* (always worn as a finishing powder)
Chanel Joues Contraste 'Jersey' (my true blush love)
Inglot Freedom System Neutral Trio (can't stop using this, argh)
Maybelline Master Graphic Liquid Liner* (finally back into black liner)
Covergirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara (why is this so hard to remove?)
Smashbox Overexposed Lip Gloss* (still a firm favourite for me)

-------------------

I recently painfully broke my toe after a spate of bad luck in our household, and so I've been loving Netflix (how good is Making a Murderer?!) and just finished reading Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty which I really enjoyed. What are you watching and reading at the moment? Would love some recommendations!
-Emma


*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Shopping my Stash

I've been working diligently on using up some of my staple products over the past few months, but I get antsy every now and again and bored of wearing the same exact look day in and day out. With the hopes of some new makeup hitting my collection over the Christmas season I decided to hold out on buying something new (touch wood!) and instead turn to my own makeup collection - that's right, I shopped my own stash!

As my long-time readers will know I'm a true #blushfiend, and so shopping my blush stash is usually a pretty exciting endeavour for me. It never fails to bring a smile to my face when I revisit an old cheek love of mine, truth be told. I first hauled Cream Soda from the MAC Archie's Girls collection in early 2013 (see the haul post here!) and find it funny that it looks so pale in the pan (even for me!) but on the cheek it makes me look so healthy, and is definitely pigmented enough once you build it up. I admittedly travel through stages with this shade where I wear the heck out of it before returning it to my makeup drawers, and the same can be said for the palette you see above...

I've never fallen head over heels for the Lorac Pro Palette in the way that everyone else in the beauty community seemed to, but I can still appreciate the nice mix of textures and Garnet sure is a showstopper shade in my collection. I keep giving it a go in the hopes that it will grow on me, so we'll see how I go with it this time around. Any tips on colour combinations you use with this one?

Another eye colour I've shopped my stash for is the stunning Chanel lllusion D'Ombre cream eyeshadow in Epatant, once again a product that falls in and out of use with me but that I love using with a matte chocolate shade through the crease for a great 'peppermint chip' eye look (see my representation here if you like!)

Lastly I went for that cliché holiday red with the Revlon Balm Stain in Adore (original post here) which is a gorgeous deep red with a minty kick that I adore. Mumma Bovary wears this shade quite a bit and inspired me to pull mine back out from the Revlon lip drawer and give it yet another whirl as I get myself pumped for Christmas.

When did you last shop your own stash?

Has anything from the 2015 holiday collections caught your eye?

Are you already pumped for Christmas?

-Emma

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 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

5 New Naturally Nude Lip Products to Try This Season

A good natural lip shade should be a staple in any woman’s arsenal – sometimes referred to as the MLBB (my lips but better) shade; every person’s idea of the perfect natural shade is different as lip tones vary greatly across the board. I quite like a rosy tone in my natural lip shades as I think that flatters a pale face, but I don’t mind a shot of peach to warm things up either. Here are the 5 newly released naturally nude lip products I’ve recently brought into my collection!

My lip product loyalty doesn't always lie with the luxury brands, I fall in love just as frequently with drugstore product and this natural nude lip line-up is no different. From essence to Chanel, a nice nude lip product is a good thing to keep in your handbag for easy touch ups throughout the day and I often have at least one of these in mine these days. Revlon Lacquer Balm in Ingenue remains the only balm I've bought from the recently released Lacquer Balm + Matte Balm line, and I love that it's a nice shiny finish with the same minty feel that the original balms have.

The Maybelline Colour Elixir in Caramel Infused is something I posted about here, and I've been loving the glossy finish and how well the pink toned nude goes if I am wearing a bronze eye look. I find the essence Metal Glam gloss in 03 Glam-Me is a touch too frosty if you over apply, but it's gorgeous to dab on the centre of your lip to liven up a nude lip or to create some dimension.

Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick in Cheri had to be included in this list - it's my first shade in the classic formula and the peachy nude shade is seriously beautiful. I definitely didn't begrudge the high price tag as soon as this hit my lips, being pale makes it hard to find flattering nudes but this one is just stunning. I've also seen it look amazing on darker skin tones than mine (Tiffany, holla!)

Last but not least is Maybelline's Tantalizing Taupe from the newly released Colorsensational Nudes collection - the white lace edged design of the display suckered me right in! This is the lip shade I've used the least but for it's definitely the most wearable of all of the nudes they've released - some of them are coffee toned which is great if you are going for Kylie Jenner lips!

Revlon Ingenue, Maybelline Caramel Infused, essence Glam-Me, Chanel Cheri + Maybelline Tantalizing Taupe

What natural lip shades do you rely on?
Which of these would suit you most?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty
*All of these products were personally purchased. Honesty, always.

The Decoy Purchase

At first I though I might be lemming the new Chanel Joues Contraste blush in Canaille because I haven't had a good shopping fix in a while. The colour is still quite scary in the pan but seeing it on Jessica from Jemorjerrica on YouTube made me want it even more. I decided to find an affordable lemming to test my crave to shop, and picked up the gorgeous NYX Paris in Love palette in Je ne sais quoi.

Mister Bovary bought me the Madeleine's and Macarons palette from the same line up for Christmas and I've been loving it lately, so I spent quite a while swatching all of the Paris in Love testers and thinking about not only what was pretty, but which one contained colours I could wear on a day-to-day basis. I thought I had curbed my shopping urge but then passed by my local Inglot, where I proceeded to swatch all of the blush pans that vaguely resembled Canaille. I almost caved in, but then common sense took over and I saw that it was a sign that my lemming for Canaille was still strong (and a little bit sad when you think about it)

As I write this I'm sitting having a coffee and doing some wedding planning, but my mind keeps drifting back to the Chanel counter. If I'm honest, it's not often that I put a strenuous amount of thought into a makeup purchase, so I'm finding this quite strange. Perhaps this is the poignant moment in my life where my makeup buying habits are changing, or maybe I'm spending too long thinking about a blush.

Emma x

Chanel Joues Contraste in 88 Vivacite - Swatches, Photos, Review, Comparisons + Face of the Day

And to think that when I received my first Chanel Joues Contraste blush from Mister Bovary, I announced that it would only be a yearly purchase...introducing 88 Vivacite, my 4th Chanel JC.

I only heard about the new blush shades being released a day before I saw these on counter, and I really didn't have to think twice about it because I had a voucher with Vivacite's name written all over it! Two new powder shades were released alongside the Perfection Lumiere Velvet foundation, with the second being 89 Canaille which I was at first not tempted by, but now have on my wishlist after hearing Jessica rave about it in this video. 

Vivacite is a beautiful and bright magenta shade that is heavily pigmented. I apply this (and in fact apply each of my Chanel JC's) with the Real Techniques Stippling Brush, and a light tap is recommended to not disturb the powder too much. The colour blended with ease and lasted all day, which I expected with the experience of my other Chanel blushes in mind. It brightened up my face and left a matte finish that was still quite satin, unlike my Pink Explosion JC which contains silver shimmer that you can see upon swatching.

Being such a bright shade, I can imagine many beauty lovers being intimidated by the colour and tone of this blush. I've laid it alongside some similar shades from my blush drawers to give a comparison for you, and as you will see in my face swatch further down this can be worn with ease even on the palest complexion.

It is probably the most matte of the blushes shown here, but I think you can see in the face swatch below how it gives off a sheen to the cheek (I don't have any powder or highlighter on in this post, just Vivacite popped over my Covergirl foundation)

Other Products Used:
Covergirl Outlast foundation in 810
Too Faced Ringleader + Gangster (Pretty Rebels palette)
Rimmel Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves mascara*
Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist in 4 Pinky*

 

Chanel Joues Contraste blush in 88 Vivacite is available on counters now and retails for approx. $50 AUD. I highly recommend it for a beautiful magenta flush that brightens up the face, the Chanel JC formula really is worth swooning over!

 

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

 

 

*Marked items were provided for consideration.

5 Blushes I'm Currently Loving

What need is there to come up with a reason to wax lyrical about my recent blush loves? I don’t need much of a push to chatter on about my favourite beauty product, so I’ve rounded up the five I’ve been wearing in recent months to share with you all.

As I’ve mentioned previously, the bulk of my makeup stash has been packed away and unpacking it has fallen by the wayside as we busy ourselves with house renovations and setting up our first home together. The ‘lazy-day’ cheek shade that I’m sure you’ve all heard me rave about is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed, which is a simply amazing rosy neutral that lasts all day and looks amazing on. If I feel like something a bit brighter that lasts all day, I turn to my Chanel Joues Contraste in Pink Explosion or Frivole. My only two Chanel JC’s, I have fallen in love with the formula this year and can’t wait to pick up the new shade Accent from the upcoming holiday collection. It’s meant to be a really pretty shimmery neutral pink shade, and from the limited promo images out there I just know I’m going to be picking it up when it launches in Australia. Okay, blush swoon over, back to the point of the post! (Moral of that tangent? Go and buy a Chanel JC!) 

The only cream blush I’ve been wearing lately is the newly released Ice Bomb crème blush from essence, the solo cheek shade from the Me & My Ice Cream collection. The gorgeous apricot shade blends like a dream, and though I’m upset that the packaging of mine has cracked, I’m still really happy to have picked up this bargain blush! The last and possibly most random blush shade I’ve been wearing is the MAC Mineralize blush in Gentle, a plummy pink shade with gold shimmer. I use a light hand with this as it has the tendency to make me look a bit too flushed, but the shimmery effect is really flattering on my cheeks.

What blushes have you been wearing lately? Any shades or formulas I need to check out?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty x

Peppermint Chip // Stash Shopping Makeup Look

Sometimes a classic colour combination is something not to be messed with, and often when I land on a winning combination I am immediately hooked! I was inspired by the thought of a mint chip cookie for this look, and it has been my go-to on and off for a while now.

 

A quick rifle through the unloved sections of my stash brought out some real winners, with the Chanel Illusion D’Ombre cream eyeshadow in Epatant being the star of the scene. I’ve been using it on and off for weeks now, and love that it isn’t too green by itself those scared of colour, take note! A light pop of BYS metallic green over the top of it can really kick the ‘mint’ effect up a notch though, and then you throw a bit of chocolate goodness through the crease and it's done - good enough to eat! 

A smudge of essence Hot Chocolate really ties the theme together for me, and I brought out my Clinique High Lengths mascara* out to really stretch my lashes out. The funny rubber brush takes a while to get used to (I may not even be there yet) but I sure love the length it gives, so I’m not going to complain!

Chanel Epatant, Burberry Copper, BYS palette, Clinique High Lengths*, Clinique Strawberry Fudge, essence Hot Chocolate

I was having a pretty good skin day when I took these photos, but props must also be given to the cheek stars that I think did a nice job of warming up my face against the relatively cool toned eye look that was the star of the show. Clinique Superbalanced Bronzer* is my top pick for a bronzer, you’ll often see my spruiking it to anyone if the topic of faux sun is mentioned in passing. In fact, I was raving about it to my lecture buddy at University earlier this week! I topped it off with my snapped but still beautiful Burberry Lip Mist in Copper (best GWP ever, I’d say!) and the peppermint chip makeup look was complete!

Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation, Laura Mercier foundation primer, Clinique Superbalanced Bronzer*, L'Oreal The Muse's Blush

What do you think of wearing chocolate and mint together? Keep it in the ice cream cone or go for it?

The Blush Files : 7 Days of Blush (evidence from a blush fiend)

My obsession with blush has been well documented (just take a look inside my overspilling blush drawer to see!) and those who have gone shopping with me in the past have adamantly labelled me a blush fiend. Some people have a penchant for beautiful lip products (see Norlin and her wonderful #lippyaday challenge!) while others have a skincare stash to rival their local Kit Cosmetics. My soft spot is definitely for those pretty pans of colour that warm up my face, and I find them the most fun aspect of makeup application. I challenged myself a while back to wear a different blush pan each day for a week, to get used to rotating what I wear and to get Tarte Exposed out of my clawing hands for once! Here are the spoils of my challenge, which was a success!

 

As well as my rosy neutrals, I threw a few brighter pinks into the mix for the week to give my cheeks a good pop of colour. Chanel’s Pink Explosion was naturally involved, and I love the shade stippled on with my Samantha Chapman for Real Techniques Stippling Brush. Truth be told, I absolutely love using that brush for the majority of my blushes, whether cream, powder, pigmented or not. BYS Pink Velvet was another pink that got a turn, I adore the BYS blush formula and even the packaging is sturdy (especially when compared to their lipstick casings) Illamasqua’s Naked Rose is one of my favourite blushes, and the matte dusty pink looks great against pale skin like mine.

 

Milani Berry Amore is a shade that took me a while to get used to, but the gold veining really works when used with a light hand. I did cheat slightly during the challenge, as I used my staple blush on one of the days where I was running out of the door to work. Tarte Exposed is a neutral rosy blush that is too beautiful for words, Chris bought it via eBay for me as a Christmas gift and I fall more in love with it every day. See, blush fiend!

 I also tried out my Korres Pink Zeas May blush for the first time, and really like the wearable pink shade. The final choice for my 7 day challenge was a mix of two Bourjois shades, I first applied Rose D’Or before topping my cheekbones and the apples with Lune D’Or, just to play around with it and see if I could change the shades up a bit.

 

So, has my status of a blush fiend been upheld, or do I need to do more to convince you, dear readers? Which blush shade would you nab from this loot given the chance?

 

*All of these blush pans were bought by me, or given as gifts from my fiancé. He knows the way to my heart is through my chipmunk cheeks ;P Honesty,always. 

February Collective Haul

Celebrating a ‘last hurrah’ of sorts, sharing some of the products I indulged in during February. March saw me begin my post graduate diploma at university, and subsequently the bulk of my spending money has been put to textbooks and a stack of new stationary to keep me on track.

Though I’ve heard negative reviews of Strawberrynet and their policies, the lure of finally getting my hands on a Jouer item was too tempting. A ‘saved search’ within my ebay account, it was Ingrid from Miss Glamorazzi that had me hooked on getting their powder blush in ‘Blossom’.  I have previously bought a YSL Crème de blush from SNet before and so when I saw #6 Rouge Passion was available, in the cart it went. The formula of theses is literally the best I’ve ever used. The CK shadow was a GWP and I chose a light neutral, as you can never have too many of those.

I am big fan of the Girlz Only dry shampoo which is available at Target for $2 per can, and when I spotted one for deep brown hair I knew that I needed to try it out. I am still using the original formula, but when I get around to trying this I will let you know how it goes. When Big W had their cosmetics sale, I popped a couple of the Maybelline City Rescue Total Clean Eye & Lip Makeup Removers to try out, and one to give to my bestie to try. Quite happy with how it is performing thus far!

There isn’t much better than receiving samples from high end beauty counters, so when my local YSL lady showed me the new Rouge Volupte Shine sample blister packs, I was over the moon. I have my eye on the shade Nude in Private but have held of purchasing until the weather cools down and I can bring out my lipsticks again. The beautiful Ulta3 set was a wonderful pharmacy find, and I’m excited to bust out the bright shades soon.

My love for Chanel Joues Contraste blushes seems to be growing, and I added the limited edition 76 Frivole to my collection at the beginning of February. A beautiful light apricot shade, this contrasts heavily with the bright Pink Explosion which was my first Chanel blush shade. I have only used this a handful of times, but am very glad to have it in my blush drawer.

Despite earlier mentioning holding off on lipstick purchases until the weather becomes bearable again, here I present my Maybelline Vivid collection (along with a cheeky Sportsgirl sale lipstick) I chose Neon Red, Vivid Mandarin and Hot Plum as they were shades I think I will get the most use from during the cold and grey winter months (which is when I like to wear bright lips most!)

Clockwise from bottom left: MAC Gentle, Chanel Frivole, YSL Rouge Passion, Jouer Blossom, MAC Poised

Just to further highlight my blush madness, I threw the new cheek shades of mine into a single shot, purely for swooning purposes. The bottom MAC shades were from this MAC haul, which I shared with you last week.

So there you have it, the stack of beauties I added to my cosmetic collection during February. Have you bought anything nice lately?

 

Favourites for January ft. Chanel, Haus of Gloi + more

 

An edit of the products I loved the most in January would be incomplete without the mention of my beloved Dermalogica Precleanse*. I feel as though my skin is happier now that I’m using this before my cleanser, so it is a definite favourite for me right now.

 

The Endota Spa Lavender & Alpine Pepper hand cream* is the best hand cream I’ve tried, and I’ve been loving popping this on as I watch YouTube videos at night time. I’ve been meticulous with moisturising my bod as well this year, and my Haus of Gloi pumpkin butter in Twice is Nice smells like amazing almond sugar cookies, and is thick and intense for my skin.

Despite it being summer in Australia and peach blushes being spruiked, my obsession with bright pink cheeks still reigns! Chanel Pink Explosion is naturally still in my everyday makeup bag, joined by the affordable Fierce Fuschia from BYS.

 

 

The YSL Touche Eclat* was something I didn’t think I would love as much as I do, but it really does work magic on brightening up my face, and I’ve found that throwing a bit on blemishes (not straight from the brush, don’t worry!) works wonders if I’m in a pinch. Barry M’s Toffee gloss is something I bought after seeing Ingrid (aka Miss Glamorazzi on YT) rave about it, and she was right! Smells amazing and is a great wearable nude, made better by the cheap price tag on ASOS.

Even though I tried to branch out with my eyeshadow choices during the first month of the year, all I could manage when I wasn’t doing a look soley for the blog featured these shades. L’Oreal's Infallible’s are one of my very favourite shadow formulations, and Metallic Lilac is fast becoming my colour of choice from the stack that I have. Paired with MAC’s Moth Brown=heaven!  Maybelline’s Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze finally got some loving on my lids, after I realised that I needed it smudged along the lower lashline for it to work on me.

What products did you love hardest in January? Anything new I need to check out?

 

*Marked items were provided for consideration, but are legitimate favourites. Honesty, always.