Hens Night Nails - Oh What A Knight from the Gelish Once Upon a Dream Collection

Considering the amount of time I spend (as a beauty blogger) thinking about nail polish, you would think that I would come prepared to my hens night nail appointment, right? Yet there I was, standing with the Gelish swatch board at my favourite nail place not knowing what I was going to do. I was planning on working my makeup style around my nail colour, and wanted it to look good against the gold bar detailing on the black peplum dress I was wearing that night.

wearing a replacement ring as my engagement ring is off getting resized and buffed for the big day!

I had originally wanted a nice shimmery forest green or maybe a bright coral orange colour to really pop against the black, but as soon as I saw Oh What A Knight on the swatch board I was drawn to it like moth to flame.

It's a strange mix and I can't quite pin down the exact colour - some descriptions say it is copper, at times I definitely see rose gold in there, but it has also got a really nice cooler tone to it which works well with my pale skin tone. The bright yellow golds they were offering me were just too extreme and would have looked terrible on my hands! I also got them to layer a silver glitter over the top of both middle fingers as an accent, in hindsight I probably would've liked the extra glitter on all 10 fingers!

I had an amazing time at my hens night, we hired a party bus to take us around the city and it was so nice not to have to arrange a taxi at the end of the night! My feet were aching the next day from all of the dancing I did, I stayed at the parentals place for the night and the French toast cooked by my Pappa the next morning was the cherry on top for me!

 

I'll leave you with two snaps from early on in the night - would love about the best hens night you've ever been on?

 

Emma x

on the bus heading into the city!

with Mumma Bovary having some food before we left

 

the burberry face

I decided to create a wearable neutral look with some of my new Burberry products (see the haul here!), and this is the final product. Just something quick to have coffee and run some errands!

A super light wash of Pale Barley with some Golden Brown liner in the lashline.

It is extremely rare for me to head out without eyeshadow on, if I'm in a rush I like to pop some Painterly Paint Pot on, then slap on a shimmery pale neutral shade and some mascara. Pale Barley is perfect for this sort of thing, but can also be paired with darker browns to create a more intricate look with a defined crease.

So sad that my Lip Mist in Copper has snapped, I would repurchase again but have to work out how to fix this one first. It's a glossy finish and a natural shade that goes with most of the looks I create.

Face

Face of Australia Face Base primer

L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundation*

Body Shop Honeycomb bronzer in 01

Benefit Dallas blush

Eyes

MAC Painterly paint pot

Burberry e/s in Pale Barley

Urban Decay e/s in Virgin

Burberry eyeliner in Golden Brown

Maybelline Lash Stilletto mascara

Lips

Burberry Lip Mist in Copper

*Marked item was provided for consideration at a press event. Honesty, always.

Burberry Haul // Pale Barley,Copper,Golden Brown

 

Way back in June Christopher and I celebrated 4 years together, and I still haven't posted pictures of my Burberry haul which he bought as part of his gift to me!

I hadn't even planned on looking at Burberry, but as we cruised around David Jones the Burberry sales assistant offered a free makeover so I jumped in the chair and enjoyed some Burberry goodies while Chris played on his iPhone.

Though I didn't get a shot of my makeover, I did get a list of the products used. I was so happy with the way my eyes turned out, that it led to these purchases...

 

Pale Barley was the first thing I asked to try on, I've heard so many people rave about it and I'm really glad to have it in my collection. Naturally, I've taken a million photos of this and it will have its own review so that I don't photobomb this haul too much.

 

Golden Brown eye definer, Pale Barley eyeshadow

Burberry had a promotion on at the time and because we were buying two items, I had a choice of the Burberry Lip Mists. I chose the shade Copper after trying it on, and since then it has been my most worn lipstick. I am definitely going back for another Lip Mist, the formula makes my lips look divine and they are so comfortable to wear. Mine has since snapped inside the tube, I'm so heartbroken so any tips on how to mend it would be welcome.

It isn't often that you hear of full size free cosmetics from brands like Burberry, so I was elated to be able to try (and fall in love with) one of their lip products. The sales assistant was kind enough to throw a heap of samples in my gorgeous Burberry shopping bag (mainly for Chris, as he was nice and sweet as I was getting my face done!)

 

Have you tried anything from the Burberry Beauty line?

What are your thoughts on cosmetics as luxury items?

Do you love getting GWP's and samples with purchases?

 

 

On the Lips // ft. Burberry, Chanel, MAC +

I came across this post on Get Lippie and thought it would be a good idea to share with you the lip colours I've been wearing this past week or so.

 Without thinking, this week I have been wearing very autumn/winter appropriate lip colours. Looking at the swatches, I noticed I have been wearing juicier/glossier lip looks, perhaps subconsciously trying to keep my lips hydrated in this moisture-sucking weather. I have mixed up the brands but leant towards mid to high end without realising it. More swatches at the end of the post!

 

 

Natural lighting.

I dabble in lip gloss but always come back to lipstick, and these are the chosen ones this week. Natural Compatibles Berry* is probably my second favourite lipstick EVER (second to Viva Glam Cyndi) and I have no idea why I haven't blogged about it before. It makes me feel like I can take on the world, best feeling ever. Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Boy  leans quite mauve on me so I find it nice for this sort of weather. I've been wearing this to work quite a bit in an effort to use it up, I just know how great the feeling will be when I finish the first Chanel product I ever bought, and I'm gunning for it!

Taken with flash!

MAC's Plumful is, funnily enough, a plum lipstick which is so flattering on my pale skin. I find it so easy to wear and it makes my lips look so smooth and flake free. The final lipstick I've been reaching for a ton this week is my Burberry Lip Mist in Copper, which was a GWP in this haul. So glossy and even though it is a colour I never would have chosen for myself, I feel like it is a nude shade that really does suit me.

Smashbox's lipgloss in Tease is a raspberry shade that was applied on me during a makeover and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it mine. I bought this mini size and adore the formulation, and this week I wore this over Plumful when we had an early Fathers Day dinner at home. Chanel's Troublant is nothing short of amazing, I cannot fault the shade or formulation as it is out of this world. Review and FOTD is here. The final lip product is the new Sally Hansen Vita-E Lip Soother in Vanilla. The scent is delicious and it is such a juicy formulation, plus the packaging is really cute.

Which shade stands out to you most?

What has been on your lips?

 

*Sent for consideration, but as I said it is one of my favourites and it is awesome! Honesty, always.

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?!