March Purchases + Pick-Ups

Another round up of purchases and pick-ups are ahead – I used some gift cards in March and treated myself to a few new beauty bits to spice up my routine, and I’m quite pleased with everything I chose.

PURCHASES!

Sugarpill 'Midori'



Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette 'Colour Field'

I picked up just one product from my visit to Salon Melbourne, a Sugarpill Single Shadow in Midori which I’ve used briefly during the month. The green theme continued when I picked up the Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette in Colour Field with a Myer gift card I had left over from Christmas – I didn’t intend to fill my drawers with new green products but it seems my green nail polish obsession is transferring over to other beauty items as well!

essence lipliners - wish me a rose + in the nude



Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation



essence 'Good Girls Wear Peach' Blush

I spiced up my lip colour stash with more shades of the essence Lipliners, which are such amazing quality (especially considering the $2 price tag!) I now have the whole range since I picked up the last two – 11 In the Nude and 12 Wish Me a Rose.  I mentioned in my New on Shelf post that I finally nabbed the Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation after failing to find my pale shade in Hawaii – so far I like the formula, but it hasn’t knocked the Covergirl Outlast Foundation off the top spot. The last makeup bit I grabbed in March is something I haven’t even swatched yet – bit of a fail as a beauty blogger, right? The essence blush ‘Good Girls Wear Peach’ from the Good Girl Bad Girl collection is quite pretty and I think that it will look gorgeous over a matte peach blush…even if they formula isn’t great I collect these limited edition blushes, so it will still be worth it.

PICK-UPS!

 

Sisley goodies!



Katy Perry - Killer Queen's Spring Reign



Rimmel Apocalips Matte Lip Velvet

Some exciting Sisley* bits hit my desk in March, and I am so pumped to have another of the fabulous Phyto Lip Twists* to stash in my handbag. A new spring scent came through to brighten up this dreary autumn weather in the form of Katy Perry’s Killer Queen's Spring Reign * (Mister and I are huge KP fans, she is a total babe!) I’ve also just started trialling the new take on the famous Rimmel Apocalips – the Matte Lip Velvet* version! I adore a good matte lip right now (bit of an obsession actually) so fingers crossed these adhere nicely to the lips.

The Body Shops Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask



OPI Hawaii mini pack

 

The press sample that has excited me most this month? The Body Shop Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask*! I love love love a good overnight mask (it was top of my wishlist!) and can’t wait to trial this one for the blog. I also squealed a little bit when the OPI Hawaii mini pack of polishes arrived – I think the juicy Aloha From OPI will be the first to hit my nails from this tropical collection.

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I received a few other bits and bobs that will be posted about in more detail during the month – so many lovely new bits in my stash right now and I’m loving it! I am currently lemming a new blush though (not a particular blush, I just really want a new one!) so I think that might be what I look to purchase in April.

What have you hauled recently?

-Emma x

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

 

Best Drugstore Beauty Buys

If you’re looking for a little pick-me-up the day before payday, the lure of Myer and its luxe cosmetic brands is often out of reach for many of us (payday itself is a whole other story!) It’s days like those where I turn to the drugstore aisles in search of a beauty fix, and in the sea of cheaply made duds there lies some gems that are really worth your while. I thought I’d skim through my drawers in search of the best drugstore beauty I own, and I came up with a lot more than I anticipated! I’ve split my recommendations into three categories to make things easier, and now is as good a time as any for my Australian readers to pick up a bargain with Priceline holding their 40% cosmetics sale for two days only (today and Wednesday 25th)

EYES:
I couldn't think of an eyeshadow palette from the Australian store that has really impressed me, so turned to my Total Intensity by Prestige Long Term Relationship Single Eyeshadows instead. The pigmentation is insane, I've got the MAC Club dupe Hocus Pocus and the stunning Bewitched. I don't wear these all the time but they are great quality, I'll need to do a full post for you soon as I think they're underrated. Eye staples that I use daily are also drugstore gems, Covergirl's Clump Crusher mascara and essence Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Hot Chocolate.

LIPS:
I'm loving lip pencils and long lasting lip products right now - the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet's are a firm favourite (shown here in the shades Frambourjoise and Pink Pong) but the newcomer from Rimmel is floating my boat right now, too - the Provocalips 16HR Kiss Proof Lip Colour in Make Your Move*. I've recently fallen for the $2 essence lipliners too and plan on picking up some back-ups during the Priceline sale (seriously, too cheap people!) but another more vibrant lip pencil option is the new Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils*. I have been wearing the natural Nude Perfection* and the bright Fab Orange* over and over since they hit my desk!

BASE & BLUSH:
I'm a big fan of affordable foundation offerings, and the newest release on the street is the Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Oil Free Foundation. I've been trialling it and so far it hasn't knocked my beloved Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3in1 Foundation from the top spot, but it's still pretty good and worth a try! I struggled to think of a decent high street blush until I clapped eyes on my Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Sticks* in my everyday drawer (shown here in Coral Sheen, Pink Fever and Just-Pinched Pink) They are probably the only blush I'd strongly recommend from Priceline - if you've tried a great drugstore blush I'd love to hear about it though!

What drugstore staples do you swear by? Will you be picking anything up from the Priceline sale?
-Emma

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

New on Shelf

I’m totally guilty of snapping pictures on my iPhone as I peruse the shops, and love popping them up on Instagram or just looking back while considering which pieces I’d like to purchase. I find this to be helpful if you’re unable to regularly visit your Priceline or Myer as it gives you an insight into the ‘shiny and new’ things without you having to run out and buy each and every one. There are some pretty neat new things out that caught my eye on recent outings, and after noticing just how many I’d snapped I thought it only fair to share their ‘newness’ with you, too. Enjoy!

I made an attempt to buy the Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous foundation while in Hawaii but they didn’t have my shade in stock – it just launched in Australia last week and was half price at Woolworths so I snapped up one in the shade 105. Trialling at the moment and so far, so good!

Out of the two new essence collections, Good Girl Bad Girl definitely contained the products that tempted me most. Out exclusively in Priceline, the shimmery star-embossed ‘Good Girls Wear Peach’ is stunning and I can see the lipsticks selling out fast in shades of dark vampy purple and bright fuchsia.

essence have also rolled out another collection exclusive to Target, Like an Unforgettable Kiss which is whimsical and romantic looking. The nail polish shades are quite nice and the duo heart blushes seem like a matte, pale version of the Too Faced blushes that are popular.

Always fond of a new Australis nail polish, I have to admit I chuckled a little bit when I looked at all of the names of these- well done Australis! I definitely want to check out the bright pink Mexican Madness in store and Swagger Like Us purely for the name…

Quite an impressive display for the Revlon Ultra HD Lipsticks, don’t you think? I remember watching this video and thinking they sounded alright, but I think a re-watch is in order to help me decide on which shades I should try!

An ultra-affordable new release on shelves now is the bath and body range from Kmart! I’ve heard good things about the body scrub and the fragrance mist in Jasmine smells wonderful, very similar in quality to something like Victoria’s Secret from what I can gather. I have enough fragrance mists to sink a battleship but I have a feeling these will still come home with me…

 

Enchanting Nightbird sounds so enticing and it definitely suits the winter theme for Bourjois 2015. The crème 24hr shadows are supposedly really nice but I’m all about those new lip crayon shades – Sweet Macchiato, come to your coffee-loving Mama!

A new player in the affordable micellar water realm is fine by me, and I like the packaging of the new L’Oreal Skin Perfection 3in1 Micellar Cleansing Water !

 

I’ve actually heard that the new Max Factor Crème Puff blushes are akin to the Hourglass Ambient Light Blushes…that has definitely made me want to pick one up even more!

 

Speaking of Hourglass, the new Modernist eyeshadow palettes have launched at Mecca and are pretty stunning! I wasn’t too sure about the joint shade idea and overall look of them at first but the shadow texture is quite impressive and the shades all seem quite lovely.

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So there you have it – a round-up of lots of new goodies on beauty shelves right now! Have you bought any of these yet? Which of these looks most tempting to you?

-Emma

 

 

Current Wishlist : February 2015

Despite seemingly having a lack of shopping mojo at the moment, my lust for certain items still dwells deep in my beauty-loving belly and eventually I know I will be getting these products for myself! I think my overhauling on the honeymoon quelled my need for new things, and I'm making sure to enjoy the things I already have before adding to my stash...that being said, here are the products I'm currently lusting over.

ColourPop Lippie Stix
I've seen ColourPop products all over Instagram and Twitter and I am utterly obsessed with doing a big haul of their stuff. Mister has promised this as a belated birthday gift but we have an upcoming Christening to pay for so we're holding off for now. I plan on grabbing some of their powder eyeshadows, brand new blushes and a bunch of the Lippie Stix. I first saw ColourPop in this video and anything Jessica likes, I usually end up wanting.

Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous
I tried to nab this in America but every drugstore I went to didn't have my shade left on the display, I was sorely disappointed. I may resort to eBay if this doesn't launch in Australia soon...I watched this review of it on the plane and it spurred my need for this, coupled with the fact that my favourite foundation comes from Covergirl so it seems promising.

Urban Decay Single Eyeshadow in 'Sin'
I've almost used up the entire pan of Sin in my Urban Decay Naked Palette and it's my favourite champagne shadow, so I really feel like I need a single of it in my life. Since Urban Decay are coming to Mecca in March I will wait until then to pick it up.

The Body Shop Smoky Poppy
I've heard that this scent is sweet and musky, and the packaging makes me want to try it too. I haven't been to The Body Shop for a while so am looking forward to giving this a sniff in store and might treat myself to a shower gel or body lotion (not that I need more body lotion in this lifetime!)

The Body Shop Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask
Overnight masks are my kryptonite in theory, and despite only owning one of them I always pore over reviews of them online and keep an eye out for new releases to one day purchase. Seeing Caroline Hirons talk about skincare shoots it onto my wishlist, and being akin to memory foam in texture is definitely another selling point for me.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil
I'm obsessed with the thought of the perfect matte red lip, but now it's just a matter of working out which Nars red is the perfect one for my pale skin. I love seeing them on Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup but her skin isn't the same tone as mine so I shall have to try on a few shades at Mecca to work this one out for myself...

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Happy Nude Year
Apart from the hilarious shade name, the seemingly rosy nude colour of this new Bourjois release has me intrigued. I adore the formula of these and am not sure why I haven't bought more after my initial love for them was realised...I will definitely be adding more shades to my Rouge Edition Velvet collection this year.


I also forgot to pop MAC Make You Mine blush on this list - d'oh! Looking at all of the inspiration for this wishlist and it seems like fellow bloggers and YouTubers are to blame for all my beautyl ustings - tsk tsk!
-Emma x