The Coral Contender

My obsession with pink lips seems to have waned a little bit and I've been rocking a bright coral lip. It all started when I was wearing a new top and wanted to embrace the bright shades in it, so I rustled through my stash and came up with 4 contenders...

Maybelline Color Sensational Coral Crush - this really is a stunning shade, and one that I have had for a few years now. Old and worn and one of my top 5 lip colours of all time, I always return to it when I get hooked back onto bright lips. It's bright, juicy and wears away so evenly that I often wear it to work!

Maybelline Color Sensational Vibrant Mandarin - A newer coral/orange acquisition, this was a shade from the revamped launch of the staple Maybelline line. More orange than the rest, the formula of this line is just divine.

MAC Party Parrot - a true matte shade from the lipstick legend, I was elated to pick this up from the MAC Iris Apfel collection back in 2012 (original post here!) This is slightly more red toned that the other coral rather than orange or pink, and is a nice flattering matte formula.

Revlon Super Lustrous 180 Melonade - A celebrated stunner that I really hunted for once I heard that it had been discontinued (even though I haven't worn it very much at all I have a back-up in my drawer!) The post that pushed me to buy this was definitely Tegan's...

Swooning over one of my favourite books (Virginia Woolf's A Room Of One's Own) and these four beautiful lip shades. Woolf's book stemmed from some lectures she gave about women and fiction, and it is something I reread regularly to get my mind going and pump me up from some writing.
 

In the end, I handed the reins over to Mister Bovary to decide and Coral Crush came up trumps! So I can now call it a household favourite, right? I've worn it consistently since these photos were taken, so that is saying something.

What bright coral lipstick do you have in your stash?
Do you own any of these beauties?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

*All of these were bought with my own cash. Honesty, always.

Dior Amber Diamond // Swatch, Photo, Review

The famous Dior Amber Diamond highlighter is spoken of quite often in the beauty world, but it was only when I heard that it was being discontinuted that I decided to bring it into my collection. A golden peachy sort of champagne highlighter, I find this to be a well used weapon in my makeup arsenal.

 Packaging, whether it should or not, makes a difference when it comes to my love for a cosmetic product. If a highlighter comes in flimsy packaging and isn't appealing to the eye, I admit that I would find it harder to love. Luckily, Amber Diamond is packaged beautifully in a sturdy navy blue compact, marked with Dior logos, and comes tucked nicely in a velvet sleeve.

 Though I am at the very fair end of the complexion scale, the tan section in this highlighter isn't too dark for me, though I do tend to wear this when I have a bit of bronzer on as I find it goes well with it. Like the Bobbi Brown shimmer strips you can lean towards certain colours as they are separated within the compact. From what I understand, however, the Dior offering is less frosty on the skin than BB's.

 My favourite way to apply this is with a Real Techniques Contour Brush (which comes in the core collection) and I use it along my cheekbones, down the centre of my nose and sometimes on my cupids bow if I'm really taking my time doing my makeup. It leaves a soft and diffused sort of finish on the skin, and when I know I'll be photographed I use it because I know it makes me look glowy and healthy.

 

 As I mentioned earlier, from what I understand the Dior Amber Diamond highlighter has been discontinued in some countries, so if it is something you're interested in I would hop down to your local counter, or try any online Dior sources you know of.

 

I am really happy to have this in my collection, I've seen this in the HG status of many prolific bloggers and though I have a plethora of highlighters, this is one of my favourites.

 

Have you tried Amber Diamond?

How important is packaging to you?

 

*I purchased this item with my own money. Honesty, always.



glowing guest

There is nothing I like better than a luxurious high end beauty product that makes me glow. Though I will be doing an in depth review of Dior's now discontinued Amber Diamond here soon, I have shared my thoughts on MSodaPop's guest blogger spot here. I've also shared a bit about myself and why I blog. I'd love for you to let me know what you think of it!