4 Beach Beauty Essentials

Now that Australia has turned the heat to high, I've been reaching for my hot weather essentials more than ever before. Pool parties and beach trips have been happening quite often for me, and these 4 products have really helped me stay fresh in the sweltering weather.

Invisible Zinc's Tinted Daywear in Light* is what I take with me for tropical holidays, and it is also perfect for a light base for any water based action. It warms up my face while protecting it with SPF 30+ and is a physical sunscreen, which I prefer. It does look quite greasy on, so the next product is a must...

Maybelline's Dream Matte powder in Cream is the best powder I've ever used, and I've gone through many pans over the years. It never cakes and provides a matte finish and a little bit of coverage, so it goes perfectly with the Invisible Zinc for daytime.

I'm a big fan of the Stila Convertible Colors, and this mini size is perfect for throwing in my bag and applying with my fingers. The colour I have on at the moment is Lillium, but I have quite a few of these cheek cremes in my stash. They add a touch of colour to my face without looking overdone for the pool or beach, which I love.

YSL Glossy Stains are one of my very favourite lip products, and I love how long wearing they are. You get the best of both worlds with them, as they have the depth of a lipstick with the shine of a gloss, plus they won't melt in your bag at the beach. I pack away my lipsticks during this time of year, in Melbourne it is just too hot to risk melting my favourite shades so I stick to crayons, liquid lipsticks or gloss.

So there you have it, my top 4 summer beauty essentials for trips to the beach or poolside jaunts. What are yours?

Emma x

*marked product was provided, but I had a tube of it previously and have always loved it. Honesty, always.

What I Wore on My Face // L'Occitane Drinks Edition

Earlier in the week I spent the day Christmas shopping for all of the little ones in my family, and spent the evening having Christmas drinks with the lovely ladies at L'Occitane. I had been hanging out to sniff the new Magical Leaves collection, and was happy to finally get a chance to look at it!

The beautiful Melbourne Central store front.

Some gift packs from the new Marvellous Flowers and Magical Leaves collections.

Norlin getting a hand massage with some L'Occitane products

 

I decided to rock a taupey purple eye look to go with my purple statement necklace, but I ended up forgetting to wear the beads to L'Occitane anyway! I used a mix of brands to get my purple look, and was happy to get some compliments from staff when I was buying gifts during the day.

 

 

Eyes:
L'Oreal Infallible in Metallic Lilac
Clarins purple from the Enchanted palette*
Inglot purple shade
Physicians Formula purple liner (from the Brown Eyes Trio)
Face of Australia Impact Curl mascara

Cheeks:
NYX Peach blush
Clarins Bronzing Duo in 03 Dark*
BYS Fierce Fuschia blush

Face:
Illamasqua Skin Base
Face of Australia Outback Translucent Powder*
Maybelline Dream Matte powder (for touch ups)

Lips:
Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey*
Smashbox gloss in Overexposed*

I felt really nice with this eye look on, it didn't photograph as well as it looked in reality (in my opinion) I highly recommend every eye product I used for this look-very happy with them all! The lip duo is something I've been wearing almost every day lately, I can easily put it on without a mirror and it keeps my lips happy and goes with the dramatic eye looks I've been wearing.

What do you think of my eye look?
What is your favourite L'Occitane product? The almond range has stolen my heart!

*The Clinique product was won in a competition, and marked items were provided for editorial consideration. Honesty, always.

What's in my Makeup Bag // August 2012

A while ago I tweeted that my goal for the day was to find the perfect makeup bag for my handbag, and on my lunch break the next day I ran into this Sugar Baby Hibiscus print darling. It's a great size but quite stiff and hard to get into sometimes, so I will be buying one off Etsy soon to interchange with it, but for now I am a happy camper. I thought it would be a great time to share what I tote along with me every day!

It fits exactly what I need on a day to day basis, but any more than that won't fit without it being cumbersome and hard to close. I've worked out how I like everything to sit in there, and it is quite snug.

As you can see I like to keep a few lip options on hand at all times, and I can't see that changing in the near future.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy- using this up so I keep it on hand to remind me to use it.

MAC lipstick in Patisserie-a great nude that really works for my skintone.

Urban Rituelle Petit Parfum in Cotton Candy- review of this up this week

Australis Lash Length Extension mascara-I've now switched this out to my new mascara as this was finished, but I loved it.

Natural Compatibles lipstick in Berry- favourite lippy, keep it with me in case I need to feel tough

essence stay with me gloss in Deep Rose-goes with everything and can be worn on top of any of the above lipsticks to switch it up a bit.

Urban Rituelle Lemongrass & Lemon Myrtle hand cream- I love the smell of lemongrass and this is a nice hand cream formulation, I also appreciate the thin packaging which sits nicely in the makeup bag.

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder- my favourite setting powder, I like having this on hand for extra coverage when I touch up during the day.

essence Oil Control Paper- I love the sturdy dispenser that these blotting papers came with in the long discontinued Return to Paradise collection.

 

What do you carry with you each day?

 

 

 

 



Maybelline Dream Matte Powder // Rave Review, Photos, Swatch

I've only really delved into the world of face powders via the drugstore, and haven't tried any high end setting/translucent powders to date. Of all of the affordable face powders I've tried, Maybelline's Dream Matte powder reigns above all!

As you can see from the massive pan showing, I love this dearly. This is my third, perhaps fourth pan of Dream Matte, and though I've still been dipping my toe into other brands I always come back to this one.

I use this as an all-over setting powder (I generally use liquid foundation) and find that it doesn't give full coverage, and does help to hide some imperfections in the skin when I use a light coverage foundation. I used this in conjunction with my Invisible Zinc tinted moisturiser whilst in Thailand earlier in the year and found that it toned down the greasy, sunscreen look of the TM but still looked beautifully natural. Here is a picture of me wearing the TM with Dream Matte, just for reference:

 And as a side note, Chris has a wee bit of Dream Matte powder on in that photo,too! I made sure I slathered him in sunscreen while we were there, but he didn't like the shine either. Sun protection is worth it though, just powder it! I really wish I was in Thailand right now *rugs up next to heater with hot chocolate*

The packaging is a little bit bulky, as it contains a swing out section underneath the actual pan which holds a large mirror and powder puff. I actually use the mirror for all of my touch ups (as you can leave the powder section closed and still use the mirror) and so I find the packaging perfect for me. I don't often use the puff, but I like having it there if I forget a brush or just want to dab the powder on.

I don't find that the Maybelline Dream Matte powder cakes on me, even when I neglect blotting and just throw it on during the day for a touch up. It works well to control my oily t-zone and I can last until after lunch before I feel I need to check my face or freshen myself up.

The powder is fragrance-free and dermatologist/allergy tested, oil-free and won't clog pores. I wear the shade Cream (Light 4-5) and find it suits me perfectly.

What powder do you recommend I try next?

Have you tried anything from the Dream Matte line?

*This product was purchased by me (over and over again!) Honesty, always.

Malibu Barbie FOTD

                   

When a piece from my cosmetic collection jumps out at me, I tend to base my whole look around it. While getting ready for work I came across my stunning Face of Australia Malibu Barbie lipstick, and I decided to choose products to compliment it.

Bourjois Healthymix Serum is a foundation I use quite regularly, it gives a luminous finish and is easy to apply with my fingers, which is how I applied it for this look. I find that I need to scrub my lips a few times a week to keep them in good condition, and I scrubbed them with Lush's Mint Julips before applying Malibu Barbie to make the most of the gorgeous shade.

The Urban Decay Naked palettes have been out in full force lately, and I used a mixture of shades from each to create a subtle eye look that wouldn't compete with the bright lip. Benefit Hervana was a perfect blush choice to pair with this look, the pale pink shade is very wearable and went well with the essence highlighter in Flamingo Pink, which is a very subtle shimmer powder.

Malibu Barbie is a stunning bright pink shade that I find really comfortable to wear, it is smooth and creamy without being too slippery, which also helps it last quite well on my lips. It is the sort of shade that would look good on most skin tones I think, and it seems to brighten my pale skin quite well. I have a few of the Face of Australia lipsticks from this line and so far I have been really impressed with them all, both in colour and in formulations.

How often do you wear bright pink lip shades?

Have you tried the Face of Australia lipsticks yet?

Malibu Barbie is available at Kmart,Priceline and Big W, and on Fashion Addict here (they ship internationally!)

Hauling!

I have slowed down my shopping recently in preparation for our engagement party and saving money in general, but thought I'd show you a few of the things I've treated myself to lately.

I had been meaning to pick up the Dior Amber Diamond highlighter, and when I heard that it had been discontinued I knew the time had come. I picked it up on Strawberrynet for around $46 as they had a 10% makeup promotion at the time. I've used it quite a bit since and have a proper review of it in the pipeline, but for now I will say that it is worth hunting for!

A while ago Priceline had a promotion on for Maybelline products in which you could buy any 3 face products for $30 AUD. I needed to pick up my beloved Dream Matte Powder, and threw in a 24hr Stay concealer as I didn't have a concealer in my collection. I also chose the Dream Liquid Mousse foundation as I had seen Lilit mention that it was her HG foundation here and thought it sounded nice. I'm quite happy with all of these so far!

After work the other night I popped into Kmart for a wander, and came out with some Rimmel goodies in hand. The Punchy Taupe shadow was something I thought would be a good addition to my collection, and I couldn't go past the bright blue shade in Celestial Sapphire either. I didn't own a white eyeliner so was pleased to grab this Pure White one, and the Stormy Grey shade just for something different.

I am a sucker for a good blog sale, and managed to snaffle a few MAC pieces from Jen's blog sale here. I had been looking at the Russian Red lipstick, lipglass and limited edition nail colour which is coming out with the MAC Fashion Sets collection, and lo and behold up popped the lipglass, cheap as chips! Still want to get my hands on the lipstick, though. I thought the Nylon pan would be good for adding to my MAC collection (see my MAC palette here) and I have been wanting a bright yellow shadow, and Chrome Yellow certainly fits the bill!

Ah, YSL, my weakness. This Rouge Pur Couture in Rose Bergamasque has already crept its way into my favourite lipstick list, and I have Jessica to thank for spurring on the purchase! It's a stunning, wearable shade that I have been using quite a bit lately, and I have a whole post on this little beauty coming up real soon.

Amber Diamond, Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation, 24 Hour Stay Concealer, Rose Bergamasque, Chrome Yellow, Nylon, Russian Red, Pure White, Stormy Grey, Celestial Sapphire, Punchy Taupe.

What do you think of my haul?

What was your last beauty purchase?

A Subtle Pop of Bright

Despite being one to embrace bright shades in all aspects of makeup, I know that many are wary of busting out of their shell and moving away from neutral tones. When it comes to eye makeup, most people I know (non-beauty bloggers!) lean towards champagnes or greys for their day to day eye look. I've come up with a subtle look that is safe for work but adds a bit of brightness to the face!

By using a small sweep of colour close to the lower lashline, you add a great frame to your eyes and it still allows you to work with neutral shades on the upper lid. This time around I chose a gorgeous turquoise shade from my Rimmel palette, and paired it with champagne tones from the same palette topped with some Napoleon Perdis eye dust in Starlight.

This look was done quite a while ago, and if I were to recreate it I would all more liner to the top lashline to balance out the contrast of shimmer and matte shades. I would also love to try it out with a foundation rather than the tinted moisturiser I used in this look, just to create a smoother canvas to work with.

I think the pop of colour is a really great idea, and would work with anything from an electric orange to a mossy green shade. I know a lot of people are afraid of wearing blue shadow, but I think wearing it in this way is a great stepping stone to braver, brighter looks!

Products used:

Dove Essential Nutrients Tinted Moisturiser in Beige

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

Milani Baked Blush in Berry Amore

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara

Clinique High Impact mascara (for lower lashline)

Rimmel Eyeshadow Quad

Sportsgirl Liquid Lip Colour in Wow!

Napoleon Eye Dust in Starlight

What do you think of this subtle pop of bright?

a face, featuring Danmari and drugstore wonders

Days without make up just aren't doing it for me lately. I feel like I need that little bit of creativity in the morning to jump start my day. This is the face I painted on the other day to celebrate one of my nephew's birthdays in the park with his mothers group- was such a lovely day, filled with chatter, lollies and running around with little ones.

This is my fallback look, I wear quite a lot of coral and orange so it goes with that really well.

I like quite a heavy blush, and this was no exception.

A simple wash of a champagne neutral over the lid and my Lancome Doll Eyes mascara.

*

Most of these items are my favourites of the moment, and so you might see them in my January favourites as well. It's mostly drugstore/priceline stuff, with a touch of high end in there.

Danmari palette: Nars Orgasm

Danmari palette: Nars Hungry Heart highlighter

 Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

 Loujene brow powder (darkest one)

Ardell clear brow gel

Essence gel liner in Midnight in Paris

Revlon Super Lustrous gloss in Coral Reef

Maybelline Color Sensational in Coral Pop

L'Oreal Color Infallible in Sahara Treasure

Hidden away are the Dove tinted moisturiser (beige) and Lancome Doll Eyes mascara.

My most common FOTD's tend to feature coral lips...

How often do you wear a coral/orange lip?

What are some of your favourite coral products?

(All items featured in this post were purchased by me, except for Sahara Treasure + Nars Danmari palette (Christmas gifts from Chris) and Dream Matte Powder (gift from best friend Candice). Honesty,always.)