The Sculpting Cheek Palette

 

I know that it would take a tonne of people from Kim Kardashian's squad to transform my chipmunk cheeks into anything resembling a sculpted face, but this is as close as I've come with ease to having anything resembling cheekbones, so lets just let me indulge for a moment. When this product hit my desk I thought it was cute, but didn't think much more if I'm honest. I'm not one to wear bronzer everyday, I prefer my highlight more intense than the daily average, and trying to pry a Chanel Joues Contraste blush out of my hands is a task in itself - but I'm happy to report that my cheek look lately was done with a single palette, from the drugstore!

Kate Moss for Rimmel London has created this sculpting palette in 002 Coral Glow* that is adorably packaged, and actually brings the goods when it comes to pigment and lasting power. For my first few uses I neglected the blush shade and used the aforementioned Chanel pan, but during the second week of use I figured that if I liked the contour and highlight shade that much, I should probably give the seemingly plain blush a red hot go. It turns out that Rimmel know what they're on about when it comes to cheeks - the easy to wear blush colour is a winner and I featured it in my recent favourites post!

pretty neat guide on the back of the packaging

I knew I needed to dedicate a post to this when I caught myself raving about it to my Mum, sister and nieces when they asked what I was wearing, and a few have since bought it for themselves on my recommendation. I use the very tame 'day appropriate' highlighter first on the tops of my cheekbones (or where they would be if you could see them) and then the contour shade underneath the cheekbones. I'm not game enough for a full on contoured look like Kim K (and this shade has some slight shimmer so I'm sure diehard contour fans wouldn't approve anyway!) but this blends with almost no effort to give my face a bit of shape, and I take it up through my temples and the top of my forehead which warms up my very pale complexion without looking like Snooki circa 2009.

A helpful photo if you've forgotten where cheeks are...LOL

This palette gets two thumbs up from me, and if you follow me on Snapchat (emmabovaryt) I'm sure you've spotted this product quite a few times in my flat lays and get ready with me shots! It's a bargain at $16.95 and my niece sent me a Snapchat saying she scored it for half price at last week, so keep your eyes peeled at the usual drugstore haunts (Priceline, Woolworths, Coles etc)

Emma x

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Tiny Drugstore Makeup Haul

I showed quite a bit of restraint during the lastest Priceline 40% sale and really only went for items I'd had my eye on for a while and that I knew I wouldn't shove in a drawer and forget about. I could have gone crazy at the essence stand had it not been wiped clean, but I guess paying full price is still a bargain with that brand anyway.

Knowing how much use I'd gotten from my Max Factor Crème Puff Blush in Nude Mauve (it has flattened out quite a bit and I can see myself using it up one day!) I decided to try out another shade from the range and chose Seductive Pink; terrible name, but my what a shade! It swatched so beautifully and I'm looking forward to busting it out soon now that I'm slowly stepping away from natural blushes back into my brights and my pinks!

Speaking of pinks, I spent an age swatching all of the new L'Oreal Infallible Lip Gloss shades before deciding on the bright pink 109 Fight For It. So far I think I quite like the plush formula and shade but I'm not sold on the 'lip shaped applicator' which collects quite a bit more product than I need for a single application. I really prefer liquid lip products once summer hits Melbourne, I've melted too many lipsticks in my handbag to bother even trying again so this was perfect timing for me and in a great summer shade, too.

Last but not least, my favourite pick from this petite makeup haul - Revlon Photoready Eye Art Lid+Line+Lash in 080 Desert Dazzle! It is the most stunning shade of shimmery khaki alongside a gorgeous golden glitter and I've been trying to find it since I fell in love with my first two Eye Arts here. I plan on rocking that glitter for the festive season, yes I do!



L'Oreal Fight For It
Revlon Desert Dazzle
Max Factor Seductive Pink

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

Happy 1st of December everyone! I've got the majority of my Christmas décor up and looking pretty, now to tackle the tree whilst cranking Mariah Carey at full volume. Hope you enjoyed seeing my tiny haul, I'm off to caffeinate myself and finish the last 5% of my Christmas shopping today! x

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.

Last Haul of 2012

 

Happy New Year to all of my beautiful readers, I sincerely hope that 2013 holds great things for all of you! I thought I would make my first post for the year a haul post, showing you the things I picked up during the few days after Christmas, my final purchases for 2012.

 

Chris and I spent NYE AM at Chadstone looking at handbag options for my birthday, and he treated me to a Burberry shadow I’d been interested in for a while. Rosewood is such a stunning colour, I’ll be sure to have a full post on this along with swatches of Pale Barley as well. The Burberry SA was also nice enough to apply Rosewood in store for me, and popped a sample of the concealer in with the eyeshadow. The Covergirl palette was a sneaky supermarket basket treat, and Maybelline’s Sparkling Wine was a cosmetic warehouse bargain.

I hardly ever buy from Lush, but when their 50% off sale rolls around I make it my mission to try some of their products. I needed a new lip scrub so Sweet Lips is now mine, and I also grabbed two bath melts as I’ve never tried a bath melt before! You’ve Been Mangoed and Melting Snowman were my picks.

Even though the last thing I need is more polish, these were $2 each and I couldn’t resist. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color in 480 The Real Teal and 460 Wet Cement, K.K polish in 30 and 21.

I’ve always wanted to try the Maybelline palette in Designer Chocolates, and the lipstick in Juicy Bubblegum. Okay, I’ll admit the awesome lipstick packaging drew me right in! 50% off at Chemist Warehouse, sounds good to me! Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Gel Foundation in Ivory is something I’ve used up once before, and was elated to see it on the discount shelf at my local factory outlet.

The last things I purchased in 2012 were some new cheap baubles to dress up my plain clothes. I want to start wearing more costume jewellery this year, I tend to just stick to my regular old diamonds but I’d like to start changing it up a bit! These were heavily discounted from Equip.

What was the last thing you purchased in 2012?

 

 

Brow Bargain!

I only began really paying attention to my eyebrows last year, and so was inexperienced in the art of filling them in and taking proper care of them. Since then I have tried brow pencils, brow powder sets and brown eyeshadows in an attempt to create a defined brow. I was unhappy with the colour choices around me, as the red-toned browns in brow palettes don't suit my colouring. Along came this brow bargain from BYS, and here I sit a happy blogger!

This product is marketed as a multi-use product for both brows and eyes, but at this point in time I've been using it soley for my brows. The packaging is similar to Nars packaging which is a tremendous plus for BYS, and it feels much sturdier than some other packaging from the brand (lipsticks, I am looking at you!) I can have this thick matte black stick rolling around in my bag all day without worrying about the casing cracking or coming loose.

The colour of this brown shade is a dark neutral brown, and the other colours available are blonde and black. This suits my colouring quite well, and despite recently dying my hair it still looks fine on me.

This is more like a slant tip crayon than a traditional pencil, and I find that this is what makes it easier to smudge once on the brow, which then creates a more natural look overall. I like to 'tap' the pencil onto my brows and smudge it in, before following up with some clear brow gel. I'm thinking about getting a tinted brow gel since my clear is about to run out- does anyone have any recommendations? What do you use on your brows?

I like that this has a slim edge and a thick one, it means that I can be precise when doing my brows in the morning or do a rush job and it will still turn out nicely. It doesn't need sharpening, you just twist it up as you go.

One swipe swatch.

In this image I've filled in one brow with the BYS brow pencil, and haven't touched the other. Can you tell which is which? ;P

This BYS brow bargain has become my go-to each morning, and I've left the rest of my brow products to the side and am using this exclusively. If this pencil wasn't sent to me, I doubt I would have picked it up as I would have never thought of finding a gem in a drugstore brand. I like being proven wrong with things like this :)

BYS has been surprising me quite a bit with their product quality, so I'd highly recommend you check them out next time you pass a BYS stand!

BYS is available in Kmart, discount stores and online at Fashion Addict and this Brow & Eye Pencil retails for a tiny $5.95 AUD.

This product was provided for consideration, which in no way affects my opinion on the product. Honesty, always.

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash

I was lucky enough to be invited a while ago to trial Neutrogena's Oil Free Acne Wash for BellaSugar for their Sugar Spotlight section. I have been using this facial wash almost exclusively for over 2 months now, so am confident that I am ready to share my thoughts on it. I am usually tentative with skin care reviews as I never want to be misleading, so trial for a while before forming soild opinions. I am now ready to tell everyone how amazing this product is.

***

Here is what Neutrogena says about this product:

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash is a daily-use alcohol-free cleanser that penetrates deep into pores to help prevent blemishes by removing excess oil and surface build up. Contains Beta Hydroxy Acid (salicylic acid) to slough away dead surface skin to improve skin texture and tone. Helps fight pimples and prevent future breakouts. Oil free, clean rinsing formula leaves no pore-clogging residue. Dermatologist recommended.

***

Here is what I say about it:

It's like smooshing orange jelly onto your mug. Does it get better than that? No, no it does not.

I use this after I've removed as much makeup as I can with my Face of Australia makeup remover (review here) and then use one pump of this over my entire face. I like to rub it in between my fingers before I put it on my face so I don't drop any jelly on the floor! It spreads really easily and creams up over the face, and feels calming on. I then rinse with water and go over with a wipe to make sure all residue is gone and no jelly remains on my face. I think this would be great for use in the shower, but I personally use it at the basin.

My face doesn't sting or feel tight after this, and though I generally always moisturise after it I will admit to forgetting to a few times and I'm happy to report that it doesn't dry out my dry skin, despite being oil free. I expected my existing blemishes to be dried out by something designed for acne prone skin, but this is not the case with this face wash.

***

For the record, I have dry-ish skin with patches, am quite dehydrated and though I don't suffer from extreme acne, it's still the biggest problem for me. Prior to using this I had breakouts constantly inlcuding under the skin bumps and whiteheads, but since using I've been much happier with my face. My biggest problem right now is the scars left behind by previous breakouts! I skipped using this face wash for around 4 nights last week and lo and behold, broke out badly! So I recommend regular use to keep up the benefits of this.

***

 If any of you have tried this I would love to hear other opinions. This is fast becoming my HG facial wash and I'm so thankful to Bella Sugar for showing me the light.

***

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash retails for a well-worth it $13.99 for 175ml, and is available from supermarkets and pharmacies and wherever else you buy your Neutrogena from :) The round-up of reviews is in the Sugar Spotlight on Bella Sugar here, and my initial review is there, too. 

(Please note that this product was sent to me by Bella Sugar for review purposes, but as always this has not affected my opinion of the product. Honest, always. x)