Spring Skincare Haul

Over the last few weeks I picked up some new skincare products, some to replace things I've used up and others as back-ups or bargains I just couldn't pass by. This may constitute a rather small haul if you compare it to other beauty bloggers and their loot but I'm really looking forward to using these products!

I've raved about the Garnier Moisture Match moisturisers before, but I believe they have now been discontinued as I just can't find the blue version on shelves anymore. I was at a bargain centre recently and came across two boxes heavily discounted so I purchased one for my skincare back up box and one for my older sister who I think this would work wonderfully for. Another repurchase was my beloved La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+, which is a saviour for acne-prone or just generally crappy skin days. A brand new purchase for me was a total bargain at $0.80c and I love the brand - Derma Sukin Daily Hydrating Wash!  I've actually seen some positive reviews on this product and need a bit of hydration at the moment so it was worth a try.

 I've seen quite a few peel off masks on YouTube and the like, so when I saw this Formula 10.0.6 Get Your Glow On Brightening Peel Off Mask advertised in my supermarket catalogue for half price I was mightily intrigued. I've only used this once but gosh it was satisfying to peel it off, and the scent was really lovely so I'm enjoying this.

See that little hole in the top of my Effaclar Duo+ tube? That would be my puppy Winston's doing, he obviously wanted lovely clear skin too! But how can I be mad at this face?!

I'm really drawn to the aesthetic of Aveeno and have had great success with their products in the past (the night cream and unscented body wash, to be exact) so I added this Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser to my stash. Now that I'm actually the kind of blogger who finishes up whole products I don't feel too bad about having unopened cleansers around when I know I'm going to use them - does anyone else feel this way too?

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Hope you're all having an amazing day!

-Emma x

Bali Holiday Essentials

I was known as the go-to villa for all of our friends needs during our recent trip to Bali, and it felt great to have all the products on hand that we needed during our two week stay. The amount of insect repellent and sunscreen we went through was phenomenal, but I think it's the random travel essentials that really get overlooked in the beauty department so here mine are.

Sadly there has been many a time while travelling across Asia when toilet paper was scarce, and even here in Melbourne my Mumma always taught me to have a small pack of tissues in my handbag in case of an emergency. I also highly recommend scented hand sanitiser which is a great thing to use before eating, drinking, after you wash your hands and in a pinch the Palmolive Fig & Coconut  scent worked a treat for me in a stinky Balinese taxi as a personal perfume!

Another great little product to throw into your travel bag is the Manicare Nail Polish Remover Pads, which is a whole lot easier to cart across oceans than a bottle of remover and makes it so easy to switch up your nail colour during the trip. I brought along a particular polish to wear to the wedding we were in Bali to attend and these wipes were terrific for whipping off my bright holiday colour to reapply something more wedding-appropriate!

My current  favourite foundation is sadly housed in a hefty glass jar (thanks Revlon!) so I knew I needed some of these little Manicare travel pots to scoop some out into. It meant that I could still rely on my favourite base product without having to worry about smashing a glass full of foundation during my trip, and it also worked well for my Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask and my Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner which I brought in my skincare bag.

As always, I had to bring some bits from my stash of French wonder products - a travel sized La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP Body Balm which came in handy for keeping my arms moisturised in the air conditioned villa, and the Uriage Bariederm Reconstructive Barrier Cream which was used as a chafing cream and to prevent sweat rash in the heat.

Do you bring products like this when you travel to a tropical climate?
I'd love to hear what your travel essentials are?
-Emma x

Weekend Makeup Bag

This weekend I’m up in Rye on the Mornington Peninsula, celebrating my sixth anniversary with Mister Bovary. I’m pretty excited that this is the last ‘dating’ anniversary before we get married, and we’ve planned to try some new restaurants and head down to Portsea to walk through the Point Nepean National Park. I’m hoping that it doesn’t rain too much during the day so that we can take Charlie for a nice long walk through the hills too, but we’ll have to play that one by ear.

I tried to stay relatively minimal with my beauty considering we’re only away for two nights, but nice breakfast dates and heading out to dinners gave me excuse enough to bring along some of my beloved pink lip products. I bargained with myself, allowing one blush and one eyeshadow palette along in order to make up for the craziness that is my lip stash. I tried to cut down on heavy items too (even though we’re heading up in the car) so I brought some perfume samples and my new YSL mascara sample to play around with. Some of my skincare is mini sized too but I didn’t snap a picture of that bag. I think I'm just gearing up really early for a honeymoon full of mini-sized products - I'm getting so ahead of myself with lots of wedding things still to plan!

I forgot to include my Rimmel matte BB cream in the photos but I popped it in the skincare bag along with the new La Roche-Posay sunscreen I’m trialling (will be important for our walks!) I thought long and hard about which eyeshadow palette to bring with me and ended up with my Too Faced Natural Eye palette, I haven’t used this one very much at all so this will be a nice way to push myself into it (I definitely won’t be using that horrible glittery shade though! Really glad they reshuffled this palette and took out the dud shade, but sad that I already own the old version…)

Hop on over to Instagram if you want to see snaps of my weekend – I hope you have a wonderful weekend whatever you get up to!

Emma x