An American Saint

Had a glorious day off last weekend, and caught up on some reading as Mister Bovary and my Dad continued painting our house. Even though I wasn’t planning on leaving the house (and only got as far as a wander in our garden!) I decided to pop some makeup on, and ended up creating a classic makeup look that was heavily inspired by the new ‘American Flag’ scarf that Mumma Bovary bought me. Though it isn’t my typical style, seeing it in a few videos from my favourite U.S/U.K YouTubers (such as in this video with Tanya Burr + Ingrid Nilsen) sealed the deal for me!

the all important elements

The Models Prefer Sweet Shadows palette (review + swatches here) has really impressed me! I used Adorable all over the lid with Cute through the crease, and Innocent to highlight my brow bone. The colours blended really easily and didn’t crease all day (I used MAC Painterly paint pot as my base) I’ve worn a variation of this look a few times, substituting some of the shades for Sweetened and Graceful for a more dramatic look.

For this look I used my Rimmel Match Perfection foundation*, which I am trying to fall in love with in the wake of the brand discontinuing my beloved cream gel formula. The liquid counterpart definitely needs a good powdering after application, and though I like it I still much prefer the old pots which I have in my back up stash. This will be happily used though, because the colour is a nice pale match for me – you might say it is match perfection ;)  

chevron cushions baby!

Nars Laguna often makes an appearance when I rock a red pout, for this looked I haphazardly dusted it all over with a fluffy brush. In these photos I still look uber pale story of my life but in person it made a nice difference to my face. I wore a quick dab of TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer as well, and didn’t wear blush….shock horror! The main player for my Americana look was definitely my Lipstick Queen Sheer Lipstick in Saint Rouge* which is so easy to apply and is a dark enough red for me to pull off nicely I think.

painting mode is on! He had just asked why I had such nice makeup on, hence my facial expression ;)

I really enjoyed this look, it was quite different to what I normally wear and I liked the way I tied the whole colour scheme into my rad new scarf.

Is it just me, or is it a whole heap of fun to match your makeup to your scarf?
What red lipstick is your go-to?

 

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

Australian Beauty Stars

Australia Day is upon us once more, and I thought it an appropriate time to sit down and pull out some Australian products from my stash to share with you all. I will be honest and admit that I don’t really think of where a brand is based when making a decision to purchase, so I am glad to see so many stellar Australian brands that have crept into my collection.  Here are some of the Aussie beauty stars in the Bovary household!

 

Bronzers:

Napoleon Perdis Blush Patrol

Nvey Eco Nourishing Bronzer in Oasis*

Face of Australia  pressed powder in Bronze*

My favourite from this bunch would have to be the Face of Australia offering, as I adore the sleek and slim compact. The colour is quite shimmery, so a light hand is recommended to get that world renowned Aussie beach babe glow!

Face and Eyes:

Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer

Face of Australia blush in Hello Dolly

Sportsgirl Get Cheeky in Rose

Nvey Eco eyeshadow in 162*

Sportsgirl Shady Lady eye colour in Prom Night

Face of Australia Liquid Liner in black

Face of Australia Loose Powder in Outback Translucent*

My favourites include the FOA liquid liner and loose powder, they are seriously hard working and so easy on the purse that it is quite hard to believe.  

Lips:

Lanolips Lip Ointments in Apples, Lemonaid, Mulberry* and  Sunshine

Sukin Nourishing Lip Treatment*

Grown Alchemist Watermelon & Vanilla lip balm*

Face of Australia lipstick in Malibu Barbie

Lipstick Queen lipstick in Saint Red*

I am loving all of these nourishing lip products this summer, but Malibu Barbie is such a happy shade of pick that it takes the cake!

 

Indulgences:

Urban Rituelle Organic Hand Cream with lemongrass, lemon myrtle, grapefruit and eucalyptus

MOR hand cream in Cassis Noir

Endota Spa Lemon & Organic Sugar body scrub*

Sukin Wellbeing Body Oil*

Urban Rituelle Cotton Candy perfume*

The Sukin Wellbeing Oil is so amazing, I am hoping that they decide to cancel its status as ‘limited edition’ and keep that baby on the shelf forever. Massage oil, moisturiser, hair tamer, it seriously does it all and smells brilliant. The Urban Rituelle Cotton Candy is finally back out in a 100ml bottle, I have been clutching the purse sized spray that I bought and not wanting to waste it, and am so happy to now have this to clutch instead.

 

Skincare:

Sukin Facial Moisturiser*

Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist

Grown Rose Absolute, Ginseng & Chamomile Facial Toner*

The Jojoba Company Antioxidant Serum*

Australis Make-Up Finishing Spritz*

The Jojoba Company Intense Recovery Balm*

Simplicite One Step Exfoliating Cleanser*

Simplicite Plant Gel Cleanser*

Of course Jurlique had to be mentioned when writing about great Australian brands, they have products of such a high quality with beautiful packaging, and I love the indulgence they bring to my beauty routine. Sukin are also an amazing low cost brand, I recommend them to people all the time and love their clean packaging and affordable skincare.

 

Did you know that all of these products were true blue? If you are a fellow Aussie, I would love to know how you are spending today (or the public holiday on Monday!) If you are one of my beloved International readers, I am curious to know what your perceptions of our country really are? Would love to hear from you in the comments!

*Marked products were provided for editorial consideration. Honesty, always.

red lip wardrobe

I frequently use the 'but I'm a beauty blogger, so it's research' excuse when confronted with questions about my growing cosmetic collection. Here I whip it out again, to make up for the fact that the above is but a selection from my red lip wardrobe.

When I look for a red lip, I don't stick to one formula or texture. I have glosses, sheer reds, coral-toned reds, brick reds and those in the spectrum between. I do find that I need to warm up the rest of my complexion when I wear some of these shades, and I generally use a bronzer like Nars Laguna to do so.

The truer reds in my collection would be 'Screen Siren' from Vani-T and Revlon's lip butter in 'Candy Apple'. I tend to base looks around them when I wear them, as they are quite strong on their own. The Serge Louis Alvarez '#27' is a blood red gloss with lots of intense shimmer, it really is a beauty and one I'm so glad to have in my collection. Nars 'Amsterdam' is the newest addition to the red lip family, it is deep and vampy and the formula is divine.

I was a bad blogger and totally neglected my mini Nars glosses when taking these shots. The shades Babe and Misbehave are stunning, and I can apply them without a mirror but am also able to build them right up on the lip as well. I adore the Nars gloss formula (regular line, not keen on the Larger than Life range though the colours look good)

My favourite product from my red lip wardrobe is definitely MAC's Viva Glam Cyndi lipstick (now sadly discontinued) which is a Lustre finish and is coral-toned, which makes it so easy for me to wear day in and day out. I will be heart broken when Cyndi leaves my life, but for now I am enjoying her but alternating with other red shades like MAC's Hot Tahiti. That, my dear blog readers, is the beauty of having a red lip wardrobe!