2017 Quarterly Empties - Quarter One and Two

I'm forging ahead with my quarterly empties efforts but have two lumped in together for this post, covering the first half of the year. Being pregnant threw off my brain a little bit but I kept all of my empties for this late post! I'm definitely buying a lot less than I used to and finishing/giving away products more often so I think a pared down stash is becoming more possible for me than ever before.

 HAIR

Still very boring in the hair stakes over here, I'm loving the Cedel shampoo as it really does soothe my scalp and I'm planning on stockpiling it for later on. I also really liked the L'Oreal conditioner as it left my hair really soft and the packaging is gorgeous.

 

Would repurchase: Batiste Tropical Dry Shampoo, Cedel Anti-Dandruff Medicated Shampoo, L'Oreal Elvive Volume Collagen Conditioner

Probably wouldn't repurchase: Garnier Fructis Instant Melt-In Mask, Awapuhi Mango Moisturising Conditioner

  

MAKEUP 

I'm really pleased to have finished the MAC MSFN and enjoyed using it, but I'm interested in trying out other powders once I've rotated through all the ones I've hoarded in my makeup drawers over the years. Right now I'm back onto an old Maybelline Dream Matte powder (remember those?!) that needs to be finished and is showing some major pan. The gel eyeliner dried up and the lip crayon sadly fell apart soon after purchase, and I'm not going to bother trying to depot it or anything like that so out it goes. 

Would repurchase: MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural, essence Gel Eyeliner, Skindinavia makeup Finishing Spray, Max Factor Masterpiece Glamour Extensions Mascara*

Probably wouldn't repurchase: Face of Australia Sundae Sheer Gloss Lip Crayon

SHOWER

Those Palmolive body butter body washes are decadent and smell amazing, despite the confusing name. Peppermint Crush is just stunning and I want to get a bottle to use in the festive season this year! I made an effort to pull out some travel sized shower gels to show them some love rather than hoarding them away - I used the Sweet Magnolia and Clementine while in Queensland and it was lovely. The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea collection was nice to use, and while the Grown Alchemist Pearl, Peppermint & Ylang Ylang body exfoliant comes in a stunning metal tube but I just found it a bit too tricky to squeeze out each time I showered.

Would repurchase: Palmolive body washes, Original Source shower gels, Bath & Body Works shower gels, The Body Shop shower gels, Priceline Body Scrub (sadly discontinued)  

Probably wouldn't repurchase: The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Body Scrub (not scrubby enough for me) Grown Alchemist Pearl Peppermint & Ylang Ylang Body Exfoliant

 FRAGRANCE 

Loved everything Mr and I used up in this category - both of the male products were nice and didn't annoy my sensitive pregnant nose, and I thoroughly enjoyed using the body spray as well as the beautiful Vivienne Westwood perfume (that packaging though, swoon!)

Would repurchase: Old Spice Denali Body Spray, Ralph Lauren Polo Blue*, Bath & Body Works Wild Madagascan Vanilla Fragrance Mist, Vivienne Westwood Flirty Alice perfume*

 SKINCARE

I was impressed by so many of these products - the L'Oreal moisturiser was so luxe and reminiscent of Lancome products in so many ways, and I unexpectedly fell for the La Clinica Anti-Aging Cleansing Oil which my skin just adored. It smelt quite strongly of a florist which put me off at first, but the effect on the skin was unbeatable and I will definitely be looking into buying this product down the line. I used up the small tub of The Body Shop body butter as my first foray into tummy moisturisation after purchasing a gift set at a thrift store (hence all of the Fuji products in this post!)

Would repurchase: L'Oreal Skin Perfection Moisturiser, La Clinica Anti-Aging Cleansing Oil*, The Body Shop Body Butter (probably in a different scent next time though) Origins Modern Friction, Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil

Probably wouldn't repurchase: Dove Go Fresh Face Cleanser*, Burt's Bees Radiance Facial Cleanser with Royal Jelly*, Neutrogena Makeup Removing Wipes*, Josie Maran Pure Argan Milk

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Glad to have finally posted these empties, now to continue making my way through some more products to whittle down my stash and try new things! 

Emma x

*Products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

2016 Empties - Fourth Quarter

Finishing my 2016 empties series with a bang - I'm quite proud of the empties this quarter and also of the things I'm choosing to toss into the bin! I definitely need to streamline my beauty stash in 2017 and alongside gifting out items I think my emptying habits will serve me well for this.

SKINCARE

I think it's quite evident that my face was kept clean in the final quarter of 2016 - I finished off a 250ml bottle of Bioderma Sensibio* which I adore, a tube of Olay Regenerist Luminous Brightening Cream Cleanser* and Griffin + Row Cleanser* which will be reviewed shortly, and two sample sized cleansers (Philosophy Purity* which I'm not a fan of and Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser* which was a bit too squeaky for me but overall decent) Also leaving my stash is a tube of the Paula's Choice Hydralight Moisture-Infusing Lotion that I won from The Belle Lumiere, unfortunately I just couldn't get past the strong scent and even when I gave it to Mr to finish up the smell drove me crazy, but I'm happy that I gave it a go and used most of it up anyway. The Cetaphil DermaControl SPF30+ Moisturiser* is only being tossed as it has expired, but I've bought another fresh bottle for this summer. 

HAIRCARE

Evidently nothing exciting happened in the realm of hair this quarter - I used up a bottle of my new staple Cedel Anti-Dandruff Medicated Shampoo (Garnier discontinued my previous staple anti-dandruff shampoo!) and a tub of the Garner Fructis Grow Strong hair mask, which was quite nice.

SHOWER & BODY

All the body washes, cleanliness is king! Palmolive Heavenly Vanilla Body Wash is thick and smelt divine as you would expect, Lush Ponche* really did smell like a cocktail, Original Source Daily Scrub in Cranberry and Honey is much more of a body wash than anything else, and the Bath & Body Works Oahu travel sized shower gel was a fun wash I took away for our anniversary to try and drum up some Hawaiian vibes while on the Mornington Peninsula...I also used up a sample sachet of Natralus Paw Paw Moisturiser* which I am really enjoying at the moment!

MAKEUP

This is definitely the category I am most proud of this quarter! I finished up two bases that I adored (Rimmel Matte BB Cream in Light* and Revlon Whipped Creme Foundation) and a gorgeous champagne coloured eye pencil, NYX Retractable Eye Liner in Silky Cashmere. I was happy to see the end of an eyeliner but was also planning on repurchasing this shade, but I believe it has been discontinued so am heartbroken! Does anyone have a good champagne liner recommendation for my lower lashline?!

I finished a Covergirl Full Lash Bloom mascara, Rimmel Fix & Protect SPF25 Makeup Primer* which was a nice daily base for foundation and am tossing a melted and bashed up Tarte lip crayon in the shade Achiote. 

Last but certainly not least...I finished a blush! Fellow blush fiends and beauty addicts in general will rejoice with me for this one, it's not the first I've finished but it sure felt great to finish it at a faster pace than I normally would. It's the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve and it was a brilliant product, I wore it to work all the time and the lasting power was impressive, but I think that this too has been discontinued so that is a bummer!

That's it for my 2016 empties - I've already made a start on the next lot of empties, hurrah!

-Emma x 

*Products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Glowy Natural Makeup Look with YSL, MAC & Too Faced Bon Bons Palette

I've been absolutely smashing my beloved Too Faced Bon Bons palette lately, so last week I snapped a few pictures of my mug and the products I used for this easy, natural everyday makeup look. I've been using the Bon Bons palette as my go-to as I adore the mix of matte shades with the shimmery options, and the crease shades really suit my complexion so it's a one-and-done kind of palette for me!

EYES
~MAC Painterly Paint Pot as my eye base
~Too Faced Bon Bons Palette (Molasses Chip all over the lid, Malted in the crease, Satin Sheets for my inner corner and Divinity for my brow bone)
~essence LongLasting Eye Pencil in Hot Scorch
~Max Factor Masterpiece Glamour Extensions mascara

FACE
~Rimmel Fix&Protect Makeup Primer SPF25*
~Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation*, which really does give that glowy base that so many beauty girls love!
~MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural 
~Maybelline Master Hi-Light Hi-Lighting Blush in Coral* 

LIPS
~MAC Prolongwear Lip Pencil in In Control*
~essence Velvet Mat 23 Lipstick

 

I've been loving simple looks like this lately, but have also been pushing myself back into bright lips so perhaps my next makeup look will have a bright lip front and centre...any colour recommendations to inspire me?

-Emma x

 

*Marked products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

New on Shelf

I’m totally guilty of snapping pictures on my iPhone as I peruse the shops, and love popping them up on Instagram or just looking back while considering which pieces I’d like to purchase. I find this to be helpful if you’re unable to regularly visit your Priceline or Myer as it gives you an insight into the ‘shiny and new’ things without you having to run out and buy each and every one. There are some pretty neat new things out that caught my eye on recent outings, and after noticing just how many I’d snapped I thought it only fair to share their ‘newness’ with you, too. Enjoy!

I made an attempt to buy the Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous foundation while in Hawaii but they didn’t have my shade in stock – it just launched in Australia last week and was half price at Woolworths so I snapped up one in the shade 105. Trialling at the moment and so far, so good!

Out of the two new essence collections, Good Girl Bad Girl definitely contained the products that tempted me most. Out exclusively in Priceline, the shimmery star-embossed ‘Good Girls Wear Peach’ is stunning and I can see the lipsticks selling out fast in shades of dark vampy purple and bright fuchsia.

essence have also rolled out another collection exclusive to Target, Like an Unforgettable Kiss which is whimsical and romantic looking. The nail polish shades are quite nice and the duo heart blushes seem like a matte, pale version of the Too Faced blushes that are popular.

Always fond of a new Australis nail polish, I have to admit I chuckled a little bit when I looked at all of the names of these- well done Australis! I definitely want to check out the bright pink Mexican Madness in store and Swagger Like Us purely for the name…

Quite an impressive display for the Revlon Ultra HD Lipsticks, don’t you think? I remember watching this video and thinking they sounded alright, but I think a re-watch is in order to help me decide on which shades I should try!

An ultra-affordable new release on shelves now is the bath and body range from Kmart! I’ve heard good things about the body scrub and the fragrance mist in Jasmine smells wonderful, very similar in quality to something like Victoria’s Secret from what I can gather. I have enough fragrance mists to sink a battleship but I have a feeling these will still come home with me…

 

Enchanting Nightbird sounds so enticing and it definitely suits the winter theme for Bourjois 2015. The crème 24hr shadows are supposedly really nice but I’m all about those new lip crayon shades – Sweet Macchiato, come to your coffee-loving Mama!

A new player in the affordable micellar water realm is fine by me, and I like the packaging of the new L’Oreal Skin Perfection 3in1 Micellar Cleansing Water !

 

I’ve actually heard that the new Max Factor Crème Puff blushes are akin to the Hourglass Ambient Light Blushes…that has definitely made me want to pick one up even more!

 

Speaking of Hourglass, the new Modernist eyeshadow palettes have launched at Mecca and are pretty stunning! I wasn’t too sure about the joint shade idea and overall look of them at first but the shadow texture is quite impressive and the shades all seem quite lovely.

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So there you have it – a round-up of lots of new goodies on beauty shelves right now! Have you bought any of these yet? Which of these looks most tempting to you?

-Emma

 

 

Aquatic Blue Eyes // Recreating a Look from YouTuber Chloe Morello

The beauty of YouTube and blogs is the chance to get inspired by makeup looks that I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. I am a big fan of Chloe Morello on YouTube, and when I saw her aquatic eyes tutorial using a Sigma palette, the urge to follow along with the tutorial was unstoppable. I pulled out the products I thought I needed, and set to work trying to follow Chloe’s makeup look.

 

 

 

Products Used:

 

Max Factor Masterpiece Colour Precision Eyeshadow in Stardust - all over base

essence duo from 50’s Girls Reloaded collection (LINK) in 03 Come on Board Captain (navy shade) - in crease

TheBalm Tempting Tara from the Shady Lady Vol.2 palette (LINK)- along waterline as colour base and as inner corner highlight

L’Oreal Color Infallible in All Night Blue- in crease

SHE Dusting Powder in Karma – centre and inner lid

Various sky blue and turquoise shades from Inglot –gradiant over lid

Face of Australia Impact Curl mascara- on the lashes, obviously!

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara – for lower lashes

 To create the look, I pretty much followed Chloe's video to a tee, just using the above products. I suggest you go and watch it after leaving a comment here, she is so nice to watch and creates some beautiful makeup looks.

 

So many eye brushes for this look!

 

 

How do you think I went at recreating the Aquatic Blue Eyes look? Do you use YouTube tutorials for inspiration as well? I’d love to know who your favourite YouTubers are so I can follow some new ones!

 

 

* I personally purchased everything used to recreate this look. Honesty, always.