Travel Sized Beauty

I may not be the worlds biggest jetsetter, but I do love squirreling away samples and travel sized products for short trips and even weekends away at the beach house. I was pleased with the itsy bitsy products I toted up to Queensland with me recently for a one week stay, so here is a round up of what they were!

Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel - I've used up a full-size bottle of this in the past and have since repurchased, so before I went away I squeezed away to refill this sample tube that I got from Mecca Maxima. I love being able to use a good cleanser without having to bring the whole bottle with me!

Uriage Creme Lavante Nourishing and Cleansing Cream - A nice, simple fluid cream cleanser that was the perfect size to take away with me.

Bioderma Crealine H2O - The original micellar water, I love the different sizes these come in and for this trip I brought up the classic variety with the red lid. I used this to remove all of my makeup, and it does take a few swipes for the eye looks I prefer but worked a treat nevertheless.

Smashbox Photo Finish Oil Free Foundation Primer - Love this stuff, a silicone primer that I use on the face where my pores stand out the most to smooth over them before I apply my foundation or BB cream.

Palmer's Massage Cream for Stretch Marks - I always try to take a small moisturiser away with me just in case, and even though I knew I was going to hit up Bath & Body Works I wanted this for the start of my trip so my skin stayed hydrated.

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation (sample pot) - This little jar was originally a Mario Badescu skincare sample from Mecca Maxima but I cleaned it out and pumped a few days worth of my Too Faced foundation for the days I wanted higher coverage than my everyday BB cream and for nights out to dinner with everyone.

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How many products do you travel with? Do you bother with miniature things or just lug your regular routine with you?

-Emma x

Currently Trialling - April '16

I fell off the trialling wagon for a while there while my house was having a run of bad luck, but now I'm back in the game and enjoying all the new bits and bobs that are cluttering up my desk and makeup drawers. A new fragrance, skincare bits and a wonderful new Color Tattoo that I am quite enamoured with.

Maybelline know what they're doing when it comes to that paint-pot style cream product for eyes. I love Bad to the Bronze as does practically everyone I've spoken to about it, but this new Creamy Beige Color Tattoo that I bought on sale while doing the groceries is seriously enhancing all of the powder shadows I've been piling on top of it - nice work MNY!

Another new drugstore release that I'm sure you've seen a review or two of is the Rimmel The Only 1 lipstick* - creamy, very pigmented and colourful! They are a bit more intense and moisturising than I have been going for lately (I'm all about matte everyday kinda colours) but gosh I can see these being favourites for those who sport bright lips all day errrday.

Thanks to my favourite The Belle Lumiere I won a Paula's Choice skincare pack; I finally get to try the brand that everyone raves about! This Hydralight Moisture-Infusing Lotion isn't my favourite for hydrating and is a bit whiffy, I think I need to try something targeted to a drier skin type. Another mascara hit my stash, the Rimmel Scandaleyes Xtreme* which gives me a great lash look, but can tend to smudge on my eyelids and brow bone unless I'm super slow and careful with it....

Something really cool I've added into my routine in recent months is the Australis Banana Powder! Many moons ago I almost picked up Kim Kardashian's favourite Ben Nye Banana Powder but wimped out at the last moment, so to be able to try a similar product for $14.95 made me very happy indeed. I've been using this to set my undereye concealer and haven't decided how I feel about it yet...

 

I'm sure you've seen the new unisex Calvin Klein CK2 fragrance around on social media, I think the bottle is very cool and modern but the scent smells nicer on my husband than it does on me so it has been passed on. The new Sisley products never fail to impress and I'm trying out the new Sisley Nutritive Lip Balm*, which is nice but the Black Rose Face Mask* from the brand is definitely the star product from them at the moment!

Last but not least I am trialling the new Too Faced Born This Way foundation that I shared in my recent haul - I love the high coverage but I need to get some moisture back into my skin before I can totally enjoy this product.

What are you currently trialling?

-Emma x

*Products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Too Faced Haul from Mecca Maxima

I've had a longstanding love affair with Too Faced that has been well documented on the blog, seen in this Boudoir look, St. Tropez look, Summer look and timely Gilded Ganache Chocolate look. The palettes just seem to be getting better and better, and indeed the entire product line is becoming more enticing and highly regarded among beauty bloggers and lovers alike. I was mightily tempted by some of the newly released products and after some generous sample testing (foundation) multiple swatch sessions (palette) and a well-timed Instagram post from a friend (Vita, for the blush wardrobe!) I bit the bullet and in two separate hauls, purchased these beauties.

As soon as I laid eyes on the Too Faced Love Flush Long Lasting 16-Hour Blush Wardrobe I knew that I was going to buy it, and thanked fate that I had missed the festive gift pack in December that contained mini's of the Too Faced blushes. I definitely reach for palettes more than I would petite blush pans, and despite owning a full size of one blush shade within the palette (Baby Love) I knew that the $53 price tag was brilliant for the value within the 'wardrobe'. Having featured in my current favourites I can definitely vouch for this blush palette, and have used all of the colours many times over and adore the formula.

The purchase of a mid-high end foundation is definitely a rarity at Camp Bovary - I trial some but ultimately rely on the drugstore for my base products and prefer to save my cosmetic money for palettes and blushes (real talk, I'm a blushfiend, ok?) I had tried two sample pots of the Too Faced Born This Way Oil-Free Undetectable Medium-Full Coverage Foundation and loved how it made my skin look, so I bit the bullet and added it to my online order when I was buying the blush wardrobe. I love how fast Mecca shipping is and the fact that you get to select which samples you'd like (how very US Sephora of them, love it!) I chose samples from Smashbox, Josie Maran and Malin & Goetz this time around. I adore how damn chic the foundation bottle looks - when you're paying that money, you can expect nice packaging, right? As an aside, I could have sworn I paid $58 AUD for this bottle but online it currently sits at $62...I've heard whispers of prices changing around regularly at Mecca, have you experienced this fluctuation?

Onto the most recent TF release in my haul (because I am holding back on the Peanut Butter & Jelly palette...for now...) the glorious Chocolate Bon Bons Palette! I swatched this and really liked the look of it at Mecca, but I was with my non-makeup loving sister who helped convince me that I didn't need it (don't you hate those kind of shopping pals?!) and I figured that I had enough palettes for now and that the colours were just okay. It seemed to stick in my mind for a few weeks though, and then I watched this Earl Grey tutorial and Café au lait tutorial from Mary at aLoveTart and I just couldn't stop myself any longer. The next time I was in Mecca I swatched the palette again and sighed - meant to be, for sure, how in the world did my sister sway me from this beauty?! It also took me into the first real tier of the Mecca Beauty Loop which was a nice bonus, I haven't really shopped for makeup in quite some time so it was nice to 'join the club' so to speak. I have a full review post and some makeup looks coming up with the palette, but suffice to say it's love.

 

You can purchase the Love Flush Blush Wardrobe ($53) here, Born This Way foundation ($62) here and Chocolate Bon Bons Palette ($78) here.

What is your favourite Too Faced product?
Do you have a weakness for a certain makeup brand?

-Emma

2015 Empties - Fourth Quarter

Here we are, the final instalment of the products I used up during 2015. I'm pleased with the bits I managed to complete before the years end, and overall I think the year went well in terms of sticking to a skincare regime as well as using up more samples than I usually would.

MAKEUP & PERFUME

I managed to finish off quite a few base products this quarter, including the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation, Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream, Napoleon Perdis Auto-Pilot Primer and Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer alongside two sample pots of the new Too Faced Born This Way Foundation which I love. I also did quite well on the perfume front following my Perfume Purge post, I used up a bottle of Michael Kors Very Hollywood and a travel sized bottle of Urban Rituelle's Cotton Candy - I also have another empty perfume for my next empties post, ripping through them now!

SHOWER & BODY PRODUCTS

I used up some travel sized shower gels taken from hotels I stayed at for my honeymoon and anniversary, as well as the awesome Palmolive Peppermint Crush Body Butter Body Wash that I reviewed here and used as my festive body wash for December. I'd definitely purchase that one again, it's one of the nicest mint body products I've come across and it's easy to throw in during the weekly grocery shop. I adored the el cheapo Kmart body scrub in Jasmine and will definitely repurchase, and I'll always have a soft spot for Aveeno body products as the are such great quality.

Can you tell what our favourite deodorant is? Rexona is the best of the best but there are only so many times I can rave about them on the blog, so from now on my empties posts won't include deodorants unless a new one is worth a mention.

HAIRCARE

A bit lousy on the haircare front, I only used up my basic staples and a hotel travel sized conditioner, but I have a few products almost out in the wings so the first instalment of 2016 empties should be slightly more impressive.

SKINCARE

I was glad to finally finish the Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel and Kiehl's Washable Cleansing Milk* as they had been open for quite a while and I didn't want them to expire. I also finished up the Simple Micellar Cleansing Water which did the trick, and the Garnier Moisture Match Light Softening Cream which was a repurchase for me. A few samples made it out of my stash too (Clinique Take the Day Off Remover for Lids, Lashes and Lips, Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub*, Bioderma Sebium H2O) I was so sad to see the end of the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm, and will have a full review up shortly professing my love for it.

I've really enjoyed sharing my empties in a quarterly post and have decided to continue that into 2016 - to check out the other products I finished in 2015, here are some links!
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter

-Emma

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Sample Saturday // Aesop Reverence Aromatique Hand Balm

I quite like sharing my initial impressions of samples with you, as I tend to think that the average consumer is affected by first impressions. Those who don’t read blogs (who ARE those people?!) will grab a product off the shelf, give it a quick sniff and rub it on their hands, and that alone can determine whether or not the item comes home with them. Here are my thoughts on the latest product I’ve tried, the Reverence Aromatique Hand Balm from much lemmed over brand, Aesop.

I’ll try to step aside from the fact that I swoon over the ambiance of Aesop stores and counters a little too often. This was the very first time I've actually tried something from the brand. The ingredients list looks quite promising, and Aesop were kind enough to decode ingredients into the titles I understand on the sample sachet. Sweet almond oil, coconut oil, bergamot oil, shear butter as well as bitter orange and grapefruit make it into this hand balm, and the resulting smell is definitely unique. Part of me thinks it smells quite gourmand, but it is spicy in a way that is different to other delicious smelling scents I know. To be honest, I’m not sure if I love it, but it does settle into the skin quite nicely and seems a fitting scent for this festive time of year.

The term ‘hand balm’ made me expect something quite thick and, well, balmy, but when I used this I saw it as more of a lotion than anything else. Quite liquid, I was surprised at how well it managed to sink into my hands and make them feel soft, as though it had indeed been a balm in texture. Thought this sample stated that it was a single application, I needed only half for both of my hands, so treated my elbows to the rest. They feel pretty silky smooth, and it took a tiny while to sink in but now it doesn’t feel greasy, so the claims on the sachet stand pretty true.

I adore the Aesop aesthetic, and am hoping to get the chance to try some more products from them in the New Year. What would you recommend?

 

MAC Posh Paradise Haul with Swatches

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, I did quite a bit of hauling last week and decided that the MAC products deserved a post of their own! I was a good girl and only took home two paint pots from the Posh Paradise collection, Genuine Treasure and Idyllic.

Woops, the Idyllic box was upside down!

I'd had my eye on the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Ebloui but had first purchased Epatant from the collection (swatch and review here). When I saw the press images for Posh Paradise, I was excited by the look of Idyllic, which seemed similar to the burgundy shade from Chanel. I first swatched the Posh Paradise shade when I was out shopping with Chris, and held off on purchasing in case I preferred the Chanel burgundy. I went to Myer in Melbourne City and swatched Idyllic and then ran my little legs over to the Chanel counter on the other side of the store. While I still really like the look of Ebloui, the paint pot was a bit more shimmery and pigmented. I love the paint pot formulation and it is $35 compared to Chanel being $48, and those factors ultimately made my decision for me. I still love the Illusion D'Ombre formulation, I just won't be getting that shade as it's too similar (I'll try and get some comparison swatches soon)

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This was taken at 6.45 am to give you an idea of the light I had to work with, but you can see that though it appears quite red toned in the pot it still leans brown quite heavily. I showed this purchase to my friend and she said it looked brown (in artificial light) so I know it isn't just me. I like that it leans brown, it makes the burgundy much more wearable.

I'd still say that these swatches photographed much more brown than red, I'd definitely say it's more burgundy than anything. Compare them to the shots of Genuine Treasure and it's much more red in context. I'm planning on trying a smoky eye with this as suggested by the MAC MUA when I purchased it, she said to pop a black in the corner and crease and I'd get a simple smoky eye. We will see how I go with my skills (or lack thereof) and I'll post on the look.
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At first I hesitated with this shade, as when compared to the others in the Posh Paradise collection it was crazily glittery. I had a look on blogs and everyone seemed to be a fan, so I kept looking at it and envisioned how I could work it. I like shimmer and glitter, don't get me wrong, but this was pretty glittery. What sealed the deal was the MAC MUA Bianca applying it on my eyes for me. She layered it up using a fluffy brush and I was immediately sold. The glitter layers really well and creates an almost wet look on the lid, and the colour flashes gold, copper olive and brown in my eyes.

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This is quite a heavy swatch to show you how beautiful this shade can be when layered, but as the MUA said you can apply a sheer wash under another brown shadow to really make your shadow pop. She also suggested I pair this with khaki toned shadows to bring out the olive when I mentioned that I saw olive in the pot, so watch out MAC Mink & Sable Mumma's coming for ya! I have plans to try this with super golden shades as well as ones like MAC Patina, I think it would look beautiful under that. This will be a lifesaver in summer when I want a dramatic eye but it's too hot for me to be bothered to put effort in- a few swipes of this and boom, done.

In the top of the above image I rubbed my finger right over the swatch to show you what it looks like without being layered or swatched heavily. Not the clearest photo of it but I think it is still a good shot of what it would look like as a sheer base for another shadow.

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I'm very happy with my MAC haul goodies, I'm sure they will feature in looks in the very near future now that I've swatched them and taken off the perfect top layer;) I get excited every time MAC releases new paint pot shades as they hardly do, so hop on this soon if you're interested in them, too.

MAC Paint Pots retail for

 $35 AUD

$17.50 USD

and are available from all your usual MAC retailers, including online MAC sites. I purchased these with my own cash and am not being compensated for this at all.
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Do you like the look of these paint pot shades? Has anything from Posh Paradise caught your eye?

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