Currently

It still feels surreal that I'm off work on maternity leave now and in the final stages of preparing my life and home for the little bundle that will be joining us shortly. Life has been a whirlwind of baby shower planning, tying up loose ends and trying to get the nursery completed before all of the real excitement begins, which became more challenging with the addition of lots of baby gifts from all of the lovely ladies in my life at said baby shower! 

One of the beautiful gifts from my baby shower!

Book
I'm still working my way through What To Expect When You're Expecting, but have also been reading fiction novels centered around mother's groups! Parenting and the dynamics of motherhood obviously fascinates me at the moment but hopefully my own antenatal group will be filled with a lot less drama than the ones I've been reading.
Music
Mr and I have only just come to understand the beauty that is Spotify Premium, so we've been listening to all of our old favourites like Ying Yang Twinz, T Pain, T.I and random rap mixes. We're trying to work out how to go about listening to our favourite style of music with an infant in the house...definitely not child-appropriate lyrics there!

TV
I put the call out on Twitter a week or two ago to find some television series recommendations for binging on during maternity leave, but so far all I want to watch is One Born Every Minute UK, Midwives and am thinking of continuing on with Call The Midwife which I started ages ago. I get so obsessed with certain shows at different stages of my life - it was home shows for a while (still a reoccuring obsession) then wedding dress realities, and now we're onto baby-central viewing!
Perfume
I haven't been wearing perfume during this pregnancy as I've heard people have gone off their favourite scents that they wore while pregnant, and I would be devastated to fall out of love with Guerlain Champs Elysee etc! I've been wearing Bath & Body Works travel sized fragrance mists instead and adore them, but was recently sent the new Vera Wang Princess of Hearts and Katy Perry Indi and have cheekily worn them quite a few times now - nice and sweet, just how I like it!
Makeup
Peach tones that I showed in my most recent post, and I'm finally about to dive into the new Urban Decay Naked Heat palette that I bought during the pre-release but haven't even swatched yet!
Frequently Worn Outfit/Item
I've been rotating the same drawer full of maternity wear for what feels like forever now. I'm absolutely in love with having a bump but it sure does limit your wardrobe when you don't feel like splashing out for lots of new clothes that you can only wear for a short time...
Food
Right now I'm all about fruit, smoothies and cereal. Safe to say breakfast is definitely my favourite meal of the day...

Bane 
Though it might make me sound like a whiny child, my parents are overseas at the moment and this 9 week trip they are on is too long for me! Mumma Bovary is my best friend and there is only so much Facetiming we can do to fill the void - I'm fragile and need a Mum-hug right now! The third trimester has been a tricky one health-wise and it's taking all of my strength to get through the tough days without her by my side.
Joy
My baby shower was last weekend and it was lovely - silly games, extremely thoughtful sweet gifts for my baby girl and I felt really nice and feminine in a flowy floral dress. It left me utterly exhausted though so I'm happy to be able to focus on the upcoming arrival of the little princess instead of party planning.

Anticipation
Definitely the birth of baby girl - she isn't technically due until November but it seems she will be making an appearance a bit earlier than we intended, so I am looking forward to starting this new adventure and finally meeting her! As I type she has the hiccups and is making my whole belly twitch - I'm going to miss feeling things like that when she makes her official entrance into the world.

Wishlist
I've actually started a Christmas wishlist, very early in an attempt to be organised before I slip into a foggy Mum-daze! I think my main wishes at the moment though are for my Mum and Dad to return home (hopefully in time for the birth!) and for baby girl to arrive safely.

Random Thought
My brain is very baby-centric at the moment - sorry if I've bored you here - but I think it's to be expected this late in the game!



How is your October going so far? 
Emma x

(List taken from this post!)

An Easy, Glowy Makeup Look ft. Colourpop and Drugstore Brands

My day-to-day look has gotten just that little bit 'standard' lately, you know? I've taken to snuggling under the doona for a few minutes longer in the morning and skipping eyeshadow, which is something I'd never thought I'd say! Rather than feeling freed about it all though, I've felt less put-together during the day and I feel a general lack of creativity in my life so back into the slap I've returned! It was Mumma Bovary's birthday last week and we went out for lunch and a spot of shopping before a big family pizza night, and this is the easy and glowy makeup look I ended up with after a chilled out session at my beauty desk.

The base was super simple - I wanted to use up this Missha B.B. Boomer which is basically a radiance primer, and I layered up some of my well-loved Revlon Whipped Crème Foundation. I'm glad to have used a sample in this makeup look, a nice piece of evidence to show you in my #LaidBackSampleChallenge

I'm pretty much obsessed with my Max Factor Crème Puff Blush in Nude Mauve - I barely reach for any other blush these days (excluding Chanel and that new Physician's Formula one which is diviiiiine) I've also been hammering the Colourpop Highlighter in Wisp as my 'special occasion' cheek - it's the fastest way to turn my workday cheek to a party cheek ;)

Eyes were easy and glowy for a relaxed lunch; a dab of Revlon Photoready Eye Art in Topaz Twinkle (just the shimmery crème shade, no glitter) with my usual essence Hot Chocolate Eyeliner and NYX Silky Cashmere for underneath the eye. Lips were a mix of Colourpop Lippie Stick in Brink and Maybelline Colour Drama Lipstick in Nude Perfection*. I can't believe I still haven't posted my Colourpop haul for you all to see...or my honeymoon haul come to think of it! I adore reading haul posts but have been feeling funny about writing my own if I'm honest...

 

with Mumma Bovary for her birthday

Do you like reading haul posts?

Have you tried anything from Colourpop yet, or are you tempted?

Emma x

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.



Spice Age

 

Mumma Bovary has long been raving about the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel formula, and so when Spice Age arrived I took more notice of it than I otherwise would have. The colour is definitely beautiful to look at in the bottle but the chocolate tones aren’t something I’m too comfortable with when it comes to nail colours, I tend to veer towards deep blue tones when it comes to dark shades like this. It wasn’t until I tried it on the nail that the true beauty was revealed though, cliché though that may be!

 

This is stunning, and something that I definitely recommend using a high shine topcoat with as the gloss factor will definitely ramp up the appeal of this shimmer-laden shade. It’s got that deep set shimmer that I find quite hypnotizing in a nail shade, and I quite like how it appears to be naught more than a warm black from a distance, but intense and complex up close. As much as I enjoyed wearing this shade, I know Mumma Bovary will wear it more frequently and adores the formula, so this is on my desk ready to give to her soon.

This post has reminded me that I really need to collaborate on a post with Mumma Bovary soon – what sort of post would you like to see? Her favourite nail polishes? What’s in her makeup bag? A makeup look for autumn? Let us know!

-Emma

*Polish provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Hens Night Nails - Oh What A Knight from the Gelish Once Upon a Dream Collection

Considering the amount of time I spend (as a beauty blogger) thinking about nail polish, you would think that I would come prepared to my hens night nail appointment, right? Yet there I was, standing with the Gelish swatch board at my favourite nail place not knowing what I was going to do. I was planning on working my makeup style around my nail colour, and wanted it to look good against the gold bar detailing on the black peplum dress I was wearing that night.

wearing a replacement ring as my engagement ring is off getting resized and buffed for the big day!

I had originally wanted a nice shimmery forest green or maybe a bright coral orange colour to really pop against the black, but as soon as I saw Oh What A Knight on the swatch board I was drawn to it like moth to flame.

It's a strange mix and I can't quite pin down the exact colour - some descriptions say it is copper, at times I definitely see rose gold in there, but it has also got a really nice cooler tone to it which works well with my pale skin tone. The bright yellow golds they were offering me were just too extreme and would have looked terrible on my hands! I also got them to layer a silver glitter over the top of both middle fingers as an accent, in hindsight I probably would've liked the extra glitter on all 10 fingers!

I had an amazing time at my hens night, we hired a party bus to take us around the city and it was so nice not to have to arrange a taxi at the end of the night! My feet were aching the next day from all of the dancing I did, I stayed at the parentals place for the night and the French toast cooked by my Pappa the next morning was the cherry on top for me!

 

I'll leave you with two snaps from early on in the night - would love about the best hens night you've ever been on?

 

Emma x

on the bus heading into the city!

with Mumma Bovary having some food before we left

 

Mumma Bovary + The Perils of Perfume

For me, the Estee Lauder brand was always a little harder to dip into than more youthful brands when I began having an interest in the beauty industry. Their counters always seem so polished and the staff (at least in my experience) are always lovely mature ladies who smell incredible. It wasn’t until recent launches like the Cello shots and the Modern Muse fragrance that I began to understand that mature and fun can coexist simultaneously without too much effort after all. Then I realised that I should have known this all along, because Mumma Bovary is one of the most mature ladies I know funnily enough, yet she is also the most fun to be around and has a wicked edge to her personality. I was elated to receive a Mother’s Day gift idea from Estee Lauder and wanted to share this gift idea with you in case you’ve left gift-buying to the last minute (I often do, but not this year!)

Mumma Bovary has a tendency to put funny things on her head and let us take photos...

 

 

As soon as I opened this parcel (I was in the car with my sister K) we both squealed! The pink and rose gold combination is just breathtaking, and classy beyond belief meaning those who like simply sticking a bow on a present can laze away – EL have the packaging done for you, people! I hadn’t smelt the Sensuous Nude fragrance before, but it is definitely something I could see Mumma Bovary trying. If I were buying it for myself I would probably turn to the Modern Muse set ($130) which is more floral than this scent, but I think this one is a nice one for those who like strong perfumes that aren’t headache inducing. Mumma Bovary can only wear a select few fragrances and even I have to limit my scents when I spend time with her lest I cause a migraine! She loves anything by Marc Jacobs (notoriously light and lovely) and also has a penchant for Stella McCartney and SJP. She recently bought Issey Miyake perfume from duty free, which drove me insane since it was a scent I wore, but it smells good on her that I am happy to share. I think a trip to the EL counter is next on the agenda for Mumma!

 

Seriously, look at that detail!

 

 

Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude is described as a woody musk with notes of bergamot and rose in as well, and is a permanent perfume on the EL roster. The actual Sensuous Nude Set ($120)* with 75ml Body Veil, 75ml Body Cleansing Crème and 50ml EDP spray is limited edition though, so if you have already bought your Mother’s Day gift but think this would make a great birthday or Christmas gift to pop away, I’d hop to it if I were you. They have a big range of sets available if you want to peruse online here, but my pick is the Modern Muse Set (do you think I could vouch for Charlie as my furbaby and swing a puppy-mother’s day gift my way…?)

I love buying luxe gifts like candles and perfume for Mother’s Day, but this year I’ve bought her an adorable floral gardener’s kit and a silver necklace personalised with her nickname. We’re having Mother’s Day lunch at a Thai restaurant on Sunday and I am looking forward to the Massaman! Are you spending this weekend with loved ones?

Emma x

*This gift set was kindly provided for consideration, all swooning is my own and completely honest. Honesty, always!

 

The Bovary's Bought a House!

Not wholly beauty related (until you see my beauty room!!) but I just had to share the news on here as I’ve already mentioned it on Twitter and Facebook. We bought our first home!!

stalking the paint section of Bunnings...

 

Mr Bovary and I have wanted to buy a house for such a long time now, and since the end of my post grad is looming it just seemed right for us to begin looking. We didn’t expect to find a house so soon… A few weeks later and the paperwork is signed and we are counting down until settlement at the end of August! Since we bought a 3 bedroom I get to take control of one of the guest rooms and turn it into an office slash beauty room, or ‘heaven’ as I have been calling it.

 

Though I’m the lucky last child to move out of our family home and therefore have a whole lot of space to call my own at my parents place, I can’t wait to begin this new chapter with Chris and have space that I really can call my own. We bought a place one suburb over from both of our families so Mumma Bovary won’t pine for me too much (though she has started to talk about how strange it will be to live in our family home without any children in it for the first time in almost 40 years!)

I’d love to hear your moving experiences in the comments below, as I’ve not once had to move house before so am very new to it all! Give me home stores to hunt down and good Pinterest boards to follow! How did you feel when you moved for the first time (or how do you think you will feel?!) ?

 

Mumma Bovary + Clarins, a match made in heaven

It is a common occurrence to see Mumma Bovary nudging me for a ‘wee spruce up’, and of course I don’t mind indulging her in a makeover every now and again. It seems my mind was subconsciously in a ‘Clarins state of mind’ as a whole lot of the products I threw in front of her were from the beautiful brand. Below are the products that she ended up choosing, though I admit that the Lip Perfector was my choice as I have always been curious about how she would look with paler glossy lips.

Of all of the single shadows and palettes I placed in front of Mumma B, the Odyssey Quartet (review here) was the very first thing she grabbed for. The gold leaf shade seems to instantly win hearts, but for this makeover I decided to use the 3 other (quite sheer) shades to define her eyes but keep it naturally pretty.  I then move onto the base, and Mum wanted to try a BB cream for the first time so we left the Ever Matte* (my sisters favourite!) to the side. The Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream* is too dark for my uber pale mug, but it is spot on for Mum so that is a plus. It was really easy to blend in and looked good, thumbs up Clarins, though was similar to a tinted moisturiser in my opinion.

Cheeks were ticked off with the Clarins Colour Accents Powder and Blush* –is it a blush, bronzer, or powder? I typically use this as a beautiful neutral blush, and the bronze action helps warm up the face while the palest section can work well all over if used sparingly. This looked oh so sexy on Mumma Bovary, and she was pretty thrilled with how different the neutral shade made her face look. The one blush she owns (a Savvy one she nicked from me!) is quite pink (see it in this post) and this is such a different look on the cheek.

 
I then handed Mumma Bovary the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Rose, and she was quite dubious about the pale pink shade with a flat sponge applicator. She didn’t mind the way it felt on her lips (they are quite smooth and smell yummy) but the shade ended up being too pale for her, and washes her out quite a bit. I guess it just shows why it is tough to do makeup on others- we are so used to our own colouring and style!

We then switched to the Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Colour in Crystal Coral, and though it took a bit of manoeuvring to get the bright pop of coral even on the lip, it looked beautiful on her! My mum loves bright or dark lip colours like berries and deep pinks, so this was definitely a more suitable lip choice for her tastes.

 

Do you prefer Crystal Coral on Mumma Bovary as well?

What colour eyeshadow do you think we should play with for her next post?

 

*Marked items were provided for consideration. This isn’t a sponsored post and I didn’t intend for it to be Clarins-centric!

Mumma Bovary's Camo Mani

It seems like each time I return home from work or a blog event Mumma Bovary has up and changed her nail colour again! For someone who isn’t into her nails, she sure plays with them a lot (she also says that about Facebook but always knows who is doing what on there!) I recently posted a picture on Instagram (username is @emmabovary) of Mum’s glitter polish haul, and the Savvy Ginger Ale was the first bottle to get a whirl as a manicure rather than a hasty swatch. Mum used essence 65 Camouflage (a shade she nicked from my stash) underneath the sheer glitter, and I am in love with the effect! 

 

I love the way the subtle glitters adds a feminine touch to an otherwise quite masculine colour, and makes it also appear as though it has an interesting texture. I’m very glad I’ve gotten Mumma Bovary hooked on glitter, as it means I will have plenty of shades to snaffle during mani time with her!

 

Does your Mum wear glitter polish? What do you think of adding feminine touches to camo style shades like this one?

The Sheen of Ivy League // Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color

 

When Mumma Bovary sees me holding a bottle of polish and snapping away with my Nikon, she sighs and always mentions how she wishes her nails were painted so she could do that, too. As we were having a Once Upon a Time marathon the other afternoon, she yelped and realised her nails were painted, and that the lighting was perfect for a Mumma Bovary nail of the day! 

 

Mum had been wearing this Sally Hansen shade for almost a week, and as you can see it holds up well to house cleaning and light gardening. We picked up this shade when Priceline had their big sale on, and because Mum is always drawn to metallic green shades like this, the choice was easy for her. I love the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear formula, and as it turns out Mum does, too.

 

Ivy League is a beautiful shade, and reminds me very much of the infamous nail family that includes Chanel Peridot and OPI Just Spotted the Lizard.  It is much brighter than those shades, and I think that is very flattering on the nail. It works well with the tan my Mum is sporting at the moment, but I have no doubts that it would suit my lily white skin as well.

 

Are you a fan of shades like this, or do you think them too ‘out there’ for you? What are your favourite Sally Hansen nail colours? I am very excited about the new shade releases they have coming in 2013!

 

*This shade belongs to my Mum, who purchased it herself. Hand is also her own! Honesty, always.