5 November Goals

a beautiful grey Melbourne day

It has been far too long between goal orientated posts on this blog, and since I'm gearing up to have a productive November I thought it best to jot down my intentions in the hopes of sticking to them all. Is it just me, or do you get things done with more efficiency when they are written down and you are more accountable?!

#1- Getting 70% of my Christmas shopping bought and wrapped!
I've already got quite a lot of my shopping done and my thoughts are that a relaxing December would be such a magical thing to enjoy instead of rushing around for last minute gifts. For the first time I won't be working late trade hours during the festive season and the thought of cozy nights in front of the tree with Mister and Charlie sounds fabulous! A few of the older kids in our family are getting gift cards this year so they will be bought in the week leading up to Christmas for them, hence the 70% goal.

#2- Complete my 2015 NaNoWriMo!
National Novel Writing Month is upon us and I've been tracking alright for my first attempt - I definitely need to pump out some more words in the coming weeks though. For more info on what it's all about, check out this link.

#3- Read 6 books
I'm not sure how 6 books will find themselves read this month with all the writing I have planned, but I have to catch up for my Goodreads challenge so I'm going to give it a red hot go! Mister is away on a work trip this week so I should have a lot more time to get stuck into a book.

#4- Head to the cinema with Mumma Bovary!
Mumma B isn't a huge fan of watching movies but The Dressmaker caught her eye, so I'm hoping to make a night of it and head out for dinner as well!

#5- Continue my nail polish purge!
I want to get rid of at least 10 more bottles (because as you will soon see, I've hauled a bunch of amazing polish I need to make room for!)

 

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What goals do you have for November?
When do you shop for Christmas gifts?
-Emma x

November/December Empties

Let's get rid of some junk! (Okay, it's more like let's clean out the shower storage haha)

Some deodorants that weren't all that impressive, and some shower gels that were pretty good! I enjoyed using the Palmolive Joyous and the Choc Mint Original Source scent, but the Vanilla + Raspberry irked me for some reason, despite usually loving that combo. My beloved Garnier shampoo makes yet another reappearance - why oh why has it disappeared off supermarket shelves?!

I quite liked how light but soft the Kerastase Cristalliste conditioner* kept my hair, though the next time I splurge on Kerastase it will probably be on their heat protectants which are awesome. I already posted my thoughts on The Body Shop samples (Honeymania love up in here) and I didn't mind the Weleda Almond Soothing Cleansing Lotion*, though I think right now I need something more hardcore than something made for sensitive skin.

 Let's hope that 2014 sees more makeup being used up and the discovery of a new and utterly amazing anti-dandruff shampoo that rocks my scalp - any possible recommendations my beloved readers?

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

*Marked products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

November Empties

 

Another month gone and another lot of finished products to share, albeit smaller than the usual lot. Here we go! 

Priceline Round Cotton Pads – love using these for removing eye makeup, using Bioderma and tidying up fallout after applying heavy eye makeup. I find the Priceline branded rounds fall apart less than other brands, but I generally just pick up whatever is around when I need them.

Athena Beauty Facial Cleansing Wipes – these weren’t great, they fell apart as you took them out of their packet and they were terribly dry. Definitely won’t repurchase!

Clarins Advanced Extra-Firming Eye Contour Cream – this was only 3 nights worth, but I found it irritated my eyes a little bit. I’m going to look into other Clarins eye creams when I need to purchase one.

Clinique Take the Day Off Eye Makeup Remover (for lids, lashes and lips) – I bought this in Sydney as I needed a heavy duty remover for my eyes, and I was really impressed with it. It took off makeup in a flash, and though it left a bit of residue I didn’t mind the feeling at all. I will repurchase a large size of this when I’ve finished the other removers I have lying around.

Random eyelash glue – I have Duo, there is no need to put this near my eyelids so out it goes.

Lipgloss Pot – this was a GWP when I bought some Essie and China Glaze polishes from an outlet type place, but it smells weird and the packaging is slimy and I wouldn’t even give it to my nieces. Out it goes!

Savers Halloween Makeup – didn’t realise that once you opened this packaging, the cover went with it and so this ended up a furry mess. Not keen on putting it on my mug anyway, so no great loss.

Soap and Glory Flake Away – this body scrub was really nice to use, I’ll be doing a full review of it this week!

Rexona Girl Tropical Energy deodorant – as always, my favourite deodorant makes it into my empties. Love it, will repurchase.

Rexona Women Shiny ‘Fragrance Collection’ deodorant – love that Rexona have to specify who their deodorants are for! Not sure about the collection name, or the shiny aspect, but this was a decent deodorant that I picked up because it was on sale.

Nail Polish remover pads – bought this back when I was at uni and needed to rid my nails of chipped polish. The smell of this is really strong and they are quite thin, but they get the job done and are good to have on hand.

 

Clinique High Impact Mascara sample x2 – I really like this mascara, and collect the samples every time a Clinique GWP rolls around. These have been open for far too long, so out they go.

B Collection by Bloom Last Out mascara – Didn’t like this mascara, the formula was so wet that it just went everywhere and it didn’t define my lashes very nicely.

Powder Puff (from my Maybelline Dream Matte Powder) – this fell on the floor, eck. I like having these spongey puffs in the section underneath the powder for desperate touch ups, but more often I reach for a travel sized powder brush.

essence Sun Club gel liner in BBC All Night Blue – this sadly dried up before I had a chance to give it a go, I think I accidently left the lid unscrewed. Was a stunning shade for summer, I adore the essence gel liners.

Bourjois Healthymix Foundation – love this formula (and the serum formula as well) It glides on as a moisturiser would, and leaves a dewy healthy finish as they name would suggest. Would highly recommend!

November Favourites!

November started out pretty crappy, but I slowly got back into the swing of things and began to put more effort into my makeup again. Here are the things I loved the most during November! Quite a delayed post but everything is still a winner so I didn't see why I shouldn't post it anyway:)

Dove Tinted Moisturiser SPF15 in BeigeI

I usually despise tinted moisturisers, as many others with bad skin probably do,too. This, however, evens out the redness in my skin and once set with powder, is my favourite everyday face. It's slightly scented in a sort of creamy way, and doesn't ever cling to dry patches. Without powder it's pretty dewy, but once the powder hits it looks great. I find I'm less fussed about my appearance than I have been  in the past- I want to look my best, but I'm not going to get crazily fanatical about it. I love who I am, and I feel like this product just makes me look like a less tired version of me :-) I 'borrowed' this from Chris' Mum, doubt she'll get it back.

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Light 4-5

This powder has been the star player of late, I am head over heels for it. I had heard people rave and didn't bother to check it out, but when Priceline had a Maybelline deal on Candice grabbed a few things and got this for me (how good is she, seriously!) It works perfectly with my Dove Tinted Moisturiser or Bourjois Healthymix foundations and I generally reapply after lunch with a fluffy brush to neaten myself up. It doesn't appear cakey even when I'm lazy and neglect to blot, so it's perfect for 'on the go'. The perfect finisher for my face!

Loujene Eyebrow Kit

I had been using a mixture of shades from Urban Decay's Naked palette for my brows but it began to feel like a waste, plus the colours were never a perfect match. A Japanese $2.80 store similar to Daiso opened up near my work a few months back and I picked up this eyebrow duo on a whim. It has a cool yet slightly annoying slide out design and comes with a brush (yet to use) and I find that the dark shade with a tiny touch of the paler brown is my perfect eyebrow shade. The powders last forever on my brows, too, and I set it all with my Ardell clear brow gel.

Botani Spirulina Salt Scrub*

I am a self-confessed scrub enthusiast, and when I was offered the chance to try out this bad boy I hopped right into it. The smell, ohh the smell. I have a full review and special surprise coming up for this, so I'll leave it at that. *goes off to slather on the scrub*

MAC Lipstick in Plumful

I only have a handful of MAC lipsticks and this one is definitely one of the best I've chosen. I purchased this heavily discounted from the Estee Lauder staff store and am so glad I did- it's a little bit wintery with its plum tones but the shot of raspberry in it makes it great for hot weather,too. It applies like a dream and looks excellent on, if I do say so myself.

Inglot Eyeshadow Palettes

The review of these will be coming up next week. I love the pigmentation of Inglot shadows and am content with the shades I own (Chris chose the bright palette and most of the neutral!) It has a little bit of everything and the fact that it's all in a colour family contantly gives me new ideas as to what shades to pair with another, which is something I often need help with. Adore these, would love it if Santa decided to bring me more Inglot!

Milani Berry Amore Blush 
 This Milani Baked Blush shade was thrown in my Cherry Culture basket due to my lack of restraint and disdain for a single item in an online basket. It turned out to be my very favourite from the three I chose, so I am very happy for this affliction! It's a gorgeous berry shade as the name would suggest, and the gold veins that run through it bring light to my face without a whole ton of sparkle. Adore this, have worn it almost every day this month.

Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Overexposed*
As I said in my review of this gloss, it's a perfect everyday lip shade and it goes with so many looks. The smell is to die for, and as with all Smashbox glosses I've tried, the formula is top notch. Highly recommended!

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So that rounds up my most loved products for November, I am a little (or a lot) in love with all of these and would love to know if you have tried any of them, too?

(*The items marked with an asterix were provided for consideration for review, which in no way influenced their placing in my November Favourites. Honesty, always.)