L'Oreal Pure Clay Exfoliating Scrub Review

As much as I adore luxe skincare, sometimes I love finding an affordable staple that comes from a solid brand even more! I have recently finished this 150ml tube of L'Oreal Pure Clay Exfoliating Scrub which promises to exfoliate, smooth and cleanse the skin. It's targeted towards combination to oily skin, and even though my skin is closer to dry/normal I found it really worked for me at scrubbing as a second cleanse type of product. I did find the 3 pure clays (Kaolin, Montmorillonite & Ghassoul) took some moisture from my skin (as clays should!) but as long as I made sure to moisturise properly post-cleanse it wasn't an issue for me.

I enjoyed the smell of this scrub and it reminded me of having a spa treatment done, luxuriously pampering (which lets be honest, is as close as I'm going to get at the moment!) It's often on sale at Priceline and the full price is only $14.99 anyway, which means it fits into my budget easily, and the tube lasted a really long time so the value was brilliant.

Overall I would repurchase this scrub, and will once I finish up trying out the other L'Oreal face products I bought alongside this one.

-Emma

Pine Away

Green is easily my favourite colour to wear on my nails, and I've toyed with deep forest greens along with bright grassy greens over the years. My green polish collection is quite impressive if I do say so myself, but this beauty from Sinful Colors is easily the most perfect foiled green that screams luxe to me (and makes me pine for Christmas time!) I've never had a problem with the formula from Sinful Colors and the affordable price point is certainly welcome in the Australian beauty market - if I feel like snapping up a trend shade, I usually hit up a Sinful Colors stand and strike it lucky! I've even picked up a few from the recent Kylie Jenner release, but we're not here to discuss that today...

 

Introducing, Pine Away. 

The intense silver shimmer fills the bottle so nicely but because of the foil-esque formula this is a cinch to remove, unlike a traditional glitter that takes forever and a day to lift from your nail beds. I personally couldn't think of a more perfect shade of green for the festive season than this one, but with my love of green nails I'd wear this in winter too as a nice pop of luxe to offset my permanently grey and black wardrobe!

Do you have a favourite green polish I need in my collection?

What is your perfect festive nail shade?

Is everyone else excited that Christmas is coming closer, or is it just me?!

-Emma

 



The Sculpting Cheek Palette

 

I know that it would take a tonne of people from Kim Kardashian's squad to transform my chipmunk cheeks into anything resembling a sculpted face, but this is as close as I've come with ease to having anything resembling cheekbones, so lets just let me indulge for a moment. When this product hit my desk I thought it was cute, but didn't think much more if I'm honest. I'm not one to wear bronzer everyday, I prefer my highlight more intense than the daily average, and trying to pry a Chanel Joues Contraste blush out of my hands is a task in itself - but I'm happy to report that my cheek look lately was done with a single palette, from the drugstore!

Kate Moss for Rimmel London has created this sculpting palette in 002 Coral Glow* that is adorably packaged, and actually brings the goods when it comes to pigment and lasting power. For my first few uses I neglected the blush shade and used the aforementioned Chanel pan, but during the second week of use I figured that if I liked the contour and highlight shade that much, I should probably give the seemingly plain blush a red hot go. It turns out that Rimmel know what they're on about when it comes to cheeks - the easy to wear blush colour is a winner and I featured it in my recent favourites post!

pretty neat guide on the back of the packaging

I knew I needed to dedicate a post to this when I caught myself raving about it to my Mum, sister and nieces when they asked what I was wearing, and a few have since bought it for themselves on my recommendation. I use the very tame 'day appropriate' highlighter first on the tops of my cheekbones (or where they would be if you could see them) and then the contour shade underneath the cheekbones. I'm not game enough for a full on contoured look like Kim K (and this shade has some slight shimmer so I'm sure diehard contour fans wouldn't approve anyway!) but this blends with almost no effort to give my face a bit of shape, and I take it up through my temples and the top of my forehead which warms up my very pale complexion without looking like Snooki circa 2009.

A helpful photo if you've forgotten where cheeks are...LOL

This palette gets two thumbs up from me, and if you follow me on Snapchat (emmabovaryt) I'm sure you've spotted this product quite a few times in my flat lays and get ready with me shots! It's a bargain at $16.95 and my niece sent me a Snapchat saying she scored it for half price at last week, so keep your eyes peeled at the usual drugstore haunts (Priceline, Woolworths, Coles etc)

Emma x

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Winter Kissed Cheeks with essence // Winter Wonderful Blush

I recently fell into the trap of using only my high end blushes each morning when I put on my face, and while my love for the likes of Chanel and MAC run strong I knew it meant I was neglecting a whole stack of other wonderful blushes! I'm still being a bit of a blush snob (as you will see in my upcoming blush rotation post!) but have added a cheek trio into my routine, as well as this newly released and limited edition blush from one of my favourite affordable brands, essence! 

The Winter Wonderful collection was full of some pretty neat looking products, but the one that spoke to me straight away was the Winter Kissed Cheeks blush - I mean, look at that embossing and the mix of pink, peach and nude!? I also knew from experience that the limited edition blushes tend to be more pigmented than the standard run of essence blushes, so that pop of hot pink was a welcome addition for a truly winter-appropriate flush.



Each shade swatched individually, then mixed

There are small particles of glimmer in the powder but in swatches and during use it translates to a satin finish, and almost a matte/satin finish on the cheeks for me. I like how easy it is to add a pop of colour to my apples without having to blend it out much at all, and I'm happy to report that the flush of pink colour lasted all day on my cheeks when I trialled it. I'm constantly frustrated by blushes that fade, so to have a pan around the $6 AUD mark that stays put leaves a big smile on my face for sure.

Are you a blush snob too?
What is your favourite high end and drugstore blush?
-Emma x

Mister Bovary's Current Favourites

When it comes to my husband, low-key is the perfect way to describe him! Since I've slowly been working beauty products into his routine he has enough of a product pool to pick some favourites for me, so here is his inaugural current favourites post! 

Scent is a driving factor for so many of his favourites, so it makes sense that two of his favourites are aftershaves! His very favourite is Polo Red by Ralph Lauren, but he recently hijacked my bottle of Calvin Klein CK2* that is marketed as a unisex fragrance. It doesn't mesh all that well with me but he loves the oceanic scent on himself so I was happy to let him take over use of the bottle.

Another seemingly random favourite of his? Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist, which smells divine and is another item we 'share' but that he uses more of by far. He loves that it relaxes him and his skin drinks it up, plus I love the cool mist and luxurious scent right before bed every evening.

He hardly ever does anything to his hair (beanies are his newfound love!) but when he does it's all about the MUK Hard Muk Styling Mud, which is a firm paste that tousles his short hair perfectly. I buy him the 2 pack when it goes on special at Hairhouse Warehouse so we always have it on the go for special occasions. Staples in his routine are his beloved Rexona (we share as I prefer the male selection to the floral and sweet female deodorants!) and the Biore Pore Strips - grossly satisfying, am I right?

Is your man into primping or preening? What is his favourite product? Is there anything cool you think I should buy for Mister to try out and review for you?
-Emma x


*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub - Product Review

I'm hard pressed to think of a Dermalogica product I've tried that hasn't been terrific...this Skin Prep Scrub* sample cements that, and I was pleased with how long this 22ml sample tube lasted with regular use. I can't remember if I came across this in a subscription box or through the Dermalogica PR but it has no bearing on my thoughts anyway - this is one of the few manual exfoliators I've really enjoyed! If I had to classify my tastes I'd say I preferred chemical/fruit acid exfoliants, but I do appreciate a scrubby facial scrub and I like to alternate use between the two for optimum results. Goodness knows that this is better than the scratchy formulas out on the market!

"This skin polishing scrub with finely-granulated Corn Cob Meal gently removes dulling surface debris, allowing for improved absorption of moisturizing treatments. Skin is left with a smooth, healthy-looking finish. Formulated without artificial fragrances and colors." Taken from the Dermalogica website. It's also worth noting that Dermalogica are Cruelty Free and PETA Accredited.

Water (Aqua), Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate, Glyceryl Stearate, Zea Mays (Corn) Cob Meal, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Citric Acid, Malva Slyvestris (Mallow) Extract, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Sambucus Nigra Flower Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Parietaria Officinalis Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate, Potassium Sorbate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, Benzyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).

It's quite a thick paste-like texture and you hardly need any to get a good scrub (even on my giant chipmunk cheeks!) and as you would want from a facial scrub, it leaves your skin smooth and soft. I love applying a hydrating mask after using this and find that it allows product to penetrate the skin more deeply. This doesn't leave my skin tight after use which means I look forward to using it when my skin needs rid of all the dead skin cells. I tend to only avoid using this if I have a rare angry spot as I don't like using manual scrubs when my skin is sore, as the abrasive nature aggravates the blemish giving me dramas I don't want to deal with.

Overall a big thumbs up for me, this is a product I'd happily buy once I've worked through my stocks of scrubs. Nothing better than a smooth face, right?

Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub $49.50 AUD/75ml
Available at Adore Beauty
-Emma

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

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.

The Scrub Selection

Body scrubs would have to be my favourite body product, followed closely by body lotions thanks to their ability to perfume the skin. I love how clean a good body scrub can make you feel after a shower, and following a wonderful full body scrub experience at a spa in Bali on my recent holiday, I rounded up the body scrubs I've been using lately which are all quite different to one another, and put them on trial.

The creamiest of the lot, the Palmolive Body Butter Peppermint Crush Exfoliating Body Wash ($7.48) is more of a luxurious body wash than anything that would provide an adequate scrub in my opinion, but it's worth noting that I'm partial to a coarse sugar or salt scrub and so I begin with a bias. That being said, I adored this and liked that the small scrubbing particles weren't annoying in any way, and simply provided a touch of mild exfoliation when I used this in conjunction with my shower puff.

This Kmart branded Jasmine Paradise Body Polish is perhaps the most enjoyable scrub for me in the traditional sense of the word, with the strong jasmine fragrance also being pleasant (I'm yet to try the other scents in the range, but look forward to it!) Polish is the perfect word for what this does to the skin, and the oil to scrub ratio is pretty spot on for a product that sits around the $3 mark (though I did get a bit of shower water in it at some stage, and at the start it is quite dry and needs a-mixin'!)

Dirty Works Life's a Beach Coconut Scrub* ($8.80) was the tropical hopeful in my shower caddy, and is a gel formula with sparse scrubby bits scented with artificial 'coconut' (I don't actually get much of a coconut scent from this at all!) I quite liked the Soap and Glory-esque packaging and the fact that it is available at Coles is also a big bonus, but truth be told I'm going to try the other body scrub in the line (Buff Your Stuff!) and leave this one for those who like gentle, daily scrubs.

Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff* ($15.95) is a pretty pink concoction that seems to be pretty big across the UK, and is finely milled and quite scrubby considering the fluid formula. Technically marketed for fake tanning ladies of which I am not one, this gel texture scrubs really well because it's designed for removing the old and grotty tan residue when you want to start afresh. The scent of this is the main drawcard in my opinion - a floral melon scent that is so, so delicious. I sadly dropped and broke the top of this when I first used it so have taken to pouring out of the top after screwing the flip-top lid up, but it hasn't bothered me too much as I really like the scrub.

Clockwise from the top left:
Palmolive Peppermint Crush
Dirty Works Coconut Scrub
Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff
Jasmine Paradise Body Polish

What scents tempts you most when it comes to body products? Are you a lover of strong scents in your scrubs and lotions, or do they turn you off a purchase? Do you like gentle or more abrasive formulas?

-Emma

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

What I Wore // January 2016

For a chunk of January I was away with friends in Canggu, Bali having the time of my life and enjoying a bare face, but when I have worn makeup after the new year ticked over, this has been the face of choice. I have been enjoying playing with some other blush shades and will have a post up on those soon, but in general these were the staples I relied on during the month of January!

Inglot Freedom Palette Trio - perhaps the best fluke ever, these colours are utter perfection and were just chosen on a whim at Inglot after they applied my makeup for an event. January saw me using the third and lightest colour all over the lid, and the matte chocolate shade thrown through the crease if the need arose for something a bit more 'done up' 

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème Foundation - I caved in and repurchased this after seeing that it was half price at Chemist Warehouse, and I don't know how I managed without it for so long! I'll have to drum up a full review of this at some point as it's just so good. 

Chanel Jersey Joues Contraste - Chanel, need I say more? But in all seriousness, this has become my favourite go-to blush and I took it away on both of my recent overseas trips as it goes with every look you can think of!

Covergirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara -  I usually only have a mascara or two open at any given time and right now this is the one I'm trying out. Love the cute packaging and it works quite well with my lashes, but it does seem a bit harder to remove than some of my other mascaras so I'm still undecided about it.

Maybelline Master Graphic Liquid Liner* - This is a surprising winner in my books, and has gotten me back into liquid lining, and black liner in general after my long stint with chocolate eyeliner crayons. It has a slanted sharpie-esque tip that I find really easy to manoeuvre, and I'm finding it faster to apply than my Face of Australia brush tip liner, so that's a definite plus.

Inglot Trio &
Chanel Jersey Joues Contraste

I have a heap of new goodies to play with after our holiday as well as my usual trial products, so I'm looking forward to changing things up and getting creative with my makeup again. I'd love to know what eyeshadow/palette you've been loving this year, too, so let me know!
-Emma

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

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.

Minty Christmas

One thing I love about the festive season is the Christmas scents. Being in the midst of summer means our Christmas differs quite vastly from the experiences of those across the pond, we wear summer dresses rather than Christmas sweaters etc. and it doesn't always feel right to indulge in warm and spicy scents as the air con roars. Instead, I like to partake in a bit of peppermint action as I feel like it's a year round winner for me - creamy warmth if it's cold and a fresh tingle if it's hot = perfect!

Presenting to you, my pepperminty Christmas body product favourites!

I have hoarded my Bath & Body Works stash since our honeymoon in late '14 and brought the Twisted Peppermint Body Lotion out for another round this year. The sweet edge of this makes it more like a sweet peppermint lolly than a spicy mint on the skin which is what makes it so wearable in my opinion. I really regret not buying it in candle and body wash form, I think it would have been amazing for that as well. 

Back in October I purchased the Palmolive Peppermint Crush Body Butter Exfoliating Body Wash to squirrel away for use in December and it's something I always sniff when I'm doing the groceries but had put off buying for some reason. It's seriously delicious and lathers up perfectly with a shower sponge - it's very light on the exfoliation however, so would be great for lovers of light, everyday scrubs but may let heavy-scrub-lovers down if they're buying it for that reason.

I'm off to continue smelling like a walking candy cane thanks to these two beauties - hope your December is shaping up to be a great one!
-Emma

Late to Vamplify

Trust me to hop back onto the crazy MAC train only to forget how fast it moves and fall back off onto my backside! I received this limited edition Vamplify gloss a while ago now and began testing it out immediately, and probably should've rushed my official review post instead of dithering about with it as a permanent fixture in my everyday makeup bag. I mentioned this gloss in my October Favourites and also took it along for my Anniversary Weekend Away, and it has become a staple gloss for work that I'm really enjoying.

The Vamplify collection was released alongside the new shades of Pro Longwear Lip Pencil and even though I was initially most excited about the lip pencils, the gorgeous nude brown shade of Anything But Demure* and the comfortable formula soon won over my heart. I find the slight stickiness helps it adhere to the lips for a decent amount of time for a gloss and I definitely agree with MAC when they mention the high pigment levels in this product - it seriously packs a punch, and I think I'd be too scared to wear a bright shade from the Vamplify line, truth be told!

The elongated doe foot is easy enough to use and I think the packaging is reminiscent of old-school MAC, I once had some long slim tubes of gloss like this but the new formula is infinitely better and definitely worth looking into. Most of my glosses are sheer and silky (Nars old glosses, essence glosses, MAC Cremesheen etc) so having this longer wearing one in a nude shade is perfect for the party season for me - I'm free to go crazy with the eye looks and have this as a fall back option if I don't feel like going for a lip liner. Having said that, I've also worn this over various nude/brown liners to extend the wear and it has worked a treat. I love the Vamplify font and design and think MAC would do well to extend the line of these and create even more wearable shades, as I know I'd be in line for that! Anything But Demure is described by MAC as a 'mauvey nude' but I see quite a bit of Kylie Jenner-esque brown in it personally.

Do you prefer a bit of stick in your gloss, or are silky gliding glosses more your style?
What is your go-to lip when your look is centred around the eyes?
I've got my eye on a few of the holiday lip gloss sets MAC have out at the moment, perhaps Santa will indulge me this year with one!
-Emma


*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.