March Purchases + Pick-Ups

Another round up of purchases and pick-ups are ahead – I used some gift cards in March and treated myself to a few new beauty bits to spice up my routine, and I’m quite pleased with everything I chose.

PURCHASES!

Sugarpill 'Midori'



Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette 'Colour Field'

I picked up just one product from my visit to Salon Melbourne, a Sugarpill Single Shadow in Midori which I’ve used briefly during the month. The green theme continued when I picked up the Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette in Colour Field with a Myer gift card I had left over from Christmas – I didn’t intend to fill my drawers with new green products but it seems my green nail polish obsession is transferring over to other beauty items as well!

essence lipliners - wish me a rose + in the nude



Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation



essence 'Good Girls Wear Peach' Blush

I spiced up my lip colour stash with more shades of the essence Lipliners, which are such amazing quality (especially considering the $2 price tag!) I now have the whole range since I picked up the last two – 11 In the Nude and 12 Wish Me a Rose.  I mentioned in my New on Shelf post that I finally nabbed the Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation after failing to find my pale shade in Hawaii – so far I like the formula, but it hasn’t knocked the Covergirl Outlast Foundation off the top spot. The last makeup bit I grabbed in March is something I haven’t even swatched yet – bit of a fail as a beauty blogger, right? The essence blush ‘Good Girls Wear Peach’ from the Good Girl Bad Girl collection is quite pretty and I think that it will look gorgeous over a matte peach blush…even if they formula isn’t great I collect these limited edition blushes, so it will still be worth it.

PICK-UPS!

 

Sisley goodies!



Katy Perry - Killer Queen's Spring Reign



Rimmel Apocalips Matte Lip Velvet

Some exciting Sisley* bits hit my desk in March, and I am so pumped to have another of the fabulous Phyto Lip Twists* to stash in my handbag. A new spring scent came through to brighten up this dreary autumn weather in the form of Katy Perry’s Killer Queen's Spring Reign * (Mister and I are huge KP fans, she is a total babe!) I’ve also just started trialling the new take on the famous Rimmel Apocalips – the Matte Lip Velvet* version! I adore a good matte lip right now (bit of an obsession actually) so fingers crossed these adhere nicely to the lips.

The Body Shops Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask



OPI Hawaii mini pack

 

The press sample that has excited me most this month? The Body Shop Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask*! I love love love a good overnight mask (it was top of my wishlist!) and can’t wait to trial this one for the blog. I also squealed a little bit when the OPI Hawaii mini pack of polishes arrived – I think the juicy Aloha From OPI will be the first to hit my nails from this tropical collection.

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I received a few other bits and bobs that will be posted about in more detail during the month – so many lovely new bits in my stash right now and I’m loving it! I am currently lemming a new blush though (not a particular blush, I just really want a new one!) so I think that might be what I look to purchase in April.

What have you hauled recently?

-Emma x

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

 

February Purchases & Pick-Ups

THE PURCHASES

Another tame month of spending for this little blogger - a back-up of my staple shampoo and a gorgeous blue printed scarf from Ishka were the things I first picked up in February. The dog print is so sweet and since bringing Charlie into our family I've been dog-mad, so it suits me to a tee. I've worn it a stack so far and the cold days seem more inviting now that I have this to wear!

It took me until the end of the month to find something to spend my Priceline voucher on - a friend of mine always had great 'lipstick' on and each time I'd ask the shade she'd mention an essence lipliner, so it made sense to pick up some to try. Totally converted and I've even picked up two more to add to my March purchase tally, such is my instant love for these!

PICK-UPS

L'Occitane are really pumping out the new releases, and I'm loving it! This slightly-nanna scent reminds me of my aunty in the best way, and I like how soft but fragranced the Iris Bleu & Iris Blanc seems to be. I'll be trialling these during the month and will let you know how I fare with the powdery purple products...

Yep, eye mist, I know right? Hardly the usual suspect on this blush and palette loving blog, but Mister appreciates a good eye mist and we've been wanting to try this Murine release after seeing the television ads! When the opportunity popped up I was happy to oblige - it really works like the ad says, you spray it on closed eyes, wait and open. You feel instant moisture on your eyeball, it is freaky cool and is yet to smudge my eye makeup, so hurrah!

The Electric Paradise lipstick from Mineralogie is making my heart beat faster, let me tell you right now. The shade is a true stunner and I've got posts in the works for this bad boy. The palette (also from the Mineralogie Mai Tai collection!) is so different to what I usually go for but I was intrigued by the two right hand shades - that purple looks very wearable to me, and the fun deep pink 'MAC Cranberry-esque' shade is so, so pretty...

The last interesting release I was sent was the new Essie Fall 2014 nail colours - all deep, murky and perfect for the cooler weather ahead! I am particularly intrigued by the red Dressed to Kilt (I am of Scottish heritage after all!) but Mumma Bovary has clapped eyes on it and plans to snaffle is as soon as my swatches are complete!

How much did you get around to buying in February? Anything more exciting than my scarf, shampoo and lip liners? ;)

-Emma

*Pick-ups are all press samples - for more info on this new blog series please check out the first instalment here. Honesty, always.

January Purchases & Pick-Ups

THE PURCHASES!

It isn't often that I can fit an entire months beauty purchases into a single photo, but here you have it folks - a total of TWO beauty related items purchased so far in 2015! Perhaps this will be a good thing to look back on once I post my extortionate honeymoon haul for the world to see? I picked up and looked at many a pretty during January, but nowadays it needs to be seriously amazing for me to part with - as it so happens, these two products are indeed amazing so I'm sticking to my new-found shopping mantra quite well! 

I had a Christmas voucher in my pocket and my sister took me shopping at Doncaster for my birthday on January 2nd, so the natural thing to do was finally tick the limited edition Chanel Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow in 234 Poesie off my wishlist. It originally featured on my pre-USA wishlist but it was sold out everywhere I checked during our trip, so to hear that Doncaster had a solitary palette left was music to my ears! It's actually my first real Chanel eye product so it was quite an exciting purchase for me (normally I beeline for their blushes, you know me!)

My second (and last) beauty purchase for the month was towards the end, during the infamous Priceline 40% skincare sale. I knew I wanted to have a nosy around but didn't feel the urge to pick anything up, until I remembered that I'd been wanting to bring this Garnier Moisture Match Light Softening Cream for Normal-Dry Skin back into my routine as a morning moisturiser. I've previously reviewed it here and the love still stands, this is a wonderful product.

A non-beauty related purchase, but something I wanted to feature because stationary rocks! I am about to order another planner from Personal Planner with a code they provided me, and I'm super excited at the thought of personalising a planner, and using The Belle Lumiere and various #planneraddict Instagram images as my inspiration I hope to pretty it up and get myself organised with these gel pens, stickers and tags.  

PICK-UPS!

This part will feature some of the press samples I received during the month - it's like a little heads up on what may be featured soon on the blog, and serves as a reminder for myself about the new things I'm trialling! Not everything I'm sent will be featured, just the bits and bobs I feel like popping into these posts. I turned down more press samples than usual this month as I've been selective about what I'd like to trial, and so far it's made me far more exciting about all of these new things than I usually would be!



After my recent primer obsession (documented here) it seemed fitting to try out the latest primer release from makeup giants Max Factor! When I first opened this Facefinity All Day Primer ($31.95) I thought it was a super-pale foundation - d'oh!

Dare I say, the most exciting press sample this month? I absolutely adore Urban Rituelle and frequently buy bits and bobs from the brand, so the launch of the new amber based Romance Fragrance Diffuser Set ($36.95/190ml) got me a bit more excited than it probably should have...but once I smelt this thing, I knew my excitement was warranted. HEAVEN! Goodness knows Mister Bovary and I aren't the most romantic (perhaps we will be now that we're married? pah!) so any hint of romance (especially in amber form!) is welcome in our house!

Now this is a step outside of my comfort zone - my scalp is a finicky thing and I'm always hesitant to trial shampoos (truth be told there is a still a chance I will rope in a guinea pig for that and hit the conditioner up solo!) but I accepted this Pantene Colour Therapy Shampoo & Conditioner ($7.99ea/350ml) with the hope that I can move on from my Garnier shampoo and mix things up a little bit. Wish me luck!

Last but not least was some surprise drops from my beloved L'Occitane - the Relaxing Pillow Mist ($30/100ml) looks brilliant and I can't wait to pop it alongside my current L'Occitane Lavande Cologne that I use as a luxe room spray to help me catch some ZZZ's. Also pretty pumped about the Revitalising Body Scrub ($45/200g) (it's been too long since I've used a good one!) and the Immortelle Brightening Essence ($89/30ml)

I think 2015 is working out really well on the product front so far - I'm excited to plump up my bodycare routine and use my Chanel quad a bit more before popping up a swatch/review post! How much did you purchase or pick-up this month?

-Emma x

*Pick-Ups are, as stated above, press samples. If you aren't interested in seeing what I'll be trialling, feel free to skip these monthly posts - I won't be offended! Honesty, always.