Festive Five #1 - five beauty products to take you through the festive season!

I decided to whip up 5 festive posts to see you through until Christmas Eve, beginning today! Each day will see a new 5 product line up for you to peruse, and today brings you 5 miscellaneous stunners that I personally rely on at the moment for bringing me some nice festive cheer in the midst of some horrible things on the news in Australia.
1. Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Fine Fragrance Mist
This scent is all I can wear at the moment, it's absolutely delicious and I love layering it over the matching body lotion (the haul for this is coming soon, promise) The notes are: Fresh Vanilla Bean, Warm Caramel, Sugar Cookies, Whipped Cream & Snow-Kissed Musk and it makes me feel warm and cozy without being too heavy for the Australian summer.

2. Dior Fairy Golds Quint
You all must be sick of seeing me mention this, but I want to write about the things I love and this beauty gets pulled out of the drawer every December! I love how I can wear the champagne shade for an easy day look (or maybe to go with a brighter lip colour) and then deepen up the look at night with the darker or more glittery shades for a night out.

3. Essie Hors d'Oeuvres*
The hype around the Essie Encrusted collection in 2013 seemed to be all about 'On A Silver Platter' but I'm currently wearing the platinum gold Hors d'Oeuvres which is filled with different sized silver glitter and it is seriously off the hook. It's warm and cool at the same time, and I'm enjoying how full on it looks as a full mani!

4. Yves Saint Laurent Volupte Sheer Candy in 07 Sheer Fig
I find red lipstick a bit tricky to pull off, so when I saw blog raves for this sheer and pretty silver bullet I needed to have it. I don't wear it as often as I should (especially considering how pricy YSL lipsticks are!) but when I think Christmas, I think red lips, and this is a mirror-free touch-up kinda shade and that is right up my alley.

5. Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray*
I've been testing this for a little while now and I'm surprised to say that I actually think that it's making a difference! I apply in an 'X' motion from a distance (as recommended) after applying all of my makeup (making sure my mascara is dry!) and by the end of the day/night I am shocked to see my face still looking fresh when I peek in the mirror. A miraculous discovery and one I'll definitely be whipping out over the party season...

So there you have it, the essentials for a fun festive season - nice scents, pretty shadows, blingy nails, an easy red lip and something to lock it all into place! Hope you're having a wonderful lead-up to Christmas and that you're fitting in some rest and relaxation along the way!
-Emma xx

*Provided for consideration, but popped into the festive five out of pure love! Honesty, always.

Scotch on the Rocks - A Makeup Look

The first Christmas party of the season rolled around over the weekend and surprisingly enough it was for my Dad’s workplace, who were putting on a family event to enjoy with their workers. Since the event was early (it began at 6:30, presumably to accommodate younger families) I shied away from the typical (and beautiful) holiday addition of red lips at the thought of it fading awkwardly, and went for a more neutral lip colour and a careful eye look made entirely with my new Bobbi Brown palette.

 

Base & Cheeks:

I started with a thin layer of my Face of Australia Face Base (a dupe for the Napoleon Perdis primer!) before buffing in some Illamasqua Skin Base all over. I set it all with my Maybelline Matte Maker powder* and then set to work on bringing some colour back into my face. I couldn’t stop myself from using my Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed (I must admit it was something I missed while overseas) but brought out a new highlighter for the festive season – the Bobbi Brown High Light powder in Bronze Glow* ($80 AUD) from the gorgeous new Scotch on the Rocks holiday collection. I’ve also been trying out the Skindivania Makeup Setting Spray* and so far it’s faring well.

Eyes:

I was aching to try out my new Bobbi Brown Deluxe Lip & Eye Palette* ($130 AUD) which is also from the Scotch on the Rocks collection so I put it to work. Over a base of MAC Painterly Paint Pot I applied the peachy brown Antique Rose then went over it with Bronzed Pink Metallic. I used Black Chocolate along the lashline to beef up my lashes and also as a crease colour, and then smudged some of Malted along the lower lashline to balance out the look.  I used Ivory Eye for my brow bone and Cream Metallic for my inner corner, and I was pretty impressed with how the palette came with all the basic shades you would need – so often palettes lack a good brow bone highlight!

Lips:

The beloved Bite Beauty Matte Lip Cream in Leche was my natural choice, the formula of these is phenomenal.

 

 

The festivities were great fun and we enjoyed some drinks in the sunshine as the kids played on the Jurassic park themed jumping castle. It was a pretty low-key event and sometimes that is exactly what you need on a Friday afternoon!

Have you been heading out for work drinks or Christmas parties lately? I am really into the Christmas spirit at the moment and am loving being able to spend more time with family!

Emma x

*Marked items were provided for consideration. Honesty, always.