Mojito Madness

I'm currently in the process of decluttering my overwhelming nail polish collection, and never before has it been more evident that I have a wicked obsession with all manner of green nail polish shades. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so drawn to the grassy fields of green these days, but I do know that the shade makes me happy and tends to suit my pale complexion with ease when other colour families take a lot more work and effort, so there's that...

 

I seriously hunted all over for this gorgeous green Essie shade before coming to the realisation that it was a limited edition shade from the 2012 Summer Collection, the same collection that saw me miss out on Bikini So Teeny! Blinded was I by the hunt that I neglected to research properly! I then popped it onto my mental Honeymoon wishlist (because we travelled to the States where I had a better chance of finding it) and lo and behold, it was the very first beauty product bought on that holiday! Husband and I walked into a corner store in LA for some snacks, I saw how big their beauty section was and the rest, my friends, is nail polish history.

 

I present to you - Mojito Madness!

 

Essie describe this colour as a fun-loving lime green and I can definitely appreciate the lime in it, but it also looks Kelly green to me and in this post I learnt that it is the Starbucks green, too! I love how the crème finish looks chic, even on my short and unkempt nails, and the fact that I can now mentally connect the shade to coffee makes me fall even harder for it. I love everything about this colour and am so glad to have snagged a bottle for my collection, it's definitely one of the best Essie shades I've tried and I commend the brand for pulling off green tones so damn well!

 

What is your 'kryptonite colour'?

What lengths have you gone to in order to procure a bottle of nail polish?

-Emma x

Starbucks Makeup Look

One of the benefits of running a beauty blog is having an excuse to have a good play around with different makeup looks (that and being able to use it as a hauling excuse, ahem) I love using Pinterest and other forms of social media like Instagram to grab some inspiration, but it’s also the day to day things in the world around me that spark ideas sometimes! A conversation about coffee with my mother in law sparked this particular look- on our holiday to Thailand and Malaysia a few years back our ritual was a daily Starbucks run, and since that conversation I’ve wanted to do a Starbucks makeup look!

I took my inspiration from the green of the famous Starbucks logo and tied in the brown tones to represent the drinks that are most popular. I find that these shades work beautifully together and create an easy outlet for those who are fearful of wearing green eyeshadow. 

 

 

 

I went with my tried and true Covergirl Outlast foundation, I'm really pushing out the final dregs of this and am hoping it goes on sale soon so I can repurchase. I laid down a base of the Napoleon Perdis Auto-Pilot primer* (as Mister Bovary says, not to prime is a crime!) and set it all with the new Matte Maker powder from Maybelline. 

 

I then ran over my cheek bones with TheBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer for a blinged out highlight (the best kind I have to say) and topped my cheeks with a dusting of the Dolce & Gabbana blush in 25 Caramel. I think a neutral cheek works best for this look, but I am so obsessed with neutral blushes right now that nothing else stood a chance anyway. 

 

Holy shadow choices, Batman! I went with the green shade from the Revlon 595 Harmonious Quad, then layered a bit of MAC High Spirits from the Twists of Tartan palette to add a bit of a brighter green into the mix. I used the mint shade from Covergirl's 715 Majestic Hazels quad to highlight my inner corner then worked on bringing the brown tones into the look. I brought out my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette to use alongside the brown shade in my Revlon Harmonious quad, choosing Strange for my browbone after using Factory on my outer lid to complete the look.

Urban Decay Strange + Factory, Covergirl mint, MAC High Spirits, Revlon quad (brown and green shade) 

 

 I wanted to create a natural lip look to go with the green as I think it ties into the Starbucks idea nicely (no bright red rings on your iced coffee straw!) and I think it kept the look quite casual. I layered some of Barry M's lip gloss in Toffee over my BOE Beauty #23 Better Bare Jumbo lip crayon (a Big W cheapie that I am mighty impressed with!)

 

That completes my Starbucks inspired makeup look- what do you think of it?

Where do you find your beauty inspiration? What drink is your go-to at Starbucks?

 

Emma x

 

 

*Primer sample was provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

#dayinthelife ft. Melbourne City trip and mini haul

I've never done a post like this before, but I find them fun to read so when Mister Bovary and I went out last weekend I decided to snap some pictures to take you along with me. Hope you enjoy!

Had a wee sleep in before getting up to clean the house - vacuuming is my most-loved chore, what is yours?

Advent calendar time! I think the little elf on the calendar looks just like Mister Bovary but he disagrees, teehee!

Took a train into the city to see the Myer windows (gingerbread theme this year, and the line was absolutely humungous!) and stumbled across Santa Land!

Cheeky snap of Mister B in his very favourite 'beauty' store, Lush on Swanston Street! His favourite products are the wobbling shower jellies, they smell amazing.

Stopped to watch some pretty cool beat boxers busking in the street.

Had a quick look in Sportgirl and saw that they have new cream blushes out, and some eye crayons that I was mighty tempted by! I wanted to test the pink blush shade but they didn't have a tester out so I didn't end up buying anything.

Swoon, there is nothing like a nice wander through the makeup sections of Myer and David Jones. Nothing really jumped out at me apart from the new Laura Mercier White Magic collection, especially that metallic lilac shadow in the front there.

Food time! Finally dragged him into Ajisen Ramen in Melbourne Central after saying I would take him there for months! (As an aside, I totally coerced him into wearing his Melbourne shirt today - ha!)

Our entrees weren't that impressive, I ordered fried tofu with miso sauce and he ordered gyoza but really didn't like the strong flavour. I ordered my usual Sake Don (salmon teriyaki with rice) but ordered some extra sauce this time. He ordered the ribs and said they were really yummy, so overall the meal was a success in my book!

A little bit of $2.80 haulin' never killed nobody... (Daiso baby!)

Loving the festivities in the air, gave me such a Christmas kick!

A city trip isn't complete without a jaunt in Starbucks, and having coffee with Mister is one of my favourite things to do any day. I should've ordered a caramel frappucino like Mister Bovary did, but instead I went 'cute and festive' and got a gingerbread latte. Ergh, totally had to force it down and definitely won't be ordering again! Would much rather the maple latte from Gloria Jeans at this time of year.

Peek my head in the corner there, ha! Took some cheesy tourist-y shots with the drummer boys outside the hall. You know you are a beauty blogger when you instinctively spell it 'haul' over 'hall', right?

Home time and chilling in the lounge looking at our beautiful Christmas tree! That little bear ornament is holding a sign that says 'Charlie' <3

Weekends mean time for a brush, and Charlie just won't let go of his beloved Santa toy that my sister bought for him.

My Daiso mini haul: basketball jersey for Charlie boy, tape dispenser, dog nail scissors, star cookie cutter and melamine tray.

The rest of my haul! Cute costume necklace to wear to a party, some festive hair clips to fit in with the crazy head pieces at work, and a Rimmel Space Dust and Savvy blush from the Mister (Swatches of the polish are in yesterdays post!)

After dinner we popped on one of my favourite masks, the Michika Anti-Fatigue*, while Charlie hung out with his toys. A paper face mask has this relaxing appeal to me so we have a weekly sesh with them whenever we can.

Perhaps I will blame this dessert on the need to get the taste of Starbucks gingerbread latte from my mouth and the memory from my mind? Nevertheless, my chopped apples topped with Itha's Gourmet Foods Brandy Butterscotch dessert sauce* (150ml for $8) was delicious, and I'm a big fan of the Vanilla Bean Custard Flavour too. Even though I've done all my Christmas shopping, I'm thinking that one or two of these would make a great hostess gift for parties in the new year?

What do you do when you head into your capital city?
What 'hostess gifts' do you think take the cake?
Did you find my lazy 'day in the life' interesting to read? Would love your feedback as it is the first I've ever done!

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty