Gilded Ganache - Chocolate Makeup Look

Riding that Easter cliché right out with a chocolate inspired makeup look! I’m generally much more inclined to indulge in a nice creamy wedge of cheese before I scoff some chocolate, but when it comes to makeup products I’m all about the rich browns. Around this time of year I do like to partake in the consumption of too many mini Dairy Milk eggs (chocolate for breakfast is alright on the Easter long weekend, right?) so my Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette (that is cocoa scented!) was screaming to be pulled out for a quick and easy rich chocolate makeup look!

 

I basically scrounged in my big makeup drawers trying to pull out shades that reminded me of chocolate, and I figured that since they’d all be neutral they would create a pretty harmonious look no matter what I chose, so the freedom was all mine! I knew I wanted to incorporate bronzer into the look, something I don’t use on a regular basis despite having a horribly large stash of them in my possession. The Colour Theory Bronzer  ‘Sun Kissed’ is really nice and the embossing on the powder certainly suggests a higher price tag than a measly $8 which is what this pan costs.  I like the way it adds warmth and a teensy bit of dimension to my round face – I topped the apples of my cheeks with D&G Blush ‘Caramel’, which I think tied in with the ‘sweet’ theme of this look perfectly! It certainly upped the average cost of the products for this look though, in stark contrast to the bronzer…

 

For this easy neutral look I chose the Face of Australia Lip Crayon ‘Sundae’ for a glossy lip (PSA: FOA is half off here right now!) and Before all of the face colour went on I tried to switch up my standard base for fun. I used the Napoleon Perdis Stroke of Genius Liquid Cashmere Foundation in Look 1* and then went over a few blemishes and my under-eye area with a teensy dot of the Clarins Instant Concealer*.

 

I wanted to use shadows in the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette that I hadn’t given much love to previously, so I swept Gilded Ganache over my lid and some Cherry Cordial into the crease, then blended like mad for soft focus edges. I highlighted my brow bone with the matte White Chocolate, my inner corner with Champagne Truffle. I mixed a few shades in my brush to create a semi-golden look on my lower lashline, and finished it all off with essence Hot Chocolate Eyeliner and YSL Faux Cils Mascara*.

 

I’m off to enjoy the rest of this Good Friday with Mister and Charlie now – I’ve been snuggled up on the couch having some intense laptop time this morning and it’s been lovely! Now I think it’s time for a coffee wander before we head out to celebrate my brother in laws birthday later tonight. What do you have planned for the Easter long weekend?

-Emma

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

 

 

What's In My Muji // Updated Daily Tray

Upon hearing that a Muji store had opened in the new Emporium in the Melbourne CBD, I made it my mission to suss out the place and see what all the fuss was about. I’d heard about Muji most from Anna (Vivianna Does Makeup) and loved the clear and classic makeup storage ideas the store presented. After heading to the luxury bridal expo a few weeks ago (amazing by the way, highly recommend!) I dragged Mumma Bovary over to explore, and ended up picking a simple little storage bit for my everyday makeup garb to replace my ‘daily’ tray which was overflowing.

Some of the compartments aren’t as big as I’d ideally like them to be, but the storage section of the store didn’t look full so perhaps there are better options usually available. The little inserts in the back part slide out if you want to create more room, but I like the way they look when in and find that it creates enough compartments for the daily things I need. Starting from the back I have my Garnier Moisture Match moisturiser and my Napoleon Perdis Primer sample*, which is in there to remind me to trial the new Wayne Goss foundation method. 

The compartment next to that holds the two face bases I’ve been using lately which are the Napoleon Perdis Stroke of Genius* and Covergirl Outlast foundation. Next up is my lip compartment, which houses some of the lip products I’m using at the moment but definitely doesn’t fit the whole current round up. The final small compartment holds my eye products like my mascara, liners and eyeshadow base (Too Faced Shadow Insurance is the one I’m using right now)

I have the bulk of my makeup stash in some cheaper metal style storage units next to my desk. They are similar in idea to an Ikea Alex though not as lovely, but for now they are doing me just fine and I’m enjoying having most of my stash filed away neatly, with my Muji atop my desk with a mirror and some everyday perfume beside it. The Muji only cost around $14 which I was happy to pay to give this store a go - I think next time I will pick up some of the containers around $25 which are larger and would fit more of my everyday stuff. If you want to know more about any of the products you see peeking out from the Muji, hit me up in the comments!

How do you store your daily makeup?

Emma x

 

Trialling and Loving

Sometimes the stars align and thrown a whole heap of ripper beauty products into my lap for trialling! Being a beauty blogger means I am lucky enough to try out new products often, and most of the time before the general public gets a look in. I've been using all of this press-release babies for a while now and thought they deserved a wee puff up on the blog.

Napoleon Perdis - sometimes I adore the brand (they do some ripper makeovers, I went there for my 21st makeup look!) and sometimes they just miss the mark for me. I was initially really hesitant about their new Stroke of Genius Liquid Cashmere foundation*, primarily because of the inbuilt brush applicator. Upon using it however, I've fallen for the texture and the fact that the shade 'Look 1' matches is a 'hurrah' moment indeed!

Another thing I was apprehensive about trialling was the Bare Blossom Mineral Blush sample in Ember Bloom*, the idea of a loose blush powder quite frankly scares me quite a bit. The glow this gives my cheeks though - so pretty! The colour isn't very strong so I've been using this on top of my boring pink cheek powders to give it a bit of oomph, and the 'lit from within' glow everyone always raves about it finally mine!

I'd spotted these Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist lip crayons* on a few blogs and Instagram accounts before I received mine for trialling (some were also press samples, others were in hauls) and the zebra print lover in me literally squealed when I opened the parcel. I have a huge zebra print painting in my living room and it's my favourite thing in the house (bar Mister Bovary and Charlie, natch) and it seems my love for zebra was subconscious but there all along. I've been loving both shades, and the one pictured is 2 Baby which is described as a tender pink shade. These have a full post of their own coming, but suffice to say it is love. 

OPI and the Muppets have teamed up once again and I was kindly sent two nail varnishes to play around with. Looking at the shards of glitter in the awesomely-named Gaining Mole-mentum* just makes my heart happy, as petty as that sounds. I'm sifting through my nail polish stash to find the perfect base shade to wear with this to my niece's communion on the weekend - I think she will appreciate the bling!

Are you using anything that is just blowing your socks off right now?
I'd love to hear about it, new things always spark my interest!

Emma x