Cozy in Cashmere

Mention the word cashmere and the word cozy immediately springs to mind, along with visions of snuggling up on a couch with the heater blaring drinking some hot tea - at least, that is what springs to my mind! Cashmere is luxe and Essie have clung onto that idea with their new Cashmere Matte collection. At first I was hesitant as I don't always appreciate a matte finish on my nails, but this Cozy in Cashmere* shade is soft and not at all chalky, and I can definitely see the cashmere aspect of the finish on my nails.

The taupe shade has incredible blue microshimmer when you look at the bottle, but because it dries down to a matte finish these are basically undetectable once the shade hits your nails. I took what seemed like a million bottle shots to try and show you the beauty of this shade, and below is the closest I could get to capturing how gorgeous it is. I also went ahead and applied the Kit Cosmetics topcoat* on my ring and middle finger in the two shots below to show you how easy it is to transform a matte polish into a traditional glossy finish - it's like two polishes in one! I realized that this shade is called Comfy in Cashmere in America - something worth noting if you're an Aussie trying to hunt it down at the shops!



with topcoat on middle fingers



topcoat on middle fingers

 

This kind of ladylike-with-an-edge shade is very me, and it's a pretty easy shade to wear. I like the fast drying time (thanks to the matte finish) and the fact that I can transform it into a glossy shade with ease means this is a keeper in my collection! I'm currently weeding through my polishes and giving a whole stack away, and I think I'll be posting as I sort through the stash and make my decisions. My reward at the end will be a nice new nail polish rack installed in my beauty room, something I am very much looking forward to!

Essie polishes retail for $16.95 AUD and are available at Priceline. The Cashmere Matte collection is limited edition August through September, you can see the rest of the shades swatched here.

Would you have kept this Essie Cozy in Cashmere shade, too?
What are your thoughts on the matte nail trend?
-Emma


*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Grey Day

Something about winter is just so lovely; the big pots of peppermint tea, bringing the throw rugs out and snuggling up after dinner to read a book (or play some Trivia Crack on the iPad, let's be real) The dark winter wardrobe I favour lends itself quite nicely to a wide variety of makeup looks - I can flit between a bold blush one day, bright Bourjois-velvet clad lips the next before getting smoky with some dark shadows...for this winterfied palette, I've gone down the fresh grey path when pulling things from my makeup drawers.

Hazy Grey Eyes
When I think winter, I automatically think grey and wearing it on the lids is definitely easier than rocking something like the much lauded Chanel Notorious, don't ya think? I prefer greys with a hint of brown to them to warm it up a notch, and my fall back grey palette is this Lady Grey MAC quad (especially the lower right hand shade, Hazy Day!)

The Classic Grey Mani
I love a good greige mani all year round truth be told, but it's never better than when it's chilly outside and you're all rugged up in a cozy knit scarf rocking the most elegant nails out there. I initially overlooked essie Take It Outside* but I love love love it on the nails - even on my nubbins it manages to look decent, so imagine it on perfectly shaped ones...*sigh* The magpie factor made me throw a coat of essie Hors D'oeuvres* over the ring finger, because bling bling!

Flush of Blush
I'm breaking away from neutral cheek shades for a second to dally in pinks flushes, but nothing screams "hi there I just came in from the cold can you pour me a cuppa?" than a RED flush - so natural on the cheek, yet so scary in the pan! Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Natural Beauty is just that, but the deep red tone of essence Renesmee Red is my personal favourite for a red cheek. Crème blushes aren't really my fortay but the old discontinued YSL Crème de Blush is the bees knees regardless - it's a nice powdered finish that I like in the winter. I've also turned a bit icy this season, with the new essence highlighter Enter Wonderland from the brand new Hidden Stories collection.

What is the best part of winter for you?

I'd love to know what your favourite hot drink is, I'm totally obsessed with big mugs on the couch right now!

-Emma

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Autumn Orange Kick

As soon as I saw Liz from Beauty Reductionista post about her current orange obsession "Winter Orange Kick" I was inspired to pull all the orange from my makeup drawers and go to town. I find that my pale skin generally allows me to play around with oranges quite easily (peach can be slightly more challenging) so this is just a selection of the orange products that I have.

my orange autumn kick!

I'm not too fussed on tone when it comes to orange - I love a great bright orange for nails and lips, but for eyes I'm happy with a lighter orange or a burnt sienna shade - like Jardin or Cannes in the Too Faced A La Mode Eyes Palette. Cheeks are an area of the face I love to deck out in orange tones - at the moment these two essence blushes are what I'm reaching for! Wool-D You Cuddle Me? from the Home Sweet Home collection is a great mix of pale orange with a hot pink pattern, and the ombre blush trend is one I'm happy to be a part of with I <3 Summer Break from the Beach Cruisers collection- the ability to mix a custom colour is so much fun!

I do love a good bright orange - my favourite is hands down the Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous which I wore in this makeup look back in November (looking at that post makes me want to wear Sally Hansen Kook-A-Mango so bad!) I love the formula of the Maybelline Colour Elixirs and prefer light colours like Breathtaking Apricot over the darker reds and purples - I generally like a matte finish if I'm wearing deeper shades. I have to admit that the Revlon Lip Butters are very unloved in my stash, and despite loving the colour of Peach Parfait the gritty feel of it does tend to drive me crazy when I wear it...

The most loved product from my current autumn orange kick? My beloved Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Coral Sheen, which is a gorgeous bright burst of cream blush for the cheek that is hard to beat now that the weather has turned a bit miserable. I think that nothing beats a nice bright blush on a grey day, it tends to perk up my whole complexion and I'm looking forward to working in pops of colour with my dark day-to-day autumn/winter wardrobe.

{Jardin, I <3 Summer Break, Wool'd You Cuddle Me?, Breathtaking Apricot
Peach Parfait, Rendezvous, Coral Sheen}

Are you on any sort of colour kick at the moment? I have to admit that I'm admiring a whole lot of purple at the moment which has never happened before, but since it's generally just for my eyes I have to say that orange is still pipping it at the colour post. Would love to know of your favourite orange beauty products!?

-Emma x

 

What's On My Face This Week - Bright Lips and Easy Eyes

I’ve been all about the easy eyes and shocking pink lips lately, and this week I’ve put this look on repeat varying some of the products but keeping the overall look really similar each time. Now that it is beginning to feel like winter in Melbourne (how about that wind!) I’ve reverted back to my love of wearing black to work and nothing pops better against black for me than a bright pink lip!

Mister Bovary making an appearance!

In these shots I’m wearing my Maybelline Color Bloom in ‘Pink Bloom’ which is a clear balm that turns into a bright pink tint once it hits the lips – it was a gift from a friend who travelled to Bali, but I really hope they are launched worldwide because they are seriously amazing and stain the lips so well! I topped that balm with my Maybelline Colour Elixir in Fuschia Flourish and am still head over heels for that packaging. I've pretty much stuffed all of my bright pink lip products into my Muji to rotate and am still mourning the loss of my Nars Carthage (did I lose you? are you hiding? was it something I did?)

Eyes have been the same shadows all week – I’ve rediscovered my Maybelline Bad to the Bronze Colour Tattoo and am back on the bandwagon. I didn’t realise how many Maybelline products I’ve been using lately – promise this isn’t a sponsored post and I didn’t plan it out! I’ve still been using my Too Faced Shadow Insurance underneath, and then sweeping some Too Faced Soleil from the A La Mode palette through my crease. It’s definitely the most used colour in that palette so far! It’s an easy eye look that takes no time at all in the morning and lasts all day for me, so I can see the trend continuing for the time being.

Cheeks are neutral central right now, in this instalment I’m wearing my new and shiny Dolce and Gabbana The Blush in 25 Caramel which is just as lovely as Jessica said it was! If I’m not wearing this powder I have on the Naughty Nude Revlon blush from the newly released Cheek Boutique – love!

What has been your favourite look this week?

I'd love to see you pop your pink lip recommendations in the comments for me to suss out!

Emma x

YSL Rouge Volupte 12 Forbidden Burgundy Makeup Look

There are times when a vampy lip is necessary to brighten up a drab day, and YSL Rouge Volupte in 12 Forbidden Burgundy was my vamp of choice most recently. Each time I lay eyes on the colour I think of Larie from Eye Heart It and this post from Making up 4 my Age, and I think my adoration of those two ladies brings my feelings for this lipstick up a few notches. Here is how I make a strong vampy lip wearable!

Anytime a deep red or burgundy lip comes into play I tend to neglect my blush for a liberal dusting of bronzer (bring on the #blushfiend shame...) and my bronzer of choice right now is the beautiful Colour Theory Bronzer in Sunkissed, which I bought from an Amcal pharmacy. Even though the brand is a lot more affordable than high end bronzers, I've found that this blends a lot nicer than the pricey powders I've tried! Warming up your features is important when wearing a dramatic lip, especially if you are very fair like I am.

I kept the eyes pretty simple with a wash of a pale shimmery shade from the Wet N Wild Comfort Zone palette and a tiny bit of MAC Mystery run through the crease. I rarely go without eyeshadow if I've got any makeup on, and a bit of subtle definition like this really makes a difference to the overall look. I think a nice champagne shade is a staple in most makeup collections, it is the easiest way to really brighten up the eye area.

I feel much more comfortable in a vampy shade like this than in a true red, and after I took these shots I blotted down the shine with a tissue and the colour lasted all day and well into the night (even after eating dinner with Mister Bovary!) This YSL Rouge Volupte formula is a bit slippery if you don't blot, but having the option to wear it both ways is definitely a great thing with deep wine shades like this. Blotting or dabbing on lip colours with fingers can make them much easier to wear!

Charlie Bovary, photo-bomber extraordinaire, sitting atop my new office couch chair!

Vampy lips for colder weather - I'm in! Do you find dramatic lip colours easy to wear?

YSL Forbidden Burgundy is a certified stunner in my book, do you agree?

 

Emma x

Grey + Coral - when winter and summer collide

The coral cheek trend has been a bit hit with me for quite a while now (BYS Endless Summer blush trio is the best for coral cheeks!) but now I'm adding a coral lip into my easy summer repertoire. As I think I've mentioned before, come summer time I pack away my lipsticks and bring my lipgloss stash to the front of my collection. Bright and summery glosses like this essence Beauty Beats Groupie at Heart gloss are great to brighten up the face. I also adore the MAC Archie's Girls Kiss and Don't Tell lipglass which is similar but more sticky (in a good way) than this el cheapo option. Since the essence gloss doesn't last very long, I layered it on top of my Maybelline Colour Bloom in Peach Blossom so that colour remained after the glossy effect wore off. Was very pleased with the result! 

In an unexpected wintery twist, I have been using quite a few grey and silver polishes lately, For this mix I chose a base of the nails inc Leather Effect polish* in Old Compton Street (which I am sad to say Charlie has now chewed the top of so the leather lid doesn't look so fresh, cheeky little puppy!) I then dabbed a bit of Sinful Colors Diamonds are Forever on the tips of each nail, and I have to say this cheap silver glitter is something my collection was in desperate need of! I threw a few coats of top coat on to try to get rid of the leather effect and was almost successful, but next time I think I will just use a grey crème and be done with it. I much prefer the other nails inc formulas, the leather look for nails isn't really my thing. I think perhaps I will appreciate the different texture in winter when leather and faux fur are floating my icy boat.

 

Adore the silver glitter tips! The other silver polish I've been trialling is the chrome finish Push & Shove* from the new OPI Gwen Stefani collection, and it is pictured above.

this is my 'wow I love coral and grey' face! note the grey throw rug behind me in this shot - it is my best buddy for couch naps!

 



Are you a fan of coral lips? Are grey tones your thing at this time of year or do you stick to traditional brights in summertime?

 

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Antipodean Beauties - Winter

Week three of the Antipodean Beauties challenge saw me pondering the ‘winter’ theme, which seems quite apt considering the cold weather in Melbourne at this time of year. Icy winds and smatterings of rain put me in a pale blue and grey frame of mind, so I leant towards those shades to create this winter makeup look.

winter essentials : comforting lip balms and beautiful grey shadows

The L'Oreal Infallible shadow in Sassy Marshmallow had been in the back of my mind since the Miss Candy collection was released quite some time ago, but I was yet to pick it up to add to my (rather large!) Infallible collection. After a long study session last week I stopped by Target with my friend Carly, and ended up finding Sassy Marshmallow for less than $5 in a clearance tub! With the Antipodean Beauties Winter theme in mind, I took the iridescent pale blue shade filled with pink/red shimmer home with me and set to work.

 

I tapped some Sassy Marshmallow (still giggling at the shade name) over the lid, concentrating the pale shimmery colour on the inner half of my eye as I knew I was going back in with another colour for the outer corners. I swept a little bit of my brown toned grey Inglot shade into the crease but found it didn’t have enough impact, so I went back in with Garter Belt from my Too Faced Boudoir palette. Garter Belt has been my favourite shadow for darker eye looks since I bought this palette, and I think it looks nice with the pale blue shadow to bring it to a more wearable level.  I then mixed the dark grey Inglot shade with the shimmery greys from my Australis Frock + Roll palette and tapped them under the eye for some definition.

I finished off the eye look with these products:

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Light*
Maybelline Dream Matte Powder
YSL Touché Éclat*
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
MAC Patisserie lipstick
BOE Lip Lacquer in Milk Chocolate
Covergirl Clump Crusher mascara

What makeup looks do you turn to for cold weather?

Do you fancy pale blue shadows, or find them too '80's' for your style?

Be sure to check out the other Antipodean Beauties below for their take on the 'WINTER' theme.

 *Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Sunshine + Beauty

While Melbourne stays overcast and sends me diving into my scarf collection, the thought of sunshine and laying on the sand is still planted firm within my mind. With a tropical holiday not in near sight, I turn to my beauty cabinets to inject some sunshine + happiness into my days!

Apart from the beautiful bright orange bottle of Clarins Sunshine*, I love the summery fresh scent despite it not lasting too long on my skin. I had a look at Fragrantica for the notes of this (detecting notes is definitely not my forte!) and this is what it told me:

Top notes are sicilian mandarin, grapefruit, watermelon and bergamot; middle notes are mimose, chamomile, ylang-ylang and carnation; base notes are tonka bean, patchouli, lime (linden blossom) and osmanthus.

Sicilian mandarin and mimosa, mmm mmm! I like that this smells summery but still doesn’t feel out of place in the cold Melbourne winter, which is perhaps due to the lack of coconut or strong summer fruits that ‘summer’ scents normally possess.

In terms of actually wearing orange, I can’t go past the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous, which was originally not released with the rest of the collection but has now crept onto Australian shelves where it belongs. I bought my crayon on eBay and find it the perfect orange shade for my pale skin tone, to really brighten up my whole face! Having said that, I think this would also be amazing on darker skin tones, so I recommend a swatch next time you hit up Priceline. Another orange makeup I marvel over is the Stila Convertible Colour in the shade Gladiola, which appears bright orange but sheers out to a wearable peachy orange on the cheek. I apply this either with a stippling brush (blush brush staple, for sure) or a paddle foundation brush, and it melds in with the skin so easily.

I've also popped my little REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask sample into the shot above, as I'm very excited to try it out since nabbing it from one of the lovely ladies at Mecca Maxima Melbourne. I love the orange colour of the mask, and hope that it will indeed renew my radiance when I try it out.

 

Orange nails were my first real beauty obsession, and anytime I get a manicure I gravitate towards orange- the brighter, the better! Jinx* is one of the new Liquid Sand shades from the OPI Bond Girls collection, and when I saw it at David Jones both Chris and I found the golden shimmer in the shade just breathtaking in the bottle. I was happy to have the shade hit my desk not long after, and the textured sand finish paired with the golden shimmer filled bright orange is just stunning.

 

What shades makes YOU smile the most? Are you like me, and embrace brighter colours in the colder months to perk up your day?

 

 

 

*Marked items provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Winter Hands // Caramel Hot Chocolate, Gingerbread Chai Latte + Apple Cinnamon Punch

Considering a lot of the hand creams I adore come with a high price tag (L’Occitane, anyone?) I was surprised to see how cheap the new Winter Drinks hand creams from essence were when scanned at the checkout! For a measly $1.95 AUD I grabbed one of each variety- the sweet Caramel Hot Chocolate, fruity Apple Cinnamon Punch and the spicy Gingerbread Chai Latte. While these aren’t the most moisturising hand creams, they don’t leave a greasy residue and are a nice light lotion for my handbag, being packaged in cute lightweight tubes. If you really only wanted to buy one, I think the Caramel Hot Chocolate is pretty amazing for foodie scent lovers, but once on the skin Apple Cinnamon Punch is the one for me. This is an important thing to note: these smell way better on than in the tube, so keep that in mind if you are undecided on these cheap treats.

 

These are available from Priceline + Target, and so far the shelves seem pretty full so head down to nab them before word gets out and more people indulge in these wintery treats.

Which scent would you vote for? Are you a fan of foodie scented creams?

Home Sweet Home // essence Winter collection // Photos, Swatches, Review

 

My love for the affordable German cosmetics brand essence has been well documented on this blog, and with each new collection my love seems to grow. The new Home Sweet Home collection has a distinctively wintery theme to it, which suits the rain and grey skies that Melbourne has been treating us to lately. I prefer cold weather in general, warm knits and boots are my thing and so when I saw the knitted embossing on the powders my heart just soared.

 

I usually only pick a few select items from a new collection as I have to keep my budget in mind, but the low prices of essence products make it hard to stop at just one or two pieces. The two blushes are so beautiful and are worthy of entering my blush drawer on looks alone, to be honest. I love the orange and hot pink mix of 02 Wool-D You Cuddle Me? but my favourite would have to be the pale pink and deep pink mix of 01 Knits For Chicks.

 

 

As with the other essence blushes I have tried in the past, these are a touch more chalky than I would like, but for the price I really don’t mind the formula at all. The colour lasts quite a while on the cheek, though naturally they don’t have the lasting power of a blush powder from the likes of Chanel or Tarte.

 

Now that I’ve gotten the hang of wearing neutral and brown shadows more often, I decided to pick up the chocolate shade along with the pale pink shadow. I plan on using the pale pink as a soft highlight, which is a tip I picked up from the beautiful Vita. The 3 eyeshadows from this collection are 01 Happy Couching, 02 Light the Fire, Place! and 03 My Home is my Castle.



blushes (individual stripes, then whole pan mixed) // eyeshadows



Though I liked the look of all 4 polishes from this collection, I was selective and really thought about which shade I would cherish the most. Hot Fruit Punch is a raspberry red and the berry twist in it really suits my colouring. I tend to wear these sorts of reds more than the fire engine varieties, so am happy to see more berry polishes coming out in stores.

 

What do you think of the wintery feel of this collection? What would you most like to see used in a makeup look?

 

*I personally purchased all of these items. Honesty, always.