REVIEW: Update on Lapureté Skin Care...

Drum roll please! Why? Because I've just finished ALL the products in this Lapureté set I won back in April, and originally reviewed here ♥ Why the drum roll? Well believe me I am notoriously fickle when it comes to skin care - unless I've been specifically asked to trial something for an extended period, or my latest discovery turns out to be the product of my dreams, I constantly swap my moisturisers around, or switch to a new brand as soon as I spot it on the shelves. But in this particular case, I stayed on the Lapureté straight and narrow for 14 weeks(!), and used the last squirt of eye cream this morning...

There's a few reasons why I've remained (voluntarily) faithful to this whole range since Easter - 1) in my book, any company generous enough to provide all these products as a prize on beautyheaven deserves a fair chance for their formulas to work, plus being an older ducky, sometimes the results take longer to become obvious; 2) I'm crazy in love with the pump packaging AND the hydrating qualities of the moisturisers; 3) I saw some good results initially, and wanted to see if my skin would continue to respond... 

So has my opinion changed since June? 

Lapureté Mild Crème Facial Cleanser & Toner (rrp: $39.90)

Well I wasn't keen on the cleanser on day one, and I'm still in the same frame of mind - it just doesn't remove makeup effectively, and I don't enjoy the stale oil fragrance. My beautyheaven review of it is here.

Lapureté Protective Day Crème (rrp: $59.90)

This cream is lovely - light yet rich enough to keep my skin hydrated all day, and it makes a great makeup base. While I noticed a softening of my wrinkles and creases in the first few weeks, there's been little or no change since then. Same with the slight firming around my jawline - at first I thought I might have found a potential anti-gravity treatment, but there's been no further improvement, or none that's discernible to my eyes. My beautyheaven review of it is here. 

Lapureté Resurrection Night Crème (rrp: $59.90)

More dense and enriching than the day cream (as a night cream oughtta be), I do believe this formula helped to smooth the surface of my skin a little - it felt softer and more supple, and combined with the day cream, my expression lines were a little less noticeable. No way is it an alternative to botox though, but still I gave it a pretty good wrap in my beautyheaven review...

Lapureté Triple Effects Eye Crème (rrp: $69.90)

Possibly my biggest disappointment of the bunch - I was super excited because in the first few weeks the lines around my eyes didn't look as deep or crisp, but sadly the softening of the crows feet came to a halt at around week eight, and they've been the same ever since. Admittedly I've gained a wee bit of ground, but for $70 a pop, I'd want the skin texture to look less crepey as well. bh review is here...

In summary, there were some noticeable benefits in the first six weeks, however the trend didn't continue for the remaining eight...

BUT...

...overall there's been one MAJOR improvement since I started this regime - my pore congestion has improved out of sight. I've tried products that made my clogging condition far worse, and some that reduced it slightly, but not once in 5 years have I used a skin care range that all but eliminated the problem. Having said that, it should be noted that at the same time I started this trial, I also switched to using Rosehip oil as my serum, and a micellar water as my toner. So was it the Lapureté products that did the trick, one of the other supporting goodies, or was it the combination of all of them? Whatever it is I'm determined to get to the bottom of it - to have my pores almost free of waxy yellow goop is something I've been striving to achieve for yonks, and certainly something I have every intention of maintaining going forward...

So...in an effort to pinpoint which is my pore saviour, I've decided to NOT purchase the moisturisers in the immediate future just to see if my pores become clogged again. If they do, then I'll be ditching whatever I have on my bench (and in the cupboard) and buying the Lapureté day and night creams without hesitation - if they are responsible for the clearing of my skin, then they're definitely worth the price for that factor alone. If my pores stay clear though, then I'll probably give these moisturisers a miss as the anti-ageing benefits are simply not enough to justify the outlay...

Either way I'll let you know how I go ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Sugarpill Poison Plum...

At the risk of boring everyone silly, I'm indulging in a three-in-a-row hat-trick - have to meet my (personal) quota of posting eight EOTD's in a month, and tomorrow I may be offline due to a certain telco coming out to restore my long lost ADSL connection. Fingers crossed that my blogging activities will return to normal after the appointment, but just in case there's a glitch, here we go with my last look before August hits...

I only realised today that I hadn't posted a purple eye this month (gaaaahhhh!), an oversight I simply had to redress asap, given how many of you gorgeous gals adore this royal hue ♥ And so it was Sugarpill to the rescue...

I laid down a generous creamy base of Face of Australia Budge-Proof Gel Eyeliner - a nice and sticky takes-a-while-to-dry gel that gives me plenty of time to pack on the pigment before it sets, and keeps the whole look intact for 16 hours until I remove it before hitting the hay. This is such a pretty shade :-)

Over that went Sugarpill's delectable Poison Plum. As a rule, pinky purples are far more flattering on me than blue-purples - for starters, they make my eyes look greener (bonus!), and the heavy dose of red in the mix seems to suit my skin tone heaps better. I love both ends of the purple spectrum of course, but this one has the edge for my particular colouring...

In the crease I added Revlon Matte Aubergine - one of the oldest shadows in my collection, but still workable, and the pigmentation just as potent as the day I bought it...

And so the whole look didn't end up too dark and broody, I added essence white kajal on the waterline...

I think we've turned the corner on Winter gals - the days are getting longer, and the with Spring not that far off, I'm planning some bright and cheery looks in the weeks ahead. Hope July was kind to you all ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Gold, Red and Black...

I'm wearing so much more red than I did in my youth, and especially this winter - making up for lost time I guess, but it's also such a fabulous shade for dispelling the drearies. I tend to wear it on Tuesdays, which is the day ruled by Mars, and often the day when I have the most challenges at work, so having some colour support is essential. I did something similar back in January, but I prefer this one because of the matte charcoal on the lower lashline - far kinder to my old eyes...

And of course, back then I didn't have the Mirenesse Secret Weapon 24HR Pure Gold Eye liner in my kit either - it's truly amazing and so easy to control the placement, plus it sure does last all day long. There's a swatch of it here...

So here's what I used to create this look...

Base: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold

Gold shadow: Urban Decay Honey

Red shadow: Sugarpill Love+

Charcoal shadow: MUA Matte #20

Top lash liner: Mirenesse Secret Weapon 24HR Pure Gold Eye liner

Waterliner: Essence white kajal

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Ginger...

Another stab at an almost neutral look - I'm definitely coming round to these muted hues, it's just taking me a a while to find the best way to make them work for my colouring, and without looking too dreary. I've come to the conclusion that the secret is in the base I start with, and outlining the eye by adding a darker shade in the crease for some contrast...

One of the most brilliant "underneathers" is the Bold Gold Maybelline Colour Tattoo I scored in the Blogstar prize box. Crikey this stuff can lift just about any shadow and inject a lively zest - the metallic finish beams through and enriches any pigment to give it a multi-dimensional quality that I'm plum loco about...

The shadows I used are the gingery shade from the Akoya Pearls Mirinesse Pearl Crush Creaseless Shadows trio all over the top lid and underneath, and Sleek Noir from the matte V2 palette in the crease. Both of these pigments are so easy to work with and blend beautifully and effortlessly...

For some reason my camera had a spazz attack on this particular day, and captured everything about three shades lighter than normal - it's fine again now, but I'm mentioning it in case you're thinking I've bleached my hair, or have been locking myself away in a cupboard lol...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

REVIEW: Lacura Minerals Lip Gloss...

Lacura is a brand only available at Aldi stores. Sadly the Minerals range is not part of the standard cosmetics stock along the back wall, but from time to time, you'll find it on one of the tables in the middle section. Like most Aldi products, the boxes are just plonked down still inside their delivery cartons, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled or you'll miss them. Around 6 months ago, I nabbed the Minerals Blush and Bronzer - both fabulous products for (if memory serves me correctly) under $8. I haven't seen them since (and would purchase them again in a flash) but the lip glosses and lipsticks have been there twice in that time, so there's hope :-)

The colour range of Minerals Lip Glosses is limited to four shades, but they're ever so pretty, and the ROSE one (pictured above lying on its side) is up near the top of my list of faves. The packaging is cute and funky, and although the applicator wand is quite small (a bugbear of mine with any brand) it still manages to pick up enough sheen to make it viable...

So here are the colours, from left to right: Gold Shimmer, Rose, Night Fever & Soft Brown. All but Rose are quite sheer, and I should imagine, would be subtle when worn alone, however over the top of a lipstick, the added glossy shimmer is awesome for a $4.99 mineral product. They're deliciously moisturising as well, delicately perfumed with a florally fragrance, minimal taste, and about a 5 out of 10 on the sticky/transfer scale...

Yay I managed a decent swatch!

They're refreshingly travel friendly too - a neat and compact size for handbags, and the lid screws down nice and tight. There's 8ml of product, and my only beef is that the colour is not marked anywhere on the tube - you have to keep the packaging (or refer back to this page!) if you want to buy the same shade again. Oh and the blurb on the box says they're suitable for sensitive and dry skin, and dermatologically tested...

      Gold Shimmer                                                    Rose             

            Night Fever                                                        Soft Brown           

All of them add a delicate slick of hydrating shine and colour boost to lippies, and the Rose one is particularly gorgeous - here it is over the top of the Lacura Minerals Soft Rose lipstick (review coming soon)...

And here's the Gold Shimmer one slicked over Lacura Minerals Nougat Shimmer...

Now for the best part - my blog is almost 12 months old (my how time flies!), so to kick off the celebrations nice and early, I'm giving away the whole set to one lucky follower ♥  Please make sure that you read the entry instructions inside the Rafflecopter, and check out the Terms and Conditions. Please also note that leaving a comment and providing your email address are MANDATORY...

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This giveaway is now closed

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yay - random.org has chosen the beautiful Tracey W. as the winner. 

Congratulations gorgeous! 

Tracey please respond to the email I've sent you by 

Wednesday 6th August to claim your prize :-)

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Take care of you,

kats xxx

COME PLAY WITH ME: Wing It Out...

So here we are with Episode 7 of IndieAna's Come Play With Me mini-series - and I'm delighted to report we have a new member of the cast, the lovely AND talented Monique from make-up with monnii, who also chose the theme of Wing It Out. Monnii created a simple yet stunning winged eye look, and challenged the rest of us gals to do the same...

Adding a wing to my eye look always adds extra drama, so I went for a bold aquamarine pigment to conrast with the black of the MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner that I always use for my flicks. Can't imagine EVER using any other product for this purpose - it's superfine and super-easy to work with. I also blocked out the outer corner with the liner and softened it with the shadow. Just for a change, I lined my top lashline as well - I so rarely do this because it makes my spindly lashes all but disappear boo...

I started with ye olde essence white kajal as a base, and added matte aqua from the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette to both the top lid, and underneath the lower lashline...

On the waterline is Mirenesse Superlong Wear Gel Mineral Face Colour in Blue Moon...

This was a whole lot of fun, even though I had to have a few goes at it (the first two were unpublishable disasters!), but I never give up without a fight, especially where eye make up is concerned lol...

You can see Monique Kerstin's edgy and expertly executed double-wing black and gold look here...

And IndieAna's goegeous green creation here...

Edit - If you're looking for a wow tonight, check out Hailey's stunning feathered look, it's magnificent...

Hoping some of the other gals will join in too, and I'll add their links as they come on line ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Blue On Blue...

Well I don't know about you, but for me blue is the most peaceful of all colours - I find lavender relaxing and pink is always a comfort, but blue radiates serenity and peace. If you were around in the 60's, you'll remember Twiggy and Veruschka and their baby blue eye makeup - it was "the" colour shadow to wear, often all the way up to the brow bone. Consequently it became tied to that era, and if you wore it past the early 70's, you were considered a fuddy duddy. I certainly stopped wearing it, but not because it was out of fashion - I just grew tired of it...

But all that's in the past, and I've fallen in love with it all over again. Unlike the "olden" days, the shade range now is massive - from the palest powder blue all the way through to indigo, from light aqua to deep turquoise, from periwinkle to ultramarine. I love them all, but have a particularly soft spot for what I call the powdery blues - the ones in the middle, not leaning towards either purple or green...

To give the shadows some depth for this look, I used dark blue Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner, with L'Oreal Studio Secrets #552 professional brown eyes intensifier over the whole lid. Along the top lashline, I used a damp brush to apply the palest blue from the MUA Blue Babe trio, and took that underneath as well...

To keep the whole effect soft and fresh, I used essence white kajal went on the waterline...

Interestingly, blue eye shadow makes my eyes look more blue than green, but it's nice to have a change, and I consider myself fortunate to have irises that reflect the colour of whatever pigment I'm wearing. Lol, having said that they don't turn orange when I wear sunset hues, but they do vary from grey to green to blue :-)

Take care of you,

kats xxx

Even More of Nature's Gifts...

Last November, I posted some photos of the my beloved Mama's garden. It was her birthday on the weekend, and I thought it was the perfect time to show you that she doesn't let the cooler seasons diminish the fabulous array of colours and variety of blooms she has on display, in fact I reckon what follows is even more spectacular than the Spring version! All these pics were taken at various times over the last four months, and I think you'll agree she has a gift for coaxing nature into revealing the most bounteous beauty...

Happy birthday Mama Kats ♥ 

(Warning: picture heavy post!)

Take care of you,
kats xxx