EOTD: MUA Platinum & Charcoal...

MOST unusual for me to upload two posts in one day - but I'm making an exception as it's the last day of the month, and work has overtaken my blogging life this week (boo!). However I was determined to not let it get the better of me, so here's #8 EOTD for July ♥

Haven't done a silvery black look in yonks, and this MUA Platinum is undoubtedly the most stunning silver in my collection. Crikey you could almost read by the light it throws off lol! I've had this for several months and it's been laying forgotten and unused in one of my drawers as I've been distracted of late by quite a few palette purchases (ahem). Anyways it's ahh-mazing, and you'll be seeing it far more often in future ♥

My base was essence White Kajal, and for the crease I added MUA matte shade #20, a pan I've had (and used regularly) for over two years, and which barely has a dent in it. Along the top lashline, I added some definition with the new Maybelline Hyper Sharp Wing Liner (love it!), and on the waterline is Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Black is Black. These liners are the BEST ones in my kit for the waterline - they stay put for at least 4 or 5 hours...

Hope July was kind and generous to you ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Colourpop Empire...

Is there an emerald green eye shadow on the market prettier than this Colourpop Empire? Hard pressed to find one I reckon - it's so shimmery and sparkly too, absolutely love it to bits, and even more so because it was a gift from my darling friend Hissycat Krissy ♥

I am SO impressed with these Colourpop eye shadows - they're cheap as chips, super buttery and the pigmentation, well I think you can see it's rather stunning...

I actually dumbed this down a bit by using a dark brown base on the outer two thirds - I was wearing olivey shades, and while I wanted my eyes to be a brighter hue than my somewhat dull outfit, this emerald was way too vivid, so I started with Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Lo Cal Chocolate. Essence White Kajal went underneath the inner corner, and bhcosmetics Waterproof Eye Crayon in Huntress was my waterliner...

Facewise, I'm wearing nude by nature Liquid Mineral Foundation, cheeks were the middle pan from the BYS Coral Me In blush trio, and lips were BOE Beauty Mocha...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: BOE Beauty Lipsticks...

Another of the gems uncovered by my recent lipstick refresh - BOE Beauty and BOE Professional. These two ranges are available at BigW stores - the BOE Beauty lippies are $2, and the BOE Professional ones are $8.95. I must say that prior to my explorations, my minimum spend for a lipstick was $4.95 - I wasn't being a snob, I just couldn't imagine how any lip product could be even vaguely usable if it cost less than that. Well I'm SO GLAD I cast aside this personal limitation, read on to find out why...

I'll start with the Professional variety. These come in a solid case that looks and feels classy, with the product colour visible on the base. The formula is creamy, rich and smooth, deliciously hydrating, and my nose can't detect any fragrance. The pigmentation is excellent, coverage is also very good, and the colour doesn't bleed. They don't last beyond a meal, but they do leave behind a nice little bit of stain, and transfer to drinking utensils is average. The display stand is on a par with any other similarly priced product range, and there were testers in my local store...

This first one is called Aphrodite - a gorgeous soft pink that will leave your lips looking supremely kissable ♥...

And here is Mocha - a lovely warm brown/pink which I'm loving this Winter, it's such a flattering shade without being too deep or intense ♥...

These next two are from the Beauty range. Being a bargain style, all the products are jumbled into plastic display bins, so it takes a bit of doing to work out just what colours are available - for me it was a bit like a treasure hunt, which I don't mind as these ridiculously cheap lipsticks are well worth rummaging for. Of course the packaging isn't nearly so glamorous, but sturdy all the same, and still quite impressive for the price. I bought one of each kind - cream and matte, both have a very faint waxy fragrance. The cream kind is certainly creamy, nicely moisturising, but I have to say I had quite a bit of trouble trying to get the colour to apply evenly for the lip swatch photo. I'll be going back for more though as I believe these warrant further investigation...

This is Paige - a most heavenly peach which I'll be putting away for Spring, isn't it just so pretty?...

And, well, you know me lol, I've saved the best for last. This is Shocking Matte Pink - an astoundingly brilliant and beautiful hue, although as you can see, it isn't matte at all. But I don't give a hoot because...I applied this early in the morning, went shopping, had breakfast and a latte, and 3 hours later, it was still going strong - the only difference was the loss of the sheen, but the colour and coverage were still intact! UNBELIEVABLE for a $2 lipstick, plus my lips didn't feel the slightest bit dry ♥

In summary, I think these are a great find. The BOE Professional lipsticks are excellent value, and both the formula and presentation are first class...

But...the one that impressed me the most was the $2 matte in the BOE Beauty range. I swear I'm calling into BigW on my way home tomorrow night to see if there are any other "matte" shades in the bin!

P.S. I've listed this over at Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness link up party - well worth checking if you're looking for new blogs to follow ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: bhcosmetics Dark Rose Bronze & Green...

Another look from the bhcosmetics Dark Rose palette ♥ I don't think there are any shades in this collection that don't compliment each other, which makes it one I reach for often. And putting together a green and gold/bronze hued outfit is also a regular occurrence for me, in fact almost once per week, and I can count on this palette to always deliver a pretty look to match... 

Over essence White Kajal, I applied the bronze on the far right all over the lid, blended the green along the lower lashline and outer corner, and pressed the matte pinky brown into the crease...

For a bit of extra oomph, I patted the new Covergirl Bombshell Shineshadow in Copper Fling over the whole top lid with my finger. This is a lovely semi-sheer cream that comes in a teeny tube, but it packs a mammoth punch as far as adding dimension and shimmer is concerned. So far I've only seen it in copper, gold and silver, but according to their website, there's a soft green, a lilac and a platinum as well which I'm busting to get my hands on. One word of warning though - if you blink before it dries, it transfers to other areas in a flash...

For the waterline, I chose essence Kajal in I Have A Green...

For my face I used Mirenesse Liquid Silk in Vienna. I'll be reviewing this makeup soon (along with quite a few others) as I've embarked on ANOTHER much needed kit refresh - foundations this time around, and as I'm discovering, there are some terrific ones available for bargain prices. Cheeks were a base of Lacura Beauty Minerals Cream Blush in Soft Coral (also soon to be reviewed - love 'em!), with a light dusting of the middle pan from the BYS Coral Me In trio. Lips were MBA Cosmetics Spiced Pumpkin...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTM: "Your Favourite June EOTD" Giveaway...

Oh my - July will be over in a matter of days, and I haven't had my giveaway yet! Better late than never they say, so here we go with the loot ♥  Bit of a mixed bag of goodies this time around, but I wanted to choose items that I could post overseas, so yes, this giveaway is open Internationally - yay!

Up for grabs is...

• 1 x Rosehip by essano skincare pack containing Gentle Facial Exfoliator, Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser, Certified Organic Rosehip Oil and Regenerating Facial Moisturiser
• 2 x Lacura Volume Lip Lacquers in my favourite hues, Red Carpet and Flamingo
• 2 x Lacura Minerals Blush, Soft Coral and Pink Rose (I haven't reviewed these yet but they're fab!)
• 1 x Chi Chi Glamorous Eye Shadow Collection - Smokeys

To enter just choose which of the June EOTD's is your favourite from the eight pictured below, let me know in the comments section why you like it the most, then follow the Rafflecopter entry instructions below...

The Rafflecopter will decide the winner, so please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions inside. Please note that leaving a comment, providing your email address inside the Rafflecopter, AND following my blog one way or another from the many choices listed, are MANDATORY for entry...

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This giveaway is now closed

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yay - random.org has chosen the beautiful Faiza as the winner! 

Congratulations Faiza ♥

Please respond to the email I've sent you by 

Thursday 30th July to claim your prize :-)

Edit: Faiza has claimed her prize

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Best of luck to all who enter!

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: DB Cosmetics Lipsticks...

As a result of my lipstick collection refresh, I've discovered a new lipstick brand love - DB Cosmetics. I've used their eye shadows in the past and at that time, tagged them with a "cheap and cheerful" label, but nothing to really rave about. Well now, according to my local stockist (Price Attack), they've recently revamped their range, and I'm superduper-impressed with their lipsticks, both with the colour selections, and the formulas. There are two - Long Wear and Moisturising. I bought one initially (Bronze), and adored it so much I added six more to my kit within a few weeks!...

The packaging is stylish and sturdy, and the lid gives an indication of the hue inside. The texture of both ranges is smooth and creamy, the colour payoff is excellent, and they leave my lips feeling soft and moist. The Longwear formula isn't quite so hydrating, though I find that goes for most lipsticks that are designed to last, but it isn't drying in any way, and none of them have any taste or smell that I can detect. Moisturising lipsticks are $8.99 and the Longwear ones are a dollar more - absolute bargains for the quality...

So here are the colours I chose - I swatched all these over bare lips during my early morning rush to get ready, so the application is far from perfect, but the shades are pretty darn close to true, well as true as they can be under a white makeup light ♥

This is 666 Bronze, a magnificent autumn tone, with a slightly pearlised finish...

And if you love hot pink, you'll need to pick up 661 Vivid Mauve - of all my magenta-ish lippies, this has the most blue content, it's just plain gorgeous...

Ahh yes, 678 Perfect Plum - one of my personal favourites. It's a Longwear one (the lid is opaque whereas the standard formula is clear), and another divine cooler season hue, this plum is...perfect ♥

662 Perfect Pink has a plain moist finish - a little pale for me for this time of year, but come Spring/Summer, I'll be trotting this out because it's so pretty and feminine...

The most beloved red of all I own - 665 Currant Kiss. This is deep and rich, supremely classy, and doesn't scream for attention like some of my other reds. A stunning spiced rouge that I'm constantly trying to work into my looks at least once a week simply because I love it so much ♥

Another of the Longwear range - 676 Classic Mauve. Nude lovers rejoice - this is halfway between a pink and a beige, flattering for most skintones, and it's one of those my-lips-but-better kind of hues. Subtle and sexy...

And here's 663 Cherry Love - I call it Cheery Love because it's such a happy hue, verging on a juicy ripe raspberry. This and Vivid Mauve leave the most stain on my lips...

They standard formula needs to be reapplied after a few hours (depending on how many lattes you drink), but the Longwear ones usually take me through to lunchtime...

In summary, this was possibly my greatest find throughout my lipstick refresh, and I highly recommend checking them out. There are 24 shades in the ranges (12 in each), and I'll be back for more. In fact I bought 677 Teak Rose (Longwear) yesterday, but I'm saving that for my next DB Cosmetics post - I have a strong feeling there'll be more ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. Have a look at Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness link up party - lots of great articles contributed by some very talented bloggers ♥

EOTD: Mermaids Vs Unicorns Berry & Eggplant...

Well I'm sure having a ball with my Makeup Revolution Mermaids Vs Unicorns palette! And loving pinky reds and purples as I do, this particular combo just had to be next. These hues are stunners for any season, but particularly lush and lustworthy for the cooler months - just looking at the colours makes my mouth water, and I can almost taste ripe blackberries, plump red currants and juicy raspberries ♥

As you know I often use coloured gels or creams as my bases to bring out the best in my shadows, and I did that here to add some extra warmth, not that they needed much help - these pigments are potent enough to lay down over white, but I'm saving that lighter, fresher more vivid kind of look for Spring. Under the red I used pink Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eye Liner (Hopelessly Devoted) and under the purple went Beauty School Drop Out from the same range, as well as on my waterline...

In this photo I'm wearing my latest makeup discovery - Mirenesse Liquid Silk. It's a brilliant long-wear, non-transfer, almost-matte, full-coverage foundation, perfect for my combination skin as it doesn't need blotting, and although it only comes in 4 shades, I'm most fortunate that Vienna matches my skin tone perfectly ♥ It also just happened to be on special (half price - $29.75)) On the cheeks went bhcosmetics Iris, and lips were made berry-licious with MBA Cosmetics Fire Island Petite Lipstick with a slick of Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift Moisture Shine #19...

Hope you're keeping warm and toasty away from the freezing winds, or enjoying some brilliant runs in the your ski-clobber ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: Lipstick Collection Refresh...

Back in May I made an executive decision to refresh my lip product collection - I'm almost embarrassed to say I had lipsticks and glosses in my kit that were anything up to 4 or 5 years old, and when I posted an LOTD on Instagram, it was often all pretty pointless as the products weren't even available any more! I was also inspired by my gorgeous pals Lovethatlippie and IndieAna who were whetting my appetite with all their fabulous purchases, some from companies I'd never even heard of. So off I went into Lip-Land with a very modest budget to see what I could find - holey moley I was staggered by the range of products available in the bargain category, and I've only just barely scratched the surface of the drugstore variety. Anyways I figured I'd better start reviewing some of these before the companies stop making them ha ha. So here are some of my Instagram pics of what I purchased, spending anything from $2 to $20 (I'll be doing a study of the more expensive ones once I've given these a good workout, and my bank balance recovers)...

The above collage doesn't include all the varieties I bought from Aldi (I've already reviewed the lipsticks here and the lip lacquers here). All up I've added 64 new lip products to my kit in a wide range of colours, textures and finishes (and tossed out about half that many to make some room). From a quality and performance perspective, some of them have been a delightful surprise, while others just didn't cut it at all. Soooo....over the next few months I'll be reviewing all these items individually (with swatches), and will let you know which ones I would repurchase, and which ones are far better left on the shelf ♥

Here are the brands whose products I purchased for this little (well not quite so little) exercise, in alphabetical order:

bhcosmetics, Boe Professional, BYS, Chi Chi Cosmetics, Covergirl, DB Cosmetics, Fifth Avenue (Kmart), lol Cosmetics, Makeup Revolution, Max Factor, Maybelline, MBA Cosmetics, nude by nature, NYX Cosmetics, Revlon, Rimmel, Rubi Shoes, Starlet (Coles).

I was going to choose a random one to start with, but hey gals, which lippie brand review would you like to see first?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: L'Oreal Color Riche Disco Smoking...

Another neglected palette, which is a crime because it's such a beauty ♥ - the colours are just so striking, and the powders are creamy and well pigmented. I created a look using it last June after struggling to get it to work - I can't remember for the life of me what the problem was, and it really doesn't matter now as this particular look came together as easy as pie...

On this day I was wearing basic black with leopard print accents, so I wanted the red shadow to lean more towards brown - Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eye Liner in Lo Cal Chocolate was my base of choice, and it worked a treat, plus laying down another of Chi Chi's liners in gold (Midas Touch) brought the yellow to life, and even gave it a bit of a glisten. To create the sunset orange, I gently blended the red towards the yellow...

I then smudged a very small quantity of the black into my crease, and for the waterline, I used essence Kajal in the shade Teddy...

Foundation was Lancôme Teint Visionnaire, blush was the middle pan from the BYS Endless Summer trio, and lips were Revlon Super Lustrous Bronze Beauty...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. Don't miss Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness link up party - it's a great place to find new blogs to follow, and there's a new collection every week ♥