REVIEW: Bulgari Omnia Crystalline EDT...

At last you are mine! Have wanted this gem from Bvlgari for yonks, and when it appeared in the recent Priceline Pink Dot Sale catalogue, I jumped at the chance to score it at a great price. For me it's actually a Spring/Summer fragrance, but sometimes the bargains appear in the opposite seasons, and I'm thrilled to have this in the cupboard for when the chilly winds have moved on to another part of the globe...

This is my second Bvlgari Omnia fragrance (the other is Indian Garnet), and my third in what I classify in the "crystal" perfume category (the other two are Versace Bright Crystal Absolu and Lanvin Eclat d’Arpège). They are all fruity florals, but there's a crispness, a coolness and nose-tingling quality that sets them apart from the other similar blends in my collection - it's almost like they contain fragments of snow or ice. Perhaps this is what other folks refer to as "aquatic"? Whatever it is, I'm hooked!

One major difference between Omnia Crystalline and the other two is that it is an EDT, so it's not quite so long lasting, nor so potent, and therefore perfect for hot sticky days when I want something more subtle. Still it lasts a good three to four hours on my skin, and it's truly magnificent from beginning to end. It has a woody almost spicy base which balances out the sweetness of the opening Nashi Pear notes, although my nose picks up more lemon than apple/pear. There's also Lotus Flower, Bamboo, Cassia, Guaiac Wood, Tea, Oakmoss and Musk listed in this magical blend...

ADORE IT! The packaging is divine, and I feel refreshed and cooled just looking at the silver & glass bottle. Apparently it was released in 2005 - just goes to show how big the fragrance rock is that I've been living under lol. Bvlgari actually classifies it as White Floral Woody, but all I know is that I just love the combination of fruit, flowers, and spicy wood. Come to me Summer so I can envelop myself in this clear and light crystal delight ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party is on again - the fun starts at 6:30am, so set your alarm ♥♥♥

EOTD'S: Too Faced, Annabelle & Maybelline Blues...

OK, time for some baby BLUES! Bit of a mix of brands that I've been playing with of late - these are all delightfully pigmented, and suitably different. First up is Blueberry Swirl from the Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar palette. What a lovely surprise to find a gorgeous smokey blue in amongst all the chocolatey hues...

My base was Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Boys Boys Boys - applied the Blueberry all over the lid except for the inner corner, and then blended a smidgin of Hydra from the Sleek Hall of Fame palette from the inner corner. Waterline was Eye of Horus Scarab Sapphire Goddess Pencil...

Foundation was Rimmel Lasting Finish, cheeks were Ulta3 Pretty Plum Bluch, lips were BYS Fine Wine... 

Form my accessories I chose a mix of powdery light and dark blue - the bracelets and earrings were from Lovisa, and the necklace was a bargain from Millers...

Next is a gorgeous blue from an Annabelle Haute Mer palette that my beautiful friend Amy from Health and Beauty Girl gifted to me ♥ It's a Canadian brand I'm not familiar with at all, but I love the formula and the boldness of the hue - very creamy and very little fallout. There's some stunning greys in the quad as well which you'll see at some stage in the not too distant future...

Base was Eye of Horus Scarab Sapphire Goddess Pencil, and I used the Teal Malachite one on the waterline for some extra oomph...

For my face I tried a new foundation - Australis Stayput. It's excellent, a beaut colour match, max coverage and it sure stays put ♥ Cheeks were the third pan from the BYS Heart Skipped A Beat trio, lips were NYC Blossom. This lippie was another pressie from darling Amy - my first ever try of NYC lipsticks, and I'm impressed with the density, intensity and moisturising qualities of the formula...

Kept the jewellery pretty low key as I was wearing such a busy print top...

And this last one is from one of my go-to palettes - the Sapphire Maybelline Hyper Diamonds palette that never lets me down...

Base was Chi Chi Boys Boys Boys Waterproof Gel Eyeliner, and I added that to the waterline as well. Been a while since I used a relatively light colour in this area - not sure that I like it so much, but it does seem to make my skimpy lower lashes stand out a bit more...

Face was Rimmel Lasting Finish again, cheeks were Savvy Satin Magenta Cheek & Lip Colour topped with Hourglass Ambient Mood Exposure, lips were Maybelline Pink So Chic ColorDrama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil...

I normally only wear pastel blue in the warmer weather, but my usual rampant boredom kicked in and I made an exception lol. The blue heart pendant is Russian Blue crystal (laboratory grown)...

Hope you're keeping warm lovelies!

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour...

Super excited to get my hands on these new Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolours, and even more excited to pick them up at the Priceline Pink Dot Sale for half price ($11.97). The icing on the cake is that they are absolutely fabulous! Highly pigmented, dense, velvety soft, very comfortable to wear, and there's a wide range of colours to choose from, although only eight appear to have been released in Oz. I'm guessing that the nude one (Seduction) is the hottie of the bunch as it was out of stock during both my visits. As expected during a sale, the cupboard was pretty bare initially - I bought one (aptly named Addiction) and fell immediately in love, and fortunately the shelves had been restocked by the time I returned..

Super cute presentation - it's a flattened matte plastic capsule with the usual does foot applicator, although the shape of the tip is kind of concave in the middle on each side. They are fragranced (supposedly with mango & vanilla), but it's not overly strong, and shouldn't be a problem. They aren't really all that matte (thankfully), don't suck the moisture out of my lips, and are surprisingly long lasting - I wore the hot pink one today and most of it survived lunch ♥

Below are the shades I bought - Passion, Flirtation, Devotion, Obsession & Addiction...

So let's move onto the swatches. I did all of these consecutively and on the same day so that there would be (for once) some consistency with my skin tone (although I look pretty washed out for some reason), and the camera's representation of the colours. I've tried these babies with and without a lipliner - although the wand provides pretty good definition by itself, they have a tendency to feather ever so slightly, especially on my wrinkly lips, so for me lining is essential. And the only one that goes on a bit streaky is Flirtation (the orangey one, no surprises there), but reapplying or layering is no problem because of the high moisture content of the formula...

One complaint - the shade name is only on the sticker. If you peel it off (so the tube looks nice), you may struggle when it comes to buying a replacement, well I sure will anyways. Not good Revlon - I can appreciate that the package design is not conducive to labelling on the base, but I would expect no permanent identification from a $5 lip product, NOT one that retails for $23+...

That little beef aside, I ADORE them - Revlon does really quite sensational lip products that never disappoint this little black duck. These are all beautiful shades, but at this stage, I'm obsessed with Obsession lol. Which one is your fave?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. I'm linking to Ingrid's awesomely interesting Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party - wouldn't miss it for all the tea in China ♥♥♥

REVIEW: Britney Spears Fantasy, The Naughty Remix EDP...

Yes it's me again, with another Britney Spears fragrance review ♥ In case you're wondering, there are at least four more bottles on my blogging HQ shelf eagerly awaiting their turn in the review spotlight, and not one of them is by Miss Spears. But I've had this hot pink delight on my bench for several months, so at the risk of boring you, here is my take on Fantasy, The Naughty Remix...

I'll start by saying that despite my passion for quite a few of her other Fantasy flavours, I'm not a fan of the original, but I love love love this variation. Most definitely a gourmand fragrance, to me this smells like a freshly baked vanilla snow cake topped with musk icing. It's ridiculously sweet and chocolatey at first, but the drydown is soft and powdery AND creamy with a tinge of wood. I'm actually quite puzzled as to why I enjoy it so much - the original contains quite a lot of fruit, and I normally go crazy over fruity scents, but there's something about it that bothers me so I've never indulged, even though it seems to be drastically reduced on a regular basis (always a temptation). This blend however has zero fruit, and a bucketload of white chocolate and cupcake - I often find gourmand scents way too sickly and cloying, and it's certainly not what I'd call a grown up fragrance, so it's all a bit of a mystery, but not one I'm going to lose any sleep over. Instead I'm spritzing this from head to toe like there's no tomorrow...

The bottle is pretty-as - a deliciously deep magenta with a sweetheart necklace, and unlike the other round Swarovski studded containers in the Fantasy range, this flacon is slim and curvy with more than a hint of Arabian Nights. While I absolutely adore the look of the others, there's a timeless elegance to this shape, it's far easier to grasp and dispense, and the 30ml size is cute and compact enough for my handbag....

Longevity on my skin is excellent - close to six hours before I even have to think about another dose. While it's not overly potent, it might just be a starter in the headache-inducing department for those who are prone, but don't let me put you off trying this mouth-watering foodie scentsation. Although it's described as sensual, dark and exotic, I don't find anything "naughty" about it at all - to me it's fun and flirty and flavoursome, and perfect for those who are young at heart (like me) ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD's: Kat Von D Blacks & Greys...

As much as I complain about the cold weather (I'm truly a Summer gal at heart) I do love playing around with greys and charcoals during the chilly season, and Kat Von D does the BEST shadows for smokey eye looks. In the pics below, I've used both the Chrysalis & Monarch palettes - the pigmentation is astounding and the powders are so easy to blend, even I don't have trouble getting rid of the join ha ha...

So this is Summerfly (gold) and Deadhead from the Monarch palette - can't believe she's discontinued this fabulous collection of Autumn shades! For the waterline, I used Eye Of Horus Serpentine Sultry Goddess Pencil - this is such an interesting deep olivey green, and perfect for when I don't want the starkness of black. I also used their Alchemy Gold Liquid Metals eye liner on the lower lashline...

Face was Mirenesse Velvet Maxi Lift foundation, Maybelline Master Highlighting Blush in Pink Rose, and lips were Rubi Shoes Ruby Red...

I am so in love with this mix of gold and grey - so very different, and I normally wouldn't put anything with grey except silver, but thankfully someone else figured out the combo was a winner, and now I'm in search of other grey/gold pieces...

For look number two, I switched to the Chrysalis palette, and chose Graphic Nature (shimmery charcoal) and Lunar Lights (silvery white). My base was essence White Kajal on the inner half, and Max Factor Charcoal Grey Kohl Pencil on the outside, as well as the waterline...

Even I'm amazed at my seemingly seamless blending, but I swear it's just SO EASY with these shadows...

Foundation was Maybelline Super Stay 24 hour, cheeks were Laura Geller Blush "N" Brighten in Berry, and lips were Chi Chi Viva La Diva Lady Bump...

And here's the jewellery - I'm crazy about black, white and silver together, it's so simple and yet so elegant...

For look #3, I cheated a bit because I was trying to match the leopardy top in the pic below. The fabric is a mix of black, grey and a sort of lichen green, so I used Eye of Horus Goddess Pencil in Emerald Tabular as a base underneath Chrysalis Black Milk (dove grey) and Lunar Lights...

And because the end result was a bit dreary, I added the same Emerald Tabular on my waterline...

Same Maybelline Super Stay foundation, cheeks were Savvy Cheek & Lip Colour in Cozy Coral with a dusting of pan #3 from the BYS Endless Summer Trio, and lips were Maybelline ColorDrama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in Fab Orange, which is more like Fab Red...

Was looking for something to go with the pendant, and scored the bangle and earrings from Target for half price ♥ Not a perfect match, but it'll do...

What's your go-to palette for a smokey eye?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: Jewellery Collection Part 2 (Ring Storage)...

Who doesn't love long weekends hey? Nothing I enjoy more than three whole days to sort out my various bits and pieces. Rising at 4:30am on weekdays, I HAVE to be organised, and as far as fashion and accessories are concerned, I find colour categorisation works best for me. Whether it's my clothing, shoes, scarves, jewellery, makeup OR even my umbrellas, I group them all according to hues, and that's my secret for co-ordinating my outfits. Each day I choose a colour theme - I work out what I'm wearing the night before (my brain doesn't function till my second morning latte lol) and lay it all out in readiness for a quick pull-together in the wee hours. Storage is another challenge, and I go with practicality rather than glamour, so you won't see any fancy trinket boxes or expensive acrylic solutions in this series - what's inside the modest containers I choose is pretty and fun, and that's enough for me. Plus the less I spend on exxy boxes and ritzy ditzy display stands, the more I have for the bargain bling I'm so passionate about ♥...

So this is my current collection of finger adornments, all safely stored away from dust, and sorted into the colours of the rainbow, plus black, white, plain silver and gold. I should add that this isn't necessarily my long-term solution, but it will do for the time being, plus it's reasonably portable if I need to shift things around in my room. I bought these acrylic 3-tier swivel boxes from Target last year for around $10 each. I lined them with some non-slip bubbly plastic shelf liner which I picked up at a Hot Dollar store for less than $5. To make the inserts the right size, I used the base of the unit as a template, drew around it with a pen, and then cut inside the line and snipped out a piece to fit either side of the spindle. In hindsight, a more rubbery or sticky kind of material would have worked better to cushion the pieces, but I chose what I did because it was transparent...

As mentioned in last week's post, there's no diamonds, rubies, sapphires or gold in this lot - the robbers cleaned me out long ago! Actually my "gold" collection changes every few months or so because the finish wears off, and I just toss them out when they start to look scruffy. As you can see I have quite a few rings made of acrylic & enamel - they're probably the most practical of all because they're virtually indestructible lol. And if I find something that really suits, I have a tendency to buy several in different colour variations - I do that with shoes and clothing too. I guess it's a case of "if the shoe fits, wear it"...

So how do you store your bling?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. I'm linking to Ingrid's awesomely interesting Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party ♥♥♥

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

Haven't held a jewellery giveaway for yonks. Given it's the long weekend (yay!), and that everyone's tastes are so varied, here's two different styles to choose from ♥ Both prizes are of similar value, the items are brand new, and were purchased by me from Lovisa and BigW. I've actually found the latter to be a surprisingly good source of accessories and like Lovisa, they regularly have sales, which is when I picked up these pieces...

Prize Pack #1 - "Purple"
Emerson Purple Crystal Bead and Grey Heart Necklace (loved this so much I bought one for myself)
Emerson Crystal Bead and Silver Metal purple/pink stretchy Bracelet (ditto)
Lovisa Sterling Silver Swarovski Stud Earrings (violet)

Prize Pack #2 - "Clear"
Lovisa Sterling Silver 2 Carat Stud Earrings
Lovisa Sterling Silver 2 Carat Necklace
Silver Metal and Rhinestone hinged Bangle (unbranded)

The rules are pretty strict - one prize per winner, and you must choose the pack you'd like to win at the time of entry.  None of this "oh I'd love to win either of them" caper lol...

This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY!

To enter, nominate which of the May 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. Please note: if you don't leave a comment on this page, you will NOT be included in the draw...

The Rafflecopter will decide the winners, so please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions inside. Please note that leaving a comment, providing your email address inside the Rafflecopter, nominating which prize you'd like to win 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

Woo hoo! - random.org has chosen the following two winners!

Purple Prize Pack #1: Alex P

Clear Prize Pack #2: Amy

Congratulations lovelies! 

Alex & Amy please respond to the emails I've sent you by 

Wednesday 29th June to claim your prizes :-)

Edit: Alex has claimed her prize ♥

Edit: Amy has claimed her prize ♥

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The giveaway closes at midnight on Monday 27th June (Sydney time). Best of luck to all who enter!

Take care of you,
kats xxx