REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Nutrimetics Sweet Pea Posy Fragrance Diffuser...

My passion for colour and fragrance is pretty much limitless, so when I find something that combines the two (especially purple!), I'm literally in heaven. So I did a little happy dance when I spotted this Nutrimetics Sweet Pea Posy Fragrance Diffuser.  It's just the most gorgeous home accessory I've seen in a while, smells divine, so practical and clever, AND it's so beautifully presented ♥...

Most fragrance diffusers use a reed delivery system, but this one has a fabric flower with a wick attached which you sit on/in the open bottle, and the fragrant oil travels up into the petals. They gradually take on the soft violet hue of the liquid, and you're left with a very compact and stunning little posy whose delicate scent permeates the surrounding area ♥ Mine hasn't coloured up yet - takes about 7 days, and I'm so looking forward to the lilac end result. The bottle is heavy and square, so there's barely any risk of it toppling over. It's just the perfect thing to have on your bedside table hey!...

The fragrance is a combination of various flowers - I can't identify anything in particular, but from the name I'm guessing that sweet pea is one of them (lol!), and possibly lilac & violets too. It's a lovely and balanced floral combination, actually one I would dab behind my ears if it was available as an EDP, not fake in any way or overly sweet, and it honestly smells like you have a bunch of spring blooms in the room ♥ RRP is $40, but it's on special at the moment for $30. According to the box, the liquid should last around 4 weeks, but I intend to hang onto the container and fill it with something else (maybe lavender oil?) because I just adore the look of it, plus I don't have to flip any sticks over to maintain the scented radiation...

MOTHER'S DAY GIVEAWAY!

I reckon it's the perfect Mother's Day gift, and so I'm giving one away to one of you lovelies to gift to your precious Mum on her big day (or keep for yourself!) ♥...

And because Mum's are so special, I'm also including this boxed travel-size Nutrimetics Apricot Luxuries Collection containing...

• 50ml Nutrimoist Moisturising Creme
• 50ml Apricot Body Dew
• 50ml Loofah Shower Gel
• Shower Puff

Total prize value is $80, all products were purchased by me, and because of the weight and liquid content, I'll have to restrict this giveaway to...

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY

Here's how to enter...

1. Leave a blog post comment on this page that answers the question inside the Rafflecopter (please note: if you don't leave a comment on this page, you won't be included in the draw!)
2. Leave your email address inside the Rafflecopter so I can contact you if you win
3. Follow my blog one way or another from the many choices listed
4. Only one entry per person, please read the T's & C's inside the Rafflecopter

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This giveaway is now closed - check back later tonight to see who won!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Woo hoo! - random.org has chosen the beautiful Tigerlily as the winner.  

Congratulations gorgeous! 

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

Wednesday 25th April to claim your prize :-)

Edit: Tigerlily has claimed her prize ♥

Thanks for entering lovelies - there'll be another giveaway soon!

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I'm repeating that you MUST leave a comment on this page to be included in the draw - in previous giveaways, some lovelies have been entering via the Rafflecopter, but not commenting so PLEASE comment below so that I don't have to disqualify you ♥...

Best of luck to all who enter!

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Apricot and Grey...

I just love it when I have a plan for an EOTD, and then chance (or a major stuff up) turns it into something that I hadn't necessarily planned, but it works out ok in the end ha ha! Well this is precisely what happened the other morning. Apricot and grey is not a combo I would have thought would work (that's if I'd thought of it at all!) but hey, I think it's quite unique, and has a special quality about it...

So I started with Maybelline Color Tattoo in Fierce and Tangy - it has a matte finish, is quite thick and dry, and I don't find it as creamy or easy to apply as the bronze, white, silver or gold. But the base it provides for any shadow in the orange sector of the spectrum is brilliant - it really enhances the colour by adding dimension and depth that would normally take major layering to achieve...

Over this I patted down the apricot pigment from the MNY Bronze Hyperdiamonds palette, and took it underneath as well - it's the little triangle on the right in the below pics. A gorgeous shimmery tone that packs a shimmery punch. Then I deepened the outer corners with the bronzey shade on the left. As you can see these two particular pans are exceptionally well loved :-)

No flash...................................................................flash

Then for some reason or other (probably half asleep lol) I forgot to clean up my waterline with a cotton bud, and there was quite a bit of leftover black liner that had transferred from the top lid after tightlining. This is unheard of for me as I'm normally scrupulous with my cleanup before proceeding to the next step. Anyway without even thinking, I applied my essence white kajal over the top, and ended up with...grey. I was going to wipe it all off and start again, but the more I looked at it, the better I liked the contrast with the apricot...

I actually don't have a grey crayon for my waterline, or anywhere for that matter - it's not something I'd ever thought about purchasing as I'd dismissed the shade as way to dull. But I'm LOVING this combo of pastel orange and grey! 

Have you ever done a make up goof that turned out to be a bonus?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Apricot and...?

Back in November, I posted an apricot EOTD and mentioned how I thought this shade would go particularly well with certain other hues from the rainbow. My comment seemed to generate some interest from a few of you lovelies, so I've done three new looks, this time pairing this gorgeously feminine shade with olive, pink and purple...

Apricot and Olive...

Base: MNY Color Tattoo in Fierce & Tangy

Apricot from the Bronze Maybelline New York Hyperdiamonds palette 

Olive from the Napoleon Peridis Prismatic Eye Quad #7

Apricot and Purple...

Base: MNY Color Tattoo in Fierce & Tangy

Apricot from the Bronze Maybelline New York Hyperdiamonds palette 

Purple from the Physicians Formula Fashionista palette

Apricot and Pink...

Base: MNY Color Tattoo in Fierce & Tangy

Apricot from the Bronze Maybelline New York Hyperdiamonds palette 

Medium pink from the L.A.Colors Wildflowers palette

Three totally different looks, all using the same base and the same apricot shadow.  My personal favourite? Hmmm, tough call - I love the calming softness of the apricot/olive combo, but my passion for vibrant colour has me leaning towards the apricot/pink one :-)

Which one do you like best?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Apricot and Brown...

I seem to be going a bit Apricot mad this spring - there's something so incredibly appealing about it, I think because it's calming, fresh and warm at the same time. Not nearly as riotous as straight orange, and soft enough to flatter just about any complexion. Actually I can't think of an eye colour that wouldn't look fabulous with it - grey, brown, blue, hazel, even my tealy green peepers seem to come alive when offset with this delicate shade.

As you may have gathered, I'm quite the experimenter - I do so love exploring putting different shades together just to see what happens. Of course, pairing apricot with brown is hardly what I'd call "experimental", but as I'm only just discovering the beauty of this colour, I'm taking baby steps and going with a sure bet lol. Going forward I can imagine this would look stunning with a lapis blue or a deep amethyst,  a gold-olive or perhaps even a rosy pink? - oops there I go dreaming again, but I can't help it! Colours just call out to me to play with them, and with so many possibilities, I was inspired to go through my kit and dig out some shadows that haven't seen the light of day in a long while :-)

For this look, I remembered my bronzey Maybelline New York Hyperdiamonds palette, one I've had for over 2 years, but probably haven't used for 12 months. These days I keep my shadows safely locked away in drawers so they stay dust-free, out of the light, and don't seem to deteriorate as fast over time, and I'm happy to report this little palette still has plenty of life left in it.

I started by tightlining with Mirenesse Inside Out Kohl liner in Amun (deep red/brown), and took it underneath the lower lashes, followed by a base of MNY Tattoo in Fierce & Tangy. Over that went a blend of two of the colours from the MNY palette (marked above) along the top lashline, and Paper Bag from the Sleek V2 palette towards the crease and lower lashline. Finished it off with my usual MNY The Falsies waterproof mascara & essence white kajal on the waterline.

 

I reckon this shade is wonderfully versatile and goes with just about anything - definitely time I had a poke around in my cabinets to see what else I've been neglecting :-)

Take care of you,

kats xxx

LOTD: Apricot shimmer...

Actually I wasn't all that sure how to describe this colour :-) Two of the products I used just have numbers on the packs, so I reckon they didn't know what to call it either lol! Anyway it's a pale coppery apricot hue that's perfect for bright spring days.

I started with an Australis Lip Pencil in the shade Nudie Rudie. My lips are heavily freckled, so I find it best to smother them in lip liner so I end up with an even end result. This one is particularly good for neutralising any red patches as well :-)

I'm rather enamoured with Mirenesse Lip Bomb Glossy Lacquer Stains. I have over half a dozen in my collection, and this one (#28) recently arrived as part of my VIP pack.

Mirenesse has a somewhat interesting marketing strategy - they list their products on their website at ridiculously inflated prices that no one in their right minds would pay (well I wouldn't that's for sure!). And then they have (almost) daily "specials" where you can buy the items at far more realistic levels, the aim of which appears to be to convince you that you are getting a total bargain, when in fact (in my opinion) you are merely snaring the product at it's actual price. I believe their "special" prices are what the products are worth, so I don't recommend purchasing anything from their website unless it's on sale.

But don't get me wrong, I LOVE Mirenesse products - I've been a VIP member for years (mainly for the free shipping, but also to try out just about everything in their range), and in particular their eye gels, kohls, felt tip liners & lip products are exceptional quality. But occasionally it bothers me that I can't buy what I want when I want it - I have to wait for the item to be on sale, and sometimes that can be a long stretch (anything up to 10-12 months).

Anyway, personal bug-bear aside, here's the bomb - a glorious almost metallic apricot, so creamy and moisturising, and super easy to apply with the dumb-bell shaped applicator.

I topped it with Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift Moisture Shine #46 (see, I really do LOVE their products lol). The bombs are super glossy and rich, but I wanted a smidgin more colour depth and a tad more frost, plus these glosses seem to give my lips just a wee bit more plumpness than normal. I have 15 of these in my kit and adore every single one of them. They come in a mammoth range of 50 shades, and fortunately they have occasionally been made available as freebies with magazines. Also from time to time, you can pick them up just for the price of shipping - currently an outrageous $10.99, but don't think of it as postage, you're actually just scoring a brilliant lip gloss for 11 buckaroos, which is awesome value :-)

Have you tried any Mirenesse products?  What's your favourite?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Smashbox Apricot...

I've been hammering the greens and a few blues since I started blogging, so high time for a change...

A few months ago, I hit the jackpot when I miraculously won the first blog giveaway run by my darling friend (and one of my greatest enablers) Hissycat Krissy - the amazing Click You're It Holiday palette by Smashbox. Couldn't believe my luck, or her generosity! There are 15 fabulous powder shadows and 5 creams in this glam and glossy red box. Here's a pic of the shades taken shortly after arrival, and before I did too much damage with my brushes...

Such beautiful colours, soft and elegant, very little fallout, easy to blend, and the creams make terrific bases :-)

For this APRICOT look, I began by tightlining my top lid with Mirenesse Inside Out Kohl liner in Amun, a deep reddish brown, and took it underneath as well.

Next I patted on a base of MNY Tattoo in Fierce & Tangy, and applied Smashbox #9 all over the top lid. For a bit of extra sparkle & contrast, I added #10 along the top lashline.

I finished with MNY Master Precise Liquid liner on the lower lashline, waterlined with essence white kajal, dusted MUA matte beige on the hood, and gave my lashes a severe going over with MNY The Falsies mascara.

I have quite a few oranges in my collection - most of them are rather intense, so I'm thrilled to have this far softer fruity apricot to play with.  I can guarantee there'll be more looks coming up using this stunning palette :-)

Do you wear orangey shades?  Have you tried any Smashbox shadows?

Take care of you,

kats xxx