SPOTLIGHT: Multicoloured Bling!

A quickie post to share another of my passions - bling-rings! And the sparklier the better ha ha. I used to buy cheapie ones from places like Lovisa or Colette, but found the gold or silver finish always came off after a few wears and they looked tatty, so these days I only go for Sterling Silver settings - my budget unfortunately doesn't stretch to anything gold. I also have a self-imposed limit of $50 per item so that I can maintain my makeup addiction (whoops!), but fortunately there are a few stores where I can indulge my love of finger ornaments, and stay within my budget. All the rings below were purchased from Goldmark sales over the last 12 months, and all were under $40...

I'm crazy in love with them - the stones are Swarovski crystals, they're so colourful and bright, and you know how I love to match my outfits ♥ I keep hoping they'll release a purple or emerald green variety (hint hint Goldmark!). They glimmer and gleam like mad, and so far none of the stones have fallen out - mind you I always remove them when washing my hands, so that helps keep them intact...

The RRP of these is $69.95, and the trick with Goldmark is to regularly check their displays - there's usually one corner of the front window where they put their "specials", and I just wait till they appear there on sale, and then pounce!

Sizes are limited, and I'm lucky all these fit on my middle finger, but sometimes they have a few to choose from. My local store always puts them into a pretty purple velvet pouch too - such a girlie treat, and makes me feel like a princess ♥

Happy Spring everyone!

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: L.A.Colors Aquamarine...

On a bit of an aquatic binge at the moment - sometimes creating one look in a particular hue just doesn't satisfy me, so I keep going until I'm ready to move on. Not really sure what that's all about, but my feeling is that I need to wash myself in a particular shade (for whatever reason), and so I indulge myself until the next colour beckons me...

I've not used this L.A.Colors Tranquil palette all that much mainly because, like so many others, I have way too many eye shadows in my kit to get through in a year, so they simply get neglected. All a bit sad really, but considering I create an eye look at least 5 days a week, I have no idea what to do about that little dilemma - probably just get on with the blurb hey lol. 

Incidentally, the last time I used these colours was about this time last year, and that was over a white base. Here's a reminder so you can see what a difference it makes using a lighter shade underneath...

So this palette is all turquoisey/aqua shades, but I wanted something a bit deeper, a bit more tealy, so I used Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Caribbean Queen as my base. Over that went the two shades marked above, with the lighter hue on the inner third. I deepened the outer corner with Orbit from the Sleek V2 Matte palette, and patted that into the crease as well, followed by the Caribbean Queen on the waterline...

For my cheeks I used Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Make a Mauve - LOVING this creamy, shimmery blush, such a flattering shade ♥ Lips are bhcosmetics Creme Luxe Lipstick in Pop Cultured, and I added some Maybelline Color Elixir Gloss in Hibiscus Haven for a mirror shine - nothing like a wet and wild hot pink lip to kick start the week...

Do you ever repeat a colour until you feel you're ready for the next one, or is it just me?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. I've just added this review to Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness #7 Link Up Party - you'll find lots of other interesting blogger contributions there too ♥

REVIEW & EOTD: Avon Luxe Clutch Eyeshadow palette...

Here's another of the multitude of treats that angel Gemma from Lady Sapphire Blog sent to me a little while ago ♥ Who doesn't love surprises hey? Well this one was a triple-bunger - not only was I spun out by the fabulous pinky purple padded cover, I was thrilled to bits with the colour selection (both warm and cool shades, so something for everyone), and the quality of the pigmentation was totally unexpected. I've not owned an Avon eye shadow in my life, but after seeing how impressive these textures and hues are, I'm planning on investigating what else they have up for grabs...

Inside the lid is a full-size mirror, and it came with a double-ended applicator. Sorry but I don't ever bother with these pesky inclusions - I just toss them and use my own brushes, so I can't report whether this is any good. There are no mattes - most are creamy pearls, and five of them have tiny sparkles. The dark blue in the centre swatches as a whoa! black, but it has microscopic bright blue glitter particles which catch the light in certain angles, and make it appear navy...

Here are some two-finger swatches over a bb cream on my left leg - I've given up trying to swatch on my arm, I need another hand lol...

And this is the somewhat less than inspiring box it comes in - but who cares, it's what's inside that matters ♥

Here we go with the first EOTD I created using the aqua and the black. There'll be more of course :-)

Essence Sun Club BBC All Night Blue gel eyeliner was my base, I added a smidgin of Lancome silver on the inner corner, and finished with essence white kajal on the waterline (natch!)...

Very little fallout during the application process, the shadow stayed put all day, and was just as fresh and vibrant when I took it off 19 hours after these photos were taken - score! 

And...the whole face. Lips are SAX Coral with Maybelline Color Sensational Elixir gloss in Caramel Infused over the top, and cheeks are essence Blush Up in Heat Wave...

LOVE this palette (thank you again darling Gemma ♥), and I'm already inspired to put together some pretty partners, like the olive and the purple, the bronze and the caramel, the purple and the pink...mmm...

Have you ever tried any Avon eye shadows?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Oceanic...

Here's another one of my Come Play With Me - Futuristic Love "duds". I guess it's not really a dud, because I think it's pretty enough to post - it was more of a technical failure on the part of my camera. It simply isn't sophisticated enough to pick up all the differences between the various blues and greens I used to create this look. On the other hand, a better quality camera would also accent all my crinkles and wrinkles, and then I'd have to retire from this EOTD blogging caper lol...

You can just make out a dark blue area in the middle of my top lid - there were others of course, but they don't show up, boo! Anyway it's sufficiently different from some of my other aquatic looks, so I'll stop dithering about with the excuses and show you what I used...

My base was Mirenesse Mineral Face Gel Colour in Emerald all over the top lid. Once again, the awesome bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette was my source of sea colours. I patted them down in splodges to create a kind of mottled effect, and then blended the edges with a brush loaded with the white...

On the waterline is essence Sun Club gel liner in BBC All Night Blue...

And for a change, I didn't smudge the MNY Precise Liquid Liner on the lower lashline because I wanted a crisper finish...

I might have another go at this at some stage, and perhaps not blend it so well so that the distinctions between the shades are a lot clearer. I do so love marine colours ♥

Take care of  you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Hello Kitty Les Turquoises...

Here's another shadow that's been lurking untouched in my drawer for over 12 months - Hello Kitty Les Turquoises. With so many tealy greens and blues in my kit, I've been neglecting her terribly, and she's such a pretty gal - to me she has too much green to be labelled a turquoise, I think she's more of an "aquamarine"...

So here she is - the only Hello Kitty shadow in my collection. At the time I found her, there was a deep blue that I fancied as well, but my local Priceline never actually ever had it in stock, and now I'm not even sure if they have the single eye shadows any more - they're certainly not available online. Anyways I'm still in love with this vibrant mermaid-hued gal - the pigmentation is astounding, and the consistency is just as creamy as it was on day one, and blends like a dream...

To bring out her best, I laid down Australis Star Bright (white) pencil all over the top lid, and then pressed the shadow over it with a dry brush. In the crease I added MUA matte charcoal...

On the waterline is Mirenesse Mineral Face Gel Colour in Aquamarine - an exact colour match for the shadow. I find these creams far superior to the Inside Out 27 hr Kohl pencils - some of them contain sparkly bits which are downright uncomfortable on the waterline, but the gels are smooth, shimmery, and once dry, they last a good 4 or 5 hours, and don't irritate my eyes... 

I think Hello Kitty is a stunner - not bad for being at least 2 years old, and doesn't look like going off any time soon. The shimmer factor is beautiful, and becomes even more pronounced when applied with a damp brush...

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: Purple/Aqua or Aqua/Purple?

You may have gathered by now that I have a seemingly endless passion for PURPLE and AQUAMARINE eye shadows. I adore both of these colours individually, and love them even more when I put them together. In fact when I start an eye look with either one, it's almost impossible to resist adding the other into the mix. So today I thought I'd show you two looks I created last week using these fabulous shades, but placing the hues in different areas...

To bring out the intensity of the shadow I used, I started by applying Maybelline Color Tattoo in Painted Purple. Over that I pressed the pinky purple (marked below) from the Physicians Formula Fashionista palette (thanks again Flaming Beauty!) on the inner corner, and the deeper purple all over the rest of the lid and underneath. It looks darker on the outer corner and under the lower lashes because I blended it with MNY Master Precise Liquid liner before it dried...

On the waterline is Mirenesse Superlong Wear Gel Mineral Face Colour in Blue Moon - I've had this cream for years and it still works a treat, and doesn't irritate my eyes...

For this second look, I used the Mirenesse Blue Moon gel as a base all over the top lid, and pressed essence Metal Glam Jewel Up the Ocean onto the cream before it set, as well as taking it underneath the lower lash line. Because I wanted a particularly wine coloured purple as a feature, I added raspberry from the L.A.Colors Wildflowers palette over the outer half (red plus blue makes purple)...

In the crease, I applied the aqua teal shadow from the NYX Bohemian Chic Nude Matte Collection box - using mattes here prevents my shimmery shadows from transferring to my hoods. On the waterline, I blended essence white kajal with the same Mirenesse Blue Moon gel...

And here are the two looks for comparison...

Which one do you prefer gals? I'm happy with them both, but I'm kinda leaning towards the more purpley one...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: L.A.Colors Tranquil Aqua...

When you work with colourful eye shadows as much as I do, you just KNOW there are going to be some duds along the way, especially if you frequently indulge in bargain brands (like I do). Mind you I've been severely disappointed by some that cost an arm and a leg too, so it's kinda the luck of the draw. But when I buy a 5-shadow palette for around $6 and it blows me away with the pigmentation, then you can't wipe the smile off my face. So I'm grinning from ear to ear over this L.A.Colors Tranquility palette...

My darling Mama gave me a very pretty pastel aqua top (see pic below), and as most of the aqua shadows I have in my kit are staggeringly bold, I went for the middle shade in this palette, firmly believing it would be the best match (given how much I paid for it, and the relatively high potential for pigment disappointment). Well wasn't I surprised when it turned out heaps brighter than it looked in the pan, and in fact I probably should have used the one to the right of it (well there's always next time lol)...

I used essence white kajal as my base, and stroked this delightfully creamy shadow over the top. It's beautifully shimmery and I was pretty darn impressed with the miniscule amount of fallout...

I deepened the outer corner with a similar shade from the NYX Bohemian Chic Nude Matte kit, and added this underneath the lower lash line as well...

On the waterline is Mirenesse Blue Moon Mineral Face Colour Gel - an almost perfect match!

As you can see, my eye makeup was a tad too intense for the top, but as I'd already given my hair a bright red refresher on the weekend, I figured I'd already failed "pastel", and chose a lip hue that was halfway between bold and subdued...

Have you been pleasantly surprised by a cheap palette? What's your favourite bargain-buy eye shadow?

Take care of you,
kats xxx