5th Bloggiversary Mammoth Giveaway!...

Ahh yes lovelies, it's that time of the year again, time to celebrate another year of kats colourings. This week my little blog turns five years old. FIVE! Can't believe I'm still prattling away in this little corner of the blogosphere lol. Mind you work concerns over the last few months have limited me to a solitary post per week, but I wouldn't miss that opportunity for the world - my one chance to rave on about colour and beauty, jewellery and fragrance, skincare and makeup, and of course, LIPPIES! Believe me, I'm grateful to any of you who stop by for a quick read, and my old ticker skips a beat if you leave a comment, so to thank all you fabulous friends and faithful followers, I've rummaged through my stockpile of loot and come up with this bundle of goodies. It's my biggest giveaway EVER, and worth around $400 ♥...

Up for grabs is...

• Glow Lab Treat Yourself Mini Pack containing Creme Cleanser, Facial Serum, Facial Moisturiser, Night Cream & Body Lotion
• Hair & Me Hair Rejuvenation Treatment
• ModelsPrefer Spectrum Collection 15 Eyeshadow Palette
• Real Techniques Starter Set of 5 brushes & case - Base Shadow, Deluxe Crease, Accent, Fine Liner & Brow
• Olay Overnight Miracle Skincare pack containing full-size Miracle Boost Youth Pre-Essence, Micro-Sculpting Day Cream & Micro-Sculpting Night Cream in a snazzy red travel case
• Colette multi-stone bling necklace & double-cross diamante ring (size L)
• Michael Hill sterling silver & pink cubic zirconia ring, size O
• 3 x packs of 3 x NYX Intense Butter Glosses - Pink Macaroon, Summer Fruit, Cherry Custard, Toasted Marshmallow, Chocolate Crepe, Cookie Butter, Oatmeal Raisin, Berry Strudel & Black Cherry Tart
• Lovisa gold plated sterling silver cubic zirconia stud earrings

Here's a closeup of the bling, which doesn't do it justice at all - it's so gorgeous and sparkly...

And a closeup of the Michael Hill ring - try as I might I haven't been able to get my camera to capture the colour of the stone accurately. It's a light pink, but brighter than this and more lolly pink rather than rose, if that makes any sense...

All items were purchased by me, apart from the jewellery everything is sealed, and 'cos this is such a major giveaway, I'll keep it running for several weeks, and will have to limit it 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 Stella L. as the winner.  

Congratulations gorgeous! 

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

Wednesday 26th September to claim your prize :-)

Edit: Stella has claimed her prize ♥

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Best of luck to all who enter!

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: Jewellery Collection (Part 6) - The Treasures...

Oh boy, this is almost embarrassing, but hey, a gal who's obsessed with coordinating her outfits needs lots and LOTS of choices, so here's the main collection I've amassed over the years, mostly from Lovisa & Colette sales. There's some Vinnies bargains as well, along with quite a few gifts from family and friends, and some items I've had for over 30 years. All up there are four cabinets of five drawers each (!), so here we go with the contents. WARNING: Picture heavy post!...

It all looks like a bit of a shimozzle, but truly I can find exactly what I want in a matter of seconds. As you can see there's so many different hues of red and orange, and then of course it depends if they're set in gold tone or silvery findings, so they're ALL essential lol. There's a few bracelets that I made by stringing beads together (back in the days when I had spare time), and even a couple of items I've yet to wear - what's important to me is to have a wide variety of styles and shade variations ♥...

Oddly enough I have two drawers of browns, beiges, creams, ambers and taupes - I don't wear them all that often in Summer (moreso in the cooler months), but I'm always drawn to them on the displays for some reason. Anyways, I probably don't need any more, well not at this stage ♥...

The emeralds and olives collections need a bit of work - like fashion, the availability of certain jewellery colours seems to be cyclic, so I just have to wait till the next phase, and then I'll flesh out this particular rainbow hue a bit more ♥...

The turquoises and pastel blues are also a bit thin on the ground, but I found a few baby blue pieces in Colette a few weekends back, so I'm hopeful that there'll be more available in the months ahead, and that this collection should look a bit healthier soon ♥...

Deeper blues are much easier to find, and of course lapis is my birthstone, so I have quite a good stash, mainly birthday pressies. However pinks & corals are problematic - very little to choose from in the stores I frequent, but I'm working on it ha ha. I had to wait 18 months to find the stretchy bracelets to match the hot pink necklace in the top left of the pic! Sigh...

Love purples - can never have enough of this hue, and one needs red-purples as well as blue-purples, right? The grey/silver and gold combos deserved their own drawer - I'm quite crazy about this pairing as I always thought that grey only went with silver, but I'm delighted that someone thought to put these two metals together...

The pearls and whites I tend to wear in warm seasons although pearls are so pretty and feminine at any time of the year. Almost all of these are faux, but they make them so well these days it's hard to tell the difference. Plain black is so very versatile and a great contrast with brightly coloured tops - it's my faithful standby if I can't find an exact match  for my outfit from the coloured drawers... 

So here we have black and silver, and black and gold. Can't decide which I'm drawn to more, so I'll just love them both...

And then there's the (almost) plain silver & gold pieces, also terrific standbys when all else fails.  I bought the silver indian head pendant (bottom left) for $15 from a street vendor on a business trip to New York back in 1994, and the dragon above it is a souvenir from my days of exploring ancient sites in the UK (Tintagel, Glastonbury, Avebury).  Jewellery holds so many memories ♥...

And finally, the watches, most of which you've seen in Part 4 of this series. I store my "jelly" watches (usually sourced from Aldi for $7) in a separate box as they don't lie flat, and therefore won't fit in the cabinets...

So there it is folks - holey guacemoley! Thankfully with the storage system I use, it's reasonably portable. The four cabinets are kinda spread around my room because of space restrictions, hence no single pic, and there are a few more pieces hanging on hooks or stands because they're either too bulky for the drawers, or strands that tangle easily, but I'll save them for another post ♥... 

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. You'll find this post and lots of other interesting ones from other bloggers over at Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party ♥...

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: L'Oreal Age Perfect - Golden Age...

Happy 2017 lovelies! At last I have my new blog HQ set up, and with the relocation impacting the plans for my usual November and Christmas giveaways, I'm celebrating my first post for the new year with some goodies for you. Back in September last year, beautyheaven invited me to trial the new Age Perfect Golden Age skin care range from L'Oreal, and I absolutely loved it. I was so impressed with the presentation, quality and benefits, I just had to post a review here, and give you the opportunity to try these lovely products for yourself, or if you're a young'un, nab a set for your Mum or Grandma. It's the first time I've ever seen a range specifically created for 60+ gals, and I'm delighted that L'Oreal acknowledges that us seniors still need and want to look after our skin with the best possible (and affordable) products ...

The packaging is gorgeous - all pastel pink and gold, very feminine and all the containers look ultra-luxurious on my vanity. There are three products in the range - Radiance-Activating Serum, Rosy Re-Densifying Day Cream and Rich Re-Densifying Night Cream (wish there was an eye cream - hint, hint L'Oreal!)...

The serum is a favourite of mine, and in fact I'm still using the same lightweight plastic bottle from the trial - there's about one third left after four months of daily use, so for $39.95, it's excellent value. Under the screw cap there's no dropper, just a hole - when you tip the bottle upside down, one drop of serum is dispensed with each tap. I've been using two or three drops because I don't like to be mean with my face products, plus I always include my neck and chest in my routine. The serum is light, spreads easily, and feels a bit sticky before it completely absorbs, but once it sinks in, you're left with soft, hydrated and refreshed skin that glows with a youthful radiance. There are tiny little golden flecks and micro pearls suspended in the pale pink liquid to provide some subtle and shimmery illumination to one's features, and it has a very delicate rose fragrance...

The day cream lasted a good three months - specially formulated for mature and often dull skin, ingredients include neo-calcium (for strengthening and plumping), and imperial peony extract and iris flower (to rehydrate and give a hint of natural colour). It's the prettiest peachy pink shade which isn't actually visible on the skin once you massage it in, but it sure enhances the glow that's already started happening with the serum...

There's no SPF included so you'll need a sunscreen, but you won't need much else - this cream gave my skin such a moisture boost and healthy radiance, there were days when I seriously considered not wearing foundation - whoa! I especially love that it's light and yet so enriching - it leaves a faint sheen on my skin, but the residue is not the least bit greasy, and I find it to be the perfect makeup base. Ever so lightly scented, it won't interfere with your perfume...

I still have some of the night cream left in the jar because I've been trialling the Revitalift Laser X3 cream for the last five weeks (that's a whole other story of complexion rejuvenation!), but I'll be returning to it shortly as it just so perfectly hydrates my skin overnight...

Quite a bit denser than the day cream, it has an almost waxy consistency. While it doesn't absorb completely, it's not greasy or heavy, and there's no oil slick on my T-zone the next morning. When I use this night cream, I wake up looking refreshed, my skin is plump and refined, and my complexion doesn't have that awful "flattened" appearance that creeps in as the years go by...

So loving this range, and I'm giving away a set to one of my followers. I bought it at Coles at a time when someone screwed up - it seems that whoever was stocking the shelves was advised that this was a discontinued range rather than a brand new one, and all three were marked as "Clearance" with a crazily low price tag (back to normal price the following week). Being the opportunistic blogger that I am (always on the lookout for a bargain) how could I resist?...

To enter, just follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter section below, and leave a comment as to why you'd like to win. Because of the weight of the items (the jars are glass), this giveaway is open to Australian Residents Only. And in case you're planning to give the skin care to a relly, I'm also including the pretty knot earrings and bracelet pictured below for you - they're from Colette and were purchased by me at one of their sales ♥...

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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 Dianne C. as the winner.  

Congratulations gorgeous! 

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

Wednesday 25th January to claim your prize :-)

Edit: Dianne has claimed her prize

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Best of luck to all who enter!

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. Linking to Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Linkup Party, which I believe is resuming as a weekly feature starting today ♥...

EOTDs: Sleek & Makeup Revolution Greens...

Holey guacemoley I can't BELIEVE April has been and gone! I tried to sneak in one last batch of EOTD's so there would be six to choose from for the May giveaway, but the clock struck midnight and so these will have to go towards the June EOTM ♥ Anyways, I'm a massive green eye shadow fan (as if you didn't know), probably because it does give my eye colour a boost, and in the not so distant past I bought an entire palette purely for ONE green pan - whoops! This post features looks using this gorgeous hue from two of my fave palettes - Sleek Garden of Eden, and Makeup Revolution Give Them Nightmares...

As soon as I spotted this Sleek Garden of Eden palette, I knew I couldn't live without it - one of the prettiest colour collections in my kit. I put it away every summer so that I can discover it all over again when the weather cools down...

I used the three marked pans from left to right - their names are Evergreen, Fauna and Tree of Life. The latter is a matte, and incredibly pigmented. Actually they're all stunningly dense, and the shimmery ones are smooth and buttery and so easy to blend. For the base and waterline I used Eye of Horus Emerald Tabula Goddess Pencil...

On this day, I wore Maybelline Stay Matte foundation, their Master Highlight blush in Pink Rose, and lips were Mirenesse Glossy Kiss Lip Crayon in the shade 04...

And here's the jewellery, featuring my fabulous new glass bead necklace from Lovisa that was half price at their recent sale. I found the bracelets at Colette - not exactly the same shade, but close enough, especially at 40% off lol ♥

Makeup Revolution Give Them Nightmares palette is another one I only trot out in Autumn and Winter - the colours are all so smokey and smouldery and broody...

The bottom green pan is a matte called Elm Street, and I used this all over the top lid and under the lower lashline.  I then blended the second pan (The Hunger) on the inner half. Base was Essence White Kajal...

Waterline was Eye of Horus Serpentine Sultry Goddess Pencil...

My foundation was Maybelline Super Stay Longwear, which might end up being my new HG - the colour (Sand) is one of the best matches I've ever come across. Cheeks were a combination of L'Oreal Le Blush in the shade Rosy Cheeks & Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light. Lips were Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Rum Riche...

Here's the accessories - I included the brighter green bits and pieces just to lift the whole look...

Well my lovelies, here's hoping May treats you generously and kindly ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx