SPOTLIGHT: lookfantastic Advent Calendar 2019...

Oh wow - after several agonising weeks' wait, my lookfantastic Advent Calendar 2019 finally arrived, and it's even more fantastic than I'd hoped. Interestingly, it's the only Advent Calendar I've ever bought and what a way to start! For $145, the contents are advertised as being worth over $750, and almost all of them are full-size. And having opened all the boxes, I definitely chose wisely for my first experience ♥...

Spoiler Alert - contents will be revealed! 

The presentation is absolutely gorgeous! The box is huge and really quite heavy, made of super sturdy cardboard in a deep blue with gold embellishments. I have to say I'm feeling a bit of a tease as this is currently listed as "sold out", but I'm posting all the goodies in case it might inspire you to put some pennies aside throughout the coming year so you can score one next Christmas - I sure as hell am! ♥... 

Each slide-out box contains a beauty item professionally wrapped in midnight blue tissue paper, with a cute little numbered card describing the product - it's all so so beautiful, so let's get on with the contents. This will be a picture heavy post without many words as I haven't tried any of the products yet, but you'll see my reviews as usual in the Empties posts going forward ♥...

#1 - Morphe 9A Always Golden Eyeshadow Palette*

A mix of matte and shimmer pans in beautiful warm shades - I have a couple of Morphe palettes in my kit and their pigmentation is excellent and the texture buttery smooth...

#2 - Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 Styling Treatment

This styling cream promises strength, shine, smoothing, volume & condition - right up my alley!...

#3 - Caudalie Vinopure Clear Skin Purifying Toner

I haven't used a toner for years, but looking forward to trying this on my open pores...

#4 - Luxie Eye Makeup Brushes - 121 & 141

Excellent! Some nice new eyeshadow brushes never go astray...

#5 - Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Day Cream

Holey guacemoley - this cream sells for $196 at Mecca, and it promises to "...soften wrinkles, firm, tone and hydrate for visible results in 14 days."  Fingers crossed!

#6 - Illamasqua Nude Collection Lip Liner - Raw*

A little pale for me, but everything I've ever tried from Illamasqua has been fabulous...

#7 - Rituals The Ritual of Ayurveda Dry Oil

This is for both hair and body, and I can't wait to try it out...

#8 - Philip Kingsley Elasticizer hair mask

Ooh yes please, and I'll probably leave it on overnight instead of the recommended 20 minutes...

#9 - Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel

Perfect timing with the start of the warmer weather and my shift away from cleansing balms. This is non-foaming as well which makes it even more appealing...

#10 - First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads

I'm hoping for mega-radiance from these pads, which contain lactic and glycolic acid, and pretty awesome reviews on Sephora...

#11 - Avant Skincare Moisture Surge Overnight Treatment

Crikey - this is the same quantity (and appears to be the same product) as the jar on the lookfantastic website that's priced at $156.40. I'll be saving this for special occasions lol!...

#12 - PRAI Throat & Decolletage Creme

How perfect is this for me? Whoop, whoop, whoop!...

#13 - Lord & Berry Eye Liner - Travel Black*

I have several lip crayons from this brand and they are brilliant - very creamy, long-lasting and beautifully pigmented...

#14 - Mellow Cosmetics Liquid Lip Paint - Tehran*

While this shade isn't all that appealing, the formula sounds like my kinda thing...

#15 - Rodial Dragon's Blood Lip Mask

Just what the doctor ordered for my shrivelled pout...

#16 - Molton Brown Fiery Pink Pepper Bath & Shower Gel*

I'm positive this would smell totally divine, but it contains SLS so I'll be gifting this baby...

#17 - Emma Hardie Moisture Boost Vit + C Cream

One of the very few sample sizes in the box, I'll definitely use it on some of my pigmentation spots...

#18 - Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Hand Cream

Can never have too many hand creams, and this sounds delish...

#19 - Bioeffect EGF Serum

This is the cutest bottle, and while it's only 5ml, it'll be plenty if all I need is 2-4 drops. The 15ml dropper bottle sells for $195 so I'm more than happy with $65-worth...

#20 - Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara - Black*

Oh wow, how interesting - my lashes could do with some caffeine!...

#21 - Delilah Cosmetics Eye Brow Pencil - Sable*

Such a pity this is way too dark for me...

#22 - lookfantastic Bubble T Limited Edition Bath Fizzies - Salted Caramel

Well, these should satisfy my sweet tooth...

#23 - Filorga Meso-Mask

You know of my passion for face masks - thankyou, thankyou, thankyou...

#24 - Sleek Makeup Highlighting Palette - Solstice*

The package was sealed so I didn't open it, but it looks stunning...

#25 - Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist Limited Edition

So looking forward to the delightful boost this will give me at the end of a hot humid day...

I haven't heard of half of these brands, but I'm busting to try them, and I tell you what with all this going on my face, body and hair over the next 12 months, I'll have no excuse to not look fantastic by the end the of the year ha ha. Overall I reckon this is the most unbelievable value and massive thanks to darling Ingrid from fabulous and fun life, without whom I would never have known it existed! ♥♥♥...

Even though I've already peeked inside every box, I've put everything back, and am planning to still play along with the tradition, and only open and try each product on the relevant day in December - incidentally any of the above products marked with an asterisk (*) are the ones that don't necessarily suit me, so watch this space in the weeks ahead as I might just have a special giveaway ♥...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Illamasqua Stalk and bhcosmetics Pink...

Absolutely dee-lighted to introduce you to Illamasqua Stalk, the most fabulously stunning matte green shadow that was gifted to me by my dear (and ever so generous) friend Hissycat Krissy, who is acutely aware of my passion for green eye makeup ♥ This arrived on my doorstep bundled in with a whole heap of goodies (a couple you've already seen, and others are yet to be revealed), and I'm ecstatic - while I have a multitude of green pigments rattling around in my drawers, I have nothing that's as pure and bold and intense as this hue ♥

I'm COMPLETELY sold on Illamasqua shadows now. They are such a pleasure to use - so finely milled like compressed silk, zero fallout, stunningly packaged, holey cow I could rave for days about how wonderful they are, but I'd better get on with the details of this particularly colourful look...

I used essence White Kajal under the Stalk, and Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Hopelessly Devoted under the bhcosmetics pink from the Take Me To Brazil palette. The purple appeared magically when I blended the two together - love it when that happens ha ha! Waterline is...yes, you guessed it, Chi Chi Caribbean Queen - undoubtedly my most used waterline product of late ♥

On my face I used L'Oreal Infallible 24Hr foundation, cheeks were a base of Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Pink Fever, and I brushed a wee bit of the bright pink from the BYS On the Brightside blush trio for some extra oomph. Lips were Rubi Shoes (yes they make lipsticks as well as shoes!) Raspberry...

Thank you again darling Kris for this beautiful addition to my collection ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Illamasqua Fatal & Colourpop Dare...

On Monday I promised more purple EOTD's using some new palettes, but that was before I received a parcel from my gorgeous friend Kristine containing a whole heap of goodies, including two fabulous purple shadows - Illamasqua Fatal (my first EVER Illamasqua product!) and Colourpop Cosmetics Dare Super Shock Shadow (also a first from this company). Well I'm afraid I fell so deeply in love with the colours, the palettes got pushed to the back of the bench, and I just HAD to create a look using these gorgeous pans... 

I didn't want anything to interfere with the hues, so I used essence White Kajal for my base (and on the waterline), and then applied the (matte) Illamasqua purple over the whole lid and into the crease. Stunning pigmentation, silky texture, no fallout - in short, an eye shadow lovers dream come true!...

I then stroked the Colourpop shadow from the inner corner to just past the half-way mark, and took it underneath as well. Such a beautiful duochrome with tiny particles of pink and blue glitter. It's quite a loose powder, and a tiny amount goes a long way - makes my eyes look like they were kissed by a fairy! I'm totally in love, and even my camera loves it ♥ 

For my face I used L'Oreal Infallible 24hr Stay Fresh Foundation, cheeks were a base of Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Make a Mauve with a light dusting of the purple pan from the bhcosmetics Glamorous Blush palette. Lips were Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Violet Frenzy, and I added a slick of sparkly Chi Chi Chandelier Lips gloss in The Privileged...

This combination of shadows will definitely be going down in my book of personal faves - hope you like it too ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx