EOTD: MUA Poptastic Pink and Purple...

Another look from the MUA Poptastic Palette - I actually had two goes at this, as you'll see below. The first attempt wasn't all that successful - I used a purply-pink Nabi crayon as a base, which in hindsight was probably way past its use-by date (now safely tucked away in bin-land)... 

So I repeated the same colour combo the next day using my beloved essence white kajal, with far more satisfactory results. The pink and the purple in this palette really do complement each other beautifully, so I'm glad I had another shot at it ♥

For comparison, the pic on the right is what I created the day before using the darker "dud" base - you can see how patchy and uneven the shadows are. Mind you I also spent less time (and mascara) on my lashes, and can really notice the difference that extra coat or two makes (note to self: take your time girl!)...

I added a little bit of Orbit (purple) from the SleekV2 matte palette in the crease, and the white kajal on the waterline...

I'm itching to try this same purple with either of the shimmery golds, and the tealy green with the deep pink. Sadly my holidays are over, and the ONLY good thing about going back to work this week is that I'll have a sure-bet five days to try out all the different combos lol...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: bhcosmetics Pink, Blue & Green...

Have you ever had it happen that when you do your makeup, everything (and I mean everything) works out just right? I can assure you, those days are few and far between for me. Despite creating an EOTD every working day of the week (which comes to around 20 different looks in a month), it's an EXCEPTIONALLY rare event for me to be completely satisfied with every single part of what I put together. But...the planets must have been aligned in the heavens yesterday because I finally FINALLY came up with what I would consider a winner in every department...

My usual epic fail is in the lash arena - they're spindly, short and blonde, and even with three (or more) coats of fibre mascara, they're barely visible for the camera. So I recommenced my RapidLash treatment about a month ago, and the effects are starting to kick in (note: I'll be reviewing this absolutely BRILLIANT product in the weeks ahead). Secondly I've been struggling with a couple of eyelash curlers that just weren't cutting the mustard any more. After years of promises, at last I treated myself to a Shu uemura curler - not the usual cult classic one that I've been lusting after for yonks, but one of their new-fangled "s" curlers. Well I tell you I started to think I'd bought a lemon because I simply couldn't get it to work...until yesterday, when joy of joys, I got the hang of it - woo hoo! (I'l be reviewing this nifty little gadget soon too.) Combined with a wee bit more length and volume from RapidLash, I'm over the moon at the difference in the end result - it actually looks like I have eyelashes lol!

I was also deliriously happy with the colour combination I chose - fuchsia, deep blue and soft spring green from the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette...

Underneath the pink I used a Nabi Lipliner Pencil in Dark Fuchsia, and for the blue base I applied essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Cool Down. On the waterline is another essence pencil (and one of my all time faves) I Have a Green. In the crease, I applied Villan from the Sleek V2 matte palette...

And THEN, if all that wasn't exciting enough, I tried out my latest lip passion - L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Extraordinaire in Fuchsia Drama. Holey moley, it's such a wonderfully rich and vibrant pink, and the formula is sensationally slick, glossy and hydrating. I've bought three of these so far, and I'm head over heels IN LOVE! And yes, I'll be reviewing them soon too ♥

 So what do you think gals - can you see the difference in my lashes? Squeeeeeeeeeeee!

On a side note, I've been super busy ALL WEEK giving my blog an anniversary colour scheme make-over - just a little one, but my aim was to freshen things up a bit, and make the whole thing easier for you lovelies to read. It's a work in progress, but I would LOVE to know what you think of the new look so far ♥

Take care of  you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Radiant Kats 2 by RitualEyes...

Today I'm posting a very special EOTD - been saving this one for a while, since early April actually. Some time ago I asked the beautiful and talented Michelle from Ritual Eyes to blend a shadow pigment that was as close as possible to the Pantone Colour of the Year, Radiant Orchid. She sent me three samples of her work (as well as a few other delightful goodies) and I've been playing with them ever since. This DARLING gal named them "Radiant Kats" (how thrilling to have a shadow tailor-made and named for me!), and of the three, I reckon this one is the closest to what I was after - Radiant Kats 2.

I'm not used to working with loose powders, so it took a few goes to find the right base that would allow the pigment to both adhere well, and show off it's vibrant beauty - interestingly the best results came from a $3 lipliner pencil, Nabi Dark Fuschia... 

I added Orbit from the SleekV2 matte palette in the crease, and used a Nabi eyeliner pencil in the shade Emerald Green along the lower lashline. For the waterline, I applied essence waterproof gel eyeliner in BBC ALL NIGHT BLUE (can never figure out this name - it's more green than blue!)...

I think these two colours work magically together, and of course the pink shadow is exactly the right blend of goodness knows how many ingredients, but it's PERFECT, and with a soft delicate shimmer - ahh Mich, you're an artist and a gem, and I thank you with all my heart ♥

And to complete the look, for lips I used Nabi Bright Pink lipliner, Bloom Chile lipstick, topped with Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift Moisture Shine in shade #41, and the blush is the middle hot pink from the BYS On The Bright Side trio...

Have you found the perfect Radiant Orchid shadow yet?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

COME PLAY WITH ME: Bright & Bold...

Woohoo! The divine Miss H over at The Beauty in Life was the theme chooser for this round of IndieAna's Come Play With Me series - Hailey went for Bright & Bold, and what a show she turned on! An absolutely fabulous use of colour and creativity, and an inspiration to us all...

Bless you hon - Bright and Bold is SO incredibly dear to my heart, but it's also something I do almost every day, so I had to stir up a few hitherto inactive brain neurones to come up with something a bit different to my usual, and here's the result...

So Bright & Bold it is, but with a wee bit of softness too :-) Here's what I used - the shadows are all from the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette, all mattes, because using this much colour in one look can be somewhat overwhelming with a shimmery or sparkly finish...

Old faithful essence white kajal was my base in order to bring out the intensity of the hues. After laying down the orange, yellow & green in reasonably equal segments, I placed a dollop of the Dark Fuchsia Nabi lip liner in the centre of each colour, and pressed the hot pink from the same palette over the top to set it...

To stop the whole thing looking too clownish, I gently blended all the colours into each other, and then lined the crease with the aqua shade for some added definition...

On the waterline went Green PF Shimmer Strips Gel Liner...

As always when doing a multi-coloured creation, it's a challenge to get both eyes to match, so don't look too closely at the both eyes pics lol...

I had so much fun putting this look together - thanks Hailes for coming up with this brilliant theme! Gemma & Indie will be posting their creations any day now, and as always, would so love it if some more of you lovelies were to join in ♥

Hailey

Gemma

IndieAna

Take care of you,

kats xxx

LOTD: Radiant Orchid...

Good grief, I've just realised it's almost the end of the month, and I haven't posted one LOTD, quelle horreur! I don't know why but I keep forgetting about all the ones I've stashed away (almost every day). Will have to set myself a little reminder on my computer, because what's a beauty blog without a colourful lip or two hey?

So this is my first attempt at a Radiant Orchid lip - I'm actually really happy with it, and reckon it's a pretty good match. As always, I tend to make the particular shade I want using a combination of a lip crayon, lipstick and gloss, so here's what went into it...

I started with a Nabi lip liner in Dark Fuchsia...

And then added my favourite purple lipstick, L.A.Colors Grape Crush...

To tone it down, make it considerably less purple and a tad more pink, I applied Mirenesse Lip Lava over the top...

Whaddya reckon gals - close enough? 

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Pink & Purple...

Well this is definitely pink and purple, but on closer inspection, the pink part might just well be my best shot so far at Radiant Orchid!  It's almost a match, just needs a tinge more blue, but I'm getting there lol...

This was an interesting experiment. Decided to use a Nabi Lipliner (!) pencil  in the shade Dark Fuchsia as my base. Fabulous hue, deliriously pigmented, and I love these crayons as they leave a hearty stain on the lips, BUT, this little fella also left a decidedly pink stain on my eyelids - gaaahhhh! I always use Neutrogena Eye Make Remover because it's so gentle, doesn't sting, and it's the only one that takes absolutely everything off, well...almost... The remnants of this crayon refused to budge, and I went to bed looking like a poor little bunny with myxomatosis. After the morning cleanse and shower, my lids were back to normal, but be warned :-)

On the inner corner went Jordana 06 Pink Color Effects Bright Eyeshadow (I call it Barbie Pink lol), the middle is Highness from the SleekV2 Matte palette, and the outer corner scored Ink from the same palette. Underneath I blended Villan (I'm sure they meant to spell it Villain) also from SleekV2. This is such a brilliant offering from Sleek - the pigments aren't the slightest bit powdery, there's barely any fallout, includes a beaut assortment of shades, they don't crease, and the pigment is intense...

To finish off, I lined the waterline with my precious NYX Wonder Pencil ♥ I'm so much more comfortable with this natural shade than white, although I won't ever stop using my essence kajal - some colours just show off far better with a white waterline, but I wanted to keep this area a little more low key because of the vividness of the pink..

In hindsight, I probably should have done a green and gold or red, white and blue look to kick off the Australia Day long weekend, but hey, it's only Friday - I'll see what I can come up with that's a bit more patriotic :-)

Take care of you,

kats xxx

LOTD: Berry bright...

I'm a magenta lover through and through - have been for years. It's one of my favourite shades for any day, any season, any occasion, and I have quite a few lip, cheek and eye products as well as items in my wardrobe that I'd definitely classify as out-there magenta pink. And because I love it so much, I'm not averse to moving a little bit left or right of centre for those days when I don't want to be quite so loud (lol), and today was one of them.

Having chosen a black and pink outfit, and bearing in mind I had some customer meetings in my diary, I thought I'd tone down my usual whoa! look by heading towards a bright berry instead, so here's what I put together...

Nabi Bright Pink Lipliner (L47) - I've mentioned this brand earlier in my Lipcolour Mixing & Matching article. Although the eye crayons aren't nearly as well pigmented, their lip pencils are brilliant. There's quite an extensive shade range available, they're a good mix of firm but moist texture, and the colour lasts and lasts. An absolute bargain at around $3.

Next I applied ModelsPrefer lipstick in a shade called City Chic. This is Priceline's own brand of cosmetics, and these lipsticks are beautifully moisturising, well-pigmented, the packaging is classy, and the regular price is $9.99.  Kate from Seducedbybeauty put me onto these, and I will be forever grateful :-) Some of the colours on Priceline's website are way off though, so I suggest you choose them in-store. In fact City Chic appears to be a browny-mauve on their colour chart, when as you can see, it is a bold bright berry.

To give this a wee bit of a Spring lift and add some extra plumpness to my pout, I topped it with Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift Moisture Shine in shade #41. This gloss has a wee bit more red in it than the lipstick, but it tones in exceptionally well. Mirenesse sure knows how to make a great lipgloss :-)

And here's the finished look - bright and colourful, but a step back from OTT :-)

I think I might now be a berry lover too - how about you? Do you have a favourite berry lipstick?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

HOW-TO: Lipcolour mixing & matching

Despite having an embarassingly massive quite extensive lipstick collection, there are times when I just can't lay my hands on the colour I want. I get dressed, do my makeup, and then one of two things happens: a) the lipstick I had in mind to go with my outfit is worn down to a pathetic stump that even a lip brush can't resurrect (no idea why didn't I bin it the last time I used it), or b) not one of the vast array of colours on my bench is exactly the right shade.

But because I simply HAVE to match, I make precisely the one I want using a lipliner, a lipstick and a gloss. Here's what I manufactured the other morning...

I wanted a pinky mauve - easy peasy (or so I thought) as I have at least 10 pinky mauves in my kit, but not one of them had enough oomph to balance the bold top I was wearing. So I started with a Nabi lipliner in a shade called Dark Fuchsia, and applied it all over my lips. These pencils are available from most of those bargain "dollar" stores for around $3. I love them because the deeper shades especially leave behind a great stain.

Next I swiped Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Lavendare over the top. This is quite a deep purply hue, absolutely gorgeous colour, but way too intense on its own (even for me!).

To tone it down, I added Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lip Gloss in Lambada. This is one of my all time favourites because it's so moisturising & shiny, and smells like a tropical fruit cocktail.  Here's the final shade, the spot on hue I was after :-)

When I first started doing this lip colour concoction process, I used to swatch the various shades on the back of my hand to make sure I was on the right track. But because I do this so often, and consequently have a good idea of what does what to what (!), these days I just apply and go :-)

It may seem like a bit of a business, and of course you have to keep re-applying all three throughout the day, but I don't mind the extra effort to end up with a match that I'm 100% comfortable with.

So ladies, are you a stickler for a matching lip shade?  Do you mix things up a little to make the colour you want?

Take care of you,

kats xxx