SPOTLIGHT: 3rd Quarter 2016 Fave LOTD's, Oranges...

And finally, the last in this series, the sunny Oranges. Only six, and that's because I find orange the most challenging as far as hunting down a formula that doesn't turn out all streaky when it hits my lips, but they are available if you're as determined as I am lol. I've often commented on this little idiosyncracy, and I'm still in the dark as to why it happens, and even whether it only happens to me - I'm guessing it's an ingredient. But it's a colour I truly adore and wear quite frequently all year round, so below are the current favourites in my kit that are comfortable, vibrant, and 100% streak free ♥...

The newest in my kit, this Ulta3 cream is part of a new range - not too drying for a longwear matte, it lasts well, and there's a matching lip liner available in the same shade. Oh how I wish all companies did this! The MNY Craving Coral isn't quite as moist as I'd like, but after all it's a matte, and that issue's sorted by adding a smidgin of gloss over the top - it's a beauty as far as longevity goes ♥...

The MNY Vivid Matte Liquid Lipsticks remain my ultimate formula comfort-wise, although they're not matte unless you blot them after applying. I reviewed the whole set HERE, and this Orange Shot gets a regular workout. As far as gloss is concerned, the NYX Intense Butter is numero uno for the intensity of the moisture boost, and this Orangesicle is just the prettiest hue for Summer ♥...

I love all the lippies on this page, but this is the one that has the edge. Good old L'Oreal - Always Apricot is softly subtle without compromising the fun of orange, and it keeps my lips supple and moist all day. This range is stunningly packaged too. I've included the DJ's one again (one of the First Quarter faves) because not only do I love it to bits, it's a shade that gals could try if they're a bit nervous about oranges, but don't want to take the plunge into anything too definite ♥...

That's all for now - will put together some posts of my final quarter loves and absolute 2016 faves starting early January. Till then lovelies, here's hoping the lead up to Christmas isn't too hectic for you...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: 2nd Quarter Fave LOTD's, Oranges...

Of all the lipstick colours in the world of beauty, I find orange the most challenging. I adore it, and because of my particular skin tone, I can pull off most variations, but matching it to clothing is a whole other ball game. The difficulty is that unlike nudes, pinks, reds and even purples, there's actually not a lot to choose from out there in lippy-land. Most brands have several available in their range, but they're often more coral than orange, or else they verge on fluoro, and to match the various pieces in my wardrobe I often have to mix a few shades together or slick a gloss over the top to get the right tone. Anyways I only managed to scrounge up six standouts in the last quarter, and three of them were faves in the first round, But you know me, I'll keep looking lol...

Sadly the Revlon Bronze Beauty has been discontinued, but can still be found on eBay & Amazon, which is where I'll be heading in the next few weeks so I can grab another before it's gone forever. A unique shade that's been in my kit for years - really bummed it's been dropped from the range as it's absolutely gorgeous for Autumn. The MBA Spiced Pumpkin is a fabulously potent beauty, and a darling friend sent me the matching eye shadow...spoilt hey ♥♥♥...

Starlet is an ancient brand that I used to find in Woolworths, but now only seems to be available in Kmart. Their cosmetics range is hopelessly old fashioned, but this Raspberry (Raspberry?) one is a winner for around $5, although whoever named it needs a new light bulb. And how about that BOE Primped? - stunning pigmentation, and for $2 they're practically giving it away ♥... 

These last two could easily be categorised as reds, but when lined up alongside other scarlet hues, they're distinctly orange, so here they are. I already have a spare of the Maybelline Fab Orange as the formula of these pencils is astoundingly comfortable, and the Ulta3 Pretty Poppy is the only one of the set that is opaque enough for me to wear - very similar to the MNY hue, but more glossy...

Well that's this particular series over, but it won't be long till the July/August/September ones are up. Till then keep well and safe lovelies, and have a fun-filled Spring ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: First Quarter Fave LOTD's, Oranges...

Up until I started dyeing my hair in the red spectrum, I rarely wore orange lipstick - with cool ashy blonde hair for most of my pre 50's years, it wasn't the least bit flattering, but I've certainly embraced it in this most recent decade of my life, and even more so now that my tresses are more orangey than anything else. It's super cheerful, and I especially favour it in the Autumn and Winter to bring some warmth and sunshine into an otherwise dark day. There's a pretty good variety here, from reddish and slightly pinky tones to those with more of a gold or bronze content. As is usual for me, these range in price from $2 (BOE Beauty) to around $20 for the Revlon. I honestly don't think too much about what I pay for a lipstick, so long as I love the colour, and it wears comfortably, but it's a rare thing for me to spend more than $25 - there's way too many out there that I haven't tried yet (lol!) so I have to draw the budget line somewhere ♥...

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Bronze Beauty

W7 Lipstick - Fluorescent Orange

MBA Cosmetics Lipstick - Spiced Pumpkin

David Jones Moisture Cream Lipstick - Honey Gold

Cover Girl Outlast Lipstick - Amazing Auburn

Australis Velourlips Matte Lip Cream - sanfrandisco

BOE Beauty Matte Lipstick - Primped

Rimmel The Only 1 Lipstick - Call Me Crazy

To be honest, orange can be quite tricky to wear successfully, but I reckon it comes down to finding the right one for your skin tone, and it makes a huge difference it you can pair it up with an accessory or two...

SO hard to nominate which of these takes the number one spot - I wear the MBA Spiced Pumpkin the most often, but the Australis sanfrandisco is a close second, even though it makes my pout look decidedly pruney ♥

In case you missed them, you'll find nudes, bricks and bronzes HERE, corals, mauves & pinks HERE,  reds HERE, and berries & purples HERE ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD's: Autumnal Orange & Chocolate...

My long weekend didn't get off to the best of starts - was working (remotely) till 1am Friday morning, and the same today, but at least I could sleep in, yay! It appears to be all over and done with now, and I can resume my blogging schedule - which means that for me, Easter starts right now ♥ The theme for these EOTD's is Autumn, and those magnificently rich and earthy shades that go hand in hand with this most precious of seasons...

For this look, I chose Sugarpill Flamepoint - a fabulously bright and stunningly pigmented orange, but I Autumned-it-up by patting it down over a base of Eye of Horus Bronze Amulet Goddess Pencil, and then added Tequila Sunrise from the Sleek Snapshots palette for some glisten and gleam. Turned out to be the perfect match for my hair lol! On the waterline is Eye of Horus Serpentine Sultry, a gorgeous olivey bronze...

My foundation was Rimmel Lasting Finish, got the glow happening with Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Coral Sheen, and added the middle shade from the BYS Coral Me In blush trio. Lips were W7 Fluorescent Orange lipstick...

And the matching jewellery - the big bracelet, ring and earring set was a gift from my parents ♥...

For look number two, I went for a brown and cream combo, and dived into my Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, and chose a blend of Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate & Amaretto, once again over a base of Eye of Horus Bronze Amulet Goddess Pencil, also on the waterline...

For my face I trotted out my old HG foundation, Lancôme Teint Visionnaire, with Australis Chocolate Truffle Creme Colour for my cheeks, topped with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light. Lips were Starlet Lipstick in Brown Sugar. I'm still working on my hair colour - a tad more brown in it here, and this week I have blonde highlights(!), so who knows where I'll end up, but it sure is fun experimenting...

The necklace and earrings are at least 20 years old! Forgot to include my watch in the picture, but as you can probably imagine, it was in brown tonings...

So there's a couple of my choices to welcome in the cooler weather - what are your favourite hues for Autumn?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: Maybelline COLORblur Cream Matte Pencils...

Being a lipstick loony, it's difficult to contain my excitement when a new pout product comes out, especially when it's by Maybelline - they seem to have their finger on the pulse of what I'm after in the area of everyday, affordable and accessible makeup, and their formulas invariably suit me to a T. I fell instantly in love with their COLORdrama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils when first released, and I have an equally all-consuming passion for their new COLORblur Cream Matte Pencils...

Matte lip products and I have a bit of a love/hate relationship. So many of the truly matte lippies are simply not comfortable for me to wear - they're way too drying (can't bear it when my lips feel tight), and they usually make my pucker look like a dried up prune. But these COLORblur crayons have a slight sheen, the formula is amazingly softening and hydrating, they glide on with no tugging, and so far they've even survived a meal! The pigments are bold and sassy, and while there's a limited colour range, I've bought five of the eight shades available in Oz, and adore every single one of them...

The smudger point on the other end is an interesting inclusion - it feels like it's made of the same plastic as a standard pencil eraser, yet it doesn't lift off the product. I haven't experimented with using it to create the recommended blurred look, and I won't as it's just not going to work for me (you apply the product to the centre of the lips and then smudge it outwards). My natural lip outline disappeared long ago, so I'll be giving this technique a miss...

For scent sensitive gals, there's no discernible fragrance or taste, and while they're almost double the price of the Velvet pencils, they're still a great buy for RRP $17.95, and of course I've already found them on special in a few outlets. There's no sharpening either - you simply twist the smudger end to wind up the lipstick. But enough of the specs, let's get onto the swatches!

Just for the record, I've taken all of these pics in the same location and lighting conditions, and yet my skin tone looks different in all of them. Annoyingly my camera seems to react to whatever colour clothing I'm wearing, but the product colours below are close to spot on. I'm thinking I may have to take future photos in the nude in order to get some complexion consistency lol...

So here's the very first one I tried - Berry Misbehaved. A gorgeously rich pink that's exceptionally versatile ♥...

And this is Plum Please - will be totally rocking this once Autumn arrives ♥...

Next we have Partner in Crimson - a deep and muted red that's sure to enhance my Winter outfits. Loving the cute as names too ♥...

And here's Orange Ya Glad - super excited about this one as I seem to have so much trouble with orange lippies turning out patchy and streaky, but not this stunner, it's as smooth as silk ♥...

And my most recent purchase (yesterday!) - Cherry Cherry Bang Bang. Soft and yet dripping with juicy fruit vibrancy ♥...

There are three other pinks in the range - I Like To Mauve It, Pink Insanity & Fast & Fuchsia. The mauve one is too pale for me, but the last two are lovely vibrant shades - sadly they've been out of stock in my usual haunts, but I'm hoping that the demand will slow down a little in the coming weeks so I can get my hands on them...

In one word, fabulous. Here's another word - amazing! My favourite (so far) is Berry Misbehaved - what's yours?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S.Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party starts at 6:30am every Monday ♥... 

EOTD: Sleek Snapshots Tequila Sunrise & Sunset...

One of my last few posts with red hair! I'll still be redd-ish but have decided to go copper for a while - and actually this is the perfect eye makeup for coppery locks, so I hope I can remember how I did it lol! Just pulling your leg - the awesome thing about posting these looks here is that I have a permanent online diary that I can always refer to. Anyways, in case I haven't announced it before, I'm officially crazy about these sunrise and sunset hues in the Sleek Snapshots palette ♥... 

I started with a base of essence white kajal, and then patted down Tequila Sunrise on the inner third, Sunset over the remainder, and blended where they met with only a few jiggles of a fluffy brush. Waterline was Eye of Horus Goddess Pencil in Bronze Amulet...

And here is the rest of the look - foundation was Mirenesse Liquid Silk, and cheeks were Maybelline Master Glaze Stick in Coral Sheen topped with Lacura Mosaic Baked Blush Bronzer in Beach Babe. On the pucker I wore Milani Cinnamon Spice lippie with a swipe of Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer in Citrine...

AND I'm giving myself a little pat on the back because thanks to my Christmas hols, this is EOTD post #8 for January! So stay tuned for the EOTM giveaway - I'm planning on getting it organised nice and early next month ♥

Take care of  you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Kat Von D Orange & Blue...

I've been having a little break from creating eye looks for almost three weeks, in fact tomorrow will be only the second day that I'll be putting on a proper full face of slap since I've been on holidays - unbelievable! Also taking the opportunity to give my lashes a chance to breathe without a five layer coating of waterproof mascara, and they're showing they're gratitude by not falling out quite so frequently ♥ But I have a few EOTDs stashed away for a rainy day post, like this one...

Used my favourite pan from the Kat Von D Monarch palette (burnt orange Wrath), and also one I love from the other KVD palette that I've had under wraps (and will review shortly) - Chrysalis. This gorgeous blue is called Entombed. Beats me how they come up with these names, but it's a beauty - deep navy shimmer with tiny bright blue sparkles in it. My base for both was essence white kajal, and my waterline is the fabulous Lazuli Blue Eye of Horus Goddess Pencil, which turned out to be a perfect match ♥

For my face I chose DB Cosmetics Longwear 24 Hour Foundation, Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Coral Sheen, and I added a little Hourglass Ambient powder in Luminous Bronze Light for a wee bit of a bronze glow. Lips were and old friend, Revlon Bronze Beauty...

Well I don't know quite what's happened to Summer here in Sydney - hopefully she'll come back this weekend so I can peel off my socks and go barefoot again!

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Sleek Acid Orange & Black for Halloween...

This was my Halloween look - pretty tame, and not much different to what I do every day (lol), but the colours were appropriate for the occasion. From memory last year's All Hallows Eve EOTD was created using the Sleek Acid palette as well - I can always count on it to deliver a nice pumpkiny hue, and an intense spooky black...

Interestingly I used a pink Chi Chi Waterproof Gel Eye Liner (Hopelessly Devoted) as my base as I wanted to soften the vibrant orange down a little - I find most shadows adhere brilliantly to these liners...

I'm sure I'm not alone when it comes to photographic issues - apart from lighting inconsistencies and a camera that often refuses to focus, my biggest challenge is getting my two eyes even. My eyes aren't the same shape, or in the same condition as far as ageing is concerned. My left peeper is the only one I take closeups of, mainly because it has less yucky red veins in the white part (sclera), and the area above the lid isn't as wrinkly. The right hood actually droops in an odd way as well, so when I'm taking a both-eyes shot, often the crease colour ends up looking a different width, and so the whole effect is a bit whacky. But we're all dealing with imperfection one way or another hey, and I thank my lucky stars that I wear specs, so it isn't all that obvious if my eye makeup doesn't exactly match ♥

For the waterline I used ModelsPrefer Matte Black Kohl - it doesn't last all that long, but it's so creamy and gentle, I don't mind reapplying it every few hours. It's actually the blackest black crayon in my kit...

I'm not really into the whole Halloween thingy, so I didn't do anything special on the actual night - just had fun handing out some gingerbread Draculas and sweets to some of the cleverly attired neighbourhood children when they came trick-or-treating ♥

Did you dress up or party for Halloween?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Sleek Acid Green and Orange...

Love the changeover of  the seasons - the weather is invariably unpredictable, but it's the time I rotate my makeup, and rediscover what I put at the back of the drawers at least 6 months ago ♥ Sleek Acid is one such palette that's a wee bit too loud for Winter, but now that the sun is gaining strength and brightening the daylight, it's perfect to give my peepers a splash of clear and fun colour...

Here's a reminder of how fabulous the shades in this palette are...

Essence white kajal was my base, and all I did was press the olivey lime and the orange over the top, and blended the join. I also extended the Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner along the lower lashline out into a teeny wing for a bit of fun. I actually wanted to use an olivey shade on the waterline, but not having one in my kit (gahhhh! I've since rectified that glaring omission), I blended Chi Chi Like A Virgin Waterproof Gel Liner with bhcosmetics Waterproof Eye Crayon in Huntress (a soft green) and for whatever reason, it turned into an aqua shade! I didn't have time to do anything about this somewhat unexpected result, so wore it I did. Not a combination I would have deliberately chosen, but hey, it's a bit different lol...

 

And here's the FOTD that went with it all - nude by nature Liquid Mineral Foundation, middle pan from the BYS Endless Summer Blush Trio on my cheeks, and Revlon Colourburst Lipstick in Peach topped with Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer in Citrine...

Do you change your makeup colours every season?

Take care of you,
kats xxx