Christmas Giveaway #4 - Physicians Formula skincare...

Lucky last of the Christmas Giveaways! #4 is a Physicians Formula Cosmetic Procedure Alternatives Kit, and I've also thrown in three of my favourite beauty products just because they go with the purple theme lol ♥...

The giveaway consists of...

• 1 x Physicians Formula Cosmetic Procedure Alternatives Kit containing Expression Line Freeze, Wrinkle Filler & Deep Moisture Repair & Laser Resurfacing Serum
• 1 x Natural Secrets Goatsmilk Moisturising Hand Cream
• 1 x pack of 3 ModelsPrefer Artist Collection crayons (Grape/Bright Pink/Lilac)
• 1 x Alpha Keri Anti-Cellulite Sugar Body Scrub

All items were purchased by me, the prize value is approximately $55, and because it's bulky, this giveaway is open 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, 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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This giveaway is now closed - check back later today to see who won!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Woo hoo! - random.org has chosen the beautiful Kendall K. as the winner.  

Congratulations gorgeous! 

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

Sunday 31st December to claim your prize :-)

Edit: Kendall has claimed her prize

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best of luck to all who enter!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

and thank you to my loyal followers for all your support - love ya!

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Sleek Acid White and Lime...

Gosh - this is turning out to be a Sleek Acid month of EOTD's! Who'd have thought I'd be using the same palette over and over again, I mean, every day? Unheard of for me, but that's how it's shaping up. The thing is the pigments are so fabulous, they lend themselves to just about any combo, and this little effort goes to show it doesn't have to be bright...

Over my essence white kajal base, I laid down a generous layer of the white from the palette - it gives an awesomely solid finish. Other whites I've tried end up being sheer or overly sparkly, but this matte shadow is marvelously dense, and yet it doesn't turn all cakey or chalky, even when you pack it on...

Over this I added the olive from the bottom row, starting with a generous layer from the outer edge, and blended it across to the inner corner so that it merged seamlessly into the white. I also used this in the crease for some definition, and it softened the MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner along the lower lashline...

Used warm colours on the rest of my face - lips are Maybelline Caramel Kiss with essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Pary Connection. Cheeks are ModelCo Amaretto Sunset...

And to finish off, I added green Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner along the waterline - this is starting to dry out a little, but hey, it's about three years old...

There'll be three more EOTD's using this palette before the end of the month - I might even keep going into January because there's just so many combinations I want to try. Lol pretty safe to say this is my ULTIMATE palette ♥

Do you have a palette that you use almost every day? Would love to know what it is...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Lime, Blue and Purple...

As promised, here's a couple of the shadows that I selected for my bhcosmetics 6 colour pro palette - the lime green (CS14) and the purple (CM08). Although I chose an amazingly pigmented blue as well when I made up the palette, it's quite a deep navy, and I felt it was too dark for this particular look. So instead, the blue I used here is another of the ones that were gifted to me by darling Gemma Sapphire - Max Factor Wild Shadow Pots in Sapphire Rage. Like the Untamed Green in this range, it's a stunning shade...

For brightly coloured shadows, most times I lay down a base of essence white kajal, but I thought I'd experiment with the NYX Wonder Pencil in Light - I stroked it across my entire top lid, and then patted it down with my finger to make sure it was even. It worked a treat to give the powders something to adhere to and kept them going all day long, and although it doesn't give the colours as much punch as the white, I quite like this softer, slightly more subtle look...

I then added the shadows one by one, and blended the "joins" with a soft clean fluffy brush. I also took the purple shadow underneath my lower lashes. I don't often mention it, but for just about every eye look I create, I tightline the top lashline with bhcosmetics Liquid Eyeliner (yet another bargain at USD3.50), and line my lower lashes with MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner - I simply can't live without either of these products! 

For the waterline, I used Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Lime and Lavender...

Apart from my camera capturing the purple component of this look as blue (boo!), I think it's such a fresh and pretty combo for Spring..
.

For my base I used two kajal pencils by essence - SCREAM GREEN on the inner corner, and LOVE ME LAVENDER over the rest of the top lid. All essence crayons create fabulous foundations for any shadows - they're dense and creamy, the colour range is brilliant, and they cost less than a packet of chewing gum...

I'm making good use of this Max Factor Wild Shadow Pot in Untamed Green (thank you again darling Gemma!) - I adore the vibrancy of the shimmery lime, and it makes me smile from the moment I apply it to the time I take it off ♥ Over the lavender kajal, I pressed down the purple from the L'Oreal Color Rich Disco Smoking palette - yes, the shadow is most definitely purple! I've had this colour shift problem with all cameras I've owned, but I'm not about to start fiddling with the photos, so you'll just have to pretend it's purple lol...

On the outer corner and in the crease, I blended the mossy green from the NYX Bohemian Chic Matte palette, and added MNY single shadow #741 under the lower lashline. On the waterline is Green Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner... 

As you can see, my lashes are continuing to lengthen and gain some volume, so much so that they're starting to get tangled (woo hoo!), even the lower ones - this is thanks to one of the beauty world's miracle products, RapidLash. I've just about finished my first tube, and will post a RAVE REVIEW of this sensational stuff very soon...

Take care of  you,
kats xxx

EOTD & OOTD: Emerald, black and white...

I'm on a bit of a green binge at the moment - must be the Spring Effect! No doubt I'll snap out if it soon, meanwhile here's a bit of fun - you must know by now that I'm an absolute fiend when it comes to matching my eye makeup to my outfit, so here's a little collage of what I put together the other day ♥ Honestly it gives me so much pleasure to walk out the door all coordinated, and knowing I'm at least starting the day in one coherent piece helps me get through the stresses that always seem to come my way at the office...

This is precisely why I have to have such a wide variety of makeup in my kit - well that's my excuse anyway ha ha! Mind you I'm not always successful - I rarely ever show you the failures, but believe me, they happen...

And of course it doesn't just come together effortlessly - I spend a fair bit of time at night choosing what I'll wear the next day, selecting the jewellery, eye, lip and cheek colours, and laying them all out ready for the makeover that starts at 5am on working days. Weekends are vastly different - they're more like an open slather free-for-all (unless I have a special function to attend) and I throw everything together on the fly, and cross my fingers lol...

For this particular look, I started with a stripe of essence white kajal along the top lashline, and pressed Sugarpill Midori (emerald) over the top. On the back of the eyelid, I spread a layer of black Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner and set it with Noir from the Sleek V2 matte palette. Then I patted Sugarpill Tako (white) underneath the lower lashline and on the inner corner, and drew a fine line over the top with MNY Master Precise Liquid liner. On the waterline, I covered up my blotches with several layers of essence white kajal...

On my cheeks I used MUA blusher in Shade #6, and for lips, Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Mauve with Mirenesse 3D Forever Gloss in Tease over the top...

What tricks do you use to help support you through a stressful day?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Blue On Blue...

Well I don't know about you, but for me blue is the most peaceful of all colours - I find lavender relaxing and pink is always a comfort, but blue radiates serenity and peace. If you were around in the 60's, you'll remember Twiggy and Veruschka and their baby blue eye makeup - it was "the" colour shadow to wear, often all the way up to the brow bone. Consequently it became tied to that era, and if you wore it past the early 70's, you were considered a fuddy duddy. I certainly stopped wearing it, but not because it was out of fashion - I just grew tired of it...

But all that's in the past, and I've fallen in love with it all over again. Unlike the "olden" days, the shade range now is massive - from the palest powder blue all the way through to indigo, from light aqua to deep turquoise, from periwinkle to ultramarine. I love them all, but have a particularly soft spot for what I call the powdery blues - the ones in the middle, not leaning towards either purple or green...

To give the shadows some depth for this look, I used dark blue Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner, with L'Oreal Studio Secrets #552 professional brown eyes intensifier over the whole lid. Along the top lashline, I used a damp brush to apply the palest blue from the MUA Blue Babe trio, and took that underneath as well...

To keep the whole effect soft and fresh, I used essence white kajal went on the waterline...

Interestingly, blue eye shadow makes my eyes look more blue than green, but it's nice to have a change, and I consider myself fortunate to have irises that reflect the colour of whatever pigment I'm wearing. Lol, having said that they don't turn orange when I wear sunset hues, but they do vary from grey to green to blue :-)

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Yellow, Orange, Red & Green...

My how time flies when you have a day job that starts becoming a night job as well - boo! June is almost over and I've only posted four EOTD's!  Will have to get a wriggle on - I always try to post eight looks per month, so I have some serious catching up to do over the next few days. So here's a colour combo I've done before, but not with mainly mattes...

Haven't used my Pomegranate Punk Maybelline Color Tattoo as a base in a while, but it was perfect for this look as I wanted to tone down the bright colours from the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette, to make the whole effect more subdued (and appropriate) for winter...

I applied the yellow, orange and red from inner to outer corner with a dry angled liner brush, blending as I added each shade. On the lower lashline I decided to liven things up a little by using the sparkly gold, and added Physician's Formula Green Shimmer Strips Gel Liner on the waterline...

To frame the eye, I added the black from the same palette in the crease and smoked the outer corner using a fine push brush - one with flat even bristles that are dead straight. It's so rare for me to use all shadows from the same palette, but this one is so wonderfully versatile - an inspired mix of matte's and shimmers, and of course, all the colours of the rainbow...

This look is especially for chunky.monkeys over at bh - she requested a rainbow EOTD a couple of weeks ago, and while this is only a half rainbow, this will have to do until I can get up a bit earlier in the morning (but that's not going to happen any time soon lol)...

Hope you like it chunky, and hope all the rest of you gorgeous gals are having a great week ♥

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'Oreal Disco Smoking...

Have you ever fallen in love with a palette in the store, bought it in a flash, and then discovered the colours just don't work for you, no matter what? Fortunately it doesn't occur all that often in my make up world, but happen it did with the L'Oreal Color Riche Disco Smoking quad. I was somewhat shattered at the time, but I'm known for my determination to get ANYTHING to work, and having left this striking palette languishing in my drawer for over 12 months, I decided it was way too pretty to give up on...

I adore these shades, both together and individually, but almost all of my previous attempts to use them, either singly or combined, produced a series of results that were disappointing to say the least, and simply weren't worthy of publishing. I couldn't get the pigment to show itself off (especially the yellow) and my placement  of the colours seemed to be all out of whack, but I'm quite happy with how THIS particular combo turned out - perhaps my technique has improved, or maybe I'm just a little better at choosing what what should go where...

Anyway, I started with a base of Face of Australia purple gel liner - this takes longer to dry than my other gels, and therefore gives me more time to build a layer of shadow that well and truly sticks. I applied the pinky purple shade all over the top lid, then smoked the outside with the charcoal, and framed the whole eye (using a fine liner brush) to give the illusion of a crease...

Along the lower lashline, I loaded up a damp brush with the yellow hue, and smudged it over MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner - this summery shade has a gorgeous shimmer to it, and turned out looking almost metallic gold - delish!...

Next I lined the waterline with the same purple FOA gel, then panicked as it was way too pink for my old eyes - boo hoo, I looked like I'd been crying :-( Rather than removing it, I tried pressing some blue-purple gel from the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Liner (for green eyes) in the centre, and fortunately this had the effect of almost neutralising the pink. 

I can't remember ever using TWO colours on my waterline before, but I'm quite taken with the result, and will be experimenting some more with different shade combinations in the future. What the hell, I might even do a waterline rainbow lol!

The only shade I didn't use from the palette this time was the deep lavender, but I already have some brain cells working on how to incorporate this stunning colour into my next attempt...

So glad I persisted :-) Gals, do you have colour palette that fails regardless of how and where you apply the hues? Would love to hear what you do with the ones that don't work...

Take care of you,

kats xxx