SPOTLIGHT: Last Quarter 2016 Fave LOTD's - Corals, Mauves & Pinks...

Selecting my faves from these colour families was exceptionally difficult. Being the Spring season, I hammered these hues big time in October, November & December, and there were so many to choose from it was quite a challenge. But got there I did, so here we go with the Corals, Mauves & Pinks ♥...

Love me a good coral, and this NYX Life's a Beach is a super pretty one - slightly more pink than orange, and the formula is long wearing and reasonably comfortable. The Ibiza one has more pink content, but it's still a coral in my book. Just for the record, I prefer the formula of the Liquid Suedes to the Soft Mattes ♥...

And a couple of the orangey corals - I do so love how this shade is such a clever bridge between two colours. The L'Oreal Always Apricot is a delightfully creamy formula, and the Barry M one is slightly drier, but still up there with the comfort factor. Slightly less vibrant but equally lovely (pardon the grimace) ♥...

Well now I didn't wear too many mauves in the last three month period, but this Rimmel Vintage Pink is the closest I could get. I've included two iterations of this gorgeous lipstick - for the pic on the right, I used a deeper and pinker lip liner, whereas the first one was pretty much a perfect match (which is always my aim when doing these swatches). SO moisturising! ♥...

Moving onto the real pinks, I just had to include this W7 Red Tulip because it's so darn pretty, and the BarryM one is here because I adore the vibrancy of the extra blue content, and I've only just now really discovered this brand - excellent quality and value from BigW ♥...

Ok so I might just have to declare this Revlon Obsession as my numero uno ruby hot pink. Utterly divine! Mind you the Mirenesse Lip Bomb is a close second - a tad less blue content, but equally dazzling ♥...

And here are what I call the Spring pinks - loud, but with a certain softness that makes them wearable with just about anything, and by anyone. The Ulta 3 Lilac Glow has been a fave for over 12 months now, but I've no idea what possessed NYC to call this stunner on the right Funnel Delight - I mean really, what's the connection between glossy pink and funnels lol? The Intense Butter Gloss is my all time favourite NYX lip formula - talk about a lip quencher, not a snowball's chance in hell of your lips ever drying out with this enriching slicker ♥...

And last but not least, the shocking pinks - the W7 Sex Bomb is a Liptember special, and such an amazing deal for around $7 plus supporting women's mental health research, but the most unbeatable value of them all (and a regular candidate in my fave posts) is the boe beauty Shocking Matte Pink - absolutely stunning, and for only $2. $2!!!!!! ♥...

Next up will be the reds, so pop in again soon won't you ♥...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: 3rd Quarter 2016 Fave LOTD's, Corals, Mauves & Pinks...

More of my faves from July to September - Corals, Mauves & Pinks, so flattering to just about any colouring, so long as you find the right one! Of the three, I admit corals are the trickiest, depending on whether they have more pink or orange content, but the rewards are great if you have the time and inclination to experiment. Mauves and pinks are far less challenging, and they're just so perfect for Spring when I start digging through my wardrobe for some pretty pastels ♥...

These two are relatively new in my collection - the NYX Liquid Suedes are reasonably comfortable and long lasting, though I prefer the formula of the Maybelline Vivid Matte range (review HERE). This colour though is absolutely gorgeous. The Rimmel Peachy Beachy is another one I'm particularly keen on as it has more depth without being too bright ♥...

I find these Australis Velour Lips Creams very drying, but I put up with the sensation as the colours are just so pretty, they apply evenly, and can be reapplied without looking flaky or scruffy. The MNY Colordrama pencils continue to be high on my love-list - the comfort and performance are hard to beat for the price. I actually use this as a liner for my other coral lipsticks as I can't seem to find a coral lip pencil that blends in as well ♥...

The Revlon Balm is another new love - I don't think I have a mauve that's as divine as this. Deliciously moisturising too and the hue just suits my skin tone perfectly. The MBA Lovespell has a slight frosting, and that makes it just that little bit different ♥...

Raspberry Ripple is almost what I call a Barbie pink - super pretty, and goes with quite a few of my new warmer weather wardrobe acquisitions. I'm not one to go for frosty finishes usually, but combined with this hue, it's a total winner. The City Color Berry is a one-of-a-kind shade in my collection - hard to believe as I have SO many pink lipsticks, but this has a unique freshness and juicy quality that makes it a standout ♥...

Adore the vibrancy of this LA Girl paint - surprisingly easy to create an even finish, and it doesn't bleed. I've included the L'Oreal Eternal Rose because it's another one that's kind of on its own in my kit - the blue content makes it wearable with even purple clobber ♥...

Is there one here that would suit you? Next up will be the ravishing REDS, so I hope you'll be back soon...

Take care of you,

kats xxx 

SPOTLIGHT: 2nd Quarter Fave LOTD's, Corals, Mauves & Pinks...

You know I never thought I'd say this but lipsticks and lip creams have taken hold of my makeup passion reigns! I still absolutely adore eye shadows and creating eye looks of course (that'll NEVER change), but I have a massive lip product collection now, and to be realistic, a pout is a helluva lot quicker to "do" and photograph in the wee hours. There's also the obvious problem that I'm getting old (am now officially classified as a Senior - gaaahhhhh!), and sadly the deterioration is more rapid than my skincare can restore. I for one don't want to look at pictures of wrinkly old eyes, and I REFUSE to use the "beauty" filter on my camera, so I'm just putting it out there that I've started shifting my makeup blog focus away from eyes to lips - I reckon they're going to hold up a bit longer than my peepers! Anyways, here we go with my favourite Coral, Mauve & Pink lip colours/products from the ones I slicked on last quarter...

CORALS

I'm lucky I can wear most corals, but like any hue, some are defnitely better than others. Hard to choose a #1 from this lot - I reckon it's a tie between the SAX Coral and the Revlon Hydrangea ♥

MAUVES

I don't own nearly enough mauve lippies - it's such a versatile shade range, soft and pretty and doesn't scream for attention. For me the Maybelline Matte Touch of Spice has the edge here ♥

PINKS

Ahhh pink - it's where my lippie love affair started ♥  SO many variations, but I have a particular penchant for blue pinks - from this set, my heart well and truly belongs to Ulta3 Orchid ♥

Hopefully there's one or two here that take your fancy, and would suit your complexion. Here's the link if you missed the Nudes, Bricks & Bronzes, next up will be...REDS!

Take care of you,
kats xxx

REVIEW: NYX Ombre Blushes...

Well there I was, placing an on-line order during the recent Priceline 40%-off-skincare sale, and I thought I'd just take a sneak peek at the NYX page, and then it happened - I spotted their hot pink/purple Ombre blush (Code Breaker) and I was a goner. Not many companies make blushes that are even close to this royal hue, so it landed in my cart in a heartbeat. Of course I also checked out the other colours in the range (there are six altogether), wanted them ALL, but restrained myself as I was already spending up pretty big on the skincare bargains. But as fate would have it I called into the store yesterday to eye-ball the new stand (Max Factor and Face of Australia were ditched to make room for its vastness), did a quick eeny-meeny-miney-mo, and nabbed the Mauve Me one as well...

My passion for sculpted blushes knows no bounds, yet I've held off buying any as I have a rather large collection of cheek cheerers already, but show me one in an ombre style and it's all over red rover. So here they are in all their gorgeousness...

I've swatched them on my pasty inner arm over a colourless primer - three finger swipes, top, middle and bottom as they appear in the pans...

Mauve Me has a slight shimmer content, and the pale pink top section is closer to a highlighter than a blush, but that will come in handy for the top of my cheekbones. It's also the more blendable of the two, invariably the case with shimmery pigments. Code Breaker is almost a matte - probably just as well as it's pretty potent lol! Adore them both for different reasons, but at the time of writing, Code Breaker has my heart ♥ Here's a pic of me wearing it...

Haven't taken a photo of my face adorned with Mauve Me yet, but you'll see it in a post very soon. For animal lovers, the back of the case says "Cruelty Free", but they're made in China. These stunners are $17.95, and next pay day you can bet I'll be picking up Soft Flush and Sweet Spring - my Priceline doesn't have testers, but I'm confident they'll be just as divine...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. A reminder to check out the great reads on Ingrid's amazing Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party ♥♥♥

REVIEW: essence All About Roses Eyeshadow Palette...

Seems like forever since I reviewed an eyeshadow palette, and I picked up this ever so pretty essence All About Roses darling a few weeks back. Only just today got my swatching act together, so no EOTD's as yet, but you can be sure they're not far off (I have a phobia about using a palette before I photograph and swatch it). I just adore soft dusky pinks, and this palette is a gem as it has both mattes and shimmers, and even a couple of pans with sparkles ♥...

The beauty of essence products is that they're available in quite a few outlets here in Oz, and also in many countries around the globe. Believe me I feel for my international readers - nothing worse than falling in love with a palette via a blog review, and then finding out it'll cost you an arm and a leg for overseas shipping!...

Top row are all shimmers, pans two and four (top row) also have micro-glitter. I swatched them (on my arm this time) over a primer, and these are max three swipes each. I totally suck at swatching (which is why they're not single swipes) I can never seem to get the product in an even stripe. I probably need to make some templates on my arm using sticky tape. Anyways the texture is surprisingly creamy, dense and silky smooth -  I've been playing with them on the back of my hand, and they blend beautifully...

And here's the bottom row - all but the second pan are mattes, with quite impressive pigmentation for $8.20. With bargain priced mattes, I'm often find they're chalky or wishy-washy or so packed down that you can't pick up any powder with a brush, but these are all easily workable, and with quite good colour pay-off. ...

The case is solid and sturdy, the lid closes with a firm click, and I'm glad they didn't bother including a manky sponge applicator (which I always ditch anyway). Absolutely delighted I gave in to the temptation, and you can bet I'll be using this baby before the end of the week...

If you're wondering where I've been...with my darling Dad in hospital this past month, after work and week-end visits (Mama too) have meant limiting my blog posts to just a handful - but he's all good now and back home, and I hope to return to my usual blogging schedule for August, including some EOTD's plus my usual giveaway, so stay tuned lovelies ♥...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. Linking to Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party - pop on over after 6:30am ♥♥♥

SPOTLIGHT: Pink & Lilac Bling!...

Time to reveal some more of my bling ring collection - I've done a count and yes, I have more purple rings than any other ♥ While I most certainly have a passion for this particular hue, it must be popular with the community in general as there seems to be more variety to choose from in the stores, and I'm sure glad of that! And of course I have to have ALL the different shade variations to match my outfits now don't I? These were all purchased at Goldmark, and all within my budget max (actually all three were under $35)

Love the straightforward simplicity of this one - just one big stone that's way pretty enough on its own. It sits high and mighty, but both the band and setting are solid and sturdy, so I'm not concerned about knocking it. The colour of the stone in this pic is a pretty good match - in some lights it looks lilac purple, in others, blue purple, which is another reason why I love it so much ♥...

I looked at this pink lovely every time I went into the shop over a period of six months, and ummed and ahhed because I don't wear a lot of what I call Barbie pink, and the lights in the store made the colour of the stone look just that - incredibly fake. But I succumbed in the end, and delighted I did because in most other lighting conditions, it's this gorgeous magenta-ish hue. Definitely princess worthy, but I'd say other customers felt the same way about it as it needed a darn good clean when I got it home, so I suspect it had been in the display for quite some time. Always delighted to help out and give a sparkler a good home ♥...

This triple banded sweetie was one of the first rings I bought when I started my bling acquisition journey, getting on to 3 years ago. I'd been going through some challenges, and this was my reward to myself for making it out the other side without losing the plot, so there's quite a bit of sentiment attached to it ♥ Still sparkles like new, it's a perfect fit, and being flush, I don't have to take it off when wearing gloves in winter. I still see this particular setting from time to time in Goldmark, with pink, aqua or clear stones, but I reckon I scored the pick of the bunch...

Still on the hunt for yellow or orange stones -  might have to take the plunge and extend my search to the online world...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: MBA Cosmetics Pink Glitter...

If there's one thing I love, it's glittery eye looks - it's also something I find a considerable challenge to create (along with eyeliner on my top lid!). All that fiddling with glue and cleaning up fallout means it's reserved for special occasions only, so here's the look I put together for New Year's Eve 2015...

Turned out reasonably ok, although as most bloggers are painfully aware, it's exceptionally difficult to capture the mesmerising sparkle of glitter with the average camera. Still you can get an idea of how pretty it was in the both-eye pics below. I used MBA Cosmetics Pressed Glitter palette in the shade combo Fruit Punch. Gorgeous, GORGEOUS pinks and purples! 

I find this palette easier to work with than loose pots as the sparkles are compacted, and there's no risk of glitter flying around the room if I sneeze (it's happened before lol!). All the pans lift out and are interchangeable with any of the other palettes...

For my base I used MBA Cosmetics Glitz Fix, a special adhesive created specifically for the eyes, non-irritating, and holds the glitter particles in place for (in my experience) up to 6 hours. I started with the palest pink on the inner corner, then went for the magenta in the middle, and finished with the purple on the outside...

I blended pink from the Chi Chi OMFG palette over my eyeliner along the lower lashline, and lined my waterline with Eye of Horus Cosmetics Smokey Black Goddess Pencil. In the crease, I added a little purple also from the OMFG palette, just to set things off. In all honesty, I spent more time cleaning up this look than I did actually creating it, but that's part of the deal when working with glitter ♥...

And to finish off the whole extravaganza, I slicked some Chi Chi Creamy Matte Liquid Lipstick in Drama Queen onto my pout...

I just adore these pinky purple hues - they're so feminine and fun hey. There's lots more colours in the pressed glitter range too - there's a link to the site at the top of the page ♥...

Did you create a special look for NYE?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: bhcosmetics Wild At Heart Pink & Purple...

Well try as I might, the struggle to upload eight EOTD's every month has sadly become too great, so I'm having to bite the bullet and lower my goal to six - there's just not enough hours in a day, boo! I'm not one to back away from a challenge, or throw in the towel for that matter, but something has to give until I can re-work the demands of my day job, so here we go with November's number five...

This is such a super-pretty palette that I reach for fairly frequently - bhcosmetics Wild at Heart. The two pinks and the purple are stunners, and the most loved pans in this set of nine ♥

It will probably come as no surprise that I used essence white kajal for my base - if I want a pigment to really show what it's made of, then this is my go-to crayon. And for $2, you'd be hard pressed to find a greater bargain in the makeup world ♥ (Hint: apply in short feather strokes, smooth it down with your pinky to make it nice and even, and then push the shadow onto it). I pressed the brightest pink onto the inner corner, then added the deeper more magenta-ish shade up to the half-way mark, and finished off with the purple. A wee bit of blending with a soft fluffy brush and I was ready to spruce up the waterline - Chi Chi Beauty School Drop Out Waterproof Gel Eyeliner was my choice because it lasts for hours. For the crease I used SleekV2 matte Highness, and Noir on the lower lashline...

Face-wise my foundation was DB Cosmetics Longwear 24 Hour, cheeks were Maybelline Pink Fever Master Glaze blush stick topped with essence Pink Flow Blush Up, and lips were W7 Liptember Pinks in the shade Cutie...

Wishing you all a relaxing and pleasure-filled weekend - TGIF ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Chi Chi OMFG Hot Pink and MUA Midnight Blue...

What would spring be without a cyclamen inspired EOTD? And this pink from the Chi Chi OMFG palette never fails me - it's just so bold and bright, and especially when laid down over the (almost) matching Chi Chi Hopelessly Devoted Waterproof Gel Eyeliner. What a great team they make ♥

The deep blue is by MUA Cosmetics - their single matte pan Midnight Blue which also never lets me down, and is the perfect partner for Chi Chi Dream Lover eyeliner. I'm at a loss as to why Chi Chi are no longer selling these fabulous liners - if they ever release them again, I'd buy two boxes in a heartbeat...

I think this is my favourite pink of all time ♥ Here's the face - bit of a startled-deer-in-the-headlights expression, but it's the best of a bad bunch lol. Foundation is DB Cosmetics Longwear 24 Hour, cheeks are the middle pan from the Sleek Blush By 3 Pink Sprint trio, and lips were Ulta3 Orchid with a slick of Covergirl Colourlicious Fruitylicious gloss...

Hope your Spring is shaping up to be a beauty ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx