Skin Physics Dragon's Blood Skincare...

Well hi lovelies - yeah, I know, long time no post! Everything is fine and good here, well as good as can be in an extended COVID lockdown hey. But I can assure you the only reason I've been off the social media grid is work-related - as boring as that sounds, my job commitments started exploding in May and are showing no signs of returning to normal until closer to Christmas - yikes! While I'm thanking my lucky stars to have a steady income (and to be able to work from home), 12-hour non-stop stressful days are the norm and to be honest, by the time I disconnect from the office network I'm mentally drained and not fit for much at all. Impact? Apart from missing you all terribly (and even more grey hairs), I'm literally up to my neck in empty containers and have a ton of stuff to review. I can't bear to be away from you any longer, so will do my utmost to resume my weekly upload, although it will be a couple more months before I'm back to posting on Instagram. For now, I desperately wanted to share with you my new skincare regime - the Skin Physics Dragon's Blood range, which I'm crazy-in-love with ♥...

It all started back in May last year when the generous team at Theory Crew sent me the Dragon's Blood Facial Sculpting Gel to trial. I absolutely loved it AND the firming effect it had on my jawline, and have been using it every night since then. I'd also read fab reviews by some of my blogging gal-pals about the Ultra Plumping Night Cream and Retinol Sleep Serum, and filed that info away for future reference. Then, earlier this year, my skincare stars aligned - by that I mean my usual collection of lotions and potions was getting low and I noticed that Priceline (the only place where this range is sold) were having a Skin Physics sale, and I thought "perfect timing, why not?". It was a rare opportunity for me to shift to a whole new set of products (which is something I rarely ever do), and I'm so happy I took the plunge because this stuff is awesome! ♥...

I'll be reviewing each of them, including the Daily Radiance Moisturiser and Deep Wrinkle Filler over the coming weeks.  Interestingly there's no Eye Cream in the range, but they have an Advance Superlift Eye Contouring Serum which I've been powering through, and will post some notes on that as well. The cleanser in the range is the only product I wasn't crazy about, but I'll let you know why in one of my upcoming Empties posts - remember those? Ha ha yes, that's the next challenge (lol!) but I've already worked out how I can catch up, as well as return to sharing the love with my usual giveaways ♥...

Gee willikers, I've SO missed keeping in touch with you all!

Until next time, take care of you, and keep safe,
Hugs from kats xxx

P.S. In amongst all this I've had to change my blog subscription system, so hopefully, some of you will receive a post notification email from a system called Follow-It ♥...

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: Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour...

Super excited to get my hands on these new Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolours, and even more excited to pick them up at the Priceline Pink Dot Sale for half price ($11.97). The icing on the cake is that they are absolutely fabulous! Highly pigmented, dense, velvety soft, very comfortable to wear, and there's a wide range of colours to choose from, although only eight appear to have been released in Oz. I'm guessing that the nude one (Seduction) is the hottie of the bunch as it was out of stock during both my visits. As expected during a sale, the cupboard was pretty bare initially - I bought one (aptly named Addiction) and fell immediately in love, and fortunately the shelves had been restocked by the time I returned..

Super cute presentation - it's a flattened matte plastic capsule with the usual does foot applicator, although the shape of the tip is kind of concave in the middle on each side. They are fragranced (supposedly with mango & vanilla), but it's not overly strong, and shouldn't be a problem. They aren't really all that matte (thankfully), don't suck the moisture out of my lips, and are surprisingly long lasting - I wore the hot pink one today and most of it survived lunch ♥

Below are the shades I bought - Passion, Flirtation, Devotion, Obsession & Addiction...

So let's move onto the swatches. I did all of these consecutively and on the same day so that there would be (for once) some consistency with my skin tone (although I look pretty washed out for some reason), and the camera's representation of the colours. I've tried these babies with and without a lipliner - although the wand provides pretty good definition by itself, they have a tendency to feather ever so slightly, especially on my wrinkly lips, so for me lining is essential. And the only one that goes on a bit streaky is Flirtation (the orangey one, no surprises there), but reapplying or layering is no problem because of the high moisture content of the formula...

One complaint - the shade name is only on the sticker. If you peel it off (so the tube looks nice), you may struggle when it comes to buying a replacement, well I sure will anyways. Not good Revlon - I can appreciate that the package design is not conducive to labelling on the base, but I would expect no permanent identification from a $5 lip product, NOT one that retails for $23+...

That little beef aside, I ADORE them - Revlon does really quite sensational lip products that never disappoint this little black duck. These are all beautiful shades, but at this stage, I'm obsessed with Obsession lol. Which one is your fave?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. I'm linking to Ingrid's awesomely interesting Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party - wouldn't miss it for all the tea in China ♥♥♥

EOTD: Autumn Green and Gold...

Have you ever been through Priceline withdrawal? I tell you it's one of the worst things imaginable for a beauty product fanatic like me. I moved house nine months ago, secure in the certain knowledge there was a store within 10 minutes of my new abode...only to discover (after moving in) that it had closed down - gaaaahhhhh! The nearest one is 45 minutes away, and in the opposite direction to where I normally shop. And yes I know they have an online store, but it's not the same blissful experience as being on the spot to rummage through throw-out bins, swatch samples, and take advantage of unpublished bargains...

So then a couple of weeks ago, an opportunity arose to return to my old neighbourhood, and joy of joys, I had 25 minutes to spend in my favourite Priceline. As soon as I walked in, I was "in the zone", working my way up and down the aisles, running my beauty-starved fingers and bargain-focussed eyes over the familiar stands. Armed with a basket, I turned a corner and spotted..."the bin" - chock full of these cute little Maybelline single eyeshadows, marked down to...$1.50!

Because of my limited time (and four more aisles to explore), I only grabbed three of these little gems, but what a gorgeous three they are. You'll be seeing the pink and the purple (OMG the purple is to die for!) in the not too distant future , but here's the green - it doesn't have a name, only a number, 741.

It's a beautifully creamy and surprisingly pigmented shimmer that's an almost perfect match for my eye colour, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect to add it to my collection with Autumn looming on the horizon...

I used FOA Budge Proof Eyeshadow in Poison Ivy as a base over most of the lid, and MNY Color Tattoo in Bold Gold on the inner corner, overlaid with a shimmery white/gold shadow from the MUA Blue Babe palette. In the crease is matte forest green from the NYX Bohemian Chic palette, and I lined the waterline with Mirenesse Face Gel Colour in Emerald...

These little baby pans would have to be one of the best value buys around. Of course I'm kicking myself for not snaffling one in every colour, although the others were not what I normally go for - creamy neutral shades, but there was one pale pink, and yet surprisingly, not one blue...

Still I'm thrilled with what I scored, and my basket was filled with an assortment of cant-buy-them-anywhere-else products by the time I hit the checkout. I've no doubt my "fix" won't placate me for long, and having been reminded what a delight Priceline is, I'm already planning to make the 45 minute journey to my local - but I'll make sure I have at least an hour set aside to explore my favourite playground :-)

Take care of you,
kats xxx