REVIEW & EOTD: Eye of Horus Goddess Pencils (Part 2)...

Surprise surprise - my collection of Eye Of Horus Goddess Pencils has expanded, although after my last order, I'm pretty much set with all the ones I REALLY want. I can't praise these eye crayons enough, they're everything I want in an eye liner - stunning colours, natural ingredients, waterproof, smudgeproof, they glide on like silk, last well on the waterline, and don't irritate the delicate tissue. There are seven in my personal set (first three swatched here), and for once I can't pick a favourite because they are all SO good ♥...

You can see the density and intensity of the pigment in the swatches below - Teal Malachite has a magnificent shimmer (see my EOTD below), Scarab Sapphire is matte, Bronze Amulet has a slight sheen, and Smokey Black is also matte...

They all take a little while to set, so you have time to smudge them with the sponge on the other end of the pencil. But...as I always seem to be in a rush, the hoods above my eyes pick up some of the product before it's dry - so when I use them on the upper lid, I always pat a little matching shadow over the top to set them quickly. For this look, I added a smidgin of Urban Decay Peace, and smoked the outside with Zero. I used the Teal Malachite both on the waterline, and along my lower lashline - the sheen of this particular pencil is magnificent, it's just plain gorgeous!

You can bet that most of my future EOTDs will feature all of these liners one way or another ♥

To take advantage of the free shipping (> $50), last time I added this stunning gold metal plated pendant to my order for $10 - it's excellent quality, the chain is adjustable to any length, and being the crazy old Egypt fanatic that I am, I'll be adding the Ankh one to my collection shortly ha ha ♥ 

I'm really quite impressed with this company - all my orders have arrived beautifully packaged within 48 hours, and they don't test on animals. Their products are also available from various retailers - there's a list of stockists on their website. If you decide to buy any of these pencils, I highly recommend purchasing their sharpener too - honestly it's the best one I've ever come across, sharpens cleanly, and not once has it mangled the inner pigment.

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Sugarpill Love+ & Urban Decay Zero...

Gadzooks - it's the 8th of May and I haven't even posted an EOTD yet! Such is life when you move house and don't take holiday leave in order to get things organised. I'd forgotten how disruptive this whole relocation process is, but at least I have my internet connection, and it's been up for 24 hours solid without missing a beat, and for that reason alone, I'm pretty ecstatic ♥  So here's my first (official) look for May...

Blog and Instagram followers will already know of my passion for the new COLORdrama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils from Maybelline - given the intensity and longevity of the pigmentation of the deeper shades, I actually used the Red Essential one as my base here. Just love it when beauty products have more than one use! Over that I patted down Sugarpill Love+, a magnificent matte red that allowed the pretty sheen of the lip pencil to peep through. Crease and lower lashline are Urban Decay Zero, and on the waterline, I stroked Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner in Onyx...

And here's my whole mush - lips are Maybelline Bold Matte Lipstick in shade MAT6 with essence XXXL Shine Lip Gloss in Wood of Roses over the top. For cheeks I went with Sleek Furnace from the Flame Blush by 3 palette...

In case I don't get back on here before Sunday, Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful Mums out there - you are all so special, and I reckon every day should be Mothers Day ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Urban Decay Fishnet and Ransom...

For my first April EOTD, I decided to go with something soft and pretty, and perhaps not typically Autumnal, but that's me - I rarely stick by the rules as far as make up trends are concerned. Just as well or I'd probably have never started this blog - mind you I'd have a lot more spare cash in my wallet if I hadn't developed my passion for unusual eye looks (well unusual for my age at any rate), but I wouldn't want to have missed out on all the joy I've experienced with all my experimentation. So here we go with the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box...

While Honey, Graffiti, Zero and Peace are phenomenally pigmented, the potency of (multichrome) Fishnet and Ransom have eluded me thus far. They look stunning in the pan, but do you think I can get their boldness to come out on my eyes? Boo! I've tried every base/primer in my kit, but they always turn out pale and a bit washed out (I probably need a UD primer!). Anyways, they never fail to look as pretty as a picture though ♥ 

Essence white kajal was my base, and I took the blue Ransom underneath the lower lashline as well. On the waterline is bhcosmetics Waterproof Eye Crayon in Sapphire...

Went the whole purple hog on this particular day - lips are Revlon Violet Frenzy topped with Maybelline Color Elixir Gloss in Hibiscus Haven, cheeks are the purpley pink from the bhcosmetics 10 Colour Glamorous Blush palette...

Happy Easter to all you gorgeous beauty bunnies ♥♥♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Urban Decay Peace...

Praise the maker! Spring has sprung, the grass has ris, I wonder where the flowers is? Lol my Dad used to say this little rhyme when I was a kiddywink, and I've never forgotten it because it's just so darn cheerful - just like this most precious of seasons. How could I not kick it off with a bold and bright turquoise from those clever folks at Urban Decay...

UD Peace is such a fabulous blue - the pigment is out of this world, and there's very little fallout, even when packing it on as I did here. Actually it's so intense it doesn't really need a base, but I used one anyway - essence BBC All Night Blue gel liner. Love the fact that it's waterproof (vital for someone like me who's eyes water at the whisper of a cool breeze) and of all the gels in my kit, it's probably the best stayer in the waterline department, and an almost perfect match to the shadow, which is why I added it here...

For my lips, I started with Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Liner in the shade Indian Pink, topped that with NYX lipstick in (also) Indian Pink, and glossed over everything with Mirenesse 3D Forever Gloss in Lust Me. Cheeks are Benefit Rockateur...

In the crease is Revlon Matte Riviera Blue - yet another one of my ancient shadows that's still performing brilliantly. It has quite a bit of green in it, which is why it teams exceptionally well with turquoise...

Hope your Spring is chock-a-block full of blossoms ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Gold, Red and Black...

I'm wearing so much more red than I did in my youth, and especially this winter - making up for lost time I guess, but it's also such a fabulous shade for dispelling the drearies. I tend to wear it on Tuesdays, which is the day ruled by Mars, and often the day when I have the most challenges at work, so having some colour support is essential. I did something similar back in January, but I prefer this one because of the matte charcoal on the lower lashline - far kinder to my old eyes...

And of course, back then I didn't have the Mirenesse Secret Weapon 24HR Pure Gold Eye liner in my kit either - it's truly amazing and so easy to control the placement, plus it sure does last all day long. There's a swatch of it here...

So here's what I used to create this look...

Base: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold

Gold shadow: Urban Decay Honey

Red shadow: Sugarpill Love+

Charcoal shadow: MUA Matte #20

Top lash liner: Mirenesse Secret Weapon 24HR Pure Gold Eye liner

Waterliner: Essence white kajal

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Terracotta and Teal...

Here's another mix of warm and cool colours. Obviously some blends work better than others, but I'm finding that the orangey shades seem to lend themselves well to pairing with a cool hue (remember the apricot and grey one earlier this month?) So here we go with terracotta and teal...

I used MNY Color Tattoo in Fierce and Tangy as base - next time I'll use Pomegranate Punk or Bad to the Bronze. Although this turned out ok, I reckon the two shadows I applied over the top could have done with some deeper and pinkish support to match my top...

Over this (from inner to outer corner) I patted on the apricot from the MNY Bronze Hyperdiamonds palette, then terracotta from the DB Bold palette, and smoked the outer half with Urban Decay Zero...

I've done similar blends before but the difference this time was to add essence BBC All Night Blue (teal) on the waterline. On the lower lashline, I went over MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner with the bronze from the Hyperdiamonds palette...

And here's the whole terracotta-y face. Cheeks are Lacura Mineral Blush, lips are a combo of Rimmel 1000 Kisses liner in Wild Clover, Australis Colour Inject Limited Edition 2 (orange) & Lacura Mineral Lip Gloss (soft pink)...

The teal adds a nice bit of punch and stops the whole look being too bland (well in my eyes lol)...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

COME PLAY WITH ME: Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn!...

Well I have the honour of choosing the next theme for IndieAna's "Come Play With Me" series ♥ And with Autumn about to arrive, I thought it would be a good idea to get some seasonal inspiration underway, so here we go with my first autumnal look for 2014...

Pardon the wet hair...

I love all seasons (well...maybe not so crazy about winter although I'm a total boot freak and can't wait to trot them out again lol) but Autumn has a very special place in my heart because of the glorious mix of warm colours when the leaves start to turn - russetty reds, golds and ambers are just so comforting, and flattering to someone with my skin tone.

I decided to go with some bold mattes from Sugarpill, over a sparkly MNY Tattoo in Too Cool base, and then softened them a tinge with a gold overlay...

The Too Cool base is brilliant under mattes because it really gives them a lift and brings them to life - the shimmer of the tattoo just ever so slightly gleams through, and the shadows stick really well. The Sugarpill pigments are sensational - the boldest brightest mattes that aren't the least bit chalky or powdery, and there's rarely any fallout...

The colours I used from inner to outer corner were Acidberry, Buttercupcake, Flamepoint & Love+. I blended over them with Urban Decay Honey, a gorgeous glimmery gold. On the lower lashline I used the orangey gold and the golden lime from the Chi Chi Wake Me Up Before You Go Go palette - haven't used this in yonks, and I'd forgotten how gorgeous it is...

I wanted an olivey shade on the waterline, and I don't have one (eek! will have to fix that ha ha) so I left all the fallout in place, and went over it with brown from the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner - this stuff really sticks and lasts for hours on this damp region :-)

So that's my Autumn look for Come Play With Me. Ok IndieAna, Hailey & Gemma, it's over to you gals - can't wait to see what you come up with, and anyone else that wants to join in the playtime :-)

Edit!
Wowee check out Gemma Sapphire's fabulous red and gold Autumn eye look - how spesh is this!
Hailey has created an exquisite look featuring her exquisite face - after seeing this I reckon gold eyeliner will be the go this Autumn :-)
And IndieAna's beautiful FOTD is subtle AND sassy, and her nails are aflame with Autumn colours - woo hoo!
Yay we have another gorgeous gal who's joined in the play time! - Courtney from Made in Marcelle, check out her beautiful Autumn face :-)

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Red & Gold...

You may have gathered by now that I don't give up easily :-) This "persistent" characteristic of my nature prevails in most areas of my life, but perhaps even more so in the makeup section (which is a biggie by the way lol). Basically, if someone tells me "you shouldn't wear xyz", it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull, and makes me even more determined to wear "xyz", and that's how I feel about red eyeshadow. Why do I bother? I love it! No better excuse (or motivation) than that really...

So I've played around with burgundys and plums, deep pinks and berries, but bright fire engine red was the one that presented the biggest challenge, and required the most daring, if you know what I mean (I breached the red lip barrier back in September). So I set about figuring out how to make it work. I knew I couldn't get away with red all by itself (not that I'd want to anyway), so I looked to the rainbow for some inspiration, and there was the answer - pair it with yellow (or gold)!

Of course this look may not appeal to another living soul, and it doesn't necessarily do my tealy eyes any favours in the colour-enhancing department, but I definitely think there's a place for it in my repertoire, and I'll continue to play with it for as long as I can, age-wise...

WARNING - do not attempt this after a late night,

or if your eyes are even remotely bloodshot...

For a base I used one of the spoils from my Blogstar prize, the fabulous Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold. Deliriously happy to have received this shade because I have quite a number already, but not this particular colour. And oh my, it's a stunner - so creamy and rich, and provides a deliciously dense coverage. I have a gold Mirenesse Face Colour Gel in my kit, but it doesn't hold a candle to this tattoo (it's very sheer)...

On the inner half I applied a glistening gold from the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette - most of the shadows in this box are mattes, but the bottom row is all buttery shimmers (I used the 3rd one from the left). On the outer half, I mixed together two of the reds from the same palette - one kind of orangey, and the other a bit more cherry. Much to my delight when I blended the mid-point, the two colours merged into a soft and very flattering orange :-)

On the lower lashline, I applied my usual MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner, and then went over it with a damp brush dipped in Urban Decay Honey, and pushed a wee bit of UD zero into the crease. Finally I lined the waterline with my new fave crayon, the NYX Wonder Pencil...

So what do you think gals - would you be prepared to give red eye shadow a chance?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Radiant Orchid 2...

Wasn't happy with my first attempt at "creating" the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2014 (Radiant Orchid) from the shadows in my kit, but this one is far closer to what I was trying to achieve. Still not vibrant enough to do justice to this fabulous shade, but I'll keep at it until I'm satisfied :-)

For comparison, here is my original attempt - not pink enough!

This colour is really more pink than purple, so I started with a dark red base - MNY Colour Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk. This worked far better than using a violet or purple as both have too much blue in them. Over this I blended UD Fishnet, essence hyped up & Sugarpill Dollipop. I smoked the outside and underneath with Sleek Villain from the V2 Matte palette. 

On the waterline is Mirenesse Superlong Wear Gel Mineral Face Colour in Purple Tart. In hindsight, white probably would have worked better here, although I was aiming for something smouldery...

Of course the more red that a shadow has in it, the more dangerous it gets for my old eyes - have to make sure I have an early night if I'm planning to wear this shade the next day :-)

Attempt #3 will be sometime in the next fortnight - a darling friend suggested a particular L'Oreal shadow (which I've managed to get hold of), and I'm determined to get this right!

Have you found an eye shadow that is a true match for Radiant Orchid? If so PLEASE let me know it's name and who makes it ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx