EOTD: Apricot and Brown...

I seem to be going a bit Apricot mad this spring - there's something so incredibly appealing about it, I think because it's calming, fresh and warm at the same time. Not nearly as riotous as straight orange, and soft enough to flatter just about any complexion. Actually I can't think of an eye colour that wouldn't look fabulous with it - grey, brown, blue, hazel, even my tealy green peepers seem to come alive when offset with this delicate shade.

As you may have gathered, I'm quite the experimenter - I do so love exploring putting different shades together just to see what happens. Of course, pairing apricot with brown is hardly what I'd call "experimental", but as I'm only just discovering the beauty of this colour, I'm taking baby steps and going with a sure bet lol. Going forward I can imagine this would look stunning with a lapis blue or a deep amethyst,  a gold-olive or perhaps even a rosy pink? - oops there I go dreaming again, but I can't help it! Colours just call out to me to play with them, and with so many possibilities, I was inspired to go through my kit and dig out some shadows that haven't seen the light of day in a long while :-)

For this look, I remembered my bronzey Maybelline New York Hyperdiamonds palette, one I've had for over 2 years, but probably haven't used for 12 months. These days I keep my shadows safely locked away in drawers so they stay dust-free, out of the light, and don't seem to deteriorate as fast over time, and I'm happy to report this little palette still has plenty of life left in it.

I started by tightlining with Mirenesse Inside Out Kohl liner in Amun (deep red/brown), and took it underneath the lower lashes, followed by a base of MNY Tattoo in Fierce & Tangy. Over that went a blend of two of the colours from the MNY palette (marked above) along the top lashline, and Paper Bag from the Sleek V2 palette towards the crease and lower lashline. Finished it off with my usual MNY The Falsies waterproof mascara & essence white kajal on the waterline.

 

I reckon this shade is wonderfully versatile and goes with just about anything - definitely time I had a poke around in my cabinets to see what else I've been neglecting :-)

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: ASAP Grey...

Recently I had the good fortune of winning an ASAP Pure Mineral Make-up set from a beautyheaven comp, and included in the kit was a very pretty dove grey Mineral Eye Colour. Initially I was a wee bit disappointed by it's performance on bare skin (very sheer), but was determined to make it work, and here it is in all it's glory! I used a thin layer of MNY Color Tattoo in Audacious Asphalt as a base, and that's all it needed to show just how silvery soft and gorgeous it is :-

Such a delicate grey with a teeny bit of sparkle, lasted all day as well. I have so few greys in my collection, but who cares when I have this little number, number 8 actually!

To create this look I used the following items:

bhcosmetics black liquid liner

MNY Color Tattoo in Audacious Asphalt all over the top lid

White from the SAVVY Smoky Palette along the top lashline

ASAP Pure Mineral Eye Colour #8 over the rest & underneath

Black from the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette in the crease

MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner on the lower lashline

bhcosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in Huntress on the waterline

MUA matte beige on the hood

MNY The Falsies waterproof mascara

I've always thought of grey eye shadow as a bit dreary, and certainly not anything I could get excited about, but this one shadow has singlehandedly changed my opinion - it's strikes me as being both mysterious and elegant, and I still can't get over the fact that I can load up my brush, pat it onto the base, and there is NO fallout.

How do you feel about grey eye shadow? Is it a hue you wear often, rarely, or not at all?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

The Inspired Blog Award

Well didn't I have my Thursday turn into something special! The beautiful, kind and ever so supportive Gemma over at Lady Sapphire Blog has nominated me for an Inspired Blog Award - what a honey you are Lady S, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and the top of my blog!

Agnieszka from Beauty Cat Castle has kindly created this award so that us bloggers can spread the love for our favourite inspirational blogs. The Rules are simple as...all we have to do is nominate at least three bloggers who inspire us, and explain why :-)

Some of my faves have already been nominated by Gemma, but here are a few more way deserving gals...

Magda from All the pretty faces hasn't posted in a while, but her eye makeup creations were responsible for the development of my passion many years ago. She is a true artist and creates the most exquisite looks with colour combinations I couldn't even dream of. Do check out her blog - I'm sure you will be in as much awe as I am at the beauty of her work :-)

Next is IndieAna from IndieAna: In Search of the HolyGrail - a dear friend, and one of my greatest enablers as far as beauty products are concerned (I blame her constantly for my ever growing collection!). She seemingly has no fear regularly posting full FOTD's, plus EOTD's and NOTD's (the latter in particular are out of this world), as well as writing strikingly honest and informative reviews. We also share a passion for magnificently pigmented & shimmery eye shadows, and I can count on her for bringing to my attention those suppliers outside the mainstream.

And my list of "inspirers" wouldn't be complete without Kate from Seducedbybeauty. Back in July of this year, Kate invited me to be her first Guest Blogger - I was so honoured, and it certainly whet my appetite for blogging, so much so that I started my own a few months later! She's also one of the most beautiful and elegant ladies I've had the pleasure to know, her articles are honest, entertaining and exceptionally well written, and her videos are a pleasure to watch. With the gift of the gab, she's both professional and refreshingly natural in her delivery.

All of these ladies are brilliant bloggers, and inspire me every day to improve my writing, makeup application and photography skills.  Lovelies, all of you totally rock at blogging!

Thanks again Gemma dear for this award, I'm so touched.  And I don't see any reason why I can't nominate you back darling - you make me want to be a better blogger, and a better human being xxx

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette...

I just had to have a little rave about this palette. I have (ahem) quite a few in my kit, but this is the one I'm reaching for most often at the moment. Adoring vibrant colours as I do, this was IMPOSSIBLE to resist when it was on special not so long ago. I have just about all these shades already in a 120 palette from the same company, but this one is such a handy size, and I love the mix of mostly mattes, the fourth row is shimmery jewel tones, plus there's a winter white and basic black along the base.

For those gals who do their makeup on the move, there's a decent sized mirror on the inside of the lid, and it comes with a clear plastic protective sheet to cover the pans.

The pigmentation is brilliant for US$15 (currently on special for $9.95!) and the colours are sweet and sassy for spring and summer - just about every shade is covered here, and they blend so beautifully it's super easy to make any colour in between.

Here's a couple of looks I've created using this palette - I've marked the shades I used with an "x"...

         

 

  

 

It's pretty safe to say I'm totally in love with this palette! Shipping is a little hefty at US$12.45, but I usually wait and order a few things at the one time which makes it worthwhile (their black eyeliner felt pen is the best, I use it almost every day), and the parcel always arrives within 10 days.

Do you have a favourite palette that you use over and over again? Have you tried any bhcosmetics products?

Take care of you,

kats xxx