EOTD: Not Radiant Orchid...

Bit of a jokey title, but to be honest I wasn't even attempting Radiant Orchid, in fact I deliberately used a purple base to it wouldn't turn out so pink :-) I have to say that I'm somewhat torn between my existing passion for regular orchid, and the Pantone Colour of the Year. Sure it's early days, and although I love Radiant Orchid, I can't see myself going ballistic over it, mainly because it has so much red in it, which can be dangerous for this old chooky's eyes. Orchid on the other hand is pretty much risk-free, plus I have quite a few items of clothing in this more lilaccy hue already, and well, I think it's far more flattering for my particular skin tone...

Of course colour is SO incredibly subjective, and open to such a wide range of interpretations and tags - I've noticed that some online writers seem to be classifying anything vaguely purple as Radiant Orchid, when in fact Pantone reveals the shade to be quite distinct. I don't know how you see it, but to me it's way more pink than purple (pictured again below)...

Anyway, as part of my (ongoing) search for a true Radiant Orchid eye shadow, a fabulous forum friend pointed me in the direction of L'Oreal Chrome Intensity in Purple Obsession (thanks to my precious Petal ♥). While I don't think it's a perfect representation of this hard-to-find hue, it's pretty darn close in certain lights, and in any case, I'm thrilled to have it in my collection. Here are some photos of it taken under various conditions - cool light, warm, flash, no flash. To be honest it's quite the chameleon, and I couldn't figure out which of these pics shows it's true nature, so I included all of them...

So for this orchid look, I used MNY Colour Tattoo in Painted Purple as a base, and then applied the L'Oreal Purple Obsession all over that, with a teeny bit of palest lilac from the L.A.Colors Venus palette close to the top lashline...

There's no doubting Purple Obsession is a beauty - richly pigmented and you don't need to build it very much to get a dense coverage, and blending is a walk in the park. It's actually almost magenta in some lights, but the purple tattoo keeps it from wavering too far into the pink zone...

One bonus is that either of the orchids seem to go well with my eye colour - both tend to make the green stand out more yay :-) I do love the softness of this particular shade though - it's feminine and elegant, yet bold enough to make a statement, with not even a whiff of OTT. I can imagine this working beautifully for brown, grey and blue eyes too :-)

And here's the whole not Radiant orchid look...

Yep...I'm definitely an orchid gal, and while I'm still actively seeking the one that's currently in the spotlight, I reckon this version is radiant enough for me :-) What say you gals?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD/REVIEW: Essence Frosted Apple...

I'm a self confessed essence fan :-) With a track record of far more hits than misses, I don't hesitate to recommend the brand to anyone and everyone. As a rule, I never pre-judge an eye shadow based on its bargain price tag for the simple fact that more often than not, I've been blown away by the quality, pigmentation and long lasting performance of products that cost less than $5, and have been devastatingly disappointed by a few that were six times the price...

This is another of the shades from the essence metal glam range, and probably the last one I'll purchase, purely because the rest of the colors in the set don't really appeal to me. I find it interesting that apart from Jewel Up the Ocean, which is an incredibly stunning and vivid turquoise, the remainder are mainly browns and greys. Even this one is somewhat neutral for my vibrant tastes, but there's no denying it's very pretty :-)

Frosted apple is its name, a shell pink with a gold shimmer, or maybe it's gold with a shell pink shimmer? Lol - depends on the lighting, but metal and glam it sure is. In the above photos it looks more gold than pink because I used MNY Color Tattoo in Bold Gold as a base, but my feeling is that if I replaced the gold layer with Pomegranate Punk, the pink would really come into it's own...

The above left pic was taken in natural light, the one on the right was using a flash, and the daylight photo below was of a swatch on my bare arm...

I smoked the outer corner and crease with MUA matte charcoal (#20) because it all looked a bit wishy washy, but again I feel with the warmth of the Pomegranate Punk base, it wouldn't need any supportive outlining :-) Both of the shadows I have from this collection are creamy and rich, apply and blend magnificently, and although they are quite soft in the pan, the powder adheres really well to the brush until you press it on, and there's very little fallout to clean up afterwards. Add a bit of moisture to the brush, and the colours gleam and glow even more like molten metal...

I really love this shadow as it's also one of the few more neutral colours in my collection that doesn't diminish my eye colour too any great degree, plus it's only $4.25...

Take care of you,
kats xxx

REVIEW: Dermalogica Skinperfect Primer...

This was one of my Blogstar prizes, but already a firm favourite  (bh review is here), and by far the best primer out of the multitude I've tried. Thanks to darling Hissycat Krissy (who sent me a sample), I've been using this for some time, but it wasn't till I was recently trialing a moisturizer with no sunscreen content that I used it every single day, and it really hit home to me how brilliant this primer is...

I'm not surprised though, I haven't found a Dermalogica product yet that isn't on my can't-live-without list. The Skinperfect Primer is tinted, almost like a bbcream, but where it has the edge is in its coverage, and the smooth and ultra refined almost matte surface I end up with. On days when I'm not going out, this is all I wear, and for me, that is such a bonus as I normally live in foundation every day of the week :-) Here's the back of the box so you can read all the promises, all of which are true!

The squishy tube is soft and easy to manipulate, even when you're trying to extricate the last few precious drops of product (I love it so much I cut my old tube in half and managed to squeeze out enough for 2 more days!), and the ultra-fine nozzle means there's not one molecule of waste. And the biggie - SPF30!

Here's a dollop on my arm taken in natural light to show you the colour of the product - it has quite a deep tint, but becomes invisible once massaged in. This is roughly the quantity I use for my whole face. It blends magnificently and makes the surface of my skin feel ultra smooth and soft, and any sheen from my moisturiser is instantly pacified. My foundation just glides on over the top, and I end up with an almost flawless finish that lasts throughout the day...

Anyway, enough of the raving, let's get down to the nitty gritty, and some un-retouched photos to show you why I doubt I will use any other primer except this one forever more. Here is a close up of my moisturised but bare left cheek (never before seen publicly lol) - sadly a hodge-podge of enlarged pores, spider veins, uneven skin tone, and of course, the ever present freckles... 

And here is the same left cheek (in the same lighting conditions) after I've blended in some Dermalogica Skinperfect Primer - the whole appearance is far more even, the stark contrast between the freckles and the base skin tone has been reduced, as have my enlarged pores, and the spider veins are covered enough for me to get away with not wearing any foundation if I choose not to - believe me at my age, there's an incredible sense of freedom in not having to slap on some slap just so I don't scare the postie! What's more, my skin is protected from any further sun damage, and it isn't all shiny and greasy like it normally is when I apply straight sunscreen...

This primer is $65 - frightening at first, but given that the small sample lasted over a month, I reckon the whole tube might take me through till Christmas, and even if it only lasts till October, then that would work out to be $8 per month...for almost perfect and protected skin? Bring it on!

One of the things I love about blogging is that I now take photos when doing reviews, and the above pics even surprised me. I'm often complimented on my skin (when I'm all dolled up), and even though at 58 years of age it's a bit scary showing you what's underneath all my makeup, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to compare these before and after photos - it sure confirms that I'm on the right track with certain products, and most definitely with this one. And I honestly hope that after seeing these pics you're thinking, "wow if it does that for her blotchy skin, imagine what it will do for mine!" ♥

This primer won a beautyheaven Glosscars last year - so well deserved, and quite frankly, is it any wonder?

Have you tried this magical primer yet? Can you see the difference it makes to my skin?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTM: "Your favourite January EOTD" Giveaway!...

Given that February is Valentine's month, I thought it appropriate to have a lip product giveaway, and then I thought well why not two?

So here's this month's loot that's up for grabs - I purchased both of these in the post-Christmas sales, and I admit was somewhat tempted to keep them for myself, but...yeah well...I think you know that I already have so many lip products lol... 

Prize #1 - Box of 6 mini Chi Chi Lip Gloss Favourites - assorted colours + clear

Prize #2 - 2 x Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains - Sweetheart & Precious

And just to make it interesting (and hopefully more fun), this giveaway will be another guessing competition! You still need to choose which of the January EOTD's is your favourite (this feedback lets me know what you like to see), but instead of the most interesting comments deciding the winners, they will be determined by the closest guesses to the number of eye crayons in the pic below. So lets get on with it...

Here are the eight EOTD's from January...

 

And here is the photo of my eye liners/crayon collection. When I announce the winners, I'll post a photo of all of them laid out so you can see exactly how many there are. Please note that all products are not visible in the pic, so you really do have to guess :-)

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This giveaway is now closed

So here's the photo of all my eye liner crayons laid out (lol, do you think I have a problem?)...

There are 40 in total, which means the winners are...

Prize #1 (6 x Chi Chi Mini Lip Glosses) - Georgia Schulz (39)

Prize #2 (2 x Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains) - Azukii (42)

Congratulations ladies! Please reply to the email I've sent to you before

Wednesday 12th February to claim your prizes :-)

Edit: Azukii has claimed her prize :-)
Edit: Georgia Schulz has claimed her prize :-)

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To enter, you must follow me on Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin' or email, tell me in the comments section below which of the eight EOTD's pictured above is your favourite, include a guess as to how many eye liner/crayons are in the pic above, nominate which prize you'd like to win, and also include in your comment your email address, username (where applicable) and how you are following me.

Entries close midnight Monday 10th February 2014, and the winners will be decided by whoever comes up with the correct or closest-to-correct guesses. I will announce the winners on Tuesday 11th February here on this page of kats colourings. The winners will have till Wednesday 12th February to respond to my email to claim their prizes. In the event of a tie, I will put the finalists' names into a hat (one for each prize), and draw two out to determine who the lucky gals are..

Best wishes to all who enter!

Take care of you,

kats xxx

Giveaway Terms & Conditions

1. Only one entry per person permitted.

2. To enter, you must follow me on Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin or email, comment on this post your favourite(s) EOTD from the eight pictured above, guess the number of eye crayons/liners in the photo, nominate which prize you'd like to win, and remember to include your GFC or Bloglovin' user name.

3. Include your email address in the comment.

4. This competition is open to Australian residents only.

5. Although every effort will be made to carefully package the products, I am not responsible for any loss or damage to the prizes that may occur during shipping.

6. This competition is hosted by katshepsutt via the kats colourings blog at katscolourings.blogspot.com.au.

7. The total prize consists of two separate prizes: 

     Prize 1:  One Box of 6 Chi Chi mini Lip Glosses RRP AUD16.95.
     Prize 2: Two Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains RRP AUD19.95.

8. Competition closes midnight Monday 10th February 2014 (Sydney time).

9. This competition is a game of skill and the winners will be based on the closest guesses, and notified by email and via a post on this page of kats colouring on Tuesday 11th February 2014.