REVIEW: Lacura Minerals Lip Gloss...

Lacura is a brand only available at Aldi stores. Sadly the Minerals range is not part of the standard cosmetics stock along the back wall, but from time to time, you'll find it on one of the tables in the middle section. Like most Aldi products, the boxes are just plonked down still inside their delivery cartons, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled or you'll miss them. Around 6 months ago, I nabbed the Minerals Blush and Bronzer - both fabulous products for (if memory serves me correctly) under $8. I haven't seen them since (and would purchase them again in a flash) but the lip glosses and lipsticks have been there twice in that time, so there's hope :-)

The colour range of Minerals Lip Glosses is limited to four shades, but they're ever so pretty, and the ROSE one (pictured above lying on its side) is up near the top of my list of faves. The packaging is cute and funky, and although the applicator wand is quite small (a bugbear of mine with any brand) it still manages to pick up enough sheen to make it viable...

So here are the colours, from left to right: Gold Shimmer, Rose, Night Fever & Soft Brown. All but Rose are quite sheer, and I should imagine, would be subtle when worn alone, however over the top of a lipstick, the added glossy shimmer is awesome for a $4.99 mineral product. They're deliciously moisturising as well, delicately perfumed with a florally fragrance, minimal taste, and about a 5 out of 10 on the sticky/transfer scale...

Yay I managed a decent swatch!

They're refreshingly travel friendly too - a neat and compact size for handbags, and the lid screws down nice and tight. There's 8ml of product, and my only beef is that the colour is not marked anywhere on the tube - you have to keep the packaging (or refer back to this page!) if you want to buy the same shade again. Oh and the blurb on the box says they're suitable for sensitive and dry skin, and dermatologically tested...

      Gold Shimmer                                                    Rose             

            Night Fever                                                        Soft Brown           

All of them add a delicate slick of hydrating shine and colour boost to lippies, and the Rose one is particularly gorgeous - here it is over the top of the Lacura Minerals Soft Rose lipstick (review coming soon)...

And here's the Gold Shimmer one slicked over Lacura Minerals Nougat Shimmer...

Now for the best part - my blog is almost 12 months old (my how time flies!), so to kick off the celebrations nice and early, I'm giving away the whole set to one lucky follower ♥  Please make sure that you read the entry instructions inside the Rafflecopter, and check out the Terms and Conditions. Please also note that leaving a comment and providing your email address are MANDATORY...

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This giveaway is now closed

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yay - random.org has chosen the beautiful Tracey W. as the winner. 

Congratulations gorgeous! 

Tracey please respond to the email I've sent you by 

Wednesday 6th August to claim your prize :-)

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Take care of you,

kats xxx

COME PLAY WITH ME: Wing It Out...

So here we are with Episode 7 of IndieAna's Come Play With Me mini-series - and I'm delighted to report we have a new member of the cast, the lovely AND talented Monique from make-up with monnii, who also chose the theme of Wing It Out. Monnii created a simple yet stunning winged eye look, and challenged the rest of us gals to do the same...

Adding a wing to my eye look always adds extra drama, so I went for a bold aquamarine pigment to conrast with the black of the MNY Master Precise Liquid Liner that I always use for my flicks. Can't imagine EVER using any other product for this purpose - it's superfine and super-easy to work with. I also blocked out the outer corner with the liner and softened it with the shadow. Just for a change, I lined my top lashline as well - I so rarely do this because it makes my spindly lashes all but disappear boo...

I started with ye olde essence white kajal as a base, and added matte aqua from the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette to both the top lid, and underneath the lower lashline...

On the waterline is Mirenesse Superlong Wear Gel Mineral Face Colour in Blue Moon...

This was a whole lot of fun, even though I had to have a few goes at it (the first two were unpublishable disasters!), but I never give up without a fight, especially where eye make up is concerned lol...

You can see Monique Kerstin's edgy and expertly executed double-wing black and gold look here...

And IndieAna's goegeous green creation here...

Edit - If you're looking for a wow tonight, check out Hailey's stunning feathered look, it's magnificent...

Hoping some of the other gals will join in too, and I'll add their links as they come on line ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Blue On Blue...

Well I don't know about you, but for me blue is the most peaceful of all colours - I find lavender relaxing and pink is always a comfort, but blue radiates serenity and peace. If you were around in the 60's, you'll remember Twiggy and Veruschka and their baby blue eye makeup - it was "the" colour shadow to wear, often all the way up to the brow bone. Consequently it became tied to that era, and if you wore it past the early 70's, you were considered a fuddy duddy. I certainly stopped wearing it, but not because it was out of fashion - I just grew tired of it...

But all that's in the past, and I've fallen in love with it all over again. Unlike the "olden" days, the shade range now is massive - from the palest powder blue all the way through to indigo, from light aqua to deep turquoise, from periwinkle to ultramarine. I love them all, but have a particularly soft spot for what I call the powdery blues - the ones in the middle, not leaning towards either purple or green...

To give the shadows some depth for this look, I used dark blue Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner, with L'Oreal Studio Secrets #552 professional brown eyes intensifier over the whole lid. Along the top lashline, I used a damp brush to apply the palest blue from the MUA Blue Babe trio, and took that underneath as well...

To keep the whole effect soft and fresh, I used essence white kajal went on the waterline...

Interestingly, blue eye shadow makes my eyes look more blue than green, but it's nice to have a change, and I consider myself fortunate to have irises that reflect the colour of whatever pigment I'm wearing. Lol, having said that they don't turn orange when I wear sunset hues, but they do vary from grey to green to blue :-)

Take care of you,

kats xxx

Even More of Nature's Gifts...

Last November, I posted some photos of the my beloved Mama's garden. It was her birthday on the weekend, and I thought it was the perfect time to show you that she doesn't let the cooler seasons diminish the fabulous array of colours and variety of blooms she has on display, in fact I reckon what follows is even more spectacular than the Spring version! All these pics were taken at various times over the last four months, and I think you'll agree she has a gift for coaxing nature into revealing the most bounteous beauty...

Happy birthday Mama Kats ♥ 

(Warning: picture heavy post!)

Take care of you,
kats xxx