CONFESSIONS: Of a Body Washaholic (Part 15)...

Well it doesn't seem to matter how many body washes I buy and try, somehow there's always more to be discovered - fortunately! However I think these two may have taken me to the last of the Original Source range - there are others of course (I wish I could find the Mango one), and sadly not all varieties are available in Australia (like Liquorice Scrub, Cherry & Jojoba Oil or Strawberry & Pink Peppercorn) but the remaining fragrances I've found on my treks to various local supermarkets just don't grab me when I give them the sniff test. Still I'm absolutely delighted I kept widening my search area, because these two are beauties ♥...

You'll find my review of the other four I put to the test here - at the time I declared the Tropical Pineapple as my fave, but it's been well and truly surpassed by the fabulous Lime. If you're a fan of  this particularly zesty citrus fruit, then I have one recommendation - buy the big bottle! I've used about two thirds of the 250ml, but I've already bought the larger size as I'm powering through it, up to four times a week now that summer has finally settled down in Sydney. This zingy concoction is my go-to for the hot days we've been having more or less consistently of late. The uplifting scent is incredibly cooling and refreshing, and I'm delighted that it's all natural, enriched with essential oils, and not tested on animals. Even the colour of it makes me smile, and sets me in a happy mood to start the day ♥...

The Vanilla & Raspberry was recommended to me by a friend - she got me by saying it smelled like strawberry Freddos (thank you sweetie!). I was a little concerned about the vanilla content as it's not normally a fragrance I go for in the shower, mainly because similarly with chocolate or cocoa scented products, I often don't feel all that fresh and clean afterwards. Anyways I liked the smell when I flipped the lid in Woolies, so it launched itself into my trolley. All I can say is WOW - I wasn't expecting to fall in love, but I'm totally under its spell! Creamy and comforting (yes it does remind me of berry Freddos hon), but my take on it is more like one of those delicious fluffy fruit trifles that come in a huge parfait glass that you wish was never going to end. I hope I can find this in the giant size too as I'm almost out. While I'm loving it this season, I reckon this might become my numero uno in the cooler months when I stash away the lime one, and my preference is for something more warming. According to their website, there's a handwash in this flavour too, although I've not seen it anywhere - boo!...

Both these shower creams are non-drying, use 100% natural fragrances, and are such great value for around $5, even more so when they're on special  - incidentally, Coles have them at the mo' for $2 ♥♥♥ 

Here's hoping my review has made your mouth water ha ha. What's your favourite Original Source body wash scent?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

EOTD: Yellow, Black and...Purple!...

Wow how scary is it that February is almost half over? I'm way behind with my EOTD posts, in fact this is my first for the month, so I'm not going to waste any time blabbing, except to say that this was yet another experiment that didn't turn out quite as I'd planned lol...

Can you guess this was to match a black and yellow outfit? Actually I don't have very many yellows in my kit - they're mainly on the golden or orangey side of the fence, but I do have this sunny pineapple shade in the bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette. It's a matte so I used the slightly shimmery Chi Chi Midas Touch Waterproof Gel Eyeliner as the base, and Eye of Horus Smokey Black Goddess Pencil underneath the matte black. When it came to the waterline, I immediately reached for the EOH black liner again, but then thought that choice was a bit ho-hum because that's what I ALWAYS do, so instead I took a chance on the Amethyst Jewel one. Hmmm - not sure that purple was the best option here, but I ran out of time to do anything about it, so purple waterline it was ha ha...

As you can see, after two weeks, my hair is still smooth and straight, and I'm STILL tripping that I don't have any frizz! For my face I applied Mirenesse Liquid Silk Foundation, and cheeks were Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Make a Mauve, with a sweep of Laura Geller Blush-N-Brighten in Berry...

Lips were one of my favourite plummy lippies, DB Cosmetics Longwear in Perfect Plum...

And here's a new little feature - I've started taking a quick and dirty pic of the jewellery of the day (JOTD), on a back drop of the top half of my outfit. These photos seem to be popular on my Instagram page, so I'll include them here in case anyone's interested ♥

Hope you're having a brilliant summer lovelies, and if you're on the other side of the world, that you're keeping warm ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx

REVIEW: Goldwell Kerasilk Keratin Treatment - Best in Beauty 2015...

Saturday 30th January 2016 will forever be a significant day in my diary - it was the day I had a Goldwell Kerasilk Keratin Treatment done on my hair, one of the prizes from my beautyheaven Best in Beauty 2015 win. I'll be honest, I hadn't read anything about it beforehand - actually thought it was a deep conditioning thingy, and oh yeah, nice one, my hair could sure do with that. Well it turns out that this unbelievably fantastic process is primarily a de-frizzer, and the result for me was nothing short of jaw-dropping...

My hair kinks and frizzes at the first hint of moisture in the air, and while I've been able to keep it relatively under control with my new ghd Air Professional and the REF products I use, as Sydney's humidity skyrocketed throughout January (as it does every year), I was rapidly losing the battle. The above left pic was taken on the 22nd - while I'd started the shift to a lighter more coppery hair colour, I had heaps of dark red colourant to get rid of, plus I was struggling to straighten and style my new pixie-ish cut, which has a (much cooler) wispy fringe, and it was taking a good 15 minutes workout (and several products) to get it looking like this. The pic on the right was taken this week without ANY styling or straightening - I just bent over and blew hot air through it for four and a half minutes. Needless to say I am totally BLISSING OUT!

So here's how it all began - the lovely Peieta from Goldwell had kindly booked me into Ruffles Hair Design just down the road, and advised I needed to allow 3 hours for the process. With my short length, it took just under 2 hours - a delightfully pampering experience, with absolutely no discomfort, yucky smells or scalp irritation. Phase 1 was a quick wash and partial blow dry, followed by the application of a solution which smelled fruity and delicious - my hair was sectioned and the liquid painted on, pretty much all over. The timer was set for 15 minutes, and then my hair was rinsed. The very experienced Justine then began Phase 2 - blow drying my hair with a standard dryer and brush, and that's when the major magic happened. Not only did each strand become totally tamed as the solution was activated, a whole heap of the red dye up and vanished as she worked the brush and heat through my hair! She told me that this major fade ONLY happens if the hair is coloured with home dyeing products (my natural hair is white). Given that I was working towards going copper anyway, I was ecstatic as it meant I wouldn't have to bleach or strip my hair with harsh chemicals. Now that was an unexpected bonus!

After the blow drying transformation, my hair was looking pretty sleek and slick, but Justine then switched to a straightening iron, and worked it through sections until it was even more smooth. You can probably imagine that by this stage I was tripping at the sight of my previous red fuzzball having been converted into a frizzless strawberry blonde do! Then it was back to the basin for Phase 3 - a final rinse and the application of a leave-in solution, followed by one last blow dry...

Being the brave blogger that I am, below are the (grossly unflattering) before and after selfies taken at the salon. The end colour was quite a mixed bag of blonde, copper and red, and really needed some evening out. While I've since read other bloggers reviews that say "don't colour for 2 weeks" after the treatment, my stylist advised that waiting 24 hours would be ok, which I did. As you can see from the "after" photo at the top of the page, there was absolutely zero ill effect after re-colouring so soon - no loss of shine, condition or smoothness whatsoever...

Because my hair is so short, the treatment will probably only last for around 3 months, but I'm not in the least bit fussed as that will take me into Autumn, and beyond the steamy season. For now, here it is a week later, and I'm basking in the previously never experienced joy of having silky soft, straight, glossy and 100% frizz-free tresses. I've been severely windblown and even rained on since my defrizzing, and it makes not the slightest bit of difference - all I have to do is run my fingers through my hair to put it back in place. OMG - I am in hair heaven! 

This process costs $350, and I'm declaring right now that I'm having it done every Summer, without fail. I figured if I put aside $29 a month (or $6.73 a week), I'll be ready for the next treatment in January 2017...

Beautyheaven and Goldwell, I can't thank you enough for this life-changing experience - I am thrilled beyond my wildest dreams ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party is a great site to visit if you're looking for beaut blog reads ♥

EOTM: "Your Favourite January EOTD" Valentine's Giveaway...

As promised I'm getting in nice and early this month, and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, what better excuse than to give away something a bit more glamorous than usual ♥ How about this fantabulous sparkling bling-ring - isn't she gorgeous?

Up for grabs are:

• 1 x Sterling Silver Crystal Dome Ring pictured above (from Prouds The Jewellers) - I've measured it carefully and believe it's a size "O"
• 1 x Natio Gift set comprising a Mineral Pressed Powder Bronzer (Sunswept), Powder Brush & a ritzy ditzy silver Clutch Bag

All brand spanking new, recently purchased by me, and the total value is just over $90...

Apologies to my international lovelies - this giveaway is open to Australian Residents only!

To enter you must nominate which of the January EOTD's is your favourite from the eight pictured below, let me know in the comments section why you like it the most, then follow the Rafflecopter entry instructions below. Please note: if you don't leave a comment on this page, you will NOT be included in the draw...

When you enter, please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions inside. Leaving a comment on this page, providing your email address inside the Rafflecopter, AND following my blog one way or another from the many choices listed, are MANDATORY for entry.

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This giveaway is now closed - check back later tonight to see who won!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yay! Random.org has chosen the beautiful Emily D. as the winner! 

Congratulations Emily ♥

Please respond to the email I've sent you by 

Midnight Wednesday 16th February to claim your prize :-)

Edit: Emily has claimed her prize ♥

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Best of luck to all who enter!

Take care of you,
kats xxx