COME PLAY WITH ME: Futuristic Love...

My darling friend Gemma came up with the scathingly brilliant theme of Futuristic Love for Indie's Come Play With Me series way back in mid-September, and this is my 5th go at it - quelle horreur! I usually don't struggle too much to come up with my interpretation of the chosen theme, but for some reason or another, this one had me completely stumped, and my earlier attempts were shockers. So why did I finally settle on a pastel rainbow? Well I've seen so many movies set centuries ahead and read numerous novels that paint quite a bleak picture of the future - the landscape is often decimated, the characters in despair, and the buildings dark and gloomy. I wanted to project what I would LOVE for the future, which is a clear and colourful message of hope ♥

I didn't include any black eyeliner or broody shadow in the crease in order to keep the look as fresh as possible - unheard of for me lol...

As with all my rainbow eye creations, I started with a base of white essence kajal, and also took it underneath my lower lashline, as well as adding it as the final touch to my waterline. I then went to town with my bhcosmetics Take Me To Brazil palette - it's one of my all-time favourites. The colours are matte but wonderfully vibrant, and they're super easy to blend...

In case you've forgotten, here's the palette again - I've marked the pans that I used...

And just for the fun of it, and to show you that it's not always a success story at kats colourings, here are a couple of my earlier attempts at this theme - I was toying with the idea of something to do with the sea and nature, but just couldn't get it to turn out how I pictured it in my head...

I'm often asked how do I fit all the shades into such a small space when I do a rainbow, and you definitely need a number of fine brushes to create this look - seven to be exact! It actually only takes a few minutes - I start by applying the green in the centre of my eyelid to make it easier to calculate the space needed to fit three more colours either side. Although in this particular instance, I decided to use the purple under my lower lashline instead of the outer corner. Before blending all the edges of the colours, I dipped my brush in Sugarpill Tako, a magnificent matte white...

Oh and in case you're wondering why my skin looks a funny colour, I've just replaced the globe in my makeup light - it's way too blue and will be swapped out stat...

Gemma's amazing aqua eyeliner creation is here...

Indieana's sensational silver look is here...

Check out Monique's stunning bejewelled look here...

and you'll be in awe of Hailey's skill here...

What does Futuristic Love conjure up for you?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy...

Celebrity fragrances - well now, if you'd asked me 5 years ago, I would have said something like "yucko", or "they all smell the same". Well I'm the first to admit I've changed my tune dramatically, in fact I'm in love with a number of them these days, and Midnight Fantasy is my latest discovery. I realise I'm way WAY late into this market, and some of you are no doubt thinking what cupboard has she been hiding in? Lol, well I'm making up for lost time now - this is my second Britney perfume love, and probably won't be my last...

So here's how it happened - I was in Chemist Warehouse yet again (I'm certain I'm listed in their video surveillance library as a stalker) because they had yet another fragrance sale, and I spotted this divine blue bottle sitting on the shelf, looking all cute and glam and glitzy with it's Swarovskis winking at me, but with a wee bit of mystery too, and I couldn't help but spritz some onto one of those little white cards. First sniff - hello! Second sniff - um yes, I like this very much. Third sniff - uh oh, I love it. Fourth sniff - (this time after spraying some on my skin and waiting a few minutes) I'm buying it! Crikey it was only $20...

I have to give Britney credit for her packaging - the bottle is like a summer night sky dotted with twinkling stars. Actually I even adore the aqua, blue and purple box! (it's a keeper) But let's get onto the fragrance itself...

Although this is a sweet fruity floral, and therefore categorised in my collection as a Spring/Summer scent, there's enough deeply coloured fruits and night flowers in it to make it work for me all year round (note to self: buy the bigger bottle!). It's marketed for a young audience, but this old chooky finds it tres delish, playful and captivating. To me the first note is definitely a deep red berry, (reminiscent of a red lolly) and there's also black cherry and plum, although my nose isn't qualified to actually identify either of those, but together they work their magic. After the first wave comes the fabulous flowers - no idea what night orchid smells like, but I'm familiar with the delights of freesia and iris, and they lovingly lend their beauty to the mix. I can get around 5 hours from this perfume, and I'm sure the amber, musk and vanilla base contribute to its longevity. They also give this fragrance the mystery it needs to keep me entranced...

Trivia: This blend was created by Caroline Sabas, who has also behind some of the Rihanna & Jennifer Lopez fragrances, but she's also "the nose" behind Calvin Klein's Downtown...

This is obviously a much-loved perfume - there are 110 reviews of it on beautyheaven! Well there'll be 111 next week when mine gets published. It also scored the #41 position in the Top 100 Beauty Products of All Time. Midnight Fantasy is a gem - and I wouldn't mind turning into a pumpkin at the stroke of 12, so long as I was wearing this fragrance ♥

Is Midnight Fantasy in your collection?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

EOTD: Lime and Lavender...

Apart from my camera capturing the purple component of this look as blue (boo!), I think it's such a fresh and pretty combo for Spring..
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For my base I used two kajal pencils by essence - SCREAM GREEN on the inner corner, and LOVE ME LAVENDER over the rest of the top lid. All essence crayons create fabulous foundations for any shadows - they're dense and creamy, the colour range is brilliant, and they cost less than a packet of chewing gum...

I'm making good use of this Max Factor Wild Shadow Pot in Untamed Green (thank you again darling Gemma!) - I adore the vibrancy of the shimmery lime, and it makes me smile from the moment I apply it to the time I take it off ♥ Over the lavender kajal, I pressed down the purple from the L'Oreal Color Rich Disco Smoking palette - yes, the shadow is most definitely purple! I've had this colour shift problem with all cameras I've owned, but I'm not about to start fiddling with the photos, so you'll just have to pretend it's purple lol...

On the outer corner and in the crease, I blended the mossy green from the NYX Bohemian Chic Matte palette, and added MNY single shadow #741 under the lower lashline. On the waterline is Green Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner... 

As you can see, my lashes are continuing to lengthen and gain some volume, so much so that they're starting to get tangled (woo hoo!), even the lower ones - this is thanks to one of the beauty world's miracle products, RapidLash. I've just about finished my first tube, and will post a RAVE REVIEW of this sensational stuff very soon...

Take care of  you,
kats xxx

REVIEW: Maybelline Color Sensational Color Elixir...

My love for these lip colours has already become quite a torrid affair - it started with a whimsical purchase of Petal Plush a few weeks back, the prettiest softest pink, and I've already bought two more. My passion seems to be growing daily, and I can see myself adding the whole set to my kit. Been a while since I've been seriously smitten with a lip product - I've tried a few brands with similar formulas lately, but I reckon this is "The One"...

For starters, I adore the packaging - there's something about the glossy lipstick-like tube inside the clear acrylic that has my heart skipping a beat, and the fact that they twist shut with a firm click adds to the delight. But what's inside has my pulses racing - a soft furry does foot cleverly angled to pick up a generous slick of the glossiest creamy dreamy formula that not only keeps my lips magnificently hydrated, it even smells delish. I tell you it's no wonder I'm a goner...

The three I have are all pinks - this is Petal Plush, my first love...

And here it is swatched on my leg over the top of a bbcream. It's quite sheer, but the colour is angelic...

Here is Blush Essence, a deeper more vibrant shade - absolutely gorgeous, and it's a tad more dense than Petal Plush...

I did all these swatches under the same cool lighting conditions...

And finally, Caramel Infused - still very definitely a pink, but with a touch of...caramel in it lol...

Such beautiful mirror glosses - the RRP is $17.95, and I think they're great value...

They're refreshingly hydrating, a wee bit tacky but not sticky, with a nice bit of slip - they don't last more than a couple of hours on my lips, but I'm yet to find a gloss that does stay put for any length of time. I've experienced no colour bleed whatsoever (a bonus compared to some other brands), and they leave a hint of tint behind. Gosh, they're just so adorable I actually look forward to reapplying them...

Have you tried any of these MNY Color Sensational Color Elixirs yet?

Take care of you,
kats xxx