SPOTLIGHT: Last Quarter 2016 Fave LOTD's - Corals, Mauves & Pinks...

Selecting my faves from these colour families was exceptionally difficult. Being the Spring season, I hammered these hues big time in October, November & December, and there were so many to choose from it was quite a challenge. But got there I did, so here we go with the Corals, Mauves & Pinks ♥...

Love me a good coral, and this NYX Life's a Beach is a super pretty one - slightly more pink than orange, and the formula is long wearing and reasonably comfortable. The Ibiza one has more pink content, but it's still a coral in my book. Just for the record, I prefer the formula of the Liquid Suedes to the Soft Mattes ♥...

And a couple of the orangey corals - I do so love how this shade is such a clever bridge between two colours. The L'Oreal Always Apricot is a delightfully creamy formula, and the Barry M one is slightly drier, but still up there with the comfort factor. Slightly less vibrant but equally lovely (pardon the grimace) ♥...

Well now I didn't wear too many mauves in the last three month period, but this Rimmel Vintage Pink is the closest I could get. I've included two iterations of this gorgeous lipstick - for the pic on the right, I used a deeper and pinker lip liner, whereas the first one was pretty much a perfect match (which is always my aim when doing these swatches). SO moisturising! ♥...

Moving onto the real pinks, I just had to include this W7 Red Tulip because it's so darn pretty, and the BarryM one is here because I adore the vibrancy of the extra blue content, and I've only just now really discovered this brand - excellent quality and value from BigW ♥...

Ok so I might just have to declare this Revlon Obsession as my numero uno ruby hot pink. Utterly divine! Mind you the Mirenesse Lip Bomb is a close second - a tad less blue content, but equally dazzling ♥...

And here are what I call the Spring pinks - loud, but with a certain softness that makes them wearable with just about anything, and by anyone. The Ulta 3 Lilac Glow has been a fave for over 12 months now, but I've no idea what possessed NYC to call this stunner on the right Funnel Delight - I mean really, what's the connection between glossy pink and funnels lol? The Intense Butter Gloss is my all time favourite NYX lip formula - talk about a lip quencher, not a snowball's chance in hell of your lips ever drying out with this enriching slicker ♥...

And last but not least, the shocking pinks - the W7 Sex Bomb is a Liptember special, and such an amazing deal for around $7 plus supporting women's mental health research, but the most unbeatable value of them all (and a regular candidate in my fave posts) is the boe beauty Shocking Matte Pink - absolutely stunning, and for only $2. $2!!!!!! ♥...

Next up will be the reds, so pop in again soon won't you ♥...

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: Jewellery Collection (Part 6) - The Treasures...

Oh boy, this is almost embarrassing, but hey, a gal who's obsessed with coordinating her outfits needs lots and LOTS of choices, so here's the main collection I've amassed over the years, mostly from Lovisa & Colette sales. There's some Vinnies bargains as well, along with quite a few gifts from family and friends, and some items I've had for over 30 years. All up there are four cabinets of five drawers each (!), so here we go with the contents. WARNING: Picture heavy post!...

It all looks like a bit of a shimozzle, but truly I can find exactly what I want in a matter of seconds. As you can see there's so many different hues of red and orange, and then of course it depends if they're set in gold tone or silvery findings, so they're ALL essential lol. There's a few bracelets that I made by stringing beads together (back in the days when I had spare time), and even a couple of items I've yet to wear - what's important to me is to have a wide variety of styles and shade variations ♥...

Oddly enough I have two drawers of browns, beiges, creams, ambers and taupes - I don't wear them all that often in Summer (moreso in the cooler months), but I'm always drawn to them on the displays for some reason. Anyways, I probably don't need any more, well not at this stage ♥...

The emeralds and olives collections need a bit of work - like fashion, the availability of certain jewellery colours seems to be cyclic, so I just have to wait till the next phase, and then I'll flesh out this particular rainbow hue a bit more ♥...

The turquoises and pastel blues are also a bit thin on the ground, but I found a few baby blue pieces in Colette a few weekends back, so I'm hopeful that there'll be more available in the months ahead, and that this collection should look a bit healthier soon ♥...

Deeper blues are much easier to find, and of course lapis is my birthstone, so I have quite a good stash, mainly birthday pressies. However pinks & corals are problematic - very little to choose from in the stores I frequent, but I'm working on it ha ha. I had to wait 18 months to find the stretchy bracelets to match the hot pink necklace in the top left of the pic! Sigh...

Love purples - can never have enough of this hue, and one needs red-purples as well as blue-purples, right? The grey/silver and gold combos deserved their own drawer - I'm quite crazy about this pairing as I always thought that grey only went with silver, but I'm delighted that someone thought to put these two metals together...

The pearls and whites I tend to wear in warm seasons although pearls are so pretty and feminine at any time of the year. Almost all of these are faux, but they make them so well these days it's hard to tell the difference. Plain black is so very versatile and a great contrast with brightly coloured tops - it's my faithful standby if I can't find an exact match  for my outfit from the coloured drawers... 

So here we have black and silver, and black and gold. Can't decide which I'm drawn to more, so I'll just love them both...

And then there's the (almost) plain silver & gold pieces, also terrific standbys when all else fails.  I bought the silver indian head pendant (bottom left) for $15 from a street vendor on a business trip to New York back in 1994, and the dragon above it is a souvenir from my days of exploring ancient sites in the UK (Tintagel, Glastonbury, Avebury).  Jewellery holds so many memories ♥...

And finally, the watches, most of which you've seen in Part 4 of this series. I store my "jelly" watches (usually sourced from Aldi for $7) in a separate box as they don't lie flat, and therefore won't fit in the cabinets...

So there it is folks - holey guacemoley! Thankfully with the storage system I use, it's reasonably portable. The four cabinets are kinda spread around my room because of space restrictions, hence no single pic, and there are a few more pieces hanging on hooks or stands because they're either too bulky for the drawers, or strands that tangle easily, but I'll save them for another post ♥... 

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. You'll find this post and lots of other interesting ones from other bloggers over at Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party ♥...

SPOTLIGHT: Last Quarter 2016 Fave LOTD's - Nudes, Bricks & Bronzes...

Gotta get my skates on with this final part of the series so I can post my top 2016 favourites - I'll probably combine one or two of the colour families into a single post to speed things along, but let's start with the Nudes, Bricks & Bronzes...

In the past some of you lovelies have commented "Kats, you can wear ANY colour", but it's not entirely true. Nudes and I are not an ideal match - some look better (or worse) than others, but the fact is that even the "right" nude really doesn't do me any favours. There's a certain depth of colour that I need in a lip product, or else it's all over red rover, and I look like I've been in bed for a week with a virus. This first one (Vani-T Mineral Lip Colour) was so kindly gifted at the Bloggers United AU Event last year - it's the one that comes in a case that's set with clear faceted jewels, absolutely gorgeous to look at, delightfully hydrating formula, long wearing, but La Femme is pale pale pale, and I barely get away with it. The Ulta3 Brown Sugar is a tad deeper, and therefore I feel more at ease wearing it, although it's nowhere near the lip comfort level of the Vani-T ♥...

This Colourpop Ultra Matte Beeper is way more my kind of nude, quite comfy considering it's a matte liquid, and the NYX Sandstorm scrapes in by a butterfly's eyelash colour-wise - I reckon browny nudes suit me better than pinky ones, probably a skin-tone thing ♥...

Once we start heading into the bricky hues, I can relax as there's far more vibrancy to prevent me from looking crook. The Colourpop Ultra Satin is a super comfortable formula, not as non-drying as I'd hoped, but I've only worn it once so there's plenty of time ahead to experiment with under-balms etc. The L'Oreal Forever Frappe is verging on being an orange, but I included it here because when compared with other oranges, it looks almost brown ♥...

Adore this Revlon Abstract Orange - again I haven't bundled this with the other oranges as it's really more brick by comparison, and the L'Oreal Resilient Raisin doesn't have enough pink in it to include it with the berries. Both of these have beautifully moist formulas ♥...

Only eight this time, and not a bronze in sight - I'm blaming it on Spring, which is when I'm inspired by all the blossoms and really hit the pinks. Next post will be Corals, Mauves & Pinks, and there's a lot more variety ♥...

Do you reckon any of these would suit you?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

REVIEW: Natural Secrets Goatsmilk...

You may have gathered I LOVE discovering new brands - sure I have my favourites, but finding a new love is always a delight, and I have the Bloggers United AU Event last November to thank for my latest skin and body care adventure. All the attendees were gifted with a tube of Goatsmilk Hand Cream and a cake of Goatsmilk Moisturising Soap from the generous folk at Natural Secrets. An all Australian brand, they make a range of products (some for bubs too) that you'll find in selected pharmacies. So far I haven't been able to locate one chemist that stocks the entire range, but when I fall in love with something, I don't mind heading off on a seek-and-ye-shall-find mission till I track down what I'm after. Below is only part of their selection, but it will keep me going for now ♥ If you have any trouble spotting this brand in your usual haunts, all products are purchasable from their website...

The first product I tried was the Moisturising Hand Cream - a delight from the very first application, it's non-greasy, and has a lovely fresh florally scent. My hands were in pretty poor shape after the move, from days and days of cleaning (without gloves - smack!) and ripping open cardboard boxes, but this deliciously hydrating cream fixed them in a week. I've actually been using it exclusively for the last month, and have already bought a standby tube ($6.99 for 80ml) ♥...

When I found out they made a Shower Gel, that was next on my list. With the same delicate scent, this bottle is what I reach for when I need some serious moisturising for my bod. Comes in a big fat 500ml container for $11.99, and your skin will love you for slathering on the super-softening pearly white bubbles. Suitable for dry and sensitive skin, it's made with goat's milk (no surprises there ha ha!), milk protein, aloe vera & vitamin E, and most importantly, free from sulphates, parabens & petrochemicals. Actually the entire range excludes these harsh chemicals ♥...

Just like makeup palettes, it's always a struggle for me to unwrap a cake of soap and actually use it - I do so love to keep them all pristine in my undies drawer, but I made an exception with this cake. Again the same refreshing scent, the one that was gifted was the plain moisturising variety, but I've since bought the kind that contains Manuka Honey. There are several other variations too, and both of these formulations leave your hands so soft and hydrated as well as clean. Although I'm a liquid hand wash gal, I always have a cake of soap on the vanity for when I want a really good scrub (especially under the finger nails), but also for guests so that they have a choice ♥...

The Moisturising Handwash was a must to try, and it didn't disappoint. Love the squat chubby bottle that never topples over (a steal for $6.99) - the formula is quite runny but highly concentrated, so one pump is enough to give your hands a fragrant cleanse that won't dry out your skin, in fact my hands always feel more supple and moist after a wash than before ♥...

Love each and every one of these products. There's also a Hand & Body Cream (250ml for $17.99) that I have my eye on - just desperately trying to use up a whole bunch of other body moisturisers that will expire in the next 6 months, but after that, I'll be adding it to my collection for sure ♥...

Love this range, and I reckon this old chooky and goats milk are a match made in heaven ♥...

How does your skin feel about goat's milk products? Have you tried this particular brand before?

Take care of you,
kats xxx