Monday 30 December 2013

BOE BEAUTY HAUL - throwback...Monday?

Wednesday 18 December 2013

KITSTAGRAM: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Hey guys,

I've decided to try a new series to see what you guys think. I'll do it about once a month, and I'm going to call it Kitstagram. I'll share my favourite Instagram pictures (from my own account), and talk about where, when, how and why they were taken.

Let me know in the comments section if you do/not want to see this as a regular feature.




This one I feel is pretty self-explanatory, but there's a bit of an ongoing story with it. This is our Christmas tree, beautifully decorated.

After the kids came home and saw it, I told them that I would throw away any ornament that they willingly removed from the tree.

We are now down to 2 ornaments and a string of tinsel.



This was taken post-walk-with-friends at Frankston, at the bottom of Oliver's Hill where the little jetty is.

The water was so still and lovely that I felt the need to capture it.


Taken at Sweetwater Creek walking trail. A group of friends and I went walking (as we do, because we all like to exercise regularly, and doing it as a group helps keep us motivated).

The plant is Nasturtium, and it covered the entire "wall" of the path we were walking down. Note the random yellow and orange flowers, which will be more plentiful as summer progresses, and are completely edible.



A rare addition to my public instagram, a picture of my boys. Josh is the older one, he's 9, and Max is the little guy, 3.

They love the beach, and play in the water no matter how cool it is.

This day, they made a huge sandcastle. It was a pretty awesome day.



My strange addiction: Nail Polish.

This is a little under half of my nail polish collection. I just love it and I can't really explain why or how I have so many.

Nail art is a fun hobby of mine.




A proud moment.

My first month on YouTube with the new channel. 1,520 views on the few videos I had up.

I'm really excited about the growth of the new channel.


Trying something new.

Montagne Jeunesse sent me their new 2 step masks to try, and the anti-breakout one is awesome.

Stay tuned for a review in the next week or so.


A big surprise.

Sukin sent me a beautifully wrapped christmas gift, the contents of which, I will share with you in my "what I got for Christmas" video.


Faked!

My fake naked3 palette arrived, and I created a look from the colours in it for a dinner on Saturday night.

This is the look that I'm wearing in my Faked3 video, my beauty talk tag video, and my random favourites#1 video.



My biggest achievement since I broke my ankle.

We walked 6.4km on the gravel tracks in Mornington, and in the middle of that, we did the dreaded Birdrock climb, a set of approximately 200 steps (set just-a-little-too-close-together) to get down to the beach, and a track with a 45.7% gradient to get back up.

My leg is aching 3 days later, so I think I overdid it a little bit, but I felt good about getting a decent training session in.

Birdrock was my before-Christmas goal for the leg, so I'm really happy.

If you want to follow me on instagram, you can find me @katysbeautysecrets or @katylylak (same account), or #kbcommunity, #katysbeautysecrets, and #ifiwasahorse.

Tuesday 10 December 2013

REVIEW: LUSH KARMA KOMBA AND DARK ANGELS


Over the past few weeks, you've seen my Lush hauls, and i figured it was about time I did some reviews for you. Here we go, starting with Karma Komba solid shampoo and Dark Angels facial cleanser.
First of all, Karma Komba, which is an awesome orange and lemongrass scented solid shampoo bar. It's great for my fine, wavy, frizzy hair, and it's so, so easy to use! Literally like a bar of soap for your head, you just rub it on, lather up and rinse away! Definitely worth a look, and on my list of favourite things right now.
Also on my list of faves is my Dark Angels cleanser, which is amazing for my combination/oily skin. It looks and feels like playdough, it's black because of the charcoal in it, and it's super simple to use with your hands, or like I do, with my facial cleansing brush from Daiso. Dark Angels is a must-try for all oily-skinned peeps, and don't despair if that's not your skin type. For normal, combination and dry skin, you can check out Angels on Bare Skin, the sister product to Dark Angels.
 For a better look and some more of my thought, check out my video review:
 




Thursday 5 December 2013

MAKEUP MACGUYVER - HOW TO DIY IN A PINCH

MacGuyver dishing out tips to his lady friend
I've been promising you guys this post for a while now. My makeup MacGuyver tips, and how to make stuff that's awesome from stuff you have lying around your house.

So...what awesome things will I share with you? Let's get right down to it.

1.MAC strobe cream.
This one is really easy. Strobe cream is basically just a moisturizer base with a pearlescent finish to it, which gives your skin a dewy glow under your makeup.
For this, you need to mix 9 parts moisturizer with 1 part white shimmer powder. Make sure it's mixed really well.

2.BB cream.
Another super easy one. This mix is 1/3 moisturizer, 1/3 foundation, 1/6 sunblock and 1/6 primer. Just mix them together well, and you have a makeshift BB cream.

3.Facial scrubs.
These can be made with a variety of different things, but my favourite all-purpose friend is Bi-Carb soda. Make a paste of Bi-Carb and water and use it as you usually would for a facial scrub. Use it once a week, not more often than that, because it is quite harsh on your skin.

4.Teeth whitening.
Again with my friend Bi-Carb, this time making a paste with peroxide. You can use creme or liquid, but the creme peroxide makes a better paste. Brush onto your teeth once or twice a week to remove stains. IMPORTANT: DO NOT SWALLOW THIS PASTE.

5.Volumizing shampoo for beachy waves.
This one is really simple. Summer is coming, so beachy waves will be right back on trend like they are every year. To help your hair along, or even just to add some extra volume, just add a little rock salt to your shampoo.

6.Lip scrubs.
You can make these a bit fancy with a carrier oil and some essential oils, but really all you need is some raw sugar to make a fantstic lip scrub, which is edible too! You can mix the sugar into a bit of vaseline to make it stick together better and disperse onto the lips better.

7.Avoiding hair dye on your skin.
Using the vaseline again, draw the outline of your face, all along the hairline with vaseline. This will form a barrier between your skin and any dye that goes astray. Don't forget to do your ears and the back of your neck, too!

8.Eye makeup remover.
Last of all, how to remove any stubborn makeup, waterproof makeup, stay-on lipsticks, etc.
Baby oil. It's that simple. It will remove any of the above mentioned cosmetic products.

9. Makeup setting spray.
1 part glycerine to 9 parts distilled or filtered water, shake well, use in a spray bottle and replace every couple of weeks. Because we're not using chemical preservatives in this, it'll go off.

That's all for Makeup MacGuyver 2013. I hope you guys get some use out of this stuff.

Friday 29 November 2013

ANOTHER CHEEKY LUSH HAUL!

 Another kid-free weekend means another chance to sneak off and do cheeky things... and in my case, that just means going to Lush and checking out what awesome things they have for me this week!

The kids love bath fizzies and so do I, so it makes sense to spend a few bucks every couple of weeks on some things that make us all feel special.

This week, I got a few different things; the Ickle Baby Bot bath fizzer, Dorothy Bubble Bar, Father Christmas Bath Ballistic, Bombardino, The Honeymooner massage bar, and Cupcake face mask.


 I'm loving all of their holiday-themed products, and tonight I took a bath with Bombardino, a gorgeous Lemon-Cheesecake-scented bath bomb which left my skin feeling really soft and hydrated!

The other thing I really want to comment on is the customer service at my local Lush Store. I go to Fountain Gate, which is the closest one to me, and there is a girl there (I'm really kicking myself that I didn't catch her name!!! But I know she'll read this and tell me in the comments section below!), she's absolutely gorgeous, with blonde hair and several facial piercings. She is the kindest, most friendly retail salesperson I've encountered, and I feel like she deserves to be recognized for that...so well done and keep up the awesome work. She always helps me find things that I'm looking for and recommends products without being pushy or hanging around too much. That, to me, makes a great sales person.

I'll add the video of my unwrapping these things as soon as it's finished and uploaded. It also contains details about the very first giveaway in my 12 days of Giftmas series, so stay tuned for that on December 1!


Wednesday 27 November 2013

FIRST LOOK AND REVIEW - BLINC COSMETICS

This week, I've been given the opportunity check out something that's brand new in Australia, that USA celebrities have been using for ages!

Blinc Cosmetics are somewhat sketchy about where the brand originated (they claim that the product has been around for 25 years), but the product is manufactured in Tokyo, Japan, and they have been running out of the USA since 1999.

This is the first "tubing" mascara on the market, and it's the first tubing mascara that I've used. The idea is that it adheres to your lashes and forms a thickening and lengthening tube around the lash which can withstand water, sweat, dry friction, and is basically a bombproof mascara.

The first of the two products I tried was the Lash Primer, which is a nourishing, thickening, lengthening formula. It feels great on the lashes, and it's a really great base for your mascara. At $25, it's a higher end primer, but it's a beautiful product and worth the extra money.

 I also tried their Amplified Mascara in Dark Brown, which is really awesome. The tube formula, once it adheres to the lash and dries, is completely bulletproof. I went out running in the rain with this one, came home saturated and even rubbed my eyes, and the mascara is still on 5 hours later!

As far as price is concerned, this one is on the high end of things at $38, but shipping is free, and the product definitely earns its keep. You can get these products and many more at www.blinccosmetics.com.au.



I made a video to show the product and give my thoughts on it, which you can watch below:




fair and full disclosure: These products were sent to me at no cost by Blinc Cosmetics for my consideration. I was under no obligation to review them. I endeavour to bring you honest reviews of products which I have used and genuinely enjoyed.

Thursday 21 November 2013

BELLABOX NOVEMBER 2013 REVIEW - I'M SO OVER IT


This month, I was annoyed with Bellabox before it even got here. On the 11th of this month, they told everyone that shipment had started, and by the 20th, there were still no posts by anyone saying that they had received a box. I had a decent bitch about it on their facebook page, telling them that we would all prefer to have an answer for the delay, rather than every day saying that the boxes were on their way. We never got a proper answer. This is the third month of delays.

If you've been watching my unboxing videos, you'll know that it's also the third month in a row that I have received my bella "box" not in a box. This month, they unveiled their "exciting new packaging", and it's a complete joke. A thin cardboard pillow box, which didn't hold all of the products, even though most of them were tiny. The worst part was the condition that my parcel arrived in, due to the insufficient packaging. I'm really glad there were no powder products in there, because they would have been destroyed.
So what's in the actual "box"?
Bellabox Pout Pencil in Pinky Promise. RRP $14.99
Very, very similar to the Boe Beauty lipstick pencils that I got for $2 at BigW.

Simple Kind to eyes Makeup Corrector pen RRP $11.99
A makeup corrector pen for your eyes. Fine felt tip. I think it'll be useful.

ASAP Daily facial cleanser and Anti Ageing night cream
I'll try these out, but the samples are tiny, and it's hard to get a decent review out of just a couple of uses.

La Roche Posay BB cream SPF 50
This is one I've been wanting to try, but I can't see myself paying $28.95 for a BB cream, to be honest.

Aveeno Daily Body Moisturiser
A little body lotion sample. Will come in handy for my legs as summer approaches

BONUS PRODUCT! (This is a massive pet peeve of mine. They say "BONUS!" like it's an amazing addition to the box, then shove in a freakin' sachet) Bump Eraiser Medi Paste.
I know that this product is good. It helps out with ingrown hairs.

Overall, I'm so unhappy with my bellabox experience this month (in combination with the last 2 months) that I unsubscribed. I would have to see some significant changes to consider starting again with them.

I may try out the fortune cookie soap box, or even something else instead now. Any suggestions?

Below is my unboxing video. (Language alert: I use some low-grade swear words in this video)


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Sunday 17 November 2013

Life and leg update : 9 weeks post injury

 It's been 9 weeks since Tough Mudder, since I broke my ankle, since I started the most challenging uphill battle since I began this fitness thing.
And don't get me wrong, I really love the uphill stuff. It makes me stronger. I just really hated this one, because it made me physically weaker and set me back months.

Let's talk first about where I'm at with this leg, shall we? I'm out of the moonboot and walking (relatively) normally and pain-free in normal shoes. Apart from a little localized swelling, the ankle itself looks normal and is back to a pretty normal aesthetic. Internally, the bone is fusing itself back to where it needs to be. It's an avulsion fracture, so I actually tore off the chunk of bone that's attached to the ligament. To make it heal, well, that's a game of hoping it attaches in the right spot and that the bone grows well enough to cover the weak spot. In terms of timeline for a complete heal on it...it could be 12-18 months.


In the meantime, I'm still doing physio every 2 weeks. We are trying to strengthen the ligaments that I sprained in the fall, and build up the muscle that I lost in the moonboot. At last measure (2 weeks ago), muscle mass in my right leg was 30% less than my left. That's actually quite good, according to my physiotherapist.

It aches if I stand on it for a long time. It aches badly if I push too far when I go walking. It's the way that I know how to progress with my training. I'm not cleared for running yet, but my walks are up to 2.7km, with some pain afterwards, but not into the next day (which is how the physio said I'd know that I had done too much.)
At the moment, it's just a bit of a pain that I can't do really simple things. For example, some kids were running around in the shopping center (where the parents were, I have no idea), and one of them almost ran straight into me. A quick sideways movement was just out of the question (and really painful when I tried). Another example is crossing the road. I needed to jog the last few steps yesterday, as there was a car coming (too fast), and it was painful to run on it.

Baby steps. Literally.

The service track at Birdrock beach
In terms of training goals, I have a few for the coming year. Within a month, I want to do Birdrock again. It's my most difficult, and favourite, training ground. There's a set of steps, and a service track. We walk a round trip of 6.5km, with this thing right in the middle. The gradient on the track is 45.7% and it's an amazing feeling to get to the top. People run it. I'd love to be able to do that.
I also would like to do a half marathon and a full marathon, just walking. I'm definitely training towards that, and expect to achieve both in 2014. I may even modify the Birdrock walk and do it 3 times with some extra distance on it for my half marathon. I did it twice in a training session a couple of months ago, and it wasn't so bad.

We have a couple of things planned as a group in 2014. We are doing the Neon Run in February, and probably a relay for life later in the year. I'm sure there will be other things that we can get involved in.

I've volunteered to work at Tough Mudder in March. I won't be running the track again, but I really loved the atmosphere there, and wanted to get involved. Also, my brother has his own goals, which involve the Mudder, and I really want to be there to support him.

Other than the leg, life is going really well. The boys are happy and healthy, and I'm getting over a throat infection. We're doing lots of odd jobs and improvements around the house in preparation for my boyfriend's visit in February. I really can't wait for that. We've been apart for 2 months, and we have 3 more to wait, but at least the end is in sight now.





Wednesday 13 November 2013

FIRST LOOK - URBAN DECAY NAKED 3 PALETTE

It was announced officially just under a week ago, and already Urban Decay have released first pictures of the new Naked 3 palette, which features 12 rose-based neutrals, which will be absolutely perfect for me!

Speculation is that it will be available just before Christmas at the usual $50 price point. Having an awesome boyfriend in the states who I can send money to via paypal is a really handy thing, and the fact that he is coming to visit in February means that I'll be able to get my hands on this little beauty for my birthday! Aussie makeup lovers, don't despair, there are plenty of online stores who will ship to Australia, even though Urban Decay won't. ( I was hoping that once they were acquired by L'Oreal that this would change, but it apparently hasn't as yet. Let's keep our fingers crossed.)

So, now all that's left is to show you the colours......drumroll please....


PAMPER WEDNESDAY - NEW CHRISTMAS PRODUCTS FROM LUSH!

I've made no secret of my love for all things Lush, and their new Christmas range is absolutely no exception!

Lush sent me a few things to have a look at, and as soon as I saw them, I promised myself a little mini-spree over there, and picked up a few more things!

I filmed a haul video, which you can see below,and I'll just add a bunch of pics to show you what the products look like up close, and for some of them, what you can expect when you use them!


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Santa Baby Lip Tint
Angel's Delight soap


Candy Mountain Bubble Bar

Shoot for the stars Bath Ballistic

Bubbles from Candy Mountain

Pink water from Candy Mountain

Santa Baby Lip Tint

Ickle Baby Bot Bath Ballistic

Creamy Candy Bubble Bar

Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic
Luxury Pud Bath Ballistic


Golden Wonder as it fizzes

Green water with gold lustre from Golden Wonder

Tuesday 12 November 2013

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!

So...most of you know that I've been hinting at some exciting things happening here at KBS HQ on my social networks, and now that all of the paperwork is done, I can finally share it with you guys!

I've partnered my YouTube channel with Boom, a Youtube Network, representing over 350 Australian YouTubers!

So what does this mean? Well, the bottom line is that I can start to earn a few bucks from my YouTube content again, and I will hopefully have some opportunities to bring you guys more and better content, as well as collaborative efforts with some other YouTubers!

Here's why this kind of recognition is important to me: I've said this privately to some of my friends, and I feel like it's something that people should know.

As a blogger/vlogger, there are so many lists and programs that you can buy your way into. If someone has a string of "official blogger" tags and buttons down the side of their blog page, you can almost guarantee that they are paying for the bragging rights. But when someone comes to you and says "Hey, I like your content, and I want to work with you to make sure you get the very most out of it", that's kind of awesome. To be sought out and recognized for the hard work that I have put into my content is a really good feeling.

I'm really looking forward to working with Boom over the next 12 months and beyond!