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)


< br/>

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!


>br />
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!

Monday 11 November 2013

MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL IS RELOCATING

As you all know, I am having some success with my YouTube channel, and there are some things coming up that I really would love to be a part of. In order to do this, I need to relocate my YouTube content to a new channel.

I'll be slowly moving my more popular videos over there in the next week or so, and I even have some brand new content over there for you guys (an awesome Lush haul that I'll post more of here on my blog later this week!).

What I'd really love is for those of you already subscribed to my YouTube channel to click through the annotation in my video below and subscribe to the new channel, which is where I'll be posting my new content from now on, and for those of you who aren't currently subscribed to go ahead and check out the new channel and see if it's something you'd like to see more of. More subscribers = better opportunities to make amazing videos for you guys!

You can find the new channel at www.youtube.com/katysbeautychannel

Check it out!


Wednesday 6 November 2013

PAMPER WEDNESDAY: GATINEAU AQUAMEMORY REVIEW.


 This week, I tried out a product from Gatineau's Aquamemory range. Particularly at this time of year, as the temperature rises, we tend to lose hydration in our skin very quickly. Gatineau's Osmaporine technology helps to quickly restore that hydration and delay the signs of ageing significantly.

The picture on the left here was taken first thing in the morning, after I used Gatineau's Moisture Replenish Mask, which they sent me to try out. I can honestly say that this is the clearest and smoothest my skin has been...ever.


 The mask is fairly translucent, and applies to the skin like a gel. You can expect a little tingling, and it feels quite cool on the skin.

I like to apply a mask, leave it on while I watch an episode of one of the TV shows that I like to watch (around 20 minutes) and then rinse off.

After rinsing, I was left with some reddish patches, as you can see in the bottom picture here, but you can already see that my skin is much smoother. (This picture has not been retouched or had filters applied)

The redness took approximately an hour to go away completely, and I was left with beautiful, soft skin.

I've now added this mask to my regular routine and will continue to use it.

It's a little on the high end of the price tag line, but I think at $65, you really are getting what you've paid for with this product.

You can get your hands on Gatineau's Aquamemory collection at www.gatineau.com.au, or contact their toll free line on 1800 037 076 for your nearest stockist.

Other products in the Aquamemory line include Moisture Replenish Eye Roll-On, Moisture Replenish Concentrate, and Moisture Replenish Cream, all of which incorporate Gatineau's Osmaporine technology, which uses the process of Osmosis to transfer vital moisture to the upper epidermal layers. I love a good bit of science, so here's an awesome video to help explain Osmosis to the unfamiliar (in this case, "permeable membrane" is skin):




Tuesday 5 November 2013

Skillz: How to use bobby pins correctly

I know that bobby pins seem like a bit of a no-brainer, but the large majority of people are using them WRONG.

Do you find that your hair styles drop or your bobby pins don't hold in your hair, slipping out and ruining all your hair hard work?

You are probably using them upside-down.

You also probably use your teeth to open them up before sliding them into your hair.

If you use them up the right way, you don't need to do that, because they are designed to slide into the hair without being forced open, compromising the integrity of the "clamp".

Here is a pic, with the correct way to use a bobby pin circled in red.


Mind. Blown.

Saturday 2 November 2013

TAG: 50 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT KATY

I've been meaning to do this tag for ages, and I have struggled coming up with 50 things that I think might be interesting about me, but here goes:

50 random facts about Katy

1. I was born, and lived until I was 6, in the South-West of England.
2. My greatest fears are heights and open water.
3. I am an Atheist.
4. I have two sons, Max (3) and Josh (9).
5. I am (almost) divorced, and have been a single mum for 3 years.
6. I have a wonderful boyfriend, who is my biggest cheerleader, though he swears he'll never wear the outfit.
7. My relationship is very long distance. I'm in Melbourne, Australia, and he is in Austin, Texas.
8. I have suffered with anxiety for as long as I can remember.
9. I love to read, and often get completely lost in a book.
10. I am also very interested in writing, and I am currently involved with NaNoWriMo.
11. I can play any brass instrument with valves (but prefer to play trumper/cornet and Tenor horn or Flugelhorn.)
12. I was born with a heart condition called SupraVentricular Tachycardia.
13. I had surgery to fix my heart problem in 2005, and have been symptom-free ever since.
14. I had chicken pox when I was 19 and it was horrendous.
15. I dropped out of school halfway through year 12 and joined the Navy.
16. My Navy career lasted 17 days, and I was discharged after panic attacks led me to request a dismissal.
17. I have one brother, who is 10 months younger than me.
18. I have travelled around the world several times and visited many countries, but only this year got my first passport. (In the "olden days", children travelled on their parents' passports.)
19. I love to knit, but rarely have the patience to finish a project.
20. I have 9 tattoos, but keep them mostly hidden by my clothing.
21. I have 4 scars caused by piercings (not including my ears).
22. I have a scar on the outer corner of one eye, which makes the eyelid droop. My eyes are never equally open.
23. My family are all involved in furniture manufacturing, and we have a small company that's been around for 14 years.
24. I hate excessive heat, and prefer to be snuggled up in a blanket on a cold night.
25. I love to swim.
26. I don't generally tend to have a "favourite" anything. No favourite band, no favourite colour. Lots of things that I really like, but not one of anything that stands out for me.
27. I'm allergic to penicillin and capsicum.
28. I love spicy foods.
29. I hate olives.
30. Between leaving the Navy and becoming involved with the family business, I was an apprentice chef.
31. I love to cook, and I'm glad it didn't become my job for life.
32. I'm very creative, and seem to do well at most crafty things.
33. Photography is a great passion of mine.
34. When I'm working, I like to listen to classical music, mostly strings.
35. I love to get out and walk, and prior to breaking my ankle 2 months ago, I had walked 250km in 6 months.
36. All of my extended family, beyond my brother and my parents, live overseas.
37. My feet are size 8.5 (aus/9.5US)
38. I love glittery, sparkly things, but I feel like they are too gauche to wear.
39. See 38, but switch sparkly/glittery for neon.
40. I love to dress up in costumes, when the occasion calls for it.
41. I was a Navy cadet for 4 years, and attained the rank of Petty Officer.
42. As a cadet, I was Drum Major, Lead side drum, and Bass drummer, all in one year.
43. I earned a marksman's rate as a cadet for rifle shooting at HMAS Cerberus.
44. I hate cats.
45. I have very little patience for anything. I get that from my father.
46. I am a total spelling and grammar Nazi.
47. I enjoy pretty much any kind of music, with the exception of very loud, "noise" music, which affects fact #48.
48. I become very agitated if there are a lot of conflicting sounds going on (eg. more than one person talking to me at once, or a loud television in the background when someone is talking to me.)
49. I love trying new things, and rarely have a staple product that I'll use for years on end.
50. I love blogging, and appreciate my readers more than I can say. The fact that anyone is interested in reading what I write is very strange to me.