Get the look! Liptember is here!

I'm back from Texas feeling refreshed and ready to get on with the business of September. There are a few things going on, but today I wanted to tell you guys some more about Liptember and show you a look I've put together using my Liptember lippie.

I decided to go a bit "full glitz" with this one, and I'll make sure I do a more everyday look later in the month for you. I've used lots of purple, because I have green eyes and purple is one of those colours that just makes my eyes pop.

So here it is, my full glitz/night time makeup look using my Liptember Pink lipstick, the lipstick I'll be wearing all this month to raise funds for womens' mental health. Don't forget to check back on Sunday or Monday to see me wearing my Liptember Pink lipstick whilst running Tough Mudder!

I posted a few weeks ago when I first signed up for Liptember, but I can't stress enough how important this cause is to me. So many women out there are coping with some kind of mental illness, and there really needs to be more research and more resources for us. I'm so happy that the Liptember organization are out there raising funds for such an important cause.

They have partnered with some really awesome brands, and you can even win yourself some prizes just by getting involved in their challenges of facebook and instagram. Check them out at www.liptember.com.au
Their facebook is www.facebook.com/liptember
Follow them on Instagram @liptember

If you want to sponsor me personally, please go check out my donations page at www.liptember.com.au/katy.lylak

You can pick up your own Liptember lippies in 4 different colours, plus super bright challenge colours from Chemist Warehouse, My Chemist and My Beauty Spot all throughout September.

Mini Chi Chi haul and makeup look

Today I went to Gloss to "try out" my visa load and go travel card for when I go to Texas, and I had no idea what I was going to buy.....until I saw the big sign that said "50% OFF SELECTED CHI CHI PRODUCTS!!!!"

It was decided at that point that I would like to spend a little bit of money and pick up a few chi chi products. I have a couple of things from the brand, but haven't really tried out much of their stuff. Now I have a gorgeous green eyeliner in "Glamazon", a to-die-for pink matte creme lipstick in "Flirt", a shimmery awesome metallic eyeshadow crayon in "Barbarella", and my favourite item, an absolutely gorgeous eyeshadow quad in "Paparazzi Princess".

With the exception of the green eyeliner, I later decided that they would make a really gorgeous, understated makeup look, which I have created here for you. If you guys want to see a tutorial of this look, please let me know, and I'll make a video either while I'm away, or when I get back.

Let's have a closer look at the products I used in the makeup look:


Metallic eyeshadow crayon in "Barbarella".

This is a fantastic product either for an eyeshadow base, to highlight the inner corner, or even blended out as an under-brow highlight. It has a beautiful gold sheen, but isn't overpowering. It's an awesome team player for any makeup look.



Viva la Diva matte lipstick in "flirt"

This lipstick is my ideal. It's the perfect shade of pink, its creme finish is so comfortable and luxurious-feeling on the lips, and it has a matte finish to die for. I can really see this becoming my go-to lip product once Liptember is over. I loveloveLOVE the packaging. It's really beautifully designed, and the lipstick closes really solidly, the lid clicking into place and reassuring you that you won't find your awesome lippie smeared all over the inside of your handbag.

 Last of all, my very favourite of the haul, my new eyeshadow quad in "Paparazzi Princess". The colours are stunning, a perfectly put-together quad for me. I love the gold and pink shades, and they really suit my skintone. There's enough highlight and shadow here to create a really multi-dimensional look, but it's still simple enough for daytime wear. This is a really great all-purpose palette, and I see myself using it for daytime looks, night time looks, and special date makeup.

My look was completed using my normal foundation products and eyeliners/mascaras, but I did use the light pink eyeshadow from this quad as a blush and the lightest colour as a highlight. I think it really lends itself to the multi-purpose very well.

I'm definitely a new chi chi (prounced "she-she", with a french accent) devotee, and I even changed my Sephora budget for when I'm in the states to accommodate more chi chi purchases when I return. I have my eye on their mosaic blushes and their gorgeous foundations, which come in a really awesome range of shades.

Check them out at Myer, Target and Gloss!

Katy's top five tips for: Luscious Lips

 As a long-time brass musician and inhabitant of a radically changing climate, I've learned a lot over the tears about keeping my lips smooth and hydrated. Here are my top 5 tips for keeping your lips lovely in all weather and conditions.

1. DON'T LICK YOUR LIPS. I know, you have a cold, or it's icy wind outside, or you forgot your chapstick. DON'T LICK THEM. You'll make it ten times worse.

2. Invest in a good lip scrub. Use it once a week to exfoliate and get rid of any dry skin around the edges. I like the lip scrubs from Lush, which all have amazing scent/tastes.

3. Kiss your boyfriend/girlfriend. Stubble-rash aside, it's a good workout for your Orbicularis Oris (lip muscles) and it helps to exfoliate them! (I'm sorry if I just ruined the experience of kissing for anyone by including the lip exfoliation visual).

4. Use cosmetic products that add moisture, rather than drying out your lips. I love using Carmex Moisture Plus tinted lip balm because it's good for my lips, and it adds a wash of colour to add to my makeup look.

5. Keep lip balm/chapstick EVERYWHERE. Put one in your purse. Put one in your car glovebox. Keep one in your bedroom, your bathroom, in the kitchen (I have one on top of the microwave). Then you have no excuse to lick your lips, ever. Lip-licking is a massive cause of dry, red, broken skin around the mouth and apart from being unsightly, it's really painful and generally unpleasant to live with.

What are your greatest tips for keeping your lips luscious?

LIP PICKS!

I've had lots of people ask me about what my favourite products are, so I've decided to start with my lip products.

As you guys know, I've been trying to work on creating more content, more often for my YouTube channel, and so here is another video for you guys to watch!

(Let me know in the comments how you prefer to get your beauty secrets. Do you like videos, or do you like to read and look at pics? A mixture of the two?)


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Go long! Brand new from Australis: long wearing lipstick.

This week I received an awesome package from Australis, containing their entire Go Long lipstick range!

They are long wearing (up to 10 hours!), kind and caring (with vitamin E, white tea leaf extract, rosehip oil, and mango butter) that feel really lovely and creamy on your lips, not sticky or dry like some long wear lipsticks can be.

I'll follow this up with some makeup looks and more in depth opinions next week, but I wanted to give you guys a look at these as soon as possible. Check out my video with first impressions and swatches of all 8 colours!



Fair disclosure: Australis sent me these products free of charge for my consideration. I am under no obligation to review them, but endeavour to give you guys accurate reviews of products that I genuinely enjoy and recommend.


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Australis Pout Paste: Review & swatches

 Yesterday I gave you guys my first impressions on the brand new Australis Pout Paste. Today, we'll have a closer look and see how it performs.

It comes in 3 different colours; Pash Me Pink, Berry Nice Kiss, and Love Bites. They are all super-pigmented and the colour really lasts. It's a sticky vinyl-sheen type of gloss feel, with the colour output and staying power of a lipstick!

Yesterday I compared them to OCC Lip Tar, and they really are very similar in their characteristics.

I do like that these ones have an applicator wand, though, and the fact that they are an aussie brand who are cruelty free is another couple of huge bonuses.

Unfortunately for my readers in the USA, I'm not 100% sure where/if you can get Australis products in the states, but try online, and see if you can find these. They're great value at $12.95AUD!

The colours in this picture from top to bottom are: Pash Me Pink, Berry Nice Kiss, and Love Bites.
You can see for yourselves how pigmented they are, and I didn't lay them on thick at all.

You can buy these online at www.australiscosmetics.com.au, or you can find a stockist near you on their website. I know that they are available at Priceline stores nationally.

First Impressions: Australis Pout Paste

I'll let the video do the talking for me today, stay tuned for a proper review of this product tomorrow!

I think I might have a problem....lip product excess!

 I posted a little while ago, a post about "goo hoarding". This week, I took a look in my lip products box (I have my makeup organized into 5 litre tubs, by product type), and it struck me that I may have a hoarding problem.
The picture above is the inside of my lip products box. Not even organized, just all thrown in there.

 First up, here they are, all organized and neat so that you can see what I have.

This first picture is lip care products (lip balms, etc), lip pencils, and plumping products, as well as a couple of sample sized Benefit tints.

Next up are my lipsticks. I don't have a lot of them, because I'm not really a lipstick kinda gal. If I had to choose a favourite, I'd go with the Modelco matte red one (second from left in the bottom row) because it's gorgeous and everything-proof!








Last of all, my lipglosses. So many of them that I need two pictures to show you!

As you can see, I really love my pink shades. For special occasions, I like a plum, and for everyday, I prefer nude-type shades.

My current favourites are the Benefit "life on the A list" salmon-y colour, and my new Yes to Carrots C-me-shine nude colour, as well as the Illamasqua one in Belladonna.

 In this last picture are my MAC glosses. Some are the real deal, some are knock-offs. I honestly can't tell the difference in the actual product itself.

Also there are some other brands here, the Max Factor sparkly one is super cute, the Bloom one is a lovely shade, and the Silk Oil of Morocco one is fantastic, and I love the colour, but it's more of a liquid lipstick than a gloss, and it wears off strangely, leaving a line of very light pink on your inner lip which just looks weird. It does smell amazing, though.

So...what do you think? Am I a hoarder? Is it time to do a cull of some of these products?None of them are particularly old, I just have so many of them, and i can't seem to stop acquiring more and more!

Trendsday: Bold lips!

 This season there's a great trend of bold lips! I am personally LOVING all the amazing new shades that we're seeing out and about.

The thing to remember about wearing a bold lip is not to go overboard with the eye makeup. You don't want to end up looking like a clown or an '80s throwback.

Here are a few examples from my personal collection.

How about you? Do you love the bold lip trend? Would you/do you wear it?

Something brand new from Hello Kitty!

A supercute surprise arrived in the mail today, and I just know that you guys are going to love it!

Hello Kitty Cosmetics have just released a brand new range of scented and flavoured lip balms in 7 gorgeous flavours!

They're even cute shapes, with some of them heart-shaped and some flower-shaped. The scents and the flavours are all absolutely delicious, with something for every taste.

There's Blackberry Smoothie, Sweet Apricot, Sweet Candy, Creamy Vanilla, Strawberry Ice Cream, Yummy Raspberry, and Milky coconut.

My favourite scent is the Blackberry Smoothie.

The lip balm leaves your lips super soft and smooth, and will keep your lips well conditioned right through the fluctuating weather of the season change.
Available at Priceline for just $5.95 each, Hello Kitty Sweet Lips are a must for everyone!

Full Disclosure: Hello Kitty sent me these products for my consideration and review. They were provided free of charge. My opinions, of course, as always, are my own.

The most awesome matte lipstick I've tried: Model Co Party Proof

Shopping at Gloss the other day, I came across a stand of Model Co lipsticks that looked amazing. The red, in particular, caught my eye, and I had to have it once I also noticed that it's matte.

I'm loving the vintage glamour look that's so trendy right now. It's really right up my alley, so a gorgeous matte red lipstick was just what I needed.

Add to the awesomeness of the colour the fact that it's party proof (and I still have the marks on my arm 24 hours later AFTER using wipes on it immediately when I swatched yesterday and having a shower this morning to prove it), and you have the recipe for a really awesome makeup product.

It comes in 12 colours, and retails for $16.95. As far as I know, the line is exclusive to Gloss, or online from Model Co at www.modelcocosmetics.com/lips/party-proof-lipstick-1.html

The lipstick has a nifty mirror on the side of the tube, so you never have to fish around in your bag for a compact when you're reapplying (which should happen so rarely, you'd wonder why they bothered!).

I'm looking forward to doing a tutorial really soon using this lipstick. I have a feeling it's about to become a staple in my kit.

All in all, a really good all-rounder. I will definitely be buying more of these in neutral shades for everyday wear.

Trendsday: Lips'n'tips

Colour blocking is officially done, over with, goneski from the trends of 2013.

What's stepping into its place? The old "Lips'n'Tips" from the 50's! Matching lipstick to your nail and toenail polish for a refined look.

I, personally, couldn't be happier! I loveovelove anything retro that dates back to the 40's and 50's, and this is no exception.

Two notable brands who have hopped onto this trend right from the start, and they have both released lips'n'tips packs so we don't have to go searching for perfectly matched lipglosses and nail polishes.

OPI and Butter London have got some really gorgeous matchy-matchy colours for us to try. I was checking the OPI ones out this week in my local beauty supply store and I am having a hard time choosing just one. It may need to be a double feature!

I'll pop a review up once I have tried them out. I haven't tried lipgloss from OPI, but I did used to use their Avoplex lip treatment before they discontinued it, and LOVED it.

What do you think of the new lips'n'tips trend?

Trendsday: Lip Tattoos!

 I realize I'm a little late on the trend with this one, but I recently discovered these lip tattoos, and I really like them. Basically, they work in the same way as a temporary tattoo; place them, wet the backing paper, let them dry.

Then all you have to do is apply a little bit of lip balm over the top to stop them from drying out and you're all set!
I got mine from eBay for a little more than a dollar each!


You can find the ebay seller I bought mine from RIGHT HERE!

Discount beauty haul sneak peek: CK delicious pout lipgloss

 I've had some products arrive from my little shopping sprees at Dollar cosmetics club, so I'm putting together a haul post and video for you guys to see what I got.

In the meantime, I'm a little bit busy taking children to appointments, so I thought I'd give you this little sneak peek at one of the products: Calvin Klein Delicious Pout lipgloss in the colour "Sparkle".

The packaging is classic CK, very stylish, clean, simple-looking, with their logo on the neck of the gloss. It's a typical squeeze-tube setup with a sturdy applicator tip.

The gloss goes on smooth, just a tiny bit sticky (which will have me in the bad books with the fella, but we sometimes need to sacrifice a little for beauty!) and with the perfect amount of shimmer and shine.

The scent and taste of the gloss (a very important point!) are pleasant, and I'll probably make this a regular in my stable of punk glosses. At $8 (less than half of the RRP) from cosmetics corner, it's a steal, and I may go back for the other, more neutral colour that they have in stock.

Stay tuned later for my full discount makeup haul!

Gloss Goss: Katy's spring picks

It's no secret that I lovelovelove pink lipgloss. It forms an important part of my signature look. Here are some of my fabulous favourites for spring:

Natio Rich colour cream gloss in Happy is a deep, rich pink with a shimmery sparkle to it that really makes my lips pop!

BYS diamond shine gloss in Precious is an all-year-round favourite of mine that blends exactly to the natural colour of my lips to just give them a slightly deeper colour.

Benefit Posietint is a poppy-coloured lip and cheek tint in an almost salmon hue that I use for my lips and to give my cheeks a little boost when I don't want a blushed-up look.

Australis Plumptastic is for the times when I want a little boost in the fullness of my lips. It tingles and plumps up my lips while giving me a light pink tint.

MAC Dazzleglass in Smile is a lovely nude-ish salmon colour with a slight lustre to it, it was my very favourite lipgloss for many years, and has now fallen into my regular lineup all year round.

So there you go, my favourite pink lipglosses for spring!

What's your favourite gloss?

Most of these products were purchased by me, however, the Natio gloss was provided to me for review by the lovely people at Natio. My opinions are always my own, and it has earned its way into my favourites completely on its own merit.

How to: avoid a makeup faux-pas

There are a few little tricks up my sleeve when it comes to keeping makeup fresh and natural-looking, and many, many times I've noticed women with the classic makeup faux-pas. We all know the "different coloured face" one, which can be overcome by choosing foundation based on the colour of the skin in your jawline/neck, rather than on the back of your hand/inside of your arm/forehead/nose, etc. Blend, blend, blend away the "line" where your foundation ends, and use a good powder to set your makeup that you can brush down over your neck and chest to keep the colour continuity. But there are some other makeup tips and tricks to help us overcome a little makeup disaster or make the most out of our makeup looks;

The first one is this little area right here: the nostrils. Often, we put on our face and forget that the skin around our nostrils curves inwards, and we need to get some foundation on that inward curve to avoid a "flaring nostril line", or a band of skin directly around the nostril which is a different colour. This is another very good reason to always use clean sponges, because you're going to have to edge your sponge just inside the nostril to get a good coverage.

Then there's the bleeding lips. Usually this will happen if you haven't used a lip liner, or if you're using bright glosses very close to the edge of the lip line. I've come across women in the past that just shouldn't wear lipgloss. It ends up all over their face. If you're one of those girls, take heed: lipliner, lipliner, lipliner and lipstick. A little bit of gloss goes a long way, so let's not slather it on like we don't care how fast it runs out. It's not a good look, your hair and makeup flawless, but your lippie looking like it's trying to escape up your nose. So, the key to avoiding this is not just lipliner, though that is important. You need to also make sure that when you apply your foundation, you also cover your entire lips. Then apply lip liner, and you're set to get your lipstick or gloss on there without a disaster.

Here's a little something that a lot of people don't even think about. When we apply mascara, we generally go in from underneath and coat the underside of the lash, but you can achieve a much fuller look by remembering that lashes are cylindrical, and a good coat from above is important to get the whole lash working for you. I often get comments about my lashes (twice now from heterosexual manly-men without makeup knowledge!), asking me where I got them, because people assume they are false lashes. Then when I explain that they are my real ones, I'm often asked how I get them looking so full....and now you all know my secret!


So, there you have it. Some of my tips and tricks for avoiding a makeup faux-pas and for making the most of your makeup looks. If you guys want to ask questions or request a tutorial, let me know and I'll get to work on that for you!