PSA: A friendly reminder to check your breasts

As someone with a pretty heavy family history of breast cancer, I'm hyper-aware of the need for early detection. This honestly saves lives.

So every month on the 13th, I'll post this same blog post to remind all of my beautiful readers to have a check (your gender is not important here, every human is at risk for breast cancer), including the entire chest area and under your arms.
If you find something out of the ordinary, it'll be terrifying, but go to your doctor to have it checked ASAP. Don't put it off and hope it'll go away.

As a bonus, for my readers with testicles....give them a bit of a check too.

The time-poor girl's guide to Curly Girl Method hair in Australia.

I know it's been a really long time coming. I've been out of the blogosphere for a couple of years, completely jaded by the whole YouTube debacle, and didn't really have much to share.

But here goes, a complete re-launch. I'm not a late 20's person, like I was when I started all of this, I'm now a late 30's woman, with a whole new appreciation for beauty and what it means to take care of yourself, your hair and your skin.

I've begun by embracing my natural curly hair (Thank the spaghetti monster it's FINALLY fashionable!!!!) and trying the curly girl method.

I'd like to start by stating that the curly hair community is quite nasty. I've seen so many people on the internet get into fights about what -type- of curly hair somebody said they have...which is completely ridiculous and a waste of everyone's time and energy. This is not the place for that. I won't be stating my hair curl type, but I will tell you the ways I have personally worked the curly girl method into my life, and what works for me, as a person who doesn't have 2 hours a day to perfect every curl.

So what even is CGM? Basically, we're cutting out sulphates and silicones that strip and weigh down hair, heat styling which damages hair, and switching to more natural products and techniques for drying and styling hair, as well as washing less often.

DAY 1: WTF?

A warning: The first month or so of CGM isn't pretty. It's a frizz-filled, oily mess of a thing and you're going to want to give up on it because your hair looks worse than ever. This will pass, I promise. You have to get your scalp and hair used to having a more natural environment, so it's going to take some time to work through the process of your scalp skin figuring out how much oil to produce.

I have really fine hair, and due to a chronic illness, there isn't much of it left. I'm very lucky it's curly. I have a low amount of frizz, relatively speaking, and my curl pattern is fairly even. I work 6 days a week, I have 2 kids, and I have a fella I like to look at who lives an hour away from me... so I have, like, no time.

I've tried a few different sets of sulphate, silicone and paraben free products, and have settled on Sukin's range of shampoos and conditioners. Natural Balance is the one I like for my hair, and I'll generally shampoo twice a week and use a small amount of conditioner every morning in the shower to reset my curls, which I generally don't bother tying in silk scarves or putting in a pineapple bun to sleep in.

If you love a good botanical scent, these are definitely going to be right up your alley. I love the way my hair smells, and I love the super-light formulation, which doesn't strip my hair of natural oils, or weigh it down at all.

In terms of styling, I'll generally wash/wet/light condition my hair, comb it out with a wide toothed comb in the shower (I haven't brushed it in 4 months and I love it so much!), then put a tiny bit of conditioner into my hands, rub them together and work it through the ends before plopping my hair into a towel while I clean my teeth, etc. I'll occasionally use a really basic hair gel, but I don't like the way it makes my hair crunch. When I scrunch out the crunch, my hair looks weirdly "fried" because it's so fine. Usually the bit of leave-in conditioner on the ends is all I need for a bit of definition.
Once I'm dressed and ready to go, I'll let my hair out of the towel, give it a quick scrunch and I'm out the door, still wet. Luckily I have the kind of job where it's completely fine if I show up with still-damp hair.

Yes, I'll admit that I'm still colouring my hair, though it's only about once every 6 weeks, and because of my thyroid condition, I'm finding that I just don't hold colour any more. Within a week, I'm pretty much back to my natural level of greys and that "grown-out" look where I used to dye my hair black. It's mostly just the ends now, and they probably need a good chop. I have noticed some growth in the 3 months that I've been doing CGM, though, so that's awesome. I've heat treated my hair once in that 3 months, and straight, it looked so much longer than it used to.

3 months later: amazing!

All in all, I really feel like this curly hair thing is working for me. The maintenance is minimal, I love the way it looks and feels, and I have some relief from that "bald" feeling I was starting to get with my tiny little 12-hairs-slicked-into-a-ponytail look I'd rocked for work for the past few years.

So... here is the result after 3 months of CGM. It looks great, and I finally feel good about my hair!

Sukin haircare is available Nationally at major pharmacies including Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, My Chemist and health food stores. Shampoo/conditioner are $14.95 for 500ml or $24.95 for 1 litre.

This is not a sponsored post, nor was I given the products to review. These are my own experiences and opinions. I value honest communication, and assume that my readers do too :)

BOE BEAUTY HAUL - throwback...Monday?

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.

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:

 

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.

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!