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.