Blog stats, changing things up a little bit.

Hey guys,

I was looking over my stats today, and it seems I'm getting as many hits in the USA as I am here in Australia. It strikes me that I should really be giving the USA product information, where to get things, etc.

So from this week, if I do a product review, I'll be including price comparisons and distributor information for readers in the USA as well as my homeland of Oz.

I guess it helps that I'll be in the states in August, and will definitely be picking up some things that aren't currently available in Australia for my use and review on the blog. I'll also be waiting until I can hit a Sephora store to pick up things like the Lancome mascara that I'm reviewing this coming week, as it has a price tag of $52RRP here in Australia, and is only $28 RRP in the states! That's not a rare occurrence, so I'm sure I'll need a whole bunch of spending money. My poor boyfriend will just have to drop me off and go do man stuff for a couple of hours while I shop!

While I'm just blogging about my everyday stuff, I'll update you on my workout schedule and my weight goals, etc.

I've been working out at least a little bit almost every day for two weeks now. I'm already seeing a difference in the shape of my body, and I'm very pleased with my fitness progress. Today we even did walk, jog, sprint training things that I really would not have been able to do 2 weeks ago, and I did them 3 times! See the pic above for a bit of a progress pic. It's not a huge difference, but we are only talking about 2 weeks here, can't expect too much.
I'm stepping up my clean eating plan this week, so I expect to see more of a difference on the scales. The amount of strength training and weight lifting I've been doing has seen my weight drop by only 2kg in the 2 weeks, but the muscle mass that I'm building weighs a lot more than the fat that I'm dropping, so I don't see it as a demotivational thing.

The main, and most exciting, thing about it all is how good I feel. Most days I get a bit sore and stiff and sometimes I get hungry or crave sweet things, but I'm mostly being guided by my body about what I need. If I'm hungry, I eat. I try to keep the sweets to a minimum (I've had chocolate once in 2 weeks!) and I've cut liquids other than water and the occasional sugar free gatorade (only with intense training sessions) out completely. I don't keep soda, chocolate, cookies, chips, or any other tempting snackfoods in the house any more, and I make sure the fridge is always well stocked with fruit and vegetables so that any time I'm hungry, there it is, all right there in front of me. I'm also drinking optifast (they used to be only available by prescription, but they are on the shelf now) shakes for breakfast every day, and lunch as well on workout resting days.

I've switched all of my white carbs for wholegrain, and I've cut out potatoes. Obviously, the kids are still having everything they need for their growing bodies, I just make my vege portion bigger and cut out the mashed spuds or pasta or whatever they are having. I eat vegetarian once a week, and I eat lean red meats at least 4 times a week, the rest of the days are chicken, as I don't eat fish. I know it seems like I've made pretty radical changes, and I guess as far as my body is concerned (for the first week, my entire body was in a bit of shock, like WTH is going on???) the change is quite huge, but the main thing that's kept me on track is keeping my motivation up. I have lots of ways to do that, and even on days when I thought I couldn't possibly work any harder, I've managed to keep going and get the work done that needed to be done for that day.

OK, so that's a big update on where I'm at. If you're in the USA and you're happy about my blog changes, let me know in the comments below. If you're on a weight loss or fitness journey, give me a high five in the comments too!

Have a great week.

Katy

Review: Lush Colour Supplement - Jackie Oates

On my last trip to the always-yummy-scented Lush, I decided to check out their new Emotional Brilliance cosmetics range. I was actually looking more for their amazing highly pigmented colour products, but one little gem caught my eye and I just had to check it out for myself.

Now, you need to keep in mind that I generally use MAC foundation, which I consider(ed) to be the best of the best in cosmetics for everyday use. I have to tell you that I've ditched my Matchmaster foundation in favour of Lush Jackie Oates colour supplement. I absolutely lovelovelove this product and I use it every single time I apply makeup now. It's the perfect neutral shade. I'm generally a little bit on the pink side, so yellow-based foundations make me look sick, and pink-based foundations tend to bring out the redness in my skin that little bit more.

As you can see here in my picture, it provides a lovely full coverage base, and when applied with a kabuki brush and set with a pressed powder to finish, it gives a lovely airbrushed look without too much effort.

If you wanted a more casual, everyday look, you can mix it with your favourite day moisturiser and turn it into a BB Cream! It's really, really versatile. Build it up over blemish-prone areas, or dress it down with simple application techniques.

The best part about this product is the price. At $17.95, this is the best value-for-money product I've used. Even if Jackie Oates isn't for you, colour-wise, there are 4 other colour supplements to choose from!


You can pick up Lush colour supplements in Lush stores or at www.lush.com.au


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Review: Lon Vitalite crystal whitening and moisturising hand mask

 In February's Lust Have It box, we were treated to this gorgeous Lon Vitalite crystal whitening and moisturising hand mask.

I've used some of their facial products in the past, so I was really excited to try this out, and did so as soon as I'd taken photos of the box and the goodies inside.

They basically look like cloth gloves soaked in goop, like a cloth face mask for your hands. The "goop" (that's the technical term for it!) is really cooling and calming to the skin, and I felt the benefit of that as soon as I put them on.

The instructions say to leave them on for half an hour, but I only managed about 20 minutes before my hands were needed for extremely important child demands. Nevertheless, I saw a vast improvement in the softness and hydration of the skin on my hands, and the skin seemed brighter after I used it.

I really loved it, and I'll be on the lookout for more. They are available from www.lonvitalite.com
Just be aware of their flat rate for shipping of $10.00, so if you go just looking to buy the $4.50 hand masks, they are going to end up costing you $14.50. My advice is to get together with some friends and share the shipping, or do what I did and order a few things to make it more worthwhile.

Their shipping is superfast (by courier) and if you're lucky, you might even find a couple of free samples with your order!













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Trendsday - Gimicky nail art

I don't know what it is about painting really funny, cute, gimmicky things on finger and toe nails, but it seems to be quite the trend lately, and one that I'm really enjoying.

It started probably 6 months ago, and as more and more products for producing good quality nail art are released, it's catching on more and more.

My advice, when you're looking for good products to use for nail art, is to invest in some good striper polishes and practice with them.

 "Good" doesn't always mean high priced, and there are some really great options for under $10 each, including CM, BYS and pretty much any other brand that does a dedicated art polish with a very thin striper brush.

You can, of course, use nail art brushes with your normal polishes. Be sure to clean them really well between uses.

So what sort of ideas do we have for cute, funny nail polish, and where do we find more ideas?

Well, first of all, there's the Tigger tutorial on my Youtube channel ( www.youtube.com/katysbeautysecrets ).

 Then there's the ever-popular patriotic-type nails with union jacks and stars, like the ones I did for Australia day. I'm actually going to do an American version very soon.

I think I told you guys a few weeks ago that I was growing off my acrylic nails, which I did, and now I'm just waiting for the natural nails to grow a bit more before I do some more tutorials for you.

If you have short nails or you can't wear crazy polish to school or work, there is always another option.

You could try a cute pedicure, which will be hidden inside your shoes for the daytime, but will keep you entertained once your shoes come off, like my cookie monster pedi above!.

I'm always looking for nail art ideas, and the majority of my ideas come from online and Instagram. I have inherited my dad's knack for copying things, and it extends to most areas of my creativity. The techniques used are very simple, though, and once you master the art of the nail art brush, the world is your oyster. Enjoy!

Lust Have it February 2013

 I'm a little bit late to the party with this one, because my box arrived so late in the months, and I was off taking my week of relaxation.

Nevertheless, here is my Lust Have It box for February, 2013.

I do hope to do more unboxing videos for you guys, but at the moment, my studio is sharing space with my workout equipment, so it's a bit of an ordeal to move everything.

Anyway, just a brief rundown of what i got in my box and what I thought of it this time.

1. Lon Vitalite crystal whitening and moisturising hand mask (pair) - full size product. I really liked this. I'll do a review for you on Thursday so that you can see more about them.

2. Camoflage Colour nail polish - full size product. This is a great little nail polish, and it's in a colour I don't actually have (and came in handy because it's the perfect "cookie" shade for my cookie monster pedicure). The one drawback with this posich is that it STINKS.The smell of it is really rank. I think it's because they use as many natural products as possible, and the kinds of natural products that would make good nail polish are stinky plants and animal byproducts.

3. Kevin Murphy Born Again Hair Treatment - sachet sample. I lovelovelove Kevin Murphy hair products. As a mum of 2 little boys, I can't really justify the price of it to myself, but when I get a nice little sample in my beauty box, it's a very welcome treat. The product is beautiful, and really picked my hair back up after the sweaty beating it's been getting with my workouts. The only problem with the sample was the size of it. If someone with longer or thicker hair than my babyfine shoulder length mop got this sample, it wouldn't have gone very far. It was barely enough for me.

4. Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara - sample size. I actually really like this little sample. I don't use mascara very often, as I try to stay makeup free as often as possible for good skin health, so the little sample means I'll get through my 3 months of recommended time to use mascara and not feel guilty about throwing away half a tube of product. The product itself is absolutely gorgeous. It has a special shaped brush which gives you an automatically lined look to your lashes, negating the need for eyeliner if you're playing it casual. A big time saver. It lifts, separates, elongates and volumises the lashes for a lovely full look. This is definitely worth a look.

5. Summer Tan dark self action tan - full size product. We all know how I feel about self-tanners, so I immediately handballed this off to my little guy's godmother, who is 19. I'm sure she'll let me know what she thought of it when I see her next.

So that's it. Lots of full sized products and a hefty value tag, I'm very happy with my $15 well spent.

Monday How-to: Applying cream/liquid foundations with brushes.

My favourite kind of foundation is the liquid/creamy kind. I've always applied it with sponges because every time I tried with brushes, I failed miserably. I couldn't figure out why I had streak marks all over, and cakey-looking base.

As it turns out, I was using way, way WAY too much product, hence the streaky cakiness. It also helps that I have a really great kabuki brush now, from my January Lust Have It box.

So... the key to perfecting that airbrushed, perfect base look is in the application. Start with a tiny (and I mean TINY) amount of product on the back of your hand (or in the lid of your colour supplement pot, if you happen to use lush foundation) and build it up. You can use your kabuki brush dry or slightly damp, but don't get it really wet. Using small, circular motions, sweep the product onto your face, working all over to create an even base. You can build up the coverage by allowing the product to dry, then applying another coat.

Then simply set it with your powder, use blush, highlighter and bronzer for contouring and continue with your makeup look. Simple!

Katy's Beauty Community: DCC Schools fundraising.

It's March already! Time for another instalment of Katy's Beauty Community!

This month, it's a brand new and quite exciting easy fundraiser program for local schools nationally from Dollar cosmetic Club. You guys have seen me rave about DCCand their awesome deals, and now they are giving even more, with $1 from every sale on your unique website code going directly to your school! It's really that simple.

Basically, you sign up your school, they give you a unique URL for your dollar deals, and every time someone buys a deal, they donate $1 to the school.

My school is signed up already! I'm waiting on the fundraising committee to let us all know the code for our school, but I'll pop it on the end of this post at some point in the future, for those of you who would like to use it.

The entire school fundraiser appeal page can be found at: http://www.dollarcosmeticclub.com.au/schoolappeal