Kat's Spot

Homemade Skincare: Lip Scrub!

2010-03-01T17:54:00.003-05:00

This is just a very quick recipe for my new favourite thing: a lip scrub! It is basically an exfoliator for your lips and it is the simplest thing in the world to make. I have been suffering from chapped lips for a while lately because it is winter, so this stuff has been wonderful!!!

There are only 2 ingredients a tiny bit of plain white sugar (about half a teaspoon) and just enough olive oil to make it into a paste.

Here is what the final thing looks like!

To use it just put a bit on your finger or onto a soft bristled toothbrush and lightly scrub your lips for about 30 seconds. The sugar will take away all the dead skin and the olive oil will moisturize your lips.

I discovered this a few weeks ago and I have to say, I LOVE IT!!! I use it about twice a week and my lips haven't been chapped since! It leaves my lips so soft and smooth and perfect.

I definitely recommend you give it a try!

Have a nice day!!!

Excitement! Sugarpill Cosmetics

2010-02-27T13:05:00.002-05:00

This is going to be a very short post about a company I am DYING to try out: Sugarpill cosmetics! Here is the website: http://www.sugarpillshop.com/

I have read several reviews and it seems like an amazing new cosmetics brand!
I am very excited to make a purchase (even though I may have to wait a little while), and plan on getting the burning heart palette. The red and oranges in that one look AMAZING!!!

Here are a few of the reviews I have seen:

http://vintageortacky.com/2010/02/23/sugarpill-review-swatches/

http://lunasoeth.blogspot.com/2010/02/sugarpill-cosmetics-review-and-fotd.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIZMa5z6knQ

These reviews really seem to show it as an amazing product right up there with makeup forever!

I really suggest you take a look at the products! I hope to be getting some of the products soon, and when I do I will be doing a review!

Homemade Skincare: Oatmeal Face Mask

2010-02-22T15:48:00.002-05:00

Today I am going to be discussing how to make a basic homemade face mask using oatmeal and pretty much whatever other ingredients you would like. Oatmeal is used as the base of a face mask because it is very soothing for the skin. You could very easily make a simple mask using nothing but oatmeal and water, but the mask I made had oatmeal, honey and milk.

So to begin I took about 1/3 of a cup of regular oats and put them in my mortar and crushed them. You can also use a food processor, but I didn't feel like cleaning that afterwards... You don't want whole oats because they will just fall off your face and not stick. When grinding it make sure there are still some actual chunks of oats, not just dust.

Next I added a few tablespoons of honey, because that was all I had left. You can really add as much or as little as you want.

I then added milk until it was a thick pastey consistency.

Next spread it on your face. This is gong to be messy and a lot of it will probaby fall off so don't apply this in an area with a carpet. Leave this on for a few minutes and then wash it off rubbing it around like an exfoliator.

This is just one of many variations on the oatmeal face mask. All three ingredients I used are good for soothing skin, so people with acne prone skin or red skin might use this, but there are tons of regular kitchen ingredients that you could add in. Many herbs have good skincare properties and lemons can be added in as a toner for uneven skin. There are so many ways to modify this basic mask so have fun with it!!!

Have a nice day!

Look of The Day: 80s Electropop!

2010-02-08T17:47:00.004-05:00

Today's look was inspired by 80s electropop music videos! This is a very fun look!

Here it is!!! I won't be including a tutorial. I am very busy, so I'm just posting photos of a look I did a few weeks ago to keep you inspired! If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments!

I'll try to have a real tutorial up soon!
Have a wonderful evening!

Look of the day: Rainforest and waterfall

2010-02-05T00:35:00.003-05:00

Today's look is the weirdest yet. Definitely not wearable. I am not going to do a full how to for it, I really just wanted to show it off. My inspiration for this was the rainforest and the beautiful scenery I saw in Avatar.

This look is deceptively easy. To create it I used a dark green eyeliner pencil for the eyebrow and vines part and set that with a shimmery yellow/green eyeshadow. For the waterfall I used a blue eyeliner to outline the shape and the squiggly lines and then filled it in with different blue eyeshadows. To make the waterfall look wet I added a layer of lipgloss over top of it all. If you want to know what I used for anything in particular please ask in the comments!

Here's the finished look!!!!

Well there you have it! I hope you liked it! I'll try to make the next one a little bit more wearable!

Have a wonderful night!

Apple Cider Vinegar: The Verdict!

2010-01-20T20:43:00.003-05:00

Well it's time. Finally! I have been putting off giving the verdict for this for a while now because my life has done nothing but get more stressful lately, so my skin has in turn stayed pretty bad, but through it all I believe the ACV has kept my stress acne at bay over the past few weeks! On top of that, now that my life has calmed down a bit, my skin is clearing up much faster than it usually does!

My routine was to use 1/2 ACV and 1/2 water mixture every night in place of my toner, and this makes my skin soft and clean feeling, though the smell does take a few nights to get used to.

My verdict: This stuff may really be a miracle product!!! I suggest everyone try this out!

Look of The Day: Flower Power!

2010-01-15T23:15:00.003-05:00

Today's look is another not very wearable look, and I realise that it looks very much like childish face painting, but I was bored and this is what I came up with!

I won't be doing a full tutorial for this one, but it is basically a drawn outline in black eyeliner and green eyeliner for the stem and leaf. I used mainly pearlex pigments to fill in the colour, but a few drugstore brands are mixed in there too, as well as one makeup forever colour. If anyone really wants the list of products i can do my best to pick what I used. To finish the look I put a blush pink on both my other lid and my lips for a rosy spring feel.

Here's the look!:

Well there you have it! I hope you liked that look!

Look of the Day: Blue Mime

2010-01-13T16:28:00.003-05:00

Today's look is definitely not a wearable one, but I've been getting into some weirder looks lately, so here we go: Crazy blue mime!!!

So this is what it looks like:

This look was done with very few products. It is done on a very bare face, no blush, so that the craziness stands out stark against a pale background.

So here are the ingredients:

- Face stuff (Foundation posder concealer, etc...)
- A shimmery blue eyeshadow (I used pearlex duo blue-green)
- A dark black eyeshadow (I used sobe botanicals hypnotize, which I am LOVING!)
- Urban decay primer potion
- A white or sheer cream eyeshadow (I used the gosh shadestick in eyeshadow base)
- A liquid concealer or foundation
- Black eyeliner
- Black mascara
- Lipgloss
- Basic eyeshadow brush
- Very thin eyeliner or angled eyeliner brush
- Lip brush

So here are the instructions:

- Apply face
- Apply Primer potion and then a little bit of the cream shadow up just above the crease
- With an eyshadow brush pat on the blue eyeshadow all over the lid just up to the crease, creating a very slight wing
- With the eyeliner brush (I used the sephora angled eyeliner brush) make a stripe of black in the crease that starts very thin in the inner corner and gets slightly fatter on the outer corner, winging it out at the end
- Apply black liner to the top lid winging it out as far as the black eyeshadow, but do not connetc them, you want two separate lines
- Apply many coats of mascara to the top lashes for a full lashed look (you could add false lashes if you wish, if I was doing a full costume I probably would)
- Taking the same black eyeliner pencil fll in your brows quite thickly and create a slightly exaggerated arch (blend with a eyebrow brush if you need to)
- Now for the lips! We start by taking your concealer or liquid foundation and covering up the lips (I used concealer since I use a powder foundation)
- Pat on a powder over top so it stays
- Once again, take the same black eyeliner and line your cupids bow and the center of your bottom lip, then fill in the center of your lips quite darkly
- to finish apply some clear gloss with a lip brush (Although you could leave your lips matte if you wish)

And there you have it, a crazy blue mime look! I hope you liked it! I have a feeling some of my next looks will be just as crazy, but if you are looking for a more wearable look, tell me and I can come up with something for you!

Have a lovely day!

Sobe Botanicals review

2010-01-08T16:30:00.003-05:00

So as promised here is the review for the eyeshadows I got from Sobe Botanicals. I bought 3 eyeshadows and the package came with 2 little test baggies of other colours. I also bought a green mascara, which is not pictured because I can't find it... You can find Sobe Botanicals on Etsy, where she sells a huge selection of mineral shadows, blushes, lipsticks, body butters and a whole lot more!

The eyeshadows are highly pigmented and a little bit goes a long way! Here's the picture of them swatched on my arm:

From left to right here are the colours:
Drama Queen (purple)
Hypnotize (Black)
Ho ho hoe red (Brick red)
Angel (pink)
Under the mistletoe (Green)

This picture is a pretty fair representation of all the colours but Drama Queen, which is a bit more vibrantly purple than it shows in the picture.

The first three are the ones I bought, and the last two were the testers. I love all the colours though! My favourite is hypnotize!!!! If you are going to buy a new black shadow, you should definitely look at getting this. It has the most amazing very fine glitter in it that is rainbow, but somehow still subtle. I also really lke drama queen. It is a vibrant purple but with a slightly more earthy tone to it. I would pair it with browns instead of blacks.

Overall I would definitely recommend that you try out some Sobe Botanicals products, but I have a few words of warning!

First, beware that the pictures on the Etsy shop show colours that are certainly more vibrant than the actual product. The colours are still beautiful, just not exactly the same as pictured. For example if you see drama queen on the etsy shop, it looks not quite the same as what is swatched on my arm.

Second, don't buy the mascaras!!! I do not recommend you get these! The colours are not very good and the formula is extremely liquid.... They are like soup and very hard to apply...

Well that's all I have to say on that subject! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Have a lovely day!

Merry Belated X-Mas!

2009-12-28T01:26:00.002-05:00

Well I haven't been on in a few days. Work is crazy over the holidays, so the little time I have is spent relaxing. A post should be coming soon though since I have the day off tomorrow (or later today). I have three great new makeup posts/reviews I want to share with you, so at least one of them should come in the next day!

P.S. I am so sorry that another Christmas look wasn't posted! I was just too tired!!! It wasn't all that exciting anyways. Gold on the lids and green in the crease with a red lipstick.

Have a wonderful night dears! Get some sleep for me!

Sobe Botanicals Are really pretty!

2009-12-21T23:44:00.003-05:00

I finally got my Sobe Botanicals mineral eyeshadows in the mail today! Sobe Botanicals is an Etsy store that makes some really nice eyeshadows, blushes, body butters, lib balms and more! I won't be doing swatches tonight because I am tired and want to go to sleep, but I am really excited about the colours I got as well as the coloured mascara I got from them as well!

I got three shadows, a purple, a red and a black with the most beautiful shimmer in it! I was also sent two tiny sample shadows: The most amazing shade of pink and a dark green. I also got a green mascara, which is a little watery, so I will play around with that one before I recommend or condemn it.

Swatches will come either tomorrow or the day after along with a review, but in the meantime, check out their Etsy shop! Everything is SOOOOO pigmented and beautiful! One word of warning though, the actual shadows are not quite as bright as the pictures on the website, but they are still quite bright and beautiful!

Look of The Day: Toasted Gold Holiday Look

2009-12-19T23:02:00.005-05:00

Todays look is one for the holidays. In my opinion the holidays are meant for metalics. Everything is so rich and warm (when you are inside by the fire of course) and happy, so warm golds and bronzes are perfect! And as for silver, I save that for new years, so the first of my holiday looks is a gilded eye. I have been seeing a lot of gold eyeshadow in magazines and on runways lately, but it hasn't been very exciting. Basically the one that stuck with me was a look I saw in Nylon Magazine (My Bible!) which had gold upper lids and lower lids, gold brushed over the lashes and gold brushed into the eyebrows, so the whole face was golden. The look was nice but I wanted to do something similar with a bit more pop for a fun night out! A subtler version of this would be perfect for meeting family or daytime holiday gatherings.

So here is the look:

This look is very similar to those golden lids that graced the pages of Nylon, but with a bit more definition and shape.

To create this look I used pearlex pigments in Aztec Gold and Antique Copper, but any bright gold and shimmery brown or bronze colours will do.

Ingredients:
- Face makeup (You know what to do)
- Urban decay primer potion
- Gosh waterproof shadestick in love that beige
- Pearlex pigments in Aztec gold and Antique copper, but any similar colours will do. They don't even need to be exact dupes of these colours, just make sure your gold isn't too pale! You want something with a brighter yellow tone to it!
- Urban decay 24-7 Glide on pencil in Bourbon
- Black mascara (I used Clinique's lash power mascara)
- regular eyeshadow brush (I used the Bobbi Brown regular eyeshadow brush)
- A crease brush (I used the one by Quo)
- A small, thin eyeliner type brush (The one I used is actually for painting miniatures)

Instructions:
- Apply urban decay primer potion and blend all over the lid
- Apply the Gosh shadestick and do the same (You need both to make this look last all night)
- With a damp shadow brush apply the gold pigment all over the lid, up to the crease
- With the crease brush lightly fill in the crease with the bronze colour, pulling it out at the corners
- Apply the urban decay eyeliner on the upper lashline only, winging it out so it is flush with the bronze shadow at the end
- Wet the tiny liner brush and apply a very thick line on the lower lashine and extend it all the way up to the end of where the bronze shadow is
- Apply mascara to top and bottom lashes

One last look:

So there you have it! A fun holiday look, for a night out! For those of you who want to tone this down for a family holiday gathering or dinner out, either leave out the eyeshadow on the bottom lashline, or pick far paler versions of these colours. A simple swipe of gold on the top lid with a little bit of liner and mascara is also an easy daytime holiday look for on the go!

Well I hope you liked it!

Have a lovely night!

Gosh Waterproof Shadesticks

2009-12-18T19:35:00.003-05:00

I should be studying for an exam that I have tomorrow morning, but I just can't concentrate, so I decided to make a post about an amazing product that I use almost every day! Gosh waterproof shadesticks!

The Gosh shadesticks are basically a tube of cream eyeshadow that twists up like a tube of lip balm only longer and skinnier. They come in a bunch of great, basic colours like beige, brown and blue. These are really useful for those of us who use a lot of mineral shadows and loose pigments. They look really cute on their own with a bit of black liner, but what they are best for is an eyeshadow base. They are very creamy and easily blended and they create the perfect base for eyeshadow to stick to. Any cream eyeshadow would do, but I love these because they are so easy to use and there is so much product in one tube. To use them I just sweep it all over my lid and using my ring finger I blend it all the way up to the brow. This creates a very sheer layer.

Gosh shadesticks are available in Shoppers drugmart for about 16$ Canadian, but they last a VERY long time!

Here is what the tubes look like:

I have two colours: Love that beige (The white tube) and the basic eyeshadow base (the black tube). Love that beige is what I use most often. It is a very light, almost white colour with a very nice shimmer to it. The eyeshadow base colour is a very bright white with a blue/purple shimmer that is almost like a duochrome.

Here is a swatch of the two colours I own:

The eyeshadow base is the top colour. This one goes on more sheer and I actually LOVE to use it on it's own because of the blue/purple shimmer to it. Love that beige is the bottom colour and goes on a little thicker.

I definitely suggest you try out these shadow sticks! They are possibly my favourite drugstore product of all time!

Now I should really get back to studying...

Ugh! Exams!

2009-12-17T12:29:00.003-05:00

So there is no look for today, and there probably won't be for a few days. Exams are very stressful and I still have one more on Saturday. After that though, be prepared for some awesome holiday looks and evening looks!

OOPS! I forgot!

2009-12-15T18:08:00.002-05:00

Well I just realised that I have been forgetting to drink my apple cider vinegar concoction every day... I haven't had it in about three days. I have been remembering to use ACV as a toner every night, but that is much easier to remember, since I already clean my face twice a day, but I don't normally go off and mix up apple cider vinegar and water to drink.

I think this is a better test of the benefits of using it on your face though. If I had kept going with both of them and I found a change in my skin it would be hard to tell which one was the cause. This way, any changes in my skin can be attributed to putting it on my skin.

As far as how that is going for me, I did notice a change at first, but now it is back to my usual mildly blemished skin. I do get acne when I am stressed out though and I am in the middle of exam period so I am VERY stressed! Because of this I don't think it is time to deliver my verdict on it. I will keep going with the experiment until 1 week after my last exam, which is on Saturday. I think that will be a fairer test of the ACV.

And for anyone who wanted to know if drinking ACV was useful in any way, don't worry, I will start doing that after I have finished the ACV on the face experiment and hopefull I won't forget this time!

Look of The Day: Pinks and Purples!

2009-12-14T11:46:00.003-05:00

Here is today's look! Pinks and purples! This is one of my favourite looks, and I wear variations of it often. This is a very summery look, but I love wearing it in cold weather to remind me of warm, bright summer days!

I will not be doing a how-to for this look today, since I have two exams I need to study for. This is also a very old look, so I can't remember exactly what I did. I will definitely be redoing a version of this look soon and posting the step by step on how I did it. Today this is just for inspiration and ideas. The look was created using Makeup Forever #92 (An intense matte purple) and #05 (A very bright matte coral/pink).

Here's the look:

I hope you liked it! And don't worry, I will post a how-to for this eventually!

Look of The Day: Green and Teal

2009-12-13T19:34:00.004-05:00

Today's look is a lime green and teal look using only drugstire brands. I find many drugstore eyeshadows are really boring or don't apply well, but there are a few that work really well if you know how to apply them. This look is done with two of my favourite drugstore eyeshadows: HIP Bright shadow duos and Rimmel London Colour rush eyeshadows.

For this look I used Rimmel London Colour rush in envy (a blue/teal colour) and Hip Bright Shadow duo in Riotous (lime green). A word of warning about the Rimmel London Colour rush shadows though: There is really only one colour in the package. When you first see them, they come in a package with a main, matte colour and a different shimmery one in the centre shaped like a crown. I actually bought envy because of the fabulous purple colour that I thought was in the centre only to find out that in one swipe all that centre colour was be gone, leaving only the matte colour. This seems like a pretty sneaky way of packaging something, so keep that in mind if you ever want to buy one.

Here is the look:

And here it is with my eyes open! I really like this because when my eyes are open you only see a smokey bit of turquoise but every time you blink there is a fun flash of lime green!

Ingredients:
- Gosh waterproof shadestick in beige
- Hip Bright shadow duo in riotous (I only used the bright coloured side)
- Rimmel London colour rush in envy
- Black felt tipped liquid eyeliner (I'm sorry but I forget which one)
- Maybelline great lash mascara
- Plain shader brush
- Quo crease brush

Instructions:
- This is a very simple look to do!
- First apply your face (foundation, concealer, powder, etc... (I kind of ignored my brows today, but it looks nicer when those are done too))
- Next apply the Gosh shadestick all over your lid and blend it all the way up to your brow
- Take your shader brush and get it wet, then get some of the HIP colour on it and swipe it all over your lid to just under the crease and blend out any harsh lines
- Next take the Quo crease brush and get a fair amount of envy on it and start sweeping in into your crease and the outer corner of your eye making a slight cat eye shape
- Using the same crease brush begin to blend out and upwards until you have a rather large stripe of the envy
- blend the edge of the two colours together, but not too much!
- wipe a little bit of the gosh shadestick under your brows and at the inner corners of your eye as a highlight and blend with your finger
- Apply the liquid liner to your top lid in a thin stripe, extending the line out just slightly past the colour
- Apply Mascara To upper an lower lashes, applying two coats to the top lashes

Voila! An extremely easy and colourful look! I hope you enjoyed it!
Have a wonderful day!!!

Review: Quo Crease Brushes!

2009-12-12T23:11:00.004-05:00

Today I am going to do my first product review on Quo makeup brushes. They were on sale the other day, so I bought two: The crease shadow brush and the crease blander brush. Quo is a company that has a relatively nice but inexpensive brand of cosmetics available in Shoppers Drugmart (I don't know if you can get them outside of Canada). I haven't tried much of their makeup (the only thing I own that I can think of is their colour corector palette), but I've heard a lot of people rave about their brushes so I decided to give them a shot.

So here they are (I am not a photographer, forgive me!) pictured with a penny to get the idea of the size.

Above is the crease shadow brush. I like this one! It is a very useful brush for defining your crease. It is also very soft and doesn't irritate my skin in any way. I found it very easy to sweep on colour with this and form the perfect cat eye shape extending from my crease. Unfortunately, this brush is not very multi-purpose. I like brushes that have multiple uses, but this does make a nice crease brush. I would buy this again!

This is the crease blender brush. I found that it worked very well and easily made a good smokey effect in the crease. That is as far as I will go with the compliments! This brush hurts!!! I would not buy it again! The brushes on this are much shorter and stiffer compared to the first so when you begin to blend your eyeshadow the stiff bristles grab at your lid and poke. I am not just saying that this is mildly uncomfortable, it hurts a lot! I normally have a relatively high tolerance for pain, but this brush had me cringeing with almost every stroke. I do not recommend buying this one.

Overall, Quo brushes seem pretty good for the price. The actually offer a rather large range of brushes for a drugstore brand. These brushes are relatively inexpensive as well. The two I got were each 13$ Canadian with an additional 40% off. They definitely don't replace professional brushes, but for anyone interested in some less expensive brushes for their own personal use, try them out! Just avoid the crease blending brush!

There is just one final note about Quo brushes that I would like to add. They come in very nice resealable plastic cases. The are a very thick plastic with a ziploc top that keeps them clean in your makeup bag! I thought it was a nice touch! (I will try to remember to post a pic in the next few days to show you)

And there you have it! My first real review is done! Hope you enjoyed it!
Have a lovely evening!

P.S. Feedback would be lovely! I want to hear what you liked and didn't like about the review and whether or not it was informative and clear enough. Please give me your thoughts!

Extra info on ACV

2009-12-11T20:32:00.002-05:00

I made a post earlier today about Apple Cider Vinegar, and realised there are a few important points that I failed to mention.

First of all I want to mention that all my reading indicates that the AVC you use should be organic and unpasteurized. This means it is unfiltered and still has all its good ingredients in it.

Next, I want to remind you all to shake up your bottle of ACV well before putting any in a drink or using it in a face cleaner. There is a LOT of sediment in it, so you want it well mixed before you use it!

I would also like to tell anyone who is considering trying it out on their face to do a very small test patch under your jawline first to make sure your skin does not react to it! I would recommend swabbing a very small spot of skin and leaving it on for a few hours at least to make sure you are not allergic. This is EXTREMELY important!!! There is a lot of acidity in ACV. If it begins to burn a bit this could mean that the ACV is too highly concentrated in you mixture. Wash it off immediately and try adding more water to it before trying again on a different patch of skin. If it continues to burn stop using it, your skin is too sensitive for this!

Another message to anyone who has done a test patch and wants to try it on their whole face: Do not put any other products on immediately after applying it. You still need to make sure it doesn't react with your skin. When you are absolutely sure that your skin does not react with the ACV, try another test patch of whatever product (such as moisturizer) that you would normally put on your face just to make sure your products don't react badly with the ACV.

Finally, I would recommend that you use ACV only at night. It smells VERy strong! I did read some testimonials from people who put it on for only about ten minutes before washing it off morning and evening, but for me at least I want to leave it on for a good amount of time to let it sink in and do its magic. This means I use a regular toner in the morning and replace that with the ACV mixture at night.

Now that you have all the proper information about using ACV, why not give it a try?

Have a wonderful evening!

Look of The Day: Blue and Gold

2009-12-11T19:17:00.003-05:00

This is a look I did a few weeks ago, so there won't be a step by step how to because I forget what brushes I used and what is on the rest of my face. Sorry! Feel free to ask questions though. I will do my best to answer them. This was a very quickly done look before work, so it isn't perfect, but I like how the colours work together.

Here is the look! List of products is at the bottom of the post.

Here it is!

A closeup of my eye.

My eyes closed

Ingredients:
- Pearlex pigments aztec gold
- Pearlex pigments turquoise
- SOHO eyeliner in twisted
- Black mascara (I think I used Lancome defenicils in black that day)
- Pink blush
- A bright pink lipstick (blotted out so it was barely there with gloss overtop)

I hope you liked today's look! Have a wonderful evening my dears!

The miracle product???

2009-12-11T13:35:00.001-05:00

The other day I was searching the internet for random all natural homemade cleansers and skin rememdies when I came across a website that was talking about apple cider vinegar and its many uses. The page was on www.earthclinic.com. It said that apple cider vinegar was good for you inside and out. If you take a couple of teaspoons of it every day it will regulate your hormones and help to make you feel better, clear your skin and some people even claimed it helped with weight loss! This happens because it balances the pH levels in your stomach. It also said that a solution of ACV and clean (boiled) water can work as a toner for your face because it contains an ingredient similar to one found in some prescription acne products. This stuff sounded amazing. so I decided to give it a try!

I made a mixture of 1/2 ACV and 1/2 water and put it in an old makeup remover bottle and have been using it every night for the past three days by putting some on a cotton ball and wiping my face down with it after cleansing. People with sensitive skin should make a mixture with much less ACV, probably 1/4.

I have also been drinking an ACV concoction that I made with one very large glass of water, 2 teaspoons of ACV and a spoonful of honey. (Make sure the glass of water is very big, otherwise the taste is too strong!)

So far I have noticed a slight difference in my skin, but not in any other areas. I didn't have much acne to begin with, but I was having some recurring spots under my ears along the jawline, and since I started putting the ACV mix on my face they seem significantly smaller. I also notice that my face feels much softer after I put it on. As for my mood it is difficult to tell, and probably a bad time to test it out because I have exams for the next week and a half, so I am pretty stressed.

As far as I can tell this stuff really does work, but it is far too soon to tell, so I will be updating you on how this is going in another week or two!

A little bit about me!

2009-12-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

I just realised I have yet to tell you all about myself. Kat is short for Katharine, and yes that is spelled the same way as Katharine Hepburn. I have yet to meet another Katharine who spells her name this way. I am a 19 year old Canadian resident, and I am currently taking Anthropology at university. I absolutely love fun bright clothing and extremely bright, eyecatching makeup! I am quite tall (5'10") and have very fair skin with very dark hair and eyes. Most people ask me if I am part asian or some similar ethnicity since I have an almond eye shape and high cheekbones, but I am 100% made in Europe. Well I was born in Canada of course but all my ancestors are European.

I want to tell you this so that you can compare your own colouring and skin type to mine to see how my makeup looks might look on you.

Please excuse the bad hair, but here is a picture of me with a plain face so you can get an idea of the type of skin I have for comparison. (Yes of course I am wearing makeup!!! Just no colours, so you get a good idea, since some colours on my skin can change the way my skin looks on camera.)

I am going to tell you about my skin type so that in the future, when I discuss how a product has worked for me, you know exactly what that means. As I said I have very fair skin. My skin type is normal, or somewhat combination some days. In general I don't have very oily or very dry skin. Sometimes my skin gets a little bit dry and flaky around the corners of my mouth and on my nose. Like many I sometimes get a bit of oiliness in my T-zone as well, but it doesn't do much more than make me look a bit shiny some days. I do of course have some acne, but I was blessed with relatively clear skin. I mostly get a few blackheads on my T-zone and the occasional spot, but let's not get too into my flaws here! The bane of my existence are the dark puffy circles under my eyes!!! Luckily with the right flash, they don't show up too much on camera, but believe me they are there!!! Dark circles are actually a hereditary problem in my family. I get them from my dad. I always have some puffiness and dark purple under my eyes. The skin under my eyes is also very see-through so you can see all the veins there. This problem gets much worse during allergy season when my eyes get even puffier, so look forward to a lot of reviews on products for undereye circles!!!

Now that you know about my skin type and what I like and dislike about my skin, you have a good frame of reference for any future makeup looks or product reviews. I am very sorry to those of you who don't have similar skin type or people with much darker skin! I would love to be able to post articles about makeup and products that would work for you as well, but I just can't do that right now. Maybe in the future I will get some friends to model makeup looks. I can tell you though that most of my bright makeup looks use makeup that does show up just as vibrantly on dark skin and looks even more beautiful than it does on fair skin.

Have a wonderful day my dears!

2009-12-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

For my first makeup post I think I will do a more subtle look. I don't want to scare you away at the outset!

This look is a fun smokey eye and a red lip perfect for sophisticated night out (or for me a day of class).

This look was created with a simple item that I believe everyone should have in their makeup kit: A Lancome eyeshadow quad (or a similar type of palette). The lancome eyeshadows are a very smooth shadow that is easy to use, but any similar basic quad palette would work fine. In these palettes are four colours that coordinate to make easy day and night looks. These are great for beginners and anyone looking for some easy makeup ideas. I own two of these.

This is what The first one looks like.

And this is what the shadows look like. This one has a very nice beige and smokey purple colouring.

This is the second one I own and also the one used in this makeup look.

And this is what it looks like opened. This one is a neutral beige with a lovely sparkly black.

Each palette has three eyelid colours and one highlight colour (Top right). For this look I used the highlight colour and the two bottom colours. (The top left colour I use for a more daytime look, but for me it is the exact colour of my skin so I don't use it often.) For a subtle daytime look sweep on the top left colour of any of these palettes (or the second lightest colour in a comparable palette) all over the lid, not bringing it above the crease. Next take the second darkest colour (bottom right in this) and smudge a little bit into the crease and outer corner. Finish with a little bit of eyeliner on the top lid and some mascara.

Now for today's look:

So this is the best shot I could get of the full look.

Ingredients:

- What you use for your sking routine (moisturizer, concealer, foundation, powder, etc...)

- Eyelid primer (I used Urban Decay priming potion)

- Sticky cream shadow base (I used Gosh waterproof shadestick in Love That Beige)

- Lancome sensational effects eyeshadow quad in Latte, Waif, Mannequin and The New Black

- A basic medium eyeshadow brush

- A small angled eyeliner brush (I used the sephora one)

- A basic blending brush

- Black pencil eyeliner (I used Makeup forever aqua eyes black)

- A volumizing black mascara (I used MAC zoom lash mascara)

- A bright pink blush (I used Cargo blush in Catalina)

- A bright red lipliner that is a close colour to your lipstick (I used Annabelle lipliner in cherry)

- A bright red lipstick (I used L'Oreal colour riche in British Red)

Instructions:

- Apply your face (foundation, coverup, setting powder, eyebrow pencil, etc...)

- Prime your eyes all over (all the way up to your brows)

- Apply a medium thick layer of your cream shadow base under your crease and blend all over your lid with your ring finger

- With you eyeshadow brush apply the bottom right colour (darker brown) of the Lancome palette to the inner two thirds of your eyelid.

- Using your angled eyeliner brush take some of the black shadow (bottom left) and paint a line upwards and slightly out from the very outer corner of your eye up to your crease

- Using the same angled brush and black shadow draw another line along your crease from where you ended your first line to about the inner 1/4 of your lid. Make sure to follow the curve of your crease.

- Taking the regular eyeshadow brush fill in the outer 1/3 of your lid with the black shadow so it meets with the lines you just drew

- Using your blender brush blend the black colour slightly into the brown, but not too much, we want to keep a somewhat defined separation. Do not blend the outer edges of the black shadow.

- We should now have a smokey cat eye shape

- Using the black eyeliner, line your top lashline and wing it out like a cat eye until it meets the edge of your eyeshadow

- Line your upper and lower waterline and the veryouter corner of your bottom lashline, making sure it meets the liner on the top to create one smooth line

- Apply a few coats of mascara to the top lashes so they are very thick and full and only one coat to the bottom lashes just to separate and define them

- Apply a generous amount of blush to just the apples of your cheeks and outwards slightly

- Line your lips with the red lipliner and then fill in your lips with the liner then lightly dab (Don't wipe!) off any excess product

- Put on the lipstick all over your lips, but don't go out past the lipliner or it will bleed and once again pat on any excess colour

There you have it!!! I hope you like my first look!!!

And don't worry! Those of you looking for more colour don't have long to wait!

First Post!!!/Welcome!

2009-12-08T17:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome everyone!

My name is Kat (short for Katharine) and I created this blog to discuss my favourite interest and hobby: Makeup. I love the beauty industry and have spent tons of time online searching for new tips and tricks, and I would like to share them all with you. I will be talking about skincare products, products that I love and makeup application.

I love bright makeup (no one would call me subtle) and spend a great deal of my time creating fun looks with eyeshadow. I will be posting new looks and how-to guides as well as new products to review and fun things to try. Keep in mind though that I am not a professional, so the things I tell you about will be things that work or do not work for me, and they may work differently for you. I am also not claiming to be an original, most of the things I tell you about will undoubtedly be discussed in many other places all over the internet and in magazines, etc... I just want to share with you which of these things I find interesting and show you how they worked for me.

Now that my rant is over, I hope to update regularly and keep you entertained with my future posts!

Have a wonderful day my dears!
Remember: Life is change. Have some fun!