W7 In The Buff: Lightly Toasted Swatches

This palette is the 3rd w7 palette, and the last Urban Decay dupe. They are incredible palettes. If you can't afford the Urban Decay Naked palettes, I highly recommend these. In New Zealand you can purchase these from Postie, and occasionally the makeup sales also stock w7. They generally sell for about $15 a pop. 

I've previously posted about the w7 palette In The Buff, and will be posting abut In The Night, which is their smokey eye palette. I still have to get the 2nd palette which is called In The Nude.This one is the dupe for Naked 1. The great thing about  these palettes s that the colour of the packaging corresponds with which palette it's duplicating.

So all these palettes come with 12 shades. Lightly toasted leans toward more bronzey shades.

Starting from the left, and because I'm terribly uncoordinated, the shades start at the bottom, I will show the swatches and label them. 

Left Picture from the bottom: Teddy bear, wonderland, cracker

Middle left from the bottom: happy, lady luck, twister

Middle right from the bottom: di di, delilah, magic

Right from the bottom: It's a dream, up in smoke, dawn

The only problem I found with these shadows was that the black wasn't as opaque as the other shades, which i suppose is okay because then theres not much chance of over doing it haha.

Overall, I love these shadows and I can't wait to finish my collection.

If you love cheap makeup, pick these up! Another bonus is that they don't test on animals!

If you have these, let me know how you like them.

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

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Olay Regenerist Face Brush Review

This blog post has taken a long time to come to life. That is because it is about skincare and I wanted to give it a good go before I decided what I though about it. If you've ever heard of the clarisonic, then you'll know what I'm talking about when I talk about facial cleansing brushes. This one is practically a dupe for the clarisonic, although it doesn't work quite the same. The facial brush I am reviewing today is the Olay Regenerist Face Brush. It is also called the Olay ProX Brush I think.

This is what it looks like:

I'm also going to chuck in a before and after. These photos are about 6 months apart, maybe a bit longer.

This is my before. I had quite bad acne and heaps of scarring. My cheeks were also quite red because of this.

Here is my after. My acne has improved dramatically, and my scarring has shrunken. My skin isn't really red anymore either. I hardly get and proper pimples anymore, except when its that time of the month.

This brush has two speed settings, and an on/off button. It's super simple to use. It also says it's water resistant only, but mine lives in the shower and is still fine. Although in saying that, I don't keep it submerged in water. I have dropped it in the shower before and the battery compartment came flying out and I thought I'd ruined the batteries, but all as well.

In the box, you get the actual hand held device, one brush head and a sample of an Olay face wash from the same range. I didn't use the sample given, but that's mainly due to the fact I already have like 100 face washes on the go. The brush head should be changed out every 3 months. They are sold separately in two packs.

This entire system only cost like $35, I think. In my opinion this is  a much nicer price to pay than the $200+ that the clarisonic is. I do still want to buy the clarisonic, but this is definitely a much more affordable stepping stone for me.

I have found this brush to be a godsend. My skin has never been so clean and clear before, and I do largely amount it to this. I recommend you go grab one of these cleansing brushes, whether it's this one or any other brand.

You can buy these from Farmers and the Warehouse.

I hope this was helpful, and if you've used anything similar I'd love to hear your experiences!

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

W7 In The Nude Palette Swatches

To keep going with my new idea of matching up videos with blog post, I am going to do a swatch post!

If you haven't seen it already, this weeks video is a Valentine's Day makeup tutorial. In this tutorial I use w7's In The Nude eyeshadow palette. I picked this one because it's full of pinks and soft romantic shades. There is a link to it at the end of this post.

This palette dupes Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette. So without further adieu, here are the swatches! 

These first three were almost pointless to swatch. They are very pale, light shades used best for highlighting or blending. From the left, even though you can't really tell is Latte, Angel and Venice.

Latte is a pale yellow perfect for a base or brow bone highlight. Angel is a shimmery pink champagne colour that is really good on the lid, especially for halo eyeshadow. Venice is a darker nude pink colour. It's also matte which makes it good for a crease shade.

Next up we have some shades you can actually see. These, from the left, are Marilyn, Copper Pot and Sun Kissed. Marilyn is a lighter version of Venice, and leans more towards the pink side. It's also matte. Copper Pot in the pan looks very pink, but when swatched comes out copper. I would call this shade satin. Sun Kissed in the pan looks like what Copper Pot should. It's a shimmery shade and very bronze looking.

This half of the palette is darker than the first half, and make for good crease shades. From the left we have Alice, Bad Manners, and Coffee Cup. Alice is a very mauve, pink, taupe shade and I love using it in my crease. Bad Manners leans towards a more brown shade. It still has pink/warm undertones. Coffee Cup is a pretty explanatory name for this shade. It's almost a true warm brown, just like coffee.

Lastly, we have Mud Slide, Tokyo, and Fashionista. These shades would be best for smokey eyes. Mud Slide looks like a mixture of Bad Manners and Coffee Cup. Tokyo is a darker taupe, with a pink base although in the photo it leans more towards brown. Lastly is Fashionista. In the photo it appears black, but in real life its a dark purple, similar to eggplant.

If you wanna see these colours in action, in this week's video I use this palette to create a summer appropriate Valentine's Day look. Here is the link for that: https://youtu.be/Xjgdw7AK43k

Hope you guys like these swatch posts. I have now completed my w7 palette collection so still have two to swatch if you would like to see them!

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

Combined Makeup Sale Haul

Hey guys! 

Here is my first proper post of the year! Today I am bringing to you a makeup haul. 

Just before christmas we had two back to back makeup sales so I thought instead of bombarding you guys with a bunch of hauls all at once, I combined them into a big haul.

First up, I got got both these at the same makeup sale. The top one is w7 In The Nude and is a dupe for Urban Decay Naked 3.  The bottom one is w7 In The Mood which is an all matte palette. Both these palettes are amazing and super pigmented. I definitely recommend picking these up if you can. I have swatch posts of other w7 palettes if you would like to check those out!

The blush and bronzer palette I got from the second makeup sale (the same one as the w7 palettes) and the foundations I picked up from the first one. The blush and bronzer palette is by a brand called Profusion. It comes with 4 blushes, two bronzers and two highlights. They are all incredible pigmented and amazing and the only thing I fault this palette on is how powdery they are. The two foundations I haven't used much. I picked up Loreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation in Buff. I wanted a new foundation in a shade that matched when I was tan and this sounded interesting. I've used it once and didn't like it. It applied patchy and was basically non existant on my skin. I do want to give it another go though. The second foundation I picked up was Revlon Colourstay Aqua Mineral Foundation. I haven't really used this just because I'm not too sure how to actually use a mineral foundation. If you have any tips on how to use this, let me know!

The eyelashes and mascara I grabbed from the second makeup sale, and the eyeshadows from the first. Theres not too much I can say about the eyelashes as I haven't used them yet. I'm still learning how to apply eyelashes. The mascara is w7's Absolute Lashes which is a dupe for Benefit's They're Real mascara. I love it. It makes my eyelashes super black and long, and I haven't experienced any clumping with it. The three eyeshadows are Maybelline Colour Tattoo Pigments. I had no idea these existed until I saw these. I picked Downtown Brown, Breaking Bronze and Buff & Tuff. These are such nice eyeshadows. They blend super well and go on so smooth.

The w7 Brow Parlour and LA Girl Powder I picked up from the second makeup sale whereas the two City Colour products I grabbed from the first one. The w7 Brow Parlour has revolutionised how I do my brows. I used to use the Elf Brow Kit, but this has just blown my mind. It comes with a wax, highlight, blonde and brunette powder as well as a brush/spooly and tweezers. My brows have never been more on point. I use this with the City Colour Bold Brow Gel. It was clear but since it goes on my brows it now has a tint to it. The other City Colour product is a dark spot corrector. This looks amazing underneath a brightening concealer. It is a orange based concealer so it cancels out the blue under my eyes. The last thing is the LA Girl Pro Powder. This is a translucent powder I picked up to try out baking. So far so good!

Lastly, my favourite products. Lippies! These all came from the same makeup sale I believe. Firstly we have three Rimmel Lip Lacquers. Aurora, Nova and Galaxy. All of them are just super pigmented lip glosses basically and they're awesome.  I also grabbed two Yes To Carrots tinted lip balms, although in my opinion they're not very tinted at all. They do moisturise well though. The one actual lipstick I grabbed was a Revlon one. It's colour is Hot Cocoa and is a warm brown colour. I'm totally digging the brown lips trend, I'm just too scared to try it out myself. Lastly, I grabbed a lip gloss. This is Maybelline Colour Sensational Lip Gloss in Luxe Lilac. Theres not much to say about this, its just your standard every day lipgloss.

I hope you guys liked this new idea of pairing up Youtube videos with a blog post.

Let me know what you think about it.

Here is the video for this blog post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCU2nTt9G0o

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

New Year!

Hey guys,
I know I've been absent for a few months but I've been having a serious case of writer's block, and with the christmas period I was working a heck of a lot and wanted to spend the time with my family.

I'm also in the middle of planning my wedding which is in February! I've just been so busy lately that I've let my blog especially fall onto the back burner.

This year I am back into it. I have got different hours at work now, so I'm working on a schedule type thing to work around that.
Also, in order to keep writer's block at bay, I've been thinking that I'm going to do a blog with every video that I upload. They will be the same thing, so if you prefer the blog there will be a post there but if you prefer the video that will also be there. I think that will be the best way to make sure that every one gets what they like.

If you guys have any ideas or requests for posts you'd like to see, let me know!

My New Years resolutions for my blog and YouTube, is to make sure I keep up with regular posting.
I also want to be more regular with Instagram and Twitter too.

I hope you guys had a great christmas, and a wonderful new year!

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

W7 In The Night Swatches

This palette is the latest in the w7 eyeshadow palettes that I have added to my collection. I still need to get In The Nude and Up In Smoke, which I believe is the latest one. In The Night is the first in their 'smokey' collection, with Up In Smoke being the second. Previously they had just done nude/neutral palettes.

Personally, most of the colours in this palette I wouldn't have considered 'smokey' as they are all still quite light. There are also some purple shades which is nice to see. Shakes things up a bit from the normal browns and blacks that generally come in smokey eye palettes. 

The colours are left-right, bottom to top. I'm really uncoordinated and couldn't figure out how to line it up with the palette and on my arm at the same time.

Far left, from bottom to top: Dusty, Wonderland, Summer

Middle left, from bottom to top: Atlanta, Abracadabra, Top Hat

Middle right, from bottom to top: Razzamataz,  Lady Luck, Laura E

Far right, from bottom to top: Party Pooper, Gate Crash, Bologna

As I've only just got this palette, I haven't really had a chance to play with it yet. The swatches make me excited to though, as they all seem quite strong and pigmented. Hopefully this one is just as good as the previous palettes I've tried. 

Let me know what you think about these palettes if you've tried them before.

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

XoBeauty Brushes Review

For my birthday this year, I received a set of XOBeauty brushes. YAY. I had a couple of experiences with these brushes before owning my own set. Not only was I excited to own something created by one of my youtube idols, but I knew that they were awesome brushes.

I got the 12 piece brush set which contains a powder brush, blush brush, bronzer brush, foundation brush, concealer brush, eyeshadow brush, angled eyeshadow brush, lip brush, small blender brush, large blender brush, eyebrow brush and a eyeliner brush.

First of all, I'm going to talk about the shipping. In New Zealand, XOBeauty have a flat rate of $5, so yay for cheap shipping. Secondly, I received my brushes less than 2 days after ordering. I ordered them on a Wednesday night, and by lunch time on Friday they were in my hot little hands. This is was incredible. 5 stars from me on this front.

Now onto the brushes. These are the best brushes I have used. I haven't tried many brushes, but the ones I have tried, although good, do not match up with my XOBeauty brushes. These are so soft and pick up the perfect amount of product. There is only one brush that I don't really use, which is the foundation/concealer duo brush. This is only because I prefer applying my foundation with a beauty blender or my flat top brush from Jessup. 

With these brushes, my makeup applies so much nicer. The powder brush sets my foundation with less product than my kabuki brush, as well as being so much softer and gentler on my face. A lot of these brushes are pretty equal with my Jessup brushes in what they do and how they apply. 

My favourite brushes from this set is the small blending brush and the powder brush. 

If you want to know how I clean them, I have a post and a couple of videos up on youtube that tell you how I do it. I've also found a new way to do it, and all that involves is micellar water, a cup and a towel.

Overall, I recommend this brushes to any one who asks. They are incredible. Super soft, super easy to use, blend well, and pick up the perfect amount of product. 

Thanks for readying guys! Any suggestions for future posts, just hit me up.

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com