Wellington Birthday Haul Part 2!

Part two of my birthday haul happened the day after my birthday. We started the day off early, arriving at the zoo about 10.30am. I'll have more about the zoo next week if you want to know more about our adventure.

Once we were done at the zoo, we went into the city to do some shopping. Our first stop was Kirkaldies and Stains. This department store is amazing for makeup. I bought 2 lip sticks, both from MAC. Both are in the matte formula. The first one I decided to get was Heroine. I love purple lipsticks. The second one I got was Candy Yum Yum. Bright pinks are also a favourite of mine.

After a lot of umming and ahhing I decided to get a MAC foundation too. I was colour matched to NW15 if anyone wants to know. I got the Mineralize foundation.  It does sheer to medium coverage and has a dewy finish. Prices for all the products mentioned will be down below.

After Kirks, we stopped at Starbucks (of course) then moved across the road to Pandora. I got a pink leather bracelet and a silver bow as my first charm. We then walked to Cosmic on Cuba and I purchased Lime Crime Velvetine in Wicked. Such a pretty dark red.

We went back to Kirks on the way back to the car and I stopped at the Mecca Cosmetica counter and picked up two Nars products. I got their blush in Orgasm (so pretty!) and their radiant creamy concealer in vanilla.

The last thing I bought on our Wellington trip part two was a pair of all black converse, which I've wanted for ages. I was originally after the all black leather ones, but they were a bit pricey for what I had left to spend. 

I'll have a swatch and lookbook for Parts one and two coming up on Wednesday so if your curious about how these colours are like on a real life human bean, then watch this space!

Just a disclaimer, yes I bought expensive makeup. I know it's expensive, but it was a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity for me so I took it. If anyone knows somewhere cheaper to purchase it please let me know because I would love to buy it all again. 

MAC Heroine= $40

MAC Candy Yum Yum=$40

MAC Mineral Foundation= $75

Nars blush in Orgasm= $44

Nars radiant creamy concealer in Vanilla= $44

Pandora bracelet and charm= $134

Converse= $69.99 (I had a $30 voucher, so originally $99.99)

To read about the first half of our Wellington adventures, go to http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/wellington-birthday-haul-part-1.html

Shannen xx

All photos taken in a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

Wellington Birthday Haul Part 1!

My birthday was recently and the present I got from my beloved was a massive shopping trip. For this massive shop, we went to wellington. The plan was to go to the zoo and then do some shopping then go home, but when we actually got to Wellington, the weather had done a complete 180, going from sunny and warm to rainy and dreadful. So because of this, we just went to Queensgate in Lower Hutt.

This has to be my favourite mall in the lower North Island. Not only is it massive, but Starbucks is only across the road. Starbucks will always be my favourite cafe, always. I wish there was one where I lived.

So aside from spending money at Starbucks, I spent the rest on clothes pretty much. The first thing I bought was actually three pairs of tights. They were on a 3 for $10 special at Equip. I got a plain 80 denier tight, then I got a super thick pair that has a kind of flowery pattern on it and then I got a polka dot pair. After these, I got another pair from Glassons. These were just a basic pair of suspender tights as I needed new ones because my old ones all have holes and ladders in them. I then bought 3 dresses . One from Mirrou (the black one) and 2 from ValleyGirl. The 2 from ValleyGirl are a size 10 and were $15.99 each. The dress from Mirrou was a size large and was on sale for about $20 I think. We went back to Glassons after that and I bought the boots. They are a size 8 (as I'm a 7.5 so I can chop and change between 7s and 8s comfortably.) and were $60. I've had my eye on these boots for months and months so I decided to take the plunge and buy them. While buying the boots, I couldn't help but to grab their buy one get one free nail polishes. I got a bright neon orange and a pretty pastel pink.

There's this one shop in Queensgate that does piercings and sells all sorts of beauty products and stuff which is where I picked up my Beauty Blender dupe. It was $7 and works amazing. I'll do a more in depth review on it as I've only used it a couple of times and not on all of my cream/liquid products.

I think thats all I got in this trip. There will be a part two as we went a few days before my birthday and then the day after as well.

A lookbook and swatch post will be coming up once I've posted Part Two, so look out for that on Saturday!

Shannen xx
All photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

OOTD: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Here's my 90's inspired outfit (Look how cute Carwen is!). I rocked this ensemble whilst at work today. Totally comfortable and casual. I wore coated jeans on the bottom. For those of you who don't know what coated denim is, the denim is coated in a kind of plastic feeling material to give a leathery look. The ones I have no longer have that leathery look as I've had them for a while now and they've been through the wash a few times. They are still super black though which is why I still wear them.

Then I have a stripey crop top, although in my opinion its not really a crop top, just more of a short top. This top reaches the top of my jeans, which are a mid rise. I've just chucked on my black cardi to warm things up as it's still cold where I live.

All three of those items are from JayJays. I am a fan of that brand, so you will notice as I post more OOTD posts.

Now, onto the most important part of my outfit, my shoes! These I recently picked up from Glassons. I've had my eye on them for a while now so I didn't mind dropping the $60 on them, and also, they were part of a birthday present from my beloved.

I just wore my everyday makeup (http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/my-go-to-make-up-look.html). This consists of a normal face of makeup: foundation, concealer, powder, highlighter, bronzer and powder. Then I wore winged eyeliner and chucked a dark purple lipstick on (Australis Grunge).

For accessories I wore my 90's tattoo choker and bracelet as well as my Hello Kitty watch from Thailand (Thanks Jo!). My nails are painted in BYS Black.

That pretty much covers my entire outfit. Any questions about where things come from or prices, just ask and I'll let ya know!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on 

DIY - Coconut Oil Hair Treatment

If you've coloured or bleached your hair as often as me, or if you were given dry, frizzy hair at birth then this post will help you out a lot.

Coconut oil has many uses. It can be used in cooking, hair, skin or makeup. Of course we won't be talking about cooking today. But I will give you a method on how to use it in your hair. Coconut oil makes your hair soft and shiny. This is because it is a heavy oil that actually penetrates into the hair shaft unlike lighter oils like canola or sunflower.

To use it as a hair treatment, you need about 3-5 tablespoons. This will depend on how thick or thin your hair is, or how damaged/dry it is. In the jar, it is a complete solid, so you either need to melt it down into a liquid, or rub it between your hands until it becomes a liquid. In it's liquid state it is easiest to apply to the hair. Personally, I think spooning it into a bowl and then microwaving it is the best for doing this particular hair treatment. I used about 3 heaped spoonfuls and melted it at 20 second intervals, stirring in between until it was melted completely. You don't want the oil to be hot, but it needs to be warm. Once it's melted and your hair is brushed out smooth, spoon it onto your hair, or you could use your fingers, but I found spooning it on easier. Now, you could choose to just the ends or your whole head. As my hair is ruined from years of dying and bleaching, I decided to do my whole head. You need to get all your hair saturated in the oil. Once this is done, tie it up into a bun or stick it up into a shower cap. You can leave it on for 30 minutes or for a few hours. A lot of different tutorials on Pinterest say 30 minutes to an hour before showering and washing your hair, or to leave it on for a few hours to overnight. It all depends on how much time you have. Personally, I think the longer you leave it on the better. The more time it has to penetrate the softer and shinier your hair will be. Either way, you need to rinse it out and wash your hair with shampoo. Again, the tutorials say to rinse your hair at least twice with shampoo to get rid of all the oil. You can condition as usual to make your hair even more softer, but it's not that necessary.

For extra shine, you can add a raw egg.

As an added bonus, to smooth out any frizziness on a non-hair mask day, grab a small pinch of oil and warm it up in your hands then smooth it over your hair. It'll smooth the frizz down and add some extra shine.

If you guys try this, leave me a comment on this post or comment on my facebook and let me know how it goes for you.

Also, if you would like to see a video on how to do the hair treatment to clear anything up, let me know and I'll get onto it as soon as possible.

Shannen xx
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

No Heat Waves Trial. Did it work?

After browsing on Pinterest the last couple of days, I've decided to start a series on my blog, similar to Grav3yardGirl's "Does this thing really work?". But instead of as seen on tv products, I'm going to do different no-heat curls methods.

Today I am showing you one of the easiest ones I have come across in my browsing. This is also an alright day style too if you're alright with the milkmaid look. To start off with, you part your hair in two down the middle. Starting on one side, you twist that half away from your face. Once you get to the end of the hair, lift it up over your head, similar to the milk maid braid style. Pin it there with whatever you want, I used bobby pins. Repeat on the other side. I did this when my hair was still damp after having a shower and washing my hair. You could try it with dry hair, but I'm not sure how it will work as doing it on damp hair, it'll set that way. I slept on this for the night.

In the morning, I unpinned it and then brushed it out with my fingers. I didn't give great curls like I expected from the pictures on Pinterest, but it did give nice waves.

Overall, this no heat curls method does work somewhat. I think it would work better on thinner hair rather than on thick hair. Maybe to do it on thick hair, try separating the hair into smaller sections. I did this look the day before I got my hair cut and thinned, so I'm going to try it again tonight with my now thinner hair. I'll post an update on my facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx) about how it goes, and also how long the curls stay in with no help from any products.

So yes, this method does work, but it will depend on hair type and thickness.

P.S. I'm going to film videos on how to do the no heat curls methods you guys can see how it's done, instead of reading it. Videos will be uploaded more regularly in a few months as I get more comfortable with editing and sitting in front of a camera talking to no one.

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

My new puppy!

Everyone meet mine and Blake's new puppy! Her name is Carwen, which is Welsh. Its another word that means love. She's a rescue pup and is about 7 weeks old. We've been told she is a pitbull cross with a staffy, but we think she is more pitty cross with labrador. She is the sweetest, cutest little trouble maker in the world and I love her so much already.

We've had her for four days already. Her special leg twitching spot is under her chin which reminds me of my cats at dad's. Cwtch (pronounced Cutch, welsh for cuddles) and Carwen get along like a house on fire, both getting over excited when they play together. More times than not Carwen will have started it first, which then gets Cwtch into trouble.

We've started training her already and she's picked up 'sit' really quickly. She also understands the 'stop' command we give Cwtch and will sit and stop when she hears it.

She's already a big part of my family, and will most likely appear in upcoming posts, either as a cute photobomb, or the post will be about her.

She's so sweet.

Sorry for the short post, but I just wanted to introduce you guys to her.
Shannen xx

Photo taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used

Tangle Teezer Review!

PLEASE EXCUSE MY TANGLE TEEZER. I NEED TO CLEAN IT.

I have a quick tip on having great hair. And that's owning a Tangle Teezer. These small brushes are great. I almost never brushed my hair because it hurt, it pulled my hair, and sometimes it literally ripped my hair out, so I tended to avoid brushing my hair as much as possible. Then came the day I finally bought a Tangle Teezer. They're a bit pricey but in my honest opinion it's definitely worth it. My Tangle Teezer I got from Life Pharmacy and it cost about $30-$35. Like I said, pricey. It comes in a variety of colours as well as travel ones and ones made specially for water based activities. Ever since I got my Tangle Teezer I've been brushing my hair every day and I've noticed a considerable difference I my attitude towards brushing my hair.

The official Tangle Teezer website (www.tangleteezer.com) states that "Tangle Teezer The Original professional detangling hairbrush is loved by hairdressers and used in professional hair salons. It's a super smooth operator that works the minute hair is lathered and 

rinsed. Glides through wet, vulnerable and colour treated hair with no pulling, tugging or yanking. Hair peace at last!"

Taken from tangleteezer.com

Everything they say about this hairbrush is true. It doesn't pull, or tug or rip. It just slides through the hair as if there was no tangles or knots to brush through. Hands down, I'm never going to buy another hairbrush again. Tangle Teezers for life!

I give this product 5 stars. 

It deserves every single one and it's made my mornings and evenings much more cheerful and pain free. I definitely recommend this to everyone who can get one. They're available in most pharmacies and online. 

On a side note, for all those who already own a Tangle Teezer, here is a quick guide on how to deep cleanse you Tangle Teezer. Doing this helps removes product and oil buildup as well as clears it of hair. 

1. Remove all hair

2. Rinse well

3. Apply shampoo to the brush, then add some baking soda

4. Add a little water so the shampoo and baking soda react a little 

5. Rub it in the bristles, using a cleaning brush might help (like a toothbrush)

6. Rinse well and let it air dry for a few hours on it's back, bristles up. 

Now your brush will be like new!

Shannen xx
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Edited on fotor.com

Something near and dear to me...

Today I am going to write about something I've struggled with for years, basically ever since puberty hit. And that issue is acne. More specifically makeup that doesn't aggravate or cause breakouts. I hope that this post will be useful to my readers of all ages. It doesn't just cover acne prone skin, but also skin that's sensitive.

I've got three products that I find brilliant for my skin, and I have very acne prone skin. Those three products are CoverGirl Clean Sensitive powder, CoverGirl Clean Senstive liquid foundation and ELF's Acne Fighting powder. I'm going to write a quick, mini review about each product. How they felt, lasted and treated my skin. 

First off is my long lasting and seemingly never ending CoverGirl powder. I wear makeup pretty much every day and this powder has lasted me months and months. My colour in this powder is buff beige, and I'm really pale. Along with my acne, I think my skin might be a little sensitive (probably caused by the acne). I found this powder was perfectly light, perfect match, and didn't aggravate any existing breakouts. If a product is to heavy on my skin my face can get quite aggravated and itchy, but I haven't found this happening with this powder. And, yes I know that this powder is reaching the end, but I'm squeezing as much as I can out of it. 

Now the liquid foundation that matches this powder is also never ending, although I do only use it as light coverage  because I didn't want my acne suffocating under makeup every day. I wear ivory in this foundation and it's perfect in winter, but slightly too light in the summer. Again, it's great for my skin. It lets my skin breathe and doesn't aggravate my skin. I would definitely repurchase these, but I'm wanting to change over completely to cruelty free makeup. Looking on both the CoverGirl and PETA website, I can't tell if they do test on animals or not, so until there is confirmation I won't repurchase these two products again. 

Now for a cruelty free option, I have ELF's acne fighting powder. This powder contains salicylic acid which is great for fighting acne. This powder helps keep your skin matte and shine free so will probably be good for oily skin as well. I'm in the lightest shade that you can get it. I can't quite recall what it is, probably light or fair. You can buy ELF either online or at kmart. 

I haven't got it, but there is also an ELF foundation that's also acne fighting and contains salicylic acid. I've seen a few reviews on this and it looks really good, so I can't wait to purchase it. I've not seen it at kmart so online will probably be your best bet. 

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com