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

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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

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For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

DIY Scrubs for Face and Body!

One weekend Blake and I went out, bought a load of stuff and made things with said stuff. I thought I would document the experiment and give a recipe for all my lovely readers to follow. 

This recipe is just for a simple body scrub. You can change it how you please, add or remove or swap around the different ingredients.

The ingredients you will need (in a basic sense) is coconut oil (or any other kinda oil ya like), brown sugar, sea salt, tea tree (if you have acne prone skin) and any essential oils that you like (we used lavender) 

First, chuck some sea salt in a bowl. This amount depends on how much you wanna make.  

Next you wanna put the sugar in the bowl with the salt. You only need about half of how much salt  you put in. so like a 1:0.5 ratio, or something like that. 

 Now blob tonnes of coconut oil (or whatever oil you used) into the bowl. And when I say tonnes I mean like 3 or 4 tablespoons. Measurements don't really matter, you just gotta play it by ear.

 Oh I forgot! You need honey and bicarb soda. The honey is good for skin, and I can't remember why the soda is in there, but I think it helps with exfoliating. Refer to Pinterest for that one. 

 This is where you put your oils in. You only need a few drops of each. Especially if you are using tea tree oil as it can be harsh on the skin if you use way too much.

Now mush it all together! You want a kind of solid, but not much, but kinda pliable mixture. It needs to be solid enough to not slop of your body when you're rubbing it around but you need it soft enough to smoosh it in and exfoliate that beautiful body.

 And voila! Into a pretty container it goes for storage, until the next time!

I hope you guys enjoyed this! We had heaps of fun making these. 

We also made a coffee scrub which is almost the same recipe except you don't use honey or bicarb soda or essential oils and instead you use instant coffee.

Let me know if you gave it a go!

Shannen xx

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

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

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For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

Battle of the Cruelty Free Eyebrow Products

As a strong lover of all things makeup, I am trying to build my collection in a cruelty free way. This can be quite difficult as there is limited products to choose from in New Zealand. It's also quite difficult to know who is actually cruelty free, because some sites are not very reliable. So here I am bringing you a post that will help you bring a decent cruelty free brand.

First topic of this maybe ongoing series is eyebrow products. Now we all know that eyebrows are important, they frame the face. So we need good products that will do that, and last.

The first product is a well known brand called E.L.F. I picked mine up from K-mart for $10 and it's in the colour Ash Blonde. This will also be well known as Shaaanxo uses it a lot in her videos. E.L.F. is a famous cruelty free brand, as well as being super affordable.

The second product is Australis Eyebrow pencil. This was about $12 I think, and is also from K-mart. Mine is in Blonde. This is much warmer than the E.L.F. product, but is really nice and easy for me to use if I'm in a rush.

The last product is W7 Brow Twister in Hazel Blonde. I got this from a makeup sale and I technically paid $5 for it. It was part of a 2 for $10 deal. This is my most recent purchase and is also the darkest out of the 3. I wasn't too sure about the status of cruelty free -ness on this brand. I had to do extensive research to find it out, and thankfully it is. It's also a UK brand, which I've been told has very strict rules and regulations on animal testing making it very difficult to actually test on animals.

At the moment, my W7 brow pencil is my favourite. Its not as quick and easy as my Australis pencil, but it doesn't take as long to do my brows if I used E.L.F. and a brush. I use E.L.F. when I have heaps of time to focus on really stencilling my brows on. E.L.F is definitely the perfect match for my brows, but I'm really enjoying the darkness of W7 right now. It might have something to do with me growing my hair out so my natural hair colour appears darker in comparison to the bleach, but I'm not really sure. Australis is too warm for my hair colour in general, but just to chuck it on lightly in a rush does the job, so I'm not going to complain.

If you have any of these products, let me know how you like them. Or if you buy one of them after reading this, let time know how they work for you.

Don't forget to check out my links listed below. If you have any idea how I can get all my links and social media to match my Instagram username, let me know. I've been trying to get them all to match for ages!

Shannen xx

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

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

First Impression: L'Oreal Paris Voluminous False Fiber Lashes

For christmas, I got this L'Oreal Paris Mascara and Eyeliner set. It comes with a full size Voluminous False Fiber Lashes, a pencil sharpener and a mini Kajal like eyeliner. I haven't used the eyeliner, as I'm not much of a pencil eyeliner wearer, but if you want to see a first impression, or a video of me using it, just let me know. 

So today, I am bringing to you a first impression of the Voluminous False Fiber Lashes in Black. I'm not sure if it's waterproof or not, but when I got in the shower at the end of the night and started washing my face, it was quite easy to remove with just water. 

The wand on this mascara is long. Its not crazy fat and round like some mascaras, but its not super thin either. I think it's the perfect size to do both top and bottom lashes. The actual product inside the tube is very black, and quite thick. The best way I can describe it is gloopy, but its not clumpy. I didn't notice any type of clumping. 

I took photos before I applied the mascara, after one coat, after two coats and then a final one 12 hours later. 

I only normally wear mascara with one coat, just because my eyelashes are quite long, so if  I wear more, they just get out of control. So for scientific reasons, I showed two coats so everyone can see what it's like. 

I loved this mascara. There was no smudging under my eyes. It was still as black as when I applied it in the morning. The only thing I have to say is that after 12 hours the curl in my lashes did straighten out.  I was super impressed with this mascara, to the point I now wear it everyday. 

If you've tried this mascara, let me know what you though about it in the comments below 

Also, let me know if you liked this First Impression post and whether or not you'd like to see more. 

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

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ELF Review

Today I am bringing to you a one brand review. This is an E.L.F. review. If you don't know what E.L.F. is, it's a cheap as chips makeup brand. The acronym is eyes, lips, face. They are a super affordable brand and can be purchased online at eyeslipsface.com as well as sites like beautybay and beautyjoint. If you don't like shopping online, like myself, you can also purchase it from Kmart.

I'm just going to start this off by saying that this is a glowing review. So if you can't be bothered reading this whole review, just  know that you can go wrong with E.L.F. Also, if you can't be bothered reading this, I have a video review of these products coming out on Monday so keep a look out for that.

First things first, let's start with the face powders. I have two. I have the Clarifying pressed powder on Ivory and the High Definition powder in Shimmer. 

I used the Clarifying pressed powder when my acne was really bad. It contains salicylic acid so it's really good and covering and treating acne at the same time. I loved this powder. It definitely helped soothe my acne down as well as setting my powder, helping it last all day. The HD powder is also awesome. It didn't set my powder as matte as the Clarifying powder. The shimmer in the powder is great if you take a lot of photos, as it helps blurs 'imperfections' and blemishes. 

Next is the eyebrow kit, undereye setting powder and cream eyeliner. The eyebrow kit is awesome. You would've heard everyone raving about this if you watch a lot of beauty gurus on youtube or read a lot on blogger or wordpress. The hype is real. It's amazing. Mine is in ash and it matches perfectly. The underage setting powder is an almost exact miniature copy of the HD powder except not as pink, and way more shimmer-y in my opinion. I noticed a huge difference in how my concealer lasted. It didn't feel as tacky, as well as my mascara didn't smudge down under my lower lash line like it used too. It also helps brighten up my underage circles a bit too. The cream eyeliner is the only product I have an issue with. I think this is due to my eye shape. I have hooded eyes, so whenever I applied this it just transferred to the top of my lid. I tried setting it with translucent powder, and I even tried using a black eyeshadow but it still smudged. It also doesn't matter how long I leave it to set, it will still smudge. If any one has any tips on how to get past this, please let me know on here, Facebook or youtube. 

Last but not least, we have the shimmering facial whip in lilac petal, blush in pink passion and the makeup setting spray. The shimmering facial whip is quite good. Not as highlight-y as I would have preferred, but it does the job nicely. It gives a subtle sheen, that's a light pink, champagne colour. I use it on my cheekbones and on my inner corner just to brighten things up a bit. It is also a little bit thick for my liking, but like I said, it does the job. The blush is amazing! I also really want to try their blushes in the other shades that they have too. It's super pigmented and easy to blend out. My favourite out of all these products is the makeup setting spray, which is why I saved it till last. I spray this after my moisturiser, but before I put foundation on and then again when I finish my entire face. This makes my makeup last all day, without a single thing budging. I love it so much that I now feel weird when I forget to put it on before I leave. 

E.L.F. definitely gets a 10/10 from me. Not only is it super cheap, but it's also really good quality. Also, an added bonus is that they don't test on animals. Feel free to recommend any E.L.F products that weren't mentioned above. 

Don't forget to follow me on twitter and instagram, like me on Facebook and subscribe on youtube!

All links are in the about me sections (:

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Don't forget to keep an eye out for the upcoming video on Monday (:

Review: Formula 10.0.6 Facial Mask - Deep Down Detox

I love this brand and the face masks and other products I've tried. So this is already off to a good start.

Directly from their website, their little blurb about this mask is: This super-cleansing team of ingredients Orange, Bergamot and Sea Salt work together to detoxify and banish impurities. For a clearer, brighter complexion - book your skin in for a Deep Down Detox today... and every other day!" (http://www.formula1006.com/deep_down_detox.php)

The orange in the mask is the biggest ingredient. Oranges and vitamin c are good for hydrating and brightening the skin. 

I've tried this face mask once before. And I loved it. But this time around? Not so much. 

This is only due to the fact that my skin seems to have changed from when I first tried this mask. The mask felt amazing the whole time it was on my face, until I washed it off.  I seemed to have an allergic reaction or something. That's why there won't be any photos of mah face today. 

While the mask was setting or whatever it's called, there was no tingling or itching or burning. It was only after I washed it off that my face went so red and burnt looking, like I'd been stuck in a desert for months. It was very hot to the touch, even kind of radiating heat like a sun burn. 

I was quite disappointed by this because their other mask (Pores Be Pure) didn't have any effect on my skin. The redness did go away after a few hours and there was no more reactions to be had. 

I still give this product a 4/5 stars just because it is a great brand and they have amazing products. It just doesn't get all 5 stars because of my weird reaction. 

I threw this product away before I got a photo of it, but the picture is just sourced from Google. 

All of Formula 10.0.6 products can be bought at Farmers. They're quite affordable too which is excellent. 

Shannen xx

Lush Cupcake Face Mask Review

I love Lush products, all of them. I am yet to come across a product that doesn't smell amazing or not do the job it's supposed to do. 

I've just recently acquired a sample of the Cupcake face mask. It smells amazing.

On the label it says "Chocolate heaven for oily and teenage skin. Removes excess oil and calms breakouts."

Now as you all probably know by now, I've had some long term issues with acne. It's the one thing I can't stand about my body, and I wished my silly hormones would sort their stuff out. I am nearly 20 for crying out loud, I should no longer be dealing with these teenage problems. 

This is why I though I would try a face mask that might help sort this problem out. It is aimed for people with oily skin or who have to deal with face demons. According to the Lush catalogue, it softens, tones and cleanses with its main ingredients being a linseed infusion, fresh mint and rhassoul mud.

Now, I've only used this sample twice, so I don't know if its helped with my acne or not by calming my breakouts. I don't have oily skin so I know that side of the face mask has little effect on me. But what I do know is that this stuff smells amazing and makes my skin super soft. It also makes my skin feel really clean.

I know it looks kinda gross, but it has cocoa powder in it to make it look and smell like you're smooshing chocolate all over your face. I think it also goes with the name of the mask. The Cupcake mask is also Vegan friendly, which means no animal by-products have been used in the production of the mask.

If you're not a fan of chocolate or something in this mask doesn't agree with you, you could try Cosmetic Warrior, which Lush says "Garlic and tea tree oil work together naturally to keep troublesome spots at bay."

Lush face masks are $18.90 and you get 75g.

My sample was a spoonful and I've still got one or two masks to go, so a little goes a long way.

Especially for something completely natural, so you know you're not putting any damaging chemicals on your face.

I highly recommend Lush products.

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

Review: JoBaz Hair Colour Remover

Do you ever dye your hair and hate the outcome? Or maybe you wish you could get rid of the colour buildup in your hair to start all over again, nice and fresh? Hate bleach, but want to go from dark to light?

I've found the product for you!

JoBaz Hair Colour Remover is a miracle sent straight from heaven itself. As you all might know, I had bright red hair. I even had some buildup from dying over the red with more red. 

When I was thinking about going back blonde, I did a lot of research on this product. I read reviews, i watched youtube videos. I did everything I could. I bought it from Countdown. It's a pricey product, I got it for $35 on sale. Normally it's $40. I haven't seen this product anywhere else, just at Countdown.  They also have a chemical straightener type product by the same brand. 

There wasn't too much reviews on people who had used this on red hair, so I wasn't completely sure if it would work as red is a stubborn colour to remove, and my hair being so porous, it could have stained. So I bought it. And I followed the instructions to the t. I didn't want anything to go wrong with this at all. I needed this to work. 

The great thing about this product is that it doesn't damage your hair like bleach. It dries your hair out a bit, but nothing that leaving your conditioner on for an extra couple of minutes won't fix. 

I was completely blown away by the outcome of this product.

It left my hair a orange blonde, where I only needed to lift it a few more shades to get it to yellow so I could tone it to an ash blonde. It removed all of the red, except for one tiny strip that I missed. It was all gone. All of it. And I was pretty much a blonde again in one easy step.

I highly recommend this product. For anyone. But do follow the instructions or you might not get the outcome that you desire.

By the way, this stuff stinks, so do it in a ventilated room.

Five out of five stars from me!

Let me know how you went with it if you've tried it.

Shannen xx

Photos of myself taken on either my iPhone or Canon 600D

Edited on fotor.com

Photo of the JoBaz product taken from Google

Ch-ch-changes

Ch-ch-changes

Just gonna have to be a different man

Time may change me

But I can't trace time

Yes, hello. I am blonde. Yes, yes. I also cut all my hair off. 

Now I don't know if you guys know this, but I get really bored with my hair colour. Very quickly.

Also, I have always wanted to cut it into a longish bob thing. SO I DID. 

I stripped my hair using JoBaz's Hair Colour Remover, review coming soon. Then the next day I used an ultra light ash blonde. Then the next day I used a Vitamin C treatment, DIY coming soon. Then I bleached my hair, twice (not very good of me at all). This is why I chose now to cut all my hair off. My ends were quite damaged as you would expect. 

I'll let you all know now. DO NOT TRY THIS IS AT HOME. If you have red hair and want to remove it, go to a professional. Red is the hardest colour to remove, and I could have done it in a less damaging manner, but I am way to impatient for my own good. In saying that, it did give me the best excuse to cut all my hair off. 

I love my new haircut, thanks Harmony! It's something completely different and I'm glad I did it. Also, I'm always much happier with lighter hair, why did I ever go red? Brunette is not my thing. 

Since bleaching my hair, to restore it I have been alternating between a keratin hair mask, coconut oil and almond oil. All have helped wonders. Now that my hair is all cut off, I am only using coconut oil. Mainly because I don't have either almond oil or a hair mask to use at them moment, but coconut oil is enough for the time being. 

I will post a 'how to' on short hair in the next few days if anyone is interested! Although, do keep in mind I am still learning myself, so any tips and tricks will be much appreciated!

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

Birthday Lookbook and Swatches

Welcome to my first LookBook! For those of you who don't know what a LookBook is, it's basically a compilation of outfits that all come under a certain theme. Like sometimes you'll see a black and white LookBook, where all the clothes are black or white. Or maybe you'll see seasonal ones for summer, winter, spring or autumn. But in this case, my LookBook is a compilation of outfits put together from clothes I bought while in Wellington shopping for my birthday.

In the first picture I am wearing a t-shirt dress I got from ValleyGirl. I paired it with black socks and a taupe pair of ankle boots I got from Dotti. I wore my hair down and straight just to make it a bit more casual. Also it was a semi warm day so I skipped on tights and just threw on a black cardigan. 

In the middle picture, I'm wearing the dress I picked up form Mirrou. This day was colder so I wore the boots I got from Glassons, a pair of tights I picked up at the same time and my camp jacket from JayJays. I also threw on a cream scarf just to lighten up the dark tones a bit. To add a bit of a girly touch, I clipped my hair back in a half up half down style.

In the last picture, I wore this outfit out to my birthday dinner. The t-shirt dress I got from ValleyGirl along with the first one. I wore tights that I grabbed from Equip as part of a 3 for $10 deal and I just chucked on my creepers to add a bit of an edge. With my hair I just clipped back my fringe. I threw on a black cardigan as it was night and cold outside.

From my second half of my trip, I picked up a lot of make up. I've swatched here what I think is worthy of showing off the colours. In other words I didn't bother to show my foundation and concealer as you wouldn't be able to see them anyways.

Lime Crime Velvetine's go on like a lip gloss and dry matte. There is no need for a lip liner (or so the packaging says). I found this amazing to wear all day. I didn't need to reapply once, even after eating and drinking. It stuck on hard. Which also made it a bit hard to get off, but they do say on the packaging to use a certain type of makeup remover. I got the shade "Wicked" which is a very dark vampy red. Beautiful!

MAC's lipsticks in "Candy Yum Yum" and "Heroine" were eye catchers for me. They're bright, vibrant, last a long time and are matte also. And my god, do MAC lipsticks smell amazing. They smell like a vanilla cake batter or cookie dough. It's incredible. Heroine isn't showing up as true to colour. It's a much more pale, but vibrant purple. Candy Yum Yum is a bright true pink.

Nars blush in "Orgasm" is used by almost everyone. A lot of the gurus I watch on YouTube have it and rave about it. So I decided to give it a shot. And it's amazing. I don't even bother using a highlighter anymore when I use this. Its the perfect peach and its so shimmery (which I love) that it replaces my ELF facial whip. The colour is perfect for pale skin like I have. It's not too much but it still stands out in a subtle way.

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 

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

Seeing Red

I've had a bit of a change. The peachy pale colour didn't stay long, but my plan the whole time was to go bright red. Which I've now done. I have to say, I think it's one of my favourite colours I've had so far. It goes with plenty more outfits than any other crazy colour and now I don't get as many people coming up to me and asking a bunch of questions about my hair. It's a much more peaceful life being a redhead. It seems to be a lot more socially accepted than blue or pink or yellow.

Now, I've actually had my hair red since about last Friday I think. But it's taking me ages to get around to blogging about it. But I have done it now, and the world can finally know I have brilliantly red hair!

There's a bit of a funny story about when I was getting it done. I don't go to any salons, it's all done at home and this time, I had the help of Chloe, who is quite possibly the best hair colourer I've met. We had almost finished my hair,  managing to get all but my fringe and a chunk of hair about an inch thick done and saturated with dye. Thanks to Chloe and Blake, we got another box (Schwarzkopf Brilliance Luminance in L43 Smouldering Red) to complete the job, and I actually preferred that colour to the original (L'Oreal Paris Feria Preference in P67 Pure Scarlet).

Before I bought the L'Oreal box, I did read some reviews on it, and a lot of people were saying it came out plum. It didn't turn out like that at all. I find it was more of an orange red than a true red. The Schwarzkopf box came out a much more richer true red. I've also found that the L'Oreal box has already faded a lot and I haven't even washed my hair yet! Although in saying that, it has been really sunny lately and that does fade hair quite fast. I will probably repurchase the Schwarzkopf red once I need to redye it as it was very vibrant, very true, and made my hair look really shiny.

That's all I really have to say about red hair at the time being, although it's probably going to stick around for a while. I love it and I know Blake does too. If any of you guys think it does too, let me know!

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

MOVING HOUSE

Sorry about the lack of posting lately but me and Blake moved house! Things have been quite hectic with having to pack and move from one house to the next.

But today I'm going to tell you about our move. We moved from a one bedroom flat into a sleepout in order to start saving money. I plan on going back to study next year so we need to do some serious saving in order to be able to afford to do that.

Now, having a whole house full of furniture and moving into a single room caused a bit of a conundrum. What were we going to do with all our furniture? I had a room still at my dad's that we could store it all in, which definitely came in handy. We sold a few bits and pieces that were too big for my room, or that we didn't need whatsoever. I also sold some shoes to free up some space for when we moved.

In our new place, we have our room, a bathroom and a little kitchenette in the corner. Blake built us a new bed with drawers underneath so we didn't have to bring our dressers. They went to dad's and to Blake's sister. Our old bed also went to dad's.

So in our new room we have our new bed, our tv on a small tv stand, my rack, two small bookshelves and one large bookshelf. With all this furniture we still have plenty of space to move around. It's also great having our own bathroom. We have our two shelves in there from our old bathroom too.

Since we don't have any use for our fridge we had to eat as much frozens and fridge food as we could before we left our old flat. Whatever was left went into the house. We now only keep snack foods in our little kitchenette.

I love our sleepout. Its so much more warmer and cosier than our old flat, and we have the added bonus of having pets now too. Dora the cat stays with us the most, probably to avoid the puppy.

Talk to you guys soon!
Shannen xx

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

Unexpected Twist

If any of you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you would have seen my hair getting less and less blue. I was fading it out as much as possible before I bleached it for my next hair change. It was patchy blue, pink and lilac. Which was kinda cool but I was completely bored of blue and ready for a new colour.

Now I have a few colours sitting around at home and I had settled on a colour to go to next. So I get my bleach and wait for my next day off so I have the whole day ahead of me to do my hair. Saturday rolls around and around lunchtime I decided it was time to get my ass into gear and do my hair. I follow the instructions on the box of bleach and continue on my merry way. I always leave my bleach in for about the length of an episode of whatever I am watching at the moment, currently the eleventh season of CSI. So now comes the time to wash my hair out. And the biggest but best accident happened.

Turns out when you bleach Manic Panic Shocking Blue, it goes pink. I'm assuming the more vibrant the colour, the more vibrant the pink will be when you bleach it out. As my hair was super faded and washed out, it went a beautiful peachy pink that I probably would never be able to get otherwise. I am stoked with this, so much so that I'm gonna wait a while before I actually go to the previously chosen colour. I still have a small patch of faded blue but that's due to me only using one box of bleach versus my usual two.

Who knew that I was gonna get two amazing colours out of one? This is the type of beautiful mistake I would love to happen again. Kinda like that one time I left purple shampoo on for too long (I was super engrossed in House and forgot it was in my hair) and ended up lilac for a while.

Good things can come out of accidents. Even accidentally on purpose.

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

Manic Panic Shocking Blue $29.90
Schwarzkopf Nordic Blonde L101 Cool Metallic Lightener $14

My go to make up look

Pretty much every day you will see me rocking the same eye makeup. This same look, I wear about 99.4% of the time. It is the ever classic winged eyeliner. I don't remember when I started wearing it, or even how I got into it, but it happened and it's become the classic Shannen make up look.

My routine in doing my makeup hasn't altered too much since high school either. The only thing that's changed is the products I use. At the moment i use a mixture of Collection's BB cream or CoverGiri's Clean Sensitive liquid foundation. Sometimes, if I want a bit more coverage I'll use Collection's Cover and Go foundation as it's a much thicker formula than CoverGirl. I then use ELF's concealer and highlighter duo to conceal under my eyes. I don't tend to conceal any blemishes unless they're really red and obvious looking. I'll then use my CoverGirl Clean Sensitive powder to set it all. Once I've set my makeup I do my highlighter and blush. I use ELF blush in Tickled Pink and ELF facial whip in lilac petal. At this point I mentally prepare myself for doing my eyeliner. You have to do this as eyeliner can smell your fear. I either use BYS liquid eyeliner or ELF cream eyeliner. Personally, I find cream/gel eyeliners easier to use but I occasionally leave it in the bathroom and I can't be bothered getting it in the morning so I will use my liquid eyeliner instead (LAZY). Once both my eyes are sufficiently symmetrical I apply my mascara (Collection, the purple one, I can't remember what it's called. Something like 5 in one or something). And voila, my makeup is done. It takes about 10 minutes for me to do my entire face of makeup. 

I use this everyday because I find it easy, it goes with whatever outfit in wearing that day and I can easily glam it up even further by chucking a lipstick on. Which I do most days anyways. The lipstick I use on a most regular basis is Collection Sweet Tart. 

I own a lot of the brand Collection, I know. But Shaaanxo did a tutorial using it and I fell in love. You can buy it at Countdown. 

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com