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 

ModelCo Lipstick Swatches and Review

Not too long ago I got gifted three ModelCo lipsticks. They are the Party Proof Matte Lipsticks. I have got three colours. Disco Fever, Peony and Red Velvet.
Disco Fever is an orange, but quite muted. It also leans a bit more peach than actual true orange.
Peony is a red, but again quite muted. It is also not a true red, being more pink based.
Lastly, we have Red Velvet. This colour is a true red, although a bit darker than most. It's hanging in between neutral red and blue based red.

All of these colours are beautiful and last really well on the lips. The only thing I have to say about them is that they're not matte like stated. Instead I would call them more of a satin finish, maybe even a demi-matte. They still have a bit of shine to them, like you will see in the pictures below. The packaging is well done too. It's nice and simple, with the name of the product on the front. The font is also in the colour of the lipstick, so you don't even have to open the tube to know what colour it is. Another great thing about the packaging is that no matter what way you store it, you're going to know what colour it is because there is a label on the bottom, but the top is see through as well. It's really great. Even though they're not actually matte, they're awesome and they smell great.

 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 

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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For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

Top Buys of 2014

2014 was full of shopping and new things for me, so I am bringing to you a post about my top 3 makeup, skincare, hair care and fashion buys. I'll include links where I can. If you've tried any of these, let me know how you liked them in the comments below (:

Top 3 Makeup Purchases:

1. MAC Mineralise Foundation in NW15

This foundation is amazing. It's light, it's the perfect amount of coverage and it's he perfect I between matte and dewy.  I've found this foundation has been the best for my skin. I have somewhat sensitive skin, as in I have to be careful what I put on it as I can break out really easily and this foundation has kept my skin smooth and somewhat blemish free. I highly recommend it if you like a light coverage. It is kind of pricey, especially if you live in New Zealand, but I think it's worth it.

2. ELF Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Black 

This eyeliner is my holy grail of all liquid eyeliners I have tried. I have hooded eyes, so I need quite thin lines when I do my eyeliner. This brush on this eyeliner is so thin, and super precise. I can get right into my lash line with this eyeliner and create the smoothest lines. It's also really easy to create winged eyeliner with as the brush is flexible. ELF is an amazing brand that is super cheap but super high quality. I recommend this if you have hooded eyes, like myself, or just like thin, precise eyeliner. 

3. QVS Beauty Blender dupe

If you can't afford the true Beauty Blender, I recommend grabbing this from Farmers or a pharmacy that stocks QVS. Ever since I bought my first beauty blender type sponge, I've found a huge improvement in the appearance of my makeup, as well as an improvement in time it takes to do my makeup. I've tried 3 different types. The first was the traditional egg shape, I'm unsure what brand it was but I got it from a cosmetics shop in Lower Hutt. The second one was a slightly different shape but still wide and flat at the bottom and pointed at e top. This was a Manicare one. The one I've loved the most is my QVS one.  It's the softest sponge, it's easy to clean and it really expands when you dampen it.  I'll have a blog post coming up in the next few weeks with a full review on all three. 

Top 3 Skincare Purchases

1. Herbalism by LUSH

If you have issues with acne or any kind of blemish then you really need to pick this up. In the few short weeks I've been using it, I've noticed a huge improvement in the appearance of my skin. It's smoothed out my skin and I also get less pimples. Here's a little bit of TMI but I also used it on my back as I could get a bit acne-y there too, and it's also helped clear that right up too. The small tub it comes in is going to last me ages. I've only had it about 2-3 weeks and I've only just dented the top. And that's with doing my face and back. 

2. Bio Oil

All of these skincare things are going to be about acne because that's been my biggest skin issue. But this covers anyone with scars, stretch marks and such. Because of my acne, I have a lot of scarring left over. I apply this as a moisturiser as well, because you can use it like that. So   put this on every morning before I apply my makeup and at night after my shower. My skin is a lot less bumpy than it used to be so this helps when I put makeup on. It also helps with my self esteem too because it's clearing up, and clearing up fast. 

3. Powerhouse Tattoo Balm

Not only is this amazing for healing tattoos but you can also put it on itchy bites and pimples. It contains lavender so it's super soothing. I use it mostly as a spot treatment and I notice an improvement by morning. It smells great too.

Top 3 Haircare Purchases

1. Coconut Oil

This has been my saviour. If you haven't read the post on how I went from red to blonde, you can read it here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/ch-ch-changes.html. The coconut oil has restored my hair from dry and snapping to soft and manageable. I also have a post on how I do my coconut oil treatment. You can read this here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/diy-coconut-oil-hair-treatment.html. It's a somewhat cheap treatment for damaged and dry hair.

2. Keratin Treatment

Now I've only just got this 2 weeks ago, but I've already noticed a HUGE change. My hair doesn't knot up like crazy anymore, I can just run my fingers through my hair every time. It's not frizzy anymore. I straightened it once this week and it's stayed straight. I'm in love with this stuff. And the best part, it's only $4 from Kmart. I'm going to do a more in depth review ins couple of weeks. 

3. Organic Care Shampoo and Conditioner

I'm going to put the condition of my hair down to all three of these products. But the organic care  brand is amazing. It's definitely contributing to the lightness of my hair. As it contains no yuck stuff, my hair is easy to manage. They smell amazing. They aren't ridiculously expensive like most paraben free products and they don't test on animals. They have three types of shampoo and conditioner. Colour shield, moisture and an everyday one. They also have two different ones for kids too. Here's a review on the Colour Shield range: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/organic-care-colour-shield-shampoo.html

Top 3 Fashion Purchases

1. Kardashion Kollection Bag

Since buying this handbag in March, I've not used any other. I can fit all my stuff in there easy as. Everyday I carry a book, a couple of different perfumes, tons of lipsticks and even more rubbish. There's always more room for stuff too. They are great quality bags that come in all shapes and sizes as well as different prints.

2. Daisy Vans 

For my birthday this year, Blake got me a pair of high top vans in a daisy print. They are literally the most comfortable shoes I own. Standing all day on a concrete floor kills my feet, but I can wear these all day without feeling the wrath of concrete. Vans in general are the most comfortable shoes. Their soles are super thick and bouncy so it's great to work all day in them.

3. High Waisted Ankle Biters

These jeans are amazing. Ankle biters are great for me as I am very short, so the length is perfect. And then there is the high waisted part. They have three buttons and a zip, so they hold everything in perfectly while still being super comfortable. I've had these in both the black and blue they come in, as well as the short lived bleach, although they weren't as nice as the other two.

Thanks for a great year and here's to a new one !

Shannen xx

Links that I could find: 

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/158/24923/Products/Face/Foundation/Mineralize-Moisture-SPF15-Foundation/index.tmpl

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/eyes/eyeliner/precision_liquid_eyeliner

http://www.qualityvaluestyle.com/products/cosmetic-nail/sponges-puffs#deluxe-egg-sponge

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/1021_159/id/94/face-cleansers-herbalism-cleanser

http://www.tattoos.co.nz/store,shop,2,1,TBalm.html

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 (:

A Day In Photos #1

Today I had a Saturday off, and I don't normally have a weekend day offal I made the most of it. I started the day off with catching up on my tv shows and YouTube subscriptions. Once that was complete,I rang my sister and we made a time to hang out. Before she got to my house, I did a heap of house work. I was super productive and got most of it done. Justine and I hung out for a bit at home. We then went to Feilding for lunch. As you can tell from the photo we decided to pig out a bit and had KFC. After lunch we still had time to kill before she had to go to work so we wondered around the Warehouse for about an hour. I ended up getting a top and she got 2 skirts. We came home again and played with Carwen before Justine had to go. I then worked on my blog, gave it a bit of a redesign. I also filmed a video to go up on Monday. It was quite a productive day in my opinion. 

Let me know how your day was in the comments below! Maybe even do your own day in photos? 

Don't forget to subscribe and follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and facebook. 

Shannen xx

Photos taken on my phone

Edited on fotor.com

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

Instagram: _kaleidoscopecolours

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

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

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

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

Imported Candy VS Homeland Candy

Just a warning, none of the food mentioned in this post is healthy whatsoever, except maybe the chocolate drink. That only has 60 calories in it.

Today is a post about my third love. No makeup, no clothes, all food. I love food. Food is my friend. I am always eating. I have more of a taste for savoury food than sweet, but I still have a very big sweet tooth.

I have a strong aversion to all candy native to New Zealand. Pineapple lumps, bleurgh. L&P, yuck. New Zealand marmite is alright, but no way near as good as the UK version, which by the way can't have it's label on display in this country. We went to the Brit shop today and UK marmite has had its label covered, same with Weetabix, the UK equivalent to Weetbix. Which is stupid because the UK has been around for so much more longer than New Zealand, who cares if they have the same name?

Anyways, a short trip to Milson and we come home with some Tea Cakes (equivalent to MallowPuffs for all you kiwi folk), 3 cans of Dr Pepper (although these came from the Pie Factory for only 99c a can!), Fox's Party Rings (childrens biscuts), NikNaks (crisps), a bag of M&S Percy Pigs (BEST CANDY EVER) and one sachet of Options Indulgence hot drink in Chocolate Fudge.

I find myself way more attracted to foods from the UK or America. It has a much better taste than food developed in the land of the long white cloud, imho. It may be more artificial and full of preservatives than the food here, but darn heck does it taste good.

Dr Pepper will be hands down my favourite 'exotic' beverage. Next up would have to be Kool-Aid Jammers in Cherry. These taste so artificial and great. I also like all things Reese's. Reese's Cups, Reese's Pieces.

I will always be willing to pay that extra amount to get candy I actually enjoy, and also because my beloved who is from the UK, gets excited when we find more food he's grown up with. The market in New Zealand is slowly getting bigger, with United Sweets opening up all over the country as well as their online site, along with British food shops.

Also, quick story, Blake and I are currently eating the pack of NikNaks and he grabbed one out of the bag thinking it was just a small one, turns out it was a solid lump of flavouring. These are the Nice 'N' Spicy flavour. He said it hurt.

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

Shoes make me happy. I'm superficial. Whatever

Today, I bring to you my shoe collection! It is definitely much smaller than it was last year as I moved out of home and into a much smaller space. I used to have over 40 something different pairs of shoes, with a much larger heel selection than what I have now.

These days I have 20 pairs of shoes, literally half of what I used to have. I hope to one day have an extensive shoe collection, when me and my beloved have got our own home and he's built me an extravagant walk in wardrobe with a glamorous chandelier in the middle of it all.

So currently, my shoe collection stands at 4 pairs of boots, 2 pairs of ankle boots, 1 pair of creepers, 4 pairs of converse/converse style, 2 pairs of vans/vans style, 5 pairs of flats, and 2 pairs of heels.

All my shoes are listed from the left, and the top row.

All my flats: -Leopard loafers (Rubi, part of a 2 for $30 deal)
                   -Sparkly loafers (Recycle Boutique, $4.50)
                   - Studded loafers (Rubi, $10 (?))
                   - Kitty loafers (Rubi, part of a 2 for $30 deal)
                   - Steve Madden dupes (Kmart, $7)

Converse/Vans: -White Converse (Shoe Connection, $100)
                         - Burgunday Converse dupes (Rubi, $10)
                         - Pink Converse (Recycle Boutique, $35)
                         - Black Converse (Shoe Connection, $100)
                         - Pink sparkly Vans (Shoe Connection, $120)
                         - Hello Kitty Vans dupes (JayJays, $20)

Boots: - Biker boots (JayJays, $20)
           - Studded combat boots (Hannahs, $50)
           - Cherry Doc Martens (TradeMe, $80)
           - Black Doc Martens (Shoe Connection, $250)
           - Floral combat boots (JayJays, $49.99)
           - Taupe ankle boots (Dotti, $30)
           - JC Coltrane dupes (Hannahs, $50)
           - Creepers (Hannahs, $50)

Heels: - Steve Madden Sparkly (Hannahs, ?)
          - Jeffrey Campbell Spiked Litas (Shoe Connection, $250)

All my shoes except one pair, I bought myself. Sadly I don't often get to wear my heels because my Steve Madden heels are exceptionally beautiful and I only reserve them for special occasions. My JC Litas I hardly wear mainly because my sister has them a lot, and they need spikes replaced and the leather fixed up. I would love to wear them more often, but I just never get the chance.

All my other shoes I alternate between them quite regularly. They all get an even amount of wear. I never really spent too much on a piar of shoes except for my JC's and my Doc's. That's only because my Doc's will last me a lifetime and I wanted to treat myself to a pair of really nice shoes.

Shannen xx

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

Lipstick Collection!

Now I know that my collection of 15 lipsticks isn't a very large collection, but it is my favourite type of makeup, so I tend to buy more lipstick than anything else. I always thought that reds were my favourite colour of lipstick, but now that I've gone through all of my colours, I can now see that I seem to gravitate towards oranges. I honestly would never have picked up on that ever. 

I feel that lipstick really completes my look. Whether I have minimal make up or I've gone all out an have my winged eyeliner done too. Even if I'm having a low self esteem day, putting lipstick on makes my day a little bit brighter and bearable. 

Lipstick adds a little bit of fun to any look, and makes you stand out just that little bit more. Because I have blue hair, any colour will go, but when I had pink hair, I found it much harder to wear lipstick because pinks were out of the question in my opinion, otherwise I would be overloading on the pink. Reds were also out as I felt it was too much from one colour family. So while I had pink hair, I didn't wear lipstick much, and I felt like I wasn't putting any effort into how I looked. Once I went back to natural hair, my love for lipstick grew even more and that was when my collection really grew. I could rock any colour I wanted and it wouldn't clash with my hair. It didn't help that my beloved loves it when I wear lipstick, so I bought more so I had a greater variety to pick from and not just a couple to alternate between.

The furtherest left picture, going down, I have Jordana Cherry, Lush A Million Kisses, Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Top Tomatoe and a random freebie that my friend gave me.

The middle left picture I have, going down, BYS Duo in Kiss Me Coral, Collection Passionfruit, Collection Mango Tango, Nutrimetics Flame and Australis Velourlips Rio'd.

Middle right I have, Collection Sweet Tart, BYS I Don't Pink So and BYS Flirty Fuchsia.

Lastly, on the very right I've got, BYS Baby Doll, BYS Cranberry Red and Australis ColourInject Grunge.

Hope you enjoyed!

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/shannensykess

Cleaning Out My Closet

Hello my name is Shannen, and I'm addicted to shopping.

Today was a day off from work so I decided to clean out my clothes. Because I work in retail, I am regularly buying clothes, so this expands my wardrobe pretty fast. It also means that I end up with a lot of clothes that I do not wear, mainly because it is no longer on the shop floor.

Every couple of months or so, I make a day where I go  through my entire wardrobe and get rid of anything I haven't worn in the last six months or so. I do this so I have more room for new clothes, but also I don't like having a lot of clutter, and my wardrobe is exposed so I don't like seeing it all crammed into one area.

All the clothes I decide to get rid of go to my sister, or to my beloved's sisters. I have thought about selling them, but I don't like having a massive pile just sitting in the corner waiting to be sold and posted off. It's an untidy idea that I do not want. So instead of this I just take it to my sisters or the girls and they get to go through it and take what they want. Whatever they end up not wanting, I take to a charity shop like Salvation Army. That way I am also helping people who need decent clothes to wear.

Just a nice short post today!

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Edited on fotor.com

Welcome to my blog!

This post is going to be a little bit aboout me and my life. A quick way to get to know me and what this blog is going to be about.

First of all, I'm Shannen.
I'm going to be running this blog. Hopefully I'll be making at least two posts a week.
Secondly, this blog is mainly going to be about my main passion in life, aside from cats and my beloved, which is fashion. There will also be other posts on whatever catches my fancy that week. As it's my blog, I'll be running it my way.

For a long time I've always been interested in clothes and shoes. I've always had a pretty large shoe collection. As it is standing today, it's probably the smallest its ever been, only due to the small space that me and my beloved now live in.

So apart from fashion and all its beautiful counterparts such as makeup and hair, I do have other interests and I'm sure that they will come out in my future blog posts.

I'm going to try and keep my blog to a main focus. But my attention span is short so there will be random posts about random topics.

I hope you enjoy all future posts!
Stay tuned!

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D with a 18-55mm lens.
Edited on fotor.com