New Year!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shannen xx

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

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

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

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

W7 In The Night Swatches

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shannen xx

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

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

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

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

XoBeauty Brushes Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shannen xx

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

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

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

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

Where Have I Been?

I know its been a few months since a post, but I've been working hard at school. Holidays are  coming up, so I'm getting really organised while I have a bit of time to relax and not worry about any assignments.

I have ideas coming out of my ears at the moment, which was also a bit of a problem and reason why I haven't been posting. I was having the worst writers block!.

So, I thought I'd just write a quick post to let you guys know that I'm still alive. And I'm hoping to get back into it, or at least have ideas written down and ready to go for when I get some spare time to write a post.

If you wanna know what I'm up to, and if I'm not posting too often here, check out my instagram which I'll link down below. I update the most often there.

Thanks for sticking around guys!
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 

Outfits of the Week #1

I thought I'd start a new fashion orientated series, where I take photos of my outfits, and then put them in a post. I'll include sizes and where I got the clothing from in case you guys like a certain piece and wanna check it out for yourselves. 

So welcome to my first outfits of the week post. 

Let's get started!

Monday was a lazy home day so I was in my pyjamas all day, so no photo for this one! 

Tuesday I had my first day of work at my new job. My dress code entails I wear mostly dark colours. I wore a polka dot shirt which I got from JayJays, a navy striped jumper, also from JayJays, coated skinny jeans, what a surprise they're from JayJays too, and a pair of combat boots from Rubi Shoes. That same day I wore a necklace set from JayJays too. 

Wednesday was another work day. That day I wore a black polka dot dress from JayJays, a jumper from Supre, 120 denier tights from Equip and the same Rubi combat boots. I forgot to take an outfit selfie for this day, so I recreated the outfit in a (hopefully) artistic way. 

Thursday was my last day of work for the week, as well as late night shopping. I'm on the hunt for a dress for my 21st, so if you have any suggestions for shops or sites that I can check out, let me know! I wore some leggings from Kmart, a top I picked up from SaveMart for $6 and my short black cardigan from JayJays. I wore some black riding boots that I bought from WildPair. 

Friday was another at home day, so no outfit selfie as I was in my pyjamas again all day. If you wanna see my pyjamas then let me knownhaha. They generally consist of pants and a hoodie! 

On Saturday, it was a chill day. A lot warmer than it had been during the week, so I forgoed tights that day. I wore a black floral dress from JayJays and a khaki cardigan from there as well. I wore some small boots that's I got from 

WildPair too. 

Sunday I also forgot to take an outfit selfie, but I helped Blake build a fence so I got incredibly dirty! 

So there was the first weekly outfits post. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Also, I apologize for the lack of posting lately. I've been so busy with assignments but now I'm on holiday so I can hopefully get back on track. I'm also thinking about altering my upload schedule for my blog and YouTube as at the moment with studying, doing it all on the same day is difficult. If you have any suggestions let me know! 

Shannen xx

Don't forget to check out all my other sites and follow me!

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 

Estee Lauder DoubleWear First Impression

I can't remember if this is my first first impression or not. But I really like these, and I'm not yet ready for the commitment it takes to film a first impression, so I thought I'd blog about it instead. It's a bit simpler, considering I'm at school all day, so I can just take a selfie instead of filming every few hours.

Any ways, enough of a blurb. I got a free sample of Estee Lauder's DoubleWear liquid foundation. I was colour matched to Ecru. Now as I believe from what the lady told me, Ecru is a neutral shade meaning it isn't too warm or too cool. I am a NW15 at MAC if this helps anyone. I basically have to buy the lightest shade in foundation I can find in the winter time and not many brands carry such light shades. Thankfully DW does.

I'm going to insert photos from throughout the day right now, and then give my impression on this foundation.

Straight after applying it was amazing. It's a full coverage foundation, and it definitely was. Aside from the bumps on my skin, it covered the redness and any flat blemishes I had. It's also the best I've seen my under eye circles, even though I did still wear concealer. It was a very matte foundation, so I added highlighter.

Approximately 5 hours later, the foundation had barely moved. I had some disappear on my nose but thats normal for me coz I touch it a lot. I also got no smudging under my eyes from my mascara or eyeliner either which is a big plus in my book. The only thing I noticed was that my highlighter wasn't as highlightery anymore.

By the end of the day before I took my makeup off, the foundation was still pretty good and I could probably have gone for a few more hours without needing to touch up at all. The only places where it had worn off was my nose and lips, but thats because I removed my lipstick, and again rub my nose a lot.

I'm definitely in love with this foundation. The only issue I have is that Estee Lauder is a brand that still tests on animals, so I am going to have to look for a dupe. If you have any suggestions let me know, I would be keen to try!

Also, if you like first impressions or anything similar, let me know and I'll keep them up!

Shannen xx

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

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

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

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

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

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

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com