Tuesday 26 February 2013

Jigsaw Nails

Another nail art post ... This time I created jigsaws! Its quite time consuming but if you want to find out how I created them read below...


What will you need?


You can choose any 4 main colours which you want to use for each jigsaw piece. I chose to use pink, purple, green and peach. You will also need a black nail varnish to create the outline of the jigsaw pieces and as usual with my nail art tutorials a tooth pick and a piece of paper.

Step to Step Guide


As you can see from the images above there are 3 main steps to this look:

Step 1:
To start with you want to create 4 squares of colour on your nail. I achieved this using the tooth pick to draw an outline of the square and then filled it in. Leave the colours to dry.

Step 2:
Once the squares are dry you can move onto step 2. For this step, using the black nail varnish and the tooth pick, begin by creating a cross along the inside borders of the squares. Next make a small dot in the middle of each line (as shown in the middle image). Leave to dry.

Step 3:
Finally once the black outlines are dry, take your 4 colours again and using the tooth pick go over the centre of the black dots with the corresponding colours to the square which it leads from. Again leave the colours to dry and then if you wish add a top coat over the top to prevent chipping. 

Friday 22 February 2013

Jazz Up Your Shoes

I got some plain dolly shoes and wanted to jazz them up a bit, so added some studs onto the bows myself! The final result is shown below, read below to find out how I achieved this ...


What will you need?


You will need some studs/ gems (I got the ones I used from Hobby Craft for £2.29), some fabric glue (again I purchased the one I used from Hobby Craft for £2.99) and a pair of plain dolly shoes you want to jazz up.

How to add the studs/ gems...



To add the gems onto the shoes, I placed a small blob of the glue onto the back of the stud and placed it onto the shoe in the desired place, pressing hard to ensure the stud is firmly on the shoe. I repeated this step until all the studs were on the shoe. I chose to use gold studs to match the gold heel on the shoe, and places the studs all around the bow. Once all the studs are on the show, leave the glue to dry (preferably over night). 

Thursday 14 February 2013

Valentines Nails

Its valentines day ... and I don't have anyone to spend it with so thought I would spend my evening painting my nails ! Here's the finished look, read below to find out how I created it ...


What will you need?


In order to create this look you will need a white and red nail varnish, a cocktail stick and a piece of paper. 

How to create the look...

First paint all your nails red apart from your ring finger which you paint white. I used two coats on the red nails and three on the white to create a more opaque cover. Then wait for all your nails to dry. Once dry, get your cocktail stick and put a dot of red nail varnish onto the paper. Then create a heart shape onto the white nail. I created mine by first drawing two dots to create the top of the heart and then joint them together at the bottom. After you have created the heart shape, wait for your nails to dry and then if you wish paint a top coat over the top to help prevent your nails from chipping.



Hope you enjoyed this mini nail art tutorial ... HAPPY VALENTINES DAY xxx

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Make up Look for a Night out

I went out for my friends birthday on Friday night so I thought I would share with you the make up I wore that night... 


I went for quite a natural eye (which is hard to see from the photo) and then a bright lip. Below are the products I used and the ways in which I used them (sorry about the quality of some of the photos). All the products are from high street retailers and are therefore relatively cheap, so it is a very affordable look!

FACE


For my face make up I used Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in shade 100 (Ivory). I then set this into place using Number 7 Perfect Light loose powder in shade 05 (Translucent). To add colour to my cheeks I used Collection 2000 Shimmering Glow in 5 (Sunkissed) putting it through my cheek bones, on my temples and down my nose. I then added Miss Sporty Blushed in shade 2 (Rose) to the apples of my cheeks. Finally to complete my face make up I applied Number 17 Glow Pink Bronze Glimmering stick as a highlight, putting it on the tops of my cheeks and a small amount down the centre of my nose. 

EYES


For my eye make up I began using the MUA Heaven and earth palette which I did a review on last month! I used lighter shades all over my lid and in the tear duct area and then used a darker shade in the outside corner of my eye and through the crease. I then applied quite a thick line of  black eyeliner on both the top and bottom of my eye, using Avon Glimmerstick in Black. I then used Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in 07 (Pure White), in order to open up my eye. Next I applied the Rimmel Scandaleyes Show Off Mascara in black. Finally I used Eyelure fake eyelashes in number 100 to finish off my eye make up. 

LIPS


For my lips I used Lasting Finish Kate Moss from Rimmel in shade 20. Because I used neutral shades for my eye make up I really wanted to add a pop of colour to my make up look, therefore this is why I chose this product. 

BRUSHES


In order to apply the products I used the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman brushes which I LOVE!! From left to right in the face brush set in the image above, I used the 'blush brush' to apply my bronzer, the 'contour brush' to apply my blusher, the 'pointed foundation brush' to apply my highlighter and the 'buffing brush' to apply my foundation. Then in the eye make up brush set I used the 'deluxe crease brush' to blend all my eye shadows together, the 'base shadow brush' to apply the eye shadows to my eyelids, the 'accent brush' to place a small amount of light eye shadow into my tear duct area and finally the 'brow brush' to go over my eye liner with a small amount of black eye shadow to create a more smoky, blended look.

Thanks for reading, Hope you enjoyed the blog post :) 

Thursday 7 February 2013

Peach Nails with Glitter Accent

I created the look below using two nail varnishes from my last 'Boots Beauty Haul' post so I thought I would share them with you ....


As mentioned in my last blog post I was inspired to use these colours through seeing many images of nail art similar to the look I achieved above on pinterest. This is quite a toned down nail art look for me as, as you can probably tell from my previous blog posts, I love to create really detailed nail art looks. However I feel this look is really sophisticated and great for a night out!
I created this look painting all my nails first in Barry M's 'Peach Melba' and then, once dry adding Barry M's 'Rose Quartz Glitter' to my ring finger. I had to add several coats of the glitter in order for it to stand out. I'm really happy with how they look so I hope you like it too.
The nails could even be made more dramatic by adding glitter to all the nails! 

Sunday 3 February 2013

Boots Beauty Haul

So .... I went shopping earlier today and I purchased a few bits in boots! They had lots of great deals on so I thought I would get some things while they were on offer. I was tempted to get lots but I limited myself to a few things because I have spent quite a lot on beauty products in the last month !!! Everything I picked up is shown below, read below to find out more about the products...


Barry M Nail Varnishes:


All Barry M products were on 3 for 2 in Boots and I love their nail varnishes so much so I had to buy some. Ive been wanting a peachy colour for a long time, as I have seen lots of nice nail designs on Pinterest which incorporate this colour, so I picked up number 318 'Peach Melba'. I then saw number 349 'Rose Quarts Glitter' and because of the fine small silver and pink glitter with larger light pink glitter pieces within the nail varnish I thought this would look really nice over the top of the peach, maybe to create an accent nail. Finally I got number 351 'Yellow Topaz Glitter' and like the other glitter varnish I got it has both small and large pieces of glitter. I've wanted a gold glitter for ages because when creating nail art looks I've always used silver glitters over the top of gold nail varnish because that's all I had, however now using this gold glitter varnish I think it will look great over the top of my gold nail varnishes and create a much more effective glitter, which would look great for a night out! All these nail varnished were priced at £2.99 and therefore I got all 3 for £5.98, making them just under £2 each which I think is really good for Barry M nail varnishes because I find they are of great quality.

Naked Blonder Shampoo and Conditioner:


The second group of items I got were the Naked Blonder Shampoo and Conditioner. The Naked hair products were on 2 for £6 in Boots so I thought I would give these a try. I've been noticing recently that my hair is getting really dark, and with being at uni, salon prices are really high and its hard to find a weekend to go home and get my hair done by my normal hairdresser who charges much lower than salons. Therefore I can only really have my hair highlighted when I go home in the holidays (the next one being Easter). I was looking in boots at all the blonde shampoo and conditioners and I was going to get the John Frieda 'Go Blonder' products, which I have used before, but I then saw these ones were on offer and thought I would try something different. The packaging says that the products subtly lighten your hair using natural extracts of camomile, zesty lemon and cassia. I'm always slightly nervous to try these as I know some lightening products can make your hair go slightly green and shouldn't be used if you colour your hair. However the packaging states that they can be used on highlighted hair. An extra bonus is that both the shampoo and conditioner are 97% natural and are vegetarian and vegan friendly and therefore have not been tested on animals. Normally these products are both retailed at £4.19.

Nail Files:

 

Finally the last beauty product I got in Boots is quite boring, its just a set of 2 cushioned nail files, which cost me £2.25. I've been needing a new nail file for a while and I keep forgetting to buy them but I remembered today so thought I better pick them up! Added bonus is they're both pink and spotty which is a personal favourite combination of mine ahah !!

Friday 1 February 2013

Flower Power Nail Art

This blog post is a step to step guide of how to create the nail art shown in the image below, read on to find out how to create this look for yourself...


♥ What will you need?


  • Nail varnishes in a range of colours... I chose to use mint, pink, lilac, orange and yellow. You will also need white for the base and a top coat.
  • A piece of paper and a cocktail stick.
♥ Step One



After removing any old nail varnish and filing the nails to your desired shape, you can add the white base varnish. In order to create more of an opaque base I used 2 coats of the white nail varnish. This will help the colours to really stand out on the nail. 

♥ Step Two


After the white base varnish has dried, you can start to create the flowers.
I began with the pink nail varnish, but you can choose which ever colour you like. Put a blob of the nail varnish onto the paper and using the cocktail stick create your desired flower shape on the nail. 

♥ Step Three


Continue this process, changing between colours, until all nails are filled with different coloured flowers. 

♥ Step Four


Now add a dot of different colour nail varnish in the centre of each flower.

♥ Step Five


The final stage is adding a top coat over all nails, once the nail varnish has completely dried.