Friday 25 March 2011

HELP - Smudged Nails

Just a quickie... for advice really, I am having a massive problem with my nails at the minute and it is stressing me out like you wouldn't believe. OK, so since I cut my nails down they aren't really growing, they keep snapping although I am filing them regular. I take calcium tablets daily and recently bought some vitamins especially for nails, I buff them before I paint them and apply a strengthening base coat but when it comes to my nail varnish it's just not sticking.

I shall give you an example, yesterday I waited 30 mins before applying my first thin layer of polish then another 40 mins before applying the second coat, I then waited an extra 40 minutes for it to dry. Literally after an hour they had all smudged. Its like nail varnish doesn't want to dry on my nails.

I have a massive variety of brands, and none seem to be sticking, I've had this problem a lot recently and I went to my friends the other day and used one of her polishes. I only added a thin coat and she said to me that its really hard to get off. I sat there and pulled what I thought was a hang nail and the whole finger of polish peeled off.

Could there be a health problem there or are my fingers just to greasy? I need help because I love doing my nails :-(

Saturday 19 March 2011

OOTD - Primark puked all over me!!

Simple OOTD, just went shopping with my friend and for a good old fish and chips near the seaside... My head looks huge on this picture.... jeeezus! Its those high angle flattering shots?? Nothing flattering about a giant head!!!


Top - Primark
Jeans - Primark
Flip Flops - Garage

I did have my juicy coat to but it didn't make an appearance in this picture :-( xxx

EOTD - Safe and Shimmery

Just a quick eye of the day, feel as though I haven't been putting much effort into my makeup recently so here you go...



For bases I used Urban decay primer potion and Illamasqua metal mania cream eyeshadow, I applied the Urban Decay all over the lid and the Illamasqua just in the inner corner...


I then taped my eye as shown in the picture...


Then I applied Phloof! by MAC onto the inner corner, and Hand Written by MAC on the outer corner, I then used a Yellowy gold pigment for the centre. All I did after that was blended it out with a fluffy blending brush, took off the tape, lined my eyes with Black track by MAC and used Clinique Mascara then filled in my brows.


Viola! Really simple makeup look xxx

Thursday 17 March 2011

OOTD - Biker and denim

Just a quick outfit of the day, I am not really to into OOTD's because most of the time I look like a tramp HAHA! I threw this on to go round my friends for breakfast this morning, hair, makeup and clothes done in 30 mins... GO ME!

From top to bottom...

Denim Jacket - Topshop
Forever young sleeveless Tee - Topshop
Long black vest - Peacocks
Leggings - Primark
Boots - Ebay
Bracelet - Sentimental from a friend


Wednesday 16 March 2011

Makeup mission - Out of my comfort zone

I have decided to branch out, no longer am I going to walk into MAC and pick up my usual shade lipstick, and neutral colour products I usually buy. I went on Friday just gone and decided to buy myself 2 products I wouldn't usually buy because as Lauren Luke states in her book, its easy to get stuck in a makeup rut.

Here they are... Viva Glam Cyndi lipstick and Mineralize skin finish in gold deposit.


I will talk about the lipstick first. As most of you already know I am a Myth junkie and don't really stray from my nudes so this is a massive change for me, but after watching Karris' video on her favourite red lipsticks I knew I had to give it a go. I don't really like to draw to much attention to my lips as they are quite large and red lipstick makes them look even bigger but not in a good way. I experimented with it the day I got it as you do with all new makeup, I concealed and lined my lips, applied it and then concealed the edges and highlighted my cupids bow but honestly I felt like I was in drag, a full red lip just doesn't suit me so I now just pat it on to give an even pigment to my lips and that works fine for me and looks really natural.



I LOVE THE PACKAGING THOUGH!!


Now onto the Mineralize skin finish. I find MSF's really hard to get used to so a lot of experimenting is needed. At present it looks a bit orange as blush and is far to dark for a highlight so I have been using it as eyeshadow. I think it would be perfect for a night out as I do tend to drown myself in fake tan but for my pale days I am finding it a little difficult to wear. It is absolutely beautiful though and the pigmentation is fantastic, I think I just need to shake off my usual beauty habits and embrace these new products.

Some pictures...






Just to give you an idea of how sparkly it is, I took a picture with the flash, look at all the "fall out" and the sheer brightness of it.


Lipstick - £13.50
MSF - £20.50


Anybody give me any ideas of how to wear the MSF? xxx

Thursday 10 March 2011

Glamour Magazine, I'll take 10 please! - Clinique Freebies!


Glamour magazine is 10 year old and to celebrate are giving away 10 different Clinique products worth £80 in total. As Clinique is one of the few products that doesn't destroy my skin I had to snap up the magazines fast! Today I decided to have a walk to ASDA to pick up as many issues as I could possibly get and I in fact took the whole last box in the shop.

Glamour magazine I would say is probably the best magazine out there for freebies and is amazing value for money at a mere £2 an issue. It's a shame it isn't really available worldwide because everyone should be able to take advantage of the amazing freebies they have every so often.

OK onto what I got for free..

2 x 7 day scrub cream rinse off formula
2 x Moisture surge extended thirst relief
2 x Dramatically different moisturizing lotion
1 x High impact lip colour SPF15
1 x Long last glosswear SPF15
1 x High impact mascara
1 x All about eyes

The only things I didn't get were:

Take the day off makeup remover for lids, lashes & lips
Liquid facial soap mild
Superbalm moisturizing gloss

I will have to keep a look out for the makeup remover but the rest I am not to bothered about, I am so pleased with what I got as the lot only cost me £20... The only problem is I have like 9 spare issues of Glamour now, going to have to take a trip to the doctors with them for the waiting room. Their magazines are pants!!

Tuesday 8 March 2011

TAG: How much is my face worth?

Just seen this tag on http://xxshivvyxx.blogspot.com/ and had to do it!!

Basically list you daily makeup products and price... tot up the total and viola... daily face worth!


Here we go

Mac Face and body foundation - £23.50
Mac Studio fix fluid - £19.50
Collection 2000 Translucent powder - £5 (roughly)
Sleek Contour - £6-7 (roughly)
Boujior Chocolate bronzer - £6 (roughly)
Mac Mineralize blush - £17.50
Mac Mineralize skin finish - £20.50
Benefit Brow Zings - £22.50
Mac black track gel eyeliner - £13.50
Maybelline falsies mascara (the dark pink tube) - £8 (roughly)
Mac Myth lipstick - £13.50

Think I got the lot in there..... My total is £155.50 (not including brushes, moisturizer, or eyeshadows)

Thats a disgrace! Imagine if my makeup bag was stolen though, i would cry. Anyway I tag you all to do this <3

I Have a plan...

OK so as many of you are aware I worked crazy hours at my job, leaving me with very little time to do anything. I just had about enough time to eat, sleep, spend time with family and friends but not much time for grooming which is awful for a girl so I have a plan...

I handed my notice in today and have 20 days until I start my new job so I intend on catching up on some serious pampering.

First I am going to start by buying some manuka honey, not many people are aware but this type of honey is literally gold in a jar! I noticed my makeup was starting to patch throughout the day due to lack of love for my skin so instead of the usual lush scrub I use I am going to go even more natural and make my own sugar scrub once a week.. all you need is 1 part water 2 part sugar and scrub away, if you like it rough that is. Use more water if you want it to be slightly less harsh. I am then going to use the manuka honey as a face mask after I exfoliate. I want what I do to my face to be completely natural as my skin is so sensitive to chemicals. I am not going to elaborate to much on manuka honey as it is a blog post in its own right but trust me you just have to google it to see how amazing it is.

Prices range from around £20 for a 250 gram jar.

Anyway this has no structure, but I don't mind, its just for my own reference and if anyone happens to be interested.

Back to the face, I am going to continue to train the shape of my brows by plucking strays daily as part of my morning routine, and I'm going to moisturize morning and night instead of just the morning.

OK second is my hair, I am going to be product free for the 20 days, apart from shampoo and conditioner as hairspray strips dye and we don't want that. Not only that but I am going to try and avoid back combing and applying any kind of heat... looks like theres going to be a lot of messy buns going on.

OK the body... My skin never gets love these days, I stopped tanning :-(, ex foliating, moisturizing and its fair to say my skins rough as sand paper at the min. I am going to moisturize daily, shave regular, ex foliate regular, tan once a week and use the manuka honey all over.

Nails - keep them presentable basically, apply nail strengthener every few days, file daily and just elaborate on my usual jazz.

Health - I am going to try and eat healthier, take my calcium tablets (because I hate milk) get back into the gym 5 days a week instead of 2 or 1 and stay away from the booze, not that I drink that much anyway, id rather have a green tea lol.

Think thats pretty much it... I know its a lot, I suppose looking after yourself is a full time job but when you get back into it, it just becomes habit and you make time.

<3

Thursday 3 March 2011

MAC Blushes

AAAAAH I AM SHIT!! I haven't posted a blog for 2 weeks, but fear not! I am back... I was meaning to do this post 2 weeks ago but have been so busy with work :-( booo hisssss!!!

Since dyeing my hair dark from red I have been discovering many new colours I can actually wear on my face. Before I could not use blush, only highlight as having a blush with red hair was just COLOUR OVERLOAD!!!
AAANNNNYYYWAYYYY..... I Thought I would go to MAC and buy the deepest mineralize blush I could find (because I do love a bito sparkle on my face) I chose these two and I swear on the baby Jesus I am actually obsessed with wearing blush now.

The first pictures below being the shade "GLEEFUL" is my ultimate favorite, the colour is so pigmented that I barely need to pat the brush onto it to get enough product to do both cheeks. And don't get me started about how it actually goes on, I look flushed, in a good way. I adore this and wear it most days. As for the Second one being the shade "GENTLE", it is such a pretty pink which is also very pigmented and I like this for the days I wear gold and brown eye shadows.

According to the website they are £17.50 each but I usually just pass my card and cringe without listening to the price LOL.. Anyhoo heres the pictures......