Meow!

These have to be the cutest nails I have ever had. I cannot stop looking at them, I just can't get over them! And they were literally one of the easiest nail art looks I have ever done!

I ordered these nails off ebay through a seller call Janchristie, who sell numerous animal related nail stickers at amazing prices. My kitty ones were only £2.20, and I got 24 stickers! They also can make you your own nail stickers if you send them a photo, which I think is amazing. I'm so tempted to get Mimi nail stickers! Haha!

So, basically, they recommend you paint your nails with a pale colour, so the sticker doesn't show up on your nail. So I used one of my recent favourites - Collection 2000 Hot Looks in Candy Floss. I applied three coats for an opaque look, then waited for the polish to completely dry. I then cut up my nail stickers around the cat images, cutting as close as I possibly could but still leaving a reasonable gap around the edge. You then peel off the stickers very gently and place them on your nails - I used tweezers to peel them away and position them, then pressed them on with my fingers to make sure they were nice and stuck down! Once all the stickers were applied, I painted over with a clear varnish to seal the sticker. 

You get such instant satisfaction from these nail stickers, they're just so pretty and, well cool! I'm definitely going to be ordering again, I really want some to wear for my cousin's wedding! Plus, the envelope they came in was the cutest ever, with loads of useful instructions and ever a selection of sample stickers!

They now have their own website too! Janchristie.com! Let me know if you've tried out any of their products out or any other nail stickers! Would love to see how your nails turned out! (Now, back to work Marie!! Wah!)

High End Make Up Wishlist

As my days as a student are now numbered, whilst working tirelessly over my dissertation, I often find myself day dreaming about all the lovely things I'll be able to buy once I get a full time job (well, I suppose IF I get a full time job!)

So often I look on many a blog, where the blogger has indulged themselves with high end brands without batting an eye lid! So, I gave myself an limitless budget, and made a wishlist! (Probably the more sensible option, rather than taking out another student loan to satisfy my jealousy!)

001. When I discovered the Laura Mercier's Secret Finish in Mattifying, I couldn't believe how much this product must have been made for me! It's a liquid gel made to combat oily skin. Instead of working as a primer, which I initially expected this product to be - it's designed to be used for touch ups through out the day, over your make up, working to absorb facial oils and so instantly mattifiying the appearance of your skin on contact. How amazing is that? Instead of adding more make up to your face (which is not great for oily, porous skin) by patting on a pressed powder to your shiny patches, you can just dab on this gel and it soaks up the oil all by itself! Ah, what an  invention! Want, want, want!

002. I'm a real sucker for a coral/pink lip as of recent, it seems to be the only colours I will look at in lipsticks - but I love it. When I discovered this Velvet Matte Lip Stick in La Ravissante by Chanel, I just went 'ohhhh'. I sincearly couldn't imagine a prettier colour, and so appropriate for the Summer months a head of us too! There matte range is available in eight different shades, and are 'enriched with ultra-thin mother-of-pearl particles', so I can

understand why these lipsticks are so pricey! But matte lipsticks are my favourite as I'm not so keen on that sheer, shiny look, plus by it's description this lipstick sounds like it wouldn't dry out but in actual fact moisturise my lips! Gimme, gimme! 

003. Estee Lauder have an extensive Double Wear range, but I think what they're known for best in the blogging world is their Double Wear Stay-in Place Foundation. I'm really into my medium to full coverage looks when it comes to applying my base when doing my make up, it's just the look I prefer. And I have found good levels of coverage within drug store foundations I have used, but I've just heard such amazing things about Double Wear, that I can't help but daydream about how flawless my face could look if I used it! The foundation claims up to 15 hours coverage, despite the foundation being such a lightweight formula. It's also a matte foundation, and after trying a few 'illuminating' foundations recently, I'm definitely due something a bit more mattifiying for my oil prone skin.

004. The fact that this Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in Bronze is so pretty is enough of a selling point for me. As a major lover of contouring and highlighting, I feel like this bronzer is right up my street. I can imagine it has the capabilities to create a gorgeous summer glow to your cheeks! I love the shimmer in all the shades, and the bronzes just look so deep and luxurious, and I can imagine it working well with a either a baby pink blush, or a deep rouge for a more dramatic, evening look!

005. Finally, this beautiful Bobbi Brown blush in the shade Apricot. I just feel like this shade screams Spring! It's such a warm shade, yet so ditsy colour which I just think is stunning. I have an extensive blush collection, but none in a shade like this! And I can imagine as it's Bobbi Brown, it would be a very pigmented blush. I can really imagine Apricot working well with the Shimmer Brick Bronze, as it will add shimmer to this mattified blusher, and mixed together will create a beautifully defined look when contouring. 

So, what do you think of my high end picks? What would you choose if you could afford any pricey product?

Cross my Nails, and Hope to Die

When I thought this look up, I just thought it was perfect - because it's so simple, but so on trend right now. I'm really into my crosses, you may have seen my favourite double finger cross ring in a lot of my posts! I thought the black and white was a brilliant classic combo, but if you wanted to make it more Spring, you could easity swap the base colour from black to a lilac, mint green, lemon...

So basically, I applied one coat of black nail varnish, I used my cheap Wilkinson's £1 nail varnish - which dries super fast but chips off even quicker :/ I then took my favie, Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in white and drew a thick line down the centre of the nail, making sure I was going over evenly so the line was really bold. I then did the same with the horizontal line to create the cross. Then, repeated on each nail.

I learnt something about the Sally Hansen pen this time round. I have often found in the past that if you do not use a top coat with these pens, your design will basically wash a way as soon as you rinse you hands. However, I now realise why! This is for the purpose of trial and error. So, if you make a mistake, you can just dab it away with a small amount of nail varnish remover on tissue/cotton pad and redo with out having to take the whole nail off and start again! Amazing!!

But when you do apply your top coat, remember to wait until the nail pen is thoroughly dry - because the clear polish can just as easily smear the design away as well!!

Btw, I've uploaded a new youtube video on how I contour and highlight! Hope it's useful!

How to: Applying Clip In Hair Extensions (Video)

So, I've uploaded another YouTube video for you all, this time on how I put in my hair extensions! It's come out a little over exposed which has annoyed me, you just can't rely on technology to be consistent I swear -_-

Anyway, I hope some of you will find this useful and if you have any questions about hair extensions then don't hesitate to ask! Oh, and don't forget to watch in 720P HD! ;)

Tie Dye Dream: How to make your own tie dye and ombre tops

Here are the home made tops I made that I mentioned in my previous post. I'm SO happy with how they came out - I want to make more! It was really so, so easy and I recommend to anyone who is considering it themselves. 

As you can see from the photos above, I made three tie dye t-shirts. For these I used Dylon fabric dye from Wilkinsons - which was only £2.99 and you can make a lot of dye from these packets so you could probably cram a fair few shirts in there! For the second and third tops, I used the colour Burlesque Red, and for the first one I used Antique Grey. 

All you need to create the original tie dye look is the something pointy (I used a philips screw driver) and some elastic bands. The reason I used the philips screw driver is because when you're applying the elastic bands to make the circle shapes, you can make the rippled effect like I have by pleating the material over the screw driver, then wrapping the elastic bands around it. You can make as many or as little circles on your top as you wish. In this instance I choose to do one with several circles, and then one with a large one in the middle. After tying on all my elastic bands, I places my top in the dye solution for 45 mins, then put them on a rinse spin in the washing machine.

Here's the video I watched to help me. The technique I've tried to explain in the second in the video: 

I also attempted to create a 'peace sign' tie dye top (pictured above). And although it looks a little like a peace sign gone wrong, I still really like it! I'm definitely going to give it another go some time soon because I think it just takes practice, but nevertheless I'm still very please with my first attempt!

The video below shows the technique I followed to create the peace sign, I'm not even going to attempt to explain it because it's pretty complicated! In the video the guy squirts on different colours to create a multicoloured effect, and also wraps elastic bands right the way down the t-shirt. I didn't do this. Instead, I just wrapped the first set of elastic bands as instructed to create the peace logo, then held just this area in a bowl of dye solution for 20-30 minutes. Then, after removing the elastic bands, I just rinsed the dyed area under a cold tap in the sink to avoid the colour bleeding onto the rest of the top and turning it a pink colour!

Finally, the pink to cream Ombre top pictured at the bottom was done using bleach. This was really very easy to create, and a really big trend at the moment. I basically just brought a big bottle of Wilkinson's thin bleach, mixed 500ml with 2 litres of water in a plastic tub, then placed the tops into the bleach solution, letting just half sit in the bleach - then leave it to do the work! I ended up leaving mine in the bleach for 50 mins, but my boyfriend did a pale green t-shirt and only left his in for about 35 mins as the colour seemed to lift easier. I then rinsed by hand using rubber gloves, as well as putting the tops on a rinse cycle in the washing machine!

All the tops I used in this post where from Primark, and only £1.80 each!

Remember to wear rubber gloves whenever making up the dye, and adding and removing the t-shirts from the solution, and also whenever handling bleach as it is an irritant! Also, make sure you use a tub that isn't too important to you incase it gets stained (although mine was fine in the end) and wear old clothes! Follow the instructions on the Dylon packets, they're really simple! 

Let me know if you make any of your own home made tees! I'd love to know how they turned out!

Too Close

Feeling rather like a hippy in this outfit, and loving it to be honest! I've been spending the last few days in the studio helping my boyfriend record his album (exciting) whilst working my dissertation (multi tasker!) and it gets super warm in the studio, so I thought I'd wear something cool and flowy. This is the skirt I mentioned in my haul video that I picked up from Primark at the weekend, for a sneaky £10. I can't get over how beautiful it is! Primark are just knocking it out of the ball park recently.

I'm also wearing my necklace which I also mentioned in the video from New Look. It's £6.99 on its own, which I think is really reasonable for such a statement necklace. But I got it for free as part of the buy one get one free they've got on jewellery in store at the moment! My double finger ring was a present from my boyfriend for easter, because I didn't want an egg (although I got plenty of chocolate anyway!). I'm not sure on the price but I know it's from the jewellery shop, Muse which are always reasonable on their pricing. 

I also mentioned in the video on how I was planning on doing some tie dying which actually went really well and I made some tops I'm really proud of! ^_^ In these photos I'm wearing the one I did with the grey dye, which I think is pretty awesome. I will do a post of how the other t-shirts I made turned out, and a little how to for anyone interested in making their own home made tees!

Collective Haul (Video)

I went shopping yesterday, after being paid for my Easter stint at Thorntons! So, I filmed a haul video so I could share the bits I picked up with all my lovely followers! 

Pastel Polka Dots

Here's a look I threw together last night. I tried two other designs last night, that went poo :( So, I thought I'd go for my old favourite - polka dots!

I love the Barry M nail paints, they're really hard wearing and take a little while to start chipping which I like a lot. I used my two favourite Barry M shades - Bright Pink and Mint Green, and alternated them between the nails. I then carefully drew on my polka dots with my favourite, the Sally Hanson Nail Art Pen in white! Such a useful and easy to use pen, I really love it!

Then I just added a top coat to secure my handy work - and there you go! What do you make of polka dot nail art? Are you a fan?

P.S. I've put a few bits on ebay if you're interested! Go here

Saturday Superhouse

Here is the grey version on the stripy Primark dress I wore a couple of posts ago. I just adore how comfy and versatile the other dress was, so had to get it in the grey too. I'd get it in all the other colours of the rainbow if they did them too! (Apart from red, that's really not my colour!) You just can't argue with a price like £8 for such a useful little t-shirt dress. It's also good to see Primark doing some PROPER bargains again! Btw, if you're going to buy this dress, I'd recommend buy a size down, or two as I did on this occasion!

I LOVE this necklace I also picked up in Primark (okay, I'm starting to realise now why I get dubbed the Queen of Primark so often now). I've been wanting to try a collar necklace for ages, but in places like Topshop they tend to be quite pricey. But when I saw this pretty little thing in Primes for only £4, I could not snap it up quick enough. I've been wearing it with very thing - I just adore it!

Please forgive my summery attire in this post, I am aware the weather is now, once again, abysmal. Typical England. But, I've been working hard for the money all week this week so have had little time for blogging, therefore these photos were taking while the sun was paying us a short visit.

If I don't post before, I hope you all have a lovely Easter and break all your diets ;)

Real Techniques Core Collection (Video)

So, the other week I FINALLY got my mits on the Real Techniques Core Collection! Huzzar! I was getting so, so jealous of seeing youtube videos and blog posts with ladies flaunting their beautiful make up brushes, so I  eventually (and inevitably) cracked!

Essentially, I only brought the set for the buffing brush, after wanting the Sigma F80 for a lifetime, I was convinced otherwise by many a blog post. Plus, I figured for £21.99, you get a lot more for your money as you're getting four lovely new brushes.

The Core Collection includes (if you didn't already know) the detailer brush, foundation brush, contour brush and buffing brush. They come with a handy little travel case which also acts as a stand, with spaces for other brushes. Each brush has a rubber base so they can also stand alone, which is an interesting feature.

I've tried out the detailer brush, it's kind of little so I used it with concealer but didn't really feel like I reaped the benefits. So, I don't really know what do to with it? Any suggestions? I've heard it can be used for lip lining so may give it a clean and try that out! The foundation brush I haven't tried, as it's all about the buffing brush to be honest!

I really do adore the buffing brush. It makes foundation application very easy and also means I don't get it all over my hands, and then all over my other products...and clothes. I don't really get that 'airbrushed' look that everyone's been going on about, but nevertheless I do like the effect and coverage it provides me with and by buffing the make up, it means no lines or patchiness!

The contour brush is amazing too. It has a pointed, round shape to it which makes contouring and highlighting surprisingly easy. It's small size means you can get right into the hollows of your cheeks, and apply with precision meaning you don't end up with clouds of bronze all up the sides of your face!

Overall, I'm so pleased I gave in and purchased the Core Collection. They're so, so soft and so practical. A must have for any make up enthusiast. 

Below is my second YouTube video! It's a 'get ready with me' video, in which I will incorporate me using my two favourite brushes from the collection; you guessed it - the buffing and contour brushes! I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. Thanks for all the encouragement and kind words on my first video, you have inspired me to keep it up!