NOTD: Blinging Mint

As you know, I very recently did a nail of the day post but a mix of bordum and a touch of heavy lifting left my changing up my blinging french manicure for something less sophisicated but still as bling worthy. Im still loving 'Razzmatazz', a nail polish from TopShop so I wanted to encorporate it into another post.

This time I decided on a solid colour base and of course my eyes were drawn to 'Jade Stone' by Model's Own. It is a gorgeous mint green colour and a nice dupe for Essie's Mint Candy Apple in my opinion. I then topped this with a coat of Razzmatazz. 

'Jade Stone' with 'Razzmatazz on top

What I love about Razzmatazz is how densely packed the glitter is. Too often I find a gorgeous glitter polish to apply it and you are left with a barely noticeable coat of glitter. This polish is jam packed with lots of blue and silver tints to it. Unfortunately when you picture this look the camera picks up the blue in the glitter meaning the base doesn't look as green as it should be but I assure you it is a gorgeous minty green.

As you can also see my nails got a good chop this week. I love my nails long but as I have short nail beds my long nails curl in slightly when they are getting very long. Its nice to have them short for a change, but you do miss the length when you have an itch :)

What is your go to summer colour?

ELF 50% Sale is back!

ELF,  or eyes lips face as it is also known, sells good quality but affordable make-up and it is having a massive 50% off sale for the next 3 days so make your order fast! I will point out that a lot of stuff is out of stock which is a common problem with ELF UK but can you really complain with a massive 50% off?

Use the code: INDEMAND50

I have ordered from ELF before and have been extremely impressed with the quality and price - I think a big order is on the cards!

This eyebrow kit in ash is the first on my list...

Eyebrow Kit in Ash

What will you be hauling today?

NOTD: French Manicure Razzmatazzed...

There is nothing more sophisticated than a nice French manicure but lets face it - it is a bit boring?

I recently purchased the TopShop Nail polish Razzmatazz and it is the perfect shade to add a bit of bling to your manicure.

TopShop Razzmatazz on ring finger tip.

Firstly apologies for the slightly dodge nail lines, the new guides i bought of eBay rip the base coat off even if it has had overnight to dry! Also my camera's picture quality at the moment is playing up. I may work in IT but cameras are not my strong point haha! I contemplated putting Razzmatazz on all the tips but I think just adding it to the ring finger adds a suttle bling! And I love my bling!

My base coat at the moment is OPI Nail Envy as my nails are getting quite long and I'm trying to strengthen them as much as possible. I then use Model's Own 'Snow White' for the tips and then one of the mini's I got from the OPI NYC Ballet Mini Collection called 'Care to Danse' for the base. Its a really sheer pale pink colour and is perfect for a mani. In hindsight I probably should have put two coats of it on as it is very sheer and the pink is hard to pick up.

What is your favourite way to Jazz up a simple French Manicure?

Steph
xox

TopShop Make-up Haul!

I'm very late jumping on the TopShop make up bandwagon I know! I always thought the packaging was adorable but for some reason it never screamed 'Buy Me!' but on a quick sale rail browse today I passed the make-up and I really could not resist...

First I bought one of their cream blushes in Flush. Its a beautiful pinky coral colour and will be perfect for summer. The colour looks seriously scary in the pan, but it goes on fairly sheer (providing you have a steady hand!) and it is definitely build-able.

TopShop Blush in Flush.

The next thing i bought was a lipstick in Secret Admirer. Its a beautiful pinky nude, and perfect for those who want a lipstick that prefers an understated look.

TopShop Lipstick in Secret Admirer

Swatches L-R: Blush in Flush, Lipstick in Secret Admirer.

Mummy's Know Best!

Mummy's are the Greatest! Not only do they make you smile, teach you everything you know and comfort you when you are sad, they also pass down make-up tips and tools when you need them most!

I have terrible dark circles which have the tendency to get me down so I have tried all the concealers I can get my hands on. I love love love benefits erase paste, but it is seriously creamy and i find it slips throughout the day so after a good whine to my mother she went to her room and brought me down this little beauty... Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer Deep 04

.

The shade is a tad too dark for me, but it works great under my foundation for added coverage.

Its even too dark on my tanned hands haha!


I usually apply this with the elf concealer blush and blend lightly with my fingers and then add my foundation. Over than I then put a touch of the L'oreal Touche Magique (Which is a great dupe for YSL's touche eclait!) to brighten the under eye area.

Touche Magique Shade Ivory Beige

With both of these products I find my concealer stays put and my dark circles are no more!
You have to love a Mummy hand me down!

Steph

The leopard Manicure...

Ages ago I attempted leopard print on my nails. Surprisingly, it is very easy to do and using regular leopard colours I made a pretty good attempt...

Leopard Nails

Excuse the picture! The picture was taken when it was very dark around. For the base i used Model's Own - Gold Rush and then for the 'spots' I used a taupe colour (I cannot for the life of me find the actual colour but any taupe brown colour will work!). I then used the Model's own nail art pen to do emphasise the spots. This may seem complicated, but basically all you have to do is draw round the brown splodges you make. I tend to completely outline some, outline part of the spot and then add a few all black spots in large gaps. It is also good to add some different thickness's. This was honestly my first try and believe me it is fairly fool proof and looks really different and interesting. Plus it also makes you look like you are a near professional (at least on your non-writing hand anyway :) )

Today i decided to try the leopard nails again when it dawned on me that I read a blog post a while ago ( I cannot for the life of me remember who's blog it was on, so if you read this comment below and I will link to your post) using a multicoloured leopard effect so I decided to give it a try...

MultiColoured Leopard Nails

I did these in a semi rush so apologies about the neatness but i totally love the effect. Obviously it will look better with a tan (white nails always do) but I have already had a bunch of compliments on them already so girls/guys get painting! I used Model's Own - Snow White as the base and did various spots using Barry M - Coral, China Glaze - Gothic Lolita, Model's Own - Jade Stone, Model's Own - Feeling blue and China Glaze - Fushia Fanatic. I also used the Models own nails art pen in black for the outline. There are many different types of nail art pen and frankly I have only used very few so cannot tell you that the model's own version is better but it is a good pen and i got both my white and black pens whilst on promotion where you buy 2 polishes and get the pen free (I think this is on in boots at the moment so hurry down)! I cannot vouch for the pen but Model's Own nail polishes are great quality and the formula and brushes are as good as my OPI. They have an amazing colour range and are slowly becoming my favourite brand of nail polish! The price of £5 may help too!

Hope yous are having a wonderful week!

Steph

xxx

Sunny Days & Polka Dot Nails...

Isn't the sun wonderful? It puts everyone in a better mood and the sunglasses and bright clothing comes out!

As usual, I have picked up a few new products over the last week while some which I need to show you!

Firstly, anyone that reads blogs knows about those products that take over blogosphere and everyone and their mother blogs about them. Whilst in boots over the weekend I intended to do just this and Pick up Essie - Mint Candy Apple from the new diffusion line. As I was heading for the till I noticed that models own were offering a free nail art pen with every two purchases. Immediately I grabbed one of those other cult products - Indian Ocean and then I spotted a gorgeous mint green. I love Model's Own formula, they’re cheaper and I actually prefer the slightly deeper colour.

L-R: Jade Stone, White Nail Art Pen, Indian Ocean

And of course the nail art pen has come in handy...

Using Model's Own Nail Art Pen & Rimmel Lycra Pro Urban Princess 

The next thing I shamelessly picked up was the Revlon lip butters. I’m not the biggest lipstick fan so really I have no idea what drew me to these but I am glad I picked them up. I mainly wear a bit of Carmex and a lip gloss when I’m out but these are worth all the hype. They come in gorgeous shades, are shamelessly creamy and at £7.99 they aren't the most expensive lip product.

Top - Strawberry Shortcake, Bottom - Cupcake

L-R - Strawberry Shortcake, Cupcake

The next thing I picked up was a new moisturiser that I had read about on another blog. The Good Things Miracle Mattifer is a moisturiser made of entirely natural products and helps keep the skin matte throughout the day. The moisturiser was £7.99 and for that price I wasn’t expecting miracles, but it truly is such a good makeup base and I do feel that my makeup lasts a lot longer whilst wearing this! It is defiantly worth the hype!

Good Things Miracle Mattifer - Boots £7.99

Finally I picked up a baby Sudocrem for on the go! Sudocrem should be a staple in every girls make up routine. I have tried countless spot treatments and I don’t think anything works as well as Sudocrem. It dries the spot out without making it look really flaky so I love it plus look how cute the baby tube is!

Baby Sudocrem!

That's all my lovelies! Enjoy the Sunshine :)

Steph

xxx