Marble Manicure

If you follow me on twitter you will be bored by know about my fun yesterday marbling my nails! I'm not gonna tell you how to do it because it can't be explained any better than Andrea's Choice 's video, so check that out.

Here are my marbelised creations...

OPI 'Koala Bear-y' & 'Lincoln Park After Dark' 

MUA Shade 16 & 4

OPI 'Blue My Mind' & 'Green-witch Village'

OPI 'Pink-ing of you' & 'Koala Bear-y'

Models Own 'Gold Rush' & 'Pink Fever'

So, what do you think? :o)

I also thought I would add some lessons I learnt about marbeling, from my own experience:

For God's sake, use tape!

Every tutorial will tell you to use tape around your finger to prevent a hot mess that looks like this:

yeah yeah, it looks nice. But it's a bitch to remove from the skin. So don't!

Prepare to make a mess!

This is the mess I made in my kitchen. Prepare to dig out every polish you own, destroy tupperware, go through a zillion cotton wool pads and stain your mums tea towels!

Not all nail polishes will work...

OPI's were my overall winners with this, however there was a noted exception ('You Don't Know Jacques', I am looking at you!).

Barry M was a total fail, they do not work! Such a shame as I have zillions of Barry M polishes :o(

Models Own were hit and miss, the last nail (above) is models own, however the glitter mostly ran. Instead I tried 'Beths Blue' and 'Cement Mixer', but they just sat on top of the water and wouldn't do anything! (see little floater below! Also, you can see a little failblob on the bottom, courtesy of Barry M!) 

You will be left with pretty cotton wool pads!

When you go to 'grab' the remaining polishes, you will be left with these! I love them :o) They are now in the bin, though.

I am going to do a full marble nail today! Any ideas of what colour combo I should go with?

xxxx

OOTN & NOTD

Hello there! :o)

This week is my Uni's RAG week. For those who don't know, RAG stands for Raise and Give. There are numerous charity events on in campus, as well as this year, the world record attempt for the biggest "Rock the Boat" was broken! My boyfriend and I went out last night with friends, and this is what I wore...

 The playsuit is from NewLook, and is avaliable here.

Again, I bought this in a size 6, I think the sizes are getting a little bigger at New Look. I could well have got smaller, even!

My nude peep toes are also from New Look, from nearly a year ago now. I would have posted a close-up, but the studs on them have started to come off and they are looking a little worse for wear. I really need to invest in some new ones!

 Here is a close up, it has a really cute multi-coloured heart print. It is a little crumpled as you can see, I took the picture the day after I wore it, and I don't have an iron handy!

Now on to the NOTD...

After I returned from my shopping trip with my mum on Saturday, I tweeted that I had got hold of the holy grail du jour in the nail polish world, GOSH Holographic 549.

I picked this up at half price! Amazing, since people have the audacity to sell these on eBay for up to €17 (here if you don't believe me!). I paid €4.25, I believe the full price is €8.50. I am going back on Wednesday to see if there is any more left. 

My only complaint is the longevity, it will chip in less than a day. However I am lazy and haven't used a base coat, so I can't really talk! Also, the brush isn't amazing, it is quite small. However, I love how it changes colour when it catches different lights. It keeps me amused anyway!

Love, Hannah xoxo

Stuff I Bought on Saturday

As this Saturday was the first since Christmas I've had off work, it was clearly a cause for celebration. What better way to celebrate than shopping!

First port of call was New Look. Unusually for me, I didn't buy any clothes this time, just some lovely accessories.

TL: I haven't ventured into the scary world of DIY French Manicures for a very long time, however when I spotted this cute little inexpensive kit, I thought I would give it a go, again! I'm thinking French polish with Barry M Pink Iridescent over the top? :o)

TR: 100% plastic and totally tacky, but what can I say, I love! However I didn't realise that the rings had sizes (durrr Hannah!) and I picked up a M/L. It just falls off my finger instantly. I must return it for the smaller size.

BR: Last summer I wore flowers of silly sizes in my hair every day. I somehow remember it all beginning with some this size. Hmm, I should probably keep an eye on the situation! However, they are cute and I love the mint green. Available here.

BL: Lovely little pendant, nice change from the "Love" ones I keep being drawn to inadvertently. Available here.

From Superdrug I bought some body stuff, and some make up stuff too! 

 L: I've been experiencing really bad eczema on my legs lately, hopefully this E45 lotion instead of the moisturizer I am using currently will help clear it up.

R: If you have read my post on Products I Am Using Right Now, you will have noticed my love for the Original Source shower gels. This smells so zingy (best word I could think of to describe it!), it may be enough to wake me up in the mornings! :o) 

 L-R Collection 2000 'Extreme 24 hour Felt tip Liner"- I got this because I need to learn how to do the whole eyeliner-on-upper-lashline thing. This looks the simplest tool to practice with! Available here.

Barry M Kohl Pencil in Navy Blue (4)- This actually came free with two other Barry M purchases at Superdrug. Bargain! Available here.

Barry M Shimmering Eye and Lip Crayon in Golden Bronze (7). I'm a little confused by the name, not sure why you would want this colour on your lips! :o) Lovely on eyes though! Avaliable here.

Barry M Blusher in Pink Orchid (1). Pretty pink! Avaliable here.

I will be doing a more thorough review of these make up products very soon! Already I absolutely love the Barry M Eye Crayon.

Let me know what you think, as always I do love a comment! :o)

Hannah

xxx

The Face & The Nails - Arts Ball 2011

As I have never posted a night-time/formal look, I thought what better occasion than last nights Ball! In my University, each major department (Law, Science, Engineering etc.) have their own formal ball. Basically, an excuse to get dolled up to the nines and have a good time!

The Face

 Rimmel Colour Rush Trio Eyeshadow in Twilight

L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara (Black)

Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eye Liner (100% Black)

Eyelure Girls Aloud Eye Lashes- Cheryl

Of all, I am very impressed with the lashes. For a formal event I would usually pay upwards of €20 for individual false lashes at a salon. However I chose to pick up these from a drugstore for the bargainous price of £5/€7! I am very impressed by the glossiness of these lashes, they were light and comfortable for the night  I love them!

 Sticking to my favourite Barry M products, for lips I used..
Barry M Lip Paint in 153 Pink Ribbon
Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in 5 Bubblegum Pink (Hauled Here)

Other face products used:

No7 Intelligence Balance Mousse Foundation in Tan

MAC powder blush in Fleur Power

MAC Fix +

The Nails

Barry M Nail Paint in Pink Iridescent

 If any of you follow me on Twitter (@hannahbanana661), you will have seen my excitement in finally finding this nail polish shade! It would of course be gorgeous over other colours, but for a more neutral look I just applied this over a clear base coat. This wasn't my greatest idea as you can see the yellow tinged discolouration through the polish (my nails are still recovering from the last set of acrylic falsies :o( ). To get this amount of glitter I have applied around 4 or 5 layers, quite impressed by the formulation, only minimal chipping in 4 days! I'm looking forward to experimenting with different base colours. Any recommendations?

Love as always,
H xxxx

Acrylic Nails: Are They Worth It?

I ADORE nail varnish. For as long as I can remember I've been stealing my Mum's nail polish and definitely for the past few years I have ALWAYS worn nail varnish of some sort. My preferred brand is Barry M as their colours are always on trend and very inexpensive.
However for a recent wedding I made the decision to treat myself to a set of Acrylic nails. My friends all prefer Gel nails as apparently they're not as bad for your nails. However I figured that your nail being completely covered for 3 weeks plus was not going to be good for them regardless. So, swayed by the promise that they'd last longer than Gel I chose Acrylic.
I found the process not so much painful as aggravating, like the feeling your teeth get when nails are scratched down a blackboard. My nails were buffed to oblivion before the tip was applied, cut down then the acrylic solution was applied.

The manicurist even applied a real dried flower to two nails and I was delighted with the results. A the time of application, I was told the nails would last 3 and a half weeks, as a full set if I was lucky.

However 3 weeks came and went, as did 4 and 5 until my baby fingernail started lifting from the base. I got worried that it would rip off so i put a plaster around it to hold it in until it grew off itself. Well, that was my intention! I took the plaster off to show my friend one day and forgot to replace it. Several hours later I was in my college library and I swung my handbag over my shoulder and caught the nail and it 3/4 ripped off. I just saw blood and the fact that there was a huge rip out of the nail and freaked! I actually didn't look at it properly i just put it back best i could and walked home and replaced the plaster. The next day, though my friend told me the way I had left it meant it was very prone to infection with an open wound so I had to brave it as she cut away at the acrylic nail. Eeeeekk!!!!

Anyway, the exact same thing happened with the other baby nail and eventually the rest of the nails became slightly loose so I figured it was time to remove them. I searched the

net and found the best advice at http://www.ehow.com/how_2003351_remove-acrylic-nails.html. I completed the process to find my original nails, previously long an

d strong, in a state in which I have never found them before. (See before and after above!) :(

I have started using Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polish to help strengthen them and after a week and 2 applications I have noticed a slight difference. However I'm too scared to paint them incase it stains them in the exposed part of the nail bed. My nails look disgusting in the picture all yellowed, ew :(.

I gave myself a Mini Manicure now as my nails have thickened (more or less) using this product as a base .

I'm very happy with the results now and 3 weeks later they're almost back to normal :o)

Any similar experiences?

Thanks for reading :o)

Hannah xxxxx