The Cheats Guide To Nail Art, Part Deux: Ombre Nails

Yay! It's another blog post for the clumsy and wobbly handed people who just can't 'do' nail art- expecially not x10! You can find my first post about this here. Anyway, I saw this nail effect on LLYMLRS blog ages ago, and the other day I thought I'd give it a go myself!

Basically the idea is that you pick 5 polishes of the same colour, from light to dark to give that gradient effect. Yet again it is relatively simple and doesn't require a whole load of effort!

The only colour fields that I had enough block colours to do this with is pink and blue, here is what I came up with...

Pink!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 'Pink Slipper' / OPI 'Pinking of You' / MUA #16 / Barry M 'Bright Pink' / Barry M 'Shocking Pink'

I really like the effect of this one, but when applied I thought the index finger and middle finger colours looked a little too alike- during the day I kept arguing with myself as I thought I had mixed them up. 

Blue!

Barry M 'Indigo' / OPI 'Blue My Mind' / Barry M 'Cyan Blue' / China Glaze 'Sea Spray' /Models Own 'Beths Blue' 

I had some difficulty finding the right colours for this one as I definitely don't own 5 block blues, for this reason I was quite skeptical in using CG 'Sea Spray' (2nd from left) as it isn't a completely flat colour. Also, as you can tell from the name, Barry M indigo which is on my thumb is a deep purple. I think it works though - kind of. Anyway I won't be losing sleep over it!

Have you tried ombre nails? Link me to your posts, I would love to see them :o)

xxxx

Tanning Tuesday: Bronze Ambition 'Glow & Go'

This Tuesdays featured self tanner brings us into the realm of wash off tan. I have never been a fan of this sort of fake tan as the memory of using Rimmel's instant tan has put me right off - transfers like hell, icky shimmer, difficult to get even (if you were wondering).

When I was sent this product, I was skeptical to say the least!

For a mere £1.99, you get 100ml of product. Unlike in my past experience of wash off tan, this is a sparkle-less, gel formula. 

It glides on really nicely and has a nice coconutty/fruity scent- no biscuit scents with this baby! The colour payoff is good and a little goes a long way. 

 As I am sure you can tell, the colour isn't super dark, however it is buildable and pretty much foolproof if you are a tanning newbie!

Also, I can confirm that this really does not transfer. Once it has sunk into your skin it stays there and is easily removed in the shower.

I really recommend this for experimenting with tan, or even just to deepen up what you have on already if needs be. For such a bargain price, this is a fab product.

Available here!

xxx

The Beaut.ie Awards 2011!

Last Thursday evening I was lucky enough to attend the Beaut.ie awards in the uber swanky Dylan Hotel in Dublin. 

It was great to hear all about the winners from the fabulous Beaut.ie girls as well as Xpose's Karen Koster. Some of the winners were surprising (Primark exfoliating gloves winning 'Best Body Gadget') and some impressive (MAC winning in 6 categories). Personally, I was delighted that my favourite hair care brand Aussie won best shampoo, conditioner and hair masque, very well deserved!

 The unique thing about these awards is that they were decided by Irish girls (and guys?) over 60,000 votes, so it really reflects what we all love to use everyday. Plus, there was a great mix of high street and high end items that won, as well as many that have made their way onto my shopping list! How have I still not tried 'Best Mascara' Lancome Hypnose yet?

I attended the event with Julie and Aoife, and it was lovely to see so many other familiar blogging faces :o)

Julie, Aoife and I

There were gorgeous West Coast Cooler girls that kept our glasses topped up with yummy drinks all night long, as well as lovely little nibbles. 

Below is a picture of us with the fabulous Joanna, she had the most amazing shoes on! 

Julie, me, Joanne, Aoife

Also we were treated to lovely little gift bags...

I can't wait to try these out! Especially the Kiehl's, it's a brand I have never tried before.

In all, I had an amazing time! Thank you Julie for letting me stay with you and a huge thanks to Beaut.ie's Kirstie and Aisling for putting on a fabulous party! Bring on the 2012 awards! :o)

xxxx

What I Wore Last night!

So last night I went on a girls night out, all very fun and I am very much paying for it today- I just want to sleep!! Also I found out that more people than I thought know about my blog, so HAI girls, if you're reading this! <3

Anyway, this is what I wore...

Sorry the photo is sideways, I couldn't work out how to make it right-ways!

Unsure why, but this outfit made me feel like a bit of a secretary- I don't often wear all black, but I thought it worked last night.

LOL at me in the mirrors reflection in my pj's!

My dress is a Herve Leger rip off from New Look, available here. I think I will get some wear out of it around Christmas time with different coloured shoes and accessories- regardless, every girl needs a LBD, right? ;o)

My shoes were these patent courts from Faith...

They look filthy on camera but I promise they're not all that bad IRL! I got these years ago and hardly wore them, but I thought I'd dig them out for all times sake. They weren't all that comfortable though and I am currently nursing my poor feet in some super glam fuzzy socks!

xxxx

Illamasqua haul

When I saw that ASOS had added some bits from the Illamasqua Toxic Nature collection to it's sale, I just couldn't resist. These are the goodies that I picked up...

I've been dying to try an Illamasqua nail polish for some time, but the €17 price tag put me off. When I saw the full range for just over a tenner, I really couldn't resist! I eventually narrowed down my choices to...

gamma, purity

Gamma was always my favourite from this collection. I have wanted a bright orange for some time but nothing has given me that bright bright orange. Purity was what I thought to be a perfect nude. IRL it's more peach, definitely comparable to Barry M's Peach Melba which I already own- oops! Anyway, that's another blog post.

 Although I don't adore my other Illamasqua gloss, I couldn't resist one more! This is in the shade 'Torture' (cute name huh? :/) and is a bright bright orange. From previous experience, these do run quite sheer so hopefully it will give me the coral pop I am looking for!

This afternoon I couldn't resist painting my nails with Gamma, I am so impressed by this polish, it's absolutely gorgeous!

It's coming off kind of yellow here, however it is orange. Think highlighter orange! It dries to kind of a matte finish- not matte entirely but not sheeny shiny. I heart it!

On a completely different note, my little ipod arrived today! Got it from ebay for €60 as I no longer have an iPhone to play in my car. Or maybe I just wanted to show off this nail polish some more :o)

*swoons*

xxxx

A Cheats Guide to Nail Art!

To put things simply, I am a complete klutz. I trip over stuff, spill drinks down myself on an almost daily basis (white tops are a no-no) and still still, after years of trying cannot draw a straight liquid eyeliner-line. So I have had a little sad face when seeing all of the fantastic nail art around the bbloggersphere (Gem Fatale's leopard print nails, I am talking to you!). Even water marbling was a bit of a disaster...

So, how did I create this, you may ask...

srsly, who am I to lecture on nail art?! I can't even paint my nails correctly!

The answer? Stickers!

I got these from ebay a few weeks ago with the literal pennies I had left in my paypal. I believe they were about 80c each (50p?!) including postage from Hong Kong or somewhere. 

Basically I painted my nails (MUA #16, if you were wondering), peeled off the stickers, placed them and then went over it all with my regular topcoat.

Not bad for a first attempt! *smug look*

Also, I was more than a bit touched by the little note and gift enclosed from the ebay seller...

little packet of blotting papers, 'a special gift' awww :o)

If that didn't make me so touched by that, the little note enclosed sure did:

Check the last line, the lovely chap went to the trouble of Google translating "Go raibh maith agat" which is Irish for 'Thank you' (so I am told) which was just so cute. Let's remind ourselves of the fact that I paid under a euro for this, including postage!

I hope you enjoyed my cheats guide to nail art, I plan to do many more stickery designs without the stress!

Click here for the ebay sellers shop, he has a Gandhi quote as his picture- I now like him even more.

xxxx

Dupe Alert!! Benefit '10' vs. W7 'Double Act'

A video went up on my YouTube channel about a week ago, all about two Benefit dupes I have come across. The posts would be all too much and photo heavy to put them both in the same post, so the Benetint v. MeMeMe 'Pussy Cat' will be up tomorrow morning!

W7 'Double Act' vs. Benefit '10'

My version of '10' is a gift set type thing, so to compare packaging, I have photographed the 'Double Act' next to my box of 'Sugarbomb'.

Pretty similar packaging, don't you think?

Now, onto the actual goods! 

The 'Double Act' actually claims to be a blush/bronzer duo, instead of highlight/bronzer, but when they are swatched the blush isn't all that pigmented, just slightly more pink toned than the '10' highlight.

As for the price, I paid €3.99 for the 'Double Act' and '10' retails at €30 or £25 here.

So, what do you think? Is Benefit 10 worth splashing out on?

Personally I am quite impressed with the W7, it has more than a passing resemblence to Benefit!

I'd love to hear your opinions! :o)

Love H xx