Jaws Nail Art

Hello there readers! Today is going to be a slightly different post from my normal reviews or nail art posts, because I am going to shed a bit of light on my personal life. ooooeerrrrr. In my last post I explained that I hadn't got round to doing any Easter nail art because I had had a very busy weekend. Well this post will explain why! For my boyfriends birthday, I paid for us to going swimming in the shark tank at London Aquarium. Sharks have been my biggest fear since I can remember so this was quite a big deal for me!

So here are some pictures of our day for you to see!

Sand Tiger Shark

Brown Shark

The shark tank with the net in the back ground

The look of relief afterwards!

I have to admit that as terrifying as it was, it was really interesting and I learned a lot about sharks! I think I have cured my fear slightly as I would do it again in a heartbeat! Sharks are very misunderstood creatures, and it got me thinking as to where my deep rooted fear of sharks came from, after all, its not like you see them everyday! I think it stems down to when I watched Jaws as a child, as I spent most of the film perched on the back of the sofa with a cushion over my eyes.

As Jaws is such an iconic and classic film, I decided to pay homage to it, and do some Jaws inspired nail art.

I saw this design online by a girl called Kayleigh, who goes the extra mile when it comes to nail art, and actually uses extensions for shapes.  Here is a link to her Facebook page so you can see what I mean! KayleighOCNailArt

To make this nail art, this is all the equipment I used. It looks like quite a lot so I'll break it down into manageable chunks.

I started by painting each nail white, as the poster has a white background, and it meant the blue sea colours would be more vivid. I used scotch tape over half of the nail so the horizon would be really clean. I used two shades of blue so the water appeared to be getting deeper, and then when the tape is peeled of, you have a really straight line. I made sure the level was the same on each nail so it really gave the illusion of sea.

For the thumb where the shark will emerge from, I added another darker shade of blue to make the water look even deeper.

For Jaws himself, I was originally going to use  grey, but on the poster he is lighter, so I went for baby blue instead. The mouth and eyes were done with a black nail art pen, and the outline and terrifying teeth were done with a white pen.

For my poor victim, I used a gold nail art pen from Topshop which I have never used before. It is literally a pen so perfect if your haven't used nail art pens before. The swimsuit and hair were done with pink and yellow nail pens.

For the other hand, I just outlined the letters in pink to make sure they were ok, then went over them in the red to give them the bloodied effect.

I got a little lazy at the clean up around these!

So these are my gory Jaws nails, let me know what you think!

Hawaiian Nails

Hello there readers! I hope you all had a lovely Easter holiday break. Apologies for being quiet the last few days, I would have normally done some nail art for Easter, but I had such a busy weekend I will explain more in a post to come.

However, just before my busy weekend started I decided to do some nail art as it has been a while and my nails are in better condition now :)

 I bought this midi ring from Topshop a few weeks ago, and the flamingo shape inspired me to do some summery pink nails. The base coat I used was very aptly named 'Flamingo Pink' by Barry M, and the Hawaiian style flowers were done with nail art pens.

The flowers on their own looked a little sparse, and I wanted that really garish Hawaiian shirt feel so added some bright squiggles and spatters.

Hope you like them, I have lots more nail art designs coming up so keep your peepers, peeled! 

Bare Minerals Makeup

Hello everyone! At Christmas I wrote a post about products I wanted to get from Father Christmas, and one of the things on that list was the Bare Minerals starter kit. Thank goodness he got he hint, because I managed to get it... for myself. The starter set me back £50 but it includes all the essentials you will need to start your Bare Minerals experience.

I must admit that I found the idea of Bare Minerals a bit daunting at first. I know that is a bit sad as it is only makeup, but the whole swirl and tap, which brush to use and when really confused me. The ladies on the counters are very helpful but it is hard to remember everything they say sometimes, so luckily the kit comes with a little DVD that you can pop on at home when you have the kit in front of you to start yourself up.

The kit comes with three essential brushes which are really good quality and worth keeping hold of! It also comes with your foundation colour which would have been personally matched to your skin, your primer, warmth, and mineral veil. The foundations themselves are £25 so to think you get all that for just £50 is actually a bit of a steal!

So why Bare Minerals? Well, Bare Minerals makeup is completely natural and allows your skin to breathe so is good for your skin, and is the only makeup that could be slept in (but you should take it off reaaaaally). As it is coming up to the summer now, bare minerals is perfect as it adds a lightweight feel, and as it is a powder is has a mattifying effect on skin that can get more oily. 

For those with drier skin, the powder is also a good choice for you as it is actually quite creamy when applied to the skin. When rubbed between fingers the powder creams out slightly so it great for combination skin like mine. Now let me show you how all the kit works!

So, this is my face with no makeup on at all, not good hey?! My skin is really blotchy and red in places. I have terrible dark circles under my eyes, and I have quite a lot of redness and spots around my mouth and nose. 

The first step, is to apply the 'Prime Time' primer which softens the skin ready for makeup application and will eradicate any shininess on the face. The Bare Minerals range does do a concealer, but it does not come in the starter kit so I just use the original foundation which works just as well.

They do however supply you with a small concealer brush, so you can really cover up any imperfections.

I would describe this foundation as power air brush. As it is a powder, people are very sceptical as to if it works or not, but honestly, it covers up just as well as any other form of foundation.  To show you just how well it does, I have only concealed the left side of my face for you. I look a bit like 2 face from batman, but as you can see it is significantly lighter and more even skin toned. 

Once all the imperfections are concelaed, you will now need your brush for an all over face application. 

You pour the contents into the lid, get the brush and swirl it in the powder and then tap on the side for any excess. You buff the powder all over the face.

It can go over the eyes too (LOL)

Ta da! And you are left with a very even skin tone. My foundation match was the lightest colour the have which is 'fair' so I am also left looking scarily pale and a little bit flat. 

Have no fear though, because the next step is to add the 'warmth'. You REALLY don't need much of this at all. It is very very dark but when buffed over the face it adds definition and a natural glow.

You would buff this over the more prominent parts of your face where the sun would naturally fall on. So your forehead, cheeks, nose and chin.

I think we can agree I look a little bit more three dimensional now. Bare Minerals also do a range of blushers, but again they do not come in the starter kit. As I do like a blush as it suits my paler skin more than bronzer, I have just added some of my Bourjois blush in number 48 which is called "Ashes of Roses"

Once you are happy with the colour of your face, you can add the mineral veil, which is a iridescent powder that just sets everything into place, using the swirl and tap method you did for everything else. I find it gives that airbrush finish.

Add on everything else, and you are left with an airbrush finish that feels like you are wearing no makeup. 

I am really happy with the results of my Bare Minerals makeup, and the powder really does last you a long time. I would highly suggest it for everyone as it is good to the skin, and covers so flawlessly. 

Would you use Bare Minerals makeup? 

Completely unrelated content, but whilst taking pictures for the post my sister managed to snap me just as I started to sneeze and I thought it was too funny to leave out, so here you go, you are welcome.

Chanel Mascara

I am still on the search for the perfect mascara (who isn't to be honest?) and after a friends recommendation, my next choice was to go for the Chanel volumizing mascara priced at £22.50. This is probably he most expensive mascara I have ever bought, but it is Chanel so you can't be surprised.

Usually I go for more lengthening mascaras, but my lashes are actually fairly long but lacking volume. Volumizing mascara wands tend to be a lot fatter, and what I can only describe as being 'bumble bee' like. This took a little getting used too to start as I'm more familiar with thinner wands for length.

To start I couldn't use the mascara without getting thick spider lashes all grouped together, but after a bit of practice, I have managed to coat more individual lashes.

From the side, it looks like I need more length again, but from the front I think it defiantly looks like I have more volume. I must confess I have a really bad habit of pulling out my eye lashes so more volume has covered up the more sparse areas!

Clinique Chubby Stick

Hello everyone, today I am posting about my latest love affair with my Clinique Chubby Stick. I know I am super late to the Chubby Stick party, but I am so glad I finally caught up with the bandwagon! 

Chubby sticks are a hydrating lip balm with colour. Clinique have recently brought out a range of Chubby Sticks Intense which give the colour of a lipstick. I am a sucker for a red lip but have recently been searching for something a bit more pinky. I came across this colour 'mightiest maraschino' which is exactly what I was looking for. It has a more blue-y tone to it which is better for my cooler pale complexion, as it warms up my skin rather than adds a yellow tone which some more orange toned red colours can do.

I have had SO many compliments when wearing this colour, and I think it is because the blue tone just works so much better with my skin. I am no stranger to wearing red lipstick even in the day, but for some reason this one gets people talking.

Because it is not a lipstick, the chubby stick doesn't run or need lipliner to keep it in place, it just stays on really well and is applied like a balm. It is perfect for the handbag as it comes like a pencil and had a lid, and the colour lasts for ages, I'd say a good 4 hours before any reapplication is needed which is pretty amazing for a balm!

Chubby Sticks retail at £17.00.