Author Archives: Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Eye make-up look challenge – black glitter

This is bold! And sparkly…

So, knowing me, you would probably believe I love it and think it is perfect for me, right? Nah-ah.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the look, but I don’t think it is the best for my eye shape when looking at both eyes open, from the front; I played with it for a long time, made it thicker, thinner, higher, lower….and still didn’t quite look right, and I wasn’t going to post, but looking at the single eye pictures I thought that it was quite pretty.

It was very simple to put together, the problem was the mess – even though I was wearing the base plus glitter combo, it went everywhere… when I looked to the light, I could barely see, only sparkly reflections, which is pretty, but not very practical.

I first applied a primer and drew the desired shape faintly with a black eyeliner. I  smeared a part of the shape with the base then applied the glitter with the wand, and did bit by bit until the whole shape was filled. If you have the glitter, you can use an old brush and eyelash glue to replicate this look. The mess will certainly be the same!

After that, I cleaned the area around my eye, with a cotton bud infused in eye make up remover. I use this to define the shape in the corner of the eye too, in any smoke, if you want it clean-cut.

Finally, I applied a light metallic eyeshadow and pigment to the brow bone to the beginning of the glittery shape. I was going to apply a set of lashes, but I tried and it was a bit too much, so I removed it!

It is sexy and striking (trust me, two qualities I love), but didn’t quite go my way and I will put this one down to experience!

Products I used:

  • Collection 2000 Glam glitter in black
  • MAC pigment in Vanilla
  • Sephora cream eyeshadow from palette
  • MAC eye kohl in smoulder
  • MAC brushes 239 and 208
  • Elf eyelid primer
  • Smashbox photo-op under eye brightener

Level of difficulty:

I am just giving two wands because of the mess! Blimey! To remove, it was even worse!

Nails of the week – warm tones with gold French manicure

Once again, I went a bit colour crazy! I have so many lovely nail polishes, that sometimes is super hard to choose just one, so I decided to do a warm colour palette – from yellow to red.

The polishes I used were :

  • Yellow: H&M summer sunrise
  • Orange: Impala aleixo
  • Lighter pink: Impala confeti
  • Darker pink: Miss Sporty number 130
  • Red: Colorama 40 graus
  • Gold: Barry M effects foil gold

I had used the yellow and the red before, in fact, this red is one of my favourites. I found the orange a bit sheer, still with two coats; the darker and lighter pink were alright, application was smooth for all. Durability was surprisingly long, as

I tend to wear off my French manicure by typing; when I removed, seven days after applying, I felt it could’ve gone for longer! Ace!

I am really into French manis nowadays!

This is a very bold look, but I don’t think it interfered with my clothes or was too out there for eyes to pop; people usually noticed (and complimented!) after looking carefully and closer.  I absolutely love the colours combination – and I am dying to do a cold colours one… we shall see!

I had a friend at home, so she also left with a slight more demure creation of mine; a purple and lilac French manicure, using a lilac from Miss Sporty and Collection 2000’s purple rain.

Rating:

Eye make up challenge: lilac

I really like lilacs and lavenders on my eyes. It is a great colour for brown eyes and a great trick for the morning after that heavy night – it really helps brighten up tired peepers.

This is a look I find quite discrete, although the darker line gives it a little something of “special” occasion to it.

I first applied a primer and a light eye shadow on the brow bone, inner corner of the eye and halfway the lower lash line, from the inner corner. I swept the lilac across the lid generously and applied plain white eyeshadow just in the middle of the lid, for extra luminosity.

Then I drew the line following slightly above my eye socket with a darker shadow using a pencil brush, then blending it with a small shader brush. I also used this brush to apply the darker shade on my lower lash line, one-third from the outer corner and on the upper lash line, just below half from the outer corner too.

To finish off the look, I applied mascara and a set of lashes and put some light coloured pigment on my brow bone topped off with some sparkle.

Quite an easy look to achieve, it looks very pretty and, in my opinion, not too over the top.

Products I used:

  • MAC lilac eyeshadow in Beautiful Iris
  • Lancome Ombre Absolute eyeshadow in Black Blue
  • Sephora white eyeshadow from palette
  • MAC pigment in Vanilla
  • MAC eyelashes 33
  • Duo eyelash waterproof glue
  • ELF eyelid primer
  • Kryolan Glamour Sparks in golden
  • MAC brushes 208, 219, 231, 239 and 212
  • Smashbox Photo op under eye brightener
  • MAC eyebrow set (discontinued)
  • Maybelline One by one volum’ express mascara

Level of difficulty:

Nails of the week -blue and glitter tips

Here I come with another experimental nail creation…

I had spotted Andrea Fullerton’s Georgia Glitter Duo, a pretty set with two glitter puff dusts and a topcoat, a while back but for some reason, forgot about it. What I really liked was the holographic sheen on the gold and silver glitters that came in the set.

So we met again, and I decided to take it, at £6.99 from Superdrug. I had been dying to try this new Ana Hickmann blue nail polish, Rock, which I bought recently, and thought the blue glitter, fading from the tip to the middle of the nail would look fab.

And it does – like a mini winter wonderland! Application of the polish was good, it is quite sheer, more than I expected, but it is good enough on two coats.

The puffs are easy enough to use, although I think I need a small brush to even it out a bit; I did it with my fingers, and was very worried about ruining the polish. Obviously, they are not all the same, and that bothers me a bit, but I am sure that I will improve with practice.

Durability was kind of alright; the glitter rubbed off from my thumb, indicator and middle finger; but I gave it a re-touch five days after doing the manicure, so not too bad.  have to say it wasn’t very easy to remove, as expected from glitter! Still, I cannot wait to use the gold one!

You can get a set with five glitter puffs,in varied colours from eBay too, for only £5.

Rating:

This week’s outfits – 25/05/2012

What a glorious day to finish off the week! I am just so happy it is warmer and the sun is out!

I started the week still trying to transition into my spring wardrobe, wearing tights and mixing some lighter pieces with black. I really love the print on Monday’s skirt, it has that watercolour/old china plate feel to it!

Thinking I was over neon was a big mistake, as Tuesday’s skirt proves (ok, it is not the neon lime high waist shorts and crop top combo I wore in the 90’s, but still). I am really into blouses, and this bow print one is a new acquisition!

And then there was Wednesday, when I officially broke my annual “psychological tights barrier” and put the legs out. I absolutely love this cream lace top dress; it is so feminine!

I am finding H&M is full of goodies for amazing prices lately; thumbs up for the collection. Thursday’s outfit is entirely from there, and comes to under a £10, yeah, you heard me, under a tenner!!!

To close the week, I wore a pretty Venice print dress, from last summer ( I have been in love with this dress since I bought it!) and decided to try something different with my hair: knotted plaits at the back.

So, enough talking, here are the goods:

Monday

Black top (H&M), blue flower print skirt (H&M), black patent court shoes (River Island), tiger ring (H&M), believe ring (Disney Couture), spike bracelet (New Look), MAC lipstick in Captive.

Tuesday

Bow print blouse (Primark), neon pink skirt (H&M), resin ring (Sobral), Nyx lipstick in Chloe.

Wednesday

Cream lace top dress (Primark), prince frog ring (New Look), taupe gold toe cap court shoes (Viviana), Nyx lipstick in Peach Bellini.

Thursday

Print sleeveless top (H&M), teal skirt (H&M), mint green silver toe cap shoes (Topshop), tiger ring (H&M), teardrops earrings (New Look), Nyx lipstick in Peach Bellini.

Friday

Venice print dress (New Look), nude peep-toe sling back shoes (Topshop), flower ring (a shop in Brazil), round rings (H&M), bracelets (a mix from H&M, New Look and Primark), MAC lipstick in Captive.

Have a lovely, fashionable weekend!

Eye make up challenge: blue smokey

So, I have been a bit rubbish with my eye make up challenge; overall, I was a bit slack for a couple of months with the blog, but now all is back to normal!

I tried this lovely light and dark blue eye make up recently, and was quite pleased with the results. It was quite simple to put together, and I can see it being beautiful with various shades: green, pinks, or even orange/yellow.

I first applied a primer then brushed a light baby blue all over my lids, the lower lash line and the inner corner of my eye. I used a pencil brush to add the darker blue at the crease then used a smoker brush to blend and extend the darker colour towards my temples. Using a small shader brush I lined one third of the lower lash line with the darker blue. I put some light pigment by the brow bone and blended down to the dark blue, followed by some golden dust. Mascara was applied, followed by a set of lashes. I added more light pigment to the inner corner of the eye, brushed my eyebrows and filled them a little bit, as I usually do.

I think this is a good look for a night out; you could certainly put more dramatic eyelashes.  I usually wear a more smokey look, but will certainly try this “lighter version” next time I go out!

Products I used:

  • Sephora light blue eyeshadow from pallete
  • MAC dark blue eyeshadow in Deep Truth
  • MAC eyelashes 33
  • Kryolan Glamour Sparks in golden
  • MAC eye kohl in Smoulder
  • MAC pigment in Vanilla
  • MAC brushes 208, 217, 219, 231, 239 and 263.
  • DUO waterproof eyelash glue
  • Smashbox Photo-op under-eye brightener
  • Maybelline One by one volum’ express mascara

Level of difficulty: 

Nails of the week: Silver holographic with black French manicure

When I prematurely removed the lovely giraffe foils, I gave my nails a rare breathing day and decided to do a silver holographic and black French I had been wanting to do for quite a while.

I used the beautiful Color Club Worth the Risque, which I wore on its own a while back. I encountered the same problems as before… which I had forgotten about: it takes ages to dry and scratches pretty easily; as I paint my nails in the evening, I had to wait a whole day before feeling safe to use the  strips to do the French mani, then I applied my reliable Barry M’s black and a topcoat (which is the saving grace for the Color Club polish).

Have to say, apart from the pain to achieve, I am very happy with it, and once it is in, it lasts; durability is great, 8 whole days in great state (a very minor re-touch to one of the black tips)!

Rating:

Outfits of the week 18/05/2012

I did very well – another week has finished, and five new work outfits have been documented…

I started the week quite into my monochromes plus red! Black, white and red – love this combination, at any time; it just makes me feel good, it might just be the red shoes!

The blouse I wore on Tuesday was bought so long ago and never worn – decided to give it a chance and really loved it!

Mid-week I decided  to step up (as much as I could) into the spring mood, so I threw in some pastels and plenty of flowers.

The feather blouse is one of my favourites, it was bought in the early autumn 2011, but it is so pretty and wearable I can’t get enough of it!

Another attempt to break into my spring wardrobe to close the work week: this pencil lace skirt is gorgeous, fits so well and it is from H&M Conscious Collection.

Monday

Striped sleeveless shirt (Primark), mini-skirt (H&M), zebra ring (New Look) and red patent court shoes (New Look)

Tuesday

Black ruffle blouse (Primark), black pencil skirt (H&M),  tiger ring (New Look), red patent shoes (New Look). Lancome lipstick Hot Stuff.

Wednesday

Black turtle neck top (New Look), nude lace culottes (Primark) , layered necklace (Accessorize), pink-ish butterfly ring (New Look), black patent courts (River Island).

Thursday

Feather pussybow blouse (Primark), black mini-skirt (H&M), frog ring (New Look), gold leaf earrings (shop in Paris), taupe and gold toe cap shoes (Viviana). MAC lipstick in Odyssey.

Friday

Black top (H&M), nude lace skirt (H&M), nude court shoes (M&S), nude hexagonal ring (New Look), black and gold ring (Sobral).

Nails of the week – black/gold giraffe print foil

Months after buying a pretty giraffe print Nail Rock wraps, I decided it was finally time to try them. Have to confess just the thought of using a hair dryer and frantically preventing/fixing creases was enough to make me feel a bit lazy, hence the procrastination – which in this particular department is quite unusual for me, as I cannot wait to try new stuff… Anyway…

I actually found application easier than I dreaded all this time; after two or three nails, the process was quite straight forward, and it took me a couple of minutes or so per nail. I thought with myself: “This is great! I am never painting again!”. They looked *fabulous*!!! I was so excited…

However, excitement didn’t last too long. After a couple days, the foils started to snag in the “most used” fingers (thumbs and indicators)… I tried desperately to hang on to the beauty, but the ragging was really irritating… it caught on tights, hair, it felt weird on touch (as you will know by now, I am very pedantic when it comes to my nails… I am not a big fan of texture, I get quite bothered when the manicure has little bubbles or is not looking perfect, and so on) and by the third day I decided I could not take it anymore – I removed them. So a NOTW part II will follow, as I painted in replacement of the foils.

I knew they weren’t going to last long when I applied them. I so knew. But I was hoping to be proved wrong, after all they say in the packet it last up to 10 days! Removal was alright; again, using the hair dryer to make the foils soft enough to pull off.

Having said all that, I really loved the effect and the finish when they were good, so I will definitely wear again. The final verdict is: as “occasion” nails, YES, PLEASE, WE LOVE YOU!!! As weekly manicure, unfortunately is a no-no.  If you are prepared, like me, to change twice in a week, then go ahead. Or if you have that all special event that requires extra nail impact. But if you just want to think about again in seven days, you will be disappointed!

Rating:

Outfits of the week – 11/05/2012

This week I did something I’ve meaning to do for a long time:: photograph details my daily outfits and post them once a week. I managed to do three this week. Here they are:

Dalmatian top (Primark), black shorts (H&M), taupe gold toe cap stilettos (Viviana), white cardigan (Primark), black resin ring with gold flakes (Sobral).

Vegetable print dress (Primark), black patent courts (River Island), black cardigan (H&M), crystal apple ring (New Look).

Mint green top (H&M), black trousers (Zara), boucle crop jacket (Topshop), mint green silver toe cap shoes (Topshop),  crystal leopard ring (H&M) and “believe” ring (Disney Couture).

So what do you think? I am sure that, just like me, you cannot wait to break into your spring wardrobe…I have bought so many lovely items, and still haven’t had the chance to wear them… Today is a bit brighter, so I decided to add a bit of pastel, as seen above!

Come on weather! London is beautiful with a blue sky!