Nails of the week – blue/pink duochrome

Posted in Beauty by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

This week I am a bit rushed off my feet – my office moved to a brand new building and I am still a bit lost and until I get used to it, I think I will have this feeling of putting some extra effort into going to work – although, that can be easily explained by the fact I have probably paid a record number of visits to various high street shops in one day; office is near Oxford Street, in London, and the temptation is just too much!

I am also going to Paris for a long weekend (yay), so that has also contributed to my lack of time…

However, I finally found a few minutes to show you my talons: this week I am wearing Andrea Fulerton’s Smile in a storm. Having used two or her duos in the past, and being very excited about those, I almost forgot I had this one; I bought it ages ago, so decided it was time to try it.

It consists of two polishes on a double ended brush; one is gunmetal grey, super sparkly and the other one is an iridescent topcoat. Together, they become a very pretty, although subtle, duochrome which varies from a light, grey-ish blue to darker blue and then to lilac and pink. Sometimes, depending on the light, you can get a glimpse of the grey, but maybe because I just used one coat of each. The reason for that is because the polish builds up quite thick. I had some problems with bubbles, when adding a third coat (second of topcoat), so removed it all and applied again, this time settling for less.

Apart from the bubbles, and the fact that the double ended brush makes it a bit clunky when applying, I am happy with it. Even with an extra shine topcoat, I noticed the finish is not too shiny, and someone even asked me if I had my matte topcoat on! Colour is fab and durability great!

Really like my new H&M ring, so decided to add it here too!

Rating:

16Mar2012

Eye make-up look challenge: rainbow

Posted in Beauty, Make Up by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

The sun has been out and I am in a more colourful mood. I always wanted to try rainbow colours in my eyes, but never had an occasion. as it is quite bold and not your week day in the pub kinda look. For that reason, I think my eye make-up look challenge is the perfect way of trying this!

Just as a reminder, the challenge is my way of venturing into looks I would probably never try; it is also a good practice for techniques.

I looked online for some inspiration, but ended up coming up with my version. I am not sure I would ever wear it, may be appropriate for carnival or other flamboyant occasion, but it ended up looking quite pretty – *maybe* I should have the black liner thinner (shhh, don’t tell anyone, I was going to, but had a little accident and as the six-colour blending was already in place, I decided to overlook the mistake and build it up a bit). Still I am very pleased with it. If I were to use this, I would probably slap some fake eye lashes on.

I didn’t have many problems, only blending the blue and green was a bit odd; I had to really pile eyeshadow on and complement with eyeliner, which I also blended a bit, to get a good distinction of the colours and some definition.

It is a good practice for blending, as the colours are so distinct, and I experimented with a few brushes and eyeshadows rarely used before, so I am glad I tried… my word for it is vivacious, and it really cheered me up!

Products I used:

e.l.f. eyelid primer in sheer
beautyuk eyeshadow collection in number 2
Collection 2000 Extreme felt tip eyeliner in black
Smashbox Photo-op under eye brightener
MAC pigment in vanilla
MAC eyebrow set
Maybelline One by One mascara in black
MAC brushes – eyes: 212SE, 219SE, 231, 217, 239SE, 208SE and 263; face: 190 and 167SE (the face brushes were used to clear spills and apply powder/brightener under the eyes)
Studio eyeliners in winter white, summer green and blue velvet
MAC eye kohl in smoulder

Level of difficulty:

14Mar2012

Beauty products and make up I cannot live without

Posted in Beauty, Make Up by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Most of my eyeshadows!

We all have them, right? Some swear by a handful of products that keep them beautiful on a daily basis… however, you are *slightly* more exaggerated, like myself, you probably notice that your staple beauty products cannot fit in one hand, or two… better bring out the sack…

I decided to list my essential make up items as well as my staple beauty products, as I believe they go hand in hand beautifying my everyday!

There is an awful lot more stuff and I have to say, I am quite good using most of the stuff I have

Drum roll…. here is my tried, tested and loved list:

Make up

MAC foundation, most of the times Selct FPS 15 in NC37 – I have tried many foundations in my life (trust me, I am a girl who had severe acne when younger), and this is the one I stuck with for quite sometime. Great to apply, it has a medium coverage. I am, at the moment, trying MAC’s Matchmaster, which has slightly better coverage than the Select and I am very happy with it too. I sometimes mix my foundation with moisturiser for everyday use or build up for hard-wearing make up.
MAC Mineralize skinfinish natural powder, in medium dark – cannot live without, usually brush on top of my foundation to add colour, but sometimes just on its own it offers you good coverage without being heavy, at all.
MAC Sheertone Shimmer blush in Sunbasque – so versatile…. could, in desperate times, double up as a bronzer, it goes with most colours. When I am full make up on, I use it only on the apple of the cheeks, with Mineralize blush in Chic Couple under the cheek bone for extra definition.
MAC Mineralize skinfinish bronzer in Gold deposit – not too overpowering in colour, gives you that lovely glow, suitable for the winter and summer, can be built up…. great for a bot of contouring.
MAC eye shadow in Carbon – another super versatile item. An intense matte black, I wear it as for fierce smokey eyes or on a daily basis as eye liner.
Mascara usually Maybelline Falsies, but lately been dabbling with YSL – you can check the review here, Soap & Glory and Maybelline One by One.
Eye liner – I have and use many different ones. The one I am quite into at the moment is the The Collection 200o Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner in black. I use eye shadow as eyeliner, gel liners from Maybelline and MAC.
MAC brow shader duo – a nice little matchbox like packaging with a dark shadow for your eyebrow and a lighter for the brow bone. It has been discontinued, I am lucky I have two and they last forever!
MAC pigment in Vanilla – so great, really gives your brow bone that extra, glamourous sheen, lifting your brows up to the sky! Amazing buy, a little pot will last you a long time.
Eye shadow – I own a plethora of shades… cannot get enough of eye shadow, could not pick a favourite, as it varies with my mood.
Lancôme Color Fever lipstick in Hot Stuff Rouge: a metallic red I think this colour has been discontinued, which is shame, as it is the best red ever! It is not too bright so suitable for day wear, it has a smooth creamy texture, so it glides when you apply – it is so good, I don’t even have to use a lip liner. I love it!
MAC Russian Red lipstick – hot. That’s all.
Lipcote lipstick fixer – I swear by this product. After reading reviews that it dries your lips more than fixes the colour, I was a bit unsure about buying it. My lips are quite dry, and this product hasn’t made it any worse. It fixes the colour beautifully, and I never wear a red on a night out without applying this on top. It stays put most of the night and it won’t stain glasses when you drink. Great!
A primer. Been using MAC’s Prep+Prime Skin for a few years and recently discovered Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting primer (dewy finish) which did wonders for my skin – a brilliant primer for acne scarred skin. I also use Lancôme’s La Base Pro.
Eyelid primer – at the moment using e.l.f and happy with it.

Beauty:

Face moisturiser – Nivea visage Oil free moisturising fluid is great value for money. I also wear Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, but this Nivea one is a great budget alternative – the texture is pretty much the same, it absorbs quickly, it moisturises well and my skin likes it.
Victoria’s Secret hydrating body lotion in Pure Seduction – been wearing it for a good 10 years now and it is the only moisturiser my body has seen. Love the consistency, the hydration and the smell is to die for. Sadly, not largely available in the UK (soon to be though), so I stock up from duty free, and suffer the occasional “moisturiser depletion anxiety” when I think I will run out before another trip abroad.
Victoria’s Secret ultra-moisturizing hand and body cream, also in Pure Seduction- just like above, but I use it as a hand moisturiser. It is just great, more supple than the body lotion, also good for elbows and knees.
St. Tropez Everyday Airbrush fake tan – easy to apply, never had streaks, the tan looks natural – worth noting I do not abuse it!The smell could be better, but could also be much worse, so overall, I like it and rely on it.
Lip balm – my lips are quite dry, and I suffer a lot in the winter; you won’t see without Vaseline lip therapy cocoa butter and lately créme bruleé or cherry Carmex.
Clarins Cleansing milk and Toning lotion for combination/oily skin – I know I should wear it twice daily, but I usually do it once, before going to bed. The toning lotion is also a good astringent, and I wear it on my eye lids as part of my eye make up prep!
Clinique 3 step system – I usually do this in the mornings. At the moment, I am using the soap bar and clarifying lotion 2, for dry combination skin.
Eye drops – My eyes are also very dry, in the wonter aggravated by heating and in th summer by hayfever (I know, lucky me, eh?!), so I use itchy eye drops a lot. I’ve been using Optrex Itchy eye drops and it helps a lot. In the winter, I usually change to a moisturising eye drop, like Optrex Dry or Actimist eye spray (which I find great!)
Batiste dry shampoo – an absolute saviour. When younger, I used to wash my hair every day, because it is quite fine and looks dirty in 24 hours. Not anymore, dry shampoo (and ballerina buns) changed my life.
L’Oréal Absolute eye & lip make-up remover – another saviour, been wearing for a long time, cheap and cheerful, does the job brillianty.
Kérastase Nutritive Nutri-termique hair mask – this is a miracle worker, using it once a week for about a year really changed my hair’s condition. Really amazing product.
Kérastase Lait Nutri-sculpt leave in smoothing hair foundation – in combination with the hair mask, this also changed my hair – it enabled me to grow it with the best condition my hair has ever been.
Nail varnish – lots and lots of it, in a rainbow-like palette!!!

What about you? What are the products you cannot live without? Have you tried any of my favourites? What did you think?

Nails of the week – blue + stamping

Well, it seems I am still a *little* bit obsessed with blue, and this week, I have painted my nails another shade of this lovely colour.

The blue I am wearing at the moment is electric, almost royal; it falls a shade or two shorter from it, and it is called Pop Fiction from Miss Sporty.

I am rather excited about my nails this week as I have tried a couple things I had never done before: an accent nail, which I painted with Nails Inc. in Oxford, a lovely pastel blue, and nail stamping.

I bought 16 Bundle Monster plates a while back, plus a Konad double ended stamp and scraper, and was looking forward to trying it. So, within this post, I will do a mini review of the plates. The patterns are ok, I mean, there are only about six plates I really like, but that didn’t bother me that much. A major disappointment was the fact some of the patterns are not deep enough, so when you scrape, no polish stays in, so there is nothing for the stamp to pick up. I tried several nail polishes and some of the patterns I really liked were, unfortunately, unusable.

As a first time experience, once I found a pattern I liked and that worked, from plate BM19, I think it was relatively ok. I had to remove the polish and re-do a couple times, and do the “paint plate-scrape-press stamp” act one too many times (and sometimes the pattern on the stamp wouldn’t be complete) but it looks cute and I am very happy with the result! I am not sure if I could actually cope with stamping every single nail…. I suppose practice would help!

The nail polishes application was very good; the Miss Sporty one has exceptional coverage; I used two coats, but with only one the colour was solid enough. The Nails Inc pastel blue was also very good, coverage was great, but two coats are a must. Durability is alright, there was one or two minor chips after five days, but I did put my nails through a bit!

Overall, a winner – the Miss Sporty blue for me is the star here; it is absolutely stunning and is quite similar to a blue Beyoncé was seen using a few weeks ago. I was very surprised I loved it this much, as there had been a very long time since I last wore a block, plain colour on my nails, as you know, I’ve really been into my effects nail varnish! I am very glad I did!