Category Archives: Beauty

Nails of the week (25/07/2011)

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nails of the weekThis week I have reverted back to a nail polish I was obsessed with a couple months ago, I wore it for at least 3 weeks in a row! It is close enough to coral, slightly more orange, like a very ripe peach.

Aptly called Juicy Peach, this shade is from H&M and it comes in a tiny bottle, it was the very first time I used up a bottle of nail polish in my life – and I liked it so much, a replacement has been bought already!

For £0.99, it is a steal, the consistency is good to apply, it lasts and the colour is truly great!

French and fishtail plaits

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At the moment, I am very much into doing different things to my hair. I have always been a straightened-hair-down kinda girl, mainly because I suffered from severe acne  in my younger years, and used my fringe to my best advantage.

fishtail plait

Two courses of Roaccutane and advancing age later, I am much more comfortable in my own skin (literally) and I am even welcoming the pull back dos (check my post on ballerina buns) , which were a big no-no in the past!

Plaits were, as well as the ballerina buns, a big part of my life when growing up. My mum was a big fan of many forms of plaiting and side ponytails.  I learnt how to plait my hair very young, and for most of my life, they played the “bad hair day” ally part.

What I never learnt was to do a French plait – this was always a frustration of mine.  And I had never heard (or seen) a fishtail plait until very recently.

So, as with all the things I like, I decided to give it a go. Armed with a comb and Youtube, I found video tutorials to help me fulfill my plaited dream.

Holiday hair - but where's the sun?

I found the French plait particularly useful for when on holidays. When done in the fringe, it kind of tidies up the frizziness of the whole hair, resulting on a  “polished” wild look.

As for the fishtail, I just find it prettier than a normal side plait; it is more interesting, I like the texture on it – after finishing it, I usually scruff it up a bit, to get a more natural, less tight look.  It also helps to keep the strands of  hair that are too short for a side plait tighter. For both, it took me a few attempts to get it right,  but now I am able to do them quite quickly!

Here is the tutorial I used for the fishtail plaits and the French plait, both by FoxyLocks on YouTube.

It is so nice to wake up and think we have options that won’t take you ages to achieve,  before reaching out to the good old straightener!

Nails of the week (18/07/11)

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purple nail varnishLove this glittery purple nail polish I had long forgotten about. It’s by Colorama, in Roxo Metálico (I bought it in Brazil quite a while ago – and the clue is in the name, which translates as metallic purple. I know – sounds more exciting than that in Portuguese!)

My bf chose it yesterday – and I think it is great – I know it is not a trendy pastel, a hot coral or a classic red, but it certainly has a place in my life! Plus, the fact it is 3 years old and the consistency is still the same – it gives a smooth, thin, perfect coat – makes it worth a go!

Bad hair day bun

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Not too bad hair!

A bad hair day, for me, consists mainly of unwashed hair. Apart from dirt, there is nothing ghd‘s won’t fix.

I wash my hair pretty much every day. This week, however, a 2-day unwashed hair got me. Let me explain: while for most people, washing their hair every two, even three or more days is quite normal, for me is unbearable. Not only because my hair is quite fine and looks dirty quite easily (really, in 24 hours), but also because I KNOW it hasn’t been washed, and that causes me paranoia.

I found a friend in Batiste, the dry shampoo, which has saved me from many sticky situations in the past. However, for my fine hair, after a few hours the Batiste effect starts to fade.

I’ve always had a love affair with ballerina buns – probably because I spent a lot of my early life wearing them.

The fact they sprung back into fashion made me quite happy, but my hair is so fine it doesn’t amount to much, even though it is long – only a pathetic tiny drop sitting in the middle of my head.

So I bought a ballerina bun foundation ring, which gives me the volume I need, and produces perfect buns in a few minutes! I have fallen in love with the hair buns all over again.

Now my bad hair days are not that bad!

Nails of the week (11/07/11)

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Orange crush - Miss Sporty quick dry!

When I saw the Miss Sporty nail varnishes on sale (2 for £4), I could not resist, even though , I confess, I thought they wouldn’t be too good. I ended up buying 4 (this one,  classic red,  lilac and mint green)

I am pleased to say I was mistaken, because they are quick dry, they are quite thick, but even with two coats, it lasts all week!

This almost neon pink meets orange/coral is great on. I even have it on my toenails.

On lipstick and lipgloss

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For many years of my life, my lip companion had been the lipgloss – my glossy addiction spanned for more than a decade, from completely clear to reddish hues, dabbling into the glittery ones.

My first encounter with a lipstick was when I was a child, not only would I wear it, on the lip and all over my face, but would also eat it, to my aunt’s despair.

Just as I remember!

Growing up, the thing to have back in the early 90’s was this green lipstick which would change colour to a weird translucent, dark red when applied. This would also stain your lips (and everywhere else you applied it to) for around 24 hours. And it was true, it did stick. The packaging was bright green with golden butterfiles embossed on it.

That was my last memory of wearing lipsticks. All my clubbing life, lipgloss was the thing to wear on your lips (apart from boys’ lips). There was always one in the handbag, and one in the car. Just in case.

Pinks, oranges and reds: my lippy collection

As a big fan of striking eye make up, I always thought lipsticks weren’t for me. The discretion of the gloss was the best companion for my smokey eyes. It was only in 2008  that I decided to venture back in the world of lipsticks, as I started to pay more attention to the shades available – and I fell in love.

And I have, since then, favoured the lipsticks over lipgloss, maybe it is just fashion, but I feel, that, just like me, my make up style has grown, developed, and I feel much more confident to wear whatever, whenever.

Eye contact

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I love experimenting with eye make up.  Sometimes I come across something nice online/in a magazine during the day and when I get home I like to re-create the look.

Smoky crease?! Yes please!

The six degrees of separation rule is a funny thing: the brother of an acquaintance I am friends with on Facebook is  engaged to one of the bloggers of a site called TwoDots, which is actually quite a nice make up tutorial, “today I’m wearing”, tendencies kinda blog, and he posts their new entries quite often, and I, from time to time, peek into it to see what the girls are up to.

That inspired me to try a different approach to smoky eyes:  a line just on your crease that gets smoked upwards, while the rest of the eye is quite simply done, although I went for very shimmery shadows – and I like it, in a weird way!

Summer in your eyes!

The other one was a super summery tricolour make up, with oranges, bright pink and yellow,  with subtle brown eye liner, super simple and quick – with great impact.

It’s good sometimes to get out of the ordinary day to day make up – I do miss bold eyes, as I have been back on the bright lipstick wagon – might give it a go next time I go out!, for old times’ sake!