My new toys

This is what happens when I am given 60 pounds to waste on Boots products. Not that I'm complaining, really, I'm just saying.

1. Herbal Essences straightening shampoo and conditioner. Tried it twice on my naturally very curly hair, and so far I'm surprisingly satisfied with the results. Short of making my hair magically lose its curls, it does make it silky smooth and achieve the near-impossible task of preventing it from frizzing. Suddenly my purple minion mane was rendered stupidly manageable, and straightening it with a heating brush gave me results that even the Zohan couldn't get if he tried.

2. Eylure naturlites false eyelashes. This is just a refill, I swear by that brand. Their texture and  length makes them look very natural.

3. Simple Eye makeup corrector pen. I haven't actually tried this yet, but love the concept and been meaning to try it for ages. I'll let you know.

4. Sure deodorant. I normally buy Dove, but felt like a change. Verdict? Well... everyone keeps complimenting my new perfume. When I'm not wearing any perfume.

5. Standard hairclips. These are actually H&M, not Boots. They're just in there because I needed something to fill the gap. I do keep buying those very clips, though, because they're the perfect size and shape and a friend of mine keeps soullessly destroying them.

6. Babyliss curling wand. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. Doesn't she have curly hair already? Well, yes, I do, but they're tight, crazy curls, and I've always wanted to make myself some loose barrel curls. So far I'm quite satisfied, it heats up incredibly fast. The resulting curls are soft and loose, which is quite nice. Barrel curls are a tricky thing, though. Probably easier to achieve with a curling tong.

7. Soft cotton headband. I love them. I use them to braid my hair out of my face before I go to sleep, because I'm weird like that. I like to think it gives me an Anna-Bates-from-Downton look.

8. L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick 233 (Boreal/Taffeta). A really nice, shimmery nude. I've been looking for a nude lipstick that fits my hair and skin tone for a long, long time, and it hasn't been easy, but I think I can finally stop searching. The packaging claims it's a lipstick for blondes, but that's a filthy lie. It's good for anyone with a pale skin and yellow-y complexion (what a nice portrait I paint of myself...).

9. Soap&Glory's Marvelips! J'adiore. The colour side is just that perfect shade of vintage coral pink that Benefit wishes it had come up with, and the white shimmery side does its job just fine. Plus, you know, it doubles as a cool eyeliner. Convenient.

Definitely my new favourite toy. I had to stop myself from wearing it to bed last night, because it went so well with my new nightgown.

Newspapers and party lights

I'm back!! Finally!! Sorry it took me so long, I've been on what can only be described as a month-long coursework bender. Not pleasant, but I've never been so productive in my life. Now I'm free, it's motivated me to spend my summer doing productive things with my summer, unleash my "creative" (read: crazy) streak now I'm free, rather than spend my time consuming consuming consuming. Or gazing into the nothingness of my facebook newsfeed.
Sooo, the moment I was free, instead of sleeping (which is what I *should* have been doing, definitely), I went to the Arts and Crafts shop, where a friend had to talk me out of buying the whole place, and then Boots, which is also an Arts and Crafts shop of sorts, and went wild for a couple of days. I made a bunch of stuff, mostly some origami jewellery for my etsy store (preview coming soon!), but also a bit of nail art:

Newspaper nails

Nail art tip#4: I saw this effect on Pinterest a while back and wanted to try. It's actually really easy. Once your colour base coat has dried COMPLETELY, tear off a strip of newspaper the size of your nail and dip it in alcohol. 70 dregree medical stuff is good, but anything above 40% will do. Me? I use vodka.

Dab off any excess liquid and then cover your nail with the newspaper. Apply pressure for about 20 seconds. Tadaa.

Do apply a top coat though, or the print will rub off when you wash your hands.

For the textured effect you can see in the pictures, I used Barry M's Textured Nail Effect in turquoise.

Party Lights nails

I bought a couple of nail art sticks in Primark - you know, the ones riiight next to the tills? I'm such a sucker for those cheap marketing tactics. Anyway, I wanted to try them straight off, so here goes:

They're not great, but I was being experimental, and I think they could work well for a party or a club night.

Ingredients...

Do you hear the people sing?

Confession: I am obsessed with Les Mis. Musical, films, novel, soundtrack, being french means I've been exposed to it all from a very young age. I saw the musical for the first time when I was 7, the year I moved to London...and I distinctly remember wanting to be Gavroche. To be honest, I still do.

So when the movie came out, and I went to see it not once, but twice (stay tuned for a review), I felt, for the first time in my life, like I should flaunt my french-ness. See, painting your nails like the french flag felt a bit tacky. In the context of a cinematic phenomenon, on the other hand...

I couldn't tell you what nail polish I used, because I was having one of those "my room is so messy I can't find anything $%*(@%tuwilfsdjlk" moments and had to resort to mixing colours on a plate to get the shades I wanted. 

I got the design idea from another blog, and decided to try my luck. The flags were done by using a sponge as a stencil on a white background.

Funnily enough, it's easy to tell who hasn't seen Les Mis - they always ask me why I have "one red nail and one black nail"...

Sakura Cherry Blossoms Nails

I made these last spring for a hanami picnic outing. For those of you who don't know, hanami is the japanese traditional custom of going out to appreciate blooming flowers. Most viewings take place in spring, when the sakura (cherry blossoms) are pretty much EVERYWHERE.

Here in London we don't have as many, but Regents Park is a nice location for a bit of picnicin' and flower viewin'... Naturally, we spent so much time making the food that by the time we got to the park, the weather had turned a bit... gloomy. Welcome to London, baby.

My flatmate gave me this for the occasion (ok, this is the wiki picture, but mine was blurry and crap).
Sakuramochi is a type of Japanese confectionery composed of sweet rice paste stuffed with red bean paste, wrapped in an edible sakura leaf. Believe it or not, it tastes amazing.

Anyway, on with the nail art!

I think the thumb, which I did last, turned out nicer than the rest; I should have made the branches thinner on the other nails. 

I used:

- Purple background: Pro.Beauty #54
- Pink background: Top Beauty #25
- Gold background: Pro.Beauty #60
- Black branches: Rimmel London 800 Black Out
- Cherry blossoms: Natural Collection #11

Nail art tip #3: When it comes to nail art, it doesn't matter how cheap or low-quality a polish is. In fact, the cheaper the better, so you can buy more, experiment freely and pour as much as you like on a palette. As long as you finish with a solid clear top coat (I find Sally Hansen does the trick quite nicely), anything goes.

Dice Nails

For those of you in a hurry, this is a quick and easy way of dressing up your nails.

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:
- White (pearl): OPI A48
- Red: Ciate Paint Pots 013
- Black: Rimmel London 800 (Black Out)

Again, I find the use of a broken comb tooth much easier to use for dotting, as it has a wider surface and plastic doesn't absorb the polish as fast as wood.

Enjoy!

Playing Card Nails

Welcome to the first edition of the Nail Art Bank feature! In these self-satisfied nail art posts I'll be posting ideas, tips and tutorials, and talking about inspiration for potential future projects. First stop: playing card nails~

I love the aesthetic and atmosphere of the 'haunted/spectral circus' you find in a lot of things these days. The Night Circus had me hooked from the very first page (to be fair, it's not often that a novel addresses you, yes YOU, directly), and Alice Cooper's Last Man On Earth is one hell of a catchy song. I've been known to dabble in magic and burlesque myself, and the former was the main inspiration for these playing card nails.

For this one, I used:

- White (pearl) base: OPI - A48: Fit for a Queensland
- Red: Ciate Paint Pots - 013: Dangerous Affair
- Black: Rimmel London - 800: Black Out


Nail Art Tip #1: Toothpicks are a popular tool in nail art, but they're not ideal as they're too sharp to have any real painting surface. I find a broken comb tooth, or even the corner of a card (oh the irony), do a much better job as makeshift paintbrushes for intricate nail art. 

Nail Art Tip #2: Always add a layer of clear polish/top coat after you're done to ensure the detailing doesn't rub off, BUT wait an hour or so first to make sure it's completely dry. Smudging your work after so much effort = not cool.