Tuesday Tip: Leopard Nails two ways!

This week I thought I'd kill a couple of birds with one leopard print stone, and share with y'all both of the ways I've learnt to create leopard nails!

I've remade my original leopard print nail tutorial with a new unmissable tip at the start, so if it never quite worked for you, check out the new video! I've also filmed a little Konad tutorial for those that are wondering what it is and how you use it.

I did rush through it all whilst filming it earlier and may have missed something out, so feel free to ask me any questions, and I'll reply below in the comments box!

Let's start with my liquid eyeliner nail art. Btw, this can be adapted for anything, not just leopard print! It works well with hearts too :) Here's some looks I've created with this method in the past, followed by the tutorial (excuse my overuse of the word 'splodge'... It's sometimes the only word there is to describe the liquid eyeliner action!):




And now for the Konad! Just another typically farcical video tutorial of mine. Please do ask if you'd like to know anything else about it! Oh, here's a couple of looks I've created with Konad:




A few extra nail pointers (excuse the pun!):

♥ When possible, paint your nails before a film, or a time when you'll be able to just chill and forget about them so they can dry properly. Manicures often mess up because they aren't fully dry and they get knocked on something!

♥ It's better to do 2 or 3 thin coats than one thick and blobby coat. I know it takes a bit longer, but the coats themselves will dry quicker. A thick coat can take hours to fully dry and you often won't get a perfect finish!

♥ Speaking of polish coats, always ensure one coat is totally dry before you do another. Otherwise you might dent them or generally ruin them because the foundation isn't totally dry!

♥ Don't worry about cleaning up your slip-ups until the very end, when the nails are dry. if you start mucking about with cotton buds or cotton wool in the middle of a manicure, you might get bits of fluff stuck on. Very annoying!!

♥ If you have knocked one of your nails before they're totally dry, don't fret. Dip a finger into some nail polish remover and gently rub it over the bumpy area until smooth.

♥ Give Sally Hansen base coats a miss. Sal's great with a topcoat, but all of the basecoats I've tried make my nail designs entirely peel off within a day or two. Uncool!!

Thanks for watching/reading! If you do give these ideas a go, keep me posted!

xo

Brighton kitsch

Evening all!

Thought I'd share some of my photos from my visit to Brighton on Friday. I just love all the cute and colourful 'knick knack' shops!

1 - Cute bits in Velvet.
2, 3, 4 - Scenes from Cyber Candy. Yay to the cinnamon pop tarts, NAY to the real life dead worm snacks. They had crickets too. Might include them in a Halloween giveaway just 4 da lolz.
5 - Cute mosaic outside a shop which looked like a gift shop but turned out to have a decidedly more sexual theme. Enjoyed looking around it with my mother and 16 year old sister. Especially when the kind lady advised us the toys were 'in the back room'. It wasn't awkward at all...
6, 7 - A really neat retro memorabilia/gift shop in the lanes... Can't remember what it's called. I never knew how much I wanted to throw a Hawaiian party until I saw these cups!
8, 9 - Snoopers Paradise.
10 - Roly's Fudge Pantry - the best fudge in the world! I recommend the Chocolate fudge big time.
11 - A nice sugary coffee to recharge our batteries at the end of the day. I have 3-4 sugars in my coffee. I know it's naughty but at least I don't have them often! Or smoke crack. Life could be worse!

Have you had a nice Monday? I've been doing uni work today (not much of it, mind you!) and then I popped into town and got some new makeup and a matte topcoat for my nails. I've painted one nail and it looks pretty cool! Going to experiment properly tomorrow. I also bought some bits for the house. We were down to 2 of 6 lightbulbs in the lounge so I finally went out and bought loads of new bulbs. It feels like a science lab now, it's so bloody bright! I also went for a Prezzo with Alex and his amazing mum this evening, which was dreamy. All in all a fine day!

♥

Outfit and nailspiration!

Hey guys! I'm back from my mad weekend of visiting friends and family all over the place. I spent the last couple of days with my friend Hannah, which was lovely. We went to the magical dream land that is Ikea, where I took about 5,000 inspiration photos. And nicked a pencil, obvz.

Here's what I wore to Hannah's yesterday. I wanted to keep it comfy seeing as I had a long train ride. I'm wearing my new h&m snood which I picked up in Brighton for £4.99! It's quite a chunky knit one, and it's so comfy. I'm going to get a bigger snood soon, but this littl'un will do me for Autumn!



(top - h&m, shorts - old gap jeans I mutilated, boots - surgically attached [originally from a charity shop], ring - courtesy of me & zena)



I was wearing my new Rimmel Fruities nail polish in Strawberry Fizz. The idea is that the polish is strawberry scented. It does have a subtle (if slightly chemical) strawberry scent, but I love the colour. It looks a bit neon in this photo, but it has a creamier appearance in real life. It didn't go on too evenly but after a couple of coats, it looked fine, and is lasting quite well. Not the best polish in the world, but the candy colour definitely makes up for it.

Here's my latest nail inspiration. It all seems to have a blue/green theme! I'm going to buy some teeny tiny paint brushes tomorrow and get a few more nail designs in my repertoire. I love how the first girl's nails match my header! I need to do that!







(via fuckyeahprettynails and fuckyeahnailart!)

I'm off to watch the rest of X Factor and then Juno, as I suspect many of you will be! Such a fantastic film. I've got lots of uni work to do this week so am going to enjoy my last night of freedom :)

Hope you've all had a lush weekend!!

x

BRB!

So, my weekend of fun begins!



I have packed my cute new bag (a £1 charity shop find the other day!) and am off to see the family! We're going to Brighton for my mum's birthday tomorrow, which will be awesome. I heard it's going to be a miserable and rainy day, but with Roly's Fudge Pantry nearby I'm pretty sure nothing can dampen my spirits!

My student loan has arrived, but is looking considerably less ample after giving Alex a cheque of over £1000 to cover the next few months rent etc. But I'll bury my head in the sand for now and spend with wild abandon anyway. Spend now, think later. That's my potentially life ruining motto!

Back soon, with a Brighton 'haul' post! Still not sure if I like that term... I'm taking my new laptop on my travels with me so I should be able to blog whilst I'm away if I have time.

Hope you're having a scrummy week!

♥

Outfit overload!

Hola!

Remember that ASOS comp? Well, my first blog for the website went live today! You guys got the first scoop on most of it in my LFW post, but if you'd like to read it anyway and humour me, it's HERE! They also filmed a little video interview with me at fashion week, so if you want to dip your toes in the river of cringe: be my guest!

I thought I'd share a few outfit pictures from the last week, as I haven't really been posting outfit pictures much at all lately!

This is the only outfit picture I have from Saturday at LFW! I was rummaging in my bag freaking out about losing my phone or something like that. As ever, I hadn't lost anything! I was wearing a mini pencil skirt on the bottom half, FYI! (Via Not Just Medical)


(jacket - topshop, tee - h&m, clogs - moheda courtesy of sarenza, bag - charity shop)

This was my comfy first day of uni outfit. I'm quite into lippy at the moment. It counteracts my boy-boots that are pretty much my trademark these days.


(sweater - topshop, bodycon skirt - h&m)

This was what I wore today for some post-uni charity shop perusal. Fruitless, unfortunately. Rather unflattering photo, but it's nice to have a change of background!


(t-shirt dress - primark, belt - primark, jacket - topshop, shoes - charity shop)

And just a little lifey update....

♥ Alex started uni this week as a 'mature student'! At 25 years of age, he's decided to get back into education after his rock 'n' roll years of being in a band. He's spent this week mainly dodging fresher's events where possible and sending me text messages like 'That was bullshit'. Enjoy, Alex! It doesn't get much better!

♥ I've decided to change my dissertation topic, but haven't decided what to. Are any of you doing a dissertation? Gimme some inspiration. I was going to do mine on bloggy stuff, but I figured studying blogs 24/7 might take the fun out of keeping one! I think I want to keep it simple. If 10,000 word essays can be described as such.

♥ Roxy lost her homo-tastic bright pink leopard collar. Probably some sort of protest. She's quite the diva.

♥ I had a bit of a haircut last week. It's very subtle but my fringe isn't hanging lifelessly in my eyes anymore, so this is a plus.

♥ I have a super busy weekend coming up. Might be going to meet Henry Holland at a Debenhams event tomorrow eve (train fare costs permitting). Then back to Sussex to see my mommy. It's her birthday on Friday so we're going to Brighton (♥ x10) for the day. Then I'm coming back to Canterbury for a friend's leaving do. Then on Saturday I'm going to London to visit one of my favourite humans ever, Hannah. Can't actually wait! Am hoping my student loan rears it's sexy head tomorrow or I'm a bit screwed!

Anyway, I'm off to chill before my crazy 4-day weekend. It's nice to be busy but I'm looking forward to some down-time soon... I'm used to living the quiet life!

xo

PS - If you like a lol, here's the highlight of my life. Watch this first, then watch THIS!

Tuesday Tip: You tell me!

Hey chicks and chaps!

I've had a hellish week so far. Back down to earth with an almighty crash after my fun times at fashion week. I returned to uni yesterday which was depression central. Dissertation this, 4-day week that... Bleurgh. It's amazing how draining just sitting on your butt and scrawling the odd key word into a notepad can be!

All of this upheaval has distracted me and made me forget today was a tip day! I've been at work all day and then went straight for a meal with my pal Emily before realising I'd totally forgotten to prepare a tip! Don't worry though, next week I have something big planned. I actually have a whole page of future tips, it's just finding the time to take photos and write them up, etc! Especially now I have a chocka uni schedule. I will make every effort to keep Tuesday Tips alive, though! Dissertation Smissertation.

So this week, I've decided to ask you to be the tippers. Please share with me (and eachother) your favourite fashion or beauty tips. Have you just discovered a really awesome product you can't live without? Tell me! This will also serve as my shopping list once my student loan comes in!

My nerve-wracking life has led me to some serious comfort seeking. I've been eating loads of naughty things (I genuinely believe I consumed about 4000 kcals yesterday) and wearing lots of cosy stuff. I picked up these super cosy slippers for £3 in Primarni yesterday! Loving them!



(leggings - topshop, cat - model's own)

How's your week going so far? Is anyone else feeling the back-to-school stress?

Gem

LFW: Street style & behind-the-scenes!

Bonjour!

I have had a wicked couple of days at LFW... Have been trying to think how best to post about it because there's quite a bit to chat about... But I couldn't decide, so I'm going to just start now and go with the flow!

So yesterday saw my first assignment with ASOS. I met up with some of the team (who were bloody lovely) and took lots of street style pictures of cute guys and gals. And a few freaks too, obvz! Later on we met up with the gorgeous ASOS Nat, who set me the extra assignment of taking pictures of the models (just accidentally typed 'moles' in haste!) backstage at the Hannah Marshall show! My comfort zone was a dot on the horizon, but you don't exactly 'No, ta' an opportunity like that. I bumped into Mademoiselle Robot and Bitchbuzz beforehand who calmed my nerves and advised me not to be freaked out by the pandemonium and to just snap away.

That advice was actually pretty helpful because through that door it was quite mental, and I'm sure I would've felt a bit intimidated without the little pep talk! But there were so many photographers in there it was easy to blend in with the crowds and take pics. It was so fun to see that side of a fashion show. It was like a really fashionable speed-dating event. Manicurists, makeup artists and hair stylists going from one girl to the next, while the models sat there totally unfazed and accustomed to the hysteria!

I'm waiting on Kam's (one of the ASOS gang) swishy photos of my street style subjects (I took loads of my own but my camera is a bit unreliable), then I can repeat most of the above over on the ASOS blog. Until then, here are my favourite pictures from Day 1. (Have uploaded more photos on my new Flickr account)














I didn't get an outfit picture, but excitingly, Fashion156 papped me!



I wore my H! by HeHo jumpsuit, Topshop jacket and charity shop bag/boots. True to form, I was utterly rough around the edges. I had a safety pin keeping my boobs at bay, some peach coloured thread gradually unravelling at my ankles where I'd taken the trouser legs in, and my sunnies were brought back from the dead that morning on the train using the screw from another pair of glasses. And some tweezers as a screwdriver. Hmm.. There are some style secrets I should really keep to myself!

Oh, here are my nails (the awesome ring is a gift from Me & Zena - it got a lot of attention!):



So much other stuff to talk about... the Orla Kiely presentation, the Louise Gray show this morning, meeting so many amazing bloggers (won't even attempt to list them all right now), accidentally striking up convo with the awesome and laid-back fashion editors of Vice Mag in the press lounge earlier... I'll gradually unleash these tidbits further in the next week or so!

Right, I'm off to refresh style.com for a bit... Can't wait for them to upload the HOH and Unique shows so I can see how my faves envisage our SS11's!

Have you been following the fashion weeks much? Shall I do any catwalk reviews if I particularly love or hate something, or is that just a snooze-fest? Tell it to me straight!

♥

LFW Eve

Evening all!



So, tomorrow is the start of London fashion week. Tomorrow also marks the day of my first assignment for the Asos competition I won! I'm meeting with the Asos team in the morning and will hit Somerset House in the afternoon to snap some stylish people. That sounds a bit violent, doesn't it! Let me know if you're around tomorrow or just come and find me! My other prize for winning the Asos comp arrived the other day too...







Eep! It's so cute. I've been watching the late night NYFW streaming on it in bed. Lovely :) It really will revolutionise my life, being able to type my dissertation wherever I am write new blog posts wherever I am! Thanks again to all that voted. I don't tend to let myself enjoy any success I've had in life, it just makes me nervous. But to have a real-life, tangible reminder that people cared enough about something I wrote to vote for it kind of forces me to feel a smidge of pride. So cheers! <3



I've just got back from London. I was invited to see Fearne Cotton's latest collection for Very.co.uk. I met up with Emily (editor and all-round hottie at My Fashion Life), Fiona (Save Our Shoes) and Corinne (Used and Abused Vintage). We had a giggle whilst drinking cocktails and spotting celebs, and then went into the show.



I think I was seduced by the styling at the time (specs, bows and ankle socks - yum!), because after coming home and looking at the images on the USB stick, I'm a tad under-whelmed. There are some really nice pieces; I especially loved the sixties feel to the peter pan collar blouse and dress, and monochrome 3/4 sleeve dress. The cute dungaree dress is worth a mention, and I'm sure the cream fringey dress will float some boats. But a lot of the other pieces were just... Nothing special. At least to me anywhere. Fearne is regarded by many as such a style icon, I guess I was expecting a little more flare. I did really like some pieces though, so overall I'd give it a 7/10!









I've uploaded all of the looks we saw tonight onto my new Flickr account, so let me know what you think of Fearne's collection.



Off to beddy byes now! Wish me luck on my first Asos assignment! Aargh!



♥

Tuesday Tip - Gem's Blogging Guide

Hola!

This week's tip will be the second instalment of my blogging guide. In other words, I forgot I'd been planning to do a Konad tutorial this week until after I'd eaten my weight in pasta and jaffa cakes. Consequently, I barely have enough energy to type, let alone pimp my nails. FML, etc.

Click here to see the first instalment of my blogging guide, where I justify just who the heck I think I am to tell you lot how to blog. The gist is that I'm not claiming to be the be all and end all of blogging perfection. I don't even have a header, for christ's sake! This series is merely about sharing things that work for me, and sharing tips that work for others and are on my to-do list.

Don't forget to comment if you have a blogging tip to share. It might get featured in my next blogging guide post!

Super easy photo editing:

After seeing Jazzabelle's link to Picnik a month or so ago, I've been quite hooked. The free and fun service allows you to add retro and Lomography style effects to your images, as well as offering all the usual basic editing options (crop/exposure, etc.) It's ridiculously simple, so is great for photoshop-phobes like myself. I usually add a hint of sepia and a faded vignette to my images, FYI. I'm no Wish Wish Wish just yet, but hey, I can erm, wish!

Add a 'related posts' widget:

I only just cottoned onto this yesterday after realising I really like these widgets on other people's blogs. There is quite literally no down-side to this widget, really. It enhances the reader's experience by directing them to similar posts to the one they're currently reading. Obviously the longer a reader spends on your blog reading posts that interest them, the more they'll want to return! Well, hopefully.

The site my Twitter-pals recommended to me was Linkwithin. Just like Picnik, it's piss easy!

Use the 'Pages' feature:

This is near the top of my blog to-do list. I love when blogs have a nice organised layout with separate 'About me'/'Sponsoring info' pages. See Jen's blog, A Little Bird Told Me for an example (and check out her outfit post inspired by me while you're there!)

Sections like an 'About me' help us nosey readers get to know the blogger a bit more, whilst the advertising information makes it easier for brands to find out your policies and is generally quite a nice, organised touch! Organised and my blog aren't exactly synonyms so it's easy to see why this has taken me nearly three years to even begin thinking about!

Reading > writing

If you have an hour to spare and are pondering posting a blog, STOP! Go and read (and comment!) some other blogs instead. It is more beneficial to your blog to get involved in the 'community' than it is to post a new blog entry. Trust me, I spent about a year posting blogs into the abyss without bothering to spend time getting to know other bloggers and commenting. As a consequence, nobody was reading my blog because nobody knew I was there. When I started to get involved and devote time to reading other blogs, my situation really changed. I feel like a bit of a hypocrite dishing out this tip, as I haven't been keeping on top of my comments very well recently. But this is just a temporary blip! Planning a late night in bed with the laptop (Why does this sound sexual?) so I can get back on top of things (Still sexual! Argh!)


Hope you've enjoyed these tips, and I'm looking forward to hearing yours!!

♥

Oh hiii!

Hey hey!

Sorry for the hiatus there. I went home to visit my family for a couple of days have been busybusy in the couple of nights since I got back! I'm expecting a delivery today which will mean I can keep up with the blog when I go home to visit family and won't have to abandon it! Excited!!!

I had a lovely time hanging out with my mum and sister. Shannon just started a beauty course at college (she wants to be a makeup artist) so she was practicing her new skills on mum and I. She gave me a lovely facial whilst we were watching the Big Brother finale. Then we mucked around with my Konad (WTF is Konad?)! I gave her grey leopard print, and did taupe zebra print on myself:



I used Eyeko's Posh Polish, which is just like that Chanel one everyone bangs on about. It dried quickly and was opaque in one coat. My favourite kind of polish! Chip-free after a few days, too, so I'd definitely recommend it! Eyeko sent me a couple of other shades to try as well, so I'll put them through their paces and review them for you in the coming weeks!

I had a slight Primark spree. This was the highlight:



I haven't got anything Peter Pan collared, so am chuffed to have found this dress for £11! I also bought the polka dots tights for £2, as well as some polka dot silky shorts and some thicker woolly black tights. And a wicked nail file!

Soeaking of collars, I went to Pets at Home (favourite shop EVER) and bought Roxy these Leopard ones. I know they're kinda hideous, but she sees the funny side. She's wearing the pink one as we speak!



And here are mum's snoozy Jack Russell's, Dexter and Lola. Excuse the obnoxious names. That was my brother's idea. I wanted to call them Bumble and Bee. Far cuter, right?



That wraps up my little update! I'm going to spend the rest of my day tidying, catching up on all of your latest blog posts and awaiting my exciting delivery! Eeep!

♥

Kittens and Krispy Kreme...

[Edit: Have added the link to my new playsuit in second paragraph! Forgot to put it in originally, duh!]

An amazing thing happened to me tonight! I found a baby kitten! I let Roxy outside and heard loud mewing coming from behind the wheelie bin, and found a gorgeous little Bengal tabby rascal! He was too small to be outside so I took him into the flat, where he played with Roxy's assortment of disregarded cat toys. I went door to door in the pouring rain and found his home eventually! It was actually the stripping slag (scroll down) who lives opposite, kitty-sitting for her sister (badly). I gave him back (along with his favourite toy - a catnip chicken bone! LOLz). I miss him! And I never even got a picture. Hopefully he'll escape again...

Anyway! I went to Bluewater with my pal today. I bought this gorgeous playsuit with my discount (looks a lot better on a body with curves, believe me!) and a new striped h&m top. I also bought a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut AND a cinnamon apple one. I got a bit caught up in the moment and proclaimed to my friend, 'This glazed doughnut is better than christmas dinner'. I've had time to calm down now and can now see I was over-reacting. Kripy Kreme is as good as christmas dinner.

Back to clothes and that. Here's my new h&m top in action just before work tonight. Not a terribly exciting ensemble:



How's your week going, people? Got any Krispy recommendations for me? I was tempted by the Lemon Meringue one but I knew going for the doughnut hat-trick would've been a low point in my life.

♥

Tuesday Tip: The squeezy tube nip & tuck!

It comes to us all. The death rattle that no amount of vigorous shaking of the hand cream tube can prevent. The sound that tells us it's time to buy a new tube of hand cream. Well, most of us.

Personally, I'm more of the 'waste not, want not' kind of gal. So this week's tip is good for those of you that want to prolong the life of your hand cream/other squeezy-tubed product. The design of this type of packaging means we are constantly deprived of about 10% of the product we've spent our hard-earned money on. I worked with a lady in a hotel once and she showed me this little gem...

When you hear the death rattle, do NOT rush out and buy more product. Take the following three steps!

♥ Snip off the top 3rd of the bottle.

♥ Scoop the leftover product out of the bit you've just snipped off and put it into the body of the tube. Take a look at how much product is still in the tube!

♥ The top that you've snipped off now becomes your makeshift lid. Bend the tube slightly so you can pop the new lid on.





Et voila! You now have a way of using the rest of your product AND preventing it from drying out by using the top part as a lid. In my experience this is sturdy enough to carry in an inside pocket of your handbag, but probably won't withstand life in the main part of your handbag (if your bag is as hazardously crammed as mine). Or if you want to play safe, keep your nipped and tucked tube on your bedside table/desk.

Here's a step by step video for clarification! And because I have too much time on my hands (I'm a football widow, tonight)!



@Louise2208 on my Twitter has just pointed out that this works really well with expensive foundation. She got another fortnight out of hers! Good shout, Louise!

FIN!

♥