FOTD: Lazy Day Makeup

When I'm having a lazy day, winged liner is definitely not on the agenda and my go to makeup look looks something a little like this...

Face:
To begin I always use my Illamasqua 'Skin base' Foundation, perfect for a day-to-day medium coverage which you can build up to a full coverage if you wish. I then used Nars 'Laguna' to give a subtle contour to my cheeks and highlighted using No.17 'Shimmer Brick'. I finished off my skin by adding a pop of colour to the apples of my cheeks using Illamasqua 'Hussy' Powder Blusher.

Eyes:
I created a neutral wash of colour over my lid and under my lower lash line using the Crown Brush '28 Nude Eye Shadow Palette'. Skipping eyeliner led me to coating my lashes in The Body Shop 'Super Volume Mascara'. I also defined my brows using Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake in 'Peek'.

Lips:
Pink was my colour of choice on the lips today. I began by lining my lips using Nyx 'Sand Pink / Sable Rosé' and then added Nyx 'Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Instanbul'.


What looks do you go for when you're having a lazy day but still want to add a splash of makeup?

Sam xx

Japanese Inspired Floral Nail Art Tutorial

With leaves beginning to fall and the days slowly closing in on us, I thought it was about time I brought out my berry toned nail varnish. Dark berry shades are my favourite to use on both my nails and in my makeup during the Autumn season, so I went for a berry ombre on the base of my nails and added a japanese floral pattern on top. If you want to find out how I created this look, take a look at my pictorial below...

Step-By-Step Pictorial:

Step 1: To begin I created the ombre base using to berry shade variations and a small makeup sponge.

Step 2: Next taking white nail varnish onto a dotting tool I created two large circles, dotting smaller circles around the edge. This will act as the base of the flowers.

Step 3: Next I took the darker berry shade and using a fine dotting tool I added this to the centre of each smaller dot.

Step 4: Taking the lighter berry shade, create the centre of each flower.

Step 5: Whilst the centre berry shade is still wet, press a gem into the centre.

Step 6: Finally finish off the nail art by applying a layer of top coat to each nail - this will help to seal in both the nail art and the gems.

And there you have your Japanese inspired floral nail art!

What do you think of this nail art look? Have you created any Autumn nail art designs?

Happy Nail Art-ing! Sam x

Sophisticated Berry Makeup Tutorial: Inspired By Lauren Curtis

Its time for another makeup tutorial and today's look was inspired by the stunning Lauren Curtis who you may know from YouTube. Lauren's makeup tutorials are always super wearable and glamourous. I was watching some of her tutorials the other day and I stumbled upon her 'Sultry & Sophisticated Evening Makeup Tutorial' and had to give it a go for myself.

Red tones can be tricky to get right in eye makeup however I feel the black liner helps to balance it out in this look. As Lauren did, I paired the eyes with a dark red lip, however if you want to make this more of a day-to-day look I think it would look stunning with a neutral lip too!

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: I began by defining my brows and just pressing a small amount of powder over the lid to even out any pigmentation or foundation.

Step 2: Next I took my berry eyeshadow and lightly blended this through the crease and under the lower lash line.

Step 3: Next I took the berry eyeshadow again, this time focusing it just at the outer corner of the eye to increase the colour intensity here. I also added a nude shimmer across my lid.

Step 4: Taking a black kohl liner, I placed this on the lower and upper waterline, taking it right into the corner of my eye.

Step 5: Then I took a gel liner and just created a very fine line along my upper lashes, winging it out slightly at the corner.

Step 6: Finally I added a coat of mascara to my lashes and finished off the eyes with some fake lashes.

And there you have your sophisticated evening eye look!

For the eyes I used Illamasqua eyebrow cake in 'Peek', MAC eyeshadow in 'Cranberry' and 'All That Glitters', Lord and Berry kohl liner in '#1001', Maybelline 'Gel Liner' and Eyelure lashes in '107'.

I also added a soft contour to my cheeks using Nars 'Laguna', highlighted my cheek bones using Illamasqua 'Gleam in Aurora' and added a dark lip using Illamasqua colouring Pencil in 'Lust' to begin and topping this with Lime Crime Velvetine in 'Red Velvet'.

What do you think of this look? Its a bit too soon to start thinking about Christmas but I think this would be perfect for festive parties!

Sam xx

DIY: Paint Your Own Folder

As I get ready to head back to uni next week I have the very important task of buying all my new stationary (who doesn't love a good old stationary shop!). This year, after seeing some plain brown cardboard lever arches in Hobby Craft, I got my creative hat on and had a go at painting my own designs onto the front and back. The perfect way to add a bit of fun and colour to an otherwise boring file for all my lecture notes!

I find the best paint to use on this type of material is acrylic paint. The thicker consistency of acrylics means you get a great solid colour without have to add 100 coats! I added two coats of the paint on the base of each folder and found I only needed one coat when painting on the individual patterns. On the colourful flower folder, as well as some sections of the stripy folder, I used a sponge to create more of a tie dye background. I also added some glitter glue and gems to one of the folders to give it that much needed sparkly girly touch! I picked up all these materials from Hobby Craft too.

What do you think of my d.i.y folders? Have you got creative at all this summer?

Thanks for reading!

Sam x

Gingham & Daisy Nail Art Tutorial: Inspired by ASOS

If you are an fashion or Tanya Burr lover you may have seen the ASOS Skater Dress in Gingham and Sunflower. I love the combination of the two patterns so I thought I would create a nail art look inspired by the dress. As always I have put together a step-by-step pictorial so if you want to find out exactly how I create this design keep reading...

All you will need to create this look yourself is nail varnish in the shades: white, black, yellow and grey. It is also handy to have a top coat, a fine nail art brush, some striping tape and a dotting tool to hand.
I used all Illamasqua shades for this look and the shade names are: 'Scorch' (white), 'Boosh' (black), 'DWS' (grey) and 'Wayward' (yellow).

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting the little and index finger nails in white and all other nails in a black base and leave these to completely dry.

Step 2: Next, taking the white nail varnish again, this time on a fine nail art brush, create the petal design over all nails with a black base.

Step 3: Then take the yellow polish onto a dotting tool and create the centre of each daisy flower.

Step 4: Now its time to create the gingham nails! Taking some striping tape, place this in vertical stripes onto the nail.

Step 5: Taking the grey nail varnish fill in the gaps next to the tape to create your vertical tripes.

Step 6: If you don't have a steady hand it might be best to use the tape again, however I just went in with a dotting tool to create the grey horizontal lines on the little and index finger.

Step 7: To finish off the gingham design, take the black polish onto a dotting tool and create a small black square where the horizontal and vertical grey lines cross.

Step 8: Finally when all nails are fully dry, paint a layer of top coat onto each nail to seal the design into place!

And there you have your gingham and daisy/sunflower nail art!

What do you think of this nail art look? Have you ever created a design inspired by an item of clothing?

Happy Nail Art-ing! Sam xx

Golden Glitter Makeup Tutorial: Inspired By Lookamillion

If you didn't see my post last week 'Purple & Gold Eye Makeup Tutorial: Inspired by Dixiewolff'
you may not know about my series of blog post tutorials inspired by my favourite Instagram artists. I had the pleasure of meeting Sanna from Lookamillion earlier this year, and ever since I have been in awe of her stunning makeup looks she posts on Instagram. The amazing thing about Sanna is her makeup skills are all self taught, however she blends and wings her liner to perfection.   Today's look is a statement golden glitter eye with super black liner and lashes, inspired by Sanna's 'Holiday Glitter Makeup'. So here we go ...

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

 Step 1: To begin I added a neutral shadow all over the lid and under the lower lash line to cancel out any imperfections.

Step 2: Next I put a shimmer gold eyeshadow all over the lid and also took it under the lower lash line.

Step 3: Taking a slightly darker gold/brown eyeshadow I blended this into the crease.

Step 4: Now its time to add the glitter. I took some gold loose pigment, as well a gold glitter liquid liner, focusing this on the lid and slightly under the lower lash line.

Step 5: Next taking a gel liner, I create the strong black cat eye liner using a fine brush.

Step 6: Finally I added a coat of mascara and some lashes to finish off the eye.

And there you have your strong gold glitter eye makeup!

On the eyes I used Illamasqua 'Justify' eyeshadow, Mac 'Woodwinked' eyeshadow, Mac 'Twinks' eyeshadow, Illamasqua loose pigment in 'Ore', Collection Glam Crystals liner  in 'Funk', Maybelline Gel Liner and Illamasqua '21' lashes.
To finish off the look I thought I would make it party ready with a strong contour (using Nars 'Laguna' Bronzer), a peachy blush (Illamasqua 'Lover'), some shimmer highlighter (No17 'Shimmer Brick'), and a peach matter lip (Illamasqua 'Fable' - my fav!).

This look is perfect for a night out and you could even skip the strong liner for a super pretty day-time look!

I would love to hear what you think of this makeup look or if you have any ideas for future Instagram artists I could be inspired by, so please do leave a comment below!

Thanks for reading! Sam x

Avon Art of Change Nailwear: Two Tone Nail Art Tutorial

Do you want a product that allows you to create nail art designs without having to own a bundle of different nail varnish shades? Well this is definitely the product for you!

Avon are soon to Launch the 'Art Of Change Nailwear' range, making it super easy to create a subtle nail art look. These polishes allow you to transform the polish shade by simply adding any top coat and they come in a range of different shades including pinks, purples and corals! If you want to find out more about exactly how these work, head over to the Avon blog or the Avon YouTube Channel to see my video tutorial of the look below!