New Years Eve Nail Art

You may have seen my New Years Eve makeup post yesterday, so today is the turn of nails and I have created a super sparkly nail art design, perfect to say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. 

To create this design I used Barry M 'Magnetic - Violet', Illamasqua 'Viridian', Colour Club Gold Glitter and Mavala 'Pure Diamond'. 

1. I began by painting my nails in the jade and deep violet shades and leaving this to dry completely.

2. Next taking some striping tape, I placed strips evenly over each nail to create the design. 

3. Taking the gold and silver glitter polishes onto a dotting tool, I carefully filled in the gaps between the tape. I left this to dry and then removed the tape. 

4. Finally once everything is completely dry, take a top coat and apply this to each nail to seal in the design and even out the nails.

And there you have your super sparkly NYE nail art design!

What do you think of this look? I hope you have a fab new years eve and Happy 2015!

Sam x

New Years Eve Makeup

With New Years Eve coming up later this week, I thought I would show you a makeup look I have been loving at the moment. The smokey berry and gold eye, paired with a red lip are the perfect combination to see in the new year. 

Eyes:

To define my brows I used Illamasqua Brow Cake in Peek. Using the Naked 3 Palette, I took the shade 'Liar' and pressed this onto the outer and inner corners of my eye, as well as under the lash line and blended this out using a fluffy brush. Next I took Illamasqua pure pigment in 'Furore' and pressed this into the centre of my lid. To create a strong flick of liner I used Maybelline Gel Liner and finished off the look with a few coats of Maybelline Falsies Mascara. This look would also look stunning with a pair of lashes to add a bit more drama to the eyes.

Lips:

On my lips I began by lining my lips with Illamasqua lip liner in 'Feisty' and added a darker shade into the corner of my lips using Illamasqua lip liner in 'Severity'. Finally I took Illamasqua lipstick in 'Isis' all over the lips. 

Skin:

I started by applying Illamasqua SkinBase Foundation on my skin and lightened my under eye area using Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'Fair'. To contour I used Nars Laguna Bronzer and added a pop of pink to my cheeks using Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Nymph. Finally to highlight I used Illamasqua Gleam in Aurora and topped this with the Seventeen Shimmer Brick. 

What are your new years eve plans? I hope you all have a great evening seeing in 2015!

Sam x

Snowflake Christmas Nail Art

Happy Christmas Everyone!

In true festive spirit I have created another Christmas nail art and today its the turn of snowflakes. I am sure you have seen lots of snowflake nail art flying around blogs and on instagram, so I thought I would mix things up by using slightly different colours to your conventional snowflake design. 

To begin I painted my nails in two coats of Avon Gel Finish Polish in 'Wine and Dine Me'. Next, taking Avon Gel Finish Polish in 'Lavender Sky' onto a fine nail art brush I created the snowflakes on each nail. Finally, onto a dotting tool, I placed a white nail varnish and created polka dots surrounding the snowflakes. I finished off the look with a top coat to seal in the design and prevent chipping.

And there you have a snowflake nail art design. 

I think its time for me to start thinking of some new years eve designs. Lots of sparkle and glitter I'm thinking! Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas. I hope you have a lovely Christmas Day!

Sam xx

My Birthday Makeup

So it was my 22nd Birthday on Wednesday and so I thought I would share with you my birthday makeup look. I went our for dinner in the evening with my family, so I wanted to keep the lip quite neutral to avoid ending up with either lipstick all over my face or a lipstick rim around my lips in a nice restaurant (not pretty!), however I paired this with quite a strong winged out eye.

Eyes:

I hadn't used my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette for a while, so I thought I would rekindle my love for it on my birthday. The rose gold and warm tones were perfect for the look I was going for. I began by blending 'Nooner' all over the lid and under the lower lash line. I then pressed 'Trick' into the centre of the lid, just to add a bit of sparkle and finally I took 'Blackheart' through the crease and slightly under the lower lash line just to create some definition. I finished off the eyes with a strong winged liner using Maybeline Gel Liner (my fav!) and lashings of mascara - Maybelline 'The Falsies'. I also defined my brows using Illamasqua Eye Brow Cake in Peek. 

Face:

On my skin I used Illamasqua SkinBase Foundation and Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I wanted a bronzed glow to my skin, so I used my Nars Laguna bronzer to contour and added Illamasqua Gleam to the tops of my cheekbones as a highlight. I went for a girly pink blush using Illamasqua Powder Blusher in 'Nymph'. 

Lips:

Finally for the lips I used Nyx lip pencil in 'Mauve' and added a small amount of Kiko 'Pink Carnation' over the top. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! What are your favourite makeup products to use at the moment?

Sam x

Christmas Elf Nail Art Tutorial

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted, I had a busy last week at Uni but I'm back home for Christmas now, so hopefully I will be posting more often. I am back with another nail art and today its time to bring out the Christmas Elf's! If you want to find out how I created this look keep reading...

All you will need for this look is nail varnish in the shades red, green, nude, white and black. It would also be handy to have a dotting tool and a top coat.

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting a glitter base on your nails. This will mostly be covered, however I thought it would be nice to add some christmas glitter to any areas which can be seen.

Step 2: Once the base is dry, take the nude shade and apply this to just the tip of each nail.

Step 3: Next taking the red and green polishes onto a dotting tool, crease the outline of the hat towards the top of the nail. I alternated the colours on each nail just to mix it up slightly.

Step 4: Taking the black polish onto a dotting tool, carefully outline the hat to create some definition.

Step 5: Taking the white and black polish, again on a dotting tool, add some googley eyes.

Step 6: Once everything is dry, finish off the look by adding a top coat. 

And there you have your cartoon elf nail art!

What do you think of this nail art look? What have you guys been doing to get yourselves in the Christmas Spirit?

Happy Nail-Arting!

Sam x

Red Christmas Flower Nail Art

How is it December already!? This year has flown by! With just 21 days until Christmas, I thought it was about time I started on the Christmas nail art looks. My first nail art was inspired by a Poinsettia Flower, which really remind me of Christmas time.

To create this look all you will need is nail varnish in the shades: nude, red, maroon and dark gold. It would also be handy to have a small nail art brush to hand.

The shades I used were OPI 'don't bossa nova me around' (nude) and Illamasqua 'Throb' (bright red), 'Facet' (dark gold) and 'Scarab' (maroon).

To begin I painted my nails in the nude shade and left this to dry completely. Then I went in with the bright red shade on a small nail art shade and roughly created three petals on opposite corners of each nail. Then I took the darker maroon varnish, again on the nail art brush, and added this to the centre of each flower. Next I took the dark gold polish and placed this on the very tip/centre of each flower to create some texture. 

And there you have your red Christmas flower nail art!

Have you planned any Christmas nail art designs you want to have a go at? I cannot wait to create more and share them with you guys!

Happy Nail-Arting! Sam x