Gold Leaf Nails

Hi Guys,

Ive gotten more into nail art again these past few weeks and a really quick and easy design I've been loving has been Gold Leaf Nails. So I thought I'd show you a super quick and easy way to get the effect.

I originally did this design using Tanya Burr's Nail Polish in Little Duck, but I seem to of miss placed it! So Ive also given it a go using Barry M Mint Green, which I love. It works really well with both shades, as well as other completely different colours such as Burgandy, Peach and Black.

I used:

• Nails Inc Gel Effect Base Coat
• Barry M Mint Green
• Gold Leaf
• Angelica Top Coat

I start of using my Nails Inc Gel Base Coat and once that is dry, apply the first coat of polish. You do need two coats of polish for this, but if you apply the second coat and wait for it to dry then the gold leaf won't adhere properly to the nail.

Once you've applied the second coat, while it is still tacky, place a broken piece of gold leaf, that fits the nail on top. It doesn't matter if the gold leaf overlaps onto the skin as you can clean that away. Just as long as it doesn't cover the whole nail as you'll loose the effect. I found using a hair grip with a tiny bit of blue tack on the end, does the best job at picking up the gold leaf and placing it on the nail, without ruining the polish.

To break the gold leaf I carefully tore off a small amount from the sheet, you can get tubs of gold leaf flakes, but really I just had this book of Gold Leaf Sheets, sat around after using them for a photo shoot. 

Ive really liked using the Angelica Glossy Top Coat which I got in a Glossybox, It does the job and dries quite quickly. So after applying the gold leaf and leaving it to dry for a few minutes longer, I apply a coat of this Top Coat. It stops the gold leaf from being chipped and peeling off and blends it into the nails.

Im hoping to get up more nail art tutorials, as I loved doing nail art until I started my course and I just had no time! But Im off for the holidays so plenty of time now, let me know if theres anything you'd specifically like to see and I'll give it a go!

Eloise x

Summer Topshop & Primark Haul

Hi Guys,

I promised myself I was going to save, well its not gone entirely to plan... Mainly for three reasons, Ive grown and a lot of my Summer dresses may as well now just be tops. Topshop must of known I was saving and decided they would do their Summer Sale, thanks Topshop! Then finally I have a serious shopping addiction... send help! I really cant say no to a Summer Topshop & Primark haul!

Just like a lot of hauls, I promise I was only really popping in for 1 or 2 things, but when does anyone actually manage to go shopping and just buy what they planned on buying? Certainly not me...

I cannot put into words how excited I was to find this skirt overall, let alone in the sale. This Peach Pleated Sport Midi Skirt has been on my wish list since it came out last Summer, however it sold out pretty quickly and Topshop never seemed to restock it. So to of gotten it now, i feel like my midi skirt problems are complete!

Of course I had to buy something in Black, as I just seem to live in it. I have been wearing my Scallop Vest from my last Topshop Haul all the time, as the material is so thin and lightweight, its been lovely now that its getting warmer to keep me cool. So I picked up its sister the Scallop Frill Tee, I can see myself getting so much wear out of this over the next few months.

I have sort of cheated when it comes to my idea for these two items. If you've seen my Topshop Wish List, then you'll know I fell in love with a set of 90's style Pyjamas. They seem to of flew off the shelves and I never actually managed to pick them up. But I noticed the Ponte High Waisted Shorts in their sale and they look a lot like the bottoms from the set, they are slightly thicker material, but I think these would be so comfy to have for lazy days. 

To go with them, also similar to the 90's style set, I picked up the Ribbed Cropped Cami, I've realised this isn't actually the one I meant to pick up. But it goes and intact I can see myself buying a couple more of these as it also looks great with the skirt. 

 I've come to accept the fact that I cant go shopping and not pick up something beauty related. But I couldn't really pass up on the Topshop Cheek Jellies, when they're only £3 just now in the sale. I got the shades Sibling; Plum, Museum; Burgundy and Reign; Raspberry. As Ive been loving the gel formula of the Illamasqua Gel Sculpt, I wanted to give these a go, I thought they'd be lovely for Autumn/Winter too. 

I confess that the main reason I got the Nail Paints in Parma Violet and Boy Next Door are because they're in rose gold packaging. But they are both beautiful pastel shades for Summer and Parma Violet seems to be causing quite the stir in the beauty community recently too.  I also grabbed Chiffon at the till, its so unusual a shade, I have a lot of polish but nothing really reminds me of this. Its a pale pink with a slight lilac pearl shine running through it. 

Ive never tried Topshop Powder Blusher's so I got Let Her Go, a bright coral, with more of a red undertone. Which I cant wait to test and also the Cream Blusher in Pulse, which is a metallic almost cranberry shade, but really blended out it comes across more rose gold. 

I don't think I can really do a haul without including Illamasqua, although these are from TK MAXX, I really wanted to include them to let you know they're in there! For only £3.99 a polish which is fantastic. I picked up two of the shattered stars polishes, Fire Rose; dark pink with silver glitter and Mazarin; a lilac with silver glitter, which the UK never got, as its actually an American exclusive, so definitely see if you can find it!

I only got a couple of things in Primark, all impulse buys! Firstly I picked up the High Waisted Watercolour Bikini Set, I've been eyeing this up for ages, ever since I saw it on their website. (Plus it looks rather similar to the Triangl Bikinis) It then took a good few months for it to come to my local store. I really don't "need" this right now as Im not going on a beach holiday and I live in Scotland so I won't be sunbathing this Summer either. But with a lot of Primark stuff, if you see it, buy it, as you may never find it again! 

My last two buys are both Minions, as I love these little guys and I couldnt leave them behind. They were also by the till purchases, which always catch you out. I got the Shoe Liners, which I think are just great for around the house as they'll probably show through any ballet shoes. Then I finally got Pez Sweets, which I used to love when I was younger and I've not had them for years and he was just adorable...

Im now going back to my spending ban... Which I'll be lucky if it lasts the next three weeks!

Eloise x

A Guide To: Concealers & Correctors

Hi Guys,

This is my fourth instalment into my A Guide To Series, which is going to be on concealers, but mainly more on correctors as they're becoming more and more popular. They're a product that can be a bit baffling because well some are bright orange and green! I also thought this would be a good progression from Foundations too!

One of the main difference's between a concealer and correctors are that you won't want to use a corrector on its own. Correctors neutralise the area your Concealers are covering, which then in turn actually make your concealers more effective.

Correctors are used to neutralise unwanted tones in the skin, if you were to look at a colour wheel. The colour of the corrector will be opposite to the colour your correcting, there is mainly 4-5 main shades that are more commonly used, my favourite products to use for this is Illamasqua Cream Pigments. They have a waxy consistency, so as soon as you apply your foundation and concealer over the top, it won't budge underneath.

Peach/ Orange - Peach tones are used to cancel out purples in the skin, specifically under the eye on fairer skin, a great ones is Cream Pigment in Emerge. However on a darker skin, a darker orange shade such as the one in the wheel, works a lot better than a peach tone.

Green - Is fantastic at neutralising redness, the mint tone of Cream Pigment in Bedaub, perfectly reduces any redness in the skin.

Yellow - Yellow will neutralise any purple tones found in the skin, I find it works better over the eye lid to correct pigmentation rather than on dark circles, which are better corrected with the peach tones.

Lilac - A product like the Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Dab, is a great lilac to use to counteract any yellowness to the skin, as the purple tone is usually used to correct sallowness in the complexion. 

Or a few companies who mainly supply makeup artist kits, like Graftobian, do a  Light Corrector Wheel, which houses your peachy tones, orange, green, yellow and a couple of nude concealer shades. 

You tend to find with concealers that come in a pot, they're not going to have varying finishes on the skin, they're going to be most probably higher coverage and creamy on the skin. 

MAC Studio Finish Concealer is a popular option, the MAC Concealers also come in the same system as their Foundations, meaning you can find a concealer in either a warm tone or a cool tone. If you want to use it under the eye, then picking a NW shade, which is cool toned, will correct under the eye slightly on fairer skin tones due to its pink undertone. 

A cream compact concealer that actually contains a corrector is the Illamasqua Skin Base Lift Concealers. They have Emerge pigment mixed into them, as they are designed for under the eye area mainly. But you can also use this product else where on the face too. 

The Blogger favourite, Collection Lasting Perfection, is quite possibly the most popular liquid concealer out there, especially high street wise. It's a medium to high coverage concealer, with a matte finish, you can use it under the eyes. But with all liquid concealers under the eye area, you're better setting it with powder straight after, to prevent creasing.  

Rimmel Wake Me Up is a radiant dewy concealer, probably the furthest away from the Collection finish. Due to its light reflecting properties, it blurs any fine lines under the eyes, as it reflects so much light under the area. At the same time it will also brighten under the eye because of this. However it does mean Its not recommended using it on any blemishes as it will highlight them. 

The high end option, Nars Creamy Concealer is a lot creamier than the Collection Concealer. It can be used both under the eye and on any blemishes. The actual finish to it isn't matte, but not radiant, it has a slightly dewy finish, which looks lovely under the eye.

(Swatches - Left to Right: Nars, Collection, Rimmel, Bedaub, Graftobian Yellow, Dab & Emerge)

I haven't included a couple of types of concealers just because I wouldn't actually class them as a concealer, but they will be included in a future post! Hope this has helped and let me know which type of product you'd like to see next too!

Eloise x

Purple Summer Spotlight Eye Tutorial

Hi Guys,

I wanted to try something a little different for me on here and attempt a few makeup tutorials, by attempt I mean I had no idea how difficult it actually is to take pictures of your makeup for a pictorial. I salute anyone who can actually do it haha!

Anyway I wanted to share with you a look Ive been loving, which is a matte purple spotlight eye, which is perfect for summer and not as difficult as you would think. Plus purple is a fantastic colour that works with practically every eye colour too. But of course you can swap out the colour for anything else you like or just make it a more wearable look.

I'd also quickly like to apologise for how out of it I may look, I knew I was tired but I didn't realise how tired I actually looked on camera haha. 

I wanted to keep the eye quite simple so I tried not to use a lot of products, the products Ive been reaching for though are;

• Illamasqua Powder Shadow in Creep, Inception and Livid
• Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Intrigue
• MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre
• Essence Get Big Lashes Mascara
• Illamasqua Smolder and Blending Brush

Firstly I used Mac Soft Ochre Paint Pot all over my eyelid as a base, I really like this as it doesn't budge and it helps to boost the intensity of the colour.

Then I went into the crease of the eye with Creep using my Smoulder Brush, as its denser and smaller to fit in the crease easier to be precise and then blending it out with my Blending Brush. By putting Creep down first your giving the other shades something to blend into, making the other purples not seem as harsh against the skin. 

If you didn't want to use purple, you could use a shade such as Heroine, a matte taupe brown, from Illamasqua, to do a more neutral eye. 

I then used my smoulder Brush again but this time with Inception, to fill in the inner and outer corners of my eye, leaving a gap blank in the centre of the eye. The best way to judge where to bring the purple to, to create the gap. Is to look directly into the mirror as you do it and only bring the purple to the edge of your pupil. This then gives you a gap in the centre portion of your eye and helps brighten them. 

You also want to do the same trick under your eye, running the purple under your bottom lashes again leaving the gap for your lighter shade in the centre.

If you were doing a neutral bronzy version, replace Inception with Tango a copper bronze shade.

You then want to blend out Inception and add Intrigue to the centre portion on your lid and underneath your bottom lashes. Then lightly blend the two shades together, but be careful not to merge the two shades too much otherwise you'll loose the spotlight effect. 

You will find as you blend them out, they will fade a little bit, so just keep adding more intrigue to the centre and build it up to the intensity your happy with. I do like it on me quite bold, To build up the purple, Blending out Inception and just blending the edges where Intrigue and Inception meet. I use Livid to blend, it warms it up slightly with its more reddish undertone and softens the overall eye.

For the neutral version instead of Intrigue use a golden bronze such as Bronx and you could softly blend the two out using Vernau.

Finally just add your mascara, which I find really helps to soften the look, its a lot less full on. I also like to pair it with a pinky nude lip, such as my favourite Illamasqua Rosepout, or if you want to add more colour, purple looks amazing with coral too.

I hope you've enjoyed this and hopefully give it a go! Its quite an addictive look once you try it, let me know if theres anything that you would specifically like to see as a tutorial too!

Eloise x