HOW TO: Remove glitter nail polish

Hi Guys!

If you read one of my recent posts you will know that I found and fell in love with a chunky glitter nail polish (sparking diamonds by l.a. colors). You might also know that I had about 5 coats of polish (including base colour and top coat).

Glitter polish + a million coats = hell to remove!!!

Please read on to learn how to remove glitter polish in a fast and effective way :)

I did attempt to remove my polish in the normal way (i.e. cotton pad and nail polish remove wiped over the nail) but I ended up with cotton wool sticking to the glitter [pictured below x2].

The nail polish remover (I use Cutex moisture guard btw, the one with the mint green lid) had basically removed the top coat but when it got to the glitter polish...nothing. Game over.

I got this method off the internet and from the research I done I think that this is the easiest way and you should have all the stuff you need already.

'Tools' needed:

Scissors
3 cotton pads
1 extra cotton pad***
Foil
Nail polish remover

1. Cut 2 of your cotton pads into quarters (you should then have 8 little bits) and cut 1 cotton pad into half (they are for your thumbs).
   

2. Get your foil strips ready. It needs to be wide enough to securely wrap all around your finger taking into account the cotton pad and it needs to be long enough (height) to go from your knuckle and then for you to be able to twist the top. I think that a good size is the size of a single piece of toilet tissue :)

And now the fun starts!

Depending how easy you find the following steps I would definitely do only one hand at a time, and personally I did only a few fingers at the time.
It takes longer this way obviously but less hassle. And the wait is worth it!!


3. Get your piece of cotton pad and put some nail polish remover on it. You want the pad to be saturated, so that the remover has soaked all the way through the pad (you don't want it dripping though because otherwise you will end up covered in nail polish remover!


4. Place the cotton pad on your nail and wrap as tightly as possible (be careful not to tear the foil) around your finger and then twist the top. You need to make sure the top is twisted as tightly as possible and that the end (bit near your knuckle) is also as 'closed' as possible.

The aim is to have your foil thing as secure and as air tight as possible so that your cotton pad stays wet - that is the point of this method. It allows the nail polish remover to soak into the glitter nail varnish.

You should end up with something like in the photo below:

5. How long you leave it on depends but about 5 minutes should do it.
While your waiting apply pressure (i.e give your nail a squeeze) on all your foiled nails to make sure that the nail polish remover is working it's magic.
Careful you don't leak onto yourself lol

I kept mine on for only a couple of minutes and when I removed the foil (how to - below) 98% of the polish had gone and I only had a few glitter bits left.

***Thats what the extra cotton pad is for - if you have any bits left you can just give your nails a quick wipe as normal - the hard work has already been done :)


6. To remove:

You do NOT unwrap the foil!

How you remove the foil is also part of the 'magic' ;)

Once you are ready, give your nail a final squeeze and then twist and pull off. It is in that action that you are taking the nail polish off.

You might be able to see in the picture below; there is no rubbing action required - you've just basically melted and pulled off the glitter polish (and all polish).

Apart from the fact this gets the glitter off it is also minimises damage to your nails, as rubbing glitter polish can scratch your nails and could even cause dents!

And that is it!!

I hope you find it useful. I was a bit lazy to give this ago but really glad I did because it worked!!
TIme and patience girls :)

Let me know if you gave this method a go, or if you have any other easy tips for me to try.

xoxo

HOW TO: How I get my eye make up to last all day

Hi Guys,

Firstly, please ignore my towel in the photo's, I just washed my hair :)

My friend at work asked me the other day how I get my eye make up to stay so I thought that I would share what I do with you guys too.

There are loads of different ways to get eye make up to last but so far I found this to be the best. It's just based on the idea about eye shadow primer (e.g. primer potion) or even using concelaer (I do this too); I just did not want to spend money on an additional product.

I got the Clinique quick shadow free (love clinique's free gift promotions!) when I bought other stuff and I didn't have anything else to do with it. It is pretty amazing, but once I am done I will just use a cheapy liquid concealer instead.

This is really easy and my eye make up stays this intense until I take it off at night. And you can amend it to your own eye make up style.

For the most basic version I use two products:

• Clinique's quick eyes cream shadow in 05 (rock violent)
• MUA in shade 20 (matt black)

1. Apply the cream shadow over your lid (I go quite high up due to my lid shape)

2. Pat (do this initially so you don't budge the cream shadow and minimise fall out because there will be looooooads) your chosen eye shadow onto the cream shadow.

3. Then slap on the rest of your powder eyeshadow in your normal way.

That's it!

Once this is done I apply mascara and use a cotton bud to tidy up.

frizz ease

I have had this product for ages. Literally years (do hair products have a use by date?!) and I never really liked it but recently trying to use up everything I have before buying more (or if I hate it that much to throw it away - keeping something for 20 years without using it kida indicates you should give it away or chuck it!)

But anyway, I've started using this and I like it!! The problem before I think was that I wasn't very 'good' at using products - I would use toooooooo much and then complain that the product is too greasy and heavy. Well nowadays I am a bit more better at using these beauty type stuff and even with my length hair I only use a tiny tiny blob (as pictured - omg it's a heart shaped blob! totally unintentional) and rub my hands together and then run it through the mid-length and ends of my hair. Once I feel that the product is gone from my hands I give my root area a quick swipe to combat flyaways.

This product is suppose to keep your hair straight for 24 hours. I don't quite use it the way they suggest so I can't comment on this ascpet of the product but to keep hair nice and un-frizzy, but still have movement and volume it's good.

Makes me interested in the new john freida frizz ease 3 days straight....

The last day in my life...

Hi Guys,

So today is the day the world is going to end (at 6pm - it's 12:55pm so not long to go!) so this is my last 'day in my life' random post.

This morning I initially thought that the world had already ended and that I was the lone survivor but my facebook wall feed told me differently and then I was informed about the 6pm 'deadline'.

Since I thought the world was ending I hadn't made any weekend plans so I thought I'd spend my last living hours blogging.

[ABOVE - me in my newish white linen blazer. Primark £17. Very miami vice hm? I've worn it once and initially I wasn't sure but I like having it in my wardrobe. It feels really 'bright' to me but that's probably because I'm use to wearing black all the time. And the style of the jacket is cool, a waterfall front and no fastenings.]

[BELOW - A photo of a naked lightbulb.......the reason why I took this photo is because I need some help. This is the light bulb that is in my 'hallway'; so it's the first light you see when you walk through the front door. And it is so ugly :( "Why don't you get a light shade?" I hear you scream. Well, the reason why is because, as you can see in the photo, the light bulb is very nearly touching the door. I need to find a light shade that is 10cm long or less (so that I can open and close the door)and so far (erm, 2 years and a bit) I can't find anything :( Any 'bright' ideas? .... ]

[BELOW - I want to do this hairstyle or my own take on it. Rather do it top to bottom I want to try to do it ear to ear. This is my hair aim for this month/june]

[BELOW - the Flip Fold!!! I want one so bad!! Just saw Sheldon on The Big Bang using it and googled it straight away. Basically a folding board that folds clothes (wow!)] Was ready to press 'buy' on amazon but then realised that I don't fold clothes at all (bunch and chuck anyone?) so a folding board would actually use more time rather than save time. Nothing could ever be quicker then pulling clothes out off the dryer/the clothes drying rack thing and dumping it on the floor!!!]

BBQ

NOTD

Hi Guys!!

OMG I am in love with my nails!!! Tacky much!?

I have been on the search for a chunky glitter nail polish for a while and I have found one :)

The glitter polish is by L.A Colors color craze in 'sparkling diamonds' - 99p from a local random shop!!! I am so happy with this purchase because if I hadn't found this I would have ended up buying from the States for about £8 (including p+p) so I'm glad that didn't have to happen!

The nail polish colour is clear and the glitter is silver. There are small bits of glitter and then big chunks (1mm diameter - yes I measured the glitter!!).

On the NOTD image I am wearing two coats of Barry M's grey and then 2 coats of sparkling diamonds and then a top coat. Yes it is a lot but the effect in person is very.....bling? eye catching.

The only problem I have is that this colour way really doesn't suit my wardrobe so even though I love my nails I don't love them in context of my whole self.........OMG I am shallow. But I am speaking the truth. It's ok with an all black outfit but I've got a lot of 'gold' or brassy hardware on bags and shoes so thats a bit of a pain. But that's me being me.

Do you think glitter nails is age appropriate for a 26 year old?

NOTD

Hi Guys,

Just a very simple NOTD. Nude basecoat (ELF) and then a quick slick of my new toy - black nail art polish.

I know it's beyond lame and boring but hey, I'm just starting out and you have to start somewhere right!!

Maybe soon I will graduate to two lines and maybe even some dots :)

A day in the life of....

Just a few bits and bobs from my day...

I did my friends hair........looks better on her then it did me!

Was looking forward to today for over a week because today was the day I decided would be my frappy hour starbucks day. 3-5pm until 22nd May, any frap 1/2 price! BOOYAH!

I think the gate to my building might be broken............

Exciting purchase - a new toilet seat! God knows how long before I actually replace the old dodgy one - hopefully before the Olympics lol

OOTD

Hi Guys,

Just a quick OOTD. My frilly asos dress with my new purchase on top - beige jersey boxy blazer from Peacocks. £28 and my friend used her student discount on it so 2.80 off. Not exactly a bargain but......

The blazer was laying in the bag for a while; I just wasn't sure if it was worth it and it wasn't a wow when i tried it on (not sure if the colour washes me out.....?). But it has grown on me and I really like it now :)

Come dine with me - main and dessert

Continued.......

Main course - was sea bass, mash and veg (onions, yellow pepper, olives) and parmesan. This was so wrong because my mash was catastrophic! More like a potato soup than a mash lol It was suppose to be a mix veg and mash tower with a sea bass fillet placed fancily on the tower and a drizzle of sauce but it was a fish swimming in potatoe. But it did taste good though (couldn't really go wrong could it!)

Dessert - OMG it was lovely. White chocolate creme brulee with raspberries. I could eat this everyday! First time making creme brulee and really happy with the result :)

Come dine with me - starter

The other day I had the urge to cook a 3 course meal Come Dine with Me style. After a bit of research I decided to make:

Starter:

Baba ganoush and mini lamb kofta's with flat bread

I felt really proud of myself, especially my toothpick kofta idea (because I didn't have skwers).

BUT holy christ the food was bad LOL It looked the way it wasn;t suppose to look, but the baba gaboush (aubergine paste thing) was too garlicy (my fault - didn't know the difference between a clove and a bulb!), and the kofta's were blaaaaaaaaand (recipes fault, not mine!!)

My Make Up Story

Hi Guys,

A beauty tag - as always, please feel free to do it too.

How old were you when you started wearing makeup?

I think I started wearing make up in 6th form (aged 16) or possibly before, towards the end of secondary school (15...maybe even 14?)

How did you get into makeup?

I didn't elaborate in the previous question because I saw that this question was coming up next; I didn't start wearing a full face of make up (i.e. anything more than black eyeliner) until I was in my early twenties!!! From (possibly) 14 years old until about 22 I only wore eyeliner, vaseline and maybe mascara.

When I was younger I had amazing skin. Flawless. And then all of a sudden BANG I developed allergies and my face went crazy. People who see me now who knew me 'before' are shocked but for me, I'm kind of used to it now and realistically even though my skin is awful it is much better then when all the allergies first came.

So anyway, I guess that's how I got into make up. I didn't need it before and then one day I did!

What are some of your favourite brands?

My favourite brands are Benefit and Clinique. I think I've spoken about the reason before, but basically because it was these two brands that I first used that worked well with my skin and allowed me to embark on my make up journey. (Cheesy much?!) But I honestly feel very sentimental towards these two brands because they changed my life. Which might sound extremely shallow but that's (my!) life.

Other brands that I like are MUA (yup, the £1 range at Superdrugs), Collection 2000, Body Shop, Revlon.
Big up to the high street!!!

What does make-up mean to you?

Make up to me means........peace of mind and confidence. Wearing make up lets me worry about one less thing and makes me feel more comfortable in my (shite) skin.

And also, because I am round, I find that make up lets me be involved with girlie stuff when, because of my size, I might not be able to be involved with the other girlie stuff. For example, imagine being in a crowd of 'normal' sized girls, girls that can fit in high street sized clothes. And then there is me, who for most of the time, can't. To me, wearing make up lets me tell people that despite my size and lack of topshop clothes, I am a girly girl and I like girlie things and........yeah.

If you could only wear 4 products on your face what would they be?

Since this is a make up tag, I assume moisturizer and vaseline do not count, so my 4 make up products would be (in order of importance)
1) eyeliner (if I had to pick one item, this would be it)
2) foundation
3) mascara
4) ........I think I'd be pretty happy with 3 items but I won't waste my 4th so....
erm lol I can't think! Bronzer or blusher?! erm erm erm Bronzer! Bronzer is my final answer.

What is your favourite thing about makeup?
Oooooh. I guess I like the fact that it is accessible to just about anyone and you can do so much with it. Just a slick of eyeliner, or a full face of glitter, whatever you want.

This is unrelated to this question but anyway; I find it really surprising the amount of people I see (people I know, strangers on the street) who don't wear make up. To me, make up is just another part of my outfit and I wouldn't be fully dressed without it. Yeah, you look wonderful without make up on, same as your outfit looks great, but wouldn't a skinny belt or a pink lipstick complete your look and make it even better......?

What do you think about drugstore makeup vs high end makeup?

Well, now, after a few years of wearing make up and a lot of purchasing I can say that it doesn't really matter. When I first got into make up I went for the higher end make up because my skin was so sensitive and in my mind high end equaled safe. I now realise that that is not neccesarily the case. In fact, sometimes the drugstore stuff is better for me because it's so cheap and they don't use fancy ingredients which means less irritants for me.

I think that the only product I use which I would say has to be high end is concealer. Under eye concealer is fine from a drug store brand, but for me, for acne, scarring and blemishes, I need hard core stuff and that is wear high end delivers.
Paying £30 for a miniture blob of concealer is worth it in this case.

I think that high end is only better because of the service. If drugstore brands had booths with make up artists these products would be the same. I personally could not have started my make up journey with a drug store brand because I needed help and advice, and a bit of pushing!

What is one tip of advice you can give to a beginner?

Don't be shy. Go bug the high end make up booths in department stores. Don't buy, just pretend you have money. Learn learn learn. Then go google for a drug store dupe!!!!!!

What is one makeup trend you never understood?


These aren't trends as such, because I think that every trend makes sense in it's context, but I really don't understand (bad) lipliner .The bait bait bait clown lipliner and lipstick combo. Why?
And this is a bit random, and maybe hypocritical in a way, but I don't understand OOT eye make up. I mean, the hardcore "I am wearing 5 shades of shadow and glitter and falselashes" look at 9am to the supermarket. It's a bit old woman drag to me. I appreciate the time it takes, and the talent. But there is a time and a place.

And yes, I do realise I am known for wearing a truckload of black shadow. But it's black. And matte. Boring drag queen as opposed to las vegas drag quuen.

What do you think of the Beauty Community on Youtube/Blogger?

I think it is good. It is a bit shallow and petty, and it seems to be encouraging a lot of bitchiness (do you ever read some comments holy christ!) But for people who are watching or reading for knowledge and tips it is an amazing community. It is because of this community that drug store make up is so great. There are no booths and make up artists but you don't need that, just google 'revlon photo finish review' and you'll know what you need to know!

Also, my mum is not a make up wearer (last time she wore make up was when I graduated - that was a few years ago) and I didn't know many people my age who wore make up so thank god for the online beauty community.

Who is your style icon?

Rachel Bilson, Alexa Chung, that Olivia P person - I like their make up style, understated but definitely there!

And I like their clothes - classic but cool, pretty but relaxed.

More window shopping

R and S are currently in Las Vegas. A few days before they jetting off I ended up accompanying R to a last minute summer dress shop. I got a few things which I have yet to share with you.

But first here are some random pics from the changing room:

A splash of colour

Hello Guys :)

I recently brought a skirt from h&m for the great price of £7.99. It's a simple cotton skirt in a orangey red and white pattern. Here is the story of the skirt:

[Below: Me trying on the skirt in the changing room - without taking off my jeans per usual. Trying it on with a clashing animal print t shirt for fun - shoes also animal print - i was like a walking, talking zoo lol]

[Below - got the skirt home. Love it. Very excited to have something so fun and bright in my wardrobe. Decided to wear it to work with a white bid shirt, tan belt, taupe cardigan (not seen), beige jacket/mac and black tights.]

[Below x2: Erm. Chickend out. Too 'loud' and short! Holy moly you could see everything! It wasn't the length per se cos we all know I don't shy away from short, but because it was a loose fitting 'flowy' skirt, when I moved BBBOOOOOOOOOOMMM yes that is my arse!]

So I ended up swapping the skirt for my grey skirt. Boring and safe. Just how I like it!

So how does the story end? ..................I have returned the skirt :(