7 Tips To Help Prolong Fake Tan

My fake tan game goes up a notch in the summer. I stop just tanning the body parts that are going to be on show and go for a full body tan. I've tried a lot of different self tanners and have had enough cringey experiences to be able to share with you some tips. Here are a few ways you can prolong your fake tan.

- Apply your tan using a mitt as it will help to buff the tan into your skin for a deeper colour. Use small circular motions.
- The morning after tanning take a shower to remove excess and even out the colour.
- Avoid harsh shower gels that dry the skin out and strip away your tan.
- Take lukewarm showers as hot water will cause your tan to fade faster.
- The day after fake tanning apply a moisturiser paying attention to dry areas such as elbows. This will help seal in the colour. Do this step daily.
- Use an exfoliator specially designed for using with fake tan. This will allow the tan for fade evenly without it going streaky.
- Your face tends to lose colour quicker than your body so keep a bronzer on hand and use a gradual tanner on your face to keep it topped up.

Are you pro-fake tan like me? Share your tan tips below!

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Hayfever Make Up Tips

Hayfever sucks. I pretty much get it all year round but it's especially bad in the summer months. So for all you fellow hayfever sufferers out there I have some really helpful make up tips to get you through all the sneezing.

1. Start off by preparing yourself for that pesky pollen. I use eye drops in the morning to stop them getting itchy and irritated. You can buy eye drops specially for hayfever such as the Opticrom Hayfever Eye Drops. 

2. Prep the skin with a primer like the Revlon Photo Ready Primer. Layer on top the Revlon ColourStay Foundation for a long lasting base that won't budge all day. Make sure when applying foundation that you don't go right up to the lash line as will avoid irritating the eyes further.

3. For concealer, opt for a yellow based shade as it will help counteract any redness around the eyes and nose. I like the Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer as it doesn't look cakey on. 

4. Next apply a creamy blusher. This is a better option over powder blush if you get watery eyes. Powder based formulas tend not to stay put as well if eyes are running. This bright pink one from KIKO is gorgeous and gives the skin a healthy flush.

5. If you're an eye liner wearer the newest addition to my make up collection is A-mazing! The Seventeen Tattoo Me liquid liner is a semi-permanent which really does not budge. Great if you have itchy eyes as you don't have to worry about rubbing them. 

6. It's also important to go for a waterproof mascara like the Collection Does it All Waterproof mascara. Just apply it to the top lashes as it can irritate the eyes if you put it on the bottom lashes. 

7. Finish with a lip product of your choice. I've gone for the Tanya Burr lip gloss in 'Let's Travel The World' which is a coral-red, perfect for summer!

There you have it - a  simple, waterproof make up look with a few tips for hayfever sufferers. Here is a really useful video with make up artist Aimee Adams on how to achieve a waterproof summer make up look. 

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How To Try Out New Beauty Trends On a Budget

New beauty trends come around every season. Magazines and blogs are full of the newest launches and trends to try out but how do you know if a trend is going to suit you? What if you fork out �10 for a new orange lipstick only to discover you hate it? I've got a few tips on how to save money when it comes to trying out the latest beauty trends on a budget!

Friends with benefits

Have you got a beauty obsessed friend/sister/mum? Chances are they'll already have a product you're interested in getting. So next time your looking at purchasing a new product such as a primer or a serum ask around to see if anyone already has one you can test out. Plus lucky you if you have a beauty blogger friend - take advantage of their stash!

Buy highsreet

Lower end brands such as Natural Collection, MUA, e.l.f, etc.. are your best friends when trying out new trends. I recently wanted to give the white nail trend a go but didn't want to commit by splashing out on Essie 'Blanc' so instead I picked up a similar shade from Natural Collection for just �1.89! MUA do a fantastic range of lipsticks if you're wanting to try a new shade. Collection 2000 also have a good selection of eyeliners if you're looking at testing out a daring new colour.
Visit a make up counter

Make up counters can be quite intimidating places but they need not be! Take use of their beauty expertise. Maybe you're looking to rock the new blue eyeshadow trend but you have no idea how to apply it/wear it. The beauty consultants are trained at giving makeovers so are able to demonstrate how to use certain products. Get them to try out a particular trend on you before buying. Take a friend with you to for a second opinion. 

Get samples
Ready to jump on the CC cream bandwagon? Take a small tester pot into Boots or Superdrug and fill with a sample so you can go home and try out the product before buying. If you're a bit unsure about doing this, ask a customer assistant first if it's ok. You can usually buy sample pots from the travel section in Boots.
Be loyal 
If you are reading this and you don't have a Boots Advantage card - I'm very disappointed. Loyalty cards allow you to earn points so you can spend them in store. I always save mine up to buy high end items, that way if I don't like it at least it was free! Shops such as Superdrug, Debenhams and Holland & Barretts do loyalty cards.

What are your tips for trying out new trends without breaking the bank?
p.s check out my Spring/Summer 2014 makeup trend posts here and here! 

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Blog Pink

I don't know if you know this but October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I think this is something we should all recognize. Breast Cancer Awareness isn't just for survivors or the family of those diagnosed. It's not even just for all women everywhere. While breast cancer among men is rare, it does happen!

In 2012, it is estimated that among U.S. women there will be 226,870 new cases of invasive breast cancer (including new cases of primary breast cancer among survivors). An estimated 2,190 new cases of breast cancer will occur in men. It is also estimated that 39,510 women and 410 men will die of breast cancer this year alone in the United States. In 2010, it was estimated that 1.6 million new cases of breast cancer occurred in women worldwide. This is very real and very life threatening, and it's something that should be important to all of us.

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to do a very simple nail art. I wanted this nail art to be something anyone, of any skill level, could do to show their support. I used a very thin coat of Wet n Wild Sugar Coat as my base. Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl was used on the tips of all but my ring finger and topped with a coat of Wet n Wild Sparkled. My ring finger became a standard french tip with the help of LA Colors white and I used Beautiful Girl to create a pink ribbon. This is a very simple design that you won't need any special tools for. If you don't feel comfortable creating your own french tips there are specially created guides (found in the polish/nail tools section of most stores) you can buy or you can use binder re-inforcers (usually found in office supplies). The pink ribbon can be done with a nail art brush, a dotting tool, or even a toothpick.

Go to sweetjellybean.com and pick up your own sidebar badge and post banner so you can blog pink too!

Breast cancer facts from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

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B is for ...

I stumbled across the ABC Challenge last week and decided I wanted to take part. This is my first challenge like this since I usually come in way, way too late.

The ABC's of Nail Polish is pretty much exactly what it sounds like � an ABC nail art challenge hosted by the Llama Nails group on Facebook. The challenge started September 12th and will run through to March 6th. 26 weeks for 26 letters. Posting is every Wednesday. You only need to do one manicure a week and it's okay if you miss a week. However, the big rule is that, each week, something in your manicure must begin with the letter for that week. It can be the name of the polish brand you'll be using, the name of the polish itself, the technique, the stamp, the color, the item depicted on your nails ... really the sky is the limit!

I would love it if any other nail artists or enthusiasts joined me for this challenge!!

I missed the letter A since I came in late for this challenge. I wanted to make up for that by doing two B manicures. So ...

B is for Beard

This beard mani is something I've been wanting to do for a really long time. However, it's not something I could wear anywhere ... even just around the house. It's very impractical! This challenge gave me the perfect chance to do this idea though. I made the beard, mustache, and bushy eyebrows from a cotton ball and attached them with clear nail polish. Oddly enough, the face was added after all the hair.

B is for Bricks

Somehow this all turned into a really Christmas-y mani set. I think after doing the beard mani and seeing how much like Santa it looked like all I could think of after that was the old fashioned brick fireplaces. I can just see an accent finger with a roaring fire cut into the bricks. Still, these brick nails were really fun to do. You can't see it in this picture but I sponged on a darker red in hopes of getting a speckled brick pattern but once I added the white it kind of got lost. Oh well.

That's it for this post. I hope to see you in the Llama Nails group doing the challenge beside me. :) Be on the lookout for my C mani in my next post.

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French Hearts

I've given myself something of a challenge. I want to see how many ways I can spice up a simple French manicure. I will keep the standard French white as a base for these manis as an added challenge.

You've seen the standard French manicure in Mother's Day post, 'The Mommy Mess', and you've seen the Mother's Day design I created over those nails. Now, I bring you French Hearts. :)

I used my new Born Pretty image plate m56 for this design. I adore this image plate. It's a plate full of tip stamps. It's the same plate that contained the bow from my 'All Wrapped Up' nails

I only had one problem with stamping this design. I didn't push enough near the tip of my index nail and lost the hearts from the very tips. You can see that I went back and tried adding them. Well, I didn't line them up well enough and overlapped them slightly. I like to think I'm getting better though. The other nails are almost perfect!! Yay!

I used OPI Alpine Snow and Bubble Bath as the base again. The hearts are done with Wet n Wild's 'I Red a Good Book'.

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Kickin' Converse

I am so sick of my broken nail. It has been years since I've had a nail this short, but I've decided to make the most of it by doing designs that can be worn on nails that are long as well as short. I'm hoping to let those with short nails, by choice or not, know that you don't need long or squared nails to still have pretty nails! With this in mind I bring you pictures of Saturday's Converse mani worn to a niece's birthday party � my short nail is uncovered in these pics so look away if this bothers you.

I decided to start with a partial Skittles mani, my thumb is done in red, done with the help of tape. Two coats of each color before I added two coats of white to the tips.

After that it was fairly simple to use my dotting tool to add small dots of silver for the lace holes and my smallest nail art brush to add the black half circle and laces.

With this design, I think the short rounded nail somehow works better. It gives a more realistic 'shoe' look. So if you have short nails don't be afraid to give this mani a try!!


Also, if you're as easily amused as I am ... I got a kick out of 'kicking' people while wearing these nails or doing the finger walk. It looked so weird with little shoes on my fingers!

Polish Used
Red: Borghese 'Che Bella Red C'
Orange: Wet n Wild 'Club Havana'
Pink: Wet n Wild 'Tropicalia'
Blue/Green: Wet n Wild 'I Need a Refresh-Mint'
Purple: Wet n Wild 'Bite the Bullet'
Black & White: LA Colors
Silver: Sally Hansen 'Celeb City'

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Spring Fling

Another day, another post. I know I mentioned it somewhere before, whether here in a post or on my Facebook page, but I was asked to do a set of nails for my niece for her Spring Fling dance. I'm happy to say I got them completed and didn't mess them up while helping her glue them on. They looked amazing with her dress!

She was my personal hand model for the day and was nice enough not to complain when I twisted and repositioned her fingers into what was surely uncomfortable positions. :)

The nails also looked adorable with her enormous ring and oversized earrings!

Alright, gals, say hello to my niece. She was finally all decked out for Spring Fling and ready for pictures.

Can you imagine dancing in those shoes???

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The Mommy Mess

Happy Mother's Day  to the mothers out there. Today's post is for my own mommy.

I thought long and hard about this design. I didn't want a generic Mother's Day design. What I really wanted was something personal to my mother. Well, my mom's favorite flower is the lilac. Best of all? Her favorite color is also purple! Talk about perfect.

Sadly, I found the lilac flower almost impossible to recreate into something people would look at and think, "Oh, that's a lilac!" In my opinion, it's a bit of a mess.

However, my mom was kind enough to point out that her knowing what it was was all that should matter. This mani was created for her after all, and she loves it.

I started with these nails. I'm not usually one for a French mani. I always end up with streaks when using a 'natural' polish, which was no different with this mani. But I became pretty fond of these. I used two coats of OPI Bubble Bath with one coat of OPI Alpine Snow on the tips. I was feeling very steady handed that day so I went ahead and free handed the tips.

These last two pictures are of my left hand. This is the hand I usually use for my pictures, but I found myself liking the nails of my right hand better. But, I guess the lack of precision worked better for this mani. Go figure.


Polish Used
Borghese - Brilliante
OPI - Bubble Bath
OPI - Alpine Snow
OPI - Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window
Sally Hansen - Green with Envy
Sally Hansen - Lacey Lilac
Pure Ice - New Lilac
LA Colors - Purple
Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri

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Lace Tips + Mini Haul

I went shopping yesterday with a $3 off coupon to my local drug store and came home with a mini haul. I also stopped in at Sally Beauty for their sale price on the China Glaze Hunger Games collection. They were nearly completely out of stock but I managed to snag Stone Cold, Harvest Moon, and Fast Track. Fast Track was the one I was dying for oddly enough. It's not usually a color I would go for but the swatches were gorgeous. I can say it's even more stunning in person! I'll have a swatch post sometime this week for these colors and hopefully more of my haul. Wanna see the awesomeness of my haul?? See that lacy box in the back? That's the prize I won in the Nails, Actually 50 follower giveaway! Must remember to send her a thank you when I get back from family Sunday tonight.

Flash

Natural Light

Enough about that. You'll see more this week. This post is about Diva Couture self adhesive lace tips. Can I just say how much I love these nail stickers? I picked them up by chance early last year at my local Dollar Store and hated them the first time I used them. I had no idea what I was doing since I had never used nail stickers before. I put them on all wrong and they only lasted a day, but they looked gorgeous while they were on. With that in mind I decided to give them another try, and my ability with these stickers improved greatly. The lace tips also come with 5 glittery stipping tapes which I've never used, so I can't give an opinion of them. I buy these simply for the lace.

Natural Light

They aren't all sunshine and light. Is any product ever without its flaws? You get 12 lace tips; this gives you a very limited amount of sizes. I always end up with small lines of my nails showing on either side. However, the stickers are clear so it's really not noticeable. If you find you can't stand it, I'm sure you can butcher the two unused and piece them together for full coverage. The last down side is that these stickers crinkle a bit when you put a top coat over them. You can't not put a top coat over them or they catch on various things and simply peel off. I've found I don't have as many problems if I spend a small amount of time making sure all stickers are firmly pressed down and attached to my nails before adding a top coat. Work from the bottom towards the end of your nail. I start with using the opposite (flat) end of my tweezers and rubbing in circles, pressing outwards. Then I follow with my fingers, pressing the extra sticker over the tips of my nails before taking my file and gently filing off the ends of the stickers. Work with your fingers again once the end is filed off and finish pressing the sticker firmly to the tips of your nails. Put the stickers on all of your nails and then go back through them and give them another smoothing with your fingers before adding your top coat.

Natural Light

I like to use these while giving my nails a break from heavy polish, so I do them very simply. One clear coat as a base coat, the stickers, and then a top coat. However, you could spice these up by using any color of nail polish; light colors would probably work best, but I'm happy to say Diva Couture also makes lace tips in white for over dark colors. I've also used these tips with rhinestones for a very pretty effect.


If you're looking for an elegant nail without all the fuss of actual lace this is definitely the thing to try!


Next post: Kiss Nail Dress in Peplum.

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