Nail Tutorial: Galaxy Design!

So, last night I painted my nails. I wanted to do something I had seen and re-pinned on pinterest. I absolutely love the look I created and hope you will try it too if you like it!

 Products used:

(C = Colour, G = Glitter)

Base Coat - OPI 'Matte Nail Envy' - £7.50 from Amazon

Colour #1 - BCBG 'Reflection'

Glitter #1 - Models Own 'Disco Mix' - £5.00 from Models Own

Colour #2 - OPI 'Skull & Glossbones' - £11.00 from Look Fantastic

Colour #3 - BCBG 'Limelight'

Colour #4 - Barry M 'Turquoise' - £2.99 from Superdrug

Colour #5 - No7 'Lucky Lilac' - £7.00 from Boots

Glitter #2 - Models Own 'Ibiza Mix' - £5.00 from Models Own

Top Coat - Orly 'Won't Chip' - £6.84 from Amazon

Here's how:

1. Apply a base coat to protect your natural nails.

2. Paint an opaque coat of a dark blue/navy polish. This will be the base colour of your galaxy!

3. Next, paint one coat of a purple or blue glitter polish with small flecks.

4. Next, sponge on white (or light grey) polish to create the focal point for your manicure. I chose to do light grey polish because I thought white would be too intense. However, looking at it now, I think I should have done white...

5. Next, to give the white (grey) more depth, sponge on light green, blue and purple polish.

6. After this, sponge on black polish to create the look of deep space.

7. Next, paint on a layer of glitter. I chose a multicoloured glitter but you can use whichever you prefer, just make sure the flecks are fairly large.

8. Finally, add a topcoat to seal in your design, help it last and give it some shine!

Hope you enjoyed this and please send me photos on twitter or by email if you recreate this design, I'd love to see them!!

Thanks for reading.

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Nighttime (and occasional) Skincare Routine

Everyday - Nighttime: 

MAC 'Cleanse Off Oil' - Buy here

If I have been wearing makeup during the day, then I will first remove my makeup using this product. I apply around 1 and a half pumps of this with my (clean) hands and massage it onto my face. I also remove any eye makeup with this and it works so well. It even gets off every single trace of waterproof mascara!! I then rinse this off with warm water.

Clinique 'Liquid Facial Soap - Mild' - Buy here

I then put a pump of this into my hand and work it into a lather. Then I use this to wash my face and then rinse off using warm water. I then pat my face dry.

Clinique 'All About Eyes' - Buy here

After this, I pat a small amount of my eye cream under my eyes and around the eye area.

Clarins 'Huile Lotus Face Treatment Oil' - Buy here

Finally, I drop 5-6 drops of this treatment oil onto my hands and then pat this all over my face, focusing on my t-zone area. At first I was very apprehensive to try this product as I have fairly oily skin. Therefore, it didn't seem very sensible to apply oil to my face. However, after thinking about it, if you apply oil to your face to moisturise it, then it won't feel the need to produce excess oil!! Anyway, this product makes my skin feel amazing, my skin feels super smooth and soft in the morning. 

Occasional:

No7 'Beautiful Skin Purifying Exfoliator' - Buy here

I have only used this a few times but I already really like it. I apply a small amount to my hands and then massage it onto my face working in a circular motion. Then I rinse it off with warm water. It makes my skin feel so smooth. I am going to start using this once a week.

No7 'Beautiful Skin Purifying Mask' - Buy here

This mask is a mattifying mask for normal/oily skin and it is unlike any other mask that I have tried before. You apply it to damp skin and the mask actually warms up on contact with your skin. You really don't need much of this to cover entire face so it will last a long time. Then, you rinse off the mask after 2 - 3 minutes and honestly after using this my skin felt like silk and it was really matte. If you have the same skin type as me, you should definitely try this product.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Thanks for reading. xoxo

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Current Morning Face Routine - Skincare and Foundation

I have been using this morning skincare routine for around 3 months now and I like it, it's easy, however, I can't help but feel that it could be better. If anybody has any suggestions for oily/ combination skin, please comment!

Cleanser - Clinique's 'Liquid Facial Soap - Mild' - Buy here

This cleanser is actually the dry skin formula because I had a sample of this one and really liked it as it didn't dry out my skin like some cleansers do. I have acne prone skin so some cleansers tend to dry out any acne I have and makes it more noticeable and more difficult to cover up. 

Anyway, this cleanser lathers really nicely and is fragrance-free which is something I like in a cleanser. Also, the 200ml bottle has lasted me a very long time which makes the £14.00 price tag seem reasonable. However, it is a very gentle cleanser and I'm not sure it really does anything to combat my acne. I think I may try a different cleanser when I run out of this one. 

Eye Cream - Clinique 'All About Eyes' - buy here

After cleansing my face, I apply my eye cream by lightly tapping it under my eyes. This pot is actually a sample that I got in one of Clinique's gift offers that they frequently do - you had to buy two products, one being skincare, in order to get a free gift. This mini pot is 7ml so contains half the product of a full size tub which retails for £23.00 at Boots. This tub has lasted me for about 2 months and I am only around a third of the way through it. I have definitely noticed a difference when using it as it definitely reduces puffiness and minimises dark circles. Overall, a great product and I think I will repurchase it, although I do really want to try Bobbi Brown's 'Extra Repair Eye Cream' but it is £40 so I don't know if it's worth it. Leave a comment if you have tried it!!

Moisturiser - Kiehl's 'Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15' - buy here

After I apply my eye cream, I pat this moisturiser all over my face. It sinks in to my skin really nicely and quickly however does leave my face feeling kind of greasy but it doesn't bother me that much because I usually just apply makeup afterwards so it doesn't stay that way for long. I love that this has SPF15 in it for the Summer and I honestly don't mind the slight sunscreen scent of this product although I know some people can't stand that smell so I guess it's a matter of personal preference.. 

 Setting Spray / Primer - Urban Decay 'De Slick' - buy here

I use this religiously every morning that I apply makeup (because we all know sometimes you just can't be bothered!!) about 10 minutes after applying moisturiser and before applying my foundation or BB cream. I then use it after my foundation (but before my powder) as well to help me stay vaguely shine free and help my foundation last longer. I think this product is well worth the money because a bottle does last a really long time and also, the cooling effect of the spray really wakes you up in the morning!

Foundation - Revlon 'Colorstay' - buy here

Because it's Summer (not that you'd know it in the UK) I haven't really been wanting to wear a full coverage foundation every day so have generally been reaching for one of the two BB creams below. However, I have been wearing my trusty colorstay foundation when I want something that covers my blemishes fully or when I know I will be out all day and want my foundation to stay put! I do really like this foundation however I find that you have to blend it fairly quickly because it does dry pretty fast.. I have been through about 3 bottles of this foundation though and will definitely be repurchasing it when mine runs out. I apply this with my Sigma 'Flat Top Kabuki' brush which can be purchased from here.

BB Cream #1 - No7's 'Beautiful Skin BB Cream' - Buy here

I got this BB Cream in 'Light' however although it blends out to be fairly sheer, I would definitely say that this would not suit very pale girls. This BB cream has a medium to thick consistency but in my opinion is a light to medium coverage product. Therefore I feel the need to use quite a lot of concealer to cover up blemishes and acne scarring and this makes it feel slightly more cakey and thick than I would like. I bought this with a No7 £5 off voucher so it came to £7.95. I don't think I would repurchase this at £12.95 however I would repurchase if I had another £5 off voucher as unlike Dr Jart's BB cream (below), this BB cream doesn't tend to be as drying on the skin and does have a really nice natural finish when applied with your fingers.

BB Cream #2 - Dr Jart's 'Regenerating Beauty Balm' - Buy here

As I said above, I thought this BB cream tended to dry out my skin slightly however not so much that I don't love this product. For a BB cream this product has amazing coverage. The cream is very thick however blends like a dream. I'd say this product could be either light, medium or heavy coverage depending on how it is applied. I find that the highest coverage is achieved when applied with your fingers. I also use concealer and powder over the top and find that coverage is enough for me. It also doesn't feel heavy on my skin at all but I do find that I tend to get a little shiny throughout the day so you do need to add powder to combat that. This product was very pricey at £21.00 however I think it was worth it because a little really does go a long way!

Concealer - MAC 'Studio Finish Concealer' - Buy here

This concealer is very creamy and blends very well. However, it does tend to look a little cakey and make my makeup feel more heavy. I really don't like that feeling and feel like there must be better concealers out there so I won't be repurchasing this. However, it does it's job for now and it does cover blemishes and dark circles fairly well but I don't think it works for me personally...

Powder #1 - Maybelline's 'Dream Matte Powder' - Buy here

I use this powder over the one below when I am paler or when I haven't applied fake tan as it is lighter than the MAC powder. I love this powder and feel like it completely keeps shine at bay! I apply it with the powder puff that it came with and then brush off any excess powder with my Sigma 'F30 - Large Powder Brush' which can be purchased from here and it works a dream!!!!! Seriously, go get some!

 Powder #2 - MAC 'Mineralise Skinfinish Natural' - Buy here

This powder is the one I use when I am tanned and honestly I would say save your money and just get the 'Dream Matte Powder'. I wish I had just got Maybelline's powder in a darker colour because I don't feel that this does as good a job at keeping me shine free.

I will be posting my current nighttime skincare routine soon so stay tuned for that and leave any suggestions for products you think I might like!

Thanks for reading. xoxo

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