Cute but Spooky : Eye Nail Art

As its getting closer and closer to Halloween, I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite nail 'looks'! I love doing this as its so simple but looks super cool, I wear this nail art pretty often, but I thought it'd be perfect for this time of year as they are kinda creepy, but very cute! 

Lets get started!

What you'll need:

Nail polish for your base colour - I chose grey

Nail polish for an eye - I chose this light turquoise 

Clear top coat

Nail art pens - black and white

Dotting tool or cocktail stick 

A cuticle pusher (optional)

 The brand of polish doesn't matter, both the grey and turquoise I used are from primary, but you can use whichever ones you already have! Also you can pick any colour! I wanted a quite plain base and realistic eye colour, but you could easily go for a bright pink base or to be extra holloweeny, you could do a red eye! If you don't have nail art pens, you can go for just the black and white polish, and use your dotting tool or even a toothpick or wooden cocktail stick, and the cuticle pusher is optional.

Step 1

First of all, if you choose to do so, push your cuticles back on the nails which are going to have the eye on. I did this just so i get a clean edge, but you don't have to do this step if you don't want to. Then start by painting your nails in your chosen base colour, but leave an oval, eye shaped patch on your nails clean. 

Step 2

Next, go in and paint this space white. This doesn't have to be neat as we will be outlining it in black. I used my pen but if you aren't using one of these, use your dotter or stick!

Step 3

Then, using your dotting tool, draw out a large circle in the middle of your white space. This will make the coloured part of the eye. Make this as big or small as you want, but remember that you'll be adding the black pupil so you need enough room for that.

Step 4

Next, add your black pupil. I used my black nail polish pen, but if you aren't using one of these, use your dotter or stick.   

Step 5

Now for the trickiest part! Carefully outline your whole eye using your black pen or tool. Go around both the top and bottom of your nail. This is why I pushed my cuticle back, so that I have a cleaner edge to this step. Once it is outlined, add as many eyelashes as you like! Do this by drawing slim, short lines coming from the eye.

Finished!

And you're done! Add a clear top coat to seal everything in so it lasts longer and looks more shiny! I only did one eye per hand, however, feel free to do as many as you like! 

For Halloween, the creepier the better! So why not try a green background and a bright red eye? If you do this nail look, please send me your finished photo! I'd love to see your creations!

Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Jelly Moisturiser : My New Favourite Moisturiser

I have been a fan of Boot's Tea Tree and Witch Hazel skin care range for a while and recently, when going to buy some more of their Foaming Face Wash, I came across their new products in the range. These new products have the same great formula but are infused with an extract of cranberry. 

A selection of the whole range.

There is already the classic products, including foaming and exfoliating face washes, cleaners, pore strips and more; all of which, I have tried and love! Last year, they released more which had active clay added to the formula; which I tried an wasn't that impressed with, and now there are 3 new berry products, with more to be in stores soon.

 I was immediately drawn to the Jelly Moisturiser as it is the first moisturiser that I have seen in the range. And I have to say that I am extremely impressed! The moisturiser is described as a jelly but I would say its more of a gel. The packaging also claims to give long lasting shine control for up to 12 hours, therefore it could potentially be used as a primer type moisturiser, however I have never tried it this way yet. When you initially put it on, it doesn't really feel like it would be doing much good at all, it has a very different feel to normal cream moisturisers.

The two newer formulas - active charcoal and berry.

I used it (and continue to use it) on a night time after I have removed my makeup and washed my face. I have naturally dry and sensitive skin, and on a morning I often have noticeable dry patches of skin on my cheeks and chin, however, the first morning after using this moisturiser, my skin was perfect! No dry patches, no redness from the sensitivity and no breaking out from using a new product! I was amazed! I have now had this product for about a week and I still love it! It has pretty much cleared up my dry skin! Even my boyfriend now uses it too! 

Could be my new favourite?!

The packaging of the product has an unusual pump, which I really like as its something a bit different, and has the same type logo and colours as the rest of the range. To use this moisturiser, all you do is press down on the pump and a donut of moisturiser appears! Obviously, the more you press, the more product comes out. I find that it releases just slightly more than the perfect amount with one whole press, therefore I press to just before all the way down. 

The unusual pump and 'donut' of jelly!

The whole range contains tea tree oil which has anti bacterial properties, therefore is often used to get rid of, and keep spots at bay, and also witch hazel which is used to calm the skin, leaving it looking less red and sensitive. I currently use a mix of lots of products in this range and they are definitely my favourite things to use on my face! I use the foaming face wash, the exfoliating face scrub, the peel off face mask, the cleansing and toning lotion and sometimes the pore strips. But I have used loads of their other products in the past. 

Some good old classics.

I really do urge you to try this range, but especially this jelly moisturiser as it is perfect for my dry sensitive skin, but would also be great for a more oily type skin too! Find the range at all boots stores in the UK.

Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit Dupes

The Kylie Lip Kits are massive right now, but unfortunately there extremely hard to get your hands on! They sell out in minutes and getting them shipped to the UK is quite expensive! Lots of companies are bringing out similar shades as the matte nude lip trend is taking the world by storm! 

Unfortunately when I've been looking online to find dupes, I've found millions or American products, but not many are easy to bet your hand on, here in the UK. So I have been out and found UK based high street products, all under £7, which are extremely similar and really good dupes for 6 of the Kylie Matte Lip Kit collection!

I have compared a lot of photos of swatches online and found these copies. As I don't actually own any of the mattes myself, I can't be certain that they are exactly the same, however they are very similar in photos and all look really nice either way! 

Firstly, I have a dupe for the shade Candy K. This shade is described online as a soft warm nude, and on photos it does have a pinkish hue. The shade I have for this colour is Sleek's Matte Me liquid lipstick in 'Birthday Suit'. This has the same matte type formula, which dries in about a minute and is very long lasting without drying out the lips. You can get this for £4.99 in both Superdrug and Boots, and it is currently on buy one get one half price in Boots. Click here! 

Candy K Dupe

Next, I have a dupe for one of Kylie's newest shades. Its for Exposed, which is described as a light cool toned nude. This dupe is NYX's Lingerie Lipstick in 'Push Up'. I really like NYX for lip products and have worn all the colours mentioned in this blog posts for whole days and they are extremely long wearing and matte. Again, its £6.50 from Boots.

Dolce Dupe

The next dupes are for Dolce K, this is described as a medium beige-nude. There is 3 dupes I have found for this colour, two are by NYX; one is the Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in the shade 'Sandstorm' here. This formula is slightly not as matte as the Kylie formula, however is still is very matte and is a very similar shade. The other NYX dupe is the Lip Lingerie Lipstick in 'Ruffle trim'  for £6.50, here. And another dupe is the Luxe Velvet Lip Laquer by MUA. This is only £3 and can be bought in Superdrug, click here.

Exposed Dupe

The next is for True Brown, which is described as a deep chocolate brown. This looks like a shade which would be really easy to match with as its just brown, however it has a very unique shade. Fortunately, NYX again have a shade which is very similar. 'Teddy' in the Lingerie Lipstick is a really similar shade for only £6.50, here.

True Brown Dupe

Kourt K, a deep purple shade, is very easy to match. I have included 2 of my favourites in this blog post, however there is many more which can easily be found. The first is NYX's Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Transylvania'. I love this product! It is a very similar formula to the Kylie Lip Kits and also has a very similar vanilla cupcake scent. This product is £5.50 from Boots. The next dupe I have found is MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in the shade 'Kooky' this is slightly more purple than the other one, however it is still quite similar. It is £3 from Superdrug.

Kourt K Dupes

Finally, I have two dupes for the shade Posie K.This shade is a dusty mauve pink. I have firstly a NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Istanbul', this is a really nice shade, I love it! It is £5.50 at Boots. And the next dupe is Collection's Cream Puff Lip Cream in 'Cotton Candy'. This is one of my favourite products too, and is extremely similar to the NYX one too. This product is sometime hard to get a hold of, but It is currently in stock in Boots for £2.99, here.

Rosie K Dupe

Kylie Metal Matte Lip Kits - Review

You’ve probably all heard of Kylie Jenner’s lip kits, they are spoken about all over! Everyone has one, or everyone is waiting to order one in the next batch (which is due this weekend with 2 new blue toned shades ready for the 4th July celebrations in America!) I have seen nothing but good reviews for the original matte shades and I’ve have been loving the look of her new metallic shades. 

So when I was sent 2 of the Metal Matte lip kits, I say kits, but these metallic ones actually just come on their own - without the matching lip liners, I was extremely excited to try them out. 

The Metal Matte collection have the same formula as the matte kits, therefore have long-lasting wear with a very creamy feel. They don't dry out the lips like other matte liquid lipsticks do, and of course, they have a very bold and high impact metallic colour. I was sent 2 out of the 4 shades, Heir and Reign. See the full range here.

Reign is probably my favourite. Its a brown/bronze colour with a hint of red. Obviously this colour is dark, so its probably not a everyday wearable shade for us girls with pale skin, but for a night out or a festival where you want a cold look, its perfect. And for those of you with darker skin, this shade could be worn everyday and on a night out depending on what you're into. 

The second one I was sent was Heir. This shade is a light pink/nude/goldy colour, almost like a rose gold but slightly lighter. From what I had seen online, this is the most wearable shade from the collection, however I disagree on my skin tone. Personally this colour makes me look slightly washed out, however I have seen it on other people and it looks great. This shade is a wearable shade for people with a darker or warmer skin tone as me, I would say. The swatch looks great but its a bit disappointing when I put it on my lips. 

The metallic liquid lipsticks are currently only sold online on Kylie’s Cosmetic website (as with all of her other shades) which you can get to by clicking here. As usual, they're all sold out, however, if you follow Kylie on any of her social media, she keeps everyone updated with when they're restocked and everything. They sell for $18 which is about £12. However there is then shipping to add on and also if you're outside of the USA, there is also import taxes, so the lip kits do end up being around £30-40, or so I’ve heard. 

Swatches of Reign and Heir

There is a few high street companies which are jumping on the metallic band wagon and are bringing out similar shades for a tiny fraction of the price. Currently the only one I have seen in the UK hughstreet is the MUA Luxe Metallic Liquid Lipstick, which is £4, sold in Superdrug (on sale for £2 at the moment!) The shade Blaze is a red/bronze colour so is similar to Reign, here. And there other similar shades in the MUA collection also, including a shimmery black, which is close to the newest in Kylie’s collection, here. 

If you're wanting to find some hightstreet dupes for the matte lip kits, here in the UK, I have a blog post coming up in the next few days showing you similar shades, all under £7! Keep a look out on my social pages and also here! 

Mac Foundations: NC vs. NW

If you have ever stepped foot in a MAC store, you'll know what there are literally hundreds of shades of foundation, and its hard to find the right one! Yes, there are people who work there who can help, but in a busy shop when you're in a rush and a little bit flustered because theres so much going on, it helps if you can kind of pick your own!

I have worked out what the codes mean and what shades are best suited to me, so I have put together this little guide, to help you choose your right shade too!

NW13 and NC15

Mac has a system which is the opposite to most other foundation/makeup brands. This can be kind of confusing, but once you know it, its obviously a lot easier! 

NC = Neutrally Cool - yellower shades

NW = Neutrally Warm - pinker tones

So yellow/olive tones in a Mac foundation is apparently a cool shade, which is the opposite to other foundation brands. And pinker tones are apparently warmer, which again is the opposite.

So now that you have an idea on which tone you need, theres the numbers that you need to work out. These are a lot easier! The numbers will usually start off at 15 and go up to 55 (but can start at 10 and go up higher, depending on which foundation formula you choose and how big the store is) in increments of 5. So 15, 20, 25, 30 etc etc. 

However, there are numbers which aren't in this pattern, for example a 13 or 18. These are similar to the nearest number, but a bit more of a neutral tone. So NW13 is a very similar shade to NC15 (a yellow toned foundation), but with a bit more pink added to make it more neutral. 

I'll show you an example here with my 2 Mac foundations. I am using the Studio Fix Fluid, but this is relatively the same with most of the other Mac foundation formulas. I have a neutral/yellow tone to my skin. Meaning when I am not tanned, I'm neutral, neither yellow or pink, just in between. But when I am slightly or more tanned, I have a more yellow tone to my skin. Therefore I use these 2 foundations depending on if I have been in the sun or not! 

I was first matched to NC15 in the summer, therefore I was a bit tanned, meaning I was more yellow toned. This shade was perfect for me, but when I started becoming a bit paler, I started realising that the foundation wasn't necessarily too dark for me, but it was too yellow. Making me look orange. I went back to get another one and was matched to NW13, which is roughly the same colour, but more neutral so I wouldn't look too orange. 

I was temped to get the NW10, as I thought the difference between 13 and 15 wouldn't be a lot, however NW10, with ending in a 0 or 5 (as mentioned before) would have been far too pink for me. Therefore the more neutral 13 suited my skin a lot better. 

Understand? Hopefully this post has been helpful to you first time Mac users. Any more questions about shades and tones? Just ask below! I'll get back to you as soon as I can to help with your foundation queries! 

Good luck buying yourself some foundation! You'll love it! If you struggle in store, just ask someone to help, and if you decide when you're home that you've come away with the wrong colour, just remember that Mac has a policy in which you can return any of their products, providing you have a receipt and either get a refund or a different product! 

Asarii Vanilla Pod Mud Masks *

Recently I was sent the Asarii Vanilla Pod Mud Mask and I am very happy with it! 

Asarii is a UK based beauty, health and skincare brand specialising in mud masks, using natural and healthy ingredients, which are gluten free and vegan safe, which not only moisturise but detoxify and clear your skin.

Asarii currently have three different flavour masks, the Vanilla Pod, which gives a high quality facial cleanse with moisturing properties, made for sensitive skin. The Chocolate mud mask reinvigorates tired skin and is the best for combination to normal skin, and the newest flavour, Green Tea, which tackles blemishes and oily skin!

Click here to find your perfect mask! 

After using my mask, my skin felt very soft and it did seem brighter! I have extremely dry skin and it did help in some areas, however I don't find it to be as moisturising as it promised. But I still did love using it! The scent of the mask is exactly like vanilla ice cream so I do want to eat it! 

The mud masks are recommended to use 2-3 times a week, for about 15 minutes each time! After a few weeks of doing this routine, you should see a difference in your skin! Simply apply a thin and even layer of the mask and relax! Its made to not dry hard on the skin, so this product is really easy to take off unlike some face masks! 

Remember to post your #asariiselfie on instagram! And tag @asarii_uk !

The pots you get are supposed to last 1 month, and there is an option when buying online  to do a 'subscription and save' which means that you are automatically send one very month, at a discounted price! All masks are £21.99, and postage to the UK is only £1.99, delivery to the rest of the world varies by location! 

Check out Asarii's website here!