Review: ELF Studio Blush in Tickled Pink

Hi guys, sorry I've been so absent lately. I got a part time job and I have a lot less free time now!

Anyways, today's post is a quick review from one of my favourite line of blushes, ELF Studio Blushes.

These are some of the most raved about blushes, because they are so inexpensive and really high quality.

I have the shade Tickled Pink, which is a very pretty light dusty pink. This is a matte blush. In some lights it can look cool toned, in other's more warm.

I chose this shade on ELF's website because it looked like the lightest one there, and I am very pale. I was right, it is very light, so there is a chance it may not show up on you if you have a darker skin tone. 

The pigmentation is good, it's just such a light shade, that it can be tricky to make it show up. But I know the rest of the line has some darker colours if that would be what you are looking for.

These retail for $3 on ELF's website, or in some stores.

Thanks for reading!!

Melissa

Nail Tutorial: Ombre Nails!!

So ombre is a huge trend this summer. It's everywhere- hair, clothes, shoes, and now, my nails!!
This is the first time I've ever done ombre nails, so this is not going to be the high tech tutorial ever. But I thought I would just share my method for doing them!

So if you want to see how I got the look below, keep on reading!!

Ok, yes I am aware this isn't the best looking ombre ever, but for a first attempt, I'm pretty proud of it. Alright, let's jump into the "tutorial"!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

The Polishes:

Ok, from the left, I have base coat and top coat, obviously. Then the third polish is what I'm using for a base colour. I would highly recommend using a white or light cream/pink polish to use as a base for your ombre, because that makes all the colours pop a lot more. I'm using OPI's My Vampire Is Buff.

Then the last polishes are my ombre colours. The colours blend more smoothly together if you use three colours instead of two, and the ombre looks more gradual. I stuck with colours in the same colour family for my first try. For the lightest colour (third from the right), I'm using China Glaze Hopeful. My medium colour (second from right) is China Glaze Flirty Tankini, and my darkest colour is China Glaze Make Some Noise.

The Tools:

You will also need some clear tape and a makeup sponge to paint the colours on.

HOW I DID IT:

Step 1:

So first and foremost, you can paint your nails with base coat, if you want to use it. I always do, it's just a habit.

But then you're going to paint on your white/cream/pink base. Side note: if your lightest colour is a white/cream/light pink, then you can just use that as your base. 

Don't worry if it's not completely opaque.

my base colour- OPI My Vampire is Buff

Step 2:

Once your base colour is completely dry (it needs to be dry so your ombre will stay on), take your clear tape and tape around each nail until the skin around each nail is covered by tape. This is a really messy process and the polish will get everywhere, so this step just saves a lot of cleanup.

So I covered the sides, bottom and top of my thumb. Sorry if this is kind of hard to see. But basically when I press the sponge down on my nail, the polish that isn't getting on my nail will be getting on the tape.

This is an incredibly awkward angle, but I just wanted you to see all my fingers taped up. I did it one hand at a time, so I taped one hand, then did the ombre pattern on that hand, then taped the other hand.

Step 3:

So now we arrive at the fun part. So your base colour is dry, and you're all taped up. So take your makeup sponge, and depending which colour you want at the base of your nail, paint the polishes on accordingly. In other words, if you want the darkest colour on the base of the nail and the lightest on the top, the paint a stripe of your darkest colour at the top of the sponge. 

I wanted the darkest at the base of my nail, so here's how I painted my sponge.

The darkest is at the very top of the sponge, so when I press it on my nail, it will go at the base of my nail. 

Wait a second or two to lets the polishes sort of absorb into the sponge and blend better together.

So angling the sponge so all your colours line up where you want them on the nail, press down and make sure you're getting all your colour on there.

This is one coat of the ombre. After each nail, I repaint all the colours onto the sponge so it will be freshly painted for the next nail. I did two coats of ombre for every nail, because after only one coat, the colours aren't super strong. 

So this is one hand after two coats of ombre and BEFORE clean up!!

Told you it gets messy!!

Step 4:

Clean up time! Peeling off the tape gets rid of most of the excess polish, but depending on how precise you were with your taping, you might end up with some polish around your nail. When that happens, I take a nail polish remover pad and put some nail polish remover in the center. Then I fold it in half, and use the folded edge to remove any leftover polish. 

And here's the finished look!!

Sorry for the chip on my index finger, I accidentally hit it when I took the tape off. 

But anyway, I hope this tutorial was helpful! I know I'm not a nail art expert (that can be clearly seen), but I thought I would share how I did this anyway.

Thanks for reading!!

Melissa

NOTD: OPI Excuse Moi!

OPI Excuse Moi!

I would like to preface this post by saying this is my favourite glitter nail polish of all time. It's just SO PRETTY. This is from the Christmas 2011 Muppets collection from OPI. 

It's a beautiful mixture of a candy pink base, with all different colours of circular glitter- silver, blue, pink, green and yellow. It's stunning. These photos don't do it justice.

I don't wear glitter nail polish all that often, because it is just such a pain to remove! But this one is worth the pain. It eats topcoat though. A LOT. 

Here's some pictures in natural light-

SO SPARKLY.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Melissa

Nail Art Tutorial: Strawberry Design

Today I'm going to show you how to recreate the simple strawberry nail art shown above. It's really fun, and really easy to do!! I don't do nail art very often, so I know this isn't the best art ever and definitely not the most precise!

I actually got the idea for this from an Instagram picture my friend showed me. Unfortunately, I only saw it for a second and didn't get the name of the account. 

If you want to see how I did this, keep reading!!

The Polishes: 

So for this look, you only need three polishes, plus base coat and top coat if you like. You need a red polish (which I'm sure most of us own), a green polish, and a white/cream polish. 

Here are the polishes I used. For the red, I'm using Essie's Fishnet Stockings. For green, I chose OPI's Uh Oh Roll Down the Window, and for the white/cream (mine is more of a cream) I used OPI's My Vampire is Buff. Any similar polishes will work. 

You also will need some sort of dotting tool. You could use an actual dotting tool or a nail brush, but I opted just to use toothpicks. If you want a more precise look, I would use a dotting tool.

THE STEPS:

Step 1:

I first applied some of Revlon's ColorStay base coat (you can skip this step if you want), and then I applied the red base. 

Step 2: 

Then once that was dry, I took a toothpick with some of the green polish on it and started making triangle shapes at the top of my nails.

Like this:

Depending on the size of the nail, I usually put four or five triangles, then filled them in. 

Step 3:

Then using the white polish, I just made polka dots over the nail! Super simple! Then I applied top coat over everything. 

And here's the finished look! 

Hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial!

Thanks for reading!!

Melissa

Review: Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Liner

Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Liner

This is actually the second liquid liner I have used in life. The first was from Revlon, which was in the pen form. I disliked that one so much that it completely turned me off liquid liners. 

I used gel eyeliner and pencil liner almost religiously. But a couple of months back, I was doing winged liner almost everyday. And gel liner was ok for that, but it was hard to get a really precise wing. 

Someone recommended this liner to me, and lucky me, it was on sale for $6.99 CAD at Shoppers Drug Mart. So I picked it up, and I am so glad I did!

I only saw this is one colour, Black, which I think is the case for most liquid liners. 

Maybelline describes this as "ultimate precision liner", which is sort of the case. The thing I like the most about this liner is the brush. It's precise, but it's also flexible so you can in from all angles. It doesn't have a super fine tip, but it does a pretty good of getting a good wing. 

I find you have to shake this with every use, or else the colour won't be as rich and as black. I learned this the hard way. About a week after I bought it, I found the colour getting weaker and weaker. It was early in the morning, and I didn't realize you had to shake it. Lol. But I figured it out!

This is a swatch, see how rich and black it is! This is it freshly applied. It dries to a more matte finish than this, but not completely matte, so beware! 

My one complaint with this is how long it takes to dry. Sometimes, I'll be in rush and so I will curl my eyelashes before it is completely dry, and it will rub off. 

Staying power is good, too; it lasts all day.

So all in all, a great product!

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

NOTD: Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet

Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet

So I feel like it's been a really long time since I've posted, and an even longer time since I've done a NOTD post! The reason I haven't posted lately is because I've been super busy. And the reason I haven't done a NOTD post in such a long time is because I have been wearing nail polishes that I've already done posts on.

Even though this one has been in collection for a long time, I haven't done a post on this one so I thought I would share it with you!

Mint Sorbet is just what it says it is- a mint green. I remember mint was such a hot trend last summer, but it hasn't gone out of style for me! I love mint on everything- nails, clothes, and of course, in my mouth! 

This is a simple, creamy mint green, and even though it is a drugstore polish, the staying power is very good.

This is three coats.

Thanks for reading!

Melissa