Try It Out Tuesday : Mykie’s Smokey Rose Gold!

This week I’m going back to one of my favourite YouTubers; Mykie, or as she’s better known – Glam&Gore. She recently uploaded a tutorial base around rose gold which is such a popular shade now and is right on trend for autumn and the rise of the metallics.

I was surprise by how easy this tutorial was. I’m still perfecting my blending skills but the placement and blending of these colours was really easy and worked well. I think these colours are also great shades for any skin tone. Mykie’s a lot paler than me so I figure the colours might not work, but actually, they’re a bit less pigmented but still compliment my skin tone.

What I also really love is the added shading in the arches of the nose. It’s not something I’ve really seen before and I was slightly fearful of it, but now that I’ve tried it, I really love the dimension it adds and it also makes the eye look a lot bigger.

Mykie also played to my weak spot with this look. She added glitter! It really does make a difference too. It adds so much more glam to the look, but I think it really ties it together.

Here’s Mykie’s look:

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⚠️New video is linked in my bio for how to recreate this rose gold glam look! ✨ It'll take you from nekkid face potato to an unusually symmetrical version of pink eye in 7 minutes flat! Perfect for a Friday night out! 😉(Or Saturday night if you're on the side of the world that has seen the future already) What's everyone doing this weekend?!

A post shared by mykie (@mykie) on Aug 12, 2016 at 7:45pm PDT

And here’s the list of products I used:

If you try this look out and love it too, let me know in the comments! I’ll leave the original tutorial at the bottom of this post.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Mani Monday : Ninja Turtles!

In case you don’t know, I have an unhealthy obsession with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It started with my brothers who loved the cartoon when they were younger, and eventually I caught up with them when the remake of the movie came out in 2014. I cried with laughter at Michelangelo (the one in the orange mask for any newbies) and he quickly became my favourite. Since then, I’ve kind of fallen in love with the turtles. If you follow my instagram, you’ll have seen that it has gone so far that I know own a pair of Michelangelo Dr Martens. From those shoes were born these nails.

They’re relatively simple, and of course you can switch out Mikey for your favourite turtle.

Here’s what I used:

So firstly, I painted my pinkies, index fingers and thumbs in the darker green nail paint (Rimmel Rita Ora). Once that I was dry I painted a matte top coat on my pinkies and index fingers, and a glossy top coat on my thumbs – I’ll explain why later on.

On my ring fingers and middle fingers I painted half the nail orange and half the nail in the lighter green (Revlon Gel ColorStay Envy). Then it was a case of copying the design of my shoes on to my nails, using various sized dotting tools and a tiny nail art brush, as you can see here:

Back to my thumb, I tried something a little new for me. I purchased some nail vinyls from ebay, and I figured the shattered glass type one could pass for a turtle shell. So the reason I painted on a glossy top coat is so that the colour underneath is protected and doesn’t peel off when you peel away the vinyl. Once I’d laid down the vinyl, I painted over with a light brown polish, peeled away the vinyl and topped it with a matte top coat once it was dry.

As I said, they’re pretty simple nails as long as you have some pretty basic freehand skills. They’re perfect for my niece’s Princesses and Superheroes birthday party at the end of this week, but I also just love them because they’re Mikey.

Who else loves Mikey? Or are you a Donatello fan? Leonardo? Raphael? Let me know in the comments!

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Bare Faced Beauty : My Skincare Routine!

Everybody knows that wearing makeup day in and day out is not good for your skin. It can bring on breakouts, blackheads, it can dry out your skin et cetera, et cetera. Therefore it’s super important that you take care of your skin so we can continue looking radiant and provide ourselves with the perfect canvas to paint on. With that said, I thought I’d take you through my current skin care routine so you can see how I be kind to my skin and hopefully give you some tips on how to be kind to yours.

The trouble I have with my skin, is that it tends to be quite dry and it’s very sensitive to harsher weather like cold and wind. I’ve tried lots of moisturisers in the past, but I found that a lot of them either didn’t keep my skin feeling moisturised for long enough, or were far too oily.

However, the one that I swear by is Astral. My mum was actually the person that introduced me to it, and considering my mum looks a lot younger than her sixty years, I am inclined to believe what she says about it working. A little goes a long way with this moisturiser. A pea sized amount dotted over the face will cover it and leave it feeling replenished without leaving it feeling oily. I moisturise every morning, but I will moisturise again either after I’ve showered, or after I’ve taken off my makeup. It’s a particularly good idea to moisturise before bed because when you wake up in the morning your face feels soft and beautiful!

In terms of blackheads and dirt, I’ve recently started exfoliating. Since I exercise and wear makeup a lot, my face really does get dirty and my pores end up feeling tight and blocked. So, after I’ve done my daily workout and I’m getting a shower, I use Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub and give my face a good old scrub. On the tube it recommends exfoliating in the morning and at night time, but I find that it leaves my skin feeling a lot more sensitive, so I suggest either once a day, or whenever you feel like your face feels particularly grimy! Always apply a good moisturiser afterwards too.

For the times when I do get spots – because lets face it, everyone comes under attack every now and again – I have two solutions depending on what my week looks like or where in the development stage the spot is. If I have a special occasion coming up like a night out or a party, or if a spot is only just forming beneath my skin, I first zap the spot with a little TCP on a cotton ball (it’s a little smelly, but it will dry that zit out!) and then, with a Q-Tip, I apply Savlon, which is an antiseptic cream that creates a barrier to stop anymore bacteria going at the spot and treats the spot itself. Usually after just one application, the spot has dried up and is barely noticeable. Two treatments and the spot usually disappears.

If however, I manage to miss the window before the spot gets a head on it, or if I’ve got nothing special coming up and can afford to give my skin a rest from irritants that may worsen the spot, I chose to treat it with Witch Hazel which again, dries up the spot pretty quickly. To all you spot squeezing lovers, I beg you, don’t do it! You’re at much greater risk for scarring if you squeeze your spots, and you just end up transferring bacteria all over your skin from touching the offending thing and you could end up with more.

Lastly, I move on to something that has caused a horrible habit of mine; dry lips. Once my lips get dry, I can’t help but to bite them, but that leaves them sore and swollen and starts a vicious cycle of when it heals, the skin is a little dryer so I bite it again. However, a recent browse on beautybay.com may have provided the solution for me. Evolution of Smooth, or as they’re more well known, EOS, have lips balms that even celebs can get behind, and if it’s good enough for Demi Lovato, it’s definitely good enough for me.

What’re your skincare top tips? Have you already tried EOS lip balm? Tell me in the comments!

I hope you can take something away from this. If you want to read a bit more about EOS you can click here. I’ll leave a link to some of the products I use at the bottom of this post too.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Astral Moisturiser
Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub
TCP
Savlon
Witch Hazel

Try It Out Tuesday : Nic’s Festival Glam

For this week, I’ve decided to try one of the looks that was demo’d to me at the weekend in the masterclass I attended (read my post all about that here). I loved this look because it combined simple techniques wit bright colours that creates a look that’s perfect to wear to all of the upcoming festivals.

So Nic Schuller created a look used watered down eyeliner and eyeshadow to create a paint splattered contour and highlight look, as you can see here:

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LIVERPOOL was just the most amazing day, thanks for coming to #BeautySchoolDropout #nyxprotourliverpool Masterclass @bsd_academy @nyxukcosmetics here's a little look at a festival look I created using Vivid bright liners & eyeshadow brights palette with dewy finishing spray to mix a paste 🖌🎨💛💗💋💄 #makeupisart colour combo inspired by the beaut @beasweetbeauty 😘✌🏻️

A post shared by Nicola Schuller (@schullerinc) on Aug 13, 2016 at 10:56am PDT

The effect is really easy to recreate and is so versatile. You can pick your favourite colours and just go wild. I decided to use my NYX Vivid Bright Liners in Violet and Petal for my look. I lined the lower waterline with white to make my eye seem bigger and brighter and lined my lower lashes with bright yellow to really tie the look together. But of course, because I’m a glitter junkie, I couldn’t help but to add a bit of my own flair with some white glitter along the far edge towards my hairline. You could even go a little bit further and get really creative by drawing little flowers amongst the splatter or adding gems with eyelash glue wherever you wish.

Here is my finished look:

So what do you think?

I’ll leave a list of the products that I used below. If you give this a go, don’t forget to tag Nic on Instagram!

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Beauty School Dropout : My Masterclass Experience!

If you follow my Instagram, you will have seen that yesterday, I had the privilege of going to a makeup masterclass with Lou Teasdale and Nic Schuller as part of the NYX Cosmetics Pro Tour. I was unbelievably excited and I had the most amazing time taking part so I thought I’d write a post about what went on and share with you some advice that really hit home and will stick with me, and hopefully will encourage some of you too.

Firstly, I have to say it was pretty surreal. Walking into a room to come face to face with someone who pretty much inspired you to be more confident in playing with makeup is very weird. At first I still felt like I was watching through a computer screen until I sat down in the chair and I was like, hang on, Lou Teasdale is actually sitting there. It was actually a little intimidating – I’m an amateur at best, so to be sitting down in front of two pros was a little nerve-wracking. That said, they immediately made us all feel comfortable and my nerves slowly dissipated.

We were then showed two demos; one by Nic and one by Lou, which both demonstrated cool ways to use really easy techniques. It was pretty amazing getting to watch them work, and all the while they gave tips and tricks on the best way to handle models and clients. Then it was a case of us having a bit of a play around ourselves. NYX were kind and wonderful enough to supply us with all the makeup we could need and I have to admit, I could have passed out with happiness. There was every glitter I could ever need, a gorgeous bright eyeshadow palette, the Vivid Brights liquid eyeliner, glitter liners, lipsticks – I could go on for days. It was heaven. So we all got to create our own little looks on each other whilst Lou and Nic came round to give advice. Here’s the look I came up with which I decided to name the Peacock Glitter Eye!

It was super relaxed and so, so inspiring. Every single person in the room had their own individual style and no one was afraid to express it, to give things a go. There was so much passion for what we were doing in the room. I felt so motivated and encouraged and just so eager to be creative. If ever I had been hesitant about wanting to pursue makeup, all those fears flew out the window. It just reinforced that this kind of creativity is what I love. In fact, it’s inspired me to stop fearing what others may think of looks I create myself, and so, I’m going to be working on a section for this blog called Freestyle Friday’s where I’ll be showing you a look I’ve created and telling you how to recreate it. There’s a lot of meticulous planning to be done, but I’m super excited to share my creativity with you.

So what did I learn? The simple answer: a whole lot.

But I think there are two main things to take away from the class that I think will benefit everyone and anyone who wants to pursue makeup in any way, shape or form.

Number one:

You represent yourself and your work so don’t be afraid to throw a little bit of your individuality into your work because there’s no wrong or right when it comes to being creative. Colour outside of the lines a little bit, just do you! You can make your channel/blog/instagram – whatever means you choose – however you want, because its yours, to showcase who you are and your talent. It’s your online portfolio.

And number two:

We hear it all the time when we’re younger, but it’s so true, practice really does make perfect, and its the only way to refine your techniques and figure out what you’re really comfortable with and what might need work. It’s also the only way you’re going to get better. Practice on everyone; yourself, your friends, your family, it doesn’t really matter. If you put the work in, you’ll get the results that you want.

I hope you can take something away from this. I know I took a lot away from my experience yesterday and I’m so thankful I was given the opportunity. So, a massive thank you to Lou Teasdale and Nic Schuller for being so lovely and sharing your tips and tricks with us and being so encouraging, and thank you to NYX Cosmetics for making it possible.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Try It Out Tuesday : Gigi Mermaid Eyes!

This week I’ve gone for a tutorial that really caught my eye. It’s a tutorial by Lou Teasdale for THE BOOK CHANNEL on YouTube (which you can subscribe to here) for a look worn by Gigi Hadid. I love that it’s been called Mermaid Eyes, it speaks to me on a deeper, inner level.

I had to get a little creative for this tutorial since I didn’t have a lot of the products, but despite that, I think I’ve managed to recreate the look really well. I didn’t have the blue cream products, however I did have a white shimmery cream product and lots of different blue eyeshadows so it was a case of mixing them together on the back of my hand until I got a colour I could substitute. I could have done with a darker purple for the outer corners of my eyes, but I did the best I could with the eyeshadows I had.

All in all, I really kind of love this look. I would even actually consider wearing this on a night out. I think its fun and funky, unique, but not too over the top. You can tone it down by using less product, or you can go full glam like Gigi’s original look.

Since there’s no fancy eyeliner work and no false lashes to apply (though you totally could), this is a really simple look for beginners as long as you have decent blending skills! I’d love to experiment with other colours for this look, maybe some darker, grungier colours, or even bright citrus colours. The possibilities are endless!

If you give it a go and love it too, let me know. The original tutorial is down below.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Mani Monday : Black & Gold!

Here we are again at another Mani Monday! I have to say, this one might be my favourite so far and I have absolutely fallen in love with matte nails. This week saw me buying my first matte top coat from Barry M so I just had to try it out, so I came up with a look based on my new favourite polish: Lottie Tomlinson’s Good As Gold.

As always,  I started with a base coat. Since the spray can tends to make a tiny mess, I decided to start with that, so my ring fingers and middle fingers were given the golden treatment (if you want to find out more about the paint can you can click here). Then it was a case of painting my other fingers black. I used Barry M Black Nail Paint and I’m super surprised at how well it goes on. For a cheaper black nail paint, it only took one coat for it to be completely opaque which is something I’ve struggled to find. Well done Barry M!

On my pinky fingers, it was as simple as shoving it in some black glitter and topping it with the matte top coat. On my index fingers it was even easier. I stuck on a little gold star and topped it with the matte top coat.

For my ring fingers, I painted a black triangle at the bottom of the nails and stuck a gold heart in the centre before finishing with the matte top coat. Similarly, on my thumbs, I painted a white triangle at the bottom, but this time I stuck the heart at the tip of the triangles and finished with the matte top coat.

Finally, on my middle finger, I created a leopard print design using black and white paint and a dotting tool. First I made little splodges with the white, then around the outside in two or three places, I dotted some black in little comma shapes. Then in the gaps I put some more, smaller, black commas. To finish, I topped it with – you guessed it – the matte top coat.

Considering how simple this design was, I’m loving how it looks. It’s sleek and elegant but with a little bit of fun too.

I hope you like it, and maybe give it a go.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Mani Monday : Disney’s Tangled!

My new mani now features my favourite Disney movie : Tangled. I’m trying to practice my nail art skills so this took me a lot longer than I’d care to admit, but, I’m super happy with the result and I can even say painting with my left hand isn’t so dodgy anymore!

I kicked off with a base coat, and then on all my nails except for on my ring finger, I painted two coats of lilac polish. On my ring finger, I mixed a peach polish and a sort of light gold shimmery colour in order to get a skin tone.

On my little finger, I painted the tip green and used a dotting tool to make two bumps for the eyes at the top. Then using the same dotting tool I made eyes with white polish, and used black glitter for the pupil. With a darker green I added some nostrils and a smile and then outlined the top and there we have a little Pascal; Rapunzel’s little chameleon friend!

For Rapunzel herself on my ring finger, I used yellow polish to paint some hair around the edges of the nail. Repeating the same technique as I did on Pascal, I created eyes. Then, with a tiny nail art brush, I used pink polish to create some lips and a light brown polish to add details such as eyebrows, a nose and strands of hair.

My middle finger was pretty simple; just a pink glitter top coat! On my index finger, I first painted a shimmering pink line down the centre and then using a small dotting tool and white polish, I leaned each side with white dots to emulate a frill, almost like Rapunzel’s dress.

Finally on my thumb, I used a tiny dotting tool and white polish to make three tiny flowers and used yellow polish to make the centres. In the gaps I placed little pink flower gems that I had, drawing inspiration from the flowers the children put in Rapuzel’s hair when they braid it.

A coat of top coat, and I was done!

Though it was difficult and time consuming, I love them! I take my hat off to all nail artists who do this on the regular because that must take real time.

Here’s a list of the products I used:

I hope you like these as much as I do.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx