faking it

Writing a blog post on post holiday beauty, you would assume I would be talking about your typical skin care routine and hair treatments - well this is one instance where you shouldn't assume anything.

Following a holiday in the sun, you catch up with friends and show off your beautiful tan - wrong! Not everyone has this luxury.. 

So if you are one of the few who would love to be able to show off a tan to your friends or just like me you want to look less like you went away and  spent your time under a tree (which I did) then this tan is for you. The St. Tropez Dry Luxe Tanning Oil is the best tan I have used. Having been through a lot of fake tan I have used most graduals and instants you would find on the shelf in Boots. I have recently discovered what a lot of fake tan really meant when clearing out my bedroom.. 5 half empty bottles later I would still go right back to this tanning oil. However, avoid wearing it when you know you will be sweating a lot as it can rub off in patches - not hot.

I swear by St. Tropez, I find St. Moriz is a good cheaper alternative but I think if you have the money and don't want to worry about how the tan will sit on your skin/fade/blend then get yourself the the St. Tropez stands and shelves. I always thought all tan was the same as a youngster, it all did the same job and as a dancer I applied a lot of the stuff to get that subtle orange glow that goes so well with stage lighting. After switching tans every fading moment from instant to gradual, from mousse to lotion, from Dove to Boots own depending on the mood, or the special half price offer, for the past few years I have finally settled on my favourite brand for all of my tanning needs.

My mum uses the gradual to maintain her sunbed tan she catches so well and it leaves a lovely colour on the skin - no streaks or orange tint. The same goes for the instant mousse which I have been using for the past year, another advantage to this mousse is that it leaves a light colour after a shower. Now some may not want this and feel it stains the skin, if so I recommend using La La Madame Instant Mousse which is fairly resilient against light rain (light being the operative word there) and yet still washes off really well with a light exfoliation (no vigorous scrubbing necessary).

This tanning oil however is totally different, if you want to maintain a gorgeous colour for up to 10 days this is your best friend. Apply a light coat and give 8 hours to develop, it dries really quickly so you don't need to stand around nude yet the oil blends in really well giving the gift of absolutely no sign of streaks. Moisturise daily to maintain an even fade and you are laughing with your friends about how miraculous it is you finally caught a tan on your jolly hols!

Fake Tanning Tips:
1. Always use a mitt, no matter what type of tan - no streaks and no orange hands! And there are no excuses because they are cheap as chips..
2. Create a claw with your hand and brush the mitt lightly over the top to tan your hands with the remainder of the tan on the mitt
3. Let yourself dry...
4. Don't apply to peeling/burnt skin that might peel (without moisturising at least) to avoid patchiness
5. Use the remainder of the tan for your face, try not to use a full blob!

I also recommend the ever affordable options of the St Moriz collection. Alternatively I love Dove Gradual Tan as a daily tan application (I have used this before, during and after holidays before now to give myself a glow) or as a top up that smells divine. Rimmel Instant Tanning Lotion is a cheeky one to apply to legs and arms (maybe even chest ;) ) before a night out in any country and clean away in the morning before a trip to the beach.

how my prom make-up should have looked

Ever since my prom, this being all of 5 years ago give or take a few months, I have said that my make up was the worst it has ever been and it totally ruined my night. Well not totally, I still had an amazing time with my best friends and I may have cried, I can't remember, you know, having slept since then. So I am now dedicating a post to how I actually wanted it. There was never any thick green eyeshadow or pencil eyeliner under my eye or tranny eyelashes in the equation (never should have been!)..

before - apologies for looking so miserable

after - I've just now discovered my wonky lip

what I used

To achieve this simple (yet my favourite) look I used all the below products and steps :)

These are the brushes I used, I keep it simple obviously, with a flat small lippy brush, one big soft brush for all my facey needs and a small shadow brush for well .. shadowing. 

skin

To start I primed with my favourite new GOSH primer (see review here) Prime 'n' Set Powder (<<remember its a link). Next I used my new concealer - never been a concealer person, I don;t know why but I've never been able to get a good 'un until this beauty came into my life - 17 Stay Time 18 Hour Concealer. Next a light layer of my Max Factor Whipped Cream Foundation in Light Ivory (40) - also a new addition to my make-up bag but it's going so quickly which is a disadvantage next to the way it clumps on my hand but makes my skin look sooooo smooth and silky. Then I contour, highlight and blush with my Sleek Definition Kit (review also here). 

eyes - with another shot cause i care

I shade in my eyebrows with my new Shavata Brow Perfector Kit, I don't pluck or wax or do anything to my brows (I never have) I can't be bothered to make a fuss when I don't need to so I don't. All I do is give them so colour with a brow shadow (because they are invisible) - my new one is from Shavata and the shadows are cream and so go on my easier and quicker than a powder shadow. I then highlight my brow bone with my eyeshadow brush and a bit of highlighter from my sleek kit, after this I use my MUA Trio Eyeshadow in Innocence. Here I apply a generous amount of the white shadow, it has a lovely sheen to it - and then I give my self a light cut crease ( this is a darker shadow in a line under my brow bone) in the mid brown shade, then blend with the white (keeping it very sinples). I also apply white the the inner part of my eye by the bridge of my nose to highlight, and under my eye to widen them. Next comes a thick (but not too thick) liquid eyeliner line with a love flick at the outer edge (my favourite part of this look). My new liquid eyeliner is  the best I've had to date, it is B. by Superdrug B. Dramatic Liquid Eyeliner. It's a felt type pen, which is the best way to apply liner! I followed all of this with my BEST EVER mascara, Rimmel Scandal Eyes Retro Glam in Extreme Black (review here!) - I neatened up with my Urban Decay Supercurl Mascara brush because it is very spiky and great to seperate those annoying lashes you can't get to.

lips

I got very excited today and bought two MUA lipsticks for £1, one is in this look because its Matte and beautiful and I love it and the other is a deeper red (because mine is running out so it's totally justified). This one is actually MUA Matte Lipstick in Scarlette Siren, I used my lippy brush to neaten up the edges. 

The sequel to this post will be 'how my prom hair should have looked' ... See you soon :)

daisy matte mani tutorial

This post is to quickly show how you can do a twist on the classic French manicure with some cite white daisies.

Your toolkit needs to consist of..

Your favourite strengthening base coat - mine is Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polish

Your best white polish - mine is currently my Andrea Fullerton White polish

A pretty pink polish - I picked my Nails Inca Gel Effect in Mayfair Lane
The ideal polish for seeds - I used my Max Factor

A small brush

Smallest dotting tool or needle

Start by giving your self a lovely base coat to keep your nails strong (if you apply nail polish often or always keep your talons painted like me then you should apply a strengthen and protecting base coat before applying your next colour or design. Try Sally Hansen Diamond Strength, I've found my nails to be really brittle in the past but now that I use this base coat they are long and tough!).

Once your base coat is dry use your small brush (if you don't have nail brushes use a lipstick or eye shadow brush like the one below) to paint your white petals. Don't worry if you need to do two coats to get them perfect your top coat with smooth out any lumps and bumps.

Once your petals are just the way you want them and the polish is dry, you can start to add some texture. Do this by using your brush again to pat some pink polish over the white lightly. You can also do this with yellow or purple (the first time I did this mani I used yellow and it looked a little like eggs, don't worry if you don't like how they look at this stage the dots will make them perfect!) Then use the dotting tool to create the dots in the centre of your flower, big and small, whatever size or shape, it doesn't matter it all works when it comes to flowers!

Then once your daisies are totally dry you can apply a matte top coat to finish them off and keep them perfect. And you should get something like the below:

Good luck ladies xxxx

Remember my insta and twitter tag has changed to @curiousitybty! :D

the positive in seeing the negative

You, my lovely followers and friends have been missing out. Yes indeed, I speak the truth. you have been missing out on some of my nail art lately - unless you follow my instagram/twitter - as I little miss naughty nail blogger haven't been uploading all my nail art to my blog.

In this case I have decided to show you not one, but TWO lots of nail art I have done (one you have seen in technique before, but not in colour) and the other is fresh as a daisy just for you.

Firstly I wanted to show you the nail art I entered into the @glittr Instagram competition with a black and white theme... I obviously didn't win (sniffles) or you would have heard my excitement from miles away (wherever you may be). Here I showed you one of my favourite techniques in a a design I hadn't tried before and ended up LOVING so much I want to do it in different colours everyday, however I am too much of an experimenter to do that. I used my Blackout and Winter Baby Color Show polishes by Maybelline for this design and if you look at my previous post there is a quick how to that explains how EASY it is to achieve this design.

The next is a design inspired by designs by @naildecor on instagram. I love the negative space trend that has been circulating lately, it's so funky and fresh (yes I can say fresh). I have tried it a couple of times here  for Valentine's day and here for my denim inspired design. I think I am getting the hang of it and my new brushes definitley help, so if you are going to try negative space here are my tips:

1. Use brushes! - To paint and to clean up and to neaten up

2. Try cotton buds/pads to create your negative space - Using cotton buds to rub out the area you want is tricky so try wrapping a varnish remover soaked cotton pad around the end of a dotting tool/brush (or anything long and thin).

3. Experiment where possible - whether you own a nail wheel or just use one clean nail to try different designs over and over as this is the best way to get used to being patient and steady handed (this rule applies to most if not all detailed designs!)

I used a random blue polish with no label that I got on a knock off market on Brick Lane (haha!) and my Andrea Fulerton White Polish that came in a glitter kit of hers, I topped it off with my new Rimmel Matte Finish Top Coat.

Let me know what you think lovelies xx

@pawsnclaws101 to tweet me
@pawsandclaws101 to instagram me