easy peasy scary mary make-up

If you are struggling for Halloween costumes, don't want to get all dressed up with the gear horns and fangs and all - last minute costumes don't need to be bought! Make up is an easy way of creating a great costume without all the jazz, sequins, hassle and money. So put away your wings and turn off your sewing machine - I have 2 fab looks that you can achieve with just your make-up bag

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The first look is POP ART - inspired by this image in particular:

 

 

I used GOSH Cosmetics 002 Mineral Powder and 17 Stay Time 18 Hour Concealer to form an even base. I then used a standard purple shadow to create my black eye, I applied Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Colour in 510 Red Passion to my lips. To then create all the outlines I used my favourite liquid eyeliner, Avon Extra Lasting Black Eyeliner.

The second look is VAMPIRE.. very easy and typical look.

I used the same base foundation and concealer.. I contoured with a standard black eyeshadow instead of bronzer, GOSH Cosmetics Forever Eye Shadow in 05 Grey, Avon True Colour Eye Shadow in Black Pearl and a standard deep pink eyeshadow as well as Barry M Special Edition Double Ended Shadow Pen in Black/Silver to create a super dark smokey eye. I used the same Avon eyeliner and used my Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara. For my lips I applied B. Brilliant Rich Colour Lip Gloss in Morello, the blood is the same Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Colour Lippie in Red Passion, it stays really well so no sticky mess like real blood or pigs blood or fake blood (more likely you will use that!).

What will you be this Halloween??

whats on my face?

I hope its not egg.. hahaha ew.

Today I bring you the staples of my make up bag that have made their way there in the past couple of months and intend to stay there for the summer.

First is this amazing new mascara, that gives me a really nice lengthened look for the day time without thickening too much like my favourite Retro Glam mascara. It is Max Factor's Clump Defy in the pretty 50th Superdrug birthday packaging. The brush is curved with little spindles/spikes that fit perfectly to my lashes - covering as much area as possible for quick application. The look it gives is really natural looking, but still making them look longer without that really false lash effect despite the range its from! 

Next we have the sample of Benefit's Pore-fressional that I got free with a magazine, probably Vogue but I'm not 100% today! It is a miracle mattifying balm that reduces the appearance of pores. And it works, really well. I love it and use it under my foundation powder one my nose and chin to stop my pores looking like craters. I am thinking of investing once I run out!

Another fab product that I adore is my new concealer - Stay Time 18 hour concealer from 17 - it is wonderful. It stays under my make up all day, it is a lovely shade that fits perfectly to my pale skin and blends in really well. It hides my red blemishes that are particularly bad this week! :(

Now for a bit of colour with a favourite that made it into my April favourites post - The B.Brilliant Morello lip gloss. Never been a huge lipgloss fan, I'm more into lipstick but this is lush. Whether I dab some on for the day or heap it on for the night - i Love it with a capital L.

And more purple - a huge trend on S/S 14 catwalks - with purple shadow. This is my B. Stunning Shimmer in Royal. Its a creamy eye shimmer so I can put on as little or as much as I want. I like wearing a little in the day now its summery, not so that my eyes look bruised but so they shimmer purpleyey. :) It also doesn't crease into my eye creases like a normal cream shadow which is both surprising and great!

So there they are some lovely bits that I currently LOVE and you should def give a try :) see you soon for a nail update :D

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

bat those lashes

Thought today I would let you in on a little make-up secret of mine. One thing I could not do without on a daily basis is mascara - I have the blondest eyelashes that are literally invisible.

And so I have tried so many mascara's in my time always bouncing from one to another trying to work out which is best and I like a lot but my favourites are the ones I currently own (and need to re-purchase!). Before I tell you about them though I wanted to tell you about a little trick of mine that gets the mascara to apply nice and thick and sleek with no lumps and bumps. 

It's called Vaseline ladies, yes, vaseline can be used for pretty much anything (I say vaseline but I mean petroleum jelly). I used to and still do watch make-up tutorials and yearrrrs ago, we are talking donkeys, when I started using mascara the three tips that stuck with me are as follows:

1. Hold your mirror low/tilt your head upwards to that you can avoid getting mascara on your eyelids

2. Shake your brush from side to side after a few strokes to get your lashes to split from one another

3. And always apply vaseline to your lashes before putting the mascara on - don't ask questions just do it

And a new tip that I need to invest in as soon as possible is one passed on by my lovely best friend Juliette, when I was telling her about my vaseline trick she told me that she uses coconut oil on her lashes (or at least she had heard of it). More specifically, she had the Superdrug own brand one on her bed side table, it was a waxy texture and smelt lovely (looking online here it is only £2.29). However, upon doing more research it is rumored that vaseline makes your lashes grow also .. So hey presto, another amazing reason to listen to my advice!!

My favourite mascara at the minute and I think ever acutally is the Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Retro Glam - My eyelashes look so so so long, now I don;t know if they are and the mascara is the only one that covers them all or if it is a case of lengthening in the mascara?, either way I love it. The brush hugs all your eyelashes that makes it so easy to get all the little iddy biddy ones in the corners (even though it is what I call a bushy brush which I don't normally like).

Another one I love at the minute is the Max Factor Eye Brightening for Blue Eyes mascara - It's brush is a type I've always loved, its straight with little spikes and it super thin so again easy to get into all the difficult places your eyelashes like to hide. I don't know about the whole 'eye brightening' idea, at first it excited me but really I don't see a different. However I do like the mascara a lot a lot so maybe it does do something different.

The final one is a newby to the bunch - a little tester that I am considering to be my next mascara buy! - it is the Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara. The brush curves right around your eyes - maybe even better than the Rimmel one - and is thin and spiky the way I like it! It goes on well, comes off well and doesn't crust off over the course of the day (which I find happens with the Max Factor one). It's perfection in a tiny weeny tube.

Which mascara do you like best?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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flower power

simple but no so easy.. see what you can do and instagram me the results  @pawsandclaws101

lace & frills tutorial

So.. I missed out on posting yesterday and I feel terrible! I was doing so well.. so to make up for it here is a tutorial...

Todays tutorial is my simple lace design...

This design is so easy to do.. all you need is below:

• 3 colours of nail polish (preferably one colour for the base and two shades of one colour for the detail) 
• a dotting tool/needle
• base/top coat
• a steady hand

For my 3 colours I chose GOSH polish in High school flirt, Max Factor Gloss Finity in lilac lace and B. polish in Mulberry.

Step 1: Apply generous coat of base colour. 

Step 2: Using the large dotting tool add a cloud of your second colour to the tip of the nail. 

Step 3: Using a very small dotting tool/needle dot two lines of small dots along the edge of the cloud in the third colour you have chosen. 

Step 4: Add medium dots of the base coat to the cloud at the tip of your nail to create a 'holey effect'

Step 5: Using a the small dotting too again, in the third colour, dot and drag to create teardrops at the edges of your design.

Step 6: Top coat and breathe ..

Tah dah!

Let me know if you have a go at it @pawsandclaws101
Check out my instagram for more designs and other fun bits and bobs :)

Abigail xxx