Playing Catch-Up - Milky Way Nails

I'm so very behind...I've got two FOTDs and one NOTD for you guys!! I'll start with the NOTD since they're the most recent - I just finished this mani today and I love it!!

I just spent a few nights at a beach house with some friends on the East Coast of BArbados. It's gorgeous out there, and at night, because there aren't as many lights, the night sky is absolutely breathtaking. You can see all the stars that you normally can't see, and you can actually see the wave of the Milky Way. So I drew my inspiration from that and came up with this mani. It's taking the Ombre technique to the next level. There's definitely a gradient of colour, as you can see, but I've got a ton of texture in there with three different types of glitter polish in layers!

 These are the polishes I used (along with Orly Bonder as a basecoat and Seche Vite Top Coat) From left to Right (which is the order in which I applied them): Milani - Black Magic, Slick Holographic Glitter polish - No Name, Milani 3D Holographic - HD 509, and NYX Nail Polish - 162 Fizzy Spots.

I applied one thick coat of Black Magic and let it get almost dry. Then I used a makeup sponge to apply a thin layer of the Slick polish, which is a mix of small and medium holographioc glitters in a clear base, not terribly dense, on the top two thirds of the nail, let it dry, and repeated that on the top half of the nail. Then I used the Milani 3D, a very dense, fine holo glitter polish, on the sponge along the top third of the nail, let it dry, and repeated just along the free edge of my nail. When that was completely dry, I gave the entire nail one thick coat of the Fizzy Spots. It's large hexagonal holo glitter and a small holo glitter mixed in a black jelly base. I wanted to tone down all the other silver a bit, and also if you apply the Fizzy Spots too thin the large hexagonal glitters won't transfer to the nail.

Try it out! This would look awesome on a dark blue or purple base as well. Have fun!

Happy Milky way nails,
Mandy

NOTD: Blue Ombre!!

Maybe I was inspired by Day 10 of Nymphette's FOTD Challenge, because today when it came time to do my nails, I immediately thought of doing an Ombre Manicure!

Ombre nails is an awesome trend that's been gaining popularity for the last 18 months or so. It started with just creme or matte colours, moving from light to dark, with the lightest colour being on the thumb. Then people started reversing it, and now they're also doing ombre as the gradation of colour on each individual nail. Of course, shimmers, glitters, duo-chromes...no polish is off limits for this look!

I started with a coat of Orly bonder Rubberized Baseecoat. I then chose Blues for my Ombre nails, and I went for polish with a slightly shimmery or sateen finish. The colours I used were (from left to right, in order from thumb to pinky):

Milani - Pool Party (3 coats); Color Club - Emerald Depths (2 coats); Milani - Bolting Blue (2 coats); O.P.I. - Yoga-ta Get This Blue! (2 coats); Milani - Midnight Satin (3 coats).

The Pool Party and Midnight Satin are fairly thinly pigmented polishes but I got full opacity in 3 coats of each. Midnight Satin is one of my favourite colours for a quick, dark-but-not-black manicure!

And I finished it up, as always, with a coat of Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat. Here's the finished manicure!

Indoor, natural light, no flash

 Indoor, daylight, with flash

I am LOVING this manicure!! I think I'm going to try another Ombre look, this time with the gradation on each nail. And I think I"ll use purples for that.

Don't forget to check out my YouTube Channel, and Like and Subscribe and Share! 

Blue Ombre hugs,

Mandy

FOTD 10 - Ombre!

Ombre is a HUGE trend right now. It started on the nails and the hair (more subtly) and has made its way to the eyes and lips. It's basically the gradation of colours in the same family, from light to dark. More advanced looks with fade from a dark red, for example, right through orange and end at yellow or white, or perhaps from navy blu, through purple, light blue and teal, ending at a minty green. Really, you can do whatever you want, but the gradual transition of the colours is the key to this look.

So for the FOTD for Day 10, I kept it wearable, since I was actually going out to work right then, with this face on. (YEAH!!) I went for a black-through pewter-through taupe-to white combination for my eyes and almost black through plum to red for the lip. I actually skipped the foundation for this, because I just felt like having light, nude skin. I only concealed under the eyes, around the nose and a few blemishes, and then I powdered the face, and applied blush through the back of the cheek rather than on the apples, so that the cheeks wouldn't compete with the rest of the face. I highlight the cheekbone lightly.

Products used:
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk
MAC Eyeshadow - Carbon
Almay Trio for Hazels - 023
NYX Eyeshadow - Root Beer
NYX Eyeshadow - Geisha
MAC MSF - Soft & Gentle
MAC Fluidline - Blacktrack
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder - Dark Brown
La Femme blush - Sienna
Avon Luxury Lip Liner - Deep Plum
L.A. Colors Lip Liner - Deepest Purple
Wet N' Wild Creme Lip Liner - Berry Red
Black Opal Lipstick - Ebony Wine
Avon Color Rich Lipstick - Cherry Jubilee
NYX Lipstick - Black Cherry
NYX Lipstick - Chaos
ELF Complete Concealer Palette - Medium
NYX Loose Powder - Cancun Tan

Unfortunately the flash kind of KILLED my eye makeup and de-saturated the lip a bit, but you can still sort of see what I was aiming for!

Love and sexy Ombre kisses!

Mandy

Quick Modern-1930s Manicure

A little while ago I was all enamored of the 1930s Manicure and I did a Classic version using black and silver polish. Right after that I created this more modern version of a 1930s Manicure using the same silver as the first mani, and the Neon Nail Lacquer from Milani in the the colour Fresh Teal. What's modern about this mani is the teal colour and the fact that only the half-moon was kept silver. Once again, I free-handed my half-moon!

My only real issue with these shots is that the teal nail polish photographs much more blue that it actually is in real life. it's quite a strong turquoise green colour. Above was daylight, indoors, w/ flash. Below was taken in nighttime, w/ flash.

Direct sunlight, no flash.

Indirect sunlight, no flash.

Hope you enjoyed that quick Manicure post!! Till next time,

Mandy

FOTD - Plum Vixen

So for Day 5 of Nymphette's Face of the Day challenge, the theme was "Monochromatic". I had noooo idea what kind of look I was going to do, but it was a toss-up between black/grey and purples. I drew inspiration from my most recent nail polish buy - China Glaze's "Bogie". Of course, I bought the polish and literally came home and put it on immediately. I just LOVE it. It's from their Vintage VIxen collection from 2010. Bogie is a sexy taupey purple. I love it because under a flash or direct sunlight it looks very warm purple, like this.;

And then in natural or overcast light it can look almost grey, which is just gorgeous. It's a plumy, taupey grey.

So I drew my inspiration from that and went for a vampy, heavily dark smokey eye. I've been very enamored of the 1920s and 30s beauty looks lately, all the old screen sirens and the heavy, dark eyes and sultry looks. So That's what I did. 

I kept it quite dark all the way up to the brow, as was the trend in the 1920s. The modern touch was the dark corners, where back then the colour would be the same all the way through the eye. And the colour choice is more on the Modern side too!

For the Lips I created a subdued version of the 1920s pouty lip with a dark plum lipstick - the look is supposed to monochromatic, remember!

 The cheeks I kept a bit more subtle, with a rosy pink blush. For brows I just brushed through a little mascara - another modern element of this look. Brows back then would have been drawn on quite high, round and thin, or in the 30s more straight and extending quite far onto the temple.

It doesn't show up very well under the flash (I took these photos at night) but I extended the purple colour out onto the temple to create a longer, more sultry eye. This was common in a smokey eye in the 30s and 40s. however, to keep it more modernized, I went very easy on the bottom lashline instead of making it super smudgy and dark.

I really love how this look came out, I think I'm going to repeat it using teal and peacock blue-greens.

This blog post is late cause I'm suffering with the WORST case of Hay Fever I've ever had. I've had to skip day 6 and 7 of the FOTD Challenge because of the puffy itchy eyes and the sneezing and congestion. YUCK!! I'm sad too cause I was looking forward to the Mermaid and Alex Box looks. Maybe I'll d them at a later date anyway!

Products used:

MAC Pro Longwear Foundation - NC 40

E.L.F. Complete Coverage Concealer Palette - Medium

NYX Loose Powder - Cancun Tan

Avon Big Colour Eye Pencil - Eggplant

Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer Palette

MAC Eyeshadow - Beauty Marked

NYX Slide-On Eye Pencil - Jet Black

L'Oreal Collagen Volume Mascara - Blackest Black

CoverGirl COlorStay Eye Liner - Black

MAC MSF - Soft & Gentle

Maybelline FITme Blush- Deep Coral

Avon Luxury Lip Liner - Deep Plum

Black Opal Lipstick - Ebony Wine

Hope you liked this! I also filmed this as a tutorial, so keep an eye out for that!

Embrace your inner Vixen,

Mandy

FOTD Challenge Day 4 - Color Block!

This is a trend that fascinates me. The idea is to separate the different parts of your face and pile the bright colour on without any thought to real blending. Well, that's a remedial idea of the trend. This trend from Summer last year also includes the "Ombre" (Gradient) eye and lip, as well as the coloured eyebrows and two-toned lips.

The reason I like this trend, even though I'm really not one to wear bright colours all over my face, is that it challenges the fashion rule of bold eye/neutral lip or bold lip/neutral eye, a rule which in my book is waaaay over-rated.

So for this FOTD challenge, I decided to do something bright and yet wearable. I went for the classic way to do this type of look: A bright shade on the upper lid, a different but equally bright shade on the bottom lid, bright cheeks and bright lips. I kept it wearable by using colours that are flattering on everyone.

 On the upper lid I used E.L.F Cream Liner in Teal Tease and on the bottom lid I used a single eyeshadow pan that I got as a sample years ago and there is no longer any name! :( but it's a shimmery amethyst shade. I used NYX Jumbo Eye pencil in milk to make it a bit lights and give it depth. For highlight I used my Victoria Secret Beauty Rush eyeshadow in Gold Rush. On the waterline I used Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black. For a true Color Block look you could keep the colours from the lid through the waterline as well and use a bright blue on the upper waterline and then a plum on the lower waterline. :) For lashes I used my L'Oreal Extra-Volume Collagen Mascara in Blackest Black. I kinda like the chunky-lash look with this makeup!

On the lips I used Tropical Fuschia lipstick by Black Opal Cosmetics. It's a bright pink with a slight blue duo-chrome effect.

For cheeks I used La Femme Blush in Coral, a fine wash of E.L.F Bronzer in Sun Kissed and MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle as a highlight. I used a duo-fibre brush for everything. You could go for an even stronger cheek, but I was trying to keep this wearable! on the rest of my face: MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NC 40 and NYX Loose Powder in Cancun Tan. I skipped the concealer on this one...was feeling lazy. :)

 I just opted for a quick messy ponytail and a pair of large hoops to complete the look because it made me think so much of summer and just coming off the beach!

Remember, you can substitute any colour and just go for it.. This is just an idea! Stay tuned for tomorrow's FOTD!!

Purple love, fuschia kisses and turquoise eyeshadow,

Mandy

FOTD Challenge Day 3

It's day 3 of Nymphette's FOTD Challenge Calendar. Today's theme: Shop Your Stash!

Not only am I glad to be doing this daily challenge because it will force me out of my comfort zone a bit, but today's challenge specifically was sorely needed - I went through my entire makeup collection and actually cleaned it out while looking for products to use! YAY! You should see the amount of old stuff that I threw away!

So I discovered these awesome goodies in the depths of my collection:

Bourjois Paris eyes shadow in Noir Precieux

Loreal loose shimmering eye powder in Tart

ELF Mineral Eye Shadow in Innocent

Revlon Shimmy Eyeshadow in Toast (looks shimmery on the top but turned out very matte)

Avon Magix Cashmere Finish Liquid Foundation in Natural Beige

And this is the pretty result of me playing around with those yummy things:

I used a light layer of the Cashmere Foundation all over my face, the Noir Precieux, Tart and Innocent on my eyes, and the Toast for my eyebrows and to lightly contour.

Also Used:

MAC Paint Pot - Soft Ochre

ELF Complete Coverage Concealer Palette - Medium

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Radiant Blush - Fresh Love

MAC Fluidline - BlackTrack

NYX Loose Powder - Cancun Tan

MAC MSF - Soft & Gentle

Covergirl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara - Black

Avon Pro-To-Go Lipstick - Pink Passion

Transparent peachy lipgloss

BONUS: I filmed this as a tutorial, so stay tuned!!!

Wonder what I should call this look?

Now go discover what's hiding in the corners of your kit!!

Mandy

Face of the Day Challenge Calendar

Hello Beautiful People!

The lovely Nymphette415 (@Nymphette415 on Twitter) has once again posted her FOTD Challenge Calendar! This is the first time I'll be aiming to take part in this every single day.

Here's the Calendar itself for April, 2012:

So yesterday was bold lips, and I've been having some skin issues, so I just did the mouth instead of the whole face. I used Milani's HD Advanced Lip Color in Vivacious Fuschia, topped off with Avon brilliant Shine Lip Gloss in Gleaming Mauve.

And here's what it looked like! 

So today's Challenge is simply titled "Coral". Since that's a colour I NEVER wear, I thought why not go for it!! So I went for it, on my eyes and on my lips. I used my Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer Palette and an L.A. Colors Lip Gloss in Sweet Melon. From the palette I used the bright Coral colour 4 shadows in from the bottom and 3 in from the right all along the outer 2/3 of my eye, up into the crease as well. The I used the shadow directly above that on the inner part of my lid. My highlight was the pale gold shadow at the very top, 2 in from the right, and the one 4 down from the top and 2 in from the right I used in the outer corner of my eye and in my crease. 

For the liner I used my NYX Slide On Eye Pencil in Jet Black to create an elongated wing, to lengthen my eyes, since my eyes are quite close-set and these kinds of colours can tend to take away the defenition of my features.The rest of my face I kept bronzed and healthy looking. I quite like the result!!!

Full Face w/ flash

Full Face - Natural Light (slightly overcast)

I know I look a bit shiny - it is SUPER hot in Barbados and I was under a hot light to boot!! But with this look I kind of like that natural glow.

Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for tomorrow's FOTD Challenge!!

Coral Kisses

Mandy

NOTD - 1930s manicure!

Hello Beautiful People! Wanted to share my Nails of the Day (Nails of the weekend, actually) before I cahnge my manicure!

I wanted to try an authentic 1930s manicure. Black and silver were very common colours used back then but you can use any two colours you want. Bear in mind though that for an authentic feel, go for a lighter and darker colour in the same family - for example red and pink (another common colour combination). If you use tdifferen colour combos it will look much more modern.

Sometimes 30s ladies would only do the half-moons in the lighter colour, but a lot of the time they would actually do the half-moons and the tips. I freehanded my nails because I had no guides, but you can, by all means, use guides, especially for the half-moons!

Apply the lighter colour all over the nail first (I used two coats of Lucer-tainly Look Marvelous by O.P.I.) and allow to dry. If you're using guides, I'd recommend applying one coat of a top-coat to avoid the stickiness of the guides possibly damaging the bottom colour. I skipped this step because I went freehand.

Next step, apply the darker colour over the center of the nail, leaving the lighter colour showing at the half-moon and at the tip. Try to keep your lines clean and even. I used Black Magic by Milani. Once everything is completely dry, apply one or two coats of Top Coat - I used Seche Vite.

Et Voila!!

Until next time! Sexy back-in-time nails and happy thoughts,

Mandy