Pretty in Pink Glitter Nail Tutorial

Products L to R: Rimmel London Try Harder double duty base coat, NYC 170 Oh Soho Sweet, NYC 238 MoMa, Art Club nail art lacouer in silver glitter, Studio iridescent polish and LA Splash nail art glitter in Trickery.

Iv'e seen a lot of gradient glitter nail looks on the interwebs lately and I wanted to try it for myself. This girlie glitter nail look is what I came up with. I really like how quick and easy it was to achieve. I think anyone at home can do this for themselves and it doesn't have to cost a pretty penny either.

Step one: Treat/clean your nails. I used Bubble White.

Step two: Apple base coat to prevent your nails from staining and prolong the wear of your varnish.

Step three: Apple your base colour, choose a light natural shade.

Step four: Apply your chosen darker shade to the tips. It does not have to be prefect because you will be covering it with glitter later. Look at mine above, what a mess!  

Step five: Apply your chosen glitter, again no special technique here. Just apply to tips.

Step six: Bring out the big guns. I applied a nail art glitter for extra sparkle to the tips.

Step Seven: Apply your top coat to bring all the layers together.

Let me know what you think in the comments below and if you try this look out for yourself at home please share your pictures with me on Facebook or Twitter, I would love to see them.

Love,

Sarah

YOUR NAILS Magazine

If you are obsessed with nails as much as I am you will love this Irish magazine. It's called Your Nails and retails at €6.50. The magazine has everything that you need to know about on trend nail art, step by step guides and salon reviews. 

The nail art step by step guides are amazing and most are geared towards professionally trained nail technicians in my opinion but even for the likes of myself who isn't trained and just has a real interest in nails I have taken inspiration from these looks to create my own. This magazine is jam packed with really interesting and fun subjects. They even have a fashion section where they show you outfits to match your polish! Product news telling you what the top five selling products are, essentials and updates on new products. They also have a health section showing you the best way to take care of your nails and an education section which covers topics such as "Are artificial nails harmful?".

I really enjoyed reading this magazine over and over again, it's so colourful and full of great tidbits of information. Also check out their website yournailsmag.com for endless inspiration on what to to with your nails next!

Love,

Sarah

Date Night Prep - My go to products

Whether I'm meeting someone special or going out on a girls night I like to go through a little preparation ritual that involves the products above which I will go through shortly. Firstly I would like to express my jealousy at how men and women differ when getting ready for dates and nights out. Having three brothers has given me a great insight into the male preparation ritual. It mainly consists of a trip to the barbers, and the three S's! Shirt, shower and shave. If only us women had it so easy, aye!

Step 1, Hair: Who doesn't want shiny, healthy looking hair?! I know I do, so I use the Hair Doctor, hair and scalp mask from Lush. I apply this liberally to my hair about 30 minutes before I hop into the shower. This is my favourite hair mask from Lush, I repurchase it every time I go in, I really should try something else for a change but I'm happy with this one for now. Amongst the ingredients it contains Irish moss seaweed, coconut oil and almond oil so you can bet your bottom dollar you will be left with lovely shiny locks. It also contains peppermint which certainly wakes me up as I'm applying it.

Step 2, Face: While my hair mask is in and my hair is out of the way I like to apply a deep cleansing and exfoliating face mask and leave it on for 10-15 minutes before I shower. I'm currently using the Raspberry exfoliating Mud therapy Mask from Superdrug. This was given to me in a beauty swap from the UK by my lovely friend Steph. I am in absolute love with it and I hope I can find it in the only Superdrug store that I know of in Dublin here. It contains raspberry seeds and apricot kernels which is how it delivers a gentle exfoliation. The mask is clay based and leaves my skin feeling so much softer and looking a little radiant if I do say so myself!

 Step 3, Body: After washing the hair mask out and removing my face mask it's time to Scrub a-dub-dub! Every single day our body produces waste and the build up of old skin cells can make your skin look dull. The best way to improve the look of your skin is to exfoliate regularly. I am currently using the Sugar Crush body scrub by Soap & Glory. I got this in one of Boots S&G gifts sets at Christmas from my big bro. It contains brown sugar which does all the work for you, sweet lime to invigorate the senses, almond oil and macadamia grains which leave your skin feeling softer and smoother than ever.

Step 4, Lock it in: After you have scrubbed,  buffed and treated yourself you want to lock in all your hard work. I use Human+Kind all in one body oil. I love this because it's suitable for your face, body and hair and suitable for all skin types. It gets to work the moment you apply it and locks in moisture keeping your skin hydrated and feeling so super soft.

Step 5, Hands & Nails: Final step before you can begin to worry about what to wear and make-up! You're Almost there! I like to give my hands and nails a good bit of TLC. Usually before painting my nails I will steep them in warm water for a few minutes but because I've been in the shower I don't need to do this. I love the Lemon Cuticle balm from Pixy, it smells absolutely divine and also reminds me of one of my favourite desserts, lemon drizzle cake! The packaging is so cute and can fit nicely into my every-day handbag when needed. Their Coconut Hand Cream also smells amazing and you only need smalls amounts again to get your hands looking, feeling and smelling irresistible!

There you have it, and men wonder why we take so long to get ready! If only they knew what we got up too! I would love you to share your ritual with me in the comments below. Do you enjoy pampering yourself at home? I certainly enjoy the results!

Lots of Love,

Sarah

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Sally Hansen Lustre Shine in Lava

I present to you, Lava by Sally Hansen.

From the Lustre Shine collection this polish is everything the name suggests. It has brilliant shine as the light is being reflected leaving you with a foil shimmer finish.

The first coat was a little sheer. I applied two coats in the photos above. I love how you can't pin the colour of Lave to just one word. It is a duo chrome polish which means the colour will change depending on different types of light. It has rose reddish-orange-gold finish.

I don't think Duo Chrome's will ever lose their appeal as quickly as crackle and magnetic polishes. They are fun, gorgeous, glamorous and mysterious!!

Let me know what you think in the comments below.