Halloween Nails 6: Dracula

Nothing screams Halloween like Bram Stoker's Count Dracula so it seemed fitting that he'd appear somewhere in my list of Halloween nail art tutorials. See how you can get this cute Dracula manicure in six easy steps.

Rimmel London - 080 Black Cab

Rimmel London a nail Tip Whitener

No 7 - 12 Temptress

Striper Brush

Dotting Tools

Now lets get creative!

1. Use a base coat to protect your nails from staining. Paint your nails white, you may need to paint two or three coats before the white will be streak-free.

2. Use your striper brush dipped in black polish to paint a black French tip at the top of your nail. Then draw a small point coming from the centre of the French tip like the top centre picture above.

3. Take your largest dotting tool and dip it in a dark red polish. Place two large dots side-by-side about halfway down your nail.

4. Take your striper brush and dip it in black polish again. This time draw a curved line beneath the eyes. Draw two small triangles coming from the curved line, these will be the fangs.

5. Take a slightly smaller dotting tool and dip it in black polish. Place a smaller black dot inside both dark red dots.

6. Finally, take your smallest dotting tool and dipping it in white polish dot two small circles inside the black dots from step five. Use a topcoat to protect your design.

Congratulations, you've nailed a fang-tastic nail art look in no time! 

Halloween Nails 5: Pumpkins

What says "Happy Halloween" better than a well cut jack o' lantern?pumpkins are a bright and cheery alternative to some of my darker Halloween nail art looks. Plus this one I'm about to show you here is very simple to do too!

To paint my pumpkins I used the following:

Rimmel London - 705 Tangy Tangerine

Rimmel London Nail Tip Whitener

GOSH - 12 Orange Splash

New York Colour -  298 High Line Green

Striper Brush/ Cocktail Sticks

Now for the painting!

1. Use a base coat to protect your nails from staining. Paint your nails white. This could use a couple of coats before it gets nice and streak-free, the way we want it.

2. Take your orange polish and paint a semi circle art the tip of your nail. This will be the top of your pumpkin.

3. Take your striper brush and dip it in your green polish. Paint a small stem growing from the top of your pumpkin.

4. Taking your striper brush again dip it in light orange. Use this to give some highlighting to your pumpkin, making it look a little less flat.

5. Use a topcoat to protect your nails from chipping. Clean up any messy bits with a cotton bud dipped in nail polish remover.

There you have it! Pumpkin nails for Halloween.

Halloween Nails 4: A Crime Scene

Who doesn't enjoy watching procedural shows like C.S.I, Bones, Hannibal and the Mentalist? Do you know what all those shows have in common? Creepy crime scenes of the murder variety. Now if that doesn't sound like real-life Halloween horror, I don't know what does! So here is my take on a crime scene nail art look complete with police tape, chalk outlines and blood splatter.

To do this manicure I used:

Rimmel London I heart Lasting Finish - 030 Double Decker Red

Rimmel London I heart Lasting Finish - 080 Black Cab

Rimmel London Nail Tip Whitener

Maybelline Color Show - 749 Electric Yellow

Striper Brush

Cocktail Sticks

Now for the fun part!

1. Use a base coat to protect your nails from staining. Once that's dry paint your nails black. Use as many coats as needed to make the black streak-free.

2. Take your striper brush and dip it in white polish. Staring about half way down your nail, paint a thick line that reaches down towards the opposite corner (towards the tip) of your nail.

3. Repeat step two but this time coming from halfway down the opposite side of your nail and crossing over the thick line made in step two. Your nail should now look like the nail in the top right picture above.

4. Paint over the white lines in yellow. The reason I used white first was to really make the yellow pop. If you paint yellow over black it tends to look dull, which we don't want for our police tape.

5. Now is the time to clean up your strips of police tape. Outlining them in black using a striper brush not only defines the tape but you can give your tape very clean, straight lines which is what we want for our tape.

6. Next taking your striper brush or cocktail stick dipped in black polish paint some lettering along your police tape. Because my nails are so small writing full words wasn't an issue but its good to have an idea of what words you're writing in your mind to make it look more realistic. I wrote "CAUTION - DO NOT CROSS" along my police tape. Your nails should now look like the second picture on the left above.

7. Now that we've got the lettering and straight lines out of the way we can get more creative! Dip your striper brush/ cocktail stick in white polish and draw your chalk outline. This may seem hard but really all you have to do is imagine your drawing around a very small stick man. I started with a circle for the head and then painted two small arms and a torso. Thanks to the police tape we've already painted we don't have to paint any legs on our chalk outlines which makes it easier again. Your nails should now look like the second picture to the right above.

8. Lastly, dip your striper brush in red polish and use this to create some blood dripping down from the top of the strips of police tape. This will add some Halloween gore and brighten up your manicure! Then use a topcoat to seal your design and protect from chipping.

Ta-dah!!! You've nailed an eerie crime scene manicure.

Halloween Nails 3: Frankenstein

Frankenstein is the epitome of classic Halloween horror. I studied the book by Mary Shelley last semester in college and loved it. So it seemed fitting that a Frankenstein manicure should appear somewhere in my Halloween nail art tutorials.

To nail this look you'll need:

O.P.I - Did it on 'Em (Nicki Minaj Collection)

Rimmel London I heart Lasting Finish - 080 Black Cab

Rimmel London Nail Tip Whitener

Dotting tools

Striper brush/ Cocktail sticks

Frankenstein's Stitches

1. Use a base coat to protect your nails from staining then paint your nails a Frankenstein-esque green. Use as many coats as you need for the green to be streak-free.

2. Take your striper brush and dip it in black polish. Draw the lines in Frankenstein's skin that need to be stitched up. Your nail should look like the one in the top right picture above.

3. Take your striper brush again and using black nail polish, paint in short strokes to achieve the stitches along the lines created in step two. Use a topcoat to protect your design.

Frankenstein

1. Use a base coat to protect your nails from staining then paint your nails a Frankenstein-esque green. Use as many coats as you need for the green to be streak-free.

2. Take your dotting tool and dipping it in white, place two dots side by side about half way down the nail. These will be the eyes.

3. Take your striper brush and dip it in black polish. Create two curving lines beneath the eyes, these will make Frankenstein look like he has bags under his eyes (I doubt he sleeps very well!).

4. Using the same brush as before dip it in black polish again and draw two lines above the eyes slanting downwards as they come towards the centre of the face (Frankenstein isn't happy here). Then paint a hooked line, starting from the inside of the right eye and curving a little further down the face, this will be the nose.

5. Still using your striper brush and black polish paint a frowning mouth a short space beneath the nose. Draw lines extending from near the nose to near the mouth on both sides of the face to exaggerate how unhappy Frankenstein is. Then like we did with the stitches before, draw a small line anywhere on Frankenstein's face and create stitches across the line.

6. Finally, to give Frankenstein's eyes some character take your striper brush and dipping it in your green colour draw drooping eyelids across half of both the white circles. Beneath each eyelid, using your smallest dotting tool, place a dot of black polish (these will be the pupils). Once it's all dried, use a topcoat to protect your design from chipping.

Et voilà! Frankenstein nails for the gothic literature lovers out there.

Halloween Nails 2: Spiders and Cobwebs

My sister bought these cute spider earrings for Halloween in Tesco for €2.50 and asked me to do her nails to match. I figured since there's a pretty decent amount of people that are scared of spiders (how can you trust something with that many legs?!) that this would be a perfect addition to my Halloween nail art tutorials.

Firstly, I used the following to create this look:

Rimmel London I heart Lasting Finish - 080 Black Cab

Rimmel London Nail Tip Whitener

Nails inc. - 072 Westminster

Dotting Tools

Striper Brush/ Cocktail Sticks

The Spiderweb

1. Use a base coat to prevent staining. Then paint the nails you want to have your spiderwebs on black. Make sure the black is streak-free, paint two or three coats if needed.

2. Take your striper brush/ cocktail stick and dip it in your white polish. Use this to draw a "+" from the top to the bottom of your nail.

3. Take the tool you used in the last step (I used a cocktail stick) and dipping it in white polish again, draw an "x" over the "+" making sure the centre of the "x" crosses through the centre of the "+". Your nail should now look like the bottom left picture above.

4. Take your striper brush/ cocktail stick with your white polish again and connect each strand of the cobweb to the next. I did this twice, once closer to the centre of the web and the second time towards the edge of the web. Your nail should now look like the picture on the right above.

5. Finish with a topcoat, protecting your design from chipping.

The Spider

1. Use a base coat again to protect your nails from staining. Paint the nails you'd like to have spiders on purple. Make sure it's streak-free, painting two to three coats if needs be.

2. Take your second largest dotting tool and dip it in black paint. Place a black dot about a third of the way down your nail.

3. Take your largest dotting tool and dip it in black polish again. Place a slightly bigger dot beneath the dot you just made in step two.

4. Take your striper brush/ cocktail stick and dip it in black paint. Draw four pairs of small black legs extending from either side of the spiders body. They should increase in size slightly as you work your way down.

5. Take a small dotting tool and dip it in white paint. Place two dots beside each other at the top of the smaller circle you made in step two.

6. Take your smallest dotting tool and after dipping it in black polish place a small dot inside each of the white dots you made in step five.

7. Use a topcoat to protect your design from chipping.

And there you have it!! An adorable, yet creepy halloween manicure you can do in no time!

Halloween nails 1: Tombstones

With college work having kept me busy lately my nail art has had to take a back seat. However, thanks to the long weekend, I'm doing a spooky Halloween nail art look every day from now until Halloween! Today I've gone for an incredibly easy to do tombstone nail art look. Want to know how to nail this look? Just follow these four simple steps.

Firstly though, you will need some supplies!

Nails Inc. - 072 Westminster

Rimmel London 60 Seconds - 805 Grey Matter

Rimmel London I love Lasting Finish - 080 Black Cab

New York Colour - 298 Highline Green

Sally Hansen Complete Care Extra Moisturizing 4-in-1 Treatment (base coat and top coat)

Striper Brush/ Cocktail Sticks

Now for the fun part!

1. Paint your nail a deep, dark purple. Purple is a great Halloween colour that you can use to brighten up a dull and dreary manicure. Paint as many coats as you need for the purple to be streak-free and then let dry.

2. Next, take your grey colour and paint an oval from three quarters down your nail to the tip. Fill the oval in with grey polish and let dry. Paint another coat if necessary, you don't want any purple to be seen beneath the grey area.

3. Now that you've the shape of your tombstone sorted you can take your striper brush/cocktail stick and dip it in green paint. To make the tombstone seem unkempt and overgrown (and a little more spooky) use the green polish to create short fine strokes at the base of the tombstone. This will look like overgrown grass.

4. The finishing touch is what you write on your tombstones. I went for a simple "R.I.P" because the tombstones are small and I must admit lettering is my least favourite part of most nail art designs. However, if you're feeling particularly morbid/creative you could paint the names of famous Halloween celebrities to make your tombstones seem more realistic. Clean up the messy bits with a cotton bud dipped in nail varnish remover and then use a topcoat to seal in your design.

Ta-dah!! You've nailed the first of my spooky Halloween nail art looks!

Naked Skin Foundation Review

I am very much a dedicated 'one foundation at a time' kind of girl. Once I've found a foundation that works for me then I am very unlikely to change. In fact I think I've only used maybe four different brands of foundation in my life! So when a foundation does get the seal of approval from me I know that I will be buying it for a long time to come.

I have always had a huge obsession with Urban Decay's Naked range since the launch of the very first Naked eye-shadow palette. So it was a happy coincidence that I ran out of my usual foundation at the same time as the Naked Skin foundation was released in Irish stores. I figured that if their foundation was as high quality as the rest of their products then I should try it out and boy am I glad I did.

I love this foundation, I can't recommend it enough. I've never had a foundation that matched my pale skin so perfectly while still having a yellowish undertone to reduce the redness in my face. Urban Decay have a range of eighteen different shades that are numbered from 0.5 to 12.0. The shades ending in '.0' are warmer shades with yellow or olive undertones while the shades ending in '.5' are cooler with rosy or neutral undertones. This makes it a million times easier to find the right foundation to suit you. I use the shade 2.0 which is a fair colour with a slight yellow undertone and is a perfect match for my skin.

The Naked Skin foundation claims to "blur imperfections for a flawless finish that feels invisible, but looks professionally retouched". The question is, does it actually do what it says on the tin? The answer, my friends, is yes. I like my foundation to feel light, not caked on and heavy this weightless formula really does feel like you're wearing nothing at all on your face. It contains sodium hyaluronate which holds water for optimum hydration, circulation and nutrient absorption which makes skin smooth and soft, perfect for us drier skinned gals. The Naked Skin foundation also contains litchiderm which comes from the lychee fruit, it protects skin from dehydration, oxidative stress and accelerated ageing resulting in a brighter more radiant complexion.

That's all great you say but what does it actually look like? It looks amazing, naturally radiant, like I just happen to have flawless skin. This foundation gives you the buildable coverage you need depending on your day/skin. If you're having a good skin day and just need to even out your skin tone then just used a tiny pea-sized amount. If you want more coverage simply add a little more until you have the flawless, natural looking skin you've always wanted! Naked Skin uses 'light-diffusing spheres' that blur imperfections for a luminous, demi matte finish. It leaves my skin looking glowing and my skin vibrant without that sweaty, oily look. I also don't need to use a setting powder as it has a demi matte finish so it only gives me the luminosity I need and no more. This foundation is oil-free as well which means it's great for people with oily skin that might want to avoid products with oil in them.

I like to use my Urban Decay 'Optical Blurring Brush' (€29 here) to apply my foundation, the densely packed bristles of this brush really distributes make up evenly. I use it in circular motions to buff the foundation into my skin giving it a soft, flawless finish. However you can use anything you want to apply it, a stippling brush, a sponge even your fingers. Naked Skin foundation blends easily and a little really does go a long way. I've had my 30ml bottle now for about six months and it's only just starting to reach it's end. While this foundation may seem pricey at €34 (here) considering I've used it almost everyday for six months means it's only cost me about 20c a day, which is a bargain really when you're after naturally flawless looking skin!

My Skincare Routine

I can't complain in the skin department, I may be disappointingly short and I may not have the thickest hair but I did get blessed with pretty decent skin! Most of the time my skin gives me no trouble and I've been using the same skin care routine since I first started to worry about my skin. I think that skin care routines and skin care products alike are very much a personal thing. It depends on your skin type, whether you have dry, combination or oily skin. If you have sensitive skin you may have trouble finding products that don't irritate your skin. I personally have combination/dry skin, it's usually okay but sometimes it can get very dry around my nose and mouth depending on the weather and how diligent I've been with my skin care routine. I also have quite sensitive skin and find that if I try out new skin care products my skin breaks out and I can get patches of very dry skin. If you have oily skin you will probably find this blog post completely useless but I figured I'd share the products I like to use everyday and have been doing so for years without complaint!

Face

These are the products I use on my face every single day morning and night. They cleanse and moisturise my skin while targeting specific problem areas. They also don't break the bank, which (as a perpetually broke college student) is always a good thing!

Cleanser

I really recommend this cleanser by Clean&Clear. My entire family have been using this cleanser for years, from our teens to our early/mid twenties and have no intention of stopping any time soon! This blackhead clearing cleanser removes oil, dirt and dead cells trapped deep in pores-the impurities that lead to blackheads. This cleanser is gentle enough on your skin that you can use it as often as you want. I use it once in the morning and twice at night (to remove makeup fully and clean skin). It's oil free which means that it also works great for people with oily skin that want to avoid products that contain oil in them. This Clean&Clear cleanser is simple to use, just apply to a cotton pad and then wipe over your face and neck, making sure you pay particular attention to your T-Zone. This cleanser can be bought at most supermarkets, chemists and pharmacies and costs only €4.09 for a 200ml bottle that lasts me 2-3 months. Bargain!

Exfoliant

Exfoliating your skin is a really important skin care step, especially if you have dry skin as it removes dead skin cells, leaving your skin smooth and radiant. This St. Ives 'Apricot Scrub' has received wonderful reviews from many bloggers and it definitely deserves them. This invigorating, cleansing formula gently exfoliates, removing dull, dead skin to reveal smooth, radiant, healthy looking skin. I've used both of the above scrubs and loved both of them. While I feel that the sensitive skin one was probably best for my skin type neither of them were over-drying. I use this face scrub once a week during the summer and (depending on how the colder weather is effecting my skin) twice a week during the winter. I like to exfoliate my skin while I'm in the shower as the warm water softens my skin and makes it easier to remove the dull, dead skin cells. I recommend this exfoliant because it is cream based as opposed to gel based which is gentler on dry skin. It's also oil free which means it doesn't mess with the balance of oils in your skin. You can buy these St. Ives scrubs at €5.69 for 150ml in most pharmacies and since I only use it every few days a tube can last me from 4-6 months. Nice one!

Moisturiser

This step is my favourite part of my skin care routine. After exfoliating and cleansing my skin feels taut and dry, moisturiser soothes and hydrates your skin leaving it feeling soft and smooth. This Lacura 'Aqua-Complete' moisturiser is packed full of intensive moisture replenishing ingredients such as pro vitamin B5 & minerals as well as a hyaluronic acid complex that leaves skin feeling soft and smooth.

• It also contains sunscreen for added protection against ageing. It claims to be for normal skin but my skin loves the stuff! It's lightweight and not too greasy which means it soaks into my skin in no time leaving it soft and moisturised, the perfect base for my makeup. I put moisturiser on the same way that I put my foundation on, starting from the centre of my face and working outwards. Remember, it's best to massage your moisturiser gently, in upward strokes as pulling downwards on your skin can stretch it and that can lead to ageing your skin sooner than you'd like! This little 50ml pot of moisturiser costs only €2.19 and can be bought in any Aldi store. At such a cheap price it really does work wonders and each pot lasts a good 2 months.

Spot Treatment

While my skin is pretty decent I'm not going to lie, I get the odd spot. Which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that they always seem to pop up whenever I have an occasion where multiple photos of me will be taken or I want to look my best. So to get rid of the nightmare that is spots I use another Clean&Clear product called 'Advantage Fast Action Spot Treatment Gel'. This is quite literally a miracle in a tube. In just four hours I can actually see how the gel has reduced the size and redness of my spots! This spot treatment gel contains spot-fighting ingredients that quickly rebalance the level of oil, helps fight problem-causing bacteria and effectively purifies skin all without irritating or over-drying. Ive also found that the more often you use this gel the more it seems to keep spots at bay too. Like I said, miracle in a tube. This gel can be found in most supermarkets and pharmacies for €5.65 which may seem a little steep but this little 15ml tube lasts me anywhere from five months to a year depending on how bad my skin is during said year. Which really, when you look at it like that, works out quite cheap and is well worth the money!

Hands

While my hands don't get very dry in the warmer months from September until March is a whole other story. During the colder months I find my knuckles and palms can get very dry and flaky looking while my nails feel more brittle and break easier. I've raved about this hand cream already but to treat my mitts I use this 2 in 1 hand and nail cream from Superdrug. It's specially formulated with Keratin and Pro-Vitamin B5 to moisturise and soften skin, whilst strengthening nails. I've found that, used regularly, it helps give me stronger nails (making them less likely to split, flake or break). This 2 in 1 cream is easily absorbed and leaves my hands feeling soft, smooth and supple. The 150ml bottle I got only cost me €2.35 in Superdrug and lasts ages. Total bargain! If my hands feel like they are in dire need of help or I want to pamper myself I slather on my hand cream, making sure to rub it in well on the places that get most dry and then slip on a pair of cotton gloves before going to bed at night. During the night the cotton keeps the moisturising hand cream from air-drying and you end up having your hands hydrated constantly for eight hours (or for however long you sleep). The next morning when you take the gloves off your hands will feel softer than ever before and ridiculously smooth!

Lips

Lip Scrub

I've dedicated an entire post to this lip scrub already but when it comes to luscious looking lips, there's really no greater saviour for dry lips than my Lush Lip Scrub! A good lip scrub is a must especially during winter months and 'My Boy Lollipop' Lip Scrub from Lush Cosmetics really does the job.This lip scrub uses fine castor sugar grains to gently buff and remove flaky dead skin. This is best achieved by dabbing your fingertip into the pot and once a few grains are stuck to your finger taking it and rubbing it in small circles across both your lower and upper lip working into the corners from the centre to ensure the skin on your lips is all fresh and clean. Then the jojoba oil acts, soaking into the newly revealed skin, it moisturises and nourishes your fresh and flake free lips. It costs €8, which may seem pricey for a small 25g pot but I've had mine for nine months or so and there's still more than half the pot left! Definitely an investment I don't mind making. These pots come in various flavours and can be bought in any Lush Cosmetics store.

Lip Balm

I have tried lots of the favourite lip balms; Carmex, Vaseline, Nivea, Labello. You name it, I've tried it because nothing bothers me more than having dry lips. I can honestly say that Blistex is the best lip balm I've ever tried. I've used it for as long as I can remember and always come back to it because it really is the best. Blistex Intensive Moisturiser Lip Cream is enriched with Shea Butter, Camphor and Allantoin to condition and protect, relieving dry, cracked & chapped lips. Blistex soothes lips with a deep down tingle that leaves lips feeling moisturised and nourished. I use this multiple times throughout the day and find that it leaves lips feeling soothed and refreshed, whilst looking beautifully soft and smooth. It also acts as the perfect base for lipsticks, tints or glosses. At €2.59, this small 5g tube lasts me a month (and I do not use this sparingly at all). It's well worth the money and my favourite part is that because it doesn't contain petroleum jelly like a lot of other lip balms it doesn't give you short-term relief from dry lips. It moisturises deep down and I find it is the best lip balm for long term use.

Autumn Nails!

Woodland creatures are set to take off in a big way in the fashion world this Autumn and Winter. I decided to paint an owl, a fox and a little squirrel on my index, middle and ring fingers. Then I added an autumnal gradient with a tree silhouette on my big thumb and pinky finger.

The colours I used to create this look are:

GOSH - 596 Miss Mole

GOSH - 570 Peachy

New York Colour- 298 High Line Green

Rimmel London I heart Lasting Finish - 030 Double Decker Red

Rimmel London I heart Lasting Finish - 080 Black Cab

Rimmel London I heart Lasting Finish - 805 Grey Matter

Rimmel London Nail Tip Whitener

Argan Oil, Liquid Gold?

Argan oil is a plant oil produced from the kernels of the Argan tree found naturally only in Morocco. For centuries women in Morocco have used Argan Oil as a nutritional supplement, an all-purpose cosmetic and even as a favourite ingredient in foods. Of course when other people saw how healthy and young these Moroccans skin and hair looked word spread and nowadays Argan Oil is often referred to as "liquid gold". Why you ask? With twice as much Vitamin E as olive oil and essential fatty acids like omega 6 and omega 9, this versatile and healing oil improves skin, hair and nail strength almost instantaneously. Which basically means that this is an all-natural, wonder product that I think really isn't talked about enough. However, see for yourself, I'm about to list the  many benefits of using Argan oil on your hair, skin and nails.

1. Hair

• Argan oil moisturises both hair and scalp for a youthful softness.
• This means that it rejuvenates hair growth.
• Argan oil also is capable of restoring dry and damaged hair to a natural, healthy condition.

2. Skin

• Argan oil moisturises skin so that wrinkles are diminished and skin is softened.
• Reduces the signs of ageing caused by stress, pollution, the sun and smoking.
• It also has the ability to combat  eczema, psoriasis, acne and stretch marks.

3. Nails

• Strengthens nails naturally using vitamin E and squalene.
• Argan oil also enhances circulation and nerve performance to make nails healthier.

Impressed by this heavy-duty, all-purpose beauty product? It's simple to use, you just pour out a very small (a little goes a long way here) amount of the oil into the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together to warm up the argan oil as it is most effective when warm. Then smooth your hands through your hair, rub the oil along your skin and massage it into your cuticles and nails. You can buy Argan oil in most pharmacies across the country at around €5 for a small bottle. If you'd like to go for a pricer option then you could purchase 'Moroccan Oil' at €38 for a 100ml bottle. However, if you (like me) are perpetually broke but always looking for a cheap beauty fix look no further than your nearest Penneys. There it is only €2.50 for an 18ml bottle of 'Hask' argan oil which works out at €13.89 for 100ml. The best part is if you compare the 'Hask' argan oil to it's pricier counterpart there are very few differences in the ingredients except that the 'Moroccan Oil' doesn't have the vitamin E and keratin amino acids that the 'Hask' one does. These ingredients included in the 'Hask' argan oil are excellent for improving hairs condition. Could the cheaper alternative actually be better than the product almost three times as expensive? I guess it's up to you to decide but I can safely say that I am very happy with my cheap multi-purpose argan oil, the benefits are seen almost immediately and the results are fantastic!

Cookie Monster Nails!

Om nom nom nom, cookie cookie cookie? Yes, the Cookie Monster from The Sesame Street has made it to my nails and I'm about to show you guys just how easy it is to do this nail art look yourselves!

You will need:

Dotting tools (which I talk more about here)

Small paintbrush/striper brush (which I talk about here again)

Clear base/topcoat

Blue Nail Polish - Catrice 400 Blue Cara Ciao

White Nail Polish - Rimmel London Nail Tip Whitener

Black Nail Polish - Rimmel London I love Lasting Finish 080 Black Cab

Light Brown Polish - Gosh 596 Miss Mole

Dark Brown Polish - Catrice 720 Bruno Brownani

Cotton Buds

Nail Polish remover

This is a really simple tutorial with only eleven easy to follow steps. It took me about a half hour to do this look from start to finish including drying time. Now enough preamble, down to the fun stuff!

The Cookie Monster Nail

Step 1: Take your blue polish and paint a semicircle of blue about half way down your nail.

Step 2: Take your largest dotting tool and dip it in the black polish. Dot this in two circles in the centre of the semicircles edge.

Step 3: Take your next smallest dotting tool, coat it in your white polish. Dab two white circles within the black ones.

Step 4: To make your Cookie Monster look as crazy as possible give him wandering eyes by dotting two small black dots looking in opposite directions inside the white circles.

Step 5: Take a very small brush and dip it into your black polish. Paint a smiling, wide open mouth just a little beneath the eyes.

Step 6: Dip a cotton bud in nail polish remover and clean up any messy bits. Use a clear topcoat to seal in and protect your design.

The half-eaten Cookie Nail

Step 1: Paint your entire nail blue.

Step 2: Paint a semi circle two thirds of the way down your nail in your lighter brown colour.

Step 3: Dip your small brush into your darker brown polish, use this to paint a jagged edge along the semicircle giving the cookie it's half-eaten look.

Step 4: Take your smallest dotting tool and dip it in your darker brown. Dot this at random inside the semi circle so that it looks like chocolate chips.

Step 5: Once again, dip a cotton bud into nail polish remover and clean up any messy bits. Then use your clear topcoat to give the nail a polished finish.

In eleven simple steps you've managed to nail the Cookie Monster nail art look. Now that's what I call tasty!

Winter Essentials

Now that the sunny days of summer are a distant memory and umbrellas are a necessity whenever you leave the house, I've started enjoying the things that make winter a little more bearable. Like hot chocolate with the little marshmallows on top, comfy knitted jumpers and of course the big fuzzy slipper socks! With this change in weather I've decided to let you all know what I consider to be my winter essentials.

1. Candles

I know that you can use candles any time of the year but I think there's nothing nicer than lighting a lovely scented candle while the rain is pelting against the windows. It just makes me feel so cosy! The candle above is from the Yankee Candle range which is my favourite for gorgeous scents. My candle is Waikiki Melon scented and smells of exotic juicy melons and sweet oranges. As soon as you light the candle it fills the room with its gorgeous scent but never gets overpowering. I bought this candle in the Yankee Candle store in Stephen's Green shopping centre in Dublin. This candle is in the medium sized jar and cost me €19.95. This may seem pricey for a candle but they really do last an incredibly long time. I've had this candle since before October last year and look how little has burnt down! The best part about these Yankee candles is that if you don't feel like having a candle lit in your room, you can just take the lid off the jar and the divine smell still fills the room! You can get these candles in all sorts of sizes and scents ranging from as little as €1.50 to €26.95. If you go on line to www.yankee.ie you'll be able to find some of their 'fragrance of the month' candles on special offer. You can find Yankee candles easily in gift shops, pharmacies and Yankee Candle stores across the country.

2. Hand Cream

The colder the air gets, the harsher the weather feels on your skin, especially on extremities like your hands and face. While I always use a good face moisturiser I usually don't use a hand cream. During the colder months though, I find that the skin on my hands is left feeling dry and hard. To treat my mitts I use this 2 in 1 hand and nail cream from Superdrug. It's specially formulated with Keratin and Pro-Vitamin B5 to moisturise and soften skin, whilst strengthening nails. I've found that, used regularly, it helps give me stronger nails (making them less likely to split, flake or break). This 2 in 1 cream is easily absorbed and leaves my hands feeling soft, smooth and supple. The 150ml bottle I got only cost me €2.35 in Superdrug and lasts ages. Total bargain!

3. Dark Nail Polish

Again, I know we can wear whatever nail polish we want whenever we want but I still feel like summer months call for brighter more vibrant polishes while the colder months call for dark, jewel tones and deep, rich hues. I personally love a deep shade of burgundy or a midnight blue on my nails but my favourite winter polish you ask? Nails inc. 411 Elm Park Gardens, a gorgeously dark shade of green. I love that it's so dark it's almost black because I often feel like black on its own is just too dark for my nails whereas this colour has the darkness of a black nail colour while the green adds depth to it. This colour has a gorgeously rich, polished finish. The bottle was a total bargain too as I got it in a pack of four nails inc. polishes in TkMaxx for €18.90. Considering that these luxurious polishes are usually €16.50 on their own I was delighted with my find!

4. Lip Scrub

I've dedicated an entire post to this lip scrub already but when it comes to winter weather there's really no greater saviour for lips than my Lush Lip Scrub! The cold air dries out lips leaving them looking flaky and chapped. A good lip scrub is a must during these months and My Boy Lollipop Lip Scrub from Lush Cosmetics really does the job.This lip scrub uses fine castor sugar grains to gently buff and remove flaky dead skin. This is best achieved by dabbing your fingertip into the pot and once a few grains are stuck to your finger taking it and rubbing it in small circles across both your lower and upper lip working into the corners from the centre to ensure the skin on your lips is all fresh and clean. Then the jojoba oil acts, soaking into the newly revealed skin, it moisturises and nourishes your fresh and flake free lips. It costs €8, which may seem pricey for a small 25g pot but I've had mine for nine months or so and there's still more than half the pot left! Definitely an investment I don't mind making. These pots come in various flavours and can be bought in any Lush Cosmetics store.

5. Vampy Lips

I am a huge fan of dark lip colours and love breaking them out again in the autumn! My favourite from my collection of lipsticks and stains is actually quite inexpensive. It's the Rimmel London 'Lasting Finish Matte' by Kate Moss in 107. It's a gorgeous dark, berry red colour with a matte finish. However unlike a lot of other (even more expensive) brands of matte lipstick I found that this one does not dry out my  lips and is really comfortable to wear. The intense velvety colour and in-season matte finish all make this the perfect autumn/winter lipstick. It doesn't hurt that this lipstick doesn't feather or bleed and lasts up to four hours before needing to reapply! The best part though is the price tag. €6.99 for the perfect winter lipstick? Yes please!

Ok, ok, I'll admit, these might not necessarily be winter essentials as such but they definitely help make my cosy, snuggled up wintery nights far more enjoyable! So tell me, what are your winter essentials?

UD Supercurl Mascara Review

Urban Decay has been my go-to brand for eye shadows for the last five years. My family and friends all know that if they're stuck for a present for me all they have to do is pick up a UD palette and I'll be over the moon! However, I'd never tried any of their other products until my Mom got me a set last Christmas that included a travel size Urban Decay 'Supercurl Curling Mascara'. I never really used mascara much before this because no matter how many I tried from various brands I just couldn't get a mascara that would last the day without ending up giving me very attractive panda eyes. The ones that came close to staying on my lashes instead of streaking down my cheeks would clump my lashes together and dry them out. So I tended to avoid the stuff as much as possible. However when a mascara claims to have 'super sculpting polymers' who am I to not at least try it?

I don't think I've ever been as impressed by a make up product ever. The protein-packed mascara boosted, curled and sculpted my lashes! The Supercurl Curling mascara has ingredients like glycoprotein for thicker lashes, moringa seeds to help define each individual lashes curl, then there's meadowfoam seed oil and Shea butter for conditioning and smoothing. These ingredients made my lashes look sleek, smooth and feathery-soft, just how I'd always wanted them to look! You can see the results for yourself below.

The above picture shows me, sans mascara and eyeshadow (gasp!) I only have on a smidgen of foundation to make me look human. I left my eyes bare so you can really see the improvement made by this mascara with no help from eyeliner or shadows.

See how much longer and fuller my lashes look! This is after two coats of my Supercurl Curling Mascara. They weren't lying either...it really does Supercurl! 

This mascara lasts literally all day for me, it doesn't budge come rain or shine, from once I put it on in the morning to when I remove it at night and the craziest part is, it's not even waterproof and yet it has such incredible staying power! The one thing I found it hard to get used to was the 'moulded and curved new technology wand'. It's slightly curved and the bristles were less like brush bristles and more like plastic stumps. However this seemed to help separate and define the lashes in such a way that the curl in your lashes lasted all day. The main difference with this brush head was trying to remember not to wiggle the brush from side to side. With this brush doing that only clumps your lashes together. Instead you need to start at the base of your lashes and stroke upwards separating and curling your lashes as you go.

Finally, one of the things i adore about Urban Decay is their packaging. They always have excellent quality product in stunning containers. This mascara is no exception as it is in a gorgeous mirrored gunmetal tube, embellished with swirling black scrolls in delicate floral designs that give this the girly edgy vibe that Urban Decay always capture so well.

If you're still in search of the perfect mascara for you then I highly recommend the Supercurl Curling Mascara. It costs €22 in Debenhams (although it's on sale at the moment here at debenhams for €19.80!) So tell me, have you guys found the perfect mascara yet? Or have you tales of clumping, panda eye giving miseries you need to warn others away from?

'Friends' Nails!

Could these nails be any more Friends orientated?! (Excuse me, channeling my inner Chandler!) But yes, the summer, for me, has meant watching reruns of Friends pretty much every evening. So the hit TV show was my inspiration for my nails this week!

Excuse the mess on my thumb nail, I would have used a cotton bud dipped in nail polish remover but I'm away from home at the moment and because I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my shoulders I forgot my nail polish remover (le gasp!).

If you've watched Friends as religiously as I have I'm sure you can guess what's on each nail. However, on the off chance you can't, let me break it down for you. The Friends logo stretches across my thumb and pinky nails, the Central Perk coffee shop sign is on my index, then there's the peephole from the door in Monica's apartment on my middle fingernail and of course no Friends mani would be complete without Smelly Cat on my ring finger!

Now, I must admit I used a lot of colours for this. Here is the list:

Nails inc - 411 Elm Park Gardens

Nails inc - 042 Hampstead Gardens

Nails inc - 210 Floral Street

Catrice - Blue Cara Ciao

Catrice - 700 Birdy Reloaded!

Gosh - 571 Wild Lilac

Rimmel London I love Lasting Finish - 030 Double Decker Red

Rimmel London I love Lasting Finish - 080 Black Cab

Rimmel London 60 Seconds - 805 Grey Matter

The only tools I used for this were my set of dotting tools and cocktail sticks. The details took about a half hour/ forty minutes to do but I had time and had always wanted to see if I could actually do a Friends manicure! If you had been painting this what iconic Friends related things/ phrases would you have used? I must admit, I had thought about painting "we were on a break" instead of Smelly Cat!

Confetti Vs Grafitti

On a recent trip to Limerick I spent a small fortune in Superdrug. On my mad sale-induced shopping spree I spotted a glorious nail polish, similar to one that's a good deal more expensive. So of course, in the name of blogging I had to pick one up for a review! Here I am going to compare L'oreal Color Riche Nail Top Coat in 'Confettis' to Nails Inc. Graffiti Polish in 'Brick Lane'.

The Graffiti polish cost €16.50 and can be bought in Debenhams. On the other hand the Confetti polish only set me back €6.45 and can be purchased in pretty much any pharmacy across the country. Is the difference in price warranted? I'll let the swatches speak for themselves! Both polishes have been painted over the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polish in 540 'Frutti Petutie'.

First we'll look at the L'oreal number.

This gorgeous polish applies smoothly and with no trouble whatsoever. It's a clear polish with tiny hexagonal black and white coloured glitters varying in size in it. With just one coat (as seen above) the Confetti polish gives my nails a speckled look similar to that of a birds egg. It's a very quick drying polish and even with the speckles in it, dries smoothly with little to no bumps left on the surface of the nail. This polish is also pretty easy to remove which is rare in textured polishes.

Now, onto the Nails Inc. polish.

This Graffiti polish offers a completely different look once out of the bottle and applied to my nails. It's filled to bursting with hexagonal black and white glitters, smaller circular black sequins, black and white strands and teeny tiny black and white speckles. 'Brick Lane' clearly has far more in it which would explain it's price. I found this polish quite hard to work with though. With all those sequins and strands it makes for a very thick lumpy polish that is hard to manipulate evenly over your nail. It also takes a little longer than the L'oreal polish to dry and it dried far more bumpy and rough than the other polish too. However, I must admit, it does look really unique and edgy!

I suppose it really depends on what your personal preference is. Do you want a louder look with more variety? Then I would definitely recommend splurging and picking up the Nails Inc. one. However, if you're just looking for a simple nail art look that takes minimal effort and still catches people's eyes then I'd buy the L'oreal Confettis number. It gives a lovely simple, speckled finish and you can save yourself just over a tenner!

 

Cheeky Monkey Nails!

After buying two new Catrice Cosmetics Ultimate Nail Lacquers I decided to do a manicure with my new purchases! I actually really recommend Catrice nail polishes to anybody. They are €2.45 each in Penneys stores across the country. Catrice polishes are the best for those of us that want all the colours just because, who knows, you may one day need them! I personally love Catrice polishes because they are cheap, come in a huge variety of colours, paint on thick and pigmented while lasting a good week on my nails sans chips!

I bought two colours on my last trip into Penneys, 700 Birdy Reloaded! (a bright yellow colour with a slight shimmer to it) and 720 Bruno Brownani (a deep, dark brown colour). Both of these colours go on smooth and a little thick. The yellow bottle suggests using two coats for best coverage but I honestly find that with these colours, more often than not one coat does a perfect job!

                                                      

For this manicure you'll also need a dotting tool and a striper brush which I talked about in this blog post. On top of those you'll also need nail polish colours in a lighter brown (I used Gosh 596 Miss Mole), white and black.

First we'll look at the banana nails:

Paint your index, middle and pinky fingers with your yellow nail polish

Once the yellow has dried take a striper brush and dip it in back paint. Here we are going to paint small black outlines of bananas starting from the nail bed and reaching out to the tips of your nails.

As you can see here, I am not that great at drawing bananas, but it's okay it's supposed to look a little more abstract than your average banana as it's just black outlines on a yellow base. Paint as many or as few as you want, I liked to paint some bananas curving in the opposite direction to the others but again, it's up to you how you want them to look.

Next up are your monkey nails! These are surprisingly easy to do and look really cute, plus they only take five minutes from start to finish. Firstly you need to take your dark brown and paint almost all of your thumb and ring fingernails with it, leave an arc of your natural nail unpainted at your nail bed, as you can see below. Then I want you to paint your lighter brown in an arc again from about half way down your nail like so.

Next we'll create the monkeys ears. Take your dotting tool and dip it in dark brown paint, dot it on either side of the dark brown arc. Then pick a smaller sized dotting tool and dip it in your lighter brown. Dot this light brown circle within the two small dark brown circles and voilà you have cute monkey ears!

Now for the finishing touches that are going to take this oddly shaped brown blob and turn it into your cute monkey design! The eyes are simple, take your largest dotting tool and dip it in white nail polish. Dot the white in two circles, close to each other at the centre of the light brown arc. Take a smaller dotting tool and dip it in black. Once the white has dried dot a small black pupil inside each eye. The nostrils are just a little below the eyes. You take your smallest dotting tool and dip it into your black once more. Then you just place two small dots beneath the eyes and you have painted your little monkey.

Simple, right? Obviously you can use different colours, go crazy! Have purple and blue monkeys on your nails, they are your nails after all! Once you've done the above steps just make sure to use a good top coat to keep your nail design protected.

Here is a photo of how this design turned out on me. I really enjoyed doing this manicure as it's super easy and not at all time consuming. The best part of all was that I didn't need to spend a fortune on lots of different expensive nail polishes!