Here are some photos and swatches of my newest additions to my collection. Check out the video at the end to see the polishes in action and checkout their opacity.
First colour swatched in the video is A74. A gorgeous, bright, neon coral colour, unfortunately I do not have a picture to add yet but I will update as soon as I have one.
Second polish is 80514 a deep nudey brown, quite warm toned.
Bluesky Gel Polish 80514
Third Polish is 80563, it is a few shades lighter than the previous colour and more cool toned, although I would say it was more neutral than cool. Sorry this isn't the best picture to show off this colour, I will try and update the picture when I get a better one.
Bluesky Gel Polish 80563 (behind chevron)
Fourth polish is A44, this is more of a pink nude, very cool toned mauve pink. Has been a very popular colour.
Bluesky Gel Polish A44 on non marble areas
Fifth polish is Nude 19 (nd19), it is the lightest of the colours I swatched in this video, it is quite cool toned and slightly sheer but has quite nice coverage on the nails after 3 coats. Would be great for a french manicure.
Bluesky Gel Polish Nude 19 (nd 19)
Final polish was 7409, a medium pink that was too sheer for my liking, I do not have a photo of this colour on nails and it is likely I may never get one as I really do not like the opacity of this one. If you would like to check it out skip to 2.52 in the video below.
This is quite a hard one to explain in words, I will try to break it down, step by step. I highly recommend checking out the video at the bottom of this post if my written instructions do not make this technique very clear.
Gel Polish Stone Marble Nail
Step 1 : Apply base colour, in my case 2 coats of white curing each layer completely.
Step 2 : Apply a coat of top coat. DO NOT CURE.
Step 3 : Using a fine detail brush draw in thin lines using a dark grey gel polish. DO NOT CURE.
Step 4 : Dip the same brush in a little bit of ispropyl alcohol and start to blend the lines in a wiggling motion, hard to describe, see video for visual demonstration. Once happy, cure.
Step 5: Repeat steps 2 to 4 using white gel polish instead of the grey. You can also add in a little extra grey if you want. Once happy, cure.
Step 6 : You can now repeat the steps again or topcoat and you are finished.
Check out the video for a better explanation of the technique.
I made this swatch video for y YouTube Channel a little while ago, but I never got around to putting pictures on here. So here they are. This post will be set up a little differently from my last swatch post in which I had photographed each colour with and with out flash. In this post the polishes are pictured under my daylight lamp and on clients hands.
Bluesky Gel Polishes From L - R : A58, SP18, DC31, A52, LT137
Bluesky Gel Polish A58 is a gorgeous purple pink, it is quite bright and has great coverage.
Bluesky Gel Polish A58
SP18 is a glitter gel polish with silver, gold and pink glitter pieces in a clearish base. Can be worn alone with 3 coats, as pictured. Or one coat over any other base colour also looks great.
Thumb is Bluesky Gel Polish SP18. Paisley pattern is painted in A58.
DC31 is an off white cream shade, a very pale peachy nude. DC 31 makes a great alternative to white in nail art designs for a more subtle look.
Bluesky Gel Polish DC31
A52 is a deep green-blue.
Bluesky Gel Polish A52. Art is done with DC31.
LT137 is a beautiful army green. You could also call it olive green or khaki. It is a little less yellowy than pictured in this photo, I would say the colour is closer to the colour in the first picture of all colours swatched.
Bluesky Gel Polish LT137. Art is done with DC31.
I hope you found this post useful, Let me know if you prefer colour swatches on real hands or on nail pops. Thanks for reading. Here is the video swatching these colours if you would like to see what the coverage is like. Please disregard the last polish I swatch in the video as I think I had a defective bottle.
I have decided to swatch my Bluesky Gel Polish colours because I know how hard it is picking colours online.
All swatches are with out basecoat, three coats of colour and a top coat.
Here are the reds and pinks that I currently have. I will be swatching more colours soon.
Bluesky Gel Polish 80562
This is a lovely pale dusty pink colour, with a very subtle shimmer that is only noticeable in bright light. Great pale pink for darker skin tones. Does take a few extra coats than other colours.
Bluesky Gel Polish 40511
This pink is a couple of shades darker than the first one, but it has the same rose tone to it. This colour has no shimmer and is quite opaque.
Bluesky Gel Polish 80506
This colour is a hot pink with a blue shimmer. It is a gorgeous colour, definitely a must have.
Bluesky Gel Polish 40507
This pink is very similar to the above 06 pink but this one has a pink shimmer instead of the blue.
Bluesky Gel Polish A45
This is a true red with no shimmer.
Bluesky Gel Polish 80545
This polish has a sheer purple base with red glitter. Perfect colour for Christmas. Can be hard to get an even coverage of glitter, I definitely recommend three coats with this one.
Here they are all together.
No Flash
Flash
If you would like to see these polishes being swatched, check out my video below.
Because I don't want to redo my nails every week I thought I would do some nail art experimentation posts/videos for the weeks that I have not done my nails. For this design I took inspiration from a picture on pinterest.
With these Nail Art Experimentation posts the nail art may not always turn out as my best work but they are a good way to try new techniques and combinations.
Sketched Flowers | Hand Painted Gel Polish Nail Art
I can't say these flowers are my favourite but I think they ended up not too dissimilar from the inspiration pic. It is definitely harder to create nail art from inspiration rather than just straight copying another nail photo.
If you want to watch how I did this nail art, please watch the video below.
I decided to record myself doing my nails. This wasn't mean as a tutorial more of a nail GRWM but you may learn something from this video. Sadly the video quality is not as good as I had hoped because the colour keeps changing but I think you can still see what I am doing. I hope my next attempt at a nail video goes better. I am hoping to record my own nails every time that I do them and also throw in a few quick nail art experiment videos in between.
Anyway here are the nails I did, I have kept it really simple because I couldn't decide what to do. I wanted to use my new colours and also my new holographic glitter.
Spring Flowers with Holo Glitter Nail Art.
This manicure could easily be recreated in regular polish although I would probably skip out on the loose glitter and use a glitter polish instead.
If you want to watch how I did these nails, here s the video.
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to add them as a comment.
This year I had a party to attend so I wen all out with my Halloween costume, Int the past I have generally just played with makeup and worn regular clothes because I had no where to go. I tried a little bit harder with my outfit this year although I think it is still evident that I put more time and effort in to the make up.
I have recorded myself getting ready, it is by no means perfect but definitely an improvement on previous years and I hope I will only continue to improve next year.
The two more yellow photos were taken with the flash on and the top right photo was no flash
My 2015 Zombie Look
This is a zombie look I did in 2013. Do you think I have improved?
Zombie 2013
You can watch how I got my 2015 Halloween look here:
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in Ivory - Before and After
I filmed a little GRWM video on this make up look and I though for my blog I would do some mini reviews of the products I used.
Starting with the foundation I used Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in Ivory. This foundation has more of a dewy finish than the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation. It also has less coverage and this colour is quite yellow, but because it isn't full coverage it doesn't end up looking too yellow on my skin. I like the finish that this gives to my skin but it doesn't last very well with my oily skin. It is definitely a foundation that needs powder.
Under my eyes I used the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in fair. This concealer is ok. The colour isn't perfect for me, it is quite pink toned and light so if I use too much I look a little crazy. I also find it settles into the creases under my eyes.
I used Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer in 1C light to conceal my many blemishes. I really like this concealer, it covers well, lasts really long on my skin. If I'm being lazy and don't want to wear foundation I will use this alone. The colour matches my skin really well.
For powder I used the Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder in Translucent. I picked this powder up while I was in the UK. I haven't really used it long enough to have a clear opinion on it but it does the job. I can't say it has wowed me but it also hasn't disappointed.
I used the Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze to bronze up my skin. This is really great pale girl bronzer, its not too pigmented so you can build up the colour instead of going in too strong. Its also a great colour, not too orange and according to the packaging it is waterproof. It also has quite a perfumed smell which I can't say I'm too fond of and I was a little worried the fragrance might break me out, so far it has not. I also used this as eyeshadow in my crease.
On my cheeks I used the Top Shop Cheek and Eye Duo in Bitten Cherry. This is very pigmented and dark. After watching back the video and looking at the pictures I think this is too dark for my pale skin on an everyday look. It would be great for a dark vampy look. I also think I applied it too low down on my cheeks, so that doesn't help. It is a really great colour and I can see it being a lovely eyeshadow.
I used Nars Albatross for my highlight and also as an eyeshadow. I love this product, it is so beautiful. I do think it is possibly a little too much for everyday on my fair skin because it has a very gold reflect and I think something more champagne or peach looks more natural on my skin for everyday. I absolutely love this as an eyeshadow as well.
On my brows I used the Jordana Eyeliner in Taupe. I have used this a long time, it gives a great natural looking brow that is not too warm toned. Also can't go wrong with the price.
For eyeliner I used the Nutrimetics Defining Waterproof Eyeliner in Mahogany. I don't love this product but its not bad. I like that is retractable so I don't have to worry about sharpening, it doesn't smudge or transfer throughout the day. Its not a bad eyeliner but I just don't love it for some reason.
I used a sample of the Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara in Extreme Black. This is an ok mascara. Defiinitely looks better when I curl my lashes, but most mascaras do. It added length and thickness and doesn't smudge through out the day. Overall a good mascara but I don't think its really any better tan a lot of cheaper mascaras I have used.
Finally on my lips I used the Rimmel Provocalips in I'll Call You. The colour is a great muted hot pink, very wearable everyday. The product is good too. Easy to apply, lasts well. It does end up peeling off at the end of the day and does wear off a little in the inner rim from eating. I like to carry a tinted lip balm product with me so if it starts to wear off in the inner rim or is getting a bit dry, I can apply the balm. The tinted colour of a balm helps to blend the apocalips colour with your nude lip colour so it isn't such a stark difference.
Overall most of these products I would recommend. I can't really bash any of the products I used in this GRWM. My favourite product would probably be the Nar Albatross, because it is so pretty and shimmery I could stare at it all day. My least favourite product is the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer just because I think the colour I have is a little off on me and it does crease a little.
I found it really hard to decide what I wanted on my nails this Christmas. I wasn't feeling the literal approach (Santa hats, reindeer, snowmen etc.) I had just done a lovely set of white and gold Christmas nails on my friend and they were gorgeous but I didn't want to copy.
I had also just taken part in the Neiru fine lines workshop and was wanting to try out some new techniques. I decided to try out mosaic nails but make them Christmas themed by using red, green and gold.
Mosaic Nails are relatively easy to do and can be adjusted to suit your abilities. If you find it difficult just make your lines thicker, if you find it easy aim for the thinnest lines possible. I did do this design with gel nail polish but I am sure it could also be done with regular polish or acrylic paint.
Christmas Mosaic Nails
I will give a brief rundown of how to do mosaic nails but if you want a more in depth look at how i did my Christmas nails check out the video below.
I started with base coat then applied a nude pink colour as my base so I would have to do less coats when filling in my shapes. Next I took a fine liner brush and painted lines on my nail, some straight, some curved. Intersecting at different points. It's up to you the shapes you want to create and also how many shapes you want on you nail. Make sure not to make the shapes too small otherwise it is harder to colour them in.
After the white outline is set its really just colouring in. Like I said I chose red, green and gold for Christmas but you can use whatever you like. I counted the shapes and tried to divide the colours evenly but I also didn't want any touching shapes to be the same colour. When filling in the shapes you can correct any of the white lines that are too thick.
After the shapes have been coloured in, you may need more than one coat, I traced over the white lines perfecting them as much as possible. Then topcoat and the design is complete.
Another post starting the same way as always, sorry for not posting in a very long time. I really have no excuse so I'm not going to try make one.
Here is a set of nails I did on myself. I find it hard to describe how to do designs just using photos, so I though I would record myself doing the design. It was my first time doing a braided design and also my first time filming this way. The video isn't the best and I can definitely improve on a few things, like getting closer to the fingers. But hopefully the video gives you an idea of how to do a braided nail design with gel nail polish.
I started by applying the DB Moisturising primer with my hands.
Next I applied Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Buff with a Real Techniques Buffing brush.
Next I filled in my eyebrows using the Rimmel eyeshadow in Dusk with an angled brush and then set them in place with the LA Colors clear mascara.
Next I placed LA Colors Loose Eyeshadow in Sunshine all over my lid.
I then applied LA Colors Loose Eyeshadow in Radient to my crease with a fluffy brush and blended it out.
I then highlighted my brow and inner corner with a yellow toned highlight colour.
Next I applied La Colors Eyeliner in White under my lower lash line as a base for the purple.
Then using a damp pointed shadow brush I applied a purple shadow on top of the white liner and blended it out a little bit.
Next I tightlined my eyes with a black eyeliner pencil.
I then applied Revlon Growluscious Mascara to my top lashes and Maybelline Great Lash to my lower lashes.
I then went back to the skin and powdered my face with Rimmel Stay Matte.
I then bronzed/contoured my face with the LA Colors pressed powder in Cocoa.
I then applied a pale pink blush.
Then onto the lips I lined my lips with LA Colors lip liner in Pinky and topped that with LOL lipstick in Kiss Kiss.
Next I went back and lined my waterline with a black pencil before applying false eyelashes. I then blended the lash band by applying Maybelline Gel liner in Blackest Black.
And here is the video if you want to watch how I applied it. Please excuse the bad editing, singing and weird faces that I make at the end of the video.
Here is a video of me doing answering the 40 beauty questions. This is a little bit of a slack post but I can never decide what to post about on Wednesdays. Hopefully I will find more inspiration next week.
This F.O.T.D. is a little different, normally I will be doing my make up for work or going out somewhere and choose to document it for my blog. This time I was bored and thought I'd have a play doing something more intense.
I started the same way as last week applying the Designer Brands Moisturising primer with my hands.
I then applied my Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Buff with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush.
Next I sprayed my face with the Australis Finishing Spray and pressed it into my foundation.
You could powder your face at this point, I forgot so I didn't do it until the end but I used the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent.
I then applied the darkest colour from the Revlon Illuminance Creme Eyeshadow in Electric Pop to my lid and blended out the edge into the crease.
I then applied a bright blue eyeshadow to my lid.
I then took a slightly deeper blue and blended it in the crease and outer V to act as a transition colour. I chose to build up the colour with this look, so that I didn't go too dark too fast.
I then blended the edge with a clean fluffy brush.
Next I added an even darker blue to the crease and outer V. I went back into the transition blue and blended the top edge.
I then used a black with blue shimmer in the crease and outer V into the outer edge of the lower lash line.
I then used the same shadows under the eye.
I added under eye concealer to help shape the lower shadow. I used Wendy Hill's A Good Nights Sleep.
I also highlighted my inner corner with a pale blue.
I then went on and filled in my brows before coming back to smudge a covergirl black pencil liner into the lash line. I smudged over it with the black with blue shimmer.
I then lined my waterline and tightline with Maybelline Gel Liner in Black.
I then added Revlon Growluscious Mascara.
I foinished the face with my LA Colors Contour Powder and a pale pink blush and also a highlight.
I then wore a nude lip using L.A. Colors lipliner in Nude, Wendy Hill lipstick in Au Naturel and a nude gloss from Models Prefer.
Please watch the video to see exactly where I placed the eyeshadow. Sorry it is a bit long but feel free to skip throught to the bits you want to see.
This is an empty product review of the Skinfood New Zealand Cleans All Cleanser. I hauled this about a month ago and just finished up the bottle so I thought it time to give it a review.
You may think 1 month isn't very long for a cleanser to last but this really is a Cleans All. I use it in the morning, to remove my make up at night and then also to do my second cleanse to make sure my skin is clean.
I really do love this cleanser, before I started using it I had been using quite active cleansers to combat my acne but this left me with dry patches but still oily and spotty. On top of this my skin is always dehydrated because I never drink enough water. So I set out looking for a gentle cleanser just to use in the morning when I don't need a powerful cleanser. I got this and fell in love with it and it is now the only cleanser I use. I do still use other exfoliaters every now and then.
It leaves my blemishes feeling calmer my skin is clean but not dry and tight. I find my moisturisers absorb better into my skin instead of just sitting on top. I can genuinely say I would re purchase this product because I already have. Often I say I would re purchase a product only to be beaten by curiosity or pretty packaging and I end up buying a different product. But I love this cleanser so much I bought a new one as soon as I finished my first bottle. I get it from The Warehouse for $12.99.
I'm not saying this is a magic cleanser that will get rid of all your blemishes, but it definitely soothes mine and I feel like the pimples I do get are smaller and disappear more quickly as well as not being as deep.
Because this is an all in one product I find myself never skipping out on washing my face. I used to be terrible at keeping up with washing my face especially in the morning because it would dry out my face, but now its so easy to use just one product and my skin actually feels nicer and any sore pimples I have hurt less.
At $12.99, why not give it a try even if you only use it as your morning cleanser or make up remover.
Here is a video of me rambling about how much I love this product, I think it shows I genuinely love this product. Sorry its not edited but its under 10 minutes.
I did this make up for work, it is quite natural, but a little different with a bit of purple thrown in there.
I forgot to take a before photo but if you watch the video you can see my beautiful no make up face.
I started off with the Designer Brands moisturising primer because a few of my spots were a little dry and this primer helps to stop my foundation clinging to them.
Next I applied Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Buff using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush.
I then sprayed my face with the Australis Make Up finishing spray and buffed it into my foundation a bit to make sure my foundation was blended well.
Next I applied a pale shimmery pink to my eyelid and then a bright purple shadow into my crease and outer V, I then blended it. I also applied a small amount of the pink to my brow bone. And defined my lower lash line by applying the purple to the outer corner of the lower lashes.
I then did a thin, slightly winged liner with my Maybelline liner.
I drew in my eyebrows using the Rimmel Eyeshadow in Dusk and then set them with the L.A. Colors clear mascara.
I set my foundation with the Rimmel Saty Matte Powder in Transparent.
I contoured with the L.A. Colors pressed powder in Cocoa.
I applied a pale pink blush to my cheeks and highlighted my cheeks with a skintone shimmery shadow.
On my lips I am wearing L.A. Colors auto liner in Nude and Wendy Hill Lipstick in Au Naturel, as well as a little bit of a nude Models Prefer Lip gloss.
Here is the video, if you want to watch me ramble on whilst I apply my make up.
To make up for missing last weeks Manicure Monday, today is a double whammy. I am doing a step by step nail care routine and also a nail tutorial for this look.
First off, let's start with nail care.
Step 1: Trim nails with nail clippers. You only need to do this if you are wanting to shorten your nails dramatically. Make sure not to cut your nails too short.
Step 2: Using a fine grit nail file, file your nails to remove sharp edges and get the exact nail edge you want. This is the point where you can make your nails round, square, pointy etc.
Step 3: Remove excess cuticle. See the video for my rant about what you can use to soften your cuticles.
Step 4: Trim off any hang nails.
Step 5: Buff your nails to remove ridges if you have any. You can skip this step if you want to.
Step 6: Remove any oil from your nails using a cotton pad with nail polish remover on it. This is an important step because if oil is left on the nail, the nail polish will not bond with the nail and it will not last.
Now on to the nail tutorial.
Step 1: Apply a base coat. This will help your manicure last longer and prevent staining.
Step 2: Apply the colour you want for your border all over your nail. I chose O.P.I. Kiss me on my Tulips. I only needed one coat to get the opacity I wanted. If you need to apply two coats, go ahead and do that.
Step 3: Make sure your border colour is dry and then go in with your middle colour. I chose O.P.I Fly. Apply this like you did the first colour but leaving a 2 to 3 mm border of your first colour at the cuticle and side walls. Let this dry and then apply another coat to reach your desired opacity.
Step 4: You can at this point choose to leave it as it is or make a full border by painting your first colour on the tip of your nail as though doing a very thin french manicure. I chose not to.
Step 5: After making sure your nails are at least 90% dry, apply a top coat. Then once it is dry, your manicure is complete.
I would like to add a little disclaimer about the video. This is the first time I have ever recorded myself on camera and you may notice I stumble over my words and ramble quite a lot, so please do not judge. Also the pink does not show up true to colour in the video, it is an almost neon pink. The photo does it more justice.
I missed my Manicure Monday this week so I thought I'd do something fun for Whatever Wednesday. I have attempted the no mirror makeup challenge and I filmed the process so you can see that I didn't cheat.
Other than almost poking my eye out, the finished look was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting.
Close Up
I wanted to do a full make up look to really test my blind make up application. I am wearing foundation, concealer, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, brow powder and mascara, blush, contour, setting powder and a red lip.
I could have done with a little more coverage over the blemishes on my chin and my eyeliner didn't really line my eye but I think it could be fixed up to be a passable makeup look. Especially if you squint and don't get too close.
This was really fun to do, it was quite exciting not knowing how it would turn out. You should give it a go.
