My Nails Featured on LOOK Magazine!

STOP all the work and put Heather Small on and scream 'What have you done today to make you feel proudddd' because THIS is my proud moment of the day, if not the week.

Procrastinating this afternoon I scroll down my news feed to see MY nail 'Neon Leopard' design featuring on LOOK magazine's Facebook page!

I couldn't believe it! 

I instantly shared it in any way possible and print screened everything as well, because I'm that sad, but to me this is amazinggg!

Below you can see another of my designs that was featured on their Street Style Nails feature as well as the design on Facebook. 

Melt Candle Joy

I recently received this Melt candle, and seeing as my barely useable Glade is ready for the bin, the timing couldn't be better.  

I am always burning candles, they are soothing, and they just create the nicest relaxed atmosphere, which definitely makes sitting in bed all evening doing work a lot nicer. 

Melt is based in the UK, selling all things smelly (in a good way) for your home, each with their own unique fragrance. I have never seen such a mixture of scents, but just the sound of them makes your nose perk up and the over whelming need to have a bath surrounded by each one grow. 

My Melt is called Joy (pictured above from the website) and it smells just how it sounds.

It contains citrus, musk, iris, rose and lily, so it's mainly floral with a hint of summer spritz and a base of earthy tones. 

It came in a gorgeous cylindrical box (pictured above) with a bit about the candle. 

The candle itself is cream, with the logo on one side and a nice little motif on the other. 

The design is sleek and neutral so it fits perfectly in any room. 

Once lit the wax melts, the oils burn and the infusion drifts with a subtle, but not too over powering aroma.

I can tell I will be burning this for a long time! They are just the perfect ambience, meaning Melt Scented candles are the perfect gift for Valentine's day. They even have a 'love' range, ideal for a bit of luxury romance. 

(pictures above my own.)

The links to all their websites are below.

Website here.

Facebook here.

Twitter here.

Pinterest here.

I am working on some other gifts for Valentine's day post, so keep coming back!

Julian Hakes Mojito Heels

This is my love of the week, strangely found by my mum, a wacky one off design which was never even meant for the fashion world.

Julian Hakes has been kicking up a storm in the blogger network recently and if you don't already know who he is or what 'mojito heels' are, here is a little bio. 

He started out as an architect, but posted a rough draft picture of these heels on a design blog, where they went viral. 

After millions of views, plenty of baffled stylists, fashionistas and bloggers were scratching their heads over these futuristic pumps. 

Agencies got in contact and a model wanted a few pairs for a fashion show.

It soon dawned on Hakes that he might actually have to manifest these shoes into reality, and fast. Fashion waits for no one.

After 2 years, the design has been tested and perfected to create the sleek, elegant and light heels and his first collection was born!

Definitely designed for the fashion bold, I think these would be a pair that even Carrie Bradshaw was weary of, however they are an innovation into a new shoe generation and I think I speak for most of us when I say I wouldn't mind trying on a pair!

To find out more visit hakes.co.uk.

Splatter Effect Nails + Tutorial

I saw some splatter effect nails on instagram and had to try it. After watching a few tutorials, I thought I got the hang of it, however it was definitely a learning curve! But we got there in the end. 

What you'll need :

Nail Polish (obviously) 

I used white as a background colour, with 4x bright shades on top (below)

Straws

 cut into bits of about 3 inches long

(I tried it first using a normal sized straw and it just didn't work)

Napkin

This can get messy so do it on your bed or the floor, use a surface you don't mind getting dirty!

Put the base colour on your nails, you don't even have to let it dry before you start splatting, sometimes it works best wet.

Once you've got your base coat on, and your straws are cut, and the napkin laid down, take your first colour and dab a drop into the end of a straw. 

Try and get a good sized dollop inside and hold it upright for a few seconds so the paint goes in a bit. This is to make sure when you start blowing some will actually come out!

Once you've done this, start blowing! Don't hold the straw too close to the nail, or this happens...

You want light spats like this (below) so hold it about 2 inches away from the nail. 

A steady hand and good aim is best when doing this!

This is my first attempt on one hand. 

My second attempt went better once I got the technique right! 

As you can see it goes everywhere, but its all good fun!

Once its dried, take a cue tip, dip it in nail varnish remover, and rub off all the unwanted splats and marks and errors around the nails. 

And there you have it, easy peasy splatter effect nails!

My next attempt is going to be gradient nails, so stay tuned!

Nail It

If any of you have seen my Instagram, you might have guessed, I'm pretty obsessed with my nails at the moment. Boredom and any excuse for a creative outburst means I try and do them as much as poss. 

Despite my lack of funds (just paid for a week holiday in turkey- ouch) I have also recently purchased a 24 piece nail design set from eBay, so expect many more designs to come!

Here a few of my latest.

Everyone thought this colour splash design was stick on, but no! It's so easy to do as well, just dot randomly around your nails with different colours, filling in the gaps, until you have a fully covered colourful nail! 

This one was also real easy to do, start out with a base coat, I went with white, and sweep the brush diagonally across the nail to get this effect. I broke it up by using a crackle effect on one nail which really adds to the whole design. 

I did these simple metallic tips with a normal gold varnish to spice up the traditional manicure. 

And finally, I did this for the Motel Rocks Nail competition in association with Nail rocks. The theme was summer so I went with leopard print, a palm tree, daisies and tribal, using pastel base coats and decorating with different colours and the liquid eyeliner trick. I also wrote Motel Rocks just to butter them up a bit, the prize is clothes and nail wraps and it ends tomorrow so fingers crossed!

Like their Facebook Page for more competitions and offers like this.

Super Scrimping nails

Another nail post, but I couldn't help myself, this top tip is too good not to share. Whilst at a friends a few weeks back, an episode of 'Super Scrimpers' came on. Not a programme I usually care to watch, however, filled with money saving ideas, one in particular grabbed my attention, and the idea was so simple!

The hype of nail art has hit a high with everyone giving it the DIY treatment, but have you noticed how expensive those little bottles of varnish with the tiny nail art brushes are? You could always order them in bulk from eBay but why not just use something you probably have lying around? In this case, liquid eyeliner. 

Most of them have small brushes, but I prefer my fine liner eyeliner from H&M, does the trick nicely! Simply put a coat of colour on, and depending on what style your doing (I have tried leopard print and tribal) put some dots or lines of a different colour and then draw a design over the top! 

There are loads to have a gander at on the internet for some inspiration, and once you've got the hang of it, the effects are impressive! You can try it with different styles, colours and designs, the possibilities are endless! 

To stop the eyeliner from smudging I put a coat of clear Top Coat on and this makes the design stay on for longer as well.

Some of you might already be doing this technique but those of you who didn't know, why didn't we think of it before? If you've got some eye liner lying around and feel like procrastinating, give a bit of nail art a whirl! 

(My right hand required intense concentration, so if your not so good at one hand than the other maybe get a friend to finish it off for you!)

If you have given this tip a go, take a photo and send it to me, or just let me know! I would love to feature the best ones on here :) 

Nicole Farhi Event at Harvey Nichols

               

Just a quick post about the event I attended the other evening at Harvey Nicholls showcasing Nicole Farhi's new Spring Summer collection with the designer herself as a special guest! Champagne was handed to us on entry (I could get used to that) and we took our seats among the increasingly bustling scene in the ladies wear department. 

Canapés were then handed out and as things got under way the chatter diminished and Nicole took her seat in front of the crowd along with the host. 

A run through of some of the designers favourite outfits from her collection were presented to us with a short description about the inspiration, the design, the style, the colours and even the construction of the garments. (below)

 This print features in a few of Nicole's pieces, the florals patterns and tones would look perfect in a Spring wardrobe. 

 Nicole sat next to the host, a freelance journalist in Manchester, who described what the models were wearing.

 I loved this jacket, made from parachute material and lined with mesh it fits perfectly into the sport chic trend. 

 Another popular print, grid like texture, belted with a hat screams effortless elegance. 

  This was definitely my favourite, the white floral laser cut shift dress, although I wouldn't have gone naked underneath as the model dared to do. 

 After the presentation, the guests got a chance to shop the collection with a special discount. Despite my love for the structured peach dress, (£350) the price tags were a little over budget so we just admired the models (below) and pondered how they could be real?! perfect skin, hair and the clothes to match, we were almost starstruck. 

 

 Our jealousy and lack of funds quickly drove us out the door and into the loving arms of Boots, were I proceeded to spend a hefty amount, including my very first pot of anti wrinkle cream! (post to follow) But back to the event, all in all, it was nice to see the collection and amazing to see the designer up close, but unless you had the bottle to go up and talk to her, there wasn't much else on the agenda! 

We attended this event through manchesterfashionnetwork.com. I would recommend an RSVP to local events as they are a great way to network especially if your a fashion blogger!