With Christmas Eve falling tomorrow and New Years next week, the best time of the year is finally here! I have been posting a lot of holiday looks and how to create them, but I know that sometimes less can be more. I’m all about the smoky eye or the glitter eye, but a lot of times, something more subtle can be just as glamourous.
I received some products from Sothys Paris about a month back and I thought they were perfect for the holiday season. The brand is found exclusively in beauty institutes and spas across the world, so it has that special exclusive allure to it. This was my first time trying anything from the brand and I was very excited, especially seeing how gorgeous the products are. I used four of their products to create this look, but I mean the type of products can be found anywhere; a red lip, black kohl eyeliner, and purple eyeliner. The real stand-out was the mineral eyeliner in a gorgeous sparkly grey that is oh so pretty applied.
This look is all about the cat-eye liner with a twist. I layered the grey mineral eyeliner overtop of the black to add a bit of a pop and a ton of sparkle. For this look, I went with a red lip, but since I’m more of a nude gal myself, I have an alternate lip option at the end.
Here’s how to recreate it!
1. Working with the eyes first, lay down a nude base. You can either use an eyeshadow primer or a cream eyeshadow. I used MAC’s Paint Pot in Nubile, which was limited edition from a collection a couple years ago. Painterly would be a good dupe.
2. To add some dimension to your eyes, with a matte taupe shadow, apply this to your crease with a fluffy crease brush. The colour I used is from the Smashbox Full Exposure palette.
3. With a black liquid liner, line your upper lash line, winging it out. I used Marc Jacobs Beauty Magic Marc’er in Blacquer, which has amazing staying power.
4. With a grey, sparkly eyeliner, apply this carefully over the black, layering the two colours. I used Sothys Paris Mineral Eyeliner in Gris, which has some fall out, so make sure you do your eyes first.
5. Curl your lashes and pop on some falsies. My false eyelashes are by ELF.
6. With a black kohl liner, line your waterline. I used Sothys Paris Graphic Kohl Liner in Noir Profound. I love this liner as it’s blacker than black and very creamy. Obviously you can use any black pencil liner, but this one is quite fabulous.
7. With a purple eyeliner, line your lower lash line lightly and then smudge it out. I used Sothys Paris Intense Look Eye Pencil in Violine, which has a smudger on the other end.
8. To open up the eye area, apply a shimmery white pencil to the inner corners of your eyes. I used Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil in Crystal Flame.
9. Fill in your brows, and then with a white shadow, apply this along your brow bone.
10. Apply the rest of your face makeup and then paint on a sexy red lip. I used Sothys Paris Hydra-Glide Lipstick in Rouge Rock.
And that’s the finished look! I find the unique cat eye with the red lip to be oh so glamourous and perfect for the holiday season.
Now, if you wanted it to be a bit more sexy, swap out the red for a pink/nude lip. I used Marc Jacobs Beauty Lip Gel in Strange Magic.
Let me know if you try out this look! Also, what lip colour would you wear with this, red or nude?
One more thing, if you Like Sothys Paris’ Canadian Facebook page, they will send you a free lipgloss. Score!
Note, this post contains products sent by PR. All opinions are my own.
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When it comes to nail art, I’m more of a sidelines kinda gal. I’ll peruse Pinterest looking for some fabulous ideas, but then when I attempt to do them myself, it usually ends up as a mess. Maybe I’m too impatient to wait for the polish to fully dry, or maybe I’m just not good at art (I can’t draw straight), but nail art and Shayna just don’t mix.
Then Sally Hansen sent me some goodies from their spring 2014 collection, making their way into stores now. From gems to stripers to glitter to stencils and tools, Sally Hansen is raising the bar for nail art. Spoke too soon when you said that nail art is a passing fad? Well, it’s not going anywhere, anytime soon.
I thought I would take baby steps making my way into nail art, so I came up with two simple looks that will have you staring at your nails nonstop.
The first one involves a lot of gems, glitter, and obviously, purple! Lay down a base coat and then a few coats of a neon purple colour. I used Sally Hansen’s I Heart Nail Art Neon in Vibrant Violet. You can layer this shade over a white base to really make it pop, but I chose to just paint it on fresh.
I wanted to do something different on each finger, so on the thumb I drew on a bow using a stencil from the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Tool Kit and the yellow I Heart Nail Art Stylo (make sure you topcoat this right away as it can easily be removed just by wiping it). In the middle of the bow, I put a silver gem from the I Heart Nail Art Studs Kit. For the pointer finger I just painted a couple coats of the Complete Salon Manicure in Cheery on Top. Middle finger was my favourite because it added some serious sparkle and shine. Using Scotch tape cut at an angle, I first laid that down and then painted that top angled part with Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri in a gorgeous purple/blue glitter colour. Remove the scotch tape and then put a line of gems where the glitter meets the purple polish. For the ring finger, I just put a line of the silver gems, and then I left the pinky as just purple. Topcoat everything to seal the design. I used Sally Hansen Triple Shine Top Coat.
Since this look was literally a two-day process (I wanted the polish to be completely dry before I started experimenting), you can always just simplify it and embellish your ring finger.
For something a little simpler and girly, I created another look using a pale pink polish, a glitter nail, and then a feather on my accent nail.
Start off painting your nails with a pale pink, I used Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure in Shell We Dance (love this shade, gives you a gel finish). Because we aren’t using tape or anything that could damage the manicure, you don’t have to wait as long to start designing. I waited five hours, but that’s just me.
Using the I Heart Nail Art Striper in Black, I painted a feather on my accent nail, which honestly looks hard than it is. Because the brush is so thin, it makes control really easy. First, draw a line diagonally across your nail, and then using short, light strokes, add the feathers. For some extra bling, I just popped a silver gem at the base. Wait 10 minutes before top coating it; you don’t want to mess up the design. I felt like I needed a bit of extra glam, so I painted my middle finger with a glitter using Essie’s Hor D’eourves from their Encrusted Treasures collection.
I’m already brainstorming new ideas of what I want to do next and Sally Hansen’s I Heart Nail Art kits are totally giving me some serious inspiration. I’m not sure if these are in stores now, but they are must haves if you are into nail art. Plus, since they are by Sally Hansen, they will no doubt be very affordable.
Are you into nail art? What are some of your tips and tricks?
Please note, I was sent these products from PR. All opinions are my own.
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Let’s face it, most of us have closets overflowing with clothes we never use. Everything from old jeans to that old Catwoman costume from three Halloweens ago clutter every inch, every nook and cranny of our cramped closets, and we’re often content with leaving things this way. After all, cleaning out a closet is a daunting task indeed. But, there is one way on how you can accomplish it while having fun – by playing the classic game of bingo.
It won’t be the first time that bingo will be used to help organize things at home, as Chore Bingo often has already helped mums get children to help around the house. A press release on PRNewsWire also announced that the Cheekybingo Facebook app would allow players to interact with “Cheeky”, “an iconic bingo hostess who invites players to join her at all her favorite places, including the park, a restaurant, the hair salon,” and even as she organizes her own closet.
You too can use bingo to begin organizing your closet. Here’s how to play:
• Replace the words B-I-N-G-O with the following clothing categories: Beachwear, Inner wear, Nighttime, Going Out, Office. This will help you organize the items that you mostly need for the said categories.
• In each category, fill out the boxes with ONLY the items that you would want to organize for the week.
• Once you are done with them, cross them out. Fill in the entire bingo card and make another one for the coming week.
To further help you out, here are some tips from the experts:
Professional organizer Beth Levin suggests tidying up the top shelf since it is the usual space where shirts end up in a jumbled mess. Levin further recommends using a Slide and Stax Clothing Organizer so each piece of clothing just slides instead of tipping.
• Organized artistry author, Stacey Agin Murray advises to group similar items together as it makes it easier to find things in the closet.
• To know which items you haven’t worn yet, do the hanger trick. Professional Organizer Mary Pankiewicz recommends putting hangers backward on the rod for clothes you haven’t worn yet, then when you’ve used it already, hang it facing the front.
Organizing your clothes is similar to organizing your life. As closet guru Jill Martin would put it, “When you look in your closet and the morning and everything is organized in a way that fits your life, it’s just nice and easy.”
Please note, the above feature is a guest post.
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1. Working with the eyes first, lay down a nude base. You can either use an eyeshadow primer or a cream eyeshadow. I used MAC’s Paint Pot in Nubile, which was limited edition from a collection a couple years ago. Painterly would be a good dupe.
