HOW TO PRESS A LOOSE MAC PIGMENT USING VODKA NOT RUBBING ALCOHOL

I bought the loose pigment 'Tan' from MAC quite a while ago after falling in love with the sold out limited edition shade 'Sweet Heat' from a recent collection and realising that this was the closest dupe. I wanted it in pan form so that I could use it in a palette as it is much less messy than having it loose as it literally goes everywhere (I ended up with a gold glittery camera after photographing and filming this tutorial!). I hadn't previously pressed an eyeshadow before and was unsure what liquid to use for it as any tutorial I had came across said to use rubbing alcohol which as far as I know isn't avaliable in the UK. I asked in many different pharmacies and most people thought I was meaning white spirit (which definitely isn't suitable for the eye area). After extensive research I decided on using vodka as it is a pure and once most of it evaporates, hardly any residue is left and any that does is safe for the eye area. If you decide to use a different fluid, please make sure it is safe for the eye area before using it!

How to press a loose eyeshadow steps (I have done a video tutorial too which you can watch below)

Put some loose eyeshadow into an egg cup- if you are using a MAC loose pigment, about a third of the pot will do, meaning you will get three eyeshadows from just one pot

Add a very small amount of vodka and mix until there are no lumps and it is a smooth, thick paste

Scoop this mixture into your empty metal pan and spread out to all of the edges

Place a muslin cloth or piece of kitchen roll over the eyeshadow and use a 2p coin to press down on it to make sure it is compacted

Leave this to dry overnight and then pop into your eyeshadow palette

For my metal pan, I used a Natural Collection eyeshadow from Boots and removed the eyeshadow from inside it before lifting out the pan. Depending on how much glue is used to stick it to the pot, you may need to use a candle to melt the glue before lifting it out. The Natural Collection empty pans are the perfect size to fit in a MAC palette (I had to use a bit of force to push it into my palette- simply replace the cloth and 2p coin and push down to get it into the palette. If you want to keep the crushed up Natural Collection eyeshadow, this can be reused by putting it into a clear nail polish to turn it into a personalised DIY coloured nail polish!

I filmed this DIY tutorial as a video too which you can watch below if the step by step photos aren't clear enough for you. It is very easy to do but make sure you don't use too much liquid and ensure you leave it to dry for long enough to get the best results!

THE TWO COLOUR MAC SMOKEY EYE USING 'SHROOM' AND 'CLUB'

This is my two colour, everyday smokey eye which I have been wearing pretty much every day for the past week, it's so quick and easy to do and looks like you have put a lot more effort in than you actually have. I used the colours 'club' and 'shroom' from MAC which are both recent purchases of mine which I have been loving using.

After using the Urban Decay primer potion all over my lid, I use my MAC 239 dupe brush (check out my blog post on £1 brush dupes here) to put 'Shroom' half way across my lid and in the inner corner of my eye. I then used the MAC 217 brush to put 'club' in the outer corner and blended it out into the crease. I love club as it is a duochrome colour which changes from a brown to a silvery grey blue depending on which angle you look at it from. Club blends out to a brown colour but then using the same 217 blending brush I patted on the colour in the outer corner to build it up and add more pigment and vibrancy. This colour packing makes it a more intense dark silver/grey colour as opposed to brown. After this I just take a little bit of what is left on my brush and put it under the eye near the lash line to pull together the whole look.

What do you think of my two colour smokey eye? Have you tried MAC 'club' before? What is your favourite MAC eyeshadow?

HALO HAIR BRAID TUTORIAL

Just a quick blog post this morning to show you how I did my hair today. I was watching Lauren's halo/heidi braid hair tutorial whilst I was doing my makeup this morning and thought I would give it a go as I've never done anything like it before and I really liked how it turned out! 

I'm off to Brighton this afternoon with my mum for a surprise birthday/mothers day out for her and I'm going to try and film what we get up to and I will put it up as a vlog on my YouTube channel. I spent a while yesterday re-ogranising and having a massive clear out of my makeup- my room feels so much bigger now that I've cleared lots of space!

What have you been up to this weekend? Don't forget to check out Lauren's video!

 

 

Avocado, red onion and chickpea sandwich recipe

When I was making my lunch the other day, I thought I would get out my camera and film/photograph it for a blog post and YouTube video (much to the confusion of the window cleaners!) I decided to make a chickpea, avocado and red onion sandwich and I also added a bit of balsamic vinegar to add some flavour to it. This would of been lovely with some plum tomatoes in it too but unfortunately I didn't have any to add.

I hope you like the video below too, I've had so many lovely comments from people saying that they like how I've been filming and editing my videos since I've got my new camera so thank you if you've commented saying that!

easy and healthy peach and raspberry smoothie recipe

for a bit of a change I thought I would post a recipe on here.  It's perfect for warm days as it's nice and cool thanks to the frozen raspberries.
You will need:

a banana

a ripe peach

frozen raspberries

milk (I used lactose free but you can use whatever milk you normally use)

a blender

simply blend it all together and you've got yourself a delicios and healthy peach and raspberry smoothie. I did a quick (literally two minute) video below showing you how to do it which I'd love you to watch. Here is a link to my YouTube channel too!

 
           

Easy polkadot nail art tutorial for beginners

I get 983920 daily requests (no exaggeration) for me to do the occasional nail art tutorial on my YouTube channel so I thought I'd give in and do one for you! I kept it simple and decided to do an easy beginners polkadot nail art tutorial which everyone can do (yes even you!) so please let me know what you think! 

As I mentioned in the video here is a post I did on DIY dotting tools to save you buying them but if you wanted to just buy them here is a link to get them very cheap on eBay!

Seeing you recreations make my day so please email them to islay_xx@yahoo.com or tweet them to @islaay_x, I always RT them!

ps so sorry about the music- I know it's a pain! I've downloaded loads of different ones now so look out for them in the next video I do!

easy cherry nail art tutorial

It seems like FOREVER since I last did a nail art post, to be honest i've hardly done anything exciting on my nails recently so I haven't had much to post about! I was inspired to do these from the new issue of my favourite magazine Company. I didn't take step by step photos because I felt Company did a good job and theirs are clearer than mine would be! They're nice and summery which I like and they stand out as they're very bright and perfect for holiday! I think I'd prefer them with a mint green or pastel pink background as I'm not the biggest fan of white nails on me but I still think they look okay with the white!

Please let me know what you think of my cherry nail art!

everyday hair routine for long wavy hair

I always get loads of comments and questions on my hail (I don't know why as it's a mop most of the time and I hardly even brush it aha!) My hair is very long and wavy and can be frizzy at times. I also haven't had it cut in almost a year, shhh don't tell anyone!



OH AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 1,000 YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBERS WOOOO!



I was sent the ghd style and protect gift set for review purposes and I have featured it in a fishtail plait hair tutorial post. This does not influence my opinion and it is 100% honest as always

magic scratch paper inspired nail art tutorial

The Lady Boys of Bangkok have teemed up with Bad Apple Cosmetics to allow me to do a fun nail art tutorial for you all! I've done something a bit different inspired by that scratch paper you used to get as a child where it would be colourful underneath with a black layer on top which you would scratch off in a pattern to reveal the bright colours underneath! This is very different to my usual pretty floral nails so I hope you like it for a bit of a change!
Also how do you like this layout for a tutorial? Is it good or shall I stick to how I normally do the photos and put it into a grid?

♥ start off by painting a base coat to protect your nails- I used the top and base coat from Bad Apple Cosmetics

♥ paint random colours on your nails in whatever pattern you want (this can be as neat or as messy as you want it to be as it will be covered up! I chose to use 'mint candy apple' by Essie and 'barn' by Bad Apple Cosmetics as they were a nice contrast to the colour I used for the top layer

♥ using striping tape (mine is from the Rio professional nail art collection* but you can find it cheap on eBay/amazon) to make a pattern of lines across your nail. This must be done when the polish beneath is completely dry and I'd wait a good half an hour if I was you before putting the tape on to prevent the polish underneath from peeling off once you remove the tape!

♥ Paint a thin layer of the top colour over the nail- I used 'almata' from Bad Apple Cosmetics. While it's still wet peel away the tape, I find it's easiest using tweezers as it can be quite fiddly at times as the pieces of tape are tiny, sticky and covered in nail polish- loveeeely!

♥ once it's all completely dry finish with a top coat to prevent chips and make it last longer- I used the Bad Apple Cosmetics top and base coat to finish the design off

this is a very versatile design as you can use any colour combination you want! I like using the striping tape as it's fairly easy to use and gives very precise lines which would be very hard to make with a striper brush.

The Bad Apple nail polishes retail for £9.95 and are available here

You can check out the Lady Boys of Bangkok's Facebook and Twitter pages too to find out more

I was sent the Bad Apple Cosmetics nail polish to feature in a nail art post but this does not influence my opinion on them and it is 100% honest as always

easy fishtail plait hair tutorial and ghd style and protect gift set review

I got literally sooo many comments asking me to do a tutorial on how I style my hair in a fishtail plait after I wore it in some outfit photos and a video a couple of weeks ago. It's literally so easy to do and I love wearing it with a bright lip, chunky gold jewellery and some eyeliner!

I filmed it as a tutorial as I thought it might be easier for you to follow, please let me know if it was helpful to you as I haven't really done hair tutorials on here before so I don't know if it's any good for you!

The products I used when doing the fishtail plait tutorial were from the ghd style and protect gift set*. The kit contains a paddle brush, a final shine finishing spray, a straight and smooth heat protection spray and two clips. This set would make a great gift for anyone that's into beauty as it comes presented in a lovely box and ghd is such a well known hair brand! I have had my wide plate straighteners from there for over two years now and they're still going strong- I absolutely love them. They're expensive but you really get your moneys worth out of them as they last for ages and are literally so much better than the other ones on the market.

The straight and smooth spray is meant to help smooth and defrizz your hair for a look that lasts without making your hair flat and lifeless. It also contains heat protection so you can use it with your straighteners or hair dryer which is a bonus and has a big thumbs up from me. It comes in a spray bottle which I like as it gives off a fine mist instead of just squirting it out. The scent of it is nice too- it kind of  and has a nice scent to it too! The ghd final shine spray claims to give instant all over shine, smooth flyaways and control static hair. I do agree with this as it makes my hair look much more sleek and smooth than it did before! I use it after I've finished doing my hair and it comes out like an aerosol which is good for getting it all over your hair in a fine mist. 

The paddle brush is a really nice size- especially if you have long, thick hair like mine. I wouldn't say it would be that great for shorter hair as it's so big but my mum has short hair and she's used and really liked it. I don't know why but it seems to brush through my hair easier than a normal brush would but it unfortunately doesn't beat my beloved tangle teezer!

The ghd style and protect kit retails for £39.00 and is available here.

what do you think of a fishtail plait? Will you be recreating it?

the ghd style and protect gift set was sent to me for review purposes. This does not influence my review and it is 100% honest as always.

easy lace nail art tutorial

I was inspired to do these by Julia who's blog I found through instagram, she did hers a pastel pink but I decided to go with essie 'mint candy apple' for mine! They're a bit messy round the edge so sorry about that! I think these would look cute with any pastel colour as a base, maybe even one finger as each! The hardest bit was getting the semicircle in step two the same size on each finger but I guess it's not too hard and it's fairly easy to even up with the base colour if you make a mistake.

loopy bow nail art tutorial

I'd seen nails similar to these on pinterest a while ago and never actually tried them but when Helen had her nails similar the other day I thought I would give them a go! They're quite fiddly to try and get them all even but I think they're quite eye catching once you've done them!

♥ paint your nails in the base colour of your choice. I chose 'teal 2'* by nailgirls which I reviewed in my daisy nail art tutorial

♥ using a white polish create two arch shapes in the corner of each nail using a curved sweeping motion of the brush. I just used the brush on the nail polish but you could draw the shape with a striper and fill it in if you found that easier

♥ go over the line where the white meets the green with a black striper

♥ create two loops for the bow on top of the the white to make it look like it's a continuous piece of ribbon

I think these are quite unique and you could change the colours to match any outfit! Don't forget to check out Helen's blog!

Easy Cath Kidston step by step nail art tutorial

as you'll probably know (unless you're new here and in that case- hello!) Cath Kidston nails are one of my favourite nail art designs to do so here's some which I did recently!
I used essie 'mint candy apple' and barry m 'peach melba' for the base colours and the Rio nail art pens* for the details.
As I didn't take step by step photos I've created a tutorial below which should hopefully make a bit more sense as to how to do the flowers!

♥ Simply paint your nails in the base colour you've chosen
♥ Once it's dry paint vertical white stripes on top
♥ Create a few flowers by doing three small dots in the peach colour next to each other
♥ Once it's dry do the same in the darker colour on top with a smaller dotting tool so that a bit of a rim is left around the edge
♥ Do a couple of light green lines coming out the side for the leaves
♥ Do a line with a darker green polish over the top

I hope doing the tutorial like this made a bit more sense, let me know if it did and if you recreate them!