May 2013 - Fashionicide // Fashion, Makeup and Beauty

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

NOTD: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star(s)

Hello hello!

A couple of months ago, I finally managed to get my hands on the famous Models Own Utopia. It appeared to be sold out in my local Boots for months on end until finally, I spotted one on the Barry M Nail Paint shelf, ha! Just shows, if you can't find what you're after, try searching the other make up brands shelves, you may just be in luck!

Today, I've painted my nails in Utopia by MO and applied a coat of W.I.P in Twinkle by Urban Outfitters.

Left to Right: Models Own in Utopia and W.I.P in Twinkle (or is it Twinkie?)

Models Own Utopia is a gorgeous pale milky shade, it's definitely somewhere in between Lilac and Greige and actually from afar it can quite easily be mistaken for a white nail polish.

I freaking love the formula! Most pale/white nail polishes can be a tad streaky which is a pain in the rear end. However, I was most impressed with this, none of that streaky business going on here. The application was smooth and an absolute breeze. With one coat, it's slightly sheer but with 2 coats, it becomes opaque.

In terms of longevity it lasts for two days, by which point you'll start to notice cracks forming towards the top of the nail. I have to say that this isn't unique to Utopia, I find that so, so many of the pale, pastelly colours I've used in the past have been exactly the same. WHY?!

Nevertheless, this is one of those rare shades that look just as good in the relative heat of midsummer (who am I kidding?) as it does in the cold of midwinter. You know how people associate darker colours with autumn/winter and lighter colours with spring/summer? Forget that: this will go anytime of the year.

Best thing is, because the base is so light you can easily add decoration on top to mix it up a bit. I love adding different glitters for when I feel I want a bit of bling, and in this case I've applied W.I.P's Twinkle over it.

Packed with stars and glitter!

I'm not sure what W.I.P stands for. However, I can only ever find this in Urban Outfitters. I guess it must have something to do with them. I purchased this at the back end of last year when Urban Outfitters were doing a 3 for 2 offer on their Nail Polishes. Bargain!

As gorgeous as it looks in the bottle, the polish doesn't quite live up to that on the nail. Maybe it's just me but when you see how packed full of glitter it is in the bottle, then see how sparsely this translates to the nail, it's just a little underwhelming. Then again, it is just a fancy top coat so maybe I'm being too critical!

The polish itself consists of two different shades of stars, turquoise and pink, with glitter of the same colour. The stars are actually a little tricky to apply as they won't go straight on to the nail, you have to dab them on. It shouldn't be too much of a problem though as the bottle is rammed full of them.

What I tend to do is apply this as a normal topcoat, allowing the glitter to spread out over the nail, then pick out some stars with the brush and use a cuticle stick to dab them on to random parts of the nail. Otherwise you'd have to apply layer upon layer of topcoat to actually get some stars on to them, and by that point you'll have gooey, icky nails!

After I've dabbed on the stars I apply Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Topcoat, this is just because the stars tend not to stick flat to the nail. Longevity wise, it's terrible. After a day the edges of the stars come a bit loose and quite easily get caught on clothes and even hair.

Everyone loves a shooting star, but not when it's falling from your nails!

Despite all that negativity, I have to admit it does look pretty epic. I'm awful when it comes to nail art, though I think I'm getting a little better at doing 'Ombre' nails, so top coats like this are an easy way to add a little fun to your nails..

Unfortunately W.I.P. Twinkle is no longer available on the Urban Outfitters website, but I prefer to see that as a good thing. When mine runs out, instead of being gutted that I can't repurchase, I'll head out to a cheap stationery shop and buy a pack of teeny, tiny, shiny stars. They'll do the same job, for much less of your cash.

That being said, I would recommend you check out Urban Outfitters' nail section as they do tend to have some lovely, unique colours at just £6. Also they have regular deals on offer, like their current 2 for £10, so keep an eye out for that too.

I've been a fan of Urban Outfitters Nail Polishes for a few years now and, as far as I can tell, they create a new line of colours every year so it's pretty much limited edition!

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Saturday, May 25, 2013

DIY: How to Ombre Dark Hair Turquoise!

Hello dolls, this post is long overdue.

Ever since I first featured my Turquoise Ombre on Instagram, Twitter and the Blog last year I've had countless ladies asking me all about it. They want to know who did it, how, what colour(s) I used, is it easy to maintain? I'll answer all these questions and more in this post!

But first, Turquoise hair is truly gorgeous. The colour itself is dreamy, mythical and enchanting. I initially Ombre'd or Dip Dyed due to an odd dream I had last year, where I was a mermaid living in Dubai! The sea had spilled over on to the streets and I was doing these weird somersaults in the water. My hair was coloured in a mixture of turquoise and blue, and as soon as I woke I thought: 'I have got to do this!' So here I am, with nymph-like hair!

So Who did it then?

Me: DIY baby!

In this post I will go through what I did and each product that was used to bleach the hair, colour it turquoise and also I'll add in a little mini FAQ. I'll mention the various dyes I have used along with photos of how they looked on my hair.

Here we go!

Left to Right: La Riche Directions in Turquoise, Crazy Color in Bubblegum Blue, Manic Panic Amplified Formula in Atomic Turquoise, Jerome Russell Bblonde Cream Peroxide 12% 40 Vol, Jerome Russell Bblonde High Life Powder Bleach and a tinting brush.

Please do not be alarmed by this long line-up of products! In a way it's a bit like cooking: it looks it's going to be so complicated because you've got loads of ingredients, but once you get into it you realise how easy it actually is! Besides, I didn't use all of the dyes at the same time!

THE BLEACHING PROCESS

As my hair is very dark, black verging on dark brown, I purchased 12% 40 VOL peroxide in order to lift out as much of the natural pigment as I could in order to apply the dye.

A little run down on the types of peroxide out there on the market:

6% Peroxide or 20 VOL - Lifts hair upto 1 to 2 shades lighter

9% Peroxide or 30 VOL - Lifts hair upto 2 to 3 shades lighter

12% Peroxide or 40 VOL - Lifts hairs upto 3 to 4 shades lighter

The higher strength the peroxide, the more damaging it can be to the hair. I approached three different salons who all declined to bleach my hair as they were worried bleaching would damage it badly. The last thing they want is to be sued by an unhappy woman with clumps of hair randomly breaking off, ha! So if they weren't prepared to do it, I'd have to do it myself. DIY style!

Fortunately I do have a bit of a background in hair dressing, particularly colouring, so I drew on all of my acquired knowledge. As my hair is fairly short, I only used one packet of bleach and one bottle of the peroxide. If your hair is longer, you may want to consider using more.

Now onto how I bleached it. You empty the contents of the powder sachet and peroxide bottle into a bowl and mix it all together until the granules have dissolved.

Next, I popped on some old unwanted clothing (don't want bleach ruining your good clothes!), wrapped a towel around my shoulders and slipped on the gloves that came with the Bblonde. This will make sure your skin is protected from the harsh, stinging bleach. Then I sectioned my hair, starting from the back, painting the bleach/peroxide mix from the mid-lengths to the ends with the tinting brush. Once each section is complete, create another section and repeat. There's no need to be precise about where you begin from on the mid-lengths, in fact for the best results, you need the opposite of precision! A clean Ombre is a boring Ombre!

Once every section was now covered in the mix, I'd check the development every 15 minutes to see how much has lifted. What you're looking for is a pale yellowy-blonde colour dominating your hair, this is the optimum colour for applying the dyes. After 15 minutes, my hair was a murky orange colour and it wasn't until the 90 minute mark that my hair reached the desired colour (also bleach stops working after 90 minutes anyway).

So after 90 minutes, my hair was mostly a pale, yellowy-blonde but there were still some little patches of orange and canary yellow dotted around. Don't be precious about this, once the dye is applied to these patches, they will be covered and actually add a bit of extra dimension to the look!

I then jumped into the shower and rinsed, rinsed and rinsed again to remove all traces of the bleach.

THE MYTHICAL PROCESS

First turquoise dye I ever used was La Riche Directions in Turquoise.

After rinsing, I towel dried my hair before giving it a blast with the hairdryer. In my experience, applying dye onto dry hair really intensifies the colour so I want mine bone-dry!

Next, you'll need to pop the towel back over your shoulders and the gloves back on your hands. Again, take your hair in sections and begin applying the dye to the bleached ends.

With Directions I've found the formula is quite thick so you don't need to use as much as you would with Manic Panic which is a little runny in comparison.

Once the dye is on, you leave it on as long as possible. Some hairdressers will say you only need to leave it on for a couple of hours, but personally I like to leave mine on overnight. If you want to take a leaf out of my book, make sure you cover your pillows with a towel otherwise they'll be a different colour when you wake up! Even with a towel, some dye managed to make it's way on to the pillow, but this mermaid wannabe wasn't bothered: I was just too excited to rinse out the dye first thing!

However long you choose to leave it in for, once you're ready just jump into the shower to rinse the excess dye off and voila!

THE RESULTS

(Ignore the blue strip down the middle, I had La Riche Directions in Midnight Blue on. You can see the Turquoise on the sides)

Hello you mythical creature!

Directions' Turquoise is a stunning sea green. It appeared quite teal-ish on my hair, not quite as a true turquoise. The longevity of this is fantastic compared to Manic Panic, it lasts just under 2 weeks before it starts to fade, bearing in mind I shampoo my hair regularly.

When it does begin to fade, it progresses on to a cool-mint sort of colour. But when it fades even further, my hair starts to look like this muddy grey-ish green! DISASTER.

I did not like this at all so I headed for Affleck's Palace in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. I spotted a woman in the CyberDog store who has the most gorgeous, stunning bluey-turquoise hair. I was like: Who and where did you get the dye from?! She introduced me to Manic Panic's Amplified Atmoic Turquoise. I bought it right there, hurtled home and slopped this onto my hair!

This is the Amplified version of Manic Panic's Atomic Turquoise. Apparently this is meant to last 30% longer than the original Manic Panic, but I haven't used that so couldn't comment.

As I said above, this is the most stunning turquoise colour I have ever come across! It's more on the blue side of turquoise which was just what I needed. It translates onto the hair as a strong, deep turquoise blue. The colour is far brighter and much more vibrant than Directions with a lot more depth to the colour.

The only downsides are the price (Purchased mine for £14!) and the longevity: this lasts over a week until it starts to fade, but it's a kind of fading I don't mind. It fades into this lovely pastel blue colour with a hint of green which looks quite nymphic.

Anyway, enough rambling, the results?

Who does she think she is? Pffft ;)

I don't know about you but I definitely prefer this over Directions in Turquoise.

The problem is the price, it's just so expensive in comparison. I did a little experimenting though and found that mixing in a bit of blue with Directions' Turquoise really enhances the colour, making it much more blue!

To get that colour enhancement I mixed these two colours together. The end result is something resembling the Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise, but in all honesty it's not quite as awesome. As this mixture begins to fade it becomes increasingly minty but doesn't quite get to the muddy green stage that the Turquoise does on its own.

I've compiled a mini FAQ of Questions I've been asked and questions some of you may have:

What colours did you use for the Turquoise?

I use either Manic Panic's Atomic Turquoise (available **HERE** for £10.50) or Directions' Turquoise (available as a four pack **HERE** for £12.81) mixed with Crazy Color's Bubblegum Blue (also available as a four pack **HERE** for £11.95). I prefer Manic Panic though as the faded colour still looks pretty good, whereas Directions' looks like pondwater!

Does bleach damage your hair?

Yes, it does! Bleach opens the cuticles and strips out the pigment from your hair. Salons refused to bleach mine as my hair is quite dark. It can be done at home but you need to be extemely careful whilst applying and you need to check the progress frequently. If you are unsure of how your hair will react to bleach, do a strand test on a tiny section of your hair. Also, look out for my review on Olaplex **HERE** - this stuff will really work miracles with your hair!

Why does your hair look lighter in some pictures?

The dyes have either faded or I've been using Manic Panic's Atomic Turquoise which is more a lighter Turquoise. On some occasions it can appear darker as I've applied the dye again whilst it's just beginning to fade. Putting dye upon dye, it all builds up thus making it look darker.

Is having Turquoise hair high maintenance?

I think it is and it isn't.

The colour will fade quickly as opposed to when you have a natural hair colour (such as chocolate brown or ash blonde).The colour will need to be topped up every few weeks. Hence why I like to use Manic Panic, I personally think the faded colour looks lovely! So in that sense, it's not high maintenance?

Also you need to start caring for your hair and it will most probably be damaged from the bleaching. Lots of conditioners and oils will need to be used!

And expect towels, floors, bed sheets and pillows to be stained! I have been as careful as possible, but this stuff really does transfer onto anything.

How do you care for the hair once it's been coloured?

With me, I struggled to get a comb through my hair. I purchased Johnsons No More Tangles Detangling Spray and a wide toothed comb which helped an awful lot. You need to be gentle with the hair, the last thing you want is major breakage!

Obviously using Hairdryers, Straighteners, Curling Tongs or any other heat-based styling tools doesn't help your hair. But I can't help but use them! After all, I've gone to all that effort to colour my hair beautifully, why shouldn't I straighten and blow dry?!

So what I find does help is slathering my hair in Coconut Oil the night before I shampoo, and leave it in over night. Then in the morning I rinse out the oil and shampoo as normal. Also, another little trick I find is to use hair oils for blow drying. It makes hair look mch healthier than it actually is! I quite like Macadamia's Healing Oil for blow drying, or Coconut Oil.

And of course, condition, condition and condition!

How can you make the colour last longer?

As much as it pains me to say it, shampooing less frequently.

However, if like me, you still want to shampoo often, mix in a bit of the dye with the shampoo and conditioner. With the deep conditioning masks, I've premixed dyes with the conditioner so every time I'm deep conditioning, the colour is already in there.

Also in terms of shampoos, I've found that using an SLS free shampoo helps an awful lot. The colour seems to fades a lot slower when using this. I quite like L'Oreal's EverPure Colour Care shampoo, because I'm worth it. *cringe*

Heat styling doesn't help much either. But with the advice above, you should be ok.

And there you have it!

Apologies for the über long post, I've received lots of e-mails regarding my hair, and wanted to cover as much of it as possible.

If I've missed anything or if you have any questions, let me know!

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Sunday, May 19, 2013

OOTD: Kimono Girl

Friday, May 17, 2013

Simple 60s MOD EOTD, FOTD and coloured lenses. It's all goin' on!

HiHiHi!

I've been stuck in a bit of a rut for a while now with my make up, particularly around the eyes. I did mention a while back that I'd been struggling to come up with new ideas to get away from the smokey eyes look, it's just too easy to do!

I realised that my current eye make up consists of a wash of MAC's Brule on the lids, flicked out top liner, inner corner highlight and roughly 5,838,483 coats of mascara.

Whilst going through the motions one morning I was applying MAC's Brule and thought: 'Sack this off!' I grabbed my MAC 219 brush and applied some dark eyeshadow to the crease, followed it around, flicked it out and blended it in a little to stop it from looking so harsh. Here's how it turned out:

When I looked in the mirror, it totally reminded me of 'Mod' eye make up, and I love the 60s era. The cut crease eye shadow, flicked out eyeliner, the monochrome fascination... Was I born three decades late? ;)

Not only does it look great, it's ridiculously easy to do! Now I'm feeling a wee bit better about my eye make up and it's given me the optimism needed to try something just that little bit different. So, I had a go at a faux bottom lash look (which can be seen on my instagram) by drawing tiny little lines under the eyes: think Twiggy. Her make up is so striking yet so simple at the same time!

EYES

Left to right: MAC Wedge e/s, MAC Black Tied e/s & MAC Brule e/s

I know, I know... More MAC. They do hold a special place in my heart though as I was a MAC fanatic when I first got serious about make up, and when you CBA using it everyday you kind of get a stockpile going.

MAC Brule

I've not hit the pan with much of my MAC stuff but Brule is another story. I heart this eye shadow just a little too much. As mentioned above it's one of my everyday shadows. I find that this instantly lifts your eyes and looks gorgeous with flicked out liner.

It's one of those 'must have' base matte versatile eye shadows. It's neutral, creamy, halfway between beige and ivory and can look lovely on the brow bone if you fancy some highlighting without shimmer.

MAC Black Tied.

I actually prefer 'Black Tied' to MAC's 'Carbon'. It's a lot softer and less harsh than Carbon and as a result is far easier to blend out. Don't be fooled by the silver glitter running through it, it won't make it on to your eye lids unless you apply with a wet brush. I applied this with the MAC 219 pencil brush to the crease, it is pigmented enough to draw on.

MAC Wedge

This is one of those eye shadows that looks a bit blah. But believe me when I say it is freaking awesome! It's a soft medium brown matte shade so it does look pretty dull. I think this was actually my first ever MAC eye shadow, I don't know what possessed me to buy it! I'm glad that I did though, I used to pair it with MAC's Concrete. This would go all over the lid with Concrete in the crease to give my eyes natural looking definition.

Nowadays I use Wedge to blend out colours in the crease. I have to say that I suck at blending eye shadows on their own, but using this with a fluffy brush like MAC's 217 or, to mix it up a bit, NARS' Large Domed brush (which is much softer than the 217). I love how this blends in so beautifully with other colours without detracting from that colour and it's almost impossible for others to notice what you've done. It gives you the 'I'm a pro at blending' look even if, like me, you really aren't!

Left to right: MAC 219 and MAC 217 brushes

These 2 brushes are also 'must haves'. I've had these babies for years and both are still going strong. Both are quite stiff, but the 219 is smaller so better for precision application, so you can see why it's called the Pencil Brush! It's amazing for applying eye shadow to the outer V or smudging liner under your eyes for the smoked out effect.

The 217 on the other hand is more of a blending tool which helps to blend and feather out darker colours.

*Elegance Blue Contact Lenses by ColourVUE

I've also had a few new followers ask me if my eyes are naturally blue. It made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. I honestly think coloured contact lenses look dead unnatural on me, but that's probably because I know what my natural eye colour is, ha!

I was kindly sent a pair of blue coloured contact lenses from the cleverly named Beautifeye.

It came with a contact lens case and 120ml of solution. These are the 3 month soft contact lenses, the ones you take out at the end of the day, squirt on some solution and rub for a few seconds. You then place them in the case and fill it up with more solutions ready for next usage.

I've worn contact lenses in the past so I found them very easy to pop in, but if you've never worn them before it might get a little tricky! In terms of comfort I must say that I found them a bit odd at first, every time I blinked I could feel an alien object in my eye followed by a flash of blue light. After a few days though I got used to them and the blue flash stopped.

The blue is electric and very dramatic, especially when combined with my desi skin tone! It does go very nicely with my turquoise ombre hair, but then again anything Aqua would!

Do blue contact lenses suit darker skin tones? Well I think it really depends on what you feel comfortable with. A lot of people tend to associate darker skin tones with dark, brown eyes and while it's true for the majority, you do often see lighter eye colours, so who's to say that blues or greens look unnatural? Think Wilhelmina Slater! (Not my kitten, the exquisitely mean editor-in-chief from Ugly Betty). Personally I feel comfortable wearing coloured contacts, it does look unnatural because of the print but I think overall it suits me!

I'll definitely be purchasing more coloured lenses in future, I find that they add an instant, dramatic effect to your look and can transform your entire facial appearance. If you feel like a change, I'd recommend it 100%.

Looking on the Beautifeye website, I see they're priced at a very reasonable £14.99. This includes the contacts, the case and the solution. One slight downside is that currently they do not offer prescription lenses, otherwise I'd be all over them like a fat kid on cake!

Next up, I'll have to venture into the world of Circle Lenses, I've always fancied attempting to create the dolly eyed look.

And the rest of my mug:

FACE

Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup in 040 Honey Beige (equivelent to NC40 - NC42)

MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

EYES

Clinique Brush On Cream Liner in True Black

L'oreal Paris Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black

CHEEKS

Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Candy

Sleek Contour Kit in Medium

LIPS

MAC Lady Danger mixed with MUA Lipstick in Shade 1

I've done quite a bit of talking on this post, but you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed typing it all up. It may be a bit all over the place but then that's just me. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane for me, to the ghosts of make up past and actually I was surprised how I still use some of the same products as I did when I first started out, just a little differently!

Now tell me what you think: are you stuck in a rut with your make up? What do you think of coloured contact lenses on darker skin tones?

*All products purchased by me except for Elegance Blue Contact Lenses by ColourVUE which was sent to me by Beautifeye for review consideration.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013

04/13 in Instagram!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Ain't Nobody Got Time Fo' That!

I love social media, I love how you can talk to and get to know people from all walks of life all over the world with common interests. I started up my blog because I was getting a bit frustrated trying to find make up that suited my skin tone, there were a fair amount of bloggers around at the time but I couldn't find many that helped me out. Back then I was relatively new to make up, and I was over the moon as I started finding and blogging about products that suited my skin tone.

What I really loved about blogging initially was the community. I mean let's face it, how many people do you know in real life that are as beauty/fashion fanatical as you? I can't speak for anyone else, but my friends were into it but nowhere near on the same level as me. So to communicate with bloggers who were just as mad about make up as I was, was fantastic!

Nowadays though, I find the scene to be completely different. There's been an explosion of bloggers meaning there are far, far many more than there was back when I started up in 2009. So getting your blog, your image or your personality out there via social media is increasingly important.

After much observation, I've noticed that competition is fierce and seemingly every other day on Twitter there are arguments between bloggers and actually it's made me feel pretty uncomfortable. I've spoken to my girl Laa Laa about this and she feels the same too, it isn't just me.

We are all entitled to our own opinions of course, and equally we are all entitled to share them. Believe me, my friends know what an opinionated person I can be! But it's a lot easier to object to something face to face than from behind a screen. In the form of texts, tweets, blog posts, emails or facebook statuses it's pretty easy to take things completely out of context as we miss out on things like tone and body language.

Something I've noticed is that constructive criticism is sometimes unwelcome, some can get quite upset over it. I struggle to understand that. The whole point of constructive criticism is to help you improve! Sure if you don't want to take it on board, fine. But to get defensive or aggressive over it, and call on your blogging clique to hop on the bandwagon is disgusting. It's bullying and it's extremely uncomfortable to watch.

This sort of thing really puts me off integrating with people on Twitter and in the blogging world. There are times I dread logging on to Twitter, half expecting to see another row erupting over nothing. I know you might say: 'Unfollow then!', but the problem is that some of these people have an amazing blog that actually adds some value to the community. Aside from the pointless arguments, I want to know what they have to say!

At the end of the day, I'd like it if bloggers just got along and sacked off the negativity. The last thing I want is for this post to be taken the wrong way, taken out of context and have people arguing with me. Equally I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but just think about it next time you see a petty squabble between two bloggers escalating into full-blown trench warfare!

I don't particularly want to argue with anyone, like the rest of the blogging world I have enough going on in my life! I'm more than happy to get into debates about anything and everything but the last thing we all need is negativity flooding your timeline just as you're getting home from work. You just want to chill out, have fun, log on to blogger or Twitter and have a good chin-wag!

I'd also like to point out that in no way is this post aimed at anyone in particular, it's just something that has been playing on my mind after years of observing. Seeing grown women (and men) arguing over silly things on Twitter is something I feel strongly against, particularly when it escalates to bullying. It's not what we got into blogging for.

Save DRAMZ for the theatre

Anyway, enough of that. I recently adopted two female kittens from a Cat Rescue Centre, I was going to take one of my mum's kittens (don't worry my mum didn't give birth to them!) but I was told that these two little girlies had lost their mother shortly after being born and it just broke my heart that they didn't have their mother during such a vital time in their lives. So I took them in, and now they have my 4 year old cat mothering them!

I was a little afraid that having three female felines in the house may result in endless fighting, but I'm happy to report that by the end of day one they were all snuggled up asleep! It was pretty incredible for that to happen as most cats wouldn't be too happy to see two younger females enter their territory, but my Baby G took them under her wing straight away.