February Rate or Hate

February has been such a weird month weather wise,is it too much to ask for it to be summer already so I can buy and wear pretty floral summer dresses and denim shorts? obviously yes as its cold and I'm ill, ew. 

I'm really looking forward to March as on Saturday (2nd of March) me and my friends are going to Cardiff to see *One Direction! Later in the month its my sister's 18th birthday so I'll be going shopping to buy her lots of nice presents, I might do a post showing you what she got if she let's me and if you'd like to see that kind of post?

*Note - I know lots of people do not like One Direction, but I do so if you don't get over it!

This months Rate or Hate -

Mac Studio Finish Concealer in NW15 and Clarins Beauty Flash Balm 

Rate - 

You may have seen the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm on many blogs as I know it is a favourite among many beauty bloggers but I've had this little tester for a while as my mum was given this at a Clarins counter when buying a lot of makeup and she gave it to me. 

My skin has been hideous this month because I've been ill so I've been using Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. It gives a very matte finish which I personally don't like, but this balm has been my savior as it brightens my skin and makes my foundation have a more natural finish. 

It doesn't make your skin look to dewy or feel greasy it just leaves your skin looking bright and glowing. It does claim to 'Tighten' your skin but I don't really see these effects, that could be because I am quite young and my skin doesn't need tightening or just because it doesn't tighten your skin, I don't know. When I finish this tester I will be buying the full size version for sure!

The full size version is £29 for 50ml

Hate -

I feel bad saying that I hate any Mac product especially one that so many people love but I can't stand this concealer. I bought it under a year again when I was looking for a full coverage concealer that wasn't orange and covered my spots, so after hearing lots of good things about this I decided to pop down to Mac and buy this, something that I really regret doing now. 

This concealer claims to cover everything even tattoo's but didn't cover my spots, it covered a few little marks but not the big red spots that you don't want anyone to see. On my skin it highlights dry matches and makes my skin look cakey, I also tried using it under my eyes but it creased like nothing I've ever used before.

It also slides around my face and doesn't last even a couple of hours! I thought this was because I have slightly oily skin but then on my dry patches it looks hideous, so unless you have perfect normal skin this will not suit you.

For £14.50 from a high end brand I would expect a lot better! But I'm going to use it up anyway as I hate wasting money.

Have you ever used any of these products? Do you think the Mac Studio Finish Concealer is a horrible product or maybe I'm just using it wrong!

Eleanor xx

Nail Care and Nail Art Tips

I'd just like to start off by saying that in no way am I a nail technician or nail artist, these tips I am going to share are just things that work for me and are in no way 'rules' that you must stick to!

1. When your nail varnish starts to chip take it off, DO NOT PICK AT IT! This is something I am very guilty of as I'll just sit there in my lessons peeling off my nail varnish, but while peeling of my chipped nail varnish it also peels of layers of my nails. This damages your nails causing them to split and chip.

I like to carry round these little nail varnish remover pads from boots in my bag, they were only cheap but work well at getting off my nail varnish when I'm out and about and my nails start to chip.

2. Whenever you see people in films or TV programs filing their nails they always go back and forth sawing their nails, damaging their nails causing them to split and break. You should cut your nails with clippers or nail scissors and then file your nails one way in long sweeping motions, holding the end of the nail file gently, to achieve beautifully shaped nails.

3. If my nails are particularly short I like to gently push back my cuticles to make the most of my nails as if you don't push back your cuticles it will grow over your nails. But be gentle as they are also there to protect your nails.

4. I always use a basecoat before painting my nails as it protects your nails from being stained by nail varnish. My favourite at the moment is by Barry M and it is a Basecoat, Topcoat and Nail Hardener.

5. My last tip is to just go for it! Don't worry about making a mistake or painting within the lines as it don't matter in the end as they're just your nails. I never paint my nails very neatly I always neaten them up with some cotton buds and some nail varnish remover. So don't be afraid to practice and experiment with nail art because practice makes perfect.

I hope that this has helped some of you and normal Sunday Nails will return next Sunday. If there is any specific nail art you'd like me to have a go at let me know in the comments.

Eleanor xx

Outfit Post - Lace Skirt

I took these photo's at the weekend when the weather was beautiful, but sadly as soon as we hit Tuesday it became bitterly cold again and we lost all signs of spring. I wanted to take these photo's of what I'm planning to wear on Saturday because I am going out for a meal with my family to celebrate my Nanna's 80th Birthday.

Shirt Topshop, Skirt Topshop, Boots ASOS, Belt Old

I bought this skirt in the Topshop sale a while back for around £20, I had originally wanted to buy it when it was full price but thought it was a bit expensive, so when I saw it in the sale I had to buy it!

It is a sheer lace midi skirt with a short black under skirt and it looks so pretty when paired with a simple white shirt.

Tonight I'll be watching the BRITS and I  can't wait to see all of the red carpet outfits and star spangled performances! Are you watching the Brits tonight or doing anything nice this weekend?

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Spring Flowers

I'd just like to apologise in advance at my shocking attempt at nail art this week, my only excuse is that it was my first ever attempt at flowers and they have turned out looking rather like blobs.

If anyone asks me what they are meant to be I think I will just give them a long arty farty answer like "They are abstract flowers, showing the daze of rich colours that are scattered across the meadows of Great Britain during the beautiful season that we call spring". 

I think next week to give my poor damaged nails a well earned rest I will do a nail art/nail care tips kind of post, what do you think? 

I'd also just like to add a huge "THANK YOU!" to everyone who reads my posts as I have just hit 200 followers! I know it doesn't really matter whether you have 2 followers or 2000 followers, but it does mean a great deal to me that 200 actually want to listen to what I have to say. I should really do a giveaway a some point, maybe if I reach 500 followers or something...

If any of you do nail art I'd love to see for a bit of 'nailspiration'! Link it in the comments and I'll defiantly have a look.

Eleanor xx

How To Get The Remaining Bare Minerals Out Of Its Pot

Happy Valentines Day! I hope you are all having a lovely day whatever you are doing or who you are spending the day with. Today I was going to do a typical blogger post showing you my Valentines Day outfit or makeup, but I thought I would do something different (plus I am having a lazy day and couldn't be bothered to get ready to go nowhere).

Now we've all probably been in the situation when we've come to the end of a product but there still some trapped inside the packaging. This happened to me yesterday when I wanted to wear my everyday foundation, Bare Minerals, and I couldn't get the remaining product out but I needed to wear it so that I could go out and repurchase it. 

Any normal person would have worn a different foundation or none at all, but the cheapskate in me found a way to get out the remaining product. So I thought I'd share with you how I did it.

You will need:

1. Your product - this will need to be a plastic pot, I used bare minerals but if you use something else the method will vary.
2. Something small and flat - I used my tweezers as they were close by.

There Bare Minerals I used has the old packaging but at the end I will go through how to do it with the new packaging.

The top lid with the holes in is what is stopping you from accessing the product, so this need's to be  removed. Use you tweezers to wedge a gap between the lid and the pot. 

Keep going all the way around thee pot until the lid pop's out. This will be tight be will eventually come out with a bit of work, but make sure you are careful and hold the pot tight as it is easy to spill the product everywhere.

Voila! There you go, you can access all of that product that was trapped meaning that no money is wasted

On the new packaging there are two different places where product could be hiding, that is either in the very bottom of the pot or in between the lid and the sifter. To remove the sifter use the same method as above but to gain the product in the bottom the method is slightly different. 

Place the sifter in so that no product can escape the top and put on the lid, then turn it upside down. As you can see from the picture below there is a plastic rim just inside the edge of the pot. Take your tweezers and wedge them under that circle and slowly lift it. This little plastic circle will pop out very quickly and you could lose all of the product you were trying to get so be careful!

I hope this may help some of you and if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them! 

Eleanor xx

February Wishlist

Today is Pancake Day, one of the best food days of the year apart from Christmas Day and Easter, I spent the day with friends eating pancakes and watching films. Perfection. Anyway onto the wishlist...

Motel Crop Top and Shorts in Paisley Blue Print- £22 and £35

For a while I have been looking for a set of matching co-ordinates. While looking through the 'New In' section on the Motel Rocks website I saw these and feel in love. I love the china blue paisley print and the off the shoulder neckline of the crop top, they are perfect for spring and summer even if it is freezing cold in the UK at the moment.

Missguided Long Sleeve Off the Shoulder Dress in White - £13.99

As you can tell I am obsessed with clothes that are off the shoulder, and I first found a dress very similar to this on the Motel Rocks website but it was around £30-£40. So when I found this on Missguided I was jumping for joy. I've never ordered from Missguided before though, if you have, is it good quality? And what's the delivery like?

American Apparel Denim Circle Skirt - £40 

Ever since I saw Rihanna in her "We Found Love" music video wearing a denim skirt and matching denim bralet I knew that I needed a denim skirt for the summer. That was last year and I still haven't bought one, but as soon as there is 25% student discount on ASOS I will be getting this. If £40 is too much Topshop are also doing some denim skirts for a more reasonable price.

MAC Viva Glam Nicki 2 - £14

This is Nicki Minaj's second shade for MAC's Viva Glam range and I love it! Okay, it isn't very practical as it is lilac, but what's the harm in trying it? All the proceeds go to charity after all!

Rimmel Pro Matte Topcoat - £4.59

I have seen so many pictures on Instagram of matte nails that just look so stunning! I've seen some good reviews of this and it looks really great so next time I'm in Boots I'll be picking this up.

How did you spend Pancake Day?

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Be My Valentine

This Thursday is a day that many of us either dread or look forward to: Valentines Day. Well instead of dwelling on the fact that I will be spending yet another year without a boyfriend on Valentines Day, I thought I'd embrace the love and paint my nails to celebrate the occasion. 

Note: Personally I do prefer Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday which is on Tuesday because it means I can stuff my face with delicious homemade pancakes but I don't think that would have looked as pretty on my nails!

I used Rimmel London in 315 Ready, Aim, Paint! (Well I think that's the name) and my WAH Models Own Nail Art Pen in White.

Well however you are spending Valentines Day I hope you have a lovely day, I'd love to hear what your getting up to.

Eleanor xx

First Ever Outfit Post

So this is my first ever outfit post and its been a long time coming. Outfit posts are a lot more difficult than I first thought mainly because I don't always take pictures of what I wear.

But tonight I am off to the cinema to see Les Miserables with my family before it is too late and it leaves the cinema's (Plus its an Orange Wednesday which is always a bonus!) so I thought I'd quickly take a few pictures of what I'm wearing.

As this is my first outfit post the photo's aren't professional quality but I'm hoping to improve!

Necklace Topshop, Jumper Topshop, Leather Jacket Zara, Skirt Miss Selfridge

Boots Asos

And yes, it was cold but I'm wearing tights and a lot of the time I will be inside the cinema!

Seen anything good in the cinema lately?

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nail - Splash of Paint

This week had been quite a disaster on the nail front as my nails have got in such bad condition that they are constantly chipping and breaking, leaving me with some normal nails and some dwarf nails. 

Also this week I couldn't decide what to do with my nails, I have nearly every colour there is yet I just didn't feel like painting my nails with any of them. So I tried to do some marble nails which turned out to be a huge fail, and got so fed up that I put nearly every single colour I own onto my nails and this was the result...

Bit crazy eh? They are a bit 90's with all of the clashing colours and splattered paint but I think I like it!

A couple of people have asked about me doing tutorials, but most of the time I don't know how my nails will turn out as its all a bit of an experiment!

As there are so many colours I used it might be a bit much for me to write them all but if you want to know a specific colour or more about how I created this mess that I call nail art, feel free to ask me in the comments!

Eleanor xx