Sunday 29 January 2012

Newspaper Nails

The post title says it all and the images show you how to get them! Super easy..I haven't added any text as I think the pictures are really easy to follow but......

You must:
  • Make sure your nails are completely dry when attempting this. I waited a day for my nail varnish to dry before I tried this out.
  • When holding the newspaper over your nails, use more than one layer. If you use one layer of newspaper the ink doesn't transfer so well and just turns soggy! 
  • Hold your nail in the Surgical Spirit for at least 20 seconds. 
  • After you've completed the look apply a top coat to lock the ink in.




Surgical Sprit and a newspaper.

Leave nails to soak in Surgical Spirit for 20 seconds

Cover nail in 2-3 layers of newspaper
(works better than using one sheet)
Add a top coat to lock in the print!

What do you think of these nails, have you tried them? I'm looking forward to experimenting with other colours! 

Tuesday 24 January 2012

A Sucker for the Sales....

As much as I didn't want to spend any money on anything I didn't have to I've managed to pick up quite a few bits of jewellery this year! Not sure how or why but here is what I managed to pick up (on a second unintended shopping trip) from Topshop and Accessorize.


Bracelets Topshop were £18 now £4.50
Accessorize Nail Polish - £2
Necklace Topshop was £10 now £3.50 
Accesorize was £28 now £8.50

I've heard lots of good reviews about the Accessorize polishes so looking forward to testing that one out!

Anyone else been doing any unintended shopping recently, I know I'm not the only one!? 

Monday 23 January 2012

Monday Make Up Wishlist

Hello everyone! How are you all? I hope you've turned the doom and gloom of Monday in to a positive day. I thought being Monday and a day that not everyone looks forward to I would share with you my make up wish list! Just a few things I'm looking forward to saving up for and an exciting reason to turn a grumpy Monday upside down!

Maybelline Eye Liner - Everyone is really in to Gel Liners at the moment and after having a play around with my E.L.F Cosmetics cream liner I can see why. They make such a dramatic difference to your eyes and that is the only reason why I want this!


Clinique Chubby Stick - Not sure why but these are so tempting to me! Bizarrely enough I think it maybe because it looks like a crayon. Anyway, I've seen very good things about these chubby sticks and I can't wait to try them!


Rimmel Pro Matte Top Coat - Ever wanted your favourite polish in a matte colour? No...how about 'would you like to try your favourite nail polish in a matte colour because it might look pretty? YES...I have your solution. Originally Chanel brought out a Mat Top Coat which does everything on the bottle. With three strokes your nail varnish can go from the glossiest gold to a sophisticated matte! Now, I'm currently a beauty blogger on a budget and as tempting as Chanel may be I will go for the counterfeit Rimmel version for now which is £4.50 from Boots!


I've decided  I'm no longer signing up to glossybox purely because the £12 a month I could spend on buying the items on my wishlist - starting with the Maybelline Eye Liner! Of course, I'll be reporting back on my purchases!

To top off my temporary wish list, here is an inspirational image for the end of the day thanks to we heart it!

Tumblr_lw662d3g2w1qg7lyno1_500_large
Are any of these on your wishlist, if not what is!?

Friday 20 January 2012

Interview Nails

Interviews are scary enough without worrying about how you look to your potential employer! Painting my nails always helps me feel a bit more confident. Sophisticated, chic and proffesional nails equals to a sophisiticated, chic and proffesional attitude.

My play it safe interview nail polish colour is Nails Inc Saville Row.




What's yours? 

Thursday 19 January 2012

Blog Awards!

Hey ladies!


I mentioned yesterday that Story of Simderella was nominated for The Liebster Award! How exciting the award is for new bloggers with less than 200 followers. I was given this treasure by Lipgloss Lily who you can see here! Be sure to check her out for the latest beauty industry goss, her latest purchases and for a good read!



If you receive an award here is what you have to do  -


1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog
2. Link back to the blogger who awarded/nominated you
3. Copy and paste the blog award to your blog 
4. Reveal your top 5 blog picks!!
5. Drop by your top 5 picks and let them know you chose them by commenting on their blog!

Here are my to 5 blogs at the moment in no order! I'm not going to give them a description just to make sure that you check all of them out. They are 5 exciting blogs with extremely interesting posts! Well done ladies and keep up the hard work and fab posts!!


I would like to thank Lily for giving me the award and thank you to my followers and readers (new and exisiting)! Blogging wouldn't be the same without your comments and lovely feed back. 

This award has put my blogging mojo back in to full swing and here is what you'll find coming up on Simderella soon!
  • Interview Nails
  • What's in my make up box (yes it's a box)
  • Newspaper Nails
  • My Make up Wish list
  • How to fix a gloopy polish 
Ciao for now! xx 

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Three Hour Make up Master-class with Natasha Zaki

Hi everyone!

First of all I got an award!! The Liebster Award from Lipgloss Lily - It's a blog award for new bloggers to find other new bloggers etc. I will be sharing the award in tomorrows post! Moving on to today's post...

It's Wednesday a.k.a Hump Day so I thought I would brighten your evening by sharing what I learnt at a 3 hour beauty masterclass I attended on Sunday. Get a comfy seat this post is a long one!

The class was held off Brick Lane, was very informative and I left with a well made up face (Thanks to my MUA RJ)

The class was hosted by Natasha Zaki who has worked London Fashion Week, TV Award Ceremonies and many make up counters! She taught us how to apply a base, contour the skin, then how to create a smokey eye look and her favourite products. So to make this really easy to follow and understand I have broken it up in to the steps we took.

Step 1: Use a good moisturiser as that is what 'makes' your skin. Always use a moisturiser before applying your foundation and work it into the skin using your fingertips to get into the dry areas of your face.

Tip: If you have a oily t-zone use an oil control lotion or a primer.

Step 2: Apply foundation to your forehead, cheeks,nose and lips (We used it on our lips as we were going for a neutral look). Then blend, blend, blend. Using a foundation brush blend the foundation in different directions as this is what prevents lines. We used MAC Studio Sculpt which left the skin with a dewy look. I fell in love with it, it's so much better than Studio Fix Fluid. It felt very light on the skin, like it was barely there and did exactly what it says on the tin- left the skin looking natural and dewy.



Step 3: Apply concealer under the eye area. In the class we used MAC Studio Finish concealer we placed it on the inner eye and under the eye to finish the base. I personally don't rate Studio Finish as it creases under my eyes. Anyone have any good concealer recommendations?

Step 4: We then used a highlighter to accentuate the skin. We used Nars Cocomama Shine Stick and applied with our fingers down the nose, forhead, cupids bow, and created a C around the outer eye. Like most NARS products the shine stick is amazing and suttle at the same time. Very easy to apply without wasting lots of product. It's better to use your finger to apply a highlighter as it warms the product helping it to go on to your skin and a brush just doesn't do the same thing.

Now on to the contouring

Step 5: We applied a MAC Mineralize powder UNDER the cheek bone, down the side of the nose  and along the forehead. The key here is again to blend, blend, blend.

Step 6: Next was the blusher - We used MAC Mineral Blusher in Warm Sol to the apple of the cheeks and blended well.



Step 7: Now it was time to create the perfect smokey eye. I'm going to bullet point how we did this to make it easier for you to follow/ read! We used a Eye cature herbal eye liner as they are easy to manipulate,move and layer. As it's herbal it is actually 'healthier' for your waterline.
  • So we applied the Eyeliner to the waterline.
  • We next scribbled the eyeliner over our eye lids and blended it out with a thick brush but concentrating on the lash line area. Making sure all edges are flattened out to soften the socket line.
  • We then used a sparkly dark grey to press in to the eyeliner area. This created more depth and helps the eyeshadow to stay on for longer. We used circular motion which helps it all blend together.
  • Using an angled brush we pressed the same eye shadow under the waterline and joined it with the upper lash line to create the 'smoke' in smokey eyes. 
  • Lastly, we used Screenface Fardel Fluid. Which is a runny black liner on the top lash line. Followed by Opulash volumising mascara.
Step 8: The last step for this look was filling in the eyebrows, a touch of lipgloss and VOILA...You have smokey eyes!




It was a great experience and I will defo be attending more of Natasha's classes along with my BFF. Although everything mentioned above may be obvious it is the little things like placing the importance on blending that counts. I know in the morning before work no one has the patience to sit there blending make up but it really does make a difference!

P.S Be nice to my face it's the first time it's been revealed on le blog!

Have you ever been to a make up master-class? 

Monday 16 January 2012

Why You Should Use a Base Coat

This week I'm not wearing any type of polish to share with you so, I thought I would type up some nail fundamentals when applying your favourite polishes....

WHY INVEST IN A BASE COAT?

Now I'm no nail guru but I do use a base coat and here is why:

  • Helps the polish to stick to your nails meaning your nails polish will last longer . Bonus! 
  • It acts as a barrier to protect your nails from any damaging effect of polish such a staining and peeling of the nails (yuck)
  • They usually contain nutrients for nails such as: protein, aloe vera, vitamin e, and/or calcium. Basically a good moisturiser for your  paws. 
I use Nails Inc Kensington Caviar which dries really quickly and does the job for me! (Can be seen hiding in this post here)

Which base coat do you use?

Saturday 14 January 2012

OXY Benzoyl Peroxide Lotion - Best Solution for Spots

Happy weekend everyone! Hope you're all spending it with the people who mean lots to you, doing exciting things.

I haven't posted as much as I would have liked this week. You could say my blogging mojo went MIA for 72 hours and I'm hoping this post will bring it back. I've been busy trying to fulfil my resolutions for 2012, and you could also say that resolution number 3 is not going so well at all *sigh*. Although, my room has been tidy for 7 consecutive days, I've been making sure I'm beautiful on the inside and I have been blogging a fair bit! (Hello to my new followers!)

Well that's my Saturday Summary over, I would now like to present to you the best spot solution ever!

OXY - BENZOYL PEROXIDE LOTION - £5.10 BOOTS


You can tell this bottle has had maximum usage hit the link above to
see what it looks like in its original capacity!
Now, I didn't find this all on my own a little birdie who lives in the room next door to me recommended it as I had a few stress spots wanting to take habitat on my face. A few 'dabs' (yes dabs and not slathering your face in a product to get results) of this product, some good sleep and you'll wake up seeing a BIG difference.

This time of year with the weather changing so much this is a must have product in your make up bag to bite a spot in the but, as soon as they try to make a home on your canvas. I've used borrowed so much of this little beauty that I will be reimbursing the owner and buying myself my own bottle (whilst collecting lots of Boots points).

Do you have anything you swear by to get rid of spots?

Tuesday 10 January 2012

How To Fix a Broken Blusher in the UK!

Hello ladies, now you may wonder why I have put 'in the UK' for this blog post title.

For those of you who have searched blogs on how to do this they always say to use alcohol and in the UK we can't buy that stuff but I have found the alternative! SURGICAL SPIRIT! It's available from Boots and I'm sure many other places. It does exactly the same thing as what they call rubbing alcohol in America.. HOORAY

I'm sure you all have watched many a youtube video on this subject but the best by far is Kandee Johnsons which you can find here. Her tutorial was easy to follow and has mended one of my favourite bronzers so I am a happy lady :)

If you're trying to fix a broken eye shadow or blush I recommend you watch her tutorial but here is the 'break' down of how I did it.


What you will need:
  • Broken product
  • Surgical Sprit
  • Tissue or an old t-shirt (I used an old t-shirt. Just cleared my cupboard a few days before so had loads to choose from)
  • A Ziploc bag
  • A small brush just to tidy the edges
  • And an item to press. I ended up using a smaller blusher. You will see why in a few pictures.



1. Put your broken item in to the zip lock bag. Using the end of an old blusher brush or anything really crush all the entire product down so it looks like a pigment or Barry M Dazzle dust.

2. After you have done that you should having something that looks like the above. 


3. Pour some surgical spirit into the lid of the bottle. Now, slowly and carefully (because it stinks) pour it over the product. This is what will help it all stick back together, you want to pour enough but not too much. Just so it is dampish all over but not like a runny texture.


 4. Get your blusher or pressing item and wrap it in the tissue or old t-shirt. This is to pack the product together again so it sticks. I used a normal MAC blusher as it fits perfectly in to the bronzer.



5. Press down firmly on to the product. As you can see from the below picture it leaves a small imprint of the fibres which I wasn't too fussed about. 


6. VOILA! You have your favourite product back. I'm not going to lie this does smell a bit like surgical spirit but I'm not complaining as I have my favourite bronzer back and will get much more use out of it than I would have if it was a compact full of crumbs!

My bronzer was still damp when taking this picture.
Wait a few hours or overnight before use :)
The surgical spirit cost somewhere between £4 and £5 and I think it's defo worth having under your kitchen sink. I'm sure there are many other uses for it like creating newspaper print nails! (A post coming up over the next week). I am so so pleased to have this item back the texture of the product is slightly less powdery to how it was originally (think I used too much spirit). However, like I said it's better than a compact full of crumbs. 

Have you used this technique before, or did you do something different that I haven't? 

Monday 9 January 2012

Latest Beauty Industry Gossip!

Welcome to the first full working week for most of you! I hope your first day back wasn't too painful. To kick start Monday I have for you three exciting new products that I found out about over the weekend. I was going to do three seperate posts but couldn't wait to get the info out there so here goes!

Duri - A Girl With A Dragon Tattoo

If you have read my previous posts you will know I have been reading the Stieg Larsson triology! Guess what!? A long side the film release 'A Girl With A Dragon Tattoo' Duri Cosmetics have released a nail range inspired by the book/film! Duri is an american brand so not sure where/if we can buy them in the UK but there are the 6 colours in the collection.

From left to right
Fallen Angel
Black Diamond
Dragontini
Angels and Demons
Icicle
Frozen Fire

Benefit & Diet Coke

Diet Coke have done it again first it was ASOS, Karl Largerfield and now it's Benefit! They have teamed up with the fabulous beauty range to create another three limited edition cans called the 'Get Glam' collection. Each can relates to a different look over on benefit.co.uk and then linking to three different sets of products! For every limited edition can you purchase you get £5 off online if  your basket totals up to £20 (until March 18th 2012). Below the pictures I have put which look each can represents. Without looking at the products Romantic Look is my fav can.

The three look are from left to right:
Romantic Look
Fashionista Look
Rock Chick Look



Stella Mccartney - L.I.L.Y

My third and final bit of gossip for you to nod off to sleep to is about Stella's new perfume! Along with my dream bag which I got for Christmas I also got a small bottle of Stella Mccartney Eau de Parfum. It is one of those classic scents you can't get sick off just like Lady Million another favourite of mine. Anyway back to the gossip.

Stella has released a new perfume called L.I.L.Y. Now why is this an interesting piece of gossip you ask? Well it's created after one of Stella's childhood memories and one of those being the name. The name of this scent comes from her dads (Paul Mccartney) nickame for her mum (Linda Mccartney) 'Linda I Love You'. All together now AWW. There are also undertones of lilies in this scent too what a coincident. 

Here we have the bottle...


And that ladies (and gents if you’re reading) is a rap!

Have you found out any other goss you would like to share? What do you think of Duri, Benefits & L.I.LY, and any thoughts?



Saturday 7 January 2012

Maybelline Eyes

Maybe it's Maybelline

Well that doesn't sound cliche AT ALL! :)

Anywho, as you all know for Christmas I got a Maybelline Falsies mascara and eyeliner....



Here are the eyes I created using both the products...I LOVE a brand new eyeliner. I can never get a pencil as sharp as it is when you first buy it. Does anyone have a really good pencil sharpener? Or is it just impossible to get a really sharp pencil after your first use?

Anway, here it is...






Ohh and I used MAC woodwinked on my eye lids :)


Has anyone else used Maybelline Falsies? I really like the mascara and the eye liner is a hit!

Friday 6 January 2012

Sale Purchases!

Hey Big Spender......

This year I've kept sale shopping to the minimum - I've decided to save my pennies for bigger and better things for later on in the year!

Anyway I did however spend a whole FIVE POUNDS ££££ on these beauties from Miss Selfirdge! After having a quick after work mooch around the shops I saw these and decided they were bargains of the century and a completely necessary purchase.

A belt - Don't need to justify this obviously after eating so much in December and then being very well behaved with my eating and exercising in January I WILL need one of these (won't I). It's very cute and bows are always in fashion. That's what LC said anyway - that's Lauren Conrad for those of you don't know (tut tut)


Bracelet - A chunky bracelet perfect for adding a bit of sophistication.... I have so many big bracelets this is just another one to the collection. I have so much jewellery that I don't wear as much as I should so I'm hoping these new accessories will remind me of the hidden gems in my jewellery box.


Earrings - I'm not a big earrings person, I'm more about the bracelet and rings but these were matching and for a whole 100p I thought what the heck! 



With Spring right around the corner and beige skinny jeans still being in these are the most versatile accessories ever. You can never have too much orange, well I certainly can't. Such a warm colour that will just go perfectly well with so many things! If our weather continues to be this unpredictable and the next 6 months are as grey as the last, these will be perfect for brightening up any outfit!

Did you manage to find any good sale bargains? Do you also own lots of Jewellery you've forgotten all about? 

Thursday 5 January 2012

Inspiration and Motivation for Twenty Twelve.

Right well we all know the first few weeks of January are all about keeping those New Years resolutions. I thought I would share mine with you and some inspiring images to prevent you from breaking yours!

Resolution number 1: Be beautiful on the inside and the out. 

This will consist of drinking lots of water, eating vegetables, going to the gym whilst cleansing, toning and moisturising. It also means being a good person and not being selfish, greedy or jealous.

Tumblr_lx0tncujfv1r1byrmo1_500_large

Resolution number 2: Just keep blogging, just keep blogging, just keep blogging (As Dory from Finding Nemo would say.)

I vow to keep you updated on all things beautiful.

366480356_large

Resolution number 3: Don't give up on finding my dream job


It's out there and millimetres away, fingers crossed! (PMA - positive mental attitude)

Dreamjob_blog_large

Resolution number 4: Keep my room organised and tidy...(as of Sunday)

Fuzzy room equals fuzzy mind and I intend on keeping mine clear and focused this year! 

Tumblr_ljmdwmyhaa1qch30go1_500_large

Four resolutions is probably four too many.... so to prevent me from getting all depressed by February here are some inspirational images to stop you and I from breaking them!


VANiLLA TWiLiGHT

6682dece6a01068fbdc805aa8a9c00f9_large
Tumblr_lx8thgcixq1r9nt5ko1_500_large
Tumblr_lxa5t9cltz1qhit45o1_500_large


6521850739_9d604577c2_z_large
The Chriselle Factor ›
Tumblr_lvrbamp9ox1qedcspo1_500_large



What are your resolutions for 2012?


*As per usual, all images have been kindly borrowed from We Heart It.