Pink Lemonade & Makeup: July 2015

Hey everyone! Today I am going to share how to create this blue & green ombré nail design.

For these nails you will need:

- a base coat

- a white polish or any other base colour

- at least 2 nail polishes of your choice

- a top coat (I used a matte one)

- a disposable makeup sponge (you may need a few)

- nail polish remover

- small brush or Q-tip

- and optionally, something to protect around your nails

such as glue or Vaseline or a specific product to do so.

You can use any colours and any amount of colours you like (with at least two, of course). For this look I used a light blue, a green/blue, turquoise colour, and a mint green polish.

Left to right: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear; TheBalm Hot Ticket; Revlon Nail Enamel

Mint Sorbet; Sky Blue Right Past You; Eclectic

Start off by coating your nails with a base coat to protect them.

I used Acquarella conditioner

Next coat your nails with a base coat. This will ensure the colour of the final design is more opaque.

This is an optional step, but it will make the cleaning up process easier. You can buy products to use, or alternatively you can use a non-toxic glue, which will do the same thing - you will be able to peel it off your skin along with any nail polish. Otherwise you can coat around your nails with Vaseline, which you can wipe off with any nail polish.

Next, take your sponge and paint stripes of nail polish on the sponge. Make sure all the stripes will fit the space of your nail. Paint the polish on thickly as the sponge will absorb a lot of it.

Press the sponge on you nail. If you are using glue, make sure it is dry before doing so. You will probably have to dab it on a few times. For best results, wait a few minutes before going over it again with a fresh coat on the sponge. Make sure to add more polish to the sponge before using it on each nail. You may need to use multiple sponges as they may start to dissolve if you use it enough.

Next you want to peel off the glue or whatever you are using around your nails. You can use tweezers or just your fingers.

Now just clean up any mess which was not removed with the glue. You can do this by using either a small brush or a q-tip with some nail polish remover.

Finally, coat your nails with a top coat to protect the design. I used a matte one but you can use whatever type you like.

I used the Revlon Matte Top Coat 790.

An that's it! I hope you found this tutorial helpful and give it a try. Please comment if you have any questions!

- Ella

Hey everyone! So I am doing my first post in a while. I am planning to update regularly from now on!

So today I went to my local Chemist Warehouse and in the clearance section found a ton of makeup and nail polishes from $1 to $4, so of course I had to pick some up.

The haul includes eyeshadows, lip glosses/stains, nail polishes and a foundation, from Maybelline, Rimmel, Revlon & Sally Hansen. I haven't swatched the nail polishes, but if I get round to using them I will make sure to update some pictures!

So here are the swatches. If you want me to properly review any of these please let me know, but for this post it will be just swatches and first opinions.

P.S. I was wearing fake tan which slowly faded after I wiped each swatch off, which is why my skin gradually gets lighter (lol).

P.P.S. All (or most) photos were taken with flash.

Eyeshadow palettes:

Maybelline Eyestudio in 500 "Violet"

This palette includes shimmery shadows including a white, silver, lilac and deep purple. I found these to be one of the most pigmented out of all the palettes (the picture does not do it justice). The silver is a gorgeous metallic shade which I am so excited to use!

Rimmel Glam'Eyes HD 5-Colour Eye Shadow in 025 "Victoria's Purple"

This palette has relatively similar colours to the previous, but I found the pigmentation was considerably worse, especially with the lighter colours.

Revlon Colorstay 16 Hour Eye Shadow in 540 "Inspired"

These eyeshadows also had quite sheer pigmentation, particularly in the blue & green shades which were very shimmery but did not transfer the colour well.

Rimmel Glam'Eyes HD Quad Eye Shadow in 004 "Green Park"

Despite the other Rimmel palette not being the best, I found this palette was very pigmented. However, apart from the cross in the middle the other colours are in such small shapes they are very difficult to get to! But I do really like this palette, featuring gorgeous a khaki, gold and browns.

Revlon Colorstay Smoky Shadow Stick in 210 "Flare"

My first impression of this eyeshadow was; nothing. I had to really rub the lighter shade on to get any colour, and even then I could barley see it. I don't know if this will change after a few uses, but I am not incredibly impressed.

Lip Products

Rimmel Apocalips in 701 "Stargazer"

This is a gorgeous shimmery nude lip lacquer with great pigmentation. The colour is hard to explain - it has light brown/orange undertones with gold shimmer. I would say it would be a great nude for most skin tones.

Revlon Colourburst Lipgloss in 042 "Bellini"

This lipgloss is a pretty nude orange. The colour is quite sheer but not bad for a lip gloss.

Maybelline Super Stay 10 Stain Gloss in 160 "Luxurious Lilac" and 110 "Fresh Fuchsia"

These lip stains really do stain your lips. The colour is very vibrant, and although I am not sure if they remain glossy or vibrant throughout the day, they will definitely not come off. I have included a picture after I wiped (vigorously scrubbed) the swatch off my arm.

After rubbing it off (or at least trying to):

Foundation

Maybelline Dream Wonder Fluid-Touch Foundation in 75 "Natural Beige"

This foundation is very liquid-y, but after swatching it it seems like it would give a light to medium coverage, although I cannot say much as I haven't actually tried it out yet. The colour is very warm with an orange undertone.

Nail Polishes

Lastly I will just give a little overview of the nail polishes I bought.

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in 300 "Peach Fuzz"

This is a clear polish with flecks of orange and yellow which leave a "fuzzy" texture on your nails.

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in 830 "Floaties"

This is a really pretty apricot pink kind of colour, in a thick formula.

Revlon Nail Enamel in 580 "Eclectic"

I already have a ton of similar blues, but I couldn't resist this for just $2! It is a nice aqua blue.

Revlon Transforming Effects Nail Enamel Top Coat in 790 "Matte Top Coat"

This is just a simple top coat which you can paint over any nail polish to make it matte!

And that's it! I really hope you liked this post and found it useful. As I said, please just let me know if you would like a more in-depth review, tutorial or anything else with any of the products.