Valentine's Day Makeup with Superdry Beauty

There seems to be a LOT of pink going on on this blog of late. Today's post is no exception. I've got my hands on some gorgeous Valentine's Day themed items by Superdry Beauty and, seen as though I haven't shown my face on the blog in a while, I thought I'd put together a Valentine's makeup look to share with you. I've had so much fun playing with all these amazing products. 

Products I used...

Superdry Beauty Powder Blush - Rapture Pink*

Superdry Beauty Professional Lip Paint - Electric Pink*

Superdry Beauty Professional Volumising Mascara - Jet Black*

I also received the cutest makeup bag I've ever seen in my life (Valentine's themed or otherwise) and a great size kabuki-style face brush. I'm such a fan of the Superdry Beauty packaging and the products are really rather good! Back in September I posted about my Bento Beauty Box by Superdry which was every bit as cute and quirky.

I wanted to create a really simple, soft look for Valentine's Day, but also one that is super wearable for the upcoming Spring season. The blush really is perfect for that as it gives a really subtle pink flush to the cheeks. I had to build it up a little on myself as I'm quite medium-skinned but this would be an ideal shade for fair skins. I love the colour.

Croyde Crew Neck Cable Knit* - £44.99 Superdry (Link)

All emphasis with this look was on the lips. Electric Pink really is the star of the show. As a result I kept my eye makeup almost non existent and opted for just the Superdry Volumising Mascara. It's definitely more of a daytime look but all you'd need would be a slick of eyeliner and a dusting of a neutral eyeshadow to take it into the evening. That pink lippy though.... The shade is gorgeous and extremely wearable. The formula is hydrating and really comfortable to wear.

And, finally, I can't not mention this beautiful cable knit. It's the jewel of my Spring wardrobe so far! Perfect for all this in-betweeny weather we've been having. I'm going to absolutely live in it. I've been wearing it with my acid wash Topshop Joni jeans today but can't wait to dress it up with a black skirt, opaques and Chelsea boots.

You can browse the full range of Superdry Beauty Products at superdry.com.
 They have a fantastic range including makeup, nail polish and a range of mirrors and nail tools to go with them. I'm definitely a fan. I have more Superdry Beauty to share with you in the run up to Spring.

Have you discovered Superdry Beauty yet?? What are your favourite products?? Does Valentine's Day make you think pink??

Really Easy Valentine's Day Nail Art

Check me out with another nail art post! I usually do a nail post to mark Valentine's Day, even though I couldn't actually give two hoots about it really. I'm just a sucker for a themed post so every time it comes round I try and think up something romantic I can do with my nails. This year I've taken my inspiration from Nara once again with a variation on one of her favourite designs from 2013 (and using a polish that she actually gave me - thanks Nara). This cute heart-tipped design is really different, can be done with all kinds of colours and is SERIOUSLY easy to do. It works best, in my opinion, on almond pointed nail shapes. 

The shades I used were...

OPI 'So Many Clowns, So Little Time*' as a base

and

OPI 'La Paz-itively Hot' for the tips

I love this look done on a nude base. It makes the tip colour really pop out. You could also do this with a black or a white base colour but I like the softer contrast of a nude. 'So Many Clowns' is a really sheer polish so really just adds a touch of creamy gloss to your natural nail colour. Nara used a red in her original post but I decided to go for this bright, slightly pearlescent pink by OPI just to be a bit different and because it's really not a colour I'd usually wear. 

I barely needed any special equipment to do this mani. I just did a single coat of the base shade (on top of my usual OPI Nail Envy basecoat) then painted the heart shapes on using the nail polish brush itself, going from the outside into the middle of the tip, before perfecting the shape with a thin nail art brush. You could probably get away with not doing the last step if you're a bit less shaky than me though haha. I decided to go over the tips twice to make sure the pink was truly opaque and smooth before finishing off with my Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Top Coat. 

I think this is a brilliant design for beginners or if you're short on time. It's really simple, yet really cute and 'romantic' (bleurgh). 

What colours will you be using on your nails this Valentine's Day?? What themed nail art designs did you come up with this year??

Monday Manicure #3

Good evening my lovelies!!

This was almost a Tuesday Manicure! A little late on in the day for me to be blogging but i really wanted to do something with a Valentines theme again this year (last year it was girly, pink lipgloss) and this year i wanted to incorperate it as a theme for this week's Monday Manicure!! I'll be honest and admit that i consider the whole concept of Valentines Day to be a load of marketing BULLHONKEY, but i'm never one to resist a themed post and i've been enjoying dreaming up themes for my Monday Manis and couldn't let this one pass me by!! Plus it's an excuse to get all pink, girly and romantic (even though, instead of the man of my dreams, i'll be curling up with two ferrets this Valentines.... Face look bothered though???)

So here are the polishes....

Look Beauty Nail Pops in Bling and Petticoat

(The OCD in me is SCREAMING out about the smear on the cap in this photo, but it wouldn't shift)

I picked these polishes up as part of my cheeky little Look Beauty haul in January (see the full extent of the booty i snagged in my haul post HERE) and this is the debut outing for both of them. I did buy them with the intention of using them together somehow and they seemed very appropriate to the theme this week so i decided to go for it! I got the idea into my head that i wanted to try a kind of glitter gradient effect but, please keep in mind, that i was on a moving train when i did these and didn't have all the tools one would usually associate with doing a gradient effect. However, being a Virgo, i improvised...

(In artificial light)

This manicure consists of.....

2 layers of OPI Nail Envy

2 coats of Petticoat

A single coat of Bling

Finished with lashings of Seche Vite

For the (supposed) gradient glitter effect, in the absence of any type of sponge, i started by making sure that i'd wiped almost ALL of the polish off the brush to the point that it was almost a dry brush and started brushing from the middle of each nail, out towards the tip, adding more wherever i thought it needed it. I did also dab some extra glitter onto the very tips of the nails to ensure that the ends were more opaque and emphasise the fade between polishes. It's definitely not as effective as ombre/gradient nails done the proper way, but for a fast fix option i don't think it looks too bad at all!! I'm by no means an expert at nail art and do NOT have a steady hand when it comes to fiddly stuff, but i'm learning to experiment and am getting more creative lately!

(In natural light)

Petticoat is such a pretty pale, dusky pink nude. Reminds me of ballerina slippers, especially when teamed with the glitter! It isn't wishy washy like similar shades from other brands that i've tried and was lovely and opaque after two coats. 

Bling is reminiscent of it's ruby red cousin, Dorothy (see Monday Mani #1 HERE), only the glitters are ever so slightly bigger and are the most beautiful yet subtle pink colour. It gives a lovely sparkle without being too garish or over the top (i'm still coming around to glitter in things but my interest in glitter nails is mounting). As with Dorothy, if you're using this polish on its own, two coats is sufficient but you may want to use three depending on how much Bling you fancy. 

So that's about as much warm, fuzzy and romantic as you'll get out of me. I'll be going to bed on the 14th with a pack of choccy biccies, my electric blanket and my two fur-babies. 

Have you tried anything different with your nails recently?? What colours get you in the mood for romance?? Have you fallen head over heels for Look Beauty??