Halloween Nails

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Last year, I went all out with Halloween, outfit, nails, the lot. This year I have neglected Halloween a bit due to my busy schedule, but I couldn't resist looking at a few nails online. Last year I did pumpkin halloween nails however last year I was still at uni so this was acceptable. This year I spent my Halloween in client meetings so had to stick with a plan nude, no pumpkin nails this year for me.

I am going to share with you some of my favourite halloween nail art I have found online when researching. I LOVE nail art and have previously done penguin nails which I will show you at the end of the blog. I always have my nails painted, regardless. I normally go for purply and pinky shades, but at the moment I am loving nude shades. I am currently wearing a muddy nude/brown colour and it goes with everything. I also love bold colours such a minty green as they can really stand out from an outfit.

In the Halloween season, these are some of my favourite nail designs:

Let me know which one these nail art's are your favourite and which you would try. Also if you have tried any before let me know, I tried pumpkins last year, but I love the skeleton and fake blood effect. These type of nails would only be suitable on Halloween however, and I do not recommend these for everyday nail. Unless you like fake blood and skeletons of course.

Penguin Nails

As I said earlier in the post, I have painted my nails like penguins before. I also did this last year and have now done this twice as it was such a massive hit with people. I love penguins and when I found out how to paint my nails like them I was super excited. They did look really good, but the only thing was the time it took. Obviously as you all know nails can take a while to do well, and my worst pet hate is when nails smudge. 

The penguin nails were done in about 5 stages and each stage the varnish had to be completely dry because I was painting white on black. In total the nails took about 4 hours to do, but the result is really good.

These nail's weren't stick on and a lot of people thought they were fake but I promise you I did them myself. The black varnish went on first and then I painted half my nail with white nail varnish and filled in the rest with a hair grip of orange, white and black to make the features of the penguin. See the final outcome below:

If you would like I can do a blog post on how to get these penguin nails looks and the stages of me doing it, let me know if this is something you would like to see and I would be happy to do it. Plus it gives me a chance to do my nails again.

So, I hope you enjoyed this post and have a great halloween whatever your plans!

Cya x

Puppies Names- Help Needed

Hello you lovely people,

I have a lovely little dog called Daisy back at home. She is a wire haired fox terrier and is the sweetest little dog, she will sit around at your feet but she needs a friend. I have now moved out, and with my sister away at University it was decided that Daisy should have a little play mate, a new puppy.

We decided to go with another terrier as it was the same breed as Daisy, but a different type because we didn't want two of the same dog. We got a call that there was a litter of the breed that we wanted and at the weekend we went to visit them and the mum. I remember the first time we saw Daisy and she was so tiny, I couldn't wait to see this new litter.

The litter was all the way in Ipswich which is very very far from my hometown, and about 3 hours from London which is were my Dad picked me up from. We EVENTUALLY got there, and were greeted straight away by Freya, the mum of the pups, a lovely looking dog with the most beautiful eyes looking up at us. Another thing I noticed was how fluffy she was!

After a lot of playing with Freya, it was time to see the pups. They were so cute! They were absolutely tiny as they were only 4 weeks old were about the same size as your hand. Look at your hand right now, they could fit in that. The puppies were jet black and were falling all over each other, trying to scramble around. We were not able to pick a specific puppy, but the rest had all been sold already and we were guaranteed one. We decided to go with a girl, as we already have one. We are not allowed to pick the puppy up till 8 weeks, so when we see it next time, it should be a lot different.


The next big debate we had was the name. This process is MUCH harder than it seems and we are still undecided on a name. As our current dog is called Daisy, we didn't want one too similar to that, and a lot of the nice dogs names we were picking out ended in an 'e' sound. It got to the stage where one of us always hated the name. We firstly decided on boo, then seeing the dog it was changed to Ivy or Willow. I thought it was stuck on Ivy till I got a phone call saying I now had a choice between 5 name which has Irish connections because of my family's heritage and the dog's heritage.

On Sunday I got a phone call from my Mum and Dad saying they had chosen 5 names, and me and my sister needed to rank them on a scoring system as they had and from favourite scoring 5 points and least scoring 1. At this point, I thought this was getting to extreme and turning into a game show. But it was funny how it has come to this and I rang my sister to explain what she had to do. How can a dog's name cause so much fuss!

The 5 names were shortened down to
1. Erin
2. Cara
3. Orla
4. Tara
5. Kirby

Now, I was still in favour of Ivy, but out of these my favourites were Erin & Orla. We thought this scoring system would actually solve the issue, but in fact it ended up as a tie. It was between Erin & Orla, so now we are back in the same position and stuck between names.


So I put it to you! PLEASE HELP US choose a name for our puppy. Do you have a favourite of our shortened down list? Or any favourites yourself? We would preferably like an Irish name and one that can be called easily for the puppy to recognise her name, matching it with a distinctive sound.

We won't pick the puppies up till 8 weeks old, and I won't actually be home till around christmas time to be with the puppy, but will keep you updated on the name situation and will take lots and lots of photos of her for you.

Below I am also going to share a video with you of the puppies at 4 weeks. So much cuteness!

Cya x

Banksy- New York

I am a huge fan of Banksy, I love his work, and I love the fact his identity is kept a mystery. I think it's fascinating that no body knows who he is, and wonder how much longer he will remain unmasked. There are many theories out there to who is he is and one has come out very recently actually if you are keeping up to date with his latest antics in New York.

If you aren't aware, Banksy has taken over New York during October, hosting an open air exhibition entitled 'Better Out Than In.' He is attempting a piece a day and many pieces around the city have already been spotted and captured. However what I find shocking is that most of the pieces have already been vandalised. I find this very disrespectful and have watched the video of graffiti artist named 'Omar' ruining the recent ballon piece Banksy has created. The footage was captured, and rightfully there is a huge backlash against this jealous artist. As well as this, many of his pieces in New York have also been vandalised and the majority of them have been ruined.

Of course this is expected and Banksy openly admits he knows he is hated by other artists, but I find it so disrespectful. It is ruining it for other people who would like to see his work and does not do anything for the person who is defacing it, you are coming across as jealous. So just stop.

On the other hand people are saying that Banksy would love the interaction, many artists are now getting involved and the walls are so full surrounding his pieces, the original graffiti is barely recognisable. As not much is revealed about Banksy, is it unable to know his thoughts on this. Personally I think it is inevitable this will happen because he puts his work so openly to the public, and there are no rules to stop this, I just think artists should show respect for each other. Which are the moment, they really aren't.

ANYWAY, enough of my rant. Below I will be sharing with you some of the Banksy pieces which have been seen and captured in New York City.


Sirens of the Lambs
This first video I am going to share with you is Banksy stunt entitled 'Sirens of the Lambs.' It is a stunt in which stuffed animals are driven round in a slaughtering van around the city and parked outside a butchers. It is a very shocking statement, and you can see children are horrified in the video. The stuffed animals are actually seen to be moving so may be motorised, which is quite scary in itself and could give children the impression this is real.

This is very controversial by Banksy, but that is his style and it certainly gets the message across. It has got a huge amount of media coverage and this video has been viewed over 3 million views on YouTube.

Selling his Art

Another Banksy stunt which has got huge coverage is him selling his orginal pieces for only $60 in Central Park. His pieces are usually worth hundreds of thousands of dollars so for the people that actually bought them from the vender, they must have got a very big shock.

The seller is not Banksy (well we don't know that) and the stall seems to the public to be knock off Banksy work, with only a selection of people looking or purchasing the pieces. After it was revealed they were actually Banksy pieces, many people were kicking themselves they did not buy the pieces and had walked past without a second look. A very clever stunt by Banksy. This video has over 4 million views on YouTube now. How weird would it be to see yourself walking past ignoring it. Well done to the people who bought the pieces, you are now very lucky indeed. 

Below are some of his other pieces he has done in New York this month. I will be updating you with any more of his work I find interesting later on in the month. Hope you enjoy! x

Cya x

Decor Updates

Morning,

This is just a quick update on my decorating situation.

If you read my last blog, you will know I am decorating my flat at the moment. I was very excited to get my new rug for my living room, as I had picked out the perfect rug which would match my colour scheme wonderfully.

On Saturday my Rug was delivered and I was very disappointed to find out it was a completely different colour to what it was on the website. This was a real shame for me as I was so excited to get it. I had previously gone into the shop and to see the colour and even asked them to look out the back, but it wasn't there for me to view, so I went ahead with what I had seen online. The rug itself was lovely, really soft and the perfect size, however, the shade was about 5 shades darker than it was on the website. Instead of the 'dusty pink' it stated it was, it was actually a dark purple colour.

This was the rug image on the website

As I lay the rug out, I started to get used to it, but the purple and pink decor just didn't go and I was still unsure when I looked at it. I paid £130 for this rug and I think if you pay this much you have to be sure it's the right one and this one just wasn't. The rug was too dark and made the room feel almost smaller, which I certainly didn't want.

This was a very large rug because it was for my living room floor, so returning it was a bit of a pickle. Luckily I had someone with me who was able so help carry it onto the tube. Safe to say we got some strange looks!

And this was the actual rug

So now I'm on the hunt for a new rug! I have a light brown wooden floor so it has to go with this, I also have a dark brown sofa, and pink decorations in there as well as pink curtains. I'm thinking maybe a cream rug, but definitely want to see it in the shop. Let me know what colours you guys think would go with this and if you could recommend any rugs for me, that would be great.

If I've learnt anything from this it would definitely be to look at the rug in the shop before you buy it!

Cya x

Decorative Accessories For The Home

Hello lovelies,

I am a massive lover of decorative accessories, especially for the home. Little ornaments such as wall art, birdcages, pretty photo frames, candles and especially artificial flowers. I could spend hours in the home section of stores such as Next or Dunelm Mill just browsing, but most probably will end up buying something I don't need.

I went on a little shopping spree this weekend and decided to get lots of lovely things for my flat. I hadn't put anything on the walls yet and really wanted to so did a lot of research prior online to try and pick out the best wall art. I think you have to be very careful with wall art, firstly that it will go with everything else in the room and match the decor, and that the piece isn't too busy and distracting, to me wall art is meant to compliment the room, not take away from it.

In this post will be showing you pieces I bought this weekend, as well as other cute decor in my flat.

I am firstly going to show you the new wall art I bought. Now I am getting a larger, purple canvas for my bedroom but that hasn't been ordered yet as I'd like to see it in the shop before I purchase it, but can't seem to find it anywhere apart from online. This piece is from Debenhams and is a beautiful purple piece with 5 flowers which will scale across my bedroom wall. I will hopefully be ordering this piece this week. If you want to check it out click HERE. The first wall canvas' I am going to show you are in my living room and are from Next. The room colour scheme is purples/pinks/creams, so these fit perfectly.

I had originally seen these canvas' online for £70 and loved the design, but the price put me off. However, going into the store they were marked as £30, so I immediately grabbed them and got them. They are still marked up as £70 online, but in store I got both for £30, bargin! I have pink/purple curtains and am hoping to get the dusty pink rug from Next, so these images will suit my colour scheme perfectly. You can find these canvas' HERE and the rug I would like can be found HERE.

The second piece of wall art I got was for my bedroom. As I have already said I am looking to get the larger canvas for my other bedroom wall. This canvas is grey which matches my bedroom colour scheme. My duvet covers are a very dark purple and busy design, therefore I wanted the wall art to be very simplistic and plain, but still pretty. I settled on a set of 3 canvas' from The Range. The canvas' are 3 lilies on a grey background, they are very simple but still decorative. These were the hardest to hang because they all had to be the right size and height. Unfortunately I can't link you to this on the website as it is no longer there as of yesterday, but there is a photo below for you.

The last piece of wall art I purchased was initially intended for the bedroom, however it looks better in the hall and I am so pleased I put it here as it fits perfectly and every time I walk past it I love it more and more. I had not actually seen this online, so it was not on my list when I was shopping, but it caught my eye in Wilkinson and the colour scheme matched my flat well, so I just had to get it.

As well as wall art, I also got some photo frames and a candle I had seen online, the cream photo frames and the candle are from Next Home and the silver photo frame is from Wilkinson. I like the silver photo frame as it is quite quirky and stands out as opposed to a blank frame. The Next frames are a bit plainer, but they are so pretty and I couldn't say not to them. I have not filled these frames yet, but will very soon! To find the Next frames click HERE and to see the Wilkinson frame click HERE. The candle featured in the photo was also from Next and is HERE. See all items in the images directly below.

My purple bowl originally had various items in it, including stationary and hair stuff, however I wanted to make it prettier and more decorative so also bought a box of potpourri in Wilkinson, which smells amazing and was purple, pink and cream so have filled the bowl with this. It looks so much better and my room now smells of roses every time I walk into it. The Potpourri can be found HERE.

I also got some new cushion covers to match my curtains & new rug I will hopefully be getting. The cushion covers were from Dunelm Mill and were £6.99 each. If you would like to see or purchase these cushions click HERE.

As well as these new purchases, I already have some decorate items around my flat which I will show you below. I am a big fan of artificial flowers, as you will see and I love slogan plaques! I am still mid decorating my Flat and still want to buy a lot more to decorate but I'm so happy with how it's coming along at the moment. Below are some photos of my flat currently and the accessories I have in it.

If you would like to know where you can purchase or see any of the items above, please feel free to contact me and ask me where I got them from. I love scoping out decorative items for the home and hope you enjoyed this blog post! x

Cya x

Lypsso Beauty Launch

On Sunday, I was invited to a Beauty Launch in Farringdon, London. The launch was set up by Lypsso, check them out HERE. I went with my friend Oula who is a fashion recruiter and loves anything beauty related and I went as a blogger. Being a blogger I got many special treats including a complementary facial, make up done by a make up artist, free goodie bags and endless champagne. Not bad for a Sunday! I will be talking about this further below and including photos I snapped of the event. I love going to events like these and can't wait to go to more in the future. If you would like to go to one yourself, they are regularly held, especially in London so check out Lypsso and keep yourself updated as to when events like these are happening. Enjoy! x

The event was really good, lots of stands showcasing new products for the skin and new make up ranges. The make up which I had applied to me was the Benecos range and was vegan friendly and strictly not tested on animals, so I was very excited to try it. To match my outfit the make up artist chose a smokey eye effect for me. I love having my make up done, and it looked fantastic in the end. It was a shame I had to go home after! The products, especially the powder was very light on my face, which I like and the eyes looked great. Below is Oula having her make up done and the after shot. 

The facial I received was by a new brand 'Jason,' the products were lovely and light and had a very refreshing and fruity scent to them. I received the facial prior to the make up, which slightly ruined it as after being refreshed I was clogging my skin with make up, but it was the only way to try the new products. Facials are so good for the skin, and I always mean to have more of them so was very excited and happy I got to get one at this event. The products were lovely and I would definitely use them again.

We were advised to take before and after shots using the professional photographers there and the difference was incredible, I always find it fascinated how different someone can look with and without make up. The photos below are of Oula, she similarly had her make up matched to her outfit. She went with a heavy eye with blue shades to match her blazer. She too was very pleased with the outcome and thought it was a great way to showcase the new products. The before and after photos were also a great idea, to show how powerful the make up is and the effects it can have.

                   

All in all it was a good day, I got to test a lot of new products and meet some great people. As well as this I came away with 2 goodie bags with lots of lovely products in them to take away and try at home. I love going to beauty events and getting a chance to look at all the new products, and I think it's a great way to get a new brand out there. They are very popular events, and the majority are free, so I would recommend this to any beauty lover or new or struggling brand.

Cya x