Time for a little Summer

Seeing as it's been so nice outside lately, I felt the need to make my nails a little bit more summer-y. Now this watermelon manicure has been all over blog sites (not really recently, but I've seen them around) and it's simple.

Start by painting your nails a coral or pink I used OPI's "Big Hair, Big Nails" from the Texas collection. Then I painted the 'rind' which the green I used doesn't have a name on it but anything that is a rich green will work. Then I used a striping brush for the white of the rind, easy peasy. For the "seeds" I used the end of a black striping brush creating long dots. and Volia!

I know mine is a bit messy, I was getting quite shaky!

Enjoy!
kmatheson

Challenge Accepted!

I have a problem with straightening with my hair, it's almost impulse to just do it every morning. I have naturally curly/wavy hair but I rarely embrace it (meaning it drives me bananas.) However, I bought a curling iron on a boxing day sale and made a vow that I would curl my hair mostly because I had been watching the New Girl and Zooey Deschanel gives me major hair envy. After chatting with my friend I decided I would go a week without straightening my hair. That's right, one whole week and I did it! But in true forgetful fashion, I didn't take photos everyday! Including the day that I DID use my curling iron. :( I got bored just letting my hair dry so I ended up doing a sock bun which is awesome, especially if you have thin hair it creates the illusion that you have more hair! It's super easy but takes a few tries, here's the video.
I won't lie though, it was awesome to straighten my hair again :)



PLH,
kmatheson

Celebrity Inspired: Christina Hendricks

Christina Hendricks was spotted wearing a silver and gold shadow combination! I never really thought to combine two metallics before because I thought it would look tacky but Ms Hendricks proved me wrong!
I started off lining my eyes, the top with MAC's fluidline in "Dipdown" and then lower waterline with a brown liner from Shoppers. I completely covered my lids with a silver shadow from (the Ed Hardy Colour kit). Then on the inner corners and outer I used Maybelline shadestick in gold. I finished off with mascara (I used MAC Zoomlash in Zoom Black).
That's it! Super simple! I didn't follow through with this look for lipstick and blush just because I was going out in the day and didn't want to look too made up.

Enjoy!


PLH,
kmatheson

Half Moon Manicure

This past week I decided to do something different with my nails. I found half moon manicures which I saw in a lot of magazines lately so I really wanted to try it!

This is what they're meant to look like....
First paint your nails a light colour, I chose "Moon over Mumbai" (Review here) You want to pick a colour that doesn't need a lot of coats. Wait for this colour to COMPLETELY dry, trust me you may even want to wait for the next day.

After that you take hole re-enforcers (for paper) and stick them halfway on your nails. I cut mine in half and then stuck them on. They should cover the bottom half of your nail (This would be the moon part). Then you pick a darker colour for the second half, I chose "We'll always have Paris" by OPI. Paint the upper half of your nail over the first lighter colour and it should look like this...
Once the second colour has dried slowly peel off the sticker. Once all colours are set, paint a clear top coat over them. and you're all done! These are what mine looked like before I cleaned them up..
Some problems I had were I stuck the stickers on too early so I ended up with my lighter colour messed up :( and I was really disappointed. I also applied too many coats to the bottom layer making it thicker so it took longer for the darker colour to dry and it chipped easier. All in all I really like these! It's easy to do at home and it looks professional! Hopefully I'll have better luck the next time! :)

PLH,
kmatheson

Super Simple Nail Art

Once again, these pictures are awful! Within the next couple of weeks, I should have access to a better camera, so please forgive me in the meantime. This was actually a requested topic from a friend, in case you're wondering why I chose to do this.

First off, start with two colours, I chose pink for colour one and purple for colour two. On your left hand paint all your fingers completely except for your pinky. Then paint your pinky finger the second colour and do the opposite on the other hand.
Now you're going to leave your pinky fingers and thumbs one colour, so you want to make sure that you get those all nice and smooth.

On your first finger (closest to your thumb) use the opposite colour and paint the upper diagonal half of your nail.Then your middle finger, you only paint the top half (with the opposite colour). On your ring finger you paint the top diagonal half of your finger. To give you more of an idea of what this is meant to look like; your main colour should make a trapezoid if you put all three fingers together. The first image is the best example of this, but remember that my hands are pointed down.

A couple of things to remember, make sure that the first coat that you do dries completely before you continue on with the design aspect. You may want to choose two polishes that have the same consistency, one of mine was really thick while the other was super thin and it didn't really turn out the way that I wanted it to, it was also hard to remove after wards.
Hopefully you try this!

PLH,
kmatheson

Lemon and Lime

This is another look that I created using my new MAC shadow "goldenrod", this is actually from a couple of weeks ago, but I felt I had a lot of yellow looks on here so I saved it until now. :) Start off by lining the top lash line with a black liquid liner. Then wet a stiff liner brush and use a dark forest green, I used MAC's eyeshadow in "humid". Then line the bottom three quarters of your eye ending right at the outer corner. Then either clean off the brush that you were just using or use another liner brush. Wet the brush again and line the remaining lower lash line with a yellow shadow, I used "goldenrod" (as mentioned above). Carry the colour upwards into the upper inner corner lash line, ending about a quarter of the way. Apply the yellow a little more into the lid so it's not just a liner. Then blend the two colours along the lower lash line where they meet. Using a neutral tone, blend out the yellow on the top lid. Complete the look with some black mascara and you're all set!
PLH,
kmatheson

How to: Make your hair longer

For the majority of this year I've been trying to go my hair longer and I have picked up a few tricks a long the way! I must say that I have had huge success and I'm quite happy with the results.

Shampoo/Conditioner:
To begin you really need a shampoo that gets rid of dandruff. Now, this isn't assuming that you have dandruff (believe me I don't) but the ingredients in this shampoo will give rid of any bacteria build up that you have in your hair. Bacteria collects at your scalp but by removing it (with the shampoo) this allows your scalp to breathe and your hair to grow longer. I use Head & Shoulders in ocean lift scent just because I feel that it smells less medical. When you shampoo your hair, really massage your scalp because this will work in the shampoo and open up the cuticles of your hair. When conditioning, use warm water to apply and allow it set in for a while. Then rinse your hair with cold water allowing the moisture to sink in, this will make your hair a lot shinier.

Brush:
When your hair is wet use a wide-toothed comb to go through it as this is less harsh then any other type of comb. I got mine at the dollar store, they're super cheap and easy to find. When dry, use a bristle brush this is super soft on your hair and doesn't cause breakage. The worst brush to use on your hair is a metal one as it's common for you rip out hair that is healthy and cause breakage.



Other Care:
Definitely use a heat protector on your hair if you are blow drying, curling or straightening your hair. This product really makes a difference and also keeps fly aways down. I have also heard that it's better to get your hair trimmed every six weeks but I don't actually follow that just because I am student and that's a difficult thing to work into a budget.

Hopefully this one works for you too!

PLH,
kmatheson

Gold Glitter bomb

This is a really simple, fun look that I put together just cause I really missed my glitter. :) Start off by using a liquid liner along the upper lash line, what ever thickness is up to you. I lined my lower lash line with Bonnebell's eye definer in "smoky" along the waterline. Then I wet my brush and lined the lower lash line with MAC's eyeshadow in "goldmine". I continued with goldmine up on the outer half of my eyelid. Then using MAC's glitter pigment in "reflects gold" I covered my inner half of my eyelid, blending it slightly with goldmine. Then I completed the look with mascara (L'oreal's Voluminous in black). I really like this one, I used it for day time, it could easily be brought to a night time look by putting some dark brown in the crease.

A word of warning! The pigment glitter gets everywhere! It's super difficult to keep it contained, I try just putting a bit in the lid and tapping the excess off, but I still got glitter everywhere. Just be prepared that you may have gold sparkles all over your jeans and hands!

Hope you enjoy this one!

PLH,

kmatheson