Anastasia Who?

So the blogger/vlogger world has been RAVING about the brow genius that is Anastasia Beverly Hills for quite a while now. Me? I'm just over here like "meh." I like a strong brow as much as the next girl, but I'm not fussed enough to go through the hassle of ordering online and trying to pick a shade and blah blah. Short story? I'm lazy but I still like filled-in brows.

Enter Soap and Glory to save the day. I've heard mixed reviews of their Archery brow pen. Some love it, some don't. Didn't bother trying it cause I found this little beauty. The Soap and Glory Archery 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil and Brush. This is a double ended product with a pencil on one end and a spoolie on the other. Spoolie = bonus number 1.

Bonus number 2 - Don't need to bother with pencil sharpeners. This is one of those rolly-uppy deals. Now, for most products this is a pain in the bit you sit on, but because this is SO THIN you don't need to worry about it, it still looks super natural. What I usually do though is use it more on one side so that it's slightly slanted, and if I need a sharp end, I turn it round. I usually only have to do this for the tail of my brow and even then it's rare the pencil as is, isn't thin enough.

The formula is super long lasting. I had an unfortunate incident last week where I fell asleep in class and woke up with an eyebrow on my arm, but that has never happened with this. Yes, I am admitting I have fallen asleep in class more than once.

The Archery pencil comes in 2 colours, Hot Chocolate and Blondshell. I use Hot Chocolate but it is a bit reddish for me, and I feel Blondshell would be too light. I have quite cool-toned brows, but I also don't have enough of them for that to matter much, but if you're not full on pencilling them in like me, and are just using to fill in sparse hairs....actually, I don't think that would matter much either. If you're trying to match cool-toned hair though, this shade might not be for you. I have blue hair, so I don't really care what colour my eyebrows are!

If you're thinking about the Anastasia Brow Wiz and aren't sure, I'd definitely give this a shot as an alternative. I'm on my second one, and I really love it!

The Search For The Perfect Eyeliner : ONE POUND?!

Yes folks, that's right, you heard me. One whole British Pound.

As you guys know, a few weeks ago I bought some stuff from Poundland's new makeup range, Makeup Gallery. I mean, everything's a pound each. I couldn't really complain. (My dog can though, I kissed her on the forehead a few weeks ago wearing the red lipstick and she still has a greasy mark despite numerous bathings. Just something to bear in mind!)

So I thought, eyeliner, what the heck. I mean, it's a pound.

One pound well damn spent ladies (and gentlemen) This eyeliner is. A. Winner.

The formula is great, it's super duper black and dries matte and it lasts a looooong time. You know when YouTubers are all smug like "I don't know who would want to wear their makeup for 14 hours" Me. That's who. Sometimes I leave the house at 8am and don't come back till 10/11.30pm. The joys of being a working student. And this eyeliner lasts all that time. It's also really buildable, like if you go over it, it's not going to move around, and I've worn this over glitter, so maybe had to go over two or three times with success. I have quite oily eyelids and this works well, not transferring onto my browbone but if you have really oily eyelids I don't know if this would work, I probably wouldn't recommend a liquid anyway.

The brush is fab as well, there was one little hair sticking out on mine that was kind of annoying, but I just snipped that off. I've had that even in high-end liquid eyeliners so I'm not complaining. Too much product comes out at first as you always get with these types of bottles so you do need to wipe the excess off, but the bonus to that is that it makes the brush paper-thin to get wings sharp enough to cut the haters.

The only downfall to this is that it is a liquid eyeliner so I know it's not for everyone. Some people prefer the pens because they're easier, some prefer gels because they're better to work with, but honestly, if you're fairly confident with your eyeliner and you don't mind a liquid. This is for you. 

Result.

Let me know if you've tried this, or anything else from Makeup Gallery!

N x

Tutorial - Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette : Natural smokes

Ladies and gents I am back!

Apologies once again for the hiatus, I have been deep in wedding planning mode along with impending doom deadlines and working and trying somehow to maintain my sanity and social life! To make up for my absence, I am back with a tutorial!

The Urban Decay Naked Basics palette has been around for aaaaaages now, and I still prefer it over the newer one as I think it's a great palette for those of you "not really into" makeup or those who "don't want to look like a drag queen" oh pals of mine, you know who you are!

So, on that note, I wanted to share a tutorial with you guys that I think would suit anyone wanting to look a little dressed up, but without any colour and only a tiny hint of shimmer. It's super easy and you could do it with only one brush, or probs even your fingers if that's all you got!

Step 1:

After priming your eyelids (my fave right now is UD's "Eden" primer. AH. MAY. ZING.) take a soft, fluffy brush, like for example the Makeup Revolution blending brush and buff the shade Naked 2 in the crease area, it's okay if you get it on the lid or around, it's going to help blend the darker shades out later.

Step 2: 

Using the same brush, take "Faint" and blend this on the outer half of your eye, trying not to get this in the crease part or above. This will create definition on the outer half of your eye and create a feline look that's a bit softer and more wearable.

Step 3: 

Again with the same brush, just really lightly dip into the shade "Crave" and take this just into that very outer corner of your eye. Don't be put off by the fact it's a black, I know lots of people are daunted by black eyeshadow, but using it really lightly and blending it A LOT, it will just add some depth to the corner of your eye. So that's your next task. Blend. Just run light circles over that whole outer corner area to blend all the colours together and make it really soft and diffused.

Step 4:

To brighten everything up, take a clean brush and dust the shade "Walk of Shame" over the inner 2/3s of the lid and under the browbone on the edge of those darker shadows, this will help to brighten everything up and blend out those shadows so there's no harsh lines. Then, dip your finger in the shade "Virgin" and pat this in the middle of your lid, above the iris of your eyeball and then in the inner corner of your eyelid just at your tear duct. You can also, if you're into it, run it under the arch of your eyebrow to highlight.

From here, the world's your oyster! Add winged liner if you like, some liner in your waterline smudged out for a smokey, grungy look, false lashes, mascara....it's totally up to you! Sometimes if I'm in a rush I will just do steps 1 & 2 with a quick flick of mascara and I'm out the door. Boom. Done. 

Tag me on instagram if you try this, I really want to know what you think! @pintsizeheroine

N x

A Dilemma For A Woman In Business - Maiden Or Married?

So, I'm facing a dilemma at the moment. On Christmas Eve, my wonderful partner got down on bended knee and asked me to be his wife. Of course I said yes! - Bet you thought that was my dilemma, haha!

No, my dilemma is what to do with my name. Contrary to popular belief, I'm a traditional soul, and I'm taking on my partner's name. The truth is, I like the idea of us being our own little team. I'm sad at the thought of not having my family name anymore, it's been a part of who I am for the last 27 years and I see taking his name as kind of breaking away from them. I'll still obviously be a member of my family, but it's my way of showing the world that my partner and I are a family now as well.

The question then, is this. What do I do in the professional sense? I hope to be running my own business someday, and that business is in its very infancy right now. Thankfully, I haven't actually relied on my surname for my business as many people in jewellery do. I have a friend who has been an artist for the last 30 years and all her work has been known by her maiden name, yet uses her married name for her jewellery business which she says she regrets slightly. I'm fairly certain this is because her maiden name is quite unusual - I wouldn't have that issue, my maiden name is fairly common, and my married name is probably the most popular surname after "Smith". Not relying on it before now means I won't face the issue of losing people who have followed me and my work for a long time when I suddenly drop off the face of the earth as Person X and re-emerge as Person Y and have to build up that following again. 

In reality, no-one other than me, and people who know me, will even know which is my maiden and which is my married name, so I don't suppose it really matters, but I do wonder, do I really want my business to be tied to my marriage? Or do I want something that's just me and mine? In the financial world, if you are married, you're seen as more trustworthy, more mature and stable. These are things I want for my business, but should I not be allowed to be seen as these things on my own? In a practical sense, being married will probably be quite helpful in terms of financial help for start-up costs etc from lenders, but in reality, my husband-to-be would have absolutely nothing to do with my decision making, except for his opinion every now and again - which in true wifely fashion, I shall completely ignore.

Then there is the question that no-one who is getting married wants to think about - what if it doesn't work out? It's pretty much not an option for me, but sadly divorce is now a huge part of getting married. Lots of couples don't make it through the "until death do we part" section of the vows. It's more like "until we can't stand to breathe the same air anymore". So, that being said, if you've chosen your married name for your business, what happens then? Suddenly you're back to being Person X again when you've built up a following as Person Y. Not to mention the awkward questions. How many people still call Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Cheryl Cole? Case and point. 

I suppose it's just a question of identity. My name is Nikki. I'm a businesswoman and a wife (almost!). I'm also a lot of other things. Which of those things do I take into my professional identity and which things do I keep personal? Maybe I'll just be Nikki. Just Nikki. Like Madonna, or Cher. Then again, neither of them were very good at marriage, so maybe not the people to look up to. Looks like I'll need to find some new role models. Any suggestions?

 

Goldsmith's Craft and Design Council Competition

Hi all! Hope you all had a lovely festive season and aren't too gutted at being back to work!
For me, being back at work means getting ready for my first competition entry of the year, which is (as the title to this post suggests) the Goldsmith's Hall Craft and Design Council competition. I enter this every year, I haven't won yet, but I always enjoy coming up with my designs each year.

This year, as with last year, I entered the Harriet Kelsall Bespoke design catagory, which involved designing 2 pieces based on a brief set by singer/songwriter Corinna Jane. She asked for a vintage-inspired piece, with a modern twist, using the colour scheme of gold, pink and purple.

For my inspiration I wanted to look at the way dancers moved when they were on stage, and was particularly inspired by the way their skirts spin when they move.

I found this image on Pinterest and loved the elegance.

I also looked to vintage jewellery for my inspiration and found this pair of earrings from Cartier circa 1960(ish) which I thought looked like the skirt of a dancer mid-spin. I also found a collection from high-end jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels based on dancing which, also I think the pieces are tacky, I can't deny the craftsmanship! 

So with all that in mind - Here's what I came up with!

It's not the most favourite painting I've ever done, but I like my design and I like how I've interpreted my idea. Also, if you're interested, here's a video of one of my favourite songs from Corinna Jane. If you like quirky kind of folk/pop, I think you might like her!