Monday, April 30, 2012

The Look: Neon Hitch Inspired Makeup

Here is the Neon Hitch inspired makeup look. This is a fun, dramatic, and edgy look to try! To get the look I used MUD green/turq shadow on the lid and lined above and below the green shade with black liner. The top of the lid has a white and the crease and top have a gray shade. I also added the winged edges and mascara.



 






Xoxo,
Brandi

Celebrity Inspired Makeup Looks: Neon Hitch

There are quite a few popular makeup look websites, but two of my current favorites are www.makeupgeek.com and www.makeupbee.com. Both of these sites show tutorials, tips, daily looks, celebrity inspired looks, and so much more. These sites also offer prizes for winning contests just for showing your look.

I really enjoy browsing the different looks. From eyeshadow, nails, and full face looks these sites have it covered. This is also a fun way to come out of your box and try something completely new! Who doesn't love to get dolled up and play with makeup?

While watching TV a few days ago I noticed how fun and wild Neon Hitch's makeup was on Gym Class Heroes video "Back Home". I will be doing two of her looks on an upcoming post. Here is the video so you can check out her dramatic and fun looks!






What celebrity inspired look do you want to try? Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. Check back for my Neon Hitch inspired looks!


Xoxo,
Brandi

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Look of The Day : Lavender Smoke and Silver Ice

Here are the looks I created for the day with the new shadow and polish I got. I did a lavender smokey eye with my eyes and a fun icy look with my nails.


This is the Wet N Wild Petal Pusher eyeshadow pallet look. I used the darker colors to create a smokey eye. I really like the pigment of the colors.



Here is the polish look created with Pure Ice Silver Mercedes, Sally Hansen Ice Queen, and rhinestones on my ring finger. A bit messy, but what can you do when you are rushing?!


 Hope everyone is having a great weekend and a wonderful Sunday!

Xoxo,
Brandi  

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Ella's Kittens

A couple weeks ago I did a post about Ella and her kittens. They have since grown so much, and we finally named them! The boy is Maxwell, and the girl is Mittens! Here they are at one week old. Max has mostly gray on his body and face, but Mittens has a good bit of white on her face and paws!


They opened their eyes at about 9 days old. You can already see their different personalities! Since I have never been around such small kittens it still amazes me!

Here they are at two weeks (today).

This is Maxwell


And here is Mittens


Happy Saturday everyone!

XOXO,

Brandi

New Makeup Purchase

I had to make my weekly trip to Walmart for groceries. Grocery shopping is my least favorite type of shopping! I decided that since it is a necessity I would make the trip more enjoyable and stop my the makeup section.  Here are two of my purchases.

I loved this new eyeshadow pallet from Wet N Wild in Petal Pusher. I have tried their eyeshadow before and the pigment shows up quite well. I loved these colors and for under $5.00 you can't beat it! The colors are much more vibrant than shown in the picture! I will be doing a new look using these colors soon, so check back soon!


This Pure Ice polish in Silver Mercedes caught my eye too! The silver was super shiny and bright! Pure Ice polish is a great inexpensive polish (Under $2.00). The color selection is great, the coverage is good, and the wear time is wonderful! The polish will usually last a week without chipping!


I also found some great new shadows from the Ulta website that I will be ordering soon! Can't wait to try them out! Hope everyone has a great weekend and happy Saturday!


Xoxo,
Brandi

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Manicures and Car Work Don't Mix

My husband is an auto mechanic and has been working quite a bit lately. He has been doing several side jobs in addition to his normal work week. The car he is working on now has been giving him issues, so I have been attempting to help. Please keep in mind I know nothing about fixing cars!

Last night I decided it was time to paint my nails. I don't think that was such a good idea now! About five minutes into my painting he asked if I would help him out! Needless to say I rushed to finish painting and of course managed to smear the paint while helping him!

Here was my attempted look...forgive the smudges and polish on my skin lol. I will have to try this again when I actually have time! I do believe I will be repainting my nails tonight!


I hope everyone is having a fantastic Thursday! I know mine has been busy! Hopefully I will have time to get some of those projects started soon!

Xoxo,
Brandi

100846_Wet Seal Spring Fashion 200684_Heels.com Personas - All-American 125x125

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Nail Polish Trends

It is no secret that I am a fan of fun and fabulous nails! I have always loved nail art and having fun with fun designs! It is such an easy and fashionable way to stand out from the normal everyday manicure! Here are a few styles and colors I found that were interesting! I am definitely going to be trying some of these out soon!

Img from A Prettier Place
This is a great gradient look! The pink darkens as it reaches the tip of the nail. I really love this look. There are a few different ways to achieve the gradient look. Check back for my DIY tutorial on this polish style.












Img from Elle
This is a glitter ombre look. This is a trend right now and is one of the easiest looks to achieve. You simply pick your colors in the same family and paint each nail accordingly. If you are limited on polish choices you can any color of your choice and add a drop of white polish per nail to lighten the color. So the first nail would be the dark color, second would have one drop of white added and mixed, third would have two drops of white and mixed, etc. Easy as pie!



Img Free Fashion Design
Spring and Summer is all about fun bold and bright colors! This orange adds a great splash of color to a solid colored manicure. Other popular colors now are teals, yellows, and purples!










Img Fashion

This is such a fun look! Again this is much easier to achieve than it looks! The swirl affect is a great way to put different designs with multiple colors on your nails. To get this look simply pick out a few colors you want, add a drop or two to a small bowl of water, swirl with a toothpick, and dip nails face down! The excess polish on the sides of the nail can be removed with a q-tip and polish remover!





Img Fashion Weekly
Embellished nails are quite a trend right now! Kits are being sold to help achieve this look, but you don't need a kit to embellish your nails! Glitter, rhinestones, or other fun items can be used to get the look. Smaller pieces can be placed on the nail by a clear coat or a small dab of nail glue, then set the stone or embellishment with another thicker coat of clear polish!










Img Flair By Brandi
I did this glitter look a few weeks ago.The picture doesn't even begin to show the actual shine on my nails! I did a thin coat of pink, put some hot pink glitter in with a dab of clear polish and coated my nails. Then the top coat was another sparkle polish from Sally Hanson.









Have some fun and try a new nail trend! I would love to see your pictures! Have a great Wednesday!


Xoxo,
Brandi

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tuesday's Makeup Look : Carnival

Today I decided to do something fun! It felt like a colorful day, so I used several different shades.

I used MUD shadow in pink, purple, teal, and blue. I also highlighted with one of my Avon shimmers. My brows were filled in with Avon brow pencil in Blonde and to top it off some false lashes.






Hope everyone has a fun and fabulous Tuesday! I have a few projects I'm working on, so today will be a busy one! I will keep everyone posted with the upcoming DIY projects! See everyone soon!!


Xoxo,
Brandi


Monday, April 23, 2012

Monday's Makeup Look: Dusk

Today's makeup look is called Dusk. It reminds me of the sky when the sun sets with the orange and pinks blending in with the gray.


Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday! More to come tomorrow!!

Xoxo,
Brandi abcdfghijklmno
NARS Cosmetics Fall Collection 2010

Sparkle and Shine : Sequin Shoe DIY

There is no secret that sequin and glitter shoes are a great fashion statement! These shoes can range from heels, sandals, flats, flip flops, and more. I loved the look, but so many of the cute heels are over 4 inches! I am 5'9 without shoes, so the thought of being over 6 foot doesn't thrill me! My husband loves me in heels, but since he is only an inch taller than me I try not to go any more than 3-4 inches in heels!

These shiny and sparkly shoes are everywhere! These great shoes are being made not only in a range of styles, but by a range of designers! From Christian Louboutin and Valintino to your Target and Payless Stores everyone has their version of this popular shoe!




Here are two of  popular brands of the super shiny shoes! Left is Louboutin and the right is Miu Miu. These two pairs will cost into the thousands!! I decided since I've been on my DIY kick I would make my own! The entire project cost less than $10!

Here's what I did... (and what you need!)

Supplies:
Shoes (Any style is fine. I used pumps)
Modge Podge
Paint brush or sponge brush
Glitter
Tape

I picked up a pair of black pumps at Goodwill. I wanted a rounded toe pair, and found the perfect ones! These are by H&M and cost $2.00. You can use any color or style of shoe, but this was my preference!


Here are the black shoes. As you can see they have a few minor scuff marks, but that is totally fine! It will all be covered soon!



I took my modge podge and my glitter and mixed them together in a cup. The amount of glitter is up to you. It depends on how sparkly you want your shoes! I'm going all out on mine!



Next you can tape the heel or bottom of your shoe. I started to tape them, but then decided I didn't really need to do this! It isn't totally necessary, but you will want to make sure you are neat in the painting process or you will end up with glitter everywhere! Also if you intend to glitter the heel you won't need to tape that area only the under side of the shoe.



Now here's the fun part! Start painting on the glitter! This is my first coat.



And the second coat. Don't worry the modge podge will dry clear!



I put on about 4 coats to get the coverage I wanted! Then it was time to tape the bottom side of the shoe. And glitter the heel. My initial idea was to leave the heel plain, but I changed my mind! That happens sometime (me changing my mind lol).


After I glittered the heels I peeled the tape off the back and decided for an extra pop I would paint the bottom of the shoe a mauve/burgundy color. I would have loved to go for a hot pink, but ran out of that color! For the bottom I used a small bottle of enamel paint. And gave it two coats. Then I brushed a layer of just the modge podge over the shoe one last time. I did this to set the glitter!



After it dries you have your final product! Super sparkly sexy glitter heels for under $10! You cant even beat that deal at payless! I'm happy with my new shoes! Let me know if you try this out! I would love to see pictures of your shoe creation!

These aren't totally dry,but you can see how they will turn out!

Xoxo,
Brandi abcdfghijklmno

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Nail Time

Here is last weeks and this weeks manicures.

Last week was a cougar theme.
This week I decided to go with some gray, silver, and black with rhinestone detail.


XOXO,

Brandi

Thursday, April 19, 2012

New Style : Wrap Around Watch DIY


The new watch trend going around is the wrap around look. This look goes well with stackable bracelets too! The watches vary in price, but here are two I saw online. These are from La Mer and Avon. The La Mer retails for $130 and Avon is $40. There are tons of variations of the watch, but rather than go out and buy one I decided to make my own!


I had a pair of old shoes that I didn't wear anymore and they were perfect for this project! This was super easy to do! All I did was cut the straps off the shoes and sewed them to the watch face. You can use an old watch or pick up the watch face from a craft store.

Here is part of the strap that I cut off. The shoes already had a buckle, so there was no need to add another! This made the project even easier! I just attached the two sides to the watch and that's that!


Here is the finished watch! It is a shiny patten leather with rhinestone detail. The camera flash reflected off the material somewhat, but I love how it turned out!


Here is a picture of the shoe I used and the finished watch!



Hope you enjoyed! Check back soon!

Xoxo,
Brandi abcdfghijklmno




DIY : Easy Bangle Bracelets

I came across this idea when I used all of the ribbon on one of my spools! It was perfect bracelet size, so why not make a bracelet? This is a super cheap and fun way to create different colors and styles of bangles! The more you have the more you can make, and stackable bracelets are in right now!




Here are the spools I had. Once it was empty it was time to get started on my bracelets! You can use ribbon or extra fabric from your other craft projects! I used the fabric from some other DIY projects featured on my blog!




The picture was blurred, but this is the empty spool once the top paper was removed. Here you can see you are left with a circular piece of hard cardboard.


Here are a few of my finished bracelets. The blue is an old dress tie, the floral is a shirt I turned into a spring tote bag, and the pink is another old shirt. The bottom is a cuff bracelet made with a dress I turned into shorts.


Hope you enjoyed and have fun making your own bangle bracelets!!

Xoxo,
Brandi abcdfghijklmno