A Celebration

February was a big month for us this year with plenty of celebrations. My husband received his citizenship and then the following week was not only Valentine's Day but also our 4 year Wedding Anniversary on the 11th. We decided to hit the club in order to dance away our stress, have a couple of drinks and enjoy being with each other. It is not something we do alot, I have to be honest. We don't regularly have babysitters and we both feel like money is so tight that we would rather spend it on something other than alcohol. However the time does come every now and again where we throw caution to the wind, splurge a little and go wild.
I wore this Black River Island playsuit which I borrowed from my sister teamed with a black studded belt which came from a River Island maxi skirt I have. I wore these fab Aldo platforms which I adore. They are so comfortable and so easy to wear.

I wore my go to look of plenty of bronzer and tan with some Ardel lashes over a smokey eye, a nude lip and some gel extensions with white tips and a statement nail inspired by Valentines Day which I will do a post on separately. Unfortunately due to the rush we were in to leave the house I didn't get many pictures and my camera was on the wrong setting so these pictures aren't even that great but I guess, that's they way it goes.
I am sorry this post is only going up now but I literally forgot it was there, ready to go. 

For the Final Touches

For any of you who have read my About Me Page

 you will have seen that I am a nail technician and makeup artist. I don't post much about my work however I do want to change that and giving my last Catch Up Post featured my last big makeup job I definitely want to go more into detail about what I do. I love doing nails and makeup. Transforming somebody by adding those final little touches such as a fabulous pair of lashes added to a smokey eye or giving those talons a little added prettiness. I won't be going into tutorials or Nail and Face of the Day posts but every so often I will post something that I have done.

So now for the exciting part... (Well For the little bit of information that excites me, that is!)

The product that I use for Gel Polish has just released a holiday collection... Razzle Dazzle

A perfect selection of 6 gorgeous sparkly colours just in time for Christmas. Whether it's for your work Christmas party, the day itself or for the big night that is, New Years Eve, this selection is exactly what every girl I know, will drool over. I'm so excited to add these to my kit and get started on beautifying all my clients nails with a Christmas Twist.

A Quick Catch Up ~ August

Because I missed so much by not blogging I have so much to catch up on. Like I said on my To Smile post back in July I bought a new camera and I have been trying very hard to upgrade my calibre of photos and to also simply take more. In August I had quite an eventful month, between my birthday,a trip back home to my holiday of this year. A long weekend with my gorgeous sisters in the Amazing Barcelona. I will do a separate Barcelona Holiday post as there was so much packed in to the four days. So in photo form this is my catch up for the month of August. These are the photos which would have gone into my To Smile posts over the time I was on a blogging break.

A Manicure with the new 2 Week Manicure Colours I had added to my kit. The colours were perfect for an old dress I had. I then bought some fabulous jewellery from "Bellerina" at The Ivory Closet to wear with the dress too. See here to see more Sparklies from The Ivory Closet (As Amina calls them) New Jewels for an old dress.

I have talked before about my Aunt's Allotment, here are some pictures I took while I was looking after my cousins. The allotment was awash with colour during the summer with all the various beautiful flowers on show. My cousins spent so much of their summer hanging out in the allotments, playing games, making potions and their own perfumes. It's lovely to see the kids playing outside instead of being stuck in on computers or watching t.v.

While minding my cousins we went to look at a display of Quilts made by the Quilting Association of Ireland. I love this craft and I can't wait to get my sewing machine to get stuck into it myself. I have so many ideas, mostly for Amina's bedroom. The quilts that were on display were amazing. The technical ability required to finish such intricate pieces is only something I can aspire to have.

We hung out alot at the Botanic Gardens in Dublin getting the most out of the warmer and drier days which were so far and few between. These gardens in the heart of dublin are such a serene escape from the everyday hustle and bustle that city life brings.

I celebrated my birthday in style. A picnic on the floor of my sitting room with my mum, my aunt, 3 out of the 4 sisters and Amina. You don't get much better than that.

My friend and I decided to take out girls for a trip to the woods in the Dublin Mountains in search of fairies. We didn't find any fairies but we have a lovely day out in the fresh air and magical surroundings.

And lastly for August I perfected my home made hummus recipe and even started combining different flavours to switch it up a little. I have turned into a hummus addict, literally. Made with the juice of lemons and some creamy Greek yogurt along with the necessary chick peas and tahini paste, it has now become my staple food. I will put up the recipe soon on a Sunday Sample once I get back to my regular postings.

I will continue with my catch up posts next week in the place of my To Smile posts. Next week I will concentrate on my fabulous weekend away to Barcelona with my sisters.
So what have you all been up to? Did ya'll have a lovely summer?

Kardashians, All about the Kolor

One of the latest Kadashian ventures has hit the market. Something that as a huge lover of all things Kstyle I was definitely anticipating. The Kardashians collaboration with Nicole for OPI was launched yesterday by Khloe and Kourtney in New York.

I talked a little before about how much these girls inspire me and I genuinely watch out for whatever they do so this is definitely something I was looking forward to having a sneak peek at. The collection which will be available for the holiday season this year has 14 colours and is inspired by all the women in the family.

From Left: Rainbow in the S-Kylie, My Empire.. My Rules,
Follow me on Glitter and Hard Kourt Fashionista

Sealed with a Kris, Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi , All Kendall-ed Up,
Wear something Spar-Kylie and Kim-pletely in Love

Listen to your Momager, Kendall on the Katwalk, Disco Dolls,
Khloe had a little Lam-Lam, It's All About The Glam

I like it, I'm not overwhelmed or will I be queuing up like a crazy person for it. It's very christmassy or something. I would have preferred a more relative to their style collection. With Khloe's favourite colour being purple and Lamar being a Laker I thought there would be at least one purple. I also thought there would be more nude colours. However I love the All Kendall-ed Up and Kim-pletely in Love, which is a gorgeous shade. The white too is different for a collection of polishes but I've seen Kim wearing this shade on many occasions. So what do you think of this Kollection? Krazy about it or just plain Krazy?

Preparing Perfection (ish)

In the run up to my Dad's wedding I had a few things that needed to be done. I created a check list in order to remember everything as I have a serious problem with procrastination and also I have a low attention span and almost always get side tracked by my daughter, my husband, the phone, the television, the Internet and this blog. So here's my checklist
1. Hair Coloured
I am terrible when it comes to my hair. I never seem to have the money to go to the hairdressers for roots to be redone or for a quick trim. This means that I resort to home hair colours. For years I have been chopping and changing between the hairdressers and home colours and always I would choose the hairdressers but that's not always an option, unfortunately. This time around (9 months after my last hair appointment) I decided to use Loreal's hair colour.

2. Hair Removal
Everywhere! Enough Said!

3. Tan Applied
I am a self confessed tanorexic and will always, if going out, apply false tan. I love Sunshimmer, Fake Bake instant tan and the MUST HAVE, San Tropez. However I do find on my skin the instant tans don't show up in pictures as well as a gradual tan. If it's an important occasion such as birthdays or this wedding I will apply the gradual San Tropez Tanner and then on the day apply a little of the instant just to perk my skin up a little. I am naturally darker skinned with dark hair so when I'm not tanned I don't look well. Any application of tan, for me, requires a full body scrub and a week of everyday, morning and evening, full body moisturizing. I usually use Jergens but when I don't have any (like this week) I use Johnsons Baby Cream and the night before after my shower I will use Baby Oil. This retains the moisture lost during the shower and leaves you skin feeling silky and soft with a beautiful healthy sheen.

4. Face Prepared
The week running up to the night out/occasion I make sure to moisturise frequently. Make up will stay in place longer and look more natural on skin that has been prepared properly. I exfoliate twice a week and the night before the event I will use my Neutrogena Wave (J'Adore) and a face mask. I love the Sanctuary Spa masks which leave my skin feeling amazing. You can get these in Boots

5. Hair Prepared
After my colour has been done, I make sure that I put a treatment in it a couple of days before the event. My hair is quite dry so I only wash it every 3 days anyway and it's so long and silky that styling and curls fall out immediately if the hair has been freshly washed. I don't wash my hair the day of the occasion because of this so when I do wash it, the treatment goes in. I will also apply Frizz Ease Serum, Heat Protecting Spray and also a styling or volumnising moose. I throw my hair up once washed, dried and straightened into a high ponytail to allow the hair to settle in a way that once down it will remain volumnised. I am not a hairdresser but I have found these steps work best for me, each to their own.
6. Makeup Sorted
I match my makeup to the outfit that I am wearing, always. I love a bronze/golden colour for my eyes as they really make the green in my eyes pop. I will lay out all the makeup that I am going to use and know exactly what look I will be going for. With my jewellery for this outfit also being these gold and bronzy colours I picked my shadows from a mixture of The Naked Palette and also two Mac shadows, and . I used a bronzer and a peachy gold blush, very subtly on the apples of my cheeks and a highlighter on my cheekbones. Lashings on mascara and eye liner. My go to Nude lipstick, from Nars and a peachy lipgloss, from Rimmel. I like to use a mixture of higher end makeup with bits available from chemists, such as Boots. My foundation is Chanel and my concealer is Makeup Forever. I always apply a primer before applying my foundation. I love Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. It's definitely miraculous! As you can see these are alot of my favourite products and have been used to death.

7. Nails Done
Nails is the final piece to the puzzle. As this is a big occassion, for me it requires nails tips and something special. As a fully qualified nail technician I have all the products and quite a substantial collection of glitters and effects for the nails. This is how they turned out. The picture is not great and doesn't really show the full fade through effect of the glitters on the nails, however in person they look really good.

So that's my crazy checklist. I swear I pretty much go through this in every run up to a night out, may be one of the reasons I don't go out very often or because I don't go out alot I want everything to be a perfect as I can get it. What are your night out preperation lists like? Has anyone used any of these products before and like them?