Blazema 1 Day Course : Short Review

Hey lovely ladies, I hope you're all feeling fabulous despite the drop in temperatures!

I just wanted to write a little review on a day course that I went to : Blazema (29-01-2012). For those of you who haven't heard of this organisation, they basically offer short and long courses in hair and makeup- from basic courses to more advanced. I found this course on Groupon- the price for these courses are originally £300 but Groupon were offering them for only £29! Saving a LOT of money so i decided to enrol!

Their website looked great as did their emails that they sent prior to the class, however it wasn't what I expected, I expected them to hold the class in one of their studios however it was at the Holiday Inn in Bristol- in a conferencing suite! But I didn't mind that so much. They had around 20 of us and only the one make up artist. She was lovely and she really did go through the basics, from daytime hair and make up to evening hair and make up. We were all paired up and had to style each other so it was good in the sense that we could practise on others as we're always going to have the chance to practise on ourselves.

This is where it all went downhill.. If you're like me and watch You Tube videos then you REALLY will have learnt EVERYTHING that was on that course!! I'm trying to think of what I actually learnt but unfortunately, i really can't!

Furthermore, (i know I said this review was going to be short but I feel like i need to mention everything I'm writing) when I purchased the voucher on Groupon, they stated that they were going to give us a goody bag containing MAC products.. oh no no no no.. instead we all received Rimmel and Collection 2000 products! I know! these products aren't even comparable to MAC! I'm guessing they brought the goody bag items from poundland because I've seen them there on numerous occasions- it was a MASSIVE letdown!!

I do want to mention something positive- They did give us a certificate which was great! (I see it as I paid the £29 for the certificate)

I personally wouldn't recommend this class to anyone who knows anything about makeup, if you don't have a clue on ANYTHING about make up then yeah sure this would be good for you. (but at £300 I really wouldn't!!)

Overall Grade : E-

How To: Tissue Pom Poms

I ♥ Tissue Pom Poms!

They're so easy to make and SO pretty to hang up! I saw these while I was looking through Pinterest and decided to Google them and learn how to make them. So here's a little tutorial on how I make mine..

You Will Need :

• Some tissue paper (I brought mine from Card Factory, cost my 99p for 10 sheets 50cm x 75cm) (Do not use Gold as one side of the tissue is gold but the other side is a 'dirty cream')
• Pair of scissors (make sure they're sharp)
• Thread

As the tissue was too big for the size that I wanted, I cut the tissue in half as you can see above. You want to keep all 10 sheets together! Some people use 8 sheets but I prefer the look with 10 sheets. :)

You then want to create folds- like a fan. I made each fold about an inch wide.

After you have folded the whole group of tissue, you want to fold it in half to mark the half way point- there's no need to mark it with a pen.

You then want to tie a piece of thread at the half way point- I like to knot it around 3 times just to secure it in place!

You then want to cut a shape on each end- Mine look a little unsymmetrical but it doesn't really matter as you'll see in the last couple of photos.

After that's done you want to start pulling apart very gently each piece of tissue, ensuring they're as close to the centre as you can get it!
(Note. I forgot to cut off the ends which is why you can see it straight, I then had to go back and cut them off)

You want to make sure you gently peel off the right side first and then the left side, don't peel off the tissue on just one side first.

As I used 10 sheets, I only separated 5 sheets. (If you're using 8, you only want to separate 4.. if you're using 12, you want to separate 6 etc etc..) After you have separated the 5 sheets of tissue on each side, you want to flip it over and start separating them again.

After each tissue has been separated, and you've shuffled the tissue around to make it look full, your pom pom should look a little like this!

These are the ones I've made over the past couple of days and I am in love! The purple ones are smaller as I decided to cute the purple tissue into quarters! I stuck them on with a bit of string and sellotape and as they're not heavy you don't want to use too much sellotape..

 Oh they are a little time consuming but SO worth it! These can be used for parties and even weddings (using cream preferably maybe?) You can also make these pom poms in whatever coloured tissue that you find!

♥

How I ReUse My GlossyBoxes.

Glossy Box boxes are brilliant quality boxes that you'd end up paying a few quid for- they're perfect for storing SO many different things such as cards, photos, stationary but I'm going to show you what I store in mine. Oh and they'd also be perfect for gift boxes- the black shredded tissue that comes inside the box would be great too- oh I do love recycling.

As you see in the above photos I like to store my perfumes, my hair brushes in the lid of a Glossy Box, jewellery, bangles (they fit really well- and the lid fits back on the box which is great- I stack the ones with my jewellery in them- on top of each other, and put them on my shelf), my nail things and also my hair accessories. I forgot to photograph one of the other things I use them for.. I use the lid of one of my glossy box to keep my 'every day' make up in and leave that on my dressing table. :)

So how do you recycle yours? ♥

Nail Of The Day

I haven't painted my nails in absolutely ages and I was on my way to Bristol so decided to paint my nails on the train! (there's a first for everything) and as always, time was running at us so I grabbed any polish I could and to my surprise I am in love with the colour I chose! It's by Nails Inc and it was one of their limited edition polishes that came in Fabulous magazine I believe- it's in the colour OMP. It's a bright pink and this spring and summer we're going for the bright colours so this colour is AMAZING. Now the only reason I'm posting this is because it's available on eBay- that's where I purchased mine from. It comes in a set with a bright orange polish called ATOMIC. Check them out here.

This was with just one coat. And I apologise for the chip on my thumb and the blue thumb- looks gross but it's just blue food colouring. The polish dries pretty quickly to the touch- the train journey was about 40 minutes. When I got home I decided to stick a few rhinestones- these aren't really for nails, they're the ones you're meant to stick on phones which I received for a gift, but I've already got a case for my phone so thought I'd use them on my nails, and surprisingly they've stayed put for half a day!

Would you wear this colour?

Thanks for reading. ♥

2011 Beauty Favourites.

Hey Ladies, first things first, I'd like to apologise for the lack of blogging, I only recently got back from my holiday to India and it was amazing! Definitely a holiday I'd recommend to all of you! :)
And I know this post is a little late too- after all we are half way through January already- OH and I can't believe it's 2012!! A very belated Happy New Year to you all!

It was difficult trying to choose my absolute favourites because I've played around quite a bit with brighter colours and new products!
So here are my faves:

• Bobbi Brown Corrector in Dark Bisque- on days where I don't feel like applying a lot of make up I'd use this on my under eye circles- the peachy tones counteract the darkness under my eyes- making me look brighter and more awake!
• Benefit's High Beam- I have the sample version I got in Glamour magazine a while back. This highlighter photographs perfectly and the application's easy- all you need are your fingers! it's a little pricey for the full size but I can imagine it lasting many many many years!
• MUA palette in Heaven &  Earth- a lovely neutral palette for those who can't spend £30+ quid on the naked palette. The eyeshadow doesn't last very long without a primer but I still have a lot of love for it.
• Barry M lipstick in TMLF- as you can see it's a green lippy but don't worry it doesn't stay green, it changes to a pink and the intensity of the pink depends on how much alkaline you have on your lips.
• Lo real Million Lashes Mascara in Extra Black- I only brought this in December but I can honestly say this is THE best mascara I have ever used! it fans out my lashes like no other mascara- I love it a lot I do!
• Sleek Face Contour Kit in Medium- the only thing missing from this little kit is a blusher and then that is all you'd need for gorgeous cheeks! However, this is still a lovely little beauty that sleek has created. The bronzer doesn't contain shimmer whereas the highlighter is full of it- it has gold under tones to it too- gorgeous for us women of colour. :)
• Urban Decay Primer Potion- I'm sure you've heard tonnes of people rave about this but without this I don't apply my eyeshadow- this little tube contains one of the key things a make up lover needs. It makes your eyeshadow last for hours and hours- all day! Defiantly worth the investment!
• Lo real Carbon Gloss Liquid Eyeliner- the applicator is perfect for applying your eyeliner. It's got a felt tip end and is hands down the best liquid eyeliner I have used. With this bad boy I never have to use a cotton bud to clean it up.
• No7 Blush in Coral Flush- as the name suggests it's a pretty pink with little specks of gold shimmer- lovely for a flush.
• Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation- it provides a great amount of coverage- i apply this with my fingers so the coverage isn't as high but with a brush- waiting for my sigmax brushes to come through- I'll let you know how it goes!
• Urban Decay 24 7 Eyeliner in Zero- as you can see I've used it a lot- I'm going to have to repurchase one very soon! One thing I love about this is the fact that it doesn't smudge or transfer to my under eye area! it's great at staying put!
• Sigma Small Tapered Blending- perfect for blending and the crease area. My eye makeup definitely doesn't look as good if I don't use it. It's small enough for any eye shape and so soft. oh and it's also great for applying a little shimmer or brightener to the tear duct area.
• and finally Elf Professional Bronzing Brush- this brush is a multi use one- I use it for applying my blusher, bronzer and highlighter! it's fantastic, not as soft as I would have liked but for the cost it's brilliant!

I hope you've all enjoyed seeing what my favourites of 2011 are. What are yours?

Thank you for reading ♥