Valentine's Day Nail Ideas

I was trying to decide how I was going to do my nails for Valentine's Day so I practiced some ideas on my display nails (what are these even called?!). I based most of these ideas around the pink shade (Boom Boom Room) because the color screams Valentine's Day to me. I realized during this process that I do not have ANY true red nail colors. How is that possible? The one red I do have (Essie in Lollipop) is not completely red and needs a ton of coats before it's anywhere near opaque.

Before you begin on real nails, make sure your nails are trimmed, shaped and you apply a base coat. I used all Essie colors for these ideas. From left to right: Lollipop (bright sheer red), Come Here! (a pinky-red coral), Boom Boom Room (cool toned bubblegum pink), and Pure Pearlfection (pearly clear with iridescent shimmer).

Shimmer
The first idea is the most simple and I love how it turned out. I used 2 coats of Boom Boom Room to get a pink base and then followed it up with 2 coats of Pure Pearlfection. This shimmery polish looks amazing with the bright pink. This is easy to do on all of your nails or if you prefer you can just apply the shimmer shade to one nail as an accent.

XO
The XO looked a lot better in my head (I am so NOT a nail artist, obviously!!!) but it turned out okay. I applied 2 coats of Come Here! and then used a toothpick to draw an X and O in Boom Boom Room. I wouldn't do this to all of my nails, just an accent nail but I think it's super cute and subtle.

Tipped
Here is another idea that is on the simpler side. I used 3 coats of Lollipop as a base shade. I then dragged Boom Boom Room across the top of the nail to add a 'tip'. I loved these two colors together but I wish my red was more of a true red. You could also switch this around and have pink nails with red tips.

Hearts
Here are a couple nail ideas that would be adorable on an accent nail. I used 2 coats of Boom Boom Room for the base shade and then used Come Here! for the hearts. I tried this out with one large heart and then again with many small hearts. I used a toothpick to draw two dots next to each other and then dragged a toothpick through the color to a point to form a heart. Once you get the hang of it it's actually super easy to make nail hearts.

Two Toned
I recently saw a picture of nails that looked like this and I wanted to try it out. It was really difficult to get the line straight (as you can see) but I loved the two colors together. I first painted 2 coats of Boom Boom Room on the right side of the nail. Once it was dry, I took Come Here! and painted 2 coats on the left side, dragging the brush slightly over the center line to attempt a straighter line.

Are you painting your nails for the holiday? Which design is your favorite?

Holly Golightly Costume DIY

I am so excited it's Halloween! it is my very favorite holiday and I absolutely love any excuse to dress up! This year I didn't have much time to think ahead and so I made my costume on a whim. I love the way it turned out though! Sometimes it's those quick projects that turn out the best!

Tuesday, I shared how to make the sleeping eye mask and ear plugs that Holly Golightly wears in Breakfast at Tiffany's and today I am revealing my final costume! I hope you enjoy it!

Once you've made Holly's sleeping mask and ear plugs, the rest of the costume is super easy! I just borrowed a white dress shirt from my boyfriend and my outfit was complete! You'll want to find a fairly large dress shirt to actually cover you up if you plan on wearing this out. My boyfriend's shirt was not very long so I put some white shorts on under it so I didn't feel so exposed.

Now that your costume is ready it's time for hair and makeup! Holly's hair is fairly simple. I just straightened my hair and then grabbed the top half of my hair (above the ears and up) and teased it in the back to add a bit of height. Next, I gathered my hair into a half up hairstyle and secured it with a hair tie. Since I have very thin, fine hair, I knew I didn't have enough hair to twist mine up like hers in the back. Instead, I took the top section of the hair I gathered into the hair tie and twisted it around (like a messy bun) and secured pieces to my head with hair pins. This made it look like I had more hair and also gave it the slightly messy bed head style that she has going on. When you are satisfied with your hair, be sure to blast it with hairspray to keep it in place! Slip the mask on over your hairstyle and secure or tie in the back.

Holly's makeup look for this part of the movie is all about being glamorous while still keeping everything very natural. I ended up really liking this makeup look and it's actually quite similar to my every day makeup style. Below I'll share how I achieved her makeup look and list the products I used.

First off, I prepped my skin with a primer. I find that using a foundation primer keeps my foundation in place and also allows the foundation to go on smoother. I applied foundation to my skin with a makeup brush. I find using a makeup brush gives my skin that flawless finish. I then used a concealer to cover any blemishes and to cover the dark circles under my eyes. I used a large powder brush to sweep a pressed powder over my whole face to set my foundation and keep my skin matte. Holly has very light eyebrows but since mine are so dark and unruly I had to fill them in with a brow powder and set them in place with a clear mascara. I also applied a light pink blush to the apples of my cheeks to get the soft flush she has in the movie. The blush I used was from The NYX The Crimson Amulet Dark Shadows Palette.
1. Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
2. Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in Shell (130)
3. Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in 210
4. Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Translucent
5. e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit in Medium
6. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Clear (used to set brows)

The blush I used is in the top right corner of the palette.

Now that your skin looks flawless, let's move on to the eyes. I first applied the Maybelline Color tattoo eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze to my lids. This not only gave my lids that slightly bronzed shade but served as an eyeshadow primer. I also took this same color and using a small makeup brush, applied it along my lower lash line. I then went over my lids with a light taupe/brown shade and followed it up with a gray shadow on the lid close to the upper lash line. To make my eyes stand out more, I highlighted my brow bone and inner corners using a white shadow and lined my lower waterline with a nude colored eye pencil. I used a liquid liner for my eyeliner as I love the staying power of a liquid eye liner. I just made a thin line across my upper lash line and made a slight flick at the end to give my eyes that slight 'cat-eye' effect. I usually apply a black shadow over my eyeliner when I'm done to soften the look and set the liner. Finally, I curled my eyelashes and applied two coats of mascara on my top lashes and one coat on the bottom. You can always apply fake lashes to get Holly's full voluminous lashes but I preferred the way mine looked without.

1. Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze
2. Bed Head Make-Up Marker in Black
3. Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara in Black Drama (bottom lashes)
4. Covergirl LashBlast Waterproof Mascara in Very Black (top lashes)
5. NYX Love in Florence Palette in Ciao Bella (black shadow)
6. Rimmel London ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl in Nude (005)

I used the NYX The Crimson Amulet Collection Dark Shadows Palette for the eyeshadows.

1. Lid color
2. Lash line color
3. Highlight color

To finish the look, I applied some highlight to my cheek bones, added a bit of color to my lips and finally sprayed my whole face with a setting spray to make sure my makeup doesn't budge all night.

1. Benefit High Beam Highlighter
2. Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya
3. Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

Now you're all ready for Halloween! Or perhaps breakfast at Tiffany's?

Have a fabulous holiday and be sure to eat lots of candy!

Thank you for reading!

DIY Holly Golightly Eye Mask & Ear Plugs from Breakfast at Tiffany's

I don't have any costume parties to attend for Halloween this year (boo!) but I still enjoy dressing up and was trying to come up with a quick costume in case I end up going somewhere. I've always loved the classic Holly Golightly in her little black dress so as I was thinking it over, the idea popped into my mind that it would be fun to go as a slightly less popular version of Holly Golightly. You know, the one who stumbles out of bed in the morning (looking fabulous I might add) and throws on a men's tuxedo shirt? That one. I got excited and dashed off to the craft store for supplies to make her signature eye mask and ear plugs. I think they turned out super cute so today I'm going to share with you how I made them!


We will start off with the eye mask. You will need to gather the following supplies:

1. Mask (Mine was just a sequined one I found in the children's craft section)
2. Turquoise felt (the closest I could get was teal so I went with it!)
3. 2 Emerald colored jewels
4. Gold decorative trim
5. Thin gold cord
6. Gold decorative trim with 'lashes'
7. Scissors
8. Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Start by tracing your eye mask on to a sheet of felt. Cut out the shape and make sure it fits the shape of your mask.


Once the felt is in the shape you want, use your hot glue gun to glue the piece of felt over the front of the mask.


Use the leftover felt to make your eyelids. I just drew the shape I wanted and then cut two of them out of the felt. Decide where you would like to place them on the mask and then line the eyelid pieces with hot glue and press them onto the mask. Make sure not to glue down the bottom of the eyelids.


Now that your eyelids are in place, it's time to accessorize your eyes! Glue one emerald colored jewel just inside each eyelid and then cut your gold 'eyelash' trim to the proper size for each eyelid. I ended up cutting the lashes shorter since the gold trim 'lashes' were so long.


Glue the eyelashes to the bottom of your eyelids and trim them down shorter, if needed.


Cut two pieces from your gold cord to make the eyebrows. Glue them over the top of the eyelids.


Take the gold decorative trim and start to glue it around the outside edges of the mask. Keep going until you reach your starting point and glue the ends together.


You did it! Your mask is finished! I will note that my mask already had the elastic band attached so if your mask does not, make sure to glue or tie some of your gold cord to the sides of the mask so you can use it to tie the mask behind your head and keep it in place. I tied a little bow to the back of my mask's elastic using the gold cord to jazz it up a bit.


Next up, let's make the ear plugs! You will need to gather the following supplies:

1. Ear plugs (any color but purple/blue looks best)
2. 2 Pony beads (any color but close to purple/blue is easier to cover)
3. 2 (8.7 yd) skeins of floss (I got DMC 8m floss in 799/Medium Delft Blue)
4. Scissors
5. Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Take the floss and measure out a 5 inch piece. Use this piece as a template to cut out 49 more 5 inch pieces. You will need a total of 50 pieces of 5 inch floss (25 for each ear plug).


Grab 25 pieces of the cut floss and twist them together as tight as possible so you can slip them through the pony bead. You want the pony bead to end up in the middle of the floss as shown below. Do the same for the other 25 pieces of floss and pony bead.


Now, take the top half of the floss and fold it down over the bead as shown in the photo below. Try to spread the floss out evenly around the bead so you cover it entirely. You don't want the bead to show through.


Once you have the thread folded over the bead, take more floss and start to wrap it around the floss right below the bead. You can adjust the floss around the bead as you wrap to ensure it's completely covered. Glue or tie off the floss when you finish wrapping.


When you are satisfied with the 'tassel' you've just made, glue one side of the floss covered bead to the end of an earplug (not the part that goes in your ear!).


Now that you have finished your ear plugs, try them on to see where the tassels hit. I thought mine looked a little too long so I just trimmed them up until they were both even.


And you're done! These pieces are quick and easy to throw together in case you get a last minute invite to a party!


Be sure to come back on Thursday and see how I put the whole costume together, just in time for Halloween!

If you have any questions, just let me know!

Thank you for stopping by!