DIY SPARKLE SHOES!

DIY Sparkle shoes!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a quick guide how to make glitter shoes!

Okay so everyone knows from shopping that glitter shoes can be pretty pricey and sometimes have an awful tendency to flake or peel! Well I have the solution to this!

MAKE YOUR OWN!

This cost me literally the price of pva glue and a small cartoon of sliver glitter.

You can get both supplies from any craft store and of coarse the pair of shoes! I pick a black pair of heels that I got in pennys months ago for 12 euro and I was bored of the look of them so I said why not design my own? J

So first step is to cover the shoes in pva glue! Sounds a little scary but its like being back in school!

Gently squeeze some pva glue onto the shoes all over or wherever is desired! I only did the heels as I didn’t think I had enough glitter to do the entire shoe!

Then use an old paint brush or even your finger and then spread the glue out! It takes seconds; make sure you keep moving so the glue doesn’t set! If you’re going to do the whole shoe I advise doing it in sections so the glue doesn’t dry out!

Then over an old shoe box, towel, newspaper, magazine anything that will catch the glitter sprinkle the glitter over the wet glue. Shake off excess glue and then slowly dab the glitter with your finger! Don’t go too hard or the glue will go lumpy this is just to push the glitter in the whole way!

Follow the same method for your phone cover, iPod, purse, bag whatever it is! Three easy steps, glue, brush, shake and done J

The options are endless so experiment :) 

It literally took me 5 minutes and who doesn’t love glittery things? J

Kate

X

That time of year!!

So its that time of year again?

No no not summer time sadly.. But that will come straight after. Yep, you guessed it… Exam time L

Not something fun, not anyway exciting but we all have to do it.

So I taught Id give 5 short tips on how to prep for this nasty time L

Number 5: Know your stuff… even if you haven’t been in.. or just couldn’t be bothered walking to college in the rain.. Get the notes.. stay up and read them over and over again

Number 4: Cram!! It works believe me.. learning something the night before is not a good suggestion.. but if its all you have left its what you should do.. Late nights and a can of red bull = match made in heaven

Number 3: Don’t let the study catch up on you.. SLEEP! Getting as much sleep as you can get will really help you when your studying. Taking breaks can really help you, it gets your concentration back in action too :) 

Number 2: Eat good food! Filling yourself with processed junk might work for the late night feasts but living on it coming up to the exams really wont help you.. Try fresh fruit.. always wakes you up!

Number 1: Celebrate!! What celebrate? YES!! You have worked so hard you deserve to go out, stay in, drink, eat, dance do whatever you like. Make sure you have something to look forward after your exams that way you have something to focus on J

How to get Naked for less!!

Okay so by the sounds of this title, it sounds like something else! It’s actually a review on the Naked one palette by Urban Decay versus the nude on nude palette by NYX.

Firstly whenever I think about the Naked palette I think about the price! €40 seems a bit pricey for 12 shades that’s €3.30 for each shade individually which sounds fair but when you buy it at first it sounds so expensive.

Now on the market there are things like the nude on nude palette. A dupe of the Naked palette. The nude on nude palette has 20 shades and also ten lip shades. The price is in dollars as you have to buy it from the states but roughly works out at €20 ! That’s a bargain! Half the price and nearly double the product! Working out at just 60 cent an item! A lot cheaper than the naked palette.

I have to say honestly though. I love my naked palette. Even when they have introduced the second naked palette the Naked Two palette. It’s just not the same as the original. “If it isn’t broke don’t fix it”.

The original has 12 gorgeous deep metallic shades suitable for any eye colour, size or shape! It ranges in colours, from neutral pales, to light to medium browns and then onto navy and black it has it all. Great for inner corners, all over the lid, crease and even the eyebrows. The shades “Naked” and “buck” are two of the best shades to fill in eyebrows.  The only thing the naked two palettes has that I really love is YDK a gorgeous deep plum shade by urban decay and a matt black shade. Gun metal in The Naked Palette is gorgeous but sadly the sparkle can make it look less black. The Naked palette even though it is natural it can also be great for Smokey brown eyes. Not a lot of neutral palettes can do that! Even the Naked Two has a big flaw as it can only create dark Smokey eyes! Overall I think the Naked palette is one of the best neutral eye shadow palettes on the market, it can be a bit pricey but if you love it. You just gotta have it!

Now onto the nude on nude palette. Yes it is a dupe. But not an exact copy. Some of the colours are very alike. But when applying you can feel that the eyeshadow is not as loose and ground down as some of the Naked eye shadows. Some people love this I personally hate this. You have to swatch more of the product in order to use it. The pigment is amazing, but not as strong as the Naked palette. But for half the price who could complain? It has plenty of medium shades great for Smokey eyes. It has all the qualities of the Naked palette when creating brown Smokey eyes! It also has an extremely matt black something the naked palette is lacking. As for the lip products I myself am not mad about lip products that are in palette. It’s just a personal preference. But these aren’t too bad. I often find they can be very waxy but these aren’t. There creamy and smooth and very pigmented the only thing I dislike about them is the smell. They smell of a very strong chemical and roses mixed. They have a large range of colours from light pink to red. There perfect over your favourite lip stick and last a good while. An extra bonus the Naked doesn’t have too! J

Two of the best shadows out of the Naked palette are “Smog” and “Creep”.

A medium brown metallic colour with rich bronze tones. Creep is very gold based. 

And the dupe for these in the nude on nude palette. Are a medium gold/brown shades with a lot of bronze undertones and a jet black eye shadow shade.

No matter which you buy, or use! You will be truly happy with the results! I am sticking to by Naked palette for now! But if you cant afford it the nude on nude is the perfect option J

A new purchase! :)

Yankee Candles, you may think there only for girls but now they have an even larger range suitable for both men and females!

So I went shopping and got pulled into the Yankee Shop, for those who don’t know who Yankee Candles are, they are the best candles out there. They smell delicious! There scents are beautiful, tasty and so realistic!

For the price they are great value! A large Yankee Candle will cost you from €22, a medium from €15 and a small from €8 depending where you buy them!

The large will burn for over 110-150 hours J that’s nearly 6 days!!

I bought a large Yankee Candle in the scent Christmas Cookie for €11 on sale!

As well as a large Mange Peach Salsa Candle for €22, this may sound a lot for a candle but its well worth the price! J

Mango Peach salsa is my favourite Yankee scent. It smells like mangos, peach and even pineapples all together. The fruity smell spreads around the room from the second you light it!

I love so many other scents from Yankee, soft blanket! A clean fresh scent that smells just like your fresh washing!

Christmas cookie! A limited edition every December that’s always on sale for €11 after Christmas! It smells like vanilla, sugar and freshly baked cookies!

Vanilla cupcake is also very like Christmas cookie only it smells like freshly cooked cupcakes and vanilla frosting! This candle smells so good you’d want to eat it!

Now they even have scents that men will love! A mid summers night dream may have an off putting name but believe me this scent is such a manly smell. It smells just like Hugo Boss aftershave! Such a gorgeous smell around the house!

They now even have air conditioners, hand wash, body wash, and even scented sticks!

Often if you keep your eyes peeled you can get them on BOGOF

It makes the value of the candles even cheaper!

With hundreds of candle scents to choose from there is one for every one!

Sadly though over the years I have bought some of their scents that I have really regretted. This is all a personal choice but I seriously hate the smell of cinnamon. Even thinking about it makes me sick! I hate it so much so I guess buying the scent Cinnamon Sticks in a Christmas gift set was a horrible idea.

Sadly another bad choice was Creamy Caramel from Yankee Candle. Some people love this scent. But I think it’s too rich, it smells like creamy caramel with a hint of fake tan. You know that morning after smell of sleeping in tan? Well this candle smells just like this! A mixture of digestive biscuits and creamy caramel sounds delicious but believe me its not! 

Over all I cant say anything else about how much I love these candles there addictive! 

A special hair treat :)

Okay guys so here is a weird one that some people will love, some people will hate J

It’s a mango hair mask, you can also use avocado, but seeming I hate the smell, I really couldn’t stand putting it on my head!

Mango is one of the most delicious fruits, its extremely nourishing and an extremely refreshing tropical fruit J

Mango is extremely rich in potassium, vitamins K and B. It is also rich in copper, magnesium and a lot of other minerals. This gives moisture and nourishment to your hair.

The protein in the egg yolk can rebuild weak and damaged hair and also add a beautiful shine!

The honey also helps with shine and nourishes dry hair. The milk is also used for moisture and the calcium to strengthen hair. Not only good for bones!

And lastly the lemon is a natural hair lightener, can make the hair smell like lemons but with a good shampoo this will disappear! Also if you blow dry your hair after the heat of the hair dryer will work as the sun would to stimulate and lighten hair naturally!

So what you will need J

Half a mango (Skin the mango, Cut in half, throw out the inner idle stone)

3 tablespoons of honey

3 tablespoons of milk

3 tablespoons of olive oil (sunflower oil)

And the weird part

1 egg yolk (Separate whites from yolk)

For blonde haired users:

Juice of a whole lemon

Firstly mash the mango, take all your tension out on it! Bash it; mush it, whatever you have to do to get it into a nice mashed state.

Next add in the egg yolk, instantly you’ll see it thicken and then add the honey, milk and olive oil.

Give it a good mix! Make sure all the ingredients are mixed well.

Now all you have to do is rinse your hair with warm water, then squeeze and apply the hair mask generously from root to tip.

If you have oily hair I advise to use less olive oil as this can make roots seem a little greasy. But for most of us who have dry damaged hair olive oil is gold!

For lightener haired users you can use some lemon juice as well.

Leave in hair for as long as you can, minimum 15 minutes, maximum one hour. Only because the acid may damage your hair after a long time.

When you need to wash the mask out, brush through your hair, this will get most of the mango out.

Then rinse the remaining mask out with warm water and shampoo and conditioner of your choice. Make sure you get all the mango out! Style as normal and your done! 

Afterwards your hair will feel amazing! Soft and as if you have just walked out of a hair salon!

Addicted or Additive?

Recently in college I have just done a survey on the effect the media has on today’s society. This has me wondering... Why are so many people addicted to Facebook? 100% of my survey admitted they had a facebook account and 90% admitted that they use it daily!!

Has the mass media taken over our lives? Everyday I know the first thing I do is get up, eat my breakfast and then on the way to college check my emails and my facebook. What happened to the days of students or adults reading the newspaper? LONG GONE!

I personally feel that this is such a shame; the history of media is long lost I know I know I’m ranting but where would media be today without its history?

Many people often forget when thinking about the media the audience. Without the audience there is no media. The audience contribute and convey the information given by the media. There response can change the whole meaning of the media.

We are constantly checking in where we are? What about stalkers, creeps perverts or even people we don’t need to know our personal information. I know I have an awful habit of doing it. Kate Dillon is writing a blog with – Two others.

I don’t know why but when I do something exciting I feel a Facebook status is the first thing to be done straight away. I know for a fact I’m not the only one.

What do you do when addicted to something? Like a drug? Alcohol? Food?

Go cold turkey give it up. Many Irish radio stations have now started a challenge where families have to go a full week without using any media or technology. Easier said than done. Imagine not having the news? Not having a phone? IT’S LIKE LIVING IN THE STONE AGES!

Facebook, I am sorry to say ladies and gentlemen is addictive, and many of us are addicted. It has become an obsession for many including myself. Something we rely on for news, entertainment and even communication.

Imagine being able to "buy your friends". Well now you can! Say what? Yes you can buy your friends! Facebook has now a new system where you can pay with your credit card or laser card for pretend gold coins and "buy your friends" the person who has bidded the most on that person "owns them".

When is this gonna stop? Facebook has gone too far..

Life as a college student!

Well, we've all had those awful handouts on how to cope with being a student! But how do we actually cope with the stress and pressure and of course to manage a booming social life?

Sadly, i learnt this the hard way, going out every night and waking up with a banging head ache. Not a great way to start the year, this followed for months to come and i got heavily involved in the music society and then that lead to an even busier social life. Thankfully the three week Christmas break made me realise, good food, sleep and a surplus of money really made me feel better. 

In March everything changed, i started to stay in, focus on college work and everything turned around. I suddenly had passed all of my exams so now june wont be as stressful. :)

So how do you manage with all that stress? SLEEP!

Sleeping can be one of the best helps, waking up with 40000 words to write on some topic with a hang over is a NO GO! So sleep everyone!

Eating, if you eat well, it can help you strive to be your best! As a student we all know that money is tight, well you have to pay for rent, food, drink, clubs, sure where does healthy eating come into it? Well guys, eat healthy. A pizza may only be €2.50 but if you buy vegetables and fresh food in bulk it can work out alot cheaper and save on your esb bills!

Relax, stress can take over. DONT LET IT! Stay in, read a book, watch a film, have some friends over, the cheaper the better, sit back relax and enjoy everything around you! A positive mental state will keep anyone sane and not stressed. Yes i know this can be hard in a student house, your house mates screaming drunkenly, someone banging on the walls, a roaring television. Think about something relaxing and enjoy it :) 

                                                              Rag week in carlow :)