Tag: Tutorial

Bronze Flick Liner & Pink Lips

June is here and so is a new video up on my YouTube channel! This is my second makeup video to date and so far I’m really enjoying filming them (when everything goes to plan that is). I always love playing about and experimenting with makeup so I thought I may as well film some of it from time to time to show any of you who may be interested. It’s often one thing finding out what products a person uses and another thing seeing the process. It can often be intriguing to see different people’s application techniques and here are some of mine…

Products used:

Blistex Happy Lips Mango

MAC Face and Body Foundation in shade C4

Boddi Brown Corrector in shade light to medium peach

Illamasqua Multi Facet Palette in Semblance

Gosh Xtreme Liquid Gel Eye Liner in shade Bronze

New Look Pure Colour Eye Liner in shade brown

Urban Decay Naked Concealer in shade medium neutral

Boots Natural Collection Loose Face Powder in shade neutral translucent

Sleek Contour Kit in shade medium

MAC Powder Blush in shade Dolly Mix

New Look Pure Colour Lip Liner in shade mid pink

Boots No7 BB Lips in shade Ballerina

Samio x

June 1, 2015
Simple Everyday Makeup

Although I do love to try out different makeup looks, some days I love nothing more than to keep it simple. Going light on the skin and subtle on the eyes can create a more natural looking makeup look, that’s great for day to day wear.

I’d been meaning to do a makeup video tutorial for a while and so when I had a little extra time whilst getting ready last week, I decided to film this look.

Makeup used
Urban Decay Naked Concealer – Shade, Medium Neutral

Bobbi Brown BB Cream – Shade, Natural

Sleek Contour Kit – Shade, Medium

Sleek Brow Kit – Shade, Extra Dark

Natural Collection Loose Powder – Shade, Neutral Translucent

Makeup Revolution Blush – Shade, Wow!

Bourjois Mascara – Shade, Black

Revlon PhotoReady Skinlights – Shade, Pink Light

H&M Eyeshadow – Available In Store

Primark P.S. Love Nude Lipliner (in store only)

Hello Kitty Lip Balm – Gift

Samio x

May 17, 2015
My Braid Out Tutorial Video – Getting To Grips With YouTube

This week I uploaded my fifth video onto YouTube. A few people had been requesting I do a braid out video, so I finally got round to doing that and for those of you who have watched it already, thanks for taking the time to do so and I hope you found it useful.

I’m slowly getting to grips with the whole YouTube thing and I’ve really appreciated all the lovely comments and suggestions so far (which have of course prompted me to make this current video).

I’d originally only planned on doing a one off video, after having requests for a video on my Wash and Go routine. But I guess there is no such thing as ‘just one video’ when it comes to YouTube, as I am now learning. I like to go with the flow with these things, so we’ll see if it becomes a regular occurrence or not and although I’ve not quite got the bug for it yet (like I do with blogging), I must say I have found it surprisingly enjoyable (aside from a few minor filming/editing frustrations).

So anyway, here is my most recent video. It is aimed at people with curly to Afro hair but I actually have a friend with European/straight hair who uses the same technique (with no product, on damp hair). So some of you non Afro haired ladies out there could find it useful for creating waves or lose curls in your hair, heat free. My advise is, the less coarse your hair texture, the less product you’ll probably need to use… Anyway, check out the video and you’ll see. Plus if you’d like to see my step by step written braid out tutorial, you can check out this older post here.

http://youtu.be/wOM78iwC4gM

Samio x

April 10, 2015
2 Easy Methods for Creating a Quick and Easy Frohawk

It’s always good to experiment with different styles with your afro or curly hair, especially if you’re transitioning or are in a process of trying to grow your hair and fancy something different. Some days the regular puff just doesn’t cut it, so why not try out a frohawk if you haven’t done before. It’s actually a rather simple style to achieve and here a my two easiest methods for doing so…

Method 1 – The Kirby Grip/Bobby Pin Method

Whatever you like to call them, kirby grips or bobby pins, using them to pin your hair in place is a super easy way to create a frohawk hair style.

First of all I added volume and fizz to my hair by combing it out slightly with an afro comb. You can do this look with any type of curly hair of course, I just decided to go for a more wild, frizzy look so that I could create a bigger frohawk.

First of all get a bunch of kirby grips. I used around 8 or 10 kirby grips (between 4 and 5 on each side). For a tighter more slick style or if your adding product to neaten up the sides you may want to use more kirby grips.

Make sure all of your kirby grips have their nibs on the end, like the one on the right here. Often I find some of my older kirby grips lose their nib, like this one on the left, which can be slightly painful as well as damaging on your hair when trying to pin it in place. So be sure to throw any kirby grips without a nib in the bin before you get started.

(btw, kirby grips/bobby pins go curvy side down when sliding them into your hair, in case you weren’t sure)

Start by grabbing the lower section of your hair on one side of your head and pull it back before sliding in your first kirby grip to hold the section of hair in place.

Work forward, grabbing the next section of hair and pinning the hair back in place until you have lifted and pinned all of your hair on one side.

Work from the front to the back of your hair if you find it easier and repeat the technique on the other side of your head so that both sides are pinned up.

There you have it, your kirby grip frohawk. Like I said, if you want a slicker, more neater looking frohawk then you can add products to the sides and comb the hair as you pin it to make it look super neat. I however rather like the rough and ready look.

Method 2 – The Bobble/Hair Tie Method

Again, whatever you call these, bobbles (my personal favourite) or hair ties, you will need three of them.

Section the middle front part of hair on your head. This doesn’t have to be neat but try and make it central, then bobble it.

Repeat this with the middle section of hair (behind the first puff), this time also bringing in the hair from the sides, up to round about your ears. Again don’t worry about the sections being super neat.

The first two sections tied up should look like this – a semi frohawk.

Finally grab the remaining lower section of hair and tie in a bobble.

This will create three puffs on your head, which you can tweak around slightly with your fingers to make sure all the hair blends together (if it doesn’t initially).

And voilà, the quick and easy three bobble frohawk.

So if you’re having a bad hair day, or maybe just fancy doing something different, why not try out a quick and easy frohawk using one of these simple methods.

I would love to know some of your thoughts. Have you ever tried a frohawk or do you think you’d like to try out this style in the future?

Samio x

January 13, 2015
Naturally Curly Hair – Wash and Go Routine

I get asked quite a lot about my hair routine and more recently quite a few people have been asking me to do a video on how I style my hair. I previously posted a mini video of my wash and go on Instagram a while back but since some of you were asking, I though it was about time that I made a full length version for those of you with similar hair or others who may just be curious.

I’ve done a previous post detailing my wash and go here. Since then some of the products I use have changed, plus I have a different hair cut. In this video I use Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment and Macadamia Leave In Cream . Prior to drying I washed my hair with The Body Shop’s Rainforest Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video. If you do, please like it. 🙂

Samio x

January 11, 2015
How to Add Volume To Your Hair Whilst Keeping Curl Definition

Since having my hair cut shorter I’ve been trying my best not to over style my hair and blow it out from the root to combat shrinkage. Instead I’ve been reverting back to my old ways and have been trying to do braids outs as often as I can, only using heat styling when it’s for work. For me, I find doing a braid out really helps to lengthen the hair and also keep my curls looking fresh, heat free. I have a previous post on how I do my braid out, which you can view here.

If you notice on my braid out tutorial post (linked above) my curl pattern looks a lot different from my hair in this post. This is partly to do with the fact that my hair has been cut a lot shorter as well as having a fringe/bangs added and also I have used different products for each braid out. Also you have to take into account that with curly hair, no two hair days will be the same.

In this post the same technique has been used to do the braid out but I applied the products to dry hair (using products to add moisture and dampen the hair), also not using a brush and instead gently combing through the hair with my fingers as I did each braid. For this braid out I used the Macadamia Nourishing leave in cream and the John Frieda Frizz Ease Oil Elixir. I like to mix up which products I use from time to time and depending on what type of results I want, I tend to alternate.

So here is my hair post braid out. My curls are defined but for me I find it’s a little too neat and I also like to have a lot more volume.

The thing I find with a braid out, is that it’s very easy to disturb the newly formed curl pattern and so I don’t just dive in there with an afro comb like I usually would after a wash and go. Instead I divide the hair into rough sections and build volume carefully that way.

For me I use a clip or in this case a wash peg (my clips seem to have ran away) and clip the upper section of one side of my hair to work on adding volume on the lower section. I do this by holding my desired section a couple of inches from the end and then carefully work my afro comb from the root up to where my hand is. This way the curls are being brushed out but only to where my hand is holding. So not to ruin any of the curl definition at the ends.

Using the same technique, I then begin to work on the upper section of my hair before moving onto the other side. I make sure not to back comb my hair whilst doing this. I’m only brushing downward from the root to where my hand is and never up, so I’m careful not to cause the hair to become knotty and damaged. Also it’s a lot easier for me to work though my hair after a braid out so when I am combing out the roots I’m never forceful or breaking the hairs as I’m doing it.

Afterwards my hair is left looking volumized with my curl definition still in tact.

Samio x

More posts you might like: Macadamia Natural Oil: My Curls Before and After

Braid Out Vs Wash and Go

November 25, 2014
Festive Christmas Day Makeup Tutorial

I’ve said it about ten times already but I’m feeling super festive! I always love getting into the Christmas spirit but this year I feel even more Christmassy than ever.

The run up to Christmas Day seems to have gone so fast that I’ve barely had time to do any proper planning. Luckily though, all my presents are purchased, the fridge is full and now I just have two more restless sleeps until I can have my much anticipated Gothic Christmas! Yes that’s right, our family is doing a themed Christmas this year and I can’t wait.

I came up with the idea of a themed Christmas last month when I was in a period of loving black. I just loved the idea of having an Adams Family/The Munsters style family Christmas Dinner. I was surprised to hear my family were well up for the idea and even ended up planned and purchasing outfits before I did! I even spent a large chunk of last night making a luxurious Vampire cape for my boyfriend, which turned out quite fabulous I must say.

With everyone else sorted I’d almost forgot to pick out an outfit for myself. Luckily, with me owning an array of ‘Gothic attire’, I was able to pull something out of my wardrobe last minute. Strangely enough the planning of a Gothic Christmas has made me feel more festive than ever and I am more than giddy for Christmas Day.

Anyway, despite the fact that I’m getting ready to release my inner Goth, as it’s Christmas Eve, Eve, I thought I’d do a Christmas Day makeup blog post. So for those of you who are looking for some festive makeup inspiration and won’t be going for smokey eyes and dark lips like me, then maybe this step by step tutorial can come in handy for you.

The Eyes

Step 1:
Prep the eyelids with your regular foundation and fill in your eyebrows as usual.
With a light shimmer, go over the lid of your eye. Here I’ve used Front Cover’s eye shadow shade, Biscuit.

Step 2:
Using a light shimmery brown eye shadow, shadow in just above the eyelid crease and then blend. I used shade Hazel from Front Cover’s Rainbow Eyes Pallet.

Step 3:
Draw on some winged liner using a black eyeliner pencil.

Step 4:
Using a glitter gel liner, draw a winged line above the black pencil line.
For this I used Collection’s Glam Crystal Dazzling Gel Liner in Funk, which is a gold shade.

Step 5:
Once the gold glitter liner has dried, go over the black pencil eyeliner with a black liquid eyeliner in order to create a more solid line. (Go over the glitter eyeliner again afterwards if needed)
Apply black mascara to the top lashes only.

Step 6:
Using a gold eyeliner pencil, liner the bottom of your eye. I used Model’s Own Golden Girl Glitter Eye Pencil.

Step 7:
Add black mascara to your bottom lashes for the end result.

The Lips

Step 1:
Lightly liner the lips using a brown to light brown to nude lip liner pencil, depending on your skin tone. For this I used a pencil in shade Cinnamon from Boots Natural Collection.

Step 2:
Again, finding a shade to suit your skin tone, fill the lips in with a nude to brown shade of lipstick. I used NYC’s Expert Lip Last in shade, Creamy Caramel 440.

Step 3:
Appling to the centre of the lips, add some gold shimmery lip gloss and carefully pat outwards with your finger to blend. The perfect gloss to use for this effect is Illamasqua’s Intense Lipgloss in shade, Stranger, as used here.

The Finished Look

A great variation to this look is to use a different colour glitter eyeliner. Here I’ve used Collection’s Glam Crystals Dazzling Gel Eyeliner in Pizzazz, which is a super festive green shade.

Samio x

December 23, 2013
Halloween Skull Face Paint Makeup Tutorial
This is a follow on from the previous post, on how I did my skull doll Halloween makeup. My boyfriend also opted for skull makeup and I was quite surprised at his results. It’s always slightly awkward when your boyfriend does a better job at makeup than you, don’t you think?

Look below to see step by step of how he achieved this look:

What he used:

For the application:
- A sponge.
- A bust set.
He used the sponge to apply the white face paint to the whole of is face, avoiding the eye area.

Next he used one of the fine brushes to outline and fill in the shape around the eyes, using the black face paint.

This was then done to draw and fill in the nose.

A thin line was drawn across the top lip, spreading out along either side of the face, again using the black face paint.

Along the black line he drew ‘U’ shapes, above and below the line, to create the look of teeth.

Lightly watering down the paint on the brush, he then shaded above and below the ‘U’ shapes, to add more detail.

At either sides of the face he drew a circle outline, to later be filled in.

He next filled in the outlines made on either side of the face, using the black face paint. He then added slight detail above the brown line, again using the black paint slightly watered down.

A crack line was added to a top corner of the face to give the look of a cracked skull.

To finish off the look, he painted his neck and ears with the black face paint.

Happy Halloween!

Samio x
October 31, 2013
Skull Doll Halloween Makeup Tutorial
My Halloween festivities began on Saturday and in true Samio style I had to add a bit of colour and sparkle to my first Halloween creation. Not one to do things by half, I went all out with a full face of paint, a wig and giant lace bow. Who said Halloween can’t be fabulous!

Look below to see step by step, how I achieved this look.

What I used:
- Snazaroo Classic Colours, white face paint.
- Snazaroo Classic Colours, black face paint.
- Models Own, Too Turquoise glitter eye pencil.
- Models Own, blue duo eyeshadow.
- Models Own black kohl eyeliner pencl.
- (Any Brand) black liquid eyeliner.
- Collection 2000, Glam Crystals eyeliner – Le Freak & Hustle.
- Models Own, black mascara.
- Jeweled fake eyelashes.
- Seventeen, New Black lipstick.
- Sleek, bronzing powder, dark.
For application:
- One face paint sponge.
- One double ended foundation brush.
- One eyeshadow applicator.
- Powder/contouring brush
Examples of some of the products used (colours vary):

I started by applying the white face paint to my face using my face paint sponge. I covered my face, stopping just before my hair line, going to the edge of my jaw line and avoiding my ears, as to create a mask type shape.

Once the sponge application had been applied, I then left it to dry and then painted on a second layer to create better coverage. This time I used the thick end of my double ended makeup brush.

After painting my face, I used the glitter eye pencil to draw and colour in two large circles around my eyes. I then used my eyeshadow applicator to apply the bright blue eyeshadow, to the eyelids and just under the eye.

Next I carefully drew around the blue circles, using the black eyeliner pencil, before going over the line with a black liquid eyeliner.

Usiging the Glam Crystals glitter eyeliner in Le Freak, I followed the outside edge of the black circle line, to create an outter glittery line.

As before, I repeted to draw another black line around the outside of the glitter line, again using pencil and then liquid eyeliner. I then began to carefully draw half circles around the outter line.

I contiuned the half circle pattern around both eyes and then filled them in using the Glam Crystals glitter eyeliner in Hustle.

Next I applied black mascara to my top lashes and using eyelash glue, I applied my jeweled fake eyelashes.

Moving onto the nose, I used my pencil eyeliner to draw a light outline of the shape I wanted my skull nose to be.

I coloured in the skull nose shape, using the black face paint. This could also be done using an eyeliner pencil or liquid eyeliner.

I then went onto colouring the lips, using Seventeen lipstick in shade New black. I drew over the top lip line and slightly inside the botton lip line, to create a doll type lip shape. I then drew two lines out from either side of mouth.

Using the black eyeliner pencil, I roughly drew verticle lines through the horizontal lines either side of my mouth.

Then using the same technique as around the eyes, on my forhead I drew a love heart using the eyeline pencil, going over it with the liquid eyeliner. I then filled in the heart shape with the Glam Crystals glitter eyeliner in Le Freak.

For the finishing touches I used a makeup brush to heavily contour my cheeks, using Sleeks bronzing powder in dark. I then went over this area again, using the the blue Models Own eyeshadow, as used on the eyes.

Once my makeup was finished, I added a wig and giant lace hair bow to create the finishing look…

Happy Halloween!

Samio x
October 28, 2013
O.P.I Rust Gradient Effect
On Saturday I was out for a friend’s birthday. Before hand I had my outfit all planned and I’d picked out a cute stripe and floral print dress I hadn’t worn before. I decided to paint my nails to match my dress and go for what I like to call a rust gradient effect.

How I achieved this nail art effect…

Step one:

What you will need.
- As I wanted my colours to match my dress I chose three nail varnished in similar shades to my dress: OPI shades – Lady in Black, Your Villa Or Mine and Alpine Snow. (Base coat and top coat are optional)
- Foam is needed to apply the gradient effect. For this you can use a clean sponge, some packaging or as I have done, use the foam that you often find inside jewellery boxes.
- Scissors will be required to cut your foam.
- Tweezers will help you hold the foam when applying the polish.
- A cotton bud and some liquid nail polish remover to neaten up the edges at the end.
Step Two:

Paint all your nails with a base coat (optional), then apply your first chosen colour and wait for it to dry.

Step Three:

Cut a small square from your foam (roughly half an inch squared). Pick up the cut piece of foam with your tweezers and with your second chosen colour, lightly apply the nail varnish to your foam.

Step Four:

Gently dab the coated foam to your nails, building up more and the ends and padding lighter towards the top to achieve the fading speckle effect…

… Continue this on all your nails. Reapply the nail varnish to the foam when needed.

Step Five:

Cut a new clean piece of foam and choose your third colour. Again repeat the the previous process, this time focusing on the tips of the nails and fading into the previous colour….

… You should be left with something similar to the image below, but if you’re anything like me, you will have made a mess in the process. So now it’s time to neaten up!

Step Six:

Neatening up is probably the easiest part. Simply get your cotton bud and dip it into your nail varnish remover liquid. With the cotton bud tip, rub around the edges of your nails to remove any excess nail varnish. Continue this until all the edges have been cleaned up. For an extra polished look, add a top coat to finish.

The Final Result

And that’s my tutorial on how I achieved my rust gradient effect nails… You can also try this look with so many different colour combinations, even adding more colours into the blend. Or how about adding glitter polish to the tips to add some sparkle!

I always love the results I get from this effect and it’s a simple technique you can use time and time again with so many different colours.

Samio x
October 1, 2013