Guest Post: A Sulty Smokey Night Look!

Guest Post Written by Marla

Today the incredibly talented Marla of Makeup By Marla shares her Face of the Day (FOTD) from this past weekend. She also goes through the list of products she used to create the look!

On Saturday night I went out with a few friends to “The Marketplace”. The Marketplace is a tiny plaza that has restaurants, boutiques, and a movie theatre. I didn't want to look too made up but I wanted to wear a dark smokey eye to make my eyes pop.

Going out at night is really the ultimate test for your makeup. The staying power and durability needs to be good because you don’t want to have to be reapplying all night! I used a variety of drugstore and high end products that I both rely on and trust to stay put all night.

I will add small anecdotes about products that I recommend wearing when going out at night.

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Zara Haul! (plus a small rant)

Hey Everyone!

The weekend is here already - I can't believe where the time goes. I've been super busy lately, as February is always a busy month! There's George's birthday (the big 30!!! woohoo!), Valentine's Day and our Anniversary (6 years!) all very close together. So, I have lots of planning to do, with very little time!

I've had several e-mails already for guest posting, and haven't had the chance to get back to them yet. But, I will get back to any unanswered e-mails by Monday.

In other news, I wanted to mention that I think it's official that I'm boycotting purchasing Essie polishes, unless I come across a ridiculously unique shade. For my Valentine's Day themed nails yesterday, I already have chips on every finger. It's one of those polishes where you'll look down at your hands randomly and find that the polish completely peeled off a nail. My mom used the same polish and the same thing happened to her. I mean, that can happen with any polish, but every Essie polish I have is either too thin (streaks galore) or too thick and gunky (like I left it in my car in 90 degree heat). I think I'm going to stick with OPI from now on.

Anyways, onto my haul!

Zara had an amazing sale for January, and I literally went nuts. Everything was an incredible deal, but I wish I spotted the sale earlier so I could have caught some extra goodies!

I purchased three pairs of shoes; one pair of knee-high boots, one pair of ankle boots and one pair of peep-toe heels.

I'm in crazy love with the ankle boots. The leather is so soft, and they just look so classy. They had them in black as well, but I was too late, and they all sold out!

I also purchased two bags that I've been wanting all winter. They were reduced to $39.99 each, and they're both real leather! 

The leopard print bag is huge and really structured. I think I'll be using as a briefcase, rather than a handbag. I've seen it on several fashion bloggers and I think it's such a chic accessory.

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NOTD: Essie Super Bossa Nova with Hearts!

Essie Super Bossa Nova Nail Lacquer

When it comes to painting designs on my nails, most of the time I end up wishing I never attempted it in the first place - as most of the time it looks like I drew the designs with my eyes closed. I wanted to do a simple design in the spirit of Valentine's Day, so I added a little heart to each nail. Not the best job in the world, but I thought the outcome was kinda cute.

I used two coats of Essie Super Bossa Nova, which is a lovely fuchsia with very fine bright pink/purple shimmers. Essie's Nail Polish formula makes me want to scream at times - the first coat applied beautifully, and the second coat was difficult to spread. It was like applying old, goopy polish to my nails. I have this problem with Essie all of the time. But, by the time I applied my top coat (Seche Vite), no signs of a "struggle" showed through. It's a very pretty summer shade for the fingers and toes.

I added the hearts simply by using the tip of a toothpick. I dipped the tip of the toothpick in a small pool of the polish and laid the tip on a slight diagonal to my nail. It should create a half heart shape. Then, repeat on the opposite side to connect the heart.

You can practice on paper to get it right before you attempt it on your freshly painted nails!

You can get creative and draw borders and/or designs around the hearts. With the tip of the toothpick, I made a white dotted outline around one of my nails, and with a glitter nail art pen, outlined another heart.

What's on your nails?! Do you ever paint designs on your nails for the holidays?

Introducing Guest Posting on Miss Natty's Beauty Diary!

Read my 'Guest Posting' page for details!