How to: Fishtail Plait

This is quite a pitiful post in the sense that my fishtail plait is slightly pathetic.

I've been longing for my hair to grow long enough to do a fishtail braid.  I think they are whimsical, gorgeous and the messier the better.

Yet for something that appears so effortless ... well, it's blimmin difficult!  I swear I built up a bit of a sweat trying to achieve this and my arms are aching from holding onto my hair for so long.

Now that's a fishtail plait!

However, practise makes perfect and this was only my first real go at it.  The more I do it and the longer my locks grow, hopefully I will achieve the stunningly plaited tresses a la Leona Lewis, Lauren Conrad and so on.

So here's what I did.

• I pulled my hair to one side and split into 2 sections so I have section 1 and section 2
• I took a thin piece of hair (this can be as thick or thin as you desire depending on what result you want) from the back of section 2 and pulled it across to meet and join with section 1. 
• I then took a thin piece of hair from section 1 and pulled it across to meet and join with section 2.
• Repeat these steps until you have finished your plait
• ... and voila!

pitiful, right?!

Sounds easy huh?

That's what I thought ...

Would love to know your tips for making this a little easier or is it just me who's all fingers and thumbs?

x

Top of the knots

At last!

My hair is long enough for the top knot.

It honestly feels like it has taken an age for my hair to get to a decent length to do anything with it. I had gone for a bobbed style about a year and a half ago (maybe more) which was nice at first but I assumed it would grow out in no time. I was wrong, at one point it even felt like my hair was getting shorter!! Frustration kicked in.

Through the summer, I managed to plait my hair which felt like a real accomplishment and meant I could do some cooler, interesting things with my hair.

I also managed to perfect candyfloss hair - basically backcombing all over and pinning up every which way.

It was a joyous day however, when I managed to lift my hair to the top of my head and pin in a loose bun.

Once the hairstyle of chavs, about a year or so ago it made a bit of a comeback in a more sophisticated guise. Both casual and chic, the top knot can be worn loose, messy, tight or slick. Even Nicole Ritchie opted for this style on her wedding day - which looked utterly stunning. That dress! :)

This is how I achieve the look.

• Wash and Condition hair


• Towel dry


• Add mousse (Charles Worthington) to the roots and an anti frizz serum(John Frieda or Sammi) to the ends of my hair.


• Blow dry and run through with straighteners if desired


• Brush hair through and pull up to the top of your head and secure with a band. You are probably best not to be too neat with this regardless of how you want the end result to look


• Twist the ends leftover into a bun/knot shape and secure with bobby pins


• Hair spray to keep in place.


• For a neat look, apply hairspray or extra bobby pins to any stray hairs, for a messy look, rough up the bun with your fingers or only loosely insert the bobby pins.


• Voila!
  

I mostly wear my hair in a top knot in a more casual setting as it keeps my hair out of the way while still looking a l'il bit glam and doesn't detract from clothes or make up but I also wear it for nights out when it helps to calm down a glam outfit adding a quirky touch to it. It creates a more laid back vibe when dressed up for a night out.

What hair trends do you like at the moment?

x

I crown thee ... Queen of Hearts

Next weekend is Halloween and this year I have a 'proper' halloween party to go to.

When I say proper, I mean that it requires the party goer to dress as something ghoulish or scary, so no sexy mermaid or minnie mouse for me :(

I don't watch a lot of scary movies so I don't have a lot of inspiration in they way of frightful costume ideas so it took me a while to decide what/who to go as.

I finally decided on a baddie from one of this years iconic movies - Alice in Wonderland. Queen of Hearts being the said baddie. She's scary enough, huh?

So, I have the dress, the shoes, the bag, nails, make up ... even the hair but one vital piece of the costume was missing.

The Crown.

After scouring the shops and the internet there was nothing that suited. I was either offered cheap tiaras or pink fluffy crowns from the likes of Claire's and offered pricey but beautiful creations from Etsy and Ebay. Not wanting to break the bank, however, I thought I would try my hand at making my own.

The beginnings of my crown

Fortunately I live right next to a crafts store so on Saturday I went for a browse and left laden with moulding wire, swarovski beads and glass lovehearts.

This is my first attempt at trying to make a tiara or crown of any sort and although a bit messy as I had no plan in place for how it would look when I started, I really love the result. It has even inspired me to design and make more.
I plan on placing the crown nonchalantly on the side of my head although I have made it big enough to place in the centre. Hopefully my massive backcombed hair on the night will keep it in place.

To create my little masterpiece I used wire of 3 different guage/thickness with the thickest being used as the base of the crown and depending on weight of the beads I used an appropriate wire to support.

I also used 3 different styles of bead - a red swarovski crystal bead, a red glass loveheart and a black plastic bead. I shaped wire in the shape of love hearts all the way around the base with a main large black and red loveheart at the front of the crown.

If I had put more thought into the whole effort I would have designed the crown before I began and would have known what materials I wanted prior to purchase but these are all things I can change for next time as I am sure I will try this out again. It's quite therapeutic.

What do you think of my DIY crown? Does it do Queen of Hearts justice?

x

How to: Leopard Print Nails

I can't stop looking at my nails!

I have always been of the opinion that nail art is a little bit tacky and always thought my nails were too small to try anything exciting anyway, but this morning I gave it a go. I am delighted with the results and long gone is any judgement of tacky. Or at least, it's the kind of tacky that I like!

Last night I painted my nails blue then today, on a whim, decided to add some leopard print to them. Here is how I did it:

I used the following:
From L-R; Sally Hansen Diamond Strength base coat; M&S nail colour in azure blue; Illamasqua Boosh; Barry M nail paint in bright pink; Nail bar top coat; a kebab stick (yes, you heard me right!)

1) I started by applying my base coat and painting my nails blue with M&S Azure Blue (this was from my Scottish Fashion Awards goody bag)
2) Once the blue had dried fully, I added blobs/spots of Barry M's bright pink. I wasn't too neat about this at all just 'blobbing' the nail paint randomly on my nail.
3) Again, I waited until the blobs were fully dry then I got my kebab stick to add the definition around the blobs. Now, a kebab stick probably isn't the easiest or best tool to use but it worked for me as it had a pointed end that I could dip in and out of the nail polish. I could have used a brush but I don't think it would have achieved the same precision.

I used Illamasqua Boosh which was a gift from the lovely Mizzworthy. It is my favourite black!

I applied the black around the pink blobs. I did this in a broken, disjointed manner. If it looks too neat you don't achieve the leopard print appearance. I also added a couple of random black blobs for affect.
4) Finally, once dried I added a topcoat then repeated on my right hand - which is waaaay harder if you are right handed like me.

And here is the finished result! What d'ya think?
The whole process really wasn't as time consuming as I thought it would be, maybe about 30-40 minutes. It really depends on your polish and how quickly it dries.
Now I know how easy it can be, I can't wait to try out some other patterns and colours on my nails.

What do you think of nail art?

x