Tutorial and Review: Add Bling to your shoes using Stickcons

Tutorial and Review: Add Bling to your shoes using Stickcons

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have both a review and tutorial post for you so it is very picture heavy but I hope you enjoy it! One of the latest fashion trends is to add 'bling' to items whether it be phones, bags or shoes.  Today I will be looking at an affordable and fun way to do this at home using Stickcons.

My first impression of Stickcons was how pretty the stones look and how gorgeous the colours are.  I have silver, red and blue stones which are all stunning and showed off to the full by the simple, bright packaging. Other colours are also available on the Stickcons website which has a gallery showing the different colours available (including multi-coloured, black, red, blue, silver, yellow, green and lilac).  At first glance it isn't obvious that these stones are in fact strips (it says it on the packaging but I was so busy admiring the stones I missed it) which means the process of adding them is stress free.  Here is a little more information about Stickcons before the tutorial:

• Stickcons™ strips are DIY self adhesive sticker strips that transform & bling up the rubber parts of Converse sneakers.
• Stickcons™ kits have a secret glue formula which makes them durable, flexible and removable on rubber.
• Stickcons™ are designed to fit any size, just stick them on and just pull to snap off any excess –meaning no need for a scissors.
• Stickcons™ are available in 10 colours to match your mood or your outfit.
• Stickcons™ are the affordable alternative to the ever popular trend of customised sneakers

Tutorial: The steps:

1. Gently pull the strips of diamante off the cardboard backing, starting with the largest semi circle.
2. Push each gem down and move the flexible strip into position as you go, this way all your stones are lined up correctly.  It's good if you can find a guide on your shoe for example the bottom of a line.
3. Once you have finished a line, gently pull the end of the strip, whilst holding the gems that are already stuck down and they will tear off leaving you with a perfect finish to you line.
4. Complete steps 1 and 2 but this time use the next semi circle for the toe section of your shoe, followed by the three straight strips.
5. Once the toe area on your shoes is complete you need to start on the sides.  It doesn't matter what order you do this in but I found it easiest to start with the middle section, followed by the top and lastly the bottom.  You stick these stones on in exactly  the same way.
6. Finally, push down on all the stones one last time to make sure they are all securely in place.

Before you know it, your boring, average shoes have been jazzed up into a unique pair of footwear.  I really can't stress enough how much fun I had creating this look and how easy it is.  It doesn't take long to do and is the perfect creative task for both adults and children alike! If you wanted to you could even cut the strips to separate the individual stones to create a different look or use these gems on other things. I haven't found the staying power of the stones an issue (I've only worn them out twice so far) but if you are concerned, you could add a little glue to the back of the strips to improve their staying power even more.

Using Stickcons stones are a really great affordable alternative to the expensive 'instonisation' trend and are available in the retail store Schuh for €11.

I am thinking about filming a video tutorial using Stickcons.  Please let me know if it is something you would like to see :)

What do you think of Stickcons? Will you try them?

OPI Every Day is Oktober Fest Review

OPI Every Day is Oktober Fest Review

I recently attended a beauty bloggers meet up at Rush House of Hair where we were lucky enough to have an OPI or Essie manicure.  The colours available varied between the two brands, OPI having a slightly more Autumnal feel so it was a pretty easy choice to go with one of their shades.  One of the first ones I spotted was Every Day is Oktober Fest which is from the OPI Germany collection and it is the perfect Autumn shade.

Every Day is Oktober Fest is a gorgeous deep plum which had a subtle hint of red and shimmer.  Depending on the light it can look a little more red or purple as seen in the pictures above but always looks gorgeous.  Whilst wearing the polish, a countless number of people commented and it is definitely a shade I would like to add to my collection. It is perfect for Autumn and Winter due to the mixture of colours and this shade looks great when teamed with a variety of outfits whether it be for day or night.

The formulation seemed to be a reasonable consistency and with only two coats my nails had a flawless finish.  However, it only lasted two days before chipping which is pretty poor, especially for such an expensive polish.  I'm not sure what top coat was used but all of the OPI polishes in my collection have lasted longer than this without chipping so I like to think it may be down to the top coat that was combined with it rather than Oktober Fest

You can buy Every Day is Oktober Fest from Look Fantastic for £11.00.   I would like to purchase this polish sometime in the near future and hope when teamed with a different top coat it will remain chip free for a lot longer *fingers crossed* because I love it.. I think it's a new favourite!

Essie Muchi Review

Essie Muchi Review

Today I have a short and sweet review of the Essie nail polish, Muchi.  This polish is a gorgeous pale pink shade which is fresh looking but not overpowering.  Since wearing this colour I have had a number of compliments and I think it is a really easy to wear pink which is perfect for Spring. I really love that it gives me a nice pop of colour but at the same time isn't in your face and goes with a whole host of outfits.

I love Essie polishes but I do admit they are a bit hit and miss.  The consistency of this polish is thinner than others I have used such as Bahama Mama which means that it takes three coats before you get an even coverage.  Consequently, this means this polish takes longer to dry.. in fact after twenty minutes it still wasn't quite there but by then I had enough so I got on with what I needed to do and did end up with a few minor dents in it but thankfully nothing major.

Having said this, once dry, the staying power of this polish when teamed with base and top coat is brilliant.  So far I have been wearing it for five days and I haven't got one chip.  It is pretty impressive that despite not being careful with my nails at all and doing normal every day tasks such as typing, travelling and washing my hair etc it still looks as good as new.  For me, this definitely makes up for the fact it took an age to dry.. I would much rather be a little more patient and wait a while longer for it to dry if it means I'm going to have a longer wearing varnish at the end of it.

This polish is available from Superdrug for £7.99

What do you think of this polish? What are your recommendations of other Essie shades?