How To Depot MAC Eyeshadows

Today, I thought I would show you how to depot MAC Eyeshadows. At most MAC stores, you have the option of just asking for the eyeshadow pan so they can go straight into a palette but, when I was making the most of the duty free MAC in Gatwick, they told me they only had the ones in the pot. But not to worry, depotting MAC Eyeshadows are relatively easy to do. I'm going to be depotting my favourite of all time, Rice Paper and All That Glitters

The first bit you have to do is probably the fiddliest. The containers have a small groove between the bottom of the pan and the dish that the eyeshadow sits it. Using a sharp, flat knife, you need to carefully pry the two apart. I find it best to loosen the two corners and wiggle my way up. This bit is a bit annoying and it can take a while but persevere and it will pop out.

Next, wrap a bit of aluminium foil round some hair straighteners so you don't get any hot plastic on them and ruin them and let the pan sit on the hot iron for a minute or two so it softens the plastic and the glue. You may have to hold it down so it makes good contact with the heat and if so, please be careful of your fingers!

When the plastic is soft enough, you will be able to press your knife into the bottom of the plastic and push the bottom of the metal pan out. It will be hot so I use tweezers to get the metal pan out.

You will probably be left with a lot of glue residue on the bottom of the metal pan but a cotton wool pad with nail varnish will get it shiny and smooth and ready to sit in your palette.

And that's all it takes! Obviously, as you are using a sharp knife and heat, please be careful. 

Even doing these two, I caught myself on the edge of the straighteners.

Otherwise, this is a handy and straight forward way to depot MAC Eyeshadows

I hope this post was useful!

xx

DIY Shabby Chic Dressing Table

It's amazing what a lick of paint can do and if you're prepared for a bit of elbow work, you can turn an old, tired looking piece of furniture into something much more modern and fresh. I had been after a dressing table for a while now, but after looking online in the usual places such as Dunhelm and IKEA, I looking at around £100. However, my mum spied this little piece in a second hand shop just round the corner from us and it only cost us £45, after haggling it down from £60. Bargain, right?! Fair enough, it doesn't have a stool but we're raiding the second hand shop again in a few days time to look for something that would work with it.

To transform furniture into something like this, is surprisingly easy. The key is good wood and a lot of sandpaper. A lot of modern furniture is made out of MDF which doesn't work in the same way when it comes to sanding and repainting and that's why finding something made out of good solid wood  is really important. You basically want to sand down all the surfaces you're going to repaint- I used a sandpaper with a fine grain but medium would work to. You don't need to strip it right back to the original wood- you just need to take enough of the varnish off to give it a rougher surface and therefore something for the new layer of paint to cling on to. If there are any cracks in the wood, it's nothing some wood adhesive can't fix or, if needs be, a small nail and this should be done and left to dry before painting.

The paint I used was a matt paint in Natural Calico which we conveniently had in the shed and you can still get hold of. I was advised against using a gloss paint. I did two coats of paint, which in warm weather, dried within a few hours. Once everything was dry, I gave the edges a quick rub with a bit of sandpaper to rough them up a bit. If you want to distress the surfaces even more, use a medium grain sandpaper as the paint clogs the paper up more than a fine layer of varnish but I left mine as it is with white surfaces and a few rough edges. I will eventually shine up the handles on the draw eventually.

And that's all it takes. It's amazing how simple it can be. So if you're looking for some new furniture and don't mind a bit of hard work, take a look round your local second hand shops. You never know what you might find and with a bit of paint, a nice afternoon and a bit of time, you've got a completely transformed piece of furniture.

A little bit different, but I hope you guys have liked this post.

xx

DIY Coconut Oil and Honey Hair Mask

Yes, I know I said I wouldn't be around too much because of exams, but it's precisely for that reason that I'm writing this post- essay and revision procrastination in its most simplest form. I decided to give this DIY hair treatment a go after hearing various good things about using coconut oil on your hair. So why not?

Coconut oil is said to be one of the best things you can put on your hair as it really nourish and moisturises it as it helps stop protein loss from your hair so if you're a curly girl like me, this is great! It's also said to be great at combating scalp issues such as dandruff. I got mine from an Indian shop near to where I live but you can also order it online from place like Amazon. If you can try and get extra virgin, unrefined coconut oil as it will be in its purest form and therefore, easier for your hair to absorb.

Honey is yet another natural ingredient that helps your hair stay healthy and happy. It can also over time, naturally lighten your hair.

The egg is optional, but as everyone knows, eggs are a great source of protein and hair is essentially just one long strand of protein so a little extra can't hurt. And in case you're wondering, it won't make your hair smell like eggs. That would only happen if its gone off. It also helps tie all the ingredients together but it's not essential.

Here's what you'll need:

Coconut Oil

Honey

Egg (Optional)

Microwaveable Bowl

Towel

Shower cap/ clingfilm/ plastic bag

1. Take your coconut oil and put the desired amount into a microwaveable bowl. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature

2. Melt it in the microwave for about 50 seconds and then stir the rest until it's completely melted. Be careful as we don't want the oil to be too hot- it should be warm to touch

3. Add the honey. About 1 tbsp should do it, you don't need too much or else it gets sticky very easily 

4. Re warm it in the microwave if necessary so that all the ingredients are liquid and smooth

5. Add the egg (optional)

6. Whisk all the ingredients together.

7. Grab a towel round your shoulders and, working from the tips up, work it into your hair

8. Leave on for 30-40 mins and keep it wrapped up and covered

9. Wash out with a small amount of shampoo

And that's it! It doesn't matter if you don't get all the residue out as a little bit left on overnight, will do no harm and then you can just wash your hair the next morning as normal. Your hair will be left smooth and shiny. Some people recommend this as a regular treatment to combat damaged or dry hair and it's definately something I will be considering to keep my hair healthy as possible.

Let me know if you try it!

Hope you've had a good weekend 

xx

DIY- Studded Denim Jacket

In keeping with current trends, I too have gone a bit loco for studding. But seeing that it usually hikes the price of an item of clothing right up, I thought I would do a bit of DIY.

You can buy studs off eBay for super cheap. Mine came from Hong Kong within 10 days. All you need is time, patience and a steady hand. Pay attention to spacing when doing it. I underestimated where I wanted mine and now have little red dots where I marked it which I'm gonna scrub off.

Carefully, snip a hole into the fabric. It doesn't matter hugely if you over shoot it a little because with a bit of navy thread, it can be stitched up again. The studs just screw together, as you can see, so it's super easy and cheap to add a little bit more edge to a denim jacket.

I still have a few studs left so I'm eyeing up a dip dye jumper I have.

And let me know if you give it a go, I'd love to see the results!

xx