Lee Stafford Chopstick Styler Review + Demo

Lee Stafford CHoPstick STYLER 

Price: £19.99

Stockist: Argos 

Whilst Kim K goes from long and luscious to short and defined, I've been experimenting between straight and mega curly styled hair. For thin spiral, Afro-tastic curls I have found the most perfect styling tool that creates Foxy Cleopatra hair. Firstly, no matter how resistant your hair is to heated curling tools, this bad boy will guarantee you the big hair you've always wanted. There are no heat settings on this tool, just your bog standard on/off switch, however the temperature of this baby is quite high, so make sure to prep your hair with a decent heat protectant. The chopstick styler provides instant volume with it's stick thin, slightly squared wand- it really is a chopstick I guess? Depending on how small the sections you take are, the tighter the curl. By taking larger and thicker sections of hair you can create looser type curls. The only niggle with this wonder wand is that sometimes the wand itself, can almost stick to the hair making it quite difficult to unravel the curls.

My just below, should length hair curls in around 30 minutes; simply because I like to take smaller pieces. As you can see from the photographs below, I love creating a tighter curled look that contrasts with my waved everyday hair- it's fun and different! The different ways I like to wear this style is firstly, in a middle parting. It adds so much volume and makes my noticeably oblong shaped head, well less oblongy? For a quick but subtle change, I will often swoop my whole mop over to one side, with a side parting; this emphasises the curls, making them super wild. Finally, a style I like to wear that is slightly childish and reminiscent of Saved By The Bell days but nevertheless, still cute- the half up, half down look. This style is perfect for when your locks start to get a little greasier and is quick, cute and big! When curling my hair with this tool (which I've done a lot recently) it genuinely stays put for 2-3 days, and that's without hairspray!

What's your favourite styling tool at the moment?

Real Techniques Nic's Picks

When it comes to brushes, Real Techniques have been getting it right since their first release in 2011. The notably affordable and chic looking make-up accessories have intrigued almost every girl around the world and have somehow overtaken MAC and Sigma Brushes in the space of nearly three years. The brushes do not shed after washes, they are unimaginably soft to touch and blend any product to a T. This set comes with a generous (for the price) but yet standard five brushes. The packaging is beyond professional; perfect for anyone with a kit and look pretty fabulous on my make-up table. The contrast of metallic silver with a matte black grip area work brilliantly- let's break it down shall we.

Cheek Brush (Set Exclusive):

My new holy grail foundation and powder brush, although it would work just as fab for contouring and applying cream products. It has not only become a staple in my personal make-up bag, but also in my kit- this brush is the reason I bought two of these sets; don't judge me. The synthetic hairs are incredibly soft but firm, allowing fluid and cream products to blend deliciously. I don't even know the whereabouts of my beloved Beauty Blender anymore- that's how in love I am with this tool! It's a fluffy dream that puts any other foundation brush to shame. 

Duo-Fiber Face Brush:

This baby fits perfectly in the make-up category of anything cheeks. Contouring, blush and even highlighting are made more natural when using this brush; it distributes product evenly and again- blends like nobodies business. This whole duo-fiber bollocks doesn't usually tickle my fancy but when using this brush for powder based products, it genuinely does affect the blending and application. An effortless face is easily accomplished with this tool- bravo!

Base Shadow Brush & Angled Shadow Brush (Set Exclusive):

So, when it comes to the best blending brushes, these are pretty much on par with our all time fave MAC 2'17. The quality is splendid and this shows when working with both eyeshadow and concealer. The Base Shadow Brush in this kit is your standard dome shaped blending brush, it is somewhere between the MAC 2'17 and 2'24. It gives an airbrush finish when used in conjunction with concealer, and blends eyeshadow beautifully in the crease. The Angled Shadow Brush in this set was simply made for applying and blending colour into the outer-v. It is again, soft and can be used for anything; concealer under the eyes, brow bone highlighting, crease blending and as I said, outer-v application. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the infamous MAC 2'17 then look no further. 

Eyeliner Brush (Set Exclusive):

One thing that almost always seems to disappear is my eyebrow brush, so before I found this amazing set I was on the hunt for an affordable one. The hairs are short and firm which results in precise distribution of colour, and really helps to feather out and blend those areas of the brow that you don't want to be as harsh. I am yet to try this brush with eyeliner but I have applied eyeshadow to the lower lash line with and it works fabulously! 

Did anyone else get this December bargain? Does anyone not like it? Overall I am so beyond pleased with these brushes that I as I said before, I actually bought two! One for myself, and one for my kit. Real Techniques are actually just coming out with their 'Bold Metals' Brush Collection as I write this- if anyone has them yet, what are they like? I love the shape of them!

x

New Years Eve Make-up: Rose Gold Edition

2014 was a solid year girls. We did well! A couple of wine-infused rosy cheeks and the all-too-common, yet completely deserved, weekends off that no doubt led to 'horror movie prop' faces thanks entirely to the hangovers from hell. But overall, we looked great throughout. So let's start 2015 as we mean to end it again, this time next year- looking HOT. Embrace this New Year's Eve with a brightening, smoky-glitter look that will change your everyday neutrals to a face that will get you a midnight kiss, and prepare you for the biggest night out of the year. Seeing as Rose-Gold was such a popular trend this year gone, I thought I would include it in this look and here's how to create it.

• Start with the eyes, glitter is a tricky business- as is fallout. Prime the eyes with a base that gives a correcting coverage but will also allow the eyeshadow to hold in place. For this look I used MAC 'Painterly' Paint Pot; it is an absolute delight for redness and veins on the lids. Next you'll want to grab your favourite transition colour for the crease, I used NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer 'Sunny' which is also what I used to contour with! Blending is key for something this heavy, once you have that transition colour in place, take a slightly darker shade of brown and run that through your crease- remembering to blend, blend and.. blend. 
• Next apply 'Shag' by Urban Decay on the lid followed by a gorgeous Rose-Gold glitter. The mess-of-a-product I used is a glitter by OCC in 'Beige' which is most definitely the prettiest colour I have ever seen BUT is an absolute pain in arse to apply, because of how fine it is. The only thing left to do is add some dimension to the eye and smoke it out with some black eyeshadow in the crease. Take the medium brown shade you used after your transition colour, and apply that with a fluffy brush to the lower lash line of the eye.
• Finish the eyes with a nice coating of mascara and you're nearly ready..
• The brows will frame this whole look, so go with something fierce but nothing verging onto a scouse brow. Imitate the hairs lightly with a precise brush and pact down the your product when filling in the brow. 
• For my model I used the Maybelline FITme Foundation which provided a more natural finish that I added coverage to with powder. On a night like New Year's Eve long lasting make-up is essential so powder will be a purse staple! Concealer under the eyes will ensure brightness under the eyes as will a lighter powder in the same area. To the cheeks I contoured for a photo-ready face and applied MAC 'Pink Swoon' to the apples of the cheeks. Seeing as the eyes are mainly glitter, it's important to keep the cheeks matte because a blush with shimmer would just be a hot mess. 
• The final part of this make-up look is the lips. I applied a beautiful pure pink lipstick to my model's lips in order to draw attention to the eyes and compliment the glitter. MAC 'Angel' lipstick was perfect for this!

So, hope you guys have enjoyed this! Let me know what you think and follow, like, share.. blah blah! You know the drill. Have a fab week guys!x