Birthday Nails!

This is a design I did for my precious daughter who celebrated her 8th birthday on the 23rd. She had asked me to do her nails for her birthday and I wanted her to have something sweet on her special day. Besides, school is now out in this part of the world so it is good that she gets to enjoy looking at her nails for a while.

My little girl simply adores the color blue...so most of what we buy her usually has some blue in it. Hence I chose this bright and cheery blue color from Etude House.

As you can see in this picture below, she is posing with a little doggie soft toy which she calls "Vanilla". Vanilla has been with her since she was a few months old and my little girl usually has him cuddled in her arms when she goes to sleep every night.

I'm sure you are wondering why, dear reader, we call him Vanilla.....well, when my husband first brought him home, my daughter was only a few months old and could not talk yet, so we decided that he needed a name and came up with Vanilla because of his slightly milky color.

He is such a cutie. However, if you see, my daughter has her hands on the top of Vanilla's head in the photo's - this is because there is a big hole there! This was unfortunately caused by her younger sister poking a pencil through his head one day!!

The design that I chose for this Konad was a cute little bow ( see plate M71 below) done using the Konad Special nail polish in white. She initially decided on the design of the girls head on the left but it was a little too big to fit on to her wee nails.

Do you like this design dear readers?

Christmassy Nails!

Christmas is but a few short weeks away and already I am excited! The children have dragged out and dusted off last years Christmas CD's and the songs are really adding to the festive feel around our home.

So, dear readers, I decided to do a Konad with a Christmas theme.

Below are the colors that I chose for this nail design. You can also see the Konad stamping set that I have used. My first stamping set is the smaller stamper and plastic scraper. I much prefer this one which I purchased at InQBox at One U.

I like this set because I am able to grip the stamper better and there are two ends one large and one smaller, (the green end which is hard to see in this picture) which I use to stamp on my little pinky. As I mentioned in previous posts, my first few attempts at stamping designs were awful because my stamper refused to pick up the design. I now know that you should always use a fine file to file your stamper before you begin your very first stamping - this works like a dream as the finely buffed rubber surface picks up the design well.

All the colors I used including the Etude House clear coat.

Here are the details of the colors that were involved in this Konad:-

Etude House - No. 40 - (A sheer pink with subtle glittery goodness in it!) I used 2 coats of this.

Elianto - No. 40 (what a coincidence that both are No.40!) - Grape Wine.

Etude House - Clear Nail Top Coat - No. 05

Not really good for Konads as they smudge the design - I do have the Special Konad clear nail varnish but chose to use this one instead.....bummer!

Etude House - Mini French - Gold
This was used to add accents - altho' my legendary crap skills at photo taking did not capture the golden goodness on my nails well.

The M63 image plate was used to create this design.

There is no close up of this nail because in my excitement to capture this on film before my little girls smudged them, I forgot to clean up my nails and they look so bad!

Kiehl's "Berry 1851" Lip Gloss

I purchased this Lip Gloss last Christmas! So its been sitting in my stash for almost a year, not getting as much love as it should!

This lip gloss is called Berry 1851 and it is quite lovely to wear as it is not sticky and gives a natural look to my lips.

I don't know why I have not used this as much - I guess I am too lazy to use a lip brush to apply this! The gloss comes out of an angled top and dispenses the amount you need depending on how much pressure you use while pressing the tube.

There is a smell to this gloss which I quite like but am unable to put a finger on exactly what it smells like though! If any of you out there reading this has an idea, please let me know!

The color is a creamy reddish pink shade and is not as sheer as you would expect a gloss to be which is great for me because I do not like sheer lip glosses worn on its own. You see, my top lip is slightly darker than my bottom lip and anything that is too sheer will show the color difference.

As you can see from the swatch of this Gloss, there is a little oily bit at the bottom from not using it for quite a while. However, the fragrance has not changed and a good shake mixed the formula up to its former glory.

I like this for days when I want to have a little pop of color on my lips or for when my eye make-up is strong.

KOTW - Konad of the Week!

Please say hello to my Konad of the Week!


For this Konad I started out with a clear coat of polish and added a French Tip.

I saw a really good tip via youtube on using sticky tape (cellophane tape or cellotape) to do the french tip instead of the special french tip stickers that are commonly used. I was quite interested to know whether this would really work because the last time I used the french tip stickers, it left a sticky film on my painted nails and I had to take off the polish and start over!


This is how this NOTW was done. I painted a clear coat of polish on my nails and waited 10 minutes for it to dry well. I then snipped up 10 small pieces of cellotape. Once my nails were really dry, I stuck the tape carefully across to do a straight french tip. I then painted on Sally Hansens white French Tip color twice and waited for that to dry well before I took off the cellotape. I then carefully peeled off the cellotape and voila, perfect french tips without leaving a sticky film on my nails!


I then stamped a design from M71 to the tips using the Dark Maroon Special Nail Polish

This design that you see on the M71 is the one that I used on my tips. Below is a close-up of my nail.

After about 3 days, I got a little tired of the design and added this from the M57. Again, I used cellotape to achieve this design! I taped off the tips and stamped the design to the rest of my nail. As you can see on my middle finger, I did not really do a good job of stamping the design, I was a little tired that evening...

If you are doing a french tip, why not try using cellotape instead of french nail stickers?

I hope you enjoyed viewing my little Konad adventure!

Maybelline Mineral Power - Powder Foundation

Ladies out there with duskier skin tones will identify with me! For me, the relationship with my foundation has always been a love-hate one. I love it when it is tried on me in the shop but hate it when I get home! Go figure! I am also on a quest to find the "PERFECT" foundation - does this exist though?

I purchased this mineral powder foundation at a Walmart in Chicago for USD 8.00 over a year ago and the color is a good match for my skin. At that time I was looking for mineral foundation and came across this one.

This retails in Malaysia for RM49.90 and it is called "Clear Smooth Minerals" here.

The color that was the closest match for my skin was this one below called Pure Beige.

Incidentally, there were no testers for this range of foundation. What the SA showed me was a clear plastic sheet with the different foundation colors on it and told me to see which color 'disappears' on the skin of my cheek. I did this and Pure Beige - Medium 2 was the color that disappeared. I was a little apprehensive of purchasing something that I did not try out first but bought it anyway. It came with a little kabuki brush which is holding up pretty well after several washings.

Verdict on this product:

It was a close enough match. By this I mean that once I apply the foundation, it looks a little lighter than my skin however, after half an hour, the color settles and blends perfectly with my skin. It did not give me breakouts which is what minerals promise to do anyway as they are good for your skin.

What I particularly like about this mineral foundation is that it is buildable, evens out skintone and conceals minor imperfections. However, if your skin is slightly oily around the t-zone like mine then you will need to dab off the excess oil after about two hours of applying your make-up. I overcome this by using a primer that absorbs excess oils.

The kabuki brush does a decent job of dispensing the powder all over your face but is a little too scratchy for my liking. After using it, I always experience a slight itching around my chin for about 2-3 minutes. I tried washing the brush but this itch is still noticable every time I use it.

I love the foundation because it does not 'weigh down' my skin like some liquid fondations can and this is a bonus for me.

E.L.F - Shimmering Facial Whips

Say hello to the two Shimmering Facial Whips that I got from E.L.F. One is called Lilac Petal (right) which is a cool pinky shimmer and the other is Golden Peach (right, below) which is a warm toasty shimmer.

Both colors are to be used to highlight your cheeks or eye area to brighten them up a little and work very well if used in small quantities and blended nicely.

I currently use a similar shimmer from Estee Lauder which I believe brightens up my face a little.



Initially I was a little concerned that these shimmers, being only USD 1 each would cause breakouts on my face but surprisingly, they both did not and I have used them several times since.

How do you use your shimmers?

I initially tried highlighting my upper cheek bones but I did not like how it turned out. Perhaps I did not blend it enough because I was aware that only the tops of my cheeks where shiny throughout the day.



I tried something else which I am really happy with and I would like to know if you, dear readers have tried this too?


I mix a little amount of shimmer with my moisturizer and use it all over my face and neck. I have found that this way, I get an even hint of shimmer all over my face and once I put on my foundation, there are hints of a more subtle glow.

Here are swatches of the two and you can see how Lilac Petal is a cooler color compared to Golden Peach. I do love to use the Golden Peach which gives my (already!) brown skin a bronzy glow. I use very little though and one useful tip is to always use less than more because you can always add on but never take away - unless you wash it off and start over!

Is “Cleanse-Tone-Moisturize” your beauty routine?

For the longest time I believed that the three-step routine was effective in maintaining great skin. Now that I am in my thirties, I am not too sure that this is sufficient anymore!

I came across an article in the Ladies Home Journal some time back that discussed this issue and they have given us a guideline as to what we should add to our routine and what could be left out.

Exfoliator – Add to routine

• The skins natural shedding process slows down when we age and thus adding this gem to your beauty arsenal is a must! I use Aesop’s Tea Tree Leaf Facial Exfoliant which does a decent job of exfoliating.
• There are scrubs that are sold mixed in cleansers now so there is really a wide variety to choose from. I believe that the St. Ives Apricot Scrub was a firm favorite of most people at some point in their lives!

Serum – Consider adding to routine

• It is believed that the thin liquid texture allows for the ingredients to penetrate deeper into the skin and the fact that it can be layered under sunscreen or moisturizer gives this an added appeal. I am all for stuff that can penetrate the deeper levels of the skin.
  

Eye Cream – Consider adding to routine

• I do believe that those who have dark circles and crow’s feet around this sensitive area must use something to help with the problem. My advice is don’t leave it until it is too late to try and reverse the damage! I reached for the eye cream only when I realized that I was looking more and more like a panda than a regular girl before I looked for creams to treat this area. Estee Lauder has their eye cream which though rich and creamy, I must say did not really deliver for me. I have moved on to other creams now.
• Those with no specific problems may choose to use a moisturizer without acids around the eyes at night which will do the job of keeping the area nice and plump.
  

Facial Mask – Consider adding to routine

• This may not be important for everyone but it can help your skin retain moisture or help clear away excess oil. Go easy on the masks though, not more than twice a week. I remember, because of my oily skin in my younger days, I used a clay based mask every other day as I liked the squeaky clean feel after using the mask. Not good! I realized that my skin went into overdrive and started secreting even more oil. Moderation is key – I learnt the hard way!!

Toner – Skip it!

• Funny how I swear by the toner to tighten my pores but once I sat down and had a good think about it, I could skip this step and my pores remain the same size. The article said that toners may contain witch hazel or ethyl-alcohol which strip the skin of essential oils and gives the skin a ‘tight’ feel but there are no positive effects of this product.
• Getting used to one product may make it difficult to stop but like me, you should give it a try.
• Use gentler toners if this step is one that you are fond of…..I know skipping a step in my daily beauty routine makes me feel like I have ‘forgotten’ something the whole day and by the time I get round to figuring out what this is, my day is over and it’s too late!

So, ladies, which step have you added or eliminated from your beauty routine?