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?

K.O.T.D

Today I would like to show you another of my Konad creations. Do let me know what you think...



For this Konad I used 2 layers of Sally Hansen's Buffed Sand which is a sheer brown and Konad's Special Nail Polish in Black.





This is the plate that I used - M9 - and the design is the one that is boxed in the image below.

Here is a closer look at the design and how it turned out so clearly on my thumbnail.

I had read on many websites that working with the Black Special Nail Polish can get a little messy and it is true. However, because I knew what to expect I was more careful and did not pick up a lot of color on the brush to cover the design on the plate. This helped as I did not get too much excess paint to deal with. The black color did stain one of my fingers and after a few washes, it came off so it was not much of a problem.

What do you think of this design dear reader?

E.L.F Elements - Custom Lipstick Compact

I really like compact make-up items which can be thrown into my handbag and this is one such item. This one was fun to choose because it lets you customise your colors and for the compact, plus the 4 colors I chose, I only paid USD 5 which is very cheap.

These three pictures show you the box, the compact and another view inside the compact. It looks sleek and opens and shuts with ease. There is a large mirror inside the compact which is useful if you don't have large mirrors around and need a quick touch up. There is a dual brush inside - a lipstick brush as well as an eyeshadow sponge tip and these will do in a hurry. This compact can also be used to house eyeshadow pans and thats why you get the sponge tip applicator as well.

These are the four colors that I chose:- wine, crimson, earth rose and peaches. They come individually and encased in plastic. All I needed to do was to take the pans out of the packaging and insert them into the compact. Each lipstick pan came with a little magnet on the back and on that magnet, there is a little sticker with the color indicated on it. How convenient!

I swatched the colors which I chose here for you to see.

The colors are creamy and sheer but buildable. If you need average coverage and a sheer wash of color then these would suit you. I tried wine, crimson and earth rose, all of which I like however, the colors do not last very long and have a tendency to disappear on your lips if you just use one coat. My upper lip is darker than my lower lip and I do have problems trying to even out the colors so I prefer deeper colors or deeply pigmented lipsticks that can even the color on my lips. These 4 colors do not do that for me. So, on days when I want to be a little casual and just need a wash of color on my lips, then I reach for these.

Now, lets talk a little about the fourth color, peaches. I am sure you are wondering why I picked such a light color. Peaches looked sweet on the online store and I believed it to be a little pinker than what you see in the picture. However, this was not the case. Nevertheless, I can still work with this color as can all of you ladies out there who find that they bought the wrong color.

Firstly, you can mix it with some other color and get something totally new. Secondly, what I do is once I have used a color on my lips, I take a light color, like this one and apply it to the pout of my lower lips, right in the middle. It gives your lips more depth and shine and makes it look fuller. Of course, the trick to this is blending until the color is even. Thirdly, swap with a friend who you know the color will suit! And fourthly, we all make mistakes and thats how we learn what is and is not right for our skintone and coloring. So make a mental note of the color and swear never to buy anything like it ever again!

Where Do I Store My Stuff?

ParisB from Mywomenstuff had recently shown you her storage space and she encouraged us to show ours as well. Thus I have taken some photo's of where I store all my stuff for you, my dear readers, to see.

One hot, sunny afternoon, I decided that I needed someplace to store all my beauty stuff as my dresser was heaving under the heaps of products and I dragged my wonderful husband to Carrefour to look for some storage ideas. I must pause here to say that in all my crazy endeavours, my husband has stood by me and is my greatest supporter. He was amazed that I wanted to start a blog, is blown away that I am so heavily into all things beauty related and is enthralled by my Konad adventures! He says, my day job in the high flying corporate world is such a contrast to my 'other' side!

Anyway, I needed a man's point of view on whether the shelves, storage drawers and other whatnot that I needed would fit into the space between my dresser and the wall. So with a measuring tool he looked really professional as he was measuring the amount of space I had to work with and once he had the necessary information written down, we headed off to Carrefour. (Men! you've gotta love them!).

I found this amazing storage sheves which fit perfectly into the space I had and had wide enough space to fit whatever I had plus some for 'future purchases'! Lovely!

Let me explain the things that you see in the picture above.

On the topmost shelf, I have two clear cookie containers of different heights (recycled from a Hari Raya hamper that arrived at the office), in these, I have my brushes (the taller container) and in the shorter container, my hubby's hair gel and deodorant (that's all he needs apart from his perfume!!!). The basket sandwiched in the middle there has some tools such as lip balm, night cream for face and eyes, toner, my deodorant, bottles of foundation which could not fit into the drawers and cotton pads as well as q-tips.

The big set of drawers on the top houses from top to bottom:

• Drawer 1: Miscellaneous samples of different products.
• Drawer 2: Extra Sponges.
• Drawer 3: Round cotton pads to use with toner or for removing make-up/nail polish.
• Drawer 4: Moisturiser and fine milled facial powder used to set make-up.

I also purchased the smaller blue drawers that you see on the second shelf and they fit these things:-

• Left Drawer 1:foundations, liquid (decanted to smaller pots) and powders, concealers, and some triangular sponges that I use for liquid foundations.
• Left Drawer 2: Eyeshadows (my everyday ones).
• Left Drawer 3: Mineral eyeshadows and some shadows that are rarely used.
• Right Drawer 1: Blushes
• Right Drawer 2: Eyeliners (liquids, gels and pencils) and mascara's.
• Right Drawer 3: Lipsticks, glosses and lip pencils

The black square case that you see stuffed in the second shelf houses some extra products or new one's which I have yet to use. That case came from Estee Lauder and I bought a set of make-up items that came in that case. I didn't care much for the shadows and brushes that came with the set (gave them to mum) but the case was good for more storage!
Right at the bottom, I have a container which I purchased at Carrefour which is commonly found in the hardware department as it is used for storing nails and such. I found that the compartments were perfect to store my jewellery, such as chains, earrings and rings which I have purchased or were gifted to me over the years. I have a passion for large and unique looking rings which I use as statement pieces occassionally. I do have many chains which I rarely use. I just am not into them right now. I do not store gold or my pearls here - they are in the bank.
The last shelf also has my hairdryer which is convenient because there is a powerpoint just below the shelf. This shelf is perched on a stool which came with the dresser, but I dont use. This gives me easy access to all the three shelves, and I also have space underneath the stool to put in a small bin for my used cotton or tissues etc.
Here you can see my dressing table and the stuff that sits there now! My favourite perfume is Petit Cherie by Annick Goutal - I love its floral and summery smell.
Well, I hope, dear reader that you had a good time looking at my storage space.

KOTW - Konad of the Week!

Hello dear readers,

I have yet another Konad to show you and I am really having a fun time with my Konads, I must say!

I have called this the "Mehendi" or henna tattoo Konad because I chose the maroon Konad Special Nail polish on nude nails for this and I used Plate Number 9 - the image is the one to the left of the 'belt' image.

After I had done the image and put on a clear coat of polish, I thought that the nail looked plain and so I added a bit of brown glitter to the tips. I must admit that I took these photo's close to a week after I had done the nail so the tips were beginning to show some wear and tear.

I am by no means good at this yet but I do hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures!

Have a lovely day!

ELF Haul!

Not too long ago, I purchased these E.L.F beauties from an online spree. If you have come across Lowyat.net you would have also seen something labelled "Stuff for the Ladies" and mighty interesting stuff can be found here let me assure you! One gem is a seller called sgdrugstore. This is a seller that is reliable and well recommended by blogger Connie of Skindeco - you can read her review of Ryan who is the brains behind sgdrugstore here:- http://www.skindeco.net/2009/01/seller-review-sgdrugstore-from.html

Quite a bit of a haul as you can see from the picture above and it took only 3 plus weeks to arrive at my doorstep! The total cost of my haul came to only RM105 and postage was waived because my purchase exceeded RM100.

E.L.F stands for Eyes, Lips, Face and this brand has a range of products that cost only USD1! How can you beat that? They also have a 'Studio Line' that is priced at USD3 and is another winner according to some reviews online. All the products you see in the picture above are from the USD1 line. I will be reviewing these products in the coming posts so do look out for them.

TNOTD!

I thought you should also see a ToeNail of the Day! I am Toe'Nading now!

This is not the clearest of pictures as it was taken using my mobile phone. I used the M41 plate you see above with a design that fit nicely on the top corner of my toe. Its the design right above the butterfly. I don't remember now, but the polish I used would have been one from Maybelline.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoy having designs on my fingers and toes. Its like having a secret and keeping it with you. I delight in looking at them or if my shoes are totally covered, I get a little buzz of happiness just thinking that my toes are all pretty inside my shoes. I feel sexy too. Its like a little pick me up when I need it to get me through the day! Hope you enjoyed my Toe'Nading!

Konad Crazy! My First NOTD!

I have been indeed a happy camper these past few weeks. Remember my Konad haul? Yep, my introduction to the world of Konading came via PrettyBeautiful and her NOTD's. I was so fascinated by Konad that I went out and bought the stuff. I had read that Etude House (Bukit Bintang) and InQBox (1Utama) carried them and initially made my way to EH to check it out. Sadly, they carried limited plates and were out of the stamping tool when I was there. I then purchased the stamping tool as well as the special nail polishes from http://konad.com.my/ and two (yes! just two) days later, my products arrived!

I must say, my intial excitement was met with disappointment when I was unable to stamp the beautiful designs on to my nails as easily as I had seen them being done on youtube! It was really strange because the first image usually transferred nicely but subsequently they all never came off the plate on to the stamping tool! I was stumped. I tried everything.....to stamping without the fan switched on to pressing the stamper really hard to pick up the image....nothing worked! I am not one to give up easily so I left the stuff aside for a couple of days and started to do my research on the net on how to get around this problem. I sent prettybeautiful an e-mail which she replied with useful tips and I also looked for videos online for help. Here is what I found:-

Casual Lavish has a good tutorial with plenty of tips here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWDsEyS8nPs and together with prettybeautiful and her tips, I was successful in learning how to do it correctly.

For those who are starting out, a few key things to remember are:-

• filing the stamping tool with a fine nail file before you begin using it - this is particularly helpful if the tool is too smooth and is not picking up your design.
  


• ensuring that you do not touch the image plates with your fingers, as the natural oils may get in the way of the design sticking to the stamper



• using nail polish that is 100% acetone or one that does not have moisturizers that could introduce oils to the image plates/stamper

So, now I would like to introduce you to my NOTD!

For this look I used a pinky brown nail color from Bloop de Paris and topped it off with a design from the M57 plate you see above. I was really happy with the outcome as I had been trying really hard for some weeks now to produce something worthy for my readers (hey MOM!!) to see. I hope you like it and I hope to do more NOTD's.