Weather Transitions & Pink Flute Sleeves

Transitioning to the colder months is not something that makes me jump with joy - I live on a Mediterranean island and I love summer! There is a part of me that likes coats though and I still think that winter clothes are chicer. To further strengthen my belief, this year's fashion is right up my alley - pretty pinks, daring reds, flute sleeves...

One coat I really look forward to wearing a lot this year is this pink one from Zara. I had originally bought it to wear during Malta Fashion Week but since the weather in May was really hot here, the coat was no longer an option. I even had some pictures taken with the outfit I intended to wear a few weeks before but I never got to share them with you so here they are, on the first day of Autumn! Mind you, it's still a little hot but it's never to early to start looking for new outfit inspiration ;)

These pictures were taken at the Garden of Serenity in Santa Lucija. The garden was open to the public in 1997 and it is a very well preserved example of oriental architecture in Malta - something that is very different to the buildings and construction sites we are used to so much on this tiny island. Although located in a rather busy road, somehow, the garden still manages to evoke feelings of tranquility to everyone who visits - waterfalls, ponds housing Koi fish, Chinese Pagoda like structures... if you're looking for a little zen, this is the place to go! In fact, I love this place so much that we even took pictures for another post that's coming up in the next few days. Special thanks to my dad for taking the pictures :)

Coat, Joggers, Shoes, all Zara | Top, Mango | Earrings, Michael Kors at Sunlab
Bangle, Daniel Wellington at Sunlab | Sunglasses, Marks & Spencer
Bag, ALDO

Knowing that flute sleeves are here to stay and that pink is one of the in colours this season, I breathed a sigh of relief for I really want the make the most out of this pretty number. I paired the coat with a crochet top that I bought a couple of years ago from Mango, a pair of smart joggers from Zara and silver heels, also from Zara. I just love the detail at the back of the shoes - the gold tone and cut-out sides really add interest to it and it works very well with sever pieces in my wardrobe as does the bag; it happens to be one of my favourite purchases from Aldo and even though it's from last year's collection, it is still one I look forward to pairing with several outfits.

How do you feel about winter fashion and moving on to colder days?

NOTW: Pink Ombre

I have finally found some time to try ombre nails! I chose pink as I think it is a colour that's easy to work with to create the desired effect and I found that the easiest way to create a nice gradient from one nail to the next is to pick two shades of the same colour, not more than 5 shades apart and mix them in different proportions to obtain the in-between hues. Here's how I did mine:

 

 

1. Prep nails with a base coat to protect your nails.

 

2. Pick two shades of the same colour and mix the colours together as follows on a piece of plastic. I chose China Glaze Second Hand Silk and Essence Colour & Go 107 Naughty but Pink.

 

- Pinky: Naughty but Pink

- Ring Finger: 2 drops Naughty but Pink + 1 drop Second Hand Silk

- Middle Finger: 2 drops Naughty but Pink + 2 drops Second Hand Silk

- Index Finger: 1 drop Naughty but Pink + 2 drops Second Hand Silk

- Thumb: Second Hand Silk

 

Apply two coats of each.

 

3. You can either stop there and top coat the nails or else, you can opt for a little extra on the ring finger like I did. I used yellow fimo flowers for contrast and affixed a whole one at the side, followed by a two petalled one and just one petal on the other side as shown in the pictures.

 

4. Seal all nails with top coat and you're done!

 

 

Nail-mail, new shoes and new spectacles!

Good morning ladies :) I originally planned on doing an elf haul post today but sadly the postie didn't get me my order yet :( so I figured I'd do a haul of other things I got lately.  I have also placed another order as elf are running another promotion right now where you get a mystery gift worth over £10 with orders over £10/€12 (more on offers in a later post today) so I had to get a little something more! I figured I will do a haul of both orders at one go when I receive them :)

First, I want to start with two nail polishes I got and some pink, glittery acrylic powder:

Pink acrylic powder

China Glaze Ring in the Red from the Let It Snow Holiday 2011 Collection

Essie Very Structured from the Fall 2011 Collection

Ring In The Red in a lovely red jelly base packed with large hexagonal glitters and smaller square glitters.  It dries to a matte finish.  I have also ordered Snow Globe from the same collection as well as the much sought-after For Audrey but I'm still waiting for them to be delivered.

Essie's Very Structured is a rich dark tan creme which is very in right now so it will be one of my fave colours this season for sure!  The polishes were between €4 and €5 each.

I also got a pot of pink acrylic to do 3D flowers and nail art with.  I quite like the one I got because it is glittery as well and gives the designs a more girly feel :) I have also bought a 3D mold but I'm still waiting for that as well.  In the meantime, here's a picture which is true to the actual colour:

And yes, I got another pair of shoes :P I couldn't resist them as they were on sale for €20.50 from Peacocks and I had been wanting a pair of leopard print heels for quite some time.  I have promised myself that the only pairs of shoes I will buy till the end of the year are one for my graduation ball (for which I have finally found the perfect dress!), one for our village festa and a pair of Nine West heels that I have had my eyes on ever since I first saw them :)

Lastly, these are my new glasses:

I had my vision corrected by a few more degrees and I ordered a pair of glasses from zennioptical.com.  They only came to around €30 shipping included and delivery didn't take long so I was quite satisfied in that regard.  They also come with a protective case and lens wipe.  However, when I tried them on, I wasn't so sure if they'd look good on me at first as this is my first full-rim pair but now that I have been wearing them for the past week, I am more comfortable in them.

So that's it for this post ladies :) Stay tuned for some great offers I will be sharing with you in the next post!

NOTW: Zip open some girly fun!... Valentine's Day Tutorial #3

Good morning make-up cakes :) hope you've all bought your gifts for the Valentines in your lives and have everything planned for tomorrow :) However, Valentine's Day is not only for loved-up people so for those ladies out there who are single, I did the last Valentine manicure with you in mind :) I know some of my girly friends who are single and go out together on Valentine's Day for some girly fun without boys and I thought I would steer away from hearts and roses and go for something fun! And what better way is there to represent fun on your nails than by wearing glitter? So let's get started on this fun manicure!

1. Prep your nails with a clear base coat and follow with a thin coat of a nude pink polish to prevent your nails from being stained with the darker pink polish.

2. Apply two coats of a nice bright pink polish on all your nails bar the ring fingers and any other nails you want to make the design on.  If you are going to do the design on all your nails, skip this step altogether.

3. For the design, you will need the same pink you used on the other nails, a glittery pink and a black striper polish.

a) Start by drawing a little upside down triangle at the tip of the nail with the glitter polish and leave to dry.

b) Paint the remaining areas of the nail on the sides of the triangle with the bright pink polish and leave to dry thoroughly.

c) To draw the zips, start from the tip of the triangle that is facing downwards and draw little horizontal strokes with the black polish, working your way down the length of the nail.  Do the same on the sides of the triangle to make it look as if you are opening up the zip!

d) Finally, draw a little circle just under the tip of the triangle and place a pink rhinestone in the middle to resemble the actual zipper.

4. Finish with a clear top coat and you're done!

I hope you liked this nail design idea and that you will try it out yourselves! If you do, please do link me to your photos as I love to see your work :) Have fun tomorrow and Happy Valentine's Day to all!

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NOTW: Pretty Pinks... Valentine's Day Tutorial #2

Hello cupcakes here's my second proposition for Valentine's Day...

I moved away from the traditional red hearts and all and went for something more girly... pinks! Here's how you can do this design yourself!

1. As always, prep your nails with a good base coat.

2. Proceed with two coats of a pearly-pink polish and let dry thoroughly.

3. For the lines, you will need a striper brush and three differently coloured polishes. I used my Eugene Perma shocking pink and plum and elf Rosy Raisin.  Start by making an 'X' with one of the colours at one corner of the nail. One line will have to be more elongated than the other. Move on to the next colour and do the same, a bit further away from the first X but make sure they overlap as in the picture. Finally do the same with the remaining colour.

4. For the hearts on the ring finger, you will need a dotter and the same three colours you used for the lines.  For the solid hearts, just dot two dots near each other and drag them down to form a heart shape. Do a bigger one and let dry.  With a contrasting colour, paint a smaller heart in the latter heart.  For the phantom hearts, just dot little dots in the form of a heart!

5. Finish off with a clear top coat and you're done!

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NOTW: Flower Galaxy

Happy Sunday everyone :) here's the nail design for this week:

I really like the colour combinations of this one especially the pink flowers which give a nice twist to the manicure. I am really into dark polishes now so as soon as I bought the grey one, I absolutely had to wear it! Let's get started!

1. Apply a clear base coat and follow with a grey creme polish or any other colour of your choice. I used essence colour & go in 35 Movie Star.

2. Using a regular make-up sponge, sponge a dark polish in the form of a slant tip on each tip.  I used e.l.f. Metal Madness but since it is quite a dark colour, I alternated with some Orly Dazzle (metallic silver) for more definition and dimension. So, I first sponged Metal Madness, then a little Dazzle and again some more Metal Madness.

3. On the very tips of each nail, I dragged some silver glitter polish for that added sparkle.

4. Top coat all the nails with a clear glossy top coat and place flower rhinestone along the sponging line on the ring fingers.  I chose a light pink, a medium pink and a dark pink flower to add to the gradient effect of the nails.  When dry, top coat the ring fingers once again to secure the rhinestones in place for longer. You're done!

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What I have been up to this morning...

Hey lovelies :) Here's today's work on my friend who was due for a gel infill:

She opted for this cute yet elegant design with flowers on the ring fingers and thumbs.  I really like the colour combination as it is bright without being too summery.

While I was busy with the infill, the postie delivered my long-awaited Shulips that I won from one of  R8Beauty's Christmas Giveaways.  I had also won a Lipstains Gold which I am still waiting for :)

They sent me a pair in clear which is great as they go with any colour of shoes and look discreet. Will do a review as soon as I have tried them :)

Hope you are enjoying your week-end & until next post, 

Stay Beautiful :)

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NOTW: Take a Walk on the Wild Side!

I am very fond of this manicure as I was kind of excited about the final result because it is my first attempt at leopard print and I humbly admit it came out really well! I used a pink polish for my French tip to commemorate October as Breast Cancer Awareness month and to make the look more girly at the same time.

Here's how you can re-create this manicure:

1. Apply a base coat or strengthener to your bare nails (I chose Florelle Nail Strengthener).

2. When completely dry, apply one coat of a nude pink polish (L'Oreal Resist&Shine Titanium in 100).

3. Apply a pink nail polish of your choice to create a French tip (Missha Nail Color in PK102).

4. Using a dotting tool, put random dots on the French tip with a red nail polish (elf Red Velvet)

5. By means of a detailing nail art brush, go around the dots with black nail polish, painting 'C' shapes. Don't worry of this overlaps the red dots or if they are not perfect, it's part of the design!

6. To add a hint of glitz, apply a thin stripe of sparkly black polish right underneath the French tip to separate it from the rest of the nail and give the manicure some dimension (Ideal Nail Design Shade Nr.4).

7. Finish off with a clear glossy top coat and cuticle oil and you're done!

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