Monday Nails | Foil Blues

Today is a pretty fast nail show and tell because it's between packing and running around making last preparations for my trip. 
So what I will do today is show you this beauty of a nail art tool, let you get familiar and in like with it and do an in depth post about it as soon as I'm back,because it's one of those things that is so easy to add to your nail collection and you can do so much with!
In any case, let's not spoil the fun of the future post and let me show you what an end result can look like.

                       
This has got to be one of the most unflattering angles for my fingers because they look like colorful sausages. I've even had one of my colleagues at work look at a previous nail post, then look at my hands and go: "Are you sure that's your hand? In real life it looks so different". I guess what he was saying was that my fingers don't photograph well. You know how the camera adds 10 pounds... must be true.

But aside from that, how awesome is the foil? I absolutely love the rainbow reflexion it gives! I've concluded it looks much better on darker colors, but it can look absolutely gorgeous on a nude or white polish. It gives it a total fairy allure


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Week In Pictures # 29

Helloooo week 29! Well in Week 30 I will have to skip the Sunday post because I will be in London again, but just like last time, I'll make up for it with another London Photo Diary!
I am super excited to go back to London and like any self respecting beauty blogger, this time I have made an even bigger beauty wishlist. As you do...
So without further ado, I give you: last week

Found my old Wreck This Journal and enjoyed it thoroughly! / Here comes autumn..../ Milka, maker of solid joy / My friend always likes to remind me about the important things in life, like coffee

You need to read,listen to or hear that speech, really great! / Basil Babies! / The manly half has made a manly breakfast / That...is an actual sign for a waxing salon. Yes.






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The Perfect Baby Pink Meets The Perfect Baby Blue

On Saturday I showed you some of the new nail polishes I had gotten, and amongst them were Essie's We're In This Together and Bikini So Teeny. Now, in pictures both colors looked nice and cute but only when I put them on I realized they were the perfect pastels and the perfect baby pink and blue. Both, colors I was definitely missing in my collection.
Of course, I couldn't resist going all Candyland and alternating them on my fingers. I usually don't do that, it's either an accent nail or all the same color, but these two looked playful enough to pull it off.
And I think they did.

I'm a sucker for pastels so these two clearly made happy things happen to me. Look how cute and girly they look! I'm utterly in like with both of them!
And one more thing I wanted to show you and that maybe isn't visible in the first photo is the pretty shimmer in We're In This Together.

                          
It looks perfect on the nail and it's almost undetectable, except for the extra umph it gives to the color.



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Week In Pictures # 28

Guys, this week I ate the most incredibly delicious thing! Plum dumplings would be the description,or the name, I'm not even sure. But they were so insanely good that we stuffed our faces uncontrollably.Of course that sounds very lady like but I think you cannot grasp the full extent of their deliciousness.

                                 
The herbs are growing! / Favorite beverages of the week / Back to swimming / Good words to read

The pretty little bracelet/ THE DUMPLINGS! / Making some veggie tartes / My hands' needs





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New Nail and Smell Buys

Truth of the matter is, lately I've been doing quite a bit of online shopping and this post is also about some online buys.
You might know I like nails ( duh!don't we all...) and recently I've developed a fascination for Yardley.

                                
I got the Yardley Eau de Toilette in Peony. Now, when I think of peonies I see pretty things but for the life of me, I cannot imagine a smell. Which was part of the reason why I got this online, I was just insanely curious. Well, I will tell you that I love the smell. It's delicate and feminine and soft and floral. Pretty much perfect really as it has both a fresh and a sweet edge to it.It's also a bit musky. Surprisingly it's a combination of many things with a magnificent result. I think it might be the epitome of feminine smells.

As for nail polishes, upon realizing I was missing pinks completely from my collection, I decided to get Essie We're in this Together and Revlon Guava. I've also been eyeing Essie Bikini so Teeny for a while and took the chance to get it. What was also missing in my stack was red. A proper,real,bright red. Well that's fixed now with Essie Hip-Anema.

Basically, I cannot wait to smell like peony and have purrdy nails at the same time! What do you say? Any of these colors look good to you too? And have you ever tried peony perfumes?




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Burt's Bees Peach&Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub Review

As a huge Burt's Bees fan, I was afraid I might be biased about this scrub, but I was very relieved to notice there was no reason to be afraid because it lived up to my expectations and even went beyond.

                               
I got this because I wanted a proper scrub and because I used a serum that gave me blackheads. Before that, I had never even known how they look like, let alone see them on my face. The fact was, my pores got filled up from it and I wasn't happy about it.
Sure, detox and deep cleanse masked helped too, but not that much, because I never really got rid of them. Needless to say, after using this scrub twice, they were gone,never to be heard of again.

I really like the fact that it's dry and sensitive skin friendly.It scrubs, but it's remarkably gentle leaving an almost oily film behind. It's gone in a few seconds but it helps your skin not feel abused and polished to death.

As with all Burt's Bees ingredients.... I love them! The main reason for always going back to them is in fact their choice of ingredients.

And the coolest thing that I experienced while using this scrub was it actually has peach kernel pieces! I couldn't believe it when I first squeezed it out of the tube!

It's thick and creamy and cleans everything! I'm immensely happy with this product!


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Watercolor Nails

I've tried something I've seen a couple days ago and felt a compulsion to do myself. Now, there's a sneaky suspicion, I may have used a *weeeee* bit too many colors but it's a good thing to learn for next time: less colors.
But what I did are watercolor nails, and I really like the paint brush smudged effect it gives.

 I think next time they're going to be a bit more pastel and less Picasso than these. But they were super fun to have and for most of the weekend people have been staring at my hands. You sometimes forget your nails are so colorful and only when you hear people's reactions or you suddenly swoosh and it hits your sight that you remember the splatter.

Have you ever tried this technique? It's basically splotting color on a white nail base and smudging it with a plastic bag. Not neuroscience but definitely better if you try it a couple of times.

                          


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Week In Pictures # 27

I'm trying out a new and more compact version of the "picture" part in Week in Pictures, just because I was curious what it would look like to make a big collage rather than a number of small ones.
This time I got away easy because 8 pictures still looked nice but I'm not sure how a photo laden week might turn out.
So the question is, which do you like better? This kind of collage or the old way?

 My new favorite drink / Nail trials / Just got that juice for the happy face / Brushes,you are amazing

The plant is blooming! / My cookie obsession / Best tea friends of the week / Contents of my bag                                



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Soap Lovin' | The Scottish Fine Soap Company Jasmine Soap

You might be aware of this or not, but I like soaps. A lot! And not necessarily to use them in the shower or bath because many times they just remain untouched as I don't want to ruin their beauty. 
I like them because of the work that goes into them, the selection of ingredients, the whole process of creating a little cube of utter beauty.
Now when I say soaps, I mean those handmade, artisanal ( at least artisanal looking), beautifully crafted ones. Nothing against Dove, Palmolive and co. but mass production has never warmed my creative heart.
And on my birthday, my wonderfully perceptive friend presented me with a gorgeous mint tin with an even more gorgeous soap in it:

This particular one is by The Scottish Fine Soap Company that I will shamefully admit not knowing about prior to this but is it not just gorgeous?

You can probably tell it's Jasmine scented soap and it truly smells of all the floral goodness that jasmin provides.

                            
I will also admit to not using it yet because really, I can't find it in my heart to pour water on it and ruin the whole thing. But I might, very soon.

Bottom line is, I utterly enjoy soaps! Am I the only one here?


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July Favorites

Having managed to post my favorites much sooner than last month, I will give myself a pat on the back before we begin. And as we begin, I will tell you that I am super excited about the things I've been using this past month.

                               
Last month I was telling you all about how thrilled I was with the Real Techniques Shading Brush. Well sure enough, I went and got the Blush Brush also. I have little use for the other brushes since I don't wear powder or foundation but my eyes are set on the Eye brush set they offer. What I'm trying to say is: there brushes are magnificent! This particular one manages to give you the ultimate natural looking flush in the cheeks. Color me impressed!

What I also think you have seen me swoon about were the Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser and the Peach and Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub. I can tell you that these two are a magnificent combination and SO good to the skin!

A consistent presence has also been Essie Mint Candy Apple.I mean, I strongly suspect I have an obsession as you can probably tell.

In the nose pleasing department, I've been sticking to Yardley English Lavender for interesting reasons. I am a fan of fresh floral smells in general and this one is definitely of the less fresh and more dusty variety but nevertheless the smell is so incredibly soothing that whenever I catch a whiff of it, I get very happy.

Of course, one that cannot be denied access on this list is the Badger Balm for Hardworking Hands. My skin is generally dry and on my hands especially, but this one really does the trick.

And last but not least, a weird addition to the group. A deo. I know my reaction to deodorants in beauty posts is generally "But...why?" and I can understand if that's what you're experiencing now, but the Tom's of Maine Honeysuckle Rose deo is here for two reasons: it smells so good! And secondly because this represents my switch to aluminum free deos. This is a natural stick and once I started using it I realized I may have been very allergic to the aluminum in regular deodorants. So I can advise you, if you have a Whole Foods nearby, or care to buy it off iHerb.com, do so. Your body will like it a lot.


So that's what I had to offer this month, I do wonder if you've tried any of these and what you think.




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All That Glitters Might Be Gold Nails

You might have noticed that when I like a color then I really like it! I like it so much that you might see it more often than you'd wish but beloved people, I am OBSESSED with Essie Mint Candy Apple. And you may have noticed as much. What I also like is gold, but for some reason I didn't wear it that much this summer. I think the sun was gold enough to make up for my need for shine.
                                

Now initially, I was planning a different kind of lines on my nails but upon noticing my nail art brush had left the premises I had to improvise. That's why these lines turned out a slight bit different than planned...they were made with a toothpick.

Also, do you realize it's August? Which is just a couple weeks away from September. It's unreal how this year has passed. I know I say this every year but things just seem to speed up.
So I will leave you with some other blue nails in celebration of the month of August.



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Week In Pictures # 26

This week has found me going back to my roots. Well, the past couple of weeks have been a journey back but this week I feel like I'm actually there. And by that I mean singing. I know many (most actually) of you don't know this, but when I'm not blogging beautifully, I'm making songs and singing them.For a while I had to put that aside because of time,job...many issues that should not have become that important but yesterday I finally finished a new song that I was glad with, you know, like in the old days :) If curiosity is eating at you, you can listen to my existing songs on my Soundcloud page or just follow me on the music Twitter since I will be recording an EP later this month in London and that will be the first place to hear it.
As you already know, other than  that, there has been food!

                            

A good first attempt at granola / Raspberry and rosehip dark chocolate!

And now they send me pills... / My kind of dinner!

If you mix some lip products you finally get the perfect shade / Trolling people's computers with Alan Rickman 

The pretty and pretty yummy macarons / Not a shabby view, huh ?

The new favorite things: egg in the middle and smoothies

Song making: the  clean beginning and the messy finished product

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Decorating With Washi Tape

Washi tape is one of my absolute favorite things.It is a tape made of a specific type of paper that comes from Japan.It is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree and ever since a lovable genius put it in tape form I too can play with it! And how I like to do so! 
It has been used to decorate most things I could find appropriate, but one of my favorites have been glass containers where candles were going to be placed.

I got mine at Paperchase, which is a familiar name for those of you living in the UK, but I have seen it at your regular craft or even office supply stores.

You have no idea how I love playing with these things and especially since they're sticky and you don't need extra aids in getting them to stay in the place you put them. What I know about myself is that if in front of a stand full with Washi tape, I might return home with a bag full of it because there's just so many patterns, colors and textures that you feel like a Pokemon master where you gotta have 'em all!

                            
I feel like congratulations are in order since I managed to refrain myself from buying no more than these three, but you can use them in SO many ways! 
Like I said, I like to pimp glass containers with them most, but you can use them for collages, you can use them for masking ( since it is a bit of a masking tape ), or even for organizing purposes. I mean, having a pretty tag like this makes it all a bit better.

Have you ever played around with washi tape? What did you do with it?





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