Seaside Nails Tutorial

Today's post is a simple one. I've been rekindling my love for nail art and starting to explore more possibilities, methods and techniques. One major source of inspiration for me has been bornprettystore.com which is an online store which sells a lot of accessories and small stuff and their range of nail art items is massive! A lot of nail artists, bloggers and regular people like me who love nail art can find whatever their hearts desire on bornprettystore.com.

Lately, I've been spending my weekends getting zen with my nails and it's something I haven't done in a while. Last weekend I was inspired to do seaside themed nails because I wanted to try the new seaside themed embellishment wheel I got from bornprettystore.com. I combined it with the latest glass nails trend using Mylar pieces to create ripple effects on the water part.

Below I have added a picture tutorial on how I got my nails! I am quite happy with how they turned out but I reckon it would have been better (and lasted longer) with gel polish, despite using a gel system to attach the embellishments, the first one fell out 2 days later and by yesterday (Wednesday), by sheer force of bad habit, I had picked my nails apart.

1. Lay out everything you will need. For these nails I used a combination of colors from LAKA and essie. On the side, one will need acetone and cotton for cleaning, a sponge for the gradient effect, a brush for clean up, a gem picker, some nail art gel/glue as adhesive and the embellishments themselves. 

2. After your base coat, apply 2 layers of white polish which will help bring out the colors of your gradient sponging. 

3. Apply the gradient colors that you wish to use on to the sponge and slowly dab it on, 2 coats is preferable. (I used one application on to the sponge for 2 finger nails)

4. I used micro glitters to accentuate between the colors but you can barely see it and I used a bit of top coat on the blue to adhere the mylar for the ripple effect in the "water".

5. Use top coat.

6. After dry, use a nail embellishment glue to attach the embellishments as you please. I used a clear gel for embellishments and cured.

You're done!

The most frequently asked question when people saw my nails was 1) where did you get them done? and 2) how long did it take you? The answer is 2 hours and 45 minutes. However, a lot of time was spent on waiting for the layers to dry more than anything else. I could have definitely halved the time had I done it with the gel systems.

Anyways, have fun trying and I'd be happy if you could share your pictures with me in the comments below.

4 Tips to Lighten Your Handbag

I usually seek inspiration for my posts based on things I see, buy or experience, this post is inspired by the nagging ache in my shoulder!!!

Walking to my language class, I couldn't help but feel a huge strain on my shoulder which prompted my to change the bag to my left shoulder but that didn't make it any lighter! What is this sorcery??? I am one of those who clears out her handbag every weekend and yet by Thursday, I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulder...I'm willing to bet that I am not the only lady who has this problem!

This, of course, has me juggling a multitude of reasons as to why my bag feels like a baby elephant and even taking the "bigger" items out one by one to access the weight and all while walking...the mystery goes unsolved and I'm still left with an aching shoulder.

Well, empty out my bag on this particular day and you will find:

1 x Kate Spade wallet (596g)

1 x sunglasses in protective case (121g)

1 x passport

1 x headset

1 x airplane jack for headset

1 x receipt for last nights' dinner 

1 x visitor pass for Cosmoprof 2015

2 x pantyliner

3 x bandaid

1 x strip of Zrytec

1 x bunch of housekeys (73g)

1 x pack of tissues

1 x empty Fisherman's Friend
1 x nail file

3 x lipstick/gloss/lip pencil

1 x eye drops for allergy eyes

2 x Iphone 6 (298g)

Loose coins

Stack of name cards

I mean, surely all the small stuff can't be the culprit right? Determined to find out the root cause, I'm weighing everything and here is what I've discovered:

The weigh in!

1) The total weight of my bag and all its contents is 2.312kg (heavy stuff listed above)

2) I really need to start spending my coins! Especially here in Hong Kong when the coins alone could pay for lunch!

3) Time to downsize

Over the years, I have realized my bags (and trending bags) have gotten bigger and bigger. Not only that, everyone who has "helped" me with my bag has never failed to comment on the "gold bars" I'm carrying around. I wish! At least gold bars might help pay for some of the medical therapy I'm going to have to get for this! At the end of the day, what goes up, must come down and I am referring to the size of my handbag! I mean, I am a single lady with no diaper bag to worry about, no kids that I need to be prepared for and NO REASON WHY I need to be carry a bag the weight of a small child.

Here are my top tips on giving your shoulders a break:

1) Carry a smaller bag and only what you need

My Tumi handbag is honestly one of my favorite bags. Its durable, perfect when travelling and also light when filled sparingly. However, I have a tendency to conveniently "throw" things inside on the way. I'm learning the hard way that just because it fits, it doesn't mean I should put it in...ok that sounds so wrong but you get the idea!

Swapping to a backpack that was given to me by a friend, it has been more useful than I ever imagined!

Try carrying a backpack or a bag with an adjustable shoulder strap which you can carry cross body, hence spreading the weight instead of always being on the one shoulder. You should also try to get a bag with as little embellishments as possible, yes gorgeous as it may be- it is added weight on your shoulders!

2) Use your coins!

It doesn't matter where in the world you are, coins will always be a culprit! I'd love it if they (whoever they may be) would come up with 20 cent notes! Here in Hong Kong, we have both the 10HKD note and the 10HKD coin! Coins are also very popular as change here and can be awfully heavy not to mention grow in quantity and weight very quickly!

I could empty out my bag any day of the week and due to haste, laziness or convenience those sneaky little things always appear in the small compartments in my bag...make a conscious effort to use your coins! 

3) Pack a foldable recyclable bag

And this was the last of my essentials that I threw in as an after thought. I realized that I may need to tote back groceries or stuff from the office and so having an extra bag will be better than trying to over stuff my handbag. It has already been very useful for me.

4) You don't need to bring your entire makeup pouch with you (or 5 different lipsticks!)

Seriously, with the quality of make up nowadays and all the makeup setting sprays, there really is no reason why you need your entire makeup regime with you. Bring the basics- powder, a nice bright lipstick and a nice colored eyeliner pencil should easily change your look from day to night. 

If you NEED to bring more makeup, Sephora does give out really handy miniatures. Either that or you can use a multi function product like Benetint for that healthy glow and a subtle pink lip tint.

And the final weigh in, all necessary items included!

Well ladies, whether or not you may consider your handbag heavy, I believe we do have a habit of carrying way more than we need. Perhaps it was childhood aspirations of Mary Poppins or Doraemon, but honestly, our shoulders were not made for heavy bags. Do your future self a favor and lighten your load today...

TGIF!!!