CRAZY JEWELLED PINK

I wanted to experiment with different sized and coloured beads and gemstones so I went a bit OTT with this design but I really was just exploring. Even though I would never wear something as extravagant as this outside the house unless it was in Japan or halloween, I would like to change this to a more wearable look. I think I need to get for a softer more washed out pink and perhaps use smaller beads or just none at all on a few nails. What do you guys think?

CAMO NAILS


One of you suggested camo nails so here we go! They really are quite easy. I painted one coat of a metallic green on one nail and on the rest of the nails I painted two with white and two with a pale pink colour. Then, I had a green, dark green, yellow and darkish gold on hand and I basically dotted away. Neatness isn't exactly key here so I think this is a really easy nail to do! Don't be afraid to experiment without a tutorial. As for the remaining lonely green nail, I painted another coat of the metallic green and while it was still wet I added the studs. You could try this for halloween if you aren't going for the zombie/scary look but just want to dress up and instead go as an army officer. A few of you guys have been asking me where to get these studs. I'm lucky enough to be in Japan right now where the amount of nail-art products and accessories is absolutely overwhelming but similar studs can be found on amazon or ebay.

CASUAL OUTFIT


I was only going out rent some movies and return the ones which I had finished watching so I wasn't really going to throw on something fabulous. I'm usually a bit self-conscious about my legs because I don't exactly have the most toned ones but I feel quite comfortable wearing these levi shorts which I actually bought for only 900! It was in the second hand part of the Spinns store in Kyoto which I absolutely love.

STUDDED x CROSS NAILS


Nail growth polish really works! Just kidding, I applied clear nails to both hands and went from there. I have clearly taken my studs obsession to the next level with this nail design! It was actually a lot more simple to do than I had originally thought but it requires a lot of patience and care. The 'blue' colour is actually a lot more green in real life. I bought a rose gold stud set and also a dark brown one which I've been thinking of using for a camo themed designed. I might film a tutorial on this when I get back to Luxembourg but on my normal length nails.

BE MY GUEST


Dress & bag - Topshop, sandals - new look

I stepped outside of my apartment block to take outfit photos in my usual spot but this little kid decided to join in, striking a pose for every shot which my mama took - the most adorable thing which I've witnessed in a while. This was just after I had got my hair cut at a hairdressers for the first time in 3ish years. I can definitely tell the difference (although it isn't so noticeable on these photos). I asked them to shorten it by 4cm, make my hair 'lighter' and to give my hair the V-shape that I was talking about. The cut has definitely made my hair feel a lot healthier and more 35°C appropriate! 

NIGHT SKY

I wanted to try something a little different and experiment with some metallics so I took some inspiration from the necklace my grandmother gave me and decided to do a night sky theme. I decided to use some star nail stickers for this to add more dimension and, well, I'm just not that skilled yet.

 I prepped my nail with my new Sally Hansen hardener which I got because I've been having a severe case of nail peeling and cracking. I then applied my Canmake 14 (any white will do, although I would have preferred more of  a pearly colour).

 I originally used those curve guidance stickers or whatever it is you call them but it peeled some of the polish off so when I moved onto my index finger I decided to draw a guideline with my metallic lapis colour (Pa aa76) and then filled the rest of my nail in. I skipped this step for my ring and index fingers and instead just coloured them all blue. I then used a gold colour to line over where the two colours meet and another line just above that.

  Once everything was relatively dry, I went ahead and added a few star stickers and silver dots. I may have gone a bit overboard with it but oh hell I had fun. I think I wanna try something slightly princess-y and pink next time or perhaps nautical but with pastel colours.


YES/NO


I got these earrings in Spinns, on Teramachi St in Kyoto. I thought they were perfect for me because I can be the most indecisive person ever. I literally go through a neverending should I /shouldn't I dialogue in my head when I need to make a decision or when I'm shopping. Oh man, I'm the worst when I go shopping. I'll literally do 10 laps of the store picking up and putting things back a million times. I didn't have that much time to browse casually so I'm definitely going to go back tomorrow or the day after. Still need to find a few gifts to bring back too!

ADIEMUS



I bought this aztec print dress in a store called Right-On. I don't usually find things which I like there but this time I found this! I'm so happy that it cinches in at the waist so that my fattass doesn't make my maxi dress look like a shuttlecock. I wore this outfit into Kyoto today and I wish I opted for a short dress because DAMN was it hot.. I was melting like this pug. But luckily enough I we stepped into Loft department store for a while to cool down and shop. We saw two geiko on their free time on the bottom floor. They had such beautiful skin. I've slowly been stocking up on Japanese beauty products, nail polishes and home things so I might be doing a post about this soon. I really want to buy a compact camera so I can film nail tutorials. I have so many ideas! I'm so excited.

FOOD DIARY #1

Breakfast
Porridge with half a chopped banana and cinnamon with a mug of jasmine green tea and some water. I always used to mess up measurements so I would end up with super milky oats or a bucketful of porridge. As I have discovered, a cup of porridge with a cup of milk is really enough and so very very simple. I was going to add blueberries which I bought yesterday but they seemed to have mysteriously disappeared..

Lunch
I didn't really have a lunch as I was still quite full from the porridge but I started prepping/cooking around 14h30 so I made a little bruschetta which I also made later to serve with dinner.

Dinner
Spaghetti bolognese - sauce made from scratch. I followed this BBC recipe. Oh man. The bolognese was pretty darn amazing.. I have to admit I was a little hopeless in the beginning. I seemed to resemble a spastic octopus while trying to time everything so that we could eat when my grandma arrived. I sat right by that deep pan "stirring occasionally" for 1h30mins. You guys have no idea how proud I felt when everyone said it was yummy. I was of course browsing for nail art inspiration though. I have finally decided what my next design is going to be! And by the looks of my extensive (ahem..) google research no one has done it yet.
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I tend not to overeat but what I eat is sometimes not the best of choices. I am hoping that these posts will encourage me to eat healthier.

KATE COSMETICS

It was when my mum once came back from a trip to Japan that I first discovered make up by Kate. She had brought back a gel eyeliner for me. This was over 5 or 6 years ago and then I didn't even know they had such things as gel liners. I absolutely loved it. I've always wanted to try other things by Kate but I never found anything which I was almost certain I would continuously use. Until now! I picked up an eyeliner pen and a non-shimmery eyeshadow base. After getting the urban decay primer potion in  sin I knew shimmery bases weren't for me so I was super happy to find this.

CUPCAKES

I removed the pandas because I thought they were a bit messy and replaced them with another set of cupcakes nails. I made a few changes as you might be able to tell. I used a lot more gold flitter long the pink/white line and instead of another cupcake on my index I tried to go for a candy cane look. I don't think it look that great but in the next few days I'll be experimenting. Maybe with some mint as well? I'd love it if you could make some requests and challenge me! Watermelon and pikachu are already on my list.

FIRST ATTEMPT AT NAIL ART

 L-R: OPI start to finish, OPI passion, Canmake 47, Canmake 14, Canmake 15, Canmake jewel glitter 02, DNAILS gel look topcoat (absolutely AMAZING)

I applied one layer of the OPI start to finish followed by a layer of OPI passion. Then, I applied two layers of Canmake 47 to achieve a decent colour because it's more of a gel polish than a really bold one (like my OPI Feelin' hot-hot-hot)

 I took one of the nail brushes and use it to create oval blobs of white (Canmake 14) on all my nails except on my pinky. I tried to turn it into a little candy but you will later see that I ended up covering it with my Nails Inc chelsea square (062). It's not in the first photo but it's a super glittery pink nail polish. My first Nails Inc polish actually!

 I took separate brush and dipped it in Canmake 15 to create the ears, eyes, nose and mouth of the panda. As you can see, many of them look like the they have moustaches.

God forbid what this hand would have looked like if I attempted the pandas left handed.. I don't have very steady hands. As soon as I get quite gentle and ready to do a curve of a dot my hand seems to spasm. SO I went for cupcakes! (I did clean up around the nail after but before that I was just too excited to take a photo)

SO I feel like some criticisms may be coming my way. I did a very messy job but I was in such a cheery mood and I was only having fun with it. I'm definitely going to improve on these to looks thought. Perhaps buy better brushes for more precision - maybe some multi-coloured micro beads to decorate the cupcake! OH JEEZ. I'm so excited right now. Maybe I could even turn it into a little hobby. I might have to steal some of my brother's warhammer paint brushes haha. What do you guys think? Would you be interested in seeing more? I've been thinking of doing a sort of street style post but for nail art of the girls here in Japan. Their nails are amazing.

GU - MAXI SHIRT



I went to the shopping mall today and this is what I wore. This maxi shirt is my favourite clothes purchase this trip! (so far.. ) Who am I kidding, I haven't even hit Kyoto yet so that fact will probably change soon. Is it just me or does it seem like there aren't that many maxi shirts around? Sure you've got maxi dresses and oversized shirts everywhere but how often do you see a maxi shirt? Maybe I'm just incredibly blind, so please let me know if you can see something like this in a store in England/Luxembourg (or anywhere else in Europe for that matter haha).

PS, apologies for the unfortunate face in the top photo. I'm still a bit sick and I was very grumpy this morning haha.

ZARA TRF A/W


Just saw these Cara Delevingne photos for Zara and I'm already to go winter shopping when I get back to Luxembourg. There's a blazer which I have my eye on but I might ask for it as a Christmas present. Jeez there I go thinking about Christmas already. Last year I started buying presents in July! Even though I'm loving that I'm in Japan right now I think I'm suffering from Zara-browsing withdrawal symptoms haha.

GREEN TEA & SNACKS



I was in Muji today and I picked up these yummy snacks. I think I might go back at the end of my stay and stock up on them. I hate it when apple chips are squishy. They have the same texture as uncooked mushrooms. I'm also on the hunt for a green tea latte mixture which I can stock up on. I'm in the process of trying out different kinds to figure out which one I like the best. I'm totally going to take this to Starbucks with me so I can have my matcha frappuccino!


LAZY DAY

I had a bit of a lazy day today and I really didn't do much. I've been quite ill lately which sucks in this heat. It's nothing too serious, just a very very blocked nose. So blocked that it feels like it's under pressure and about to explode. Not the most charming of thoughts but damn it that's how it feels. Either way, I wanted to get out of the apartment so my family and I went to a local department store to do food shopping and rent DVDs. I didn't where anything special but I couldn't allow myself to go in the shorts I had been lounging in all day so I threw on my cheap monday vest, galibardy chain, topshop skirt and converse - pretty standard outfit. Maybe I was a bit overdressed for the supermarket though haha. I hope you all have been having an amazing summer! I don't want mine to end but I'm kind of excited about moving into the house for my second year of university.

DUTY FREE SHOPPING SPREE

I'm finally in Japan! We went through four different airports which was pretty tiring but I had some time for a bit of shopping at Doha.

D&G L'Impératrice
I finished my first L'impératrice bottle so I had been waiting for duty free to purchase my second. I absolutely love this perfume so I went for the 100ml bottle as I know I will be using it constantly. It's a very fresh and uplifting perfume which is edgy but classy at the same time. Despite having a Japanese name which means perfume/fragrance, I am not exactly a perfume connoisseur (and the fact that I have had a blocked nose for the past few weeks doesn't help) so I decided to look into this particular one to figure out the top notes (scent(s) which give the first impression), the heart (the perfume as it settles on your skin) and the base notes which are the main theme of the perfume and which give a lasting impression. With that being said, this is its online description of the notes: "3 L'Imperatrice is a confident, charismatic, boundary-shattering blend with a top of rhubarb, kiwi accord, and red currant; a heart of pink cyclamen, watermelon, and jasmine; and a base of musk, sandalwood, and grapefruit wood." Do you ever feel like some perfume can only be worn during a certain time of the day or even a certain season? This is a sexy yet subtle perfume and I think it can be worn anytime, anywhere.

Diorshow mascara
The product I use the most out of anything is mascara. The only time I've ever thought WOW when I applied mascara was with one by Helena Rubinstein, Covergirl and Dior. I could not for the life of me remember which Dior mascara it was but me oh my was it amazing. Now that I have tried this one out for a couple of days now I'm almost 100% sure it this was the magical mascara I purchased all those years ago. It's very easy to apply and it's great if you want to build up your mascara. Great for someone who likes to wear less during the day but prefers to go a bit extra for a night out. I hate it when mascara gets clumpy even after two strokes but no worries of that with this one. Not only does it smell divine (I'm a bit worried about this as I have very sensitive eyes), I love that it was inspired by the make up artists backstage at Dior shows who would sometimes use "plush toothbrushes" (Sephora) to create dramatic lashes for the runway.

Clinique Super City Block
I had been looking for a decent sunscreen for my face because I felt a bit iffy about applying body sunscreen on my face. I read a few brief reviews and articles and decided to go for this as it has SPF 40. I feel like with skincare products you need to give it a week or so to be able give a more or less fair judgement of your experience with it. I'll get back to you about this sunscreen in seven days!

WALKS IN THE SUN



So, I was supposed to go swimming yesterday but it got way to cloudy so instead, the Manfriend and I had a lunch date and ate pizza. When we got back we took my dog for a walk along the cycle path near my house and OH HEY sun decided to finally make an appearance. It was so effing hot that I couldn't stand wearing the blazer any longer. I've started wearing my hair in a side-plait because it keeps my hair out my face in the night and off my neck during the day. Bonus is that if I feel like having my hair down, it's wavy! 

PS, if you wanna check out a full length shot of the outfit click HERE.

YES TO...

I absolutely love the yes to range. I've bought the yes to carrots mask four times already and the yes to blueberries face wipes twice. I wanted to try something else this time so I went for the yes to cucumbers soothing calming facial mask and natural glow facial towlettes. The mask has cucumber, aloe and dead sea mud which all help to sooth your skin. It's very easy to use and I leave it on for 5-10mins. It says you can wash it off with a damp cloth but in my experience that can get a bit messy so washing it away with water works best for me. As for the wipes, they smell a lot better than the yes to blueberries ones and they do make my skin feel very fresh. I'll probably be popping these into my hand luggage on Monday!