Formula 1 - Ferrari Nailart

Polishes used:
@Sally Hansen cherry red
@Australis rub-a-dub-dub
@L'Oreal blue reef
@maybelline  onxy rush 430
@orlycolorblastnz white out

@opi_products rapidry topcoat 

@orlycolorblastnz top2bottom basecoat 

Tools used:

Nailart thin brush

Cleaning brush

Sally Hansen acetone-free nail polish remover for cleaning

Lush lemony flutter to go after the nails are dried 

Melbourne 2014 F1 Grandprix

My husband has been requesting this nailart for a while so I created one for him. He is a big fan of Formula 1 and supports Ferrari of course. I know little about Formula 1 but have managed to learn a lot since I met my husband 5 years ago. We have seen Formula 1 in action live on two occasions. Once in 2011 and 2014 this year in Melbourne Grandprix. I never thought I would enjoy the car race, it's definitely one of an experience to remember for a first timer. I like Jenson Button because of his looks ;) <husbandjealousalert>. However, I support Ferrari too :) Forza Ferrari.

Converse shoe nailart

I collaborated with one of the Instagrammer Nailvids_tj using her nailart pictorial tutorial to create this look.

Polishes used:

@opi_products planks a lot 

@orlycolorblastnz white out 

@maybelline  onxy rush 430 

@opi_products rapidry topcoat 

@orlycolorblastnz top2bottom basecoat

Tools used:

Dotting pen

Nailart thin brush

Cleaning brush

Sally Hansen acetone-free nail polish remover for cleaning

Jigsaw puzzle nail art and Orly colorblast nail polish review

I won top 6 selling nail polishes from Orly Colorblast NZ recently and on receiving them I wanted to create a design out of all 6 six colors. I take it as a challenge. Have you noticed that I normally create a design out of the new colors I get? I enjoy working with colors. 

Jigsaw nail art design

Nail Polishes I received from Orly ColorblastNZ.

The colors are from left to right:
- peach pastel neon
- tangerine neon 
- sky blue 
- rose chrome foil
- true neon pink 
- pink luxe shimmer

The consistency of these nail polishes is quite thin. I had to apply at least 3 coats to get the right color. Mind you these colors are really bright and truly neon(y). The photos don't do justice, in reality it looks much brighter. 

The disappointments I had was in the orange tones, after using it on my accent nail to create jigsaw puzzle art, the two colors seem to be very similar. There is not much difference in shades. And the skyblue color looks different to the color as seen in the bottle. It's much lighter to the color in the bottle on application.

Out of all 6 colors, my favourite was pink luxe shimmer. 

These colors are more for summer especially the oranges and true neon pink. I can't wait for summer to start in NZ, just few more months to go. haha 

My skin care routine

I have a routine for my skin.

Morning:

Face wash with The BodyShop Vitamin C Facial Cleansing Polish

- Apply Clarins Double serum

- Apply Clarins multi active day cream with SPF

Apply Clarins Eye revive beauty flash for my dark circles/puffy eye

Night:

Remove makeup  MAC oil based remover for eyes and lips makeup or water based cleanser for full face light makeup (this is a must step for a night routine to avoid clogged pores resulting unwanted pimples)

- Cleanse with Clarins cleanser

- Tone with Clarins Toner

- Apply Clarins night cream or I spray some rose water to keep my skin hydrated and rose water is good for dark circles too.

I have been following this routine for over 2 years now and my skin is smooth. This doesn't mean I have not been trying any new products. Initially I was hesitant to try new products, but I have given it a go to some new products recently.
As mentioned in one of my previous post, I am using Love skin Je'Taime oil for past few weeks, mainly at nights so I alternate between Clarins multi active night cream.

I am currently also testing Garnier Skin brightening cream I won on Facebook.

Share your skincare routine here :)

Red Flowers Nail Art

I did a maniswap on Instragram this week and I am very happy with the outcome. 

Colors used:

OPI Red my fortune Cookie - Main red color on the nails 

Maybelline Onxyrush 430 - Black highlights on the flowers

Orlycolorblast Whiteout - White on accent nails 

Loreal Bluereef - Green leaves 

Nail Care/Art Tools - My must-haves

12

1. Nail Buffer - This is a 4 way nail buffer which has 4 steps to even out, smooth, buff and shine nail. This is easily available in any pharmacy or department store.

2. Nail File - A metal nail file I use for shaping my nails. This is available in any pharmacy, department store or dollar store.

3. Cuticle Pusher - Cuticle pusher helps to push tough, hard cuticles back. I soften my cuticle first before using cuticle pusher to avoid skin cut. Check out my previous post for the products I use to soften my cuticle or just soak your nails in warm water before pushing the cuticle.

4. Cuticle Nipper - I use this cuticle nipper for cutting any dead cuticle. Make sure you cut only dead cuticles and not healthy cuticles. You need healthy cuticles to protect your nails.

5. Zig Zag Scissors - I use this zig zag scissors to cut stripes for my nail art. Check out my nail art where I have used zig zag stripes.

6. Scissors - Scissors are used for cutting stripes or scotch tape.

7. Labelling stickers - It is hard to find ready nail art vinyls here in NZ so I use labelling stickers to cut my own vinyls.

8. Cotton Pads - Cotton pad is used for removing nail polish from nails and brushes.

9. Striping Tapes - I bought this striping tapes from TradeMe, they are way too thin so requires lot of patience to go on nails. This is self adhesive stripes so you can either use it on nails on its own or use it as nail vinyls.

10. Makeup sponges - I use makeup sponge to create gradient nails. Soak the sponge in the water, apply your favorite colors on the sponge and tap it on your nails to create gradient look. Check out my Instagram video where I have used gradient nails as background to draw a shell shape on it. Another Instagram pic to refer to.

11. Scotch Tape - Scotch tape is used for covering skin around nails or for creating geometric shapes on your nails. Check out my Instagram pic for reference.

12. Nail art brushes and dotting tool - I bought these nail art brushes from TradeMe. It comes in a cute bag along with dotting tools. There are 16 brushes and 5 dotting pens. I have used few brushes to create this beautiful flower nail art. Dotting tools is a must have for me, I can do so many designs out of it. Check out my simple french tips using dotting pens. 

Nail Care - My must-haves

1. Sally Hansen Polish Remover with Acetone - This is for strengthening weak, thin nails. I use it to remove dark nail polish and glitters.

2. Sally Hansen Polish Remover Acetone-free - I use it on a regular basis. The only thing I don't like about this remover is the smell, it's very strong but does the job well.

3. Clarins Hand & Nail treatment cream - This is my all time favorite hand cream. I massage my hands with this cream every night before sleep. The cream is light and softens the hands and absorbs in quickly.

4. Therapy Range Cuticle Oil - This oil is from the NZ based The Aromatherapy Co. I apply this oil during the day which keeps my nails and cuticles hydrated. It has Vitamin E for strengthening nails.

5. Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter - I am sure like me many of you swear by this product. It's a heavenly product that does wonder to my nails and cuticles. It smells amazing as well. It's a tad greasy so best to apply it at night before sleep and you will find your nails well conditioned.

6. Nail Polish Remover Pen - I got this pen from TradeMe, i

t has a nib attached to the pen and comes with three extra nibs. Just have to add a tiny bit of nail Polish remover to the nib and I use it to clean the area around nails to remove polish.

7. Orly Top2 Bottom Coat - This is by far the best basecoat/top coat I have used. I mainly use it as basecoat. Basecoat is a must to protect nails from damaging effects of nail polish stains.

8. OPI Rapid Dry - I bought this product few months ago and am in love with it. Nail polish dries within minutes and can be applied on wet polish. Why didn't I get this product before?

9. OPI Matte Top Coat - Get a matte look within seconds of applying this product. It dries quickly. Check out my Instagram pic of Matte finish look.

10. DIY Peel Off Glue - I used one of my empty Orly bottles to store peel off glue. Ingredients are just normal glue and water. Check out this video on youtube on how to DIY by MsNailDecor. I apply this glue around nails when creating nail art. Any excess nail polish around nails can be easily peeled off leaving the hands clean.

Love Skin Je T'aime Oil Review

Je T'aime Oil

I received this product from Beauty Review.

Size: 100ml

Packaging: Glass bottle, this makes it a bit heavy. Instruction on the packaging was minimal. I would have preferred instruction on how much to apply per time, 1 pump, 2 pumps? and also how to work the oil in the palms as stated in the website.

Smell: Orange essential oil dominates but it smells great 

Day 1: 

As the instruction on the bottle was not sufficient I went for 2 pumps in to my palms of my hands, it was a bit too much oil. Lesson learnt, one pump will do. On application to my face and neck, it felt a tad oily on my skin as I have a combination skin. I decided to wait till it is absorbed in to my skin, after about 15-20mins I noticed, all the oil was absorbed and the skin felt smooth. As it’s too early to come to conclusion, I decided to give it a shot for few days to build a relationship between my skin and the Je T’aime oil (I love you oil) 

End of week 1:

I have been applying the oil all week, day and night and the skin does feel soft and glowing. I was expecting my skin to breakout because of oil but it rather made my skin smoother and have no breakouts at all. I will continue using this and will definitely purchase it.  

Conclusion: Love skin Je T’aime oil Je T’aime aussi :) 

Tips: Apply the oil as soon as you step out of shower or cleanse your face in order to give enough time for oil to be absorbed before applying makeup. I noticed applying before bed time helped my skin well hydrated in this cold weather.

Also this product has the right blend of oils that is good for your hair and scalp. Apply the oil to your scalp and ends of hair 30 mins before the wash. This would help with any dandruff problem and leave hair shining. :)

My Rating: 7/10

Multi Color Chevron Nail Art

I created this look by cutting my own stripes using normal scissors and zigzag scissors. For stripes you can either use scotch tape or labeling stickers. For dotting, I used nail art dotting pens, you can use toothpick as well. I used polishes I shopped over the weekend. Checkout my shopping haul in my previous post. Polishes used: L'oreal Paris blue reef, rebel blue and Maxfactor purple twilight. Top coat is OPI Rapid dry.

For more pics of my nail arts, follow me on Instagram @nailkeeper 

Anniversary weekend - Outing, Shopping and Dinner

It was our second anniversary weekend and we had a delightful time together. 

OUTING

We went to Piha Beach for few hours, it was a bit overcast but we wanted to go there to reminisce our early days of knowing each other and Piha Beach was one of the destinations my husband took me on our second date. We packed some 
delicious cakes from Milse to have at the beach.

Piha Beach

Pastries from Milse

SHOPPING

So here is my shopping haul. 

Prada for Men

Prada Luna Rossa Extreme: I got my husband this cologne which smells divine. It smells of sweet and spice. Very unlike his cologne collection. This fragrance is definitely one of our favourites now. You don't need to apply too much, a little will last all day. And of course this is not a daily use cologne, it's an occasional use as the name suggests. It's Extreme! 

Available: Farmers NZ

Size: 50ml

My Rating: 8/10

Jo Malone for Women

Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede: This was my gift and it smells just amazing. It's hard to describe the smell but it's floral and very soothing. It is indeed very luxurious and has strong sex appeal. I applied it last evening and I can still smell it faintly this morning. What I learnt about Jo Malone is "The Art of Fragrance Combining". I was given 2 samples of Orange Blossom and Blackberry & Bay to play with my Peony perfume. I absolutely love this. I told my husband I am so going to start my Jo Malone Collection - my new obsession. Girls just can't get enough of everything, isn't it?

Available:  Jo Malone NZ

Size: 30ml

My Rating: 9/10

Nail polishes: While I was shopping at Farmers NZ I picked up 3 nail polishes as well. I have never tried these brands of polishes before and wanted to compare it with OPI and Essie polishes. 

Maxfactor Max Effect mini nail polish "51 Purple Twilight". This is a good purple/plum color. The consistency is thick and one application will give purple color and 2 applications will change to dark plum color. This is almost similar to OPI plum color "Honk if you love OPI".

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche "613 Blue Reef". This is in ocean green color and I love it. Although I don't like the consistency, it's too runny. 

L'oreal Paris Color Riche "610 Rebel Blue". This is in ocean blue color and is my favourite of the three polishes I purchased. The color in the bottle looks shimmery blue but on application it looks plain blue minus the shimmer. I would have loved it more with shimmer. 

My Rating: 6/10

I will be posting a nail art pic with the above three colors soon in my next blog. 

I also received couple Issey Miyake perfume samples from Farmers NZ - L'eau D'issey Pour Homme Sport (Men) and L'eau D'issey Absolue (Women). I am a big fan of Issey Miyake so always happy to get samples to go in my handbag. 

DINNER

6 Course Degustation at One Tree Grill

Menu

And of course the anniversary weekend wouldn't end without a lavish fine dinner at One Tree Grill. We had a Six course degustation dinner, it was our first degustation experience and boy we loved it. The entire experience lasted for 2.5 hours. The meals did take a while to come out, I guess they were giving us enough time to digest the meal in between. My favourite from the 6 meals was the starter Mushroom soup and the desert Pear and ginger tart with sorbet. Least favourite was the cured Salmon, I am not a big fan of fish so it didn't go well with my taste palette. Also I didn't like braised beef cheek which came along with the main Black Angus Eye Fillet. Overall we loved the experience and would try degustation experience again. And definitely recommend One Tree Grill, it's a beautiful restaurant and has a cozy feeling. 

My Rating: 8/10

How do you guys celebrate your anniversary?