A Sparkling Award!

I received such a sweet award today, from Biba's Beauty corner

The rules are very simple:
- Answer one question: What do you like the most about your own blog?
- Pass this award on.

What I like most about my blog is that I managed to keep it guilt free. I blog for my pleasure, sometimes almost daily, sometimes no more than once in a fortnight. Before I started this adventure, I thought long and hard about it. I didn't want to create a monster that would feed me guilt and feelings of stress when I didn't have the time it required.

Well, there is no monster, just a great hobby and an opportunity to connect to the nicest internet community ever.. Thank you for reading and letting me be a part of all this!

I pass this award on to:
Sminkan
Never Ending Obsession
Mon coin à moua
Alizarine Claws

Warning, feet ahead!

I'm sorry for the lack of updates lately. I went on a short family vacation last week and when I returned home, my internet connection was down. Not only mine, but the whole village was without access to broadband for almost a week.

It is really crazy how dependent I have grown of 24/7 access to the net. What's on TV? The weather tomorrow? Pay the monthly bills or find out what's left in your bank account? Keep in touch with friends and family?
Everything is done on the internet. Great when it works, but I think the society has grown much more vulnerable because of our dependency. You don't notice until it is gone..

Anyway, I'm rambling. Let's move on to the feet and hands which are my daughters mani-pedis for the trip. No clean up and a bit of wrestling pre-photo (between the girls, mummy not involved :p)

This is H&M Blue My Mind and Red Nail, only one coat. L.A. Nail Art striper in white. The H&M polishes are really good in pigmentation (and I'm not saying that because I'm swedish).

You didn't think I'd be cruel enough to expose you to my feet, did you? ;-)

The Posh Haul

Look what I did! I went and broke the piggy bank and really treated myself. I'm so happy about my new high ends, I just had to show you!



From L-R: Mac In the Buff, Chanel Orange Fizz, Illusion D'Or and Particulière, Dior Lemon Balm and finally MUS (swedish brand) Judith.

Have a great day everybody, today is my first day of vacation and it couldn't have started any better! :-D

A Very Subtle Pimping

So, I was not very happy with my last manicure. It was the right color and from a distance it looked pretty clean and work appropriate, but I felt it was streaky and uneven.

I decided to add a layer of Mavala Antares. This is a sheer white color, with multicolor micro shimmer and flakes that shift from white to pink to green. It turned out very pretty on the nails and I am still wearing this manicure six days later, but it proved almost impossible to photograph correctly. You will have to take my photos as is, and trust me.
If you want a subtle but different manicure, try Mavala Antares!

Pinking Up the Pieces

Because that's just what is going on here!
(and might I add, with a great amount of success)

Hi guys, I guess I'm back with my theme again.
The manicure itself was, I'm sorry to say, without any great success at all. It turned out very streaky and hard to manage. It might be that I lack the skills needed for sheer polish. The problem subdued with the fourth coat, but then I had an unmanageable amount of polish on my fingers and it dried slow, in spite of Seche Vite (who caused bubbles again, I might have to chuck this bottle even if it is brand new, grr)
I was pressed for time and had to give my girls a bath right after I finished the mani, so of course I suffered some dents. I'm showing you the best preserved hand.

The polish itself is lovely enough, a sheer pink with a little blue flash. But I doubt I will use this again anytime soon, I think I have pink sheers in my stash that are easier to handle.

After living with this dented manicure for a day, I made a very descrete pimping for a better look. I'll show you soon, my first pictures came out so discrete there is no visible change at all. I will try again today.

Nail Art from Viva la Nails

Just recently, I found a great offer. Viva la Nails offers you a sample of their nail art products, all for free if you are a nail related blogger. In return, they want you to spread the word and blog about them.

This is what I received. Six different packages of nail stickers, a small sample of nail wipes and a generous amount of rhine stones, small flowers and hearts, beads and bullions. All in all, a great little package. Shipping was very fast and communication with the company was good.

I still have left to try out the products, but knowing the limitations of my nail art skills, any failure with execution will most likely be operator dependent, rather than due to lacking quality of the supplies.

All in all, I think this is a great way for a company to get publicity and good will. They ship world wide, so if you too would like a sample, go here.

Happy Flakey Me!

I am working right through this week end and when my last manicure started to chip I didn't really have the energy or time to change it. Luckily, someone has invented flakes and glitters for just this reason, to cover lazy girls a**es in their time of need.

So I just slapped on a new coat of OPI More Time For Me to cover the worst chipping and proceeded with two coats of Nfu-Oh 50. I used BB couture top coat Top Rock over the flakes, to even the surface out a bit, and it worked great.

With a manicure like this, no one can walk around with a grudge, so I took a pause in my "theme" just to be sincerely happy for a while. Actually, happy suits me better, I'm that kind of girl!