myNail Art – Stone Marble

I absolutely LOVE getting my nails done (who doesn’t?) and I equally love doing my own nails myself.
I find it relaxing actually. I normally do mine during the weekend while catching up on some of my favourite YouTubers. And just in time for a new week ahead, I’ve noticed a trend floating around in the nail art community, which happens to be the marble technique.

So I decided this week I’d try it out for myself and attempt the Stone Marble look.
The items you need are quite simple. White nail polish for the base, grey or black nail polish for the marble effect and a top coat.
You’ll also need, a bowl of room temperature water, hair spray, Q-tips and nail polish remove (it can get a little messy)
If you have all these items, read ahead and check out my tutorial on the stone marble nail art!

Step 1: After you’ve done your personal nail care of cutting, filing and buffing. Apply a base coat before you apply two coats of you favourite white nail polish.

Step 2: Once your base colour has fully dried, we can now get to the fun stuff. Have a bowl of room temperature water ready and make sure that it’s not too cold or not too hot. With your chosen colour of either gray or black, as close as you can to the surface of the water, let a few drops fall. The nail polish will spread evenly out on the surface of the water. If it doesn’t, make sure that your nail polish isn’t too old and that it’s nice and shaken before use. During trial and error, I found that if I used an older polish, that it wouldn’t work so well.

Step 3: Almost immediately after dropping some nail polish on to the water, lightly spray some hair spray on top. This will react to the nail polish and create a web like effect. Once you’ve sprayed the hair spray, carefully dip your finger (nail down) on to the desired part of the grey or black nail polish and leave for a few seconds.

Step 4: While your finger is still in the water, use a Q-tip or toothpick to collect the excess nail polish floating around. Take your finger out of the water and clean off any nail that’s left on your finger. 

Step 5: Apply a top coat and wait for it to dry. Once your nail polish is completely dried, follow the steps again on all your other nails!

And voila! Stone marble nail art! It’s a really fun and different way to paint your nails but trust me, if you’re in a rush, this is not the nail technique for you. It’s tedious and sometimes downright frustrating, when the hair spray doesn’t react to the nail polish like you want it to. Believe me, I know! But if you’re into your nail art, you can appreciate the different designs each nail will look like. And remember, you don’t have to do a white base with gray or black. You have all the colours of the rainbow to be creative with! Check out some of the other water marble designs below and get some #NailArtInspo!

Until next time,

myPower of Makeup

Hello everyone!! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?!

I do apologise for my absence. I’ve been out of the blogging/Instagram community for over a month now and I feel like you all deserve an explanation!

Well, it all started with me getting a full time job around March and during that time it was the end of semester exams. Needless to say it was a stressful, full on couple of months! Once I finished semester and I settled into my new job, I have to admit it was hard getting back in to blogging. I had so many ideas but no motivation to actually do it. I’ve also gone through some ups and downs while I’ve been away from blogging, which I’m still in the process of figuring out, but one of my priorities is to not let this blog slip away from my newly manicured fingers!

To celebrate my return to the blogging community, I wan’t to also celebrate the power of makeup. I enjoy all aspects of makeup (obviously) whether it’s used to enhance features, cover imperfections or dramatically transform your face into someone (or something) different using special effects.

I wear makeup, not for other people but for myself. I don’t wear makeup because I’m insecure of how I look. I don’t wear makeup because I don’t love myself. I wear makeup, well, because I can.

Makeup doesn’t define who I am. I can embrace both the makeup and no makeup look, because I’m comfortable either way.

Love yourself. because you are beautiful.
(with or without makeup)

Until next time,

myTAG | 40 Beauty Q&A

So I was browsing through some beauty blogs and came across this little Q&A tag that I thought would be fun to do. It’s a fun way to learn other people’s makeup and skin care routines as well as discovering other beauty blogs that I can follow!

I tag the following to give this Q&A tag a go
@themakeupcupboard
@thatlittlebeautyblog
@makeupblissness
@thebeautydorkk
@faceofsjw

SKINCARE

–How many times do you wash your face daily?

Twice, when I wake up and before I go to bed. Obviously I’m not perfect and sometimes I get lazy at night but marjority of the time I do.

-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)
I have normal to cominiation skin, but the late afternoon/evening I do get a little oily on my nose and forehead.

-What is your current facial wash?
At the moment I use Biore blemish cleanser as well as the Biore triple action toner.

-Do you exfoliate?
Yes. I love using a facial scrub on my face! It feels like it gets all the dirt off my face and pores.

-What brand do you use?
I’ve been using St. Ives Apricot Scrub ever since I was 17! I’ve tried other face scrubs but I always go back to my St. Ives.

-What moisturizer do you use?
I change between Aveeno, Sukin and L’Oreal day and night cream. Depending on what’s at arms reach.

-Do you have freckles?
Unfortunately not, I think they’re so cute on faces!

-Do you use eye cream?
I know I should but I don’t

-Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
I’m thankful to say that I never went through any bad acne throughout my teen years. Now I get the odd pimple on my chin when it’s that time of the month. I break out when I eat fatty and sugary foods but apart from that, I have pretty acne free skin.

-Did you ever have to use Pro-activ?
I’ve heard too many bad reviews about it that I was never interested to try it.

MAKE-UP

-What foundation do you use?
I have my current favourites. At the moment I’ve been loving Rimmel’s Lasting Finish 25hrs foundation. I use it every day for work and on day’s I want a light coverage I always to go my Chi Chi BB cream. Nars Sheer Glow foundation will always be my holy grail foundation though!

-How about concealer?
Rimmel’s Wake Me Up concealer is my favourite at the moment.

-Do you know your undertone color?
I have the typical asian yellow undertone but I do have an olive tan skin tone

-What do you think of fake eyelashes?
I love them! However I only ever wear them on big nights and special occasions. I think they complete a makeup look and they make you look wide awake. I have friends who have naturally long lashes and it urgh just kills me with jealousy

-Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
Yes but like everyone else I keep my mascaras past the 3 months. I have a wide mascara collection that I change mascaras every month, anyway.

-What brand of mascara do you use?
At the moment it’s a mixture of Benefit They’re Real and L’Oreal Miss Manga mascara. I tend to wear two mascaras at the same time. Benefit to separate my lashes and Miss Manga to add volume are a match made in heaven

-Sephora or MAC?
Sephora just reached our shores in Australia late last year in Sydney and I live in Melbourne so unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to experience Sephora. MAC cosmetics are always a winner, but I’ve been able to find dupes without breaking the bank.

-Do you have a MAC Pro-card?
No, I don’t think I buy enough MAC to make it worth my wild.

-What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
A damp sponge for liquid foundation and concealers. Brushes for everything else.

-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?
Yes. Essence I Love Stage eye shadow primer works a treat! It doesn’t crease my eye shadow but it’s a hit or miss for other people as it has a yellow-tone shade, which doesn’t work for different skin tones.

-For the face?
Of course. I never not prime my face before foundation. At the moment I’m loving the Australis CYA Later Pores primer for my Tzone and the Models Prefer Lift Revitalizing primer for around my face.

-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
I don’t have a current favourite but I like my nude and smokey shadows, with hints of berry and pink shades

-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?
I use pencil and gel liners. I find liquids are harder to use. I don’t have much of a steady hand.

-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
I’m pleased to say that I don’t think I’ve ever done that before!

-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
They’re amazing when you know how to use them. I on the other hand dont know how to use them myself.

-Do you use mineral makeup?
I’m using the Models Prefer Soft Touch mineral power at the moment. It leaves your skin with a nice dewy glow.

-What is your favorite lipstick?
It changes all the time! Though I prefer matte creams over lipsticks and my favourites are the NYX soft matte lip creams

-How about lipgloss?
I don’t wear lipgloss all that often, if ever. The closest gloss that I wear are the NYX Butter glosses, which I’m obsessed with.

-What is your favorite blush to use?
Either the NYX cream blushes or Maybelline’s Master Hi-Light blush

-Do you buy your makeup on ebay?
No and I don’t think I ever will. When it comes to makeup I like to know where they came from and where it was made.

-Do you like drugstore makeup?
I love drugstore makeup. I believe that you don’t have to spend so much on good quality makeup. I do own some high end makeup but I mostly buy from the drugstore.

-Do you go to CCO’s? (cosmetic company outlets)
I go to anywhere where there’s a sale

-Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
Not for glamour makeup but I’d love to take special effects makeup classes.

-Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
Only when I’m in a rush. I try to give myself plenty of makeup time before I have to be anywhere

-Name a makeup crime that you hate?
Not blending your foundation down to your neck! Urgh! Not blending in general is a makeup crime in itself.

-Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
I like neutrals and nudes. I sometimes go wild with a bright lippie and keep everything else simple.

-Which celebrity always has great make up?
Every one of them. Why? Because they have their very own glam squad! Dont be fooled!

-If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?
Mascara. Bright wide eyes are always a must.

-Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
I do most of the time. I only ever wear makeup for work or if I’m going out for the night. I like to let my skin breath.

-Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
I have no issues with not wearing any makeup. Sometimes, less is more.

-In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
Nars. I have so many favourites from that line, unfortunately I can’t afford them all!

-What do you think of Makeup?
It shouldn’t be the most important thing to anyone, male or female. It should be used to enhance features and not change them to make you look like someone completely different. I love makeup (obviously) and I love wearing makeup but it’s not an essential thing in my life.

Until next time,

my Throw Back Thursday – Halloween Edition

Today for TBT, I wanted to reminisce to last Halloween 2014. The time of when my whole makeup and beauty blogging would begin. It was then when I realised my love for makeup and special effects. All my friends had hobbies of their own like motorbikes, fashion, music, art and I always wondered why I didn’t have a hobby of my own. That was the day when I realised, it was right in front of me all a long. I was a collector of makeup and I loved making creations by using the products! Since then, my makeup and skin care collection has grown significantly and I’ve also started collecting supplies for special effects makeup! I’m looking forward to not only making some new creations but also improving on my skills and sharing it with you all.

My readers, my followers and the people who are just passing by, you’re feedback means so much to me and I appreciate you even taking your time to like, comment and/or follow.

Until next time,

myOOTD | saints+secrets dress

I’ve been a bit MIA and it pains me to see that my last post was in January!
Back to university and work has taken up majority of my time since the summer holidays, but I take full responsibility in neglecting one of my hobbies that I’m so passionate about.

My inspiration to get back to my blogging was from, non other than my beautiful best friend. During this weekend she reminded me how happy blogging about my beauty passions makes me feel. This weekend I played with makeup, I picked up my camera and the ambition and love all came rushing back.

With this post, I thank you. I promise to make you proud. I love you.

Photo Credit: from my best friend who is the inspiration to keep going.

Dress from Saints+Secrets bought from Myer Melbourne

Until next time,