Aikidoka Stylist Strikes Back!

1st kyu aikidoka

Remember when I posted about how I had the hair of some girls done while we were on training camp? If not head to this article. Now I got a request from one of the sweetest sempais to help her prepare for a family dinner. I was more then happy to do so. I did her nails, hair and makeup in turbo speed, but I think it turned out really good. The makeup is a really natural daytime look. As I had to come up with something for her really quick I just did a look that I do on myself really often. Light foundation from La Roche-Posay. Eyebrows defined by NYX eyebrow powder. Brown smudged eyeliner with some eye-shadow on it to soak up the oiliness of the eyeliner pencil and brightening up the inner corner by a peachy shimmery color from my Dior Palette. Some mascara, just a tiny bit of blush (I used the one presented in this post) and Catrice lip tint.

I painted the nails in two tones, a deep red and a golden one. I am getting better in doing accurate work and not fooling around and being sloppy on the edges. I think this combo looks really awesome on her nails. I feel like I need to open up a small beauty shop RIGHT NOW! I love doing this so much.

OOTD Video

I started doing some videos again. I actually have a nail polish and day cream review coming up for which I have the raw material already and which I will have to format. Until then hang on with me for another edition of the OOTD. I have a great number of red clothing items at the moment as people have been complementing me a lot when I am wearing red...so I just went ahead and paired the striped tee with a cute skirt and vintage masculine looking shoes. Hope you like the result!

Caught between Müller and the Dojo

I like shopping in Müller a lot. There are so many good things in there. I am also planning to purchase some day and night creams there when I run out of the ones from Yves Rocher that I have now. So many brands can be found in Müller. From drugstore cheap stuff to high end Dior and Chanel makeup and skincare. All your heart desires. So I went for the cheaper makeup stuff that I was already planning to buy for a longer time. Yesterday, I arrived to the dojo half an hour earlier than I should have. That was why I decided to just spend some fun time among the makeup counters and maybe buy something I have been planning longer ago to get.

I have been hearing good things on YouTube about this bronzer from Catrice. I liked it because it is not shimmery but matte. I tried to take a good close-up so you can see the texture of the bronzer also. You can also double click on the picture to get an ever better close-up.

I have really few blushes, about 2 or three, so I have been considering for a longer time to add some new blushes to my pallet. I always hesitate what color it should be, which would fit me better. When I saw this pretty and discrete blush with more shades in it, I decided to buy it. You can either swirl your brush in it and use the mixture of all the colors or just pick up the upper colors for blush and use the bottom light color as a high-liter.

Last but not least, I walked by the Artdeco counter. The design of their makup containers is absolutely lovely. I really liked the packaging, but the fancy patterns make the make-up articles from Artdeco cost a bit more than Catrice or Essence products. However I think the quality of the product itself is quite similar, so I just kept back from the time being...but I might find myself buying one of their blushes or eye shadows :) What really caught my eye, and about which I thought it was worth buying, was this nail polish. I guess you all had those moments when you look at the nails of someone else, and the nail polish is so even, shiny and great looking.

I was always longing to get that look. I tried the Essence Gel nails topcoat, which worked partially but was still not the real thing. Finally yesterday I found this great ceramic polish. Never heard of anything similar until now. I was really happy with the result and will buy it in other shades also. I think it approaches high end Dior and Chanel quality and costs not more than 5 Euros. The color will fit my butterfly dress perfectly and I am looking forward to buy some more bold summery colors from the same ceramic nail range.

YAY! Looking forward SUMMER! What about you? Do you use more bold colored makeup and nail polish in summer?

Nails, Nails, Nails! Looking for the Good Times!

I have been discussing with a friend today about the advantages and disadvantages of having gel nails. I have had gel nails for a couple of times, but it is not necessarily the optimal way to decorate your nails. It lasts long, that is for sure, it does last even aikido training (see my review on gel nails endurance here). However it is quite difficult to remove them, you can see my tutorial for removal. In addition your nails cannot really breathe if a coat of gel nail polish is covering them for a week or even longer. You also need a lot of tools to make it work and special products like nail primers, brushes, UV lamp and so on. Here is a picture of some of the things you need to get in order to prepare some home made gel nails.

Nowadays however I prefer normal nail polished and I am also trying hard to actually maintain my nails. You can paint them and decorate them, but if you don't give your nails the proper attention and don't take care of them as you should, you will always have chopped and frail nails. I am also trying to take care of my nails by using hand and nail creams, taking vitamins (I started my spring multivitamin magnesium complex treatment this week), pushing back cuticles and so on.  I have also seen a reasonably good nail care collection on this website. I like to give attention to maintaining my nails because I believe in the widespread motto that beauty and health are strongly connected. So you cannot have beautiful nails unless they are healthy and properly cared for.

I am also looking forward to try out the new nail polish I got from the swap with Sakura. The video of my opening the swap package is coming soon! Can't wait to post it. And the pictures and reviews of the products Saku has sent me also! Hope to see the stuff I send her reviewed on her blog pretty soon!

Stamping Nail Art- Konad m77

I just wanted to share with you some models I made on my nails

I was using the Konad m77

It is a great set. I combined dark blue nail polish with white 

I got the white polish from e-Bay. It is supposed to be special thicker nail polish for making patterns, but I don't really think it is special at all. Anyway, it was a good way for the seller to market it ^.^ 

I hope it inspired you. I can really relax by doing these patterns on my nails. And I find them really cute and unique, too.

Gel Nails Tutorial- Purple Grape

A quick tutorial of how to make these great 

grape colored

gel nails. 

You need to apply first an UV gel Base coat. Then the two coats of colored nail polish by Crystal Nails. You can do it yourself also. However it is always easier if someone does it for you because you need to take care and be precise. In my case it is always my mother who does the gel nails and we can can chitchat in the mean while.

The positive thing about Gel Nails is that they last much longer than normal nail polishes. They are also shock resistant and do not chop that easily. In my case I type a lot the whole day at work and then do the break-falls on the tatami at aikido, but the gel nails still resist at least one week. Usually I get tired of the color sooner then it starts to chop and I remove them. For the removal technique check out my How to Remove Gel Nails post and video. This removal technique is my most popular video on YouTube.