DIY tribal nails

Manicures are so pampering, but it's hard to squeeze time and money out for such luxury regularly. The more intricate your nail designs, the more expensive it'll be - so why not do up your own? The best part is that it's so simple, and you won't even need to limit your choices to a commercial design book ♥

Black and mint nail polish - no frills $3 each

Gold OPI - Free from a local fashion event

Hair pin - from home

Nail art dotter - $1 (picked up from a local art store) 

                         (Optional, I didn't use this)

For this design, it's really a simple tri-step process. Base mint coat, with a middle strip of gold and then the intricate details with the black nail polish in the middle. (With drying time in between coats as per a normal manicure) What I would like to share would be how to do up the details with easily available tools you have at home! For me, I work best with the tips of a hair pin. With a steady hand and patience, you can come up with a lot of designs ♥ The back of the hairpin is good for wavy designs, while the front tip is good for dotting - you can adjust the size of the dots by the application pressure. It's not the best tool around, but it's so inexpensive and you can experiment around without a cent! If you mess up, you can purchase one of those nail markers, which can last for pretty long. Other alternatives include a nail art dotter from a local art store or nail shops, or using a traditional pencil with a pushpin stuck onto the back eraser portion.

I have heard a lot of raving about using Scotch magic tape to do up clean neat lines (good for stripes) on nail designs so maybe I'll try that next time, ciao!

Old school night,

Went along with a British schoolgirl influenced outfit for an old school themed NUSSU appreciation, which was a fresh change from last year's formal dinner (post here) Xiner and I decided to dress up, and justified ourselves shopping therapy the week before ♥ Bagged ourselves pretty plaited school skirts and high socks! 

She came over to my place before the dinner as she wasn't feeling too well, but took a quick rest and we ended talking and preparing/dressing up early for the event. And she also helped to curl my ends in for that retro look, which I really loved - she looks like my personal hair stylist below hehe. Borrowed my mum's Calvin Klein knit sweater and carried my usual handbag (because I can toss my random necessities in) to complete the look, unfortunately I left my faux pearl necklace in the kitchen before dashing out.

Since we had so much time at hand, we took a gazillion shots: (Check out her Japanese school girl inspired outfit, I think she pulled it off really well!)

 

Love how the rest were really sporting and dressed with the theme too, check out the suspender bowtie gang! We were also given exercise notebooks and badges as door gifts to fit the theme, some pictures below are courtesy of Xiner's camera.

It was fun when everyone dressed up, but the best dressed of all was....

...who even carried an old school Nokia phone and strawberry chocolate condoms.

Headed down thereafter to Dempsey to chill until Ben and Jerry's closed and we had 2am talks at the wooden benches outside - good times. Ciao mon amis!

Foot for the soul,

Song of the moment: Sweet disposition - Temper trap

High boots clearly don't appear tops in tropical states for obvious reasons, which is such a dear pity because some of the classic ones are so gorgeous when adorned. I admit I'm guilty of wearing slippers for classes on quite a regular basis, pretty soulless but it feels like a second skin especially with this summer weather. Soooo lately I've been into shoes, wedges platforms embroidered you name it I got it, but I'll still rely on my usuals for that first line of comfort (or perhaps time for a trusty pair of flats). I got this pair of  ankle boots a month ago, it's a shade of brown I'm sitting on the fence about - between Camel and Chamoisee...not very practical for school but adds a quick fix to any outfit. College work has been swamping me, and I have been juggling my module loads, SOS because it's my busiest semester ever yet. Or perhaps it's the act of all these summer heat transpiring to this stress - don't think anyone's gonna like being in my shoes now for sure.

P.S. Plans for next year are all falling in place, and thanks for the amazing feedback I had for my previous DIY Ombré shorts post, so grateful thank you so much!  ♥

DIY ombre denim shorts,

Dip dye shorts have been quite a sensation recently, and what better to jazz up a pair of mundane denim shorts than to create the Ombré effect ♥ The french word ombragé stems from the English word umbrage, which simply means shaded. I love using stark contrasting colours for this, because it eventually creates a soft gorgeous blend - no matter how different the colours may be at first!

Fabric dyes: $6 each

Denim shorts:  Old pair collecting dust in my wardrobe

Time taken: Less than an hour

I got my dyes from Art Friend (members discounts make my day) but you can get any cheap dyes you find at your local art store. Take note that some cheap dyes may not produce very vibrant colours, so it's good to invest in some good ones! I used Flamingo pink and Ocean blue for this DIY. Here, I've chosen to dip-dye my pair of old denim shorts, which are extremely loose for me, it's probably at least a quarter larger than my actual size. Also, the time taken might vary because it takes some time to dry.

Step 1: Dampen the pair of clean shorts, preferably immersing it in warm water for about 5 minutes. This helps the shorts to take in the dye a lot better later.

Step 2: Create your dye potions, follow the instructions given on the packets and make sure the dye is equally dissolved in the water (different amounts give rise to various proportions) You may also adjust the intensity of the colours by adding more water. Another good tip is to make the water warm so the dye is absorbed faster, and to use non-staining pails!

Step 3: Dip-dye half of the shorts into the darker potion, if I dip it after the lighter potion the colour may run down and affect the intensity and I didn't want that. If you want brighter colours, leave it inside longer! Patting it doesn't help.

Step 4: Leave it out to dry, but not in direct sunlight because strong sunlight may cause the effect to fade. I placed mine on a hanger and left it in the shower for a day.

Voilà, fini.

Tip: Please wear long gloves so the dye doesn't stain when you submerge your hands in, I had different coloured stained hands for a week! (Along with my newly manicured gelish nails)

Going one step ahead, you could create the rugged look by cutting the ends of your denim shorts and tearing the frayed ends. If you make any mistakes (mess ups are natural), you could use clear nail varnish to patch up the ends or just let it be! I'm tempted to make my own with an old pair of denim black jeans, and using the leftover material for a new Macbook sleeve or a pencil case. I'll share more on that if I ever get down to doing it ♥