Gradient vs. Mix'n'Match ♥

Hello darlings!

How are you all? ♥

I've been out of the blogging - and everything online because I was sick pretty much all of the last week, having a sore throat and quite a high fever, so doing anything was a challenge. That means of course that I have a ton of things to do this week (supposing to be a break but truly it's not), especially with our school project which I feel super bad I have neglected. But now, with the new energy I'm sure I will get things done pretty efficiently, starting tonight.

For blogging, I figured a nice comeback would be a nail art post. Since I haven't done my nails in a week as well, it makes me feel better to actually see some creations I've done previously. Hope you like these as well. 

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So first up we have these gradient nails with animal print and some glitter placement. Pretty simple except for the glitter - because that takes time to work with.

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This wasn't one of my favorite manis, but I did like the colors and it was a good practice of techniques, so not at all a waste in that sense. I'm not saying there's much of anything wrong with these, just not so much my taste.

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The colors I used for this mani were China Glaze White On White, At Vase Value, For Audrey and Wait N Sea. The glitter is from Born Pretty Store as well as the studs, and the stamping was done with Konad plate if I remember correctly. (But if not, the plate was from Born Pretty Store as well.)

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The other one today is a combination of pink, black and silver, which I personally like a lot. 

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I was trying to do a neat little tape thing here with the chrome polish, but that didn't work as well as I thought. I definitely need to try that again so much that I finally nail it. However many takes I need for that.

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The colors I used here were China Glaze White On White, Escaping Reality, Meet Me Under The Stars and I'd Melt For You. The rhinestones are from Born Pretty Store as well as the tapes I was trying to use.

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So that's all I have for you today, I'm going to get some sleep now so that I can continue catching up my workload early in the morning. 

Let me know your thoughts about these creations in the comments below!

I'll be back with you as soon as I can - and this time it probably won't take a week or so. So stay tuned, I have loads of nice things in store for you!

Have a lovely day ♥

Leather & Fedora ♥

Hello darlings!

How was your weekend? ♥

I spent mine mostly trying to recover from the past week, but I'm still not sure if I'm ready for the next week tomorrow. However, I gotta get up and face it. It's not that the week would have been unpleasant, it's just that I had so much going on it makes my head spin. After the coming week, I luckily have a week's worth of break - meaning that I can work from home which is a big plus for me since I can skip makeup and hang out in my pyjamas. 

Also, I can't wait for next weekend when we're going to celebrate our friend T's birthday, followed by the inspiring night of the Oscars. I'm so, so excited. What a way to start the winter break.

Today, I wanted to share this quick little outfit post with you before bed. The pictures were taken when we last visited my fiance's parents, and they were taken inside due the schedule that prevented taking pictures outside - or daytime. The reason you don't see my shoes here is that I wasn't wearing any (we don't wear shoes inside here in Finland, in case some of you didn't know that).

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Jeans: secondhand Faux leather vest: Cubus Knit: secondhand Hat: H&M Feather necklace: H&M (?) Triangle necklace: H&M Rings: Gina Tricot, Born Pretty Store

I personally really enjoyed wearing this look - and especially having the fedora kind of hat on atfer a long while. Like many of you probably know, I'm much of beanie person myself, but somehow in the spring I can see myself wearing other hats as well. It's probably because I also tend to dress more girly in the spring as well (dresses, skirts etc.) so the different hats feel good too. The shoes I wore with this look were the typical combat boots I've been wearing all the winter long (I feel). 

What do you guys think about this look? Let me know in the comments below!

Now, I need to go plan all the project tasks for next week, as I have to stay organized with all the things I have going on. I will also do my nails and knit a little before bed. I'm obsessed with this scarf I'm knitting, which I will show you when I get it finished and into an outfit picture. But I will go now, and I'll see you soon with a new food post. So stay tuned!

Have a fantastic day ♥

Valentine's Nails pt. 2 ♥

Hello lovelies!

How are you all today? ♥

Today's post is up later than usual as I've had so many things to do, and way too little time and energy to do them. Luckily, after tomorrow it's finally a new weekend and I can hopefully take it easy. Though I gotta say last night (Wednesday) gave me loads of new energy as we were seeing Amaranthe play at Pakkahuone. The Swedish band totally rocked the place and I definitely intend to see them again if I have the chance.

Today, I wanted to share my final two Valentine's manicures with you, and I hope I manage to inspire at least some of you. 

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So the first one is this kind of modern pink mani with some gradient, studs and stamped little hearts. I felt this was a nice mani to wear, and I was trying to create a bit different thing here.

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I did like wearing this mani, as it wasn't too obvious V-day thing, although on can certainly tell it fits the theme well.

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The polishes I used were China Glaze White On White, Feel The Breeze and Spring In My Step. The stamping was done with Born Pretty Store plates, and the studs are from there as well. Gradient was created with the help of a makeup sponge.

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The other mani was kind of me trying out the hairspray technique for the first time. There are tutorials all over the internet for that, but I could create one as well if you'd like that. I also decided to practice my taping and hand painting.

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This might seem too all over the place for some, and even I'm not sure if the two themes here go together, but I kinda liked these anyway.

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The polishes I used were China Glaze White On White, Spring In My Step, Float On, Feel The Breeze, Escaping Reality and L'Oreal Color Riche Green Couture. I also used Born Pretty Store striping tape and thin nail art brush to paint the stripy rose nails.

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So what do you guys think about these nail art creations? And how are you doing your nails on V-day? Let me know in the comments below!

Now, I'm gonna hit the bed and catch some much needed sleep so I can get some important project stuff done tomorrow. But I will see you soon with another post!

Have a lovely day ♥

Skull Sweatshirt ♥

Hello lovelies!

How are you all today? ♥

We were just having a nice dinner with my grandmother and her sister, and it was extra nice since I didn't have to cook or anything. And more than that, it was pretty lovely to see relatives I don't get to see too often as the schedule is crazy in my life right now. Tomorrow, we're going to see a gig with the guys and I get the chance to dress up in ripped jeans and black all I want since it is Amaranthe (a great metal band from Sweden). I hope I get to capture the look somewhere, as well as the nails, which I will overdo if possible. Any event to dress up for is a great one. 

Today, I'm showing a more wearable outfit from not too long ago. This is something I wear kinda often when I just want a simple and comfortable look.

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Coat: Rukka Sweatshirt: Gina Tricot Camo pants: secondhand Boots: Skobox Bag: Mango Scarf: Cubus Necklace: Gina Tricot Rings: Nelly.com, Born Pretty Store

Very comfy, very simple look. This is the kind of clothing that makes me feel secure, and as it is winter, this is pretty warm as well. Though it will work in spring or fall when you switch the coat to a leather jacket. I'm so grateful when I get to wear lighter things again, as I have lots of ideas for warmer weather. And when the days get longer we will have more chances to take pictures even with the school and work. 

What do you guys think about the look here? And what is your "secure" outfit like? Share your thoughts in the comments below! 

Now, I'm for once trying to go early to bed (so I can wake up early as well, maybe), and hoping it might be a start for a better sleeping schedule. I have a lot of things to do tomorrow, so it would be more fun for me to get an early start for that. Also, stay tuned for the second part of the V-day manicure posts, as it will be up tomorrow!

Have a fantastic day, dolls ♥

Valentine's Nails pt.1 ♥

Hello darlings!

How was your weekend? ♥

I've been sleeping in and taking it (too) easy before yet another tight week. I will have so much going on that I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna pull through it all, but at least most of them are very nice things I'm quite looking forward to. Like a rock gig on Wednesday, dinner with my granny on Tuesday, and seeing hockey in another town on Saturday. Pretty cool.

Like you all probably know, Saturday is Valentine's Day. Although we don't have to big plans, I have been very excited to create some inspiration designs to give you dolls ideas what to do with your nails if you have a nice event to go to. Or if you just want to do yours for fun.

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First up are these kiss themed nails, which kind of worked as a chance for me to step more back into the stamping game. I personally really liked the way these nails turned out, and would honestly do this again any time. 

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I really enjoyed creating these nails, as I got to play with different shades of pink and such. Also, to see that I'm not completely lost with the stamping was a nice addition to the mix.

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The polishes I used for these nails were China Glaze White On White, Spring On My Step, Feel The Breeze and Float On. The stamping polishes are from Konad stamping pack, and the pictures from Born Pretty Store stamping plates. The heart rhinestones are from Konad and the heart fimos from Tmart (collaboration goodies).

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Next up, a set of bright red nails. I went for negative space half moons with glequins and heart accent nails.

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It was nice to do a kind of classic look for the nails for ones, and go with the beautiful shade of red. Even though I love playing with modern looks, it's nice to embrace the classics every now and then. That's why this was very dear to me even though it's not the usual stuff I do.

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The polishes I used were  China Glaze Seas The Day and Gossip Over Gimlets and the hexagon glitters (or glequins) are from Born Pretty Store. The half moons are done with paper hole enforcements, and the color there is just my natural nails.

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So there's the first inspiration post for Valentine's nails, including bold, classic red and softer and playful pink design. 

Which one would you wear? Let me know in the comments below! ♥

Next nail inspiration for Valentine's Day will be up on Wednesday, so stay tuned for that for more nail art ideas! I'm gonna go hit the bed now, because I'll be having quite much going on tomorrow and I need all my energy. But I'll be back soon with another post.

Have a fabulous day ♥

What's In My Bag (and how to get it organized!) ♥

Hello my lovelies!

How are you all today? ♥

I'm happy to be writing again, all the schoolwork and projects and such have kept me pretty busy for a couple of days there. But after a good night's sleep and some relaxing, I finally have time for the things I love. As I'm writing this, I'm also creating my fourth Valentine's Day manicure. So if you're in need of inspiration for V-Day nails, check out tomorrow's post for some ideas!

Today, however, I'm co-operating with Insjö, who nailed the timing when contacting me, as I was about to post an updated "What's In My Bag" post. At the end of the post, I will talk more about Insjö and what they do, but first let's see what I actually have in my bag.

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So, as you can see, I have a whole lot of stuff in my bag on daily basis. That's probably not bad, but I should make it less cluttered. Life goals, you know.

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My most used bag at the moment is this cute black one from Mango. It holds amazingly lot of things, but I feel like I shouldn't stuff it so much. I'm seriously afraid I will break it.

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This is probably not a surprise to you, but I usually carry quite a lot of makeup around. Even when I don't wear any. It's because when I do, I tend to throw the ones I may need to fix during the day along - and then I just forget them in my bag. So after every few days, I need to clean these things out and put them in my makeup bag. I should probably have a carry-on makeup bag with me, but I haven't got around into making one.

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The necessities - my wallet, bus card, reflector (it's pretty darn dark in Finland in the winter), keys, gum, headphones (I need my music everywhere) and hand wipes, which I absolutely need in my bag. Usually there's also a pack of tissues, but this time I was out of those.

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And of course, as a blogger and a student, I also have a calendar and writing equipment with me at most of the times. You never know when you need to write something down, so I think it's better to be prepared.

Now, like you saw above, I carry quite a lot of stuff with me at all times. That means the insides of my bag aren't always as tidy as I would like. That's why I was pretty excited that Insjö contacted me and sent me their bagINbag to try it out.

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I got this beautiful hot coral bag (in design called Inari) and a hot pink keyring, which are so cute and totally my color.

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What I really like about the design of this bag is that it has so many different pockets. Both outside...

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...and inside as well! As a student, I can totally appreciate how this little bag could hold all the little stuff one needs everyday (student card, bus card, coins, keys, makeup etc.), and how easy it is to throw from one bag into another when you switch styles. I'm feeling this bag is great to have when you have an active lifestyle and need to change bags on the go and such. I think I'm gonna be a good friend of mine during the busy spring.

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The pink keyring is also very adorable. This one is for connecting your keys to you bagINbag. which is a good thing if you're one of those who just toss them into your bag (like yours truly). Very handy addition, and the color is just perfect.

All in all I feel that these items seem very durable and useful. I love the fact they are designed in Finland, and I love the colors a lot. I will be testing these out properly next week, when I have all sorts of things to attend to. And only then I can give my final verdict on these, but so far I'm feeling these are gonna be my friends. So thank you so much for collaborating with me, Insjö, this was such a perfect timing from your part!

Also, if you got interested in Insjö's products, they kindly offered me a discount code to share with you darlings. At the checkout, type in code JOVI1 to get a free shipping for you order. The code is valid for a month from today, so if you want to use it that's when you need to do it.

Now that I told you what's in my bag, I'd like to know what's in yours. If you have done a post like this recently, please link it below in the comments so I can check it out!

Now, I'm gonna edit the photos for tomorrow's post and chill a while before getting to bed. I hope you're all having an amazing weekend, my loves!

Have a great day ♥