Neutral Blazer

Hi sweeties!

How are you today? 

I just started a little project today - which is getting a puzzle (1500 pieces) together, and then on our wall with frames. I already purchased the frames, and have half of the puzzle done, so it's nearly there. I also organized our laundry thoroughly, and rearranged my nail polish stash into two boxes - it didn't fit into one, lol. And besides that, I've taken care of some school stuff, so it's been a busy day. 

What have you all been up to today? ♥

Also, I noticed that I've been lacking a bit on the daily life posts, but I think I'll get to them on weekend, starting with a little "details of our home" kind of post. ;) Remember that you can always suggest ideas for posts, and I will always consider every single one more or less!

Now, before I get back to my puzzle - I hope to get it on the wall tomorrow, if possible - I want to share an outfit that has been waiting for quite a while in my drafts. This was shot about a month ago (yes, I have these stored for many posts to come, as my greatest fear is to run out of material) when wearing ballet flats still felt like a option. Now it's simply too cold!

But nevertheless, here's an outfit with very neutral tones and little girly details. We were going shopping when taking the pictures, hence the parking lot. 

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If you like this nail art, see more in this post!
Blazer: H&M (thrifted)
Skirt: Oasap
Glitter ballet flats: DIY (see here)
Bracelets: Seppälä, H&M, Nelly.com
Scarf: My mom's old
Bag: Mango

This was - I think - a bit unusual look for me, but it felt nice at the time. And it looked pretty nice, I think combining the super girly skirt with the nude blazer creates this girly but sophisticated look and it would be quite flattering for most body types. The scarf I got from mom is such a gem, and prefect to wear in those not-too-cold-but-that-warm-either days we all experience when the Autumn starts to turn into Winter.

What do you think about this combination? Do you like to wear these toned down shades, or are you more into brights?

Anyway, I'm off now to finish off the puzzle before some sleep - and tomorrow shall be another extremely busy day. Thank God Friday is a day off. And I promise a fun post then, so stay tuned! ♥

Have a lovely week! 

Blog ya later,

xoxo

Johanna

Girly Nail Art

Hey lovelies!

How are you all? ♥

Today, I'm having this verbal test in business English, and I just hope everything will go well. Not that it's hard, but I fear that I'll have some blackout and forget the words. But, I shall not worry about it. I hardly think one could actually fail it. :D

Another thing I've been concentrating lately, is getting rid of clutter. Both real life as well as on my laptop. I recently realized my hard drive was only having 18% space left, so now I'm going through some serious clean up there as well. I kinda hoped I could just leave the cleaning to closet and the little everyday cleaning, but no. I feel like I have to organize and re-organize every single thing. But that might be a good thing, right?

So, today's post is about (besides my blabbering) nails. I have two pretty nice manicures to share with you, both probably in top 10 of my manicures ever! :) If you want to learn something about my nail art, see here and here for tutorials. And remember, you can always wish for another one, I'm happy to make them for you. ;)

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The first manicure is done with this gorgeous hologram polish from Make Up Store. It looks very neutral and sandy in the bottle, but once on your nails, it has the most fabulous holo effect in every color. I thought a caviar ring finger in metallic pastel shades would compliment it well, and because I always have to add everything possible to every manicure, I put a piece of striping tape across every nail. It's still pretty simple, and looking at this now, I think I need to do and interpretation of this soon. ;)

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And one picture in daylight. I was seriously taking too many photos of this because I liked it so much!

The other mani is more colorful and maybe less elegant, but it was so much fun to create. ;)

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Cupcake nails! For some idiotic reason this blogger was dumb enough to not take many different pictures of these nails... Oh well. Luckily this picture shows everything about the mani, so you're not missing out. I've been asked to do a tutorial of these babies, so that's something I need to work on this weekend. And sorry about the misshaped thumb nail, it had a little accident but I didn't want to cut it down.

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So, here are the manicures this time. I hope you liked them!

Are these manicures something you might try out? And is there a manicure you would like to see from me? Let me know in the comments! ♥ 

That's all for now, but I'll try to write something new pretty soon. I have a feeling I might even get to write a makeup review post this week, if everything goes as planned. ;)

Have a lovely week!

xoxo

Johanna

Sequin Cross Top

Hi peeps!

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving/Black Friday/weekend? ♥

I sure have. It's been one of those weekends that are purely made out of relaxing and watching sports. It was the final F1 race of the year, and it was so much fun. Though I wish it would've rained more. But at least Sebastian Vettel won the championship, which is pretty awesome.

Anyway, now I can fully commit to schoolwork on weekends. At least, almost.

Still interested how my shopping ban is going? I haven't bought a single makeup, clothing, nail art or other "superficial" item since starting the ban. I do admit ordering a Star Wars blu-ray box for us, as well as placing a quite massive order to MUA Cosmetics, but as entertainment doesn't count - and I had promised the MUA 35% sale for myself weeks before the ban, I don't think it's that much cheating.

As many of you have spent the past few days with your families, I thought it would be nice to share some photos from the last time we visited my parents. Not quite Thanksgiving, but I think this comes close enough.

I think my parents have the best feel-good snacks ever, and I think most of my love for food comes straight from them.

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Last time we went to visit them, this was the table that was set up just for us. I was practically jumping with joy when I saw this, too many delicious things at once!

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Cheese, fruit, nuts... My food heaven.

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And of course, couple of glasses sparkling wine. My favorite as well. My parents were laughing a bit when I was taking pictures of everything, but like always, they were very supportive.

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There's simply nothing better than spending the weekend with loved ones - and good food. That weekend also included a fierce match of Trivial Pursuit, where me and mom were the top dogs. And I won, but mostly because there was so many video games questions. (Which I know, but mom doesn't.) All in all, it was a super fun and relaxing weekend.

And here's one of my outfits for that weekend. I was still thinking the weather is warm enough for not wearing jeans or such - which it kinda wasn't - so I opted for long top, blazer and tights.

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Sequin cross top: c/o BlueInc
Blazer: H&M
Shoes: Nelly.com
Bag: Mango
Rings: Gina Tricot
Earring: JC
Necklace: Accessorize

A simple outfit, where I was using top as a dress, and just threw a blazer on top, and thought that's an outfit. I love, love, love the sequined top, it's so very cool - and can be combined with many things. I had been looking for similar for quite a while, and was glad to find one from BlueInc in very affordable price. There's also other cool items, which I'm hoping to buy once my ban is over. ;) Also, the shoes here are on for the very first time, though I bought them, like, in August. They were surprisingly comfy to walk in, and I can tell you'll be seeing more of these babies later.

What are your thoughts about this outfit? And, how would you wear sequins this season? 

As we are now talking about holidays, especially Thanksgiving, I wanted to share these fun facts about the Black Friday (and the shopping part of it) with you. (Which is more than suitable as I'm in shopping ban, and study business, both of which make to think finance stuff quite a lot.)

Did you know...?

womenspersonalfinance net black friday infographic v2 Womens Black Friday Infographic


So it's quite amazing how much we women spend on holiday shopping - Black Friday being only one example of many. Kinda baffling, right? 

Anyway, I need to go get some things done before going to sleep, so I think it's good to stop here for this post. I'll be posting again in a couple of days - and it'll be nails, so if you like that, stay tuned!

I wish a fabulous start of the week for everyone - can you believe it's nearly December? ♥ 

Blog ya later,

xoxo

Johanna


Ruffles and Sequins

Hi lovelies!

And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it ♥

How are you doing today? Any fun plans for the rest of the week? 

We're planning on watching sports with a friend - I'm already planning a little menu for Saturday - and maybe even seeing a movie or something. We'll see.

I know it's a cliche to ask on Thanksgiving, but...

What are you thankful for in your life? ♥ 

I'm personally thankful for having so many loving people around me, for having my own place with the man I love - even if the apartment is rented, for being healthy, and for having the chances to do whatever I decide to with my life. For instance. And of course I'm thankful for all the little things in life, every day. I maybe should remember to say it more often. ;)

As we don't quite celebrate Thanksgiving here in Finland, I'm not having a Thanksgiving posts - but instead, I thought I could post pictures from the time I last attended a party. I don't have pictures from the party itself, but from the same weekend, anyways. Maybe the outfit here will give you ideas on what to wear on this week's parties or dates. 

But first, some food pictures. If you haven't noticed yet, I absolutely love food. Any food, nearly. That's one of the reasons I started running again (and if you care, that's going pretty well, even though it's the first week), because even though God has been kind with the genes I have, and I don't tend to gain weight, I can never know when that'll change. So I can't take it for granted, and instead I have to work for it in advance - I'm sure it's much easier this way. Anyway, without more unnecessary blabbering, here's some photos.

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Last month, we were invited to celebrate our friend M and her boyfriend's birthday - which was very fun, so thanks once again, sweeties! ♥ And the next day, we had promised to see my friend K for a late lunch. We headed to a restaurant called Amarillo (we have many of those in Finland, and I personally recommend the food there, it's so good for it's reasonable price!). My fiance ordered this massive burger with everything possible in it, whereas us girls decided on something little lighter.

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And little lighter means a chicken burrito. A very simple dish with salsa, cheddar, guacamole and fresh salad. This is so, so good, one of my favorites in Amarillo, absolutely.

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And we also could not say no to dessert, so K wanted to have this fancy ice cream - seriously, what else could you add on one portion? Any ideas? :D She said she ordered just for the marshmallows, which I completely understand.

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But instead of marshmallows, I desired a little different kind of ice cream - or, well, sorbet. With ice cream. and marinated orange slices. And yes, it was as good as it looks.

I probably won't be eating anything as fancy this weekend, but I hope some of you will! :)

Now, what I wore that weekend was trying to be at least somewhat festive. We didn't go to the bar like the rest of the party people, but we had our own after party at my cousin's place. Probably much more casual than what others had, but still we managed to down a great amount of drinks. Oops.

Oh, what the heck, I'm adult - so I'm allowed. :D

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Skirt: Oasap
Sequined dress (worn as top): Gina Tricot 
Tights: Sokos
Heels: Boohoo
Leather jacket: H&M
Snood: Gina Tricot
Belt: Mango
Earrings: Pilgrim
Charm bracelet: Thomas Sabo

I personally adored this look, I love every outfit that has this skirt in it. I was having a hard time with my closet trying to find a top that would create the effect I was going for - but then I remembered what I've learned from a blogger I highly appreciate, Tanvi. Every great piece can be worn in more than one way, and many times, a piece that's meant to be a dress, can also be a top, or a skirt. So I dug out this sequined tiger print dress, and wore it as a top. And of course it was so cold at night I had to wear tights, jacket and the snood to keep warm.

So, what are your thoughts about this look? ♥ 

And, if you love the skirt, there are lots of pieces like it at Oasap website. They're having great sales right now, and you can get your soft packages under the Christmas tree from there. (And, you get a free gift with your order!) ;) And for three days, they're having 30% off everything with the code thanks. So go on, shop!

Now, I need to go create some nail art - I'm struck by inspiration - but I'll see you as soon as I can. ;)

Blog ya later,

xoxo

Johanna






Tutorial: Studded Leopard Nails (reader's request)

Heya babies!

How are you today? ♥

Today you're in for a treat - at least some of you - because it's time for another nail art tutorial. Remember the studded leopard mani? (Seen here.) Many of you wished for a tutorial, and I finally had the time to choose the photos and write the thing together. ;)

So, without further ado...

Studded leopard print tutorial

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So, this is what your nails are going to look like if you follow the steps of this tutorial. This is super easy, yet chic enough for a party of any sort. You can change the look totally by just switching into different colors, by using a matte top coat, or changing the studs into different kinds of decorations.

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You'll need: base coat, bright colored polish, glitter polish, black polish, top coat, nail polish remover, q-tips, stud stickers, tweezers and dotting tools. I had a file and cotton pads because I had to tidy up the nails before staring this.

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The polishes used for this mani were: China Glaze I Herd That, Essie All In One base coat, Gosh Blue Balloon, Essie Licorice, and Essie Good To Go.

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Start off with clean nails, add your base coat to protect them, and start the fun part - nail art. You can start painting your nails with the bright colored polish, paint your thumbs, index fingers, and pinkies with it. Let dry, and add another coat (and a third one, if your polish needs the to get opaque.).

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Don't mind if your cuticles get messy, there's time to clean them up in the end.

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Take out your choice of glitter polish to paint the remaining nails. Use as many coats as you need to cover your nails properly. Let dry in between, and after.

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I love China Glaze's glitter polishes, they're all so amazing!

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With the glitter polish, create little dots on your thumbs. Don't mind if the dots are all different, it's better that way if you ask me. ;)

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Also, create dots with the blue polish on your glitter nails. You can do the whole nail if you want to, but I prefer doing kind of half of the nails. (See further to know what I mean.)

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To make the dots into leopard print, use dotting tool, and add black polish around the dots in random-ish shapes. You can use two different sizes to make the print more fun.

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Add some small random spots in between the big ones to perfect the print.

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Now, take your studs, and start placing them with tweezers. Place a stud, press it firmly, and continue until you have the desired stud pattern. Mine was four square studs in a row for the index fingers, and three ones for the pinkies.

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Cover your design with a top coat so it'll last longer - and so that the studs won't fall off right away.

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It should look something like this - and then it's time for little clean-up. Dip a q-tip into nail polish remover, and gently wipe the extra polish off from your cuticles. (You can also use a small brush for this, which, in my opinion, works quite a lot better for it.)

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And that's it, you now have a glamorous little manicure and you can rock it anywhere. Not very difficult, is it?

If you happen to try this out, please leave me a link so I can see your beautiful creations!

What do you think about this tutorial? Would you like to see more these, and if so, what kind of nail art would you want to see here? 

That's all I have for today, but I'll be back as soon as I can - I have lot of things to post for you!

Have a lovely week, darlings! ♥ 

Blog ya later,

xoxo

Johanna