REVIEW: SHELLAC NAILS

I am a self confessed nail picker (and ex nail bitter). Up until about 12 mths ago I had acrylic nails for as long as I can remember... So it was only just recently that my nails were FINALLY back to normal strength. I kicked my nail biting habit, and replaced it with a nail picking polish.

I'd heard about Shellac and thought it sounded too good to be true...
- doesn't damage your nails
- colour and shine lasts up to 4 weeks with NO CHIPPING
- costs less than an acrylic infill

So I treated myself and got a "Hollywood" red on my toes and a "crystal" pink on my nails (in time for my engagement party)
All in all it does look fantastic, and perhaps if you were a bit more dainty things would be different, but only 1 week later the polish is started to lift on probably 8 of my nails... I am trying so hard not to peel it off.
I do love it on my toes - but i think before I go again, I will go to a nail salon for a EPA pedi first (the salon who does the shellac is a proper beauty salon... As opposed to a nail bar) because my toe nails look flawless at the moment, but my heels could do with a good buffing.

You can read more about Shellac here http://www.cnd.com/Products/Color/shellac-hello.aspx

Have you had Shellac... What did u think???

To

CARRIE BRADSHAW STYLE BUN

Some of you UK readers would probably say this is old news... but the Hair Donut is back!!!!!

If you haven't heard of a hair donut - it is what is used to make Carrie Bradshaw's bun look soooo perfectly ballerina like in Sex & the City;

Have you tried to rock this look, only to find your bun ends up looking like a sad, little door handle on your head?? Well, my friends, you have to get your hands on one of these;

I am not going to try and describe how to put this in your hair, but you only have to you tube "Hair Donut" to see a million beauty blogger tutorials, or check out this one from Beauty Heaven.
You can get hair donuts in various sizes and colours (I would suggest finding one closest to your hair colour) and you can buy them from ebay or any hair accessory store.

As soon as I got my new BFF, I tried it out and this was the result;

Seriously - this was my 2nd attempt and it legit took under 2 minutes. It is the perfect hair style for the days you can't be bothered doing your hair but still want to look polished. I can't wait to go out one night and wear a higher bun.

Go on, get going and buy yourself a hair donut... and a chocolate donut - all this talk to donuts is making me crave one!!

xoxo

PRODUCT REVIEW: AUSTRALIS TINTED MOISTURISER

Some mornings I am too lazy to apply a 'full face' of make up
Some weekends I let my face get wayyyy too much sun (tutt tutt, I know)
Some seasons of the year my skin gets VERY dry.

As you can imagine, all these things, make finding an everyday foundation a pain in the backside.

Then I heard about Australis' Paparazzi Perfect HD Tinted Moisturiser and remembered how much I used to love the Australis' tinted moisturiser I used back in high school. I considered waiting until I needed more foundation - but at $15.95 it didnt exactl break the budget.

This stuff is incredible, legit. It provides enough coverage to mask my uneven skin tones and sun spots, but still shows my freckles (seriously, who can resist a splatter of light freckles over the nose??). Plus it is super dooper quick to apply - I basically just apply as I would a moitsutriser.

And it lasts allll day and over night (as I discovered when I fell asleep before removing my make up the other night).

I don't feel as if I am wearing a heavy foundation and my skin definitely feels and looks dewey all day. I use my much loved Moroccan Oil on my face (and hair) as soon as I get out of bed then about 30 minutes later I put the Tinted Moisturiser on - the combindation is like a match made in heaven.

I am considering going and stocking up on Paparazzi Perfect, as it's been just my luck lately that when I find a product I love, it is not long until it is discontinued. Praying to the beauty gods this doesn't happen again.
xoxo

BIKINIS MY BOOBIES LOVE

Anyone with boobs bigger than a B cup will know what I am saying when bikini shopping is the WORST (like, even more of a nightmare than bikini shopping is for most)

Little string bikinis hardly cover my headlights - let alone provide any support (or modesty). Team that with the fact that I am not blessed with a bikini perfect body (far, far, far, far away from it) I was starting to think I would have to resort to wearing a tankini or one peice.

I long gave up my insecurities about going to the beach/pool. I am most definitely a water baby and I can tell you that a (well fitted) bikini is much more comfortable to swim in that a tankini top or one peice. I hate the feeling of the water coming up under your swimmers. In saying that - I have learnt (the hard way) that I do need to invest in well fitted swimwear - not tie up traingle bikinis for this beach babe whale.

So team the curvy d cup Karina with the tight a$$ Karina and my serach for cheapish yet supportive and fashionable swimmers lead me to http://www.asos.com/

I got this animalistic bikini top back in September

ASOS Leopard Print 50s style bikini

It had served me & my tat tats well over the last few weekends... however I now have the style permanentely tanned onto my skin - so I think its time to get another one to remove the halter tan lines frmo my chest.
Although this one is also hatler, the straps are a lot thinner and in a different position to the above - so I think I am going to order this one later in the week

ASOS Blue underwire Bikini

Here are a few tips I have for buying the perfect bikini - if you aren't lucky enough to be able to make a garbage bag bikini look good

*  Buy what fits - not what is fashionable. A string bikini on anyone bigger than a size 0 does not look good if you ask me. Nor do high wasited bottoms.

* Try to avoid tie up backs... I find they are not supportive enough and you risk ending up with a bow tan line

* Also avoid big bows, buckles, cut outs... unless you like the whole weird tan line thing

* For us Aussies - shop in the off season. ASOS has a lot of their bikinis on sale because it is coming into winter over in the UK

* Buy a few different styles - halter, straps, strapless, thin straps etc. this way if you are spending a few days in a row in the sun you can ulternate the straps line

* If you are big busted I would steer clear of detachable straps. A little plastic clip is not going to hold my girls up and usually results in the clip breaking or coming undone.

* You don't have to buy a set. I nearly always wear black or navy bottoms and just mix & match the tops (In my mind, this is a slimming effect). If your bottom half is your best asset you should wear a plain colour on top and wear print/bold coloured bottoms

* Be confident. Seriously - I truly believe gals wearing boardshorts and singlets make themselves look x 10 bigger. No one is judging you and once you get over the insecurity you will enjoy going to the beach so much more. Trust me!

* Wear sunscreen. This is a true case of the pot calling the kettle black, beacuse I rarely do. I have the freckles/mole to show this - and if I am still blogging in 20+ years I will show you how leathery my skin will be.

If you know of any other places to buy real women bikinis, let me know =)

xoxo

ARGAN OIL MAGIC

A few months back I had been hearing about argan oil (moroccan oil) a lot. After a bit of a google search and you tube - I found out it is meant to work wonders for dry, fizzy hair. I didn't need any more convincing.

I purchased a bottle off ebay for around $25.00

It is pure amazeballs. Seriously. Not only does it act as an incredibly light anti frizz serum (which smells delicious) but I also use a teeny tiny bit on my face each morning as a primer - because I have insanely dry skin at times. I read somewhere that Sophia Loren used to moisturise a bit into her skin each day!!!

To read a more scenific description (what, amazeballs isn't descriptive enough?) check out Mira's Hand blog (which includes some other uses)

On the beauty front - I've recently discovered two great Aussie beauty sites where you can read reviews and compare products etc
http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/
http://www.adorebeauty.com.au/
I would highly recommend checking out these sites for more information on Argan oil (or any other products)

Now I am off to lay in a tub of Argan oil. Pfft - I wish.... back to the moutain of paperwork it is. Le sigh!

xoxo
Karina

FIRST WEDDING DIY

You'll probably hear my talk alot about my DESIRE not to have a $30,000 + wedding. (Yes, it's my CHOICE not to have that... So spare me the pitty party).
Having only been engaged for a month - I am DETERMINED to show all the cynics that you can have a cheap wedding, and it still be elegant, classy & fun.

This is why I am in the DIY/Budget Bride category.

My first project was a "Will You Be My Bridesmaid" card.
I searched Zazzle, Ebay, Vistaprint and more for a unique cards to give my BM's. The problem was they are all lovey dovey cards stating how much you love them and would be honoured to have them by your side in during the most important day of your life.
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with that - but my gal pals would've punched me in the face if I gave them that.

So I came up with a little 'poem' after getting some design inspiration off http://www.weddingbee.com/ and went down to the scrapbooking store to get some cardstock and the stickers;

Incase you can't read it properly it said (I've blanked out a few words that would be offensive to most people - just not my friends)

Will you be my taffeta wearing woman.  my dress shopping amigo.  satin vS silk shagga. My tooth-checking, train-fixing, toilet-helping bitch. tiara adjuster. my hens night home girl.  Bridal expo guidette. Invitation-making, stamp-licking, colour-picking lady. my flower holding f$cker.  ****, will you be my…

BRIDESMAID?

Sure they aren't the most creative or fancy cards but the girls loved them!!! I was a bit over it after making the 5th card (even though it didnt really require much effort at all) so needless-to-say, I don't think I'll be DIYing my invitations.

If you aren't into DIY, but still want a not-so-mushy card I suggest you look at these on etsy.com (of course I found these AFTER I went to such efforts *cough, cough* to make my cards)

MERRILYdesigns
http://www.etsy.com/shop/greencard?ref=seller_info

biploarbettygoods

rbgcolor

What's next on the DIY list??? Engagement party decorations! Stay tuned.

xoxo



ENGAGEMENT GIVEAWAY

To celebrate my engagement - I am giving away a gift to one two lucky readers thanks to http://www.bombayfashions.com/

Bombay Fashion have recently launched their affordable line of statement necklaces, bangles, earings named Bella.
The average price of the products are around $20 and is super unique (so you won't be walking around town with the same statment necklace as everyone else).

Here are a few of my favs

So here is how to enter;
* Comment on this post and let me know what is your signature statement piece of jewelery
* Go to http://www.bombayfashions.com/ and find you fav piece from the new Bella Collection
* US residents only
* Competition closes Sat 15th Oct (my birthday!!!) and winners will be randomly picked.

Goooood Luuuuckkk

xoxo
* Two winners will be chosen

THE BEST ACCESSORY OF ALL

A few weeks ago I came home to My MR presenting me with the best accessory a girl could want... a diamond ring

This is my late mother's engagement ring to be exact. He went and asked for my Daddy's permission - and got the ring off him. I actually feel sorry for MR knowing how stressed out he would've been.

I love that my ring is unique and has a meaning behind it. A lot of engagement ring these days are (while lovely) very similar.

Soooo... as you can probably imagine KarinaXOXO is going to take a bit of a 'Wedding' spin. Of course I want my wedding to be fabulously fashionable!

I hope you stick around to see how it all plans out (and dont worry - there will still be plenty of random fashion/beauty/shopping posts)

xoxo

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU MAXI'S...

make curtains!!!

This my friends is why I will not be having children any time soon... my spare room is a big giant wardrobe!

ETSY ROCKS PART 4

How freaking adorable is this Gold Love Birds Necklace (available from Etsy.com)

It comes with two personalised 'leafs' - for the initials of you and your loved one (or anyone really).
And it is pretty darn cheap cheap (hahaha!)

If you have an etsy store (or know of a great one) feel free to recommend

xoxo