Weekly Manicure

Today I shall be sharing with you another shade from my BK Collection. Today it's number 26 which is a light peachy orange with a nice orangey smell just like it's sister colour number 25 which I shared with you last week.  This one also dries up quick and lasted for about 3 days without a top coat. It only took me two coats to get the perfect colour.

Here are some pictures of the finished look:

The pictures were taken on the third day and you can see some fading at the tips just like the one that I showed you last week. No need to repeat that this can be avoided by applying a top coat :)

This colour is mostly ideal for spring and autumn, because of it's light and not too vibrant colour and it matches quite a few colour schemes as well.

If you like this polish you can buy your by clicking on the picture below :)

 

As I advised last week, check back often to see whether the colours are all available and for their prices because they tend to change according to promotions.

I hope you found this review helpful :)

Till next Tuesday,

Saranghae,

Pauline

Craft Corner

Hello Again :) It's time for the fist post in the Craft Corner.  This corner is not going to be a weekly corner because making stuff takes quite some time, but every now and again I shall be updating you with my current Work In Progress (WIPs) and finishes.  For the first post in this section, I decided to give you a small tutorial on how to work with Ruffle Yarn and share with you two scarves that I have completed in the past few days and which I mentioned in the Fashion Friday section.

Before starting off with how to work with Ruffle Yarn, I want to explain what this novelty yarn is.  In reality is is noting like the traditional yarn that we are used to, but it is more like a wide fabric kind of yarn.  It comes in various shades and structures, but most of them have a kind of ladder on the top part where you are supposed to insert your knitting needles. When worked it creates ruffles and the way the ruffles turn on themselves is determined by how you pick up the stitches.

I will explain two ways of creating scarves using this yarn below but first let me show you the basics of working with it.

 

This is how the yarn is packed. This particular variety has different shades of grey and pompoms at its end.

 This is how it looks when you unwind it from the yarn ball. It doesn't look anything like a ruffle.

 And this is how it looks when you open it up. You can see the perforated ladder at the top part and the pompoms at the bottom of the ruffle.

 6mm Needles are the ideal size to work with these yarns.

 In order to pick up the stitches all you have to do is insert the needle from the front of your work into the ladder part.  I decided to work in between the first diamond block such that I have two threads on the needles in order to avoid it unravelling. Below is how the picked up stitches look.

When working with this yarn, you must always insert the needle from the front. To knit, all you have to do is insert the needle in the next hole on the ruffle and draw it in the loop on your needle as if kniting. Always turn your work when you get at the end of your row and turn the ruffle yarn accordingly such that there are no twists at the end but it looks more like a fold. Just like when folding a ribbon. When you are done, all you have to do is bind off normally. You will find that the last stitch will be hard to secure. I tied it up with the loose ends in the ruffle at the end, making sure that the knots were strong and tight enough.  If you don't have loose ends, you will have to sew it in the fabric of the ruffle with some matching thread and make sure that it is secured.

When you run out of yarn, don't worry! You either work all the yarn in one ball and work the next stitch with the new ball or else if you want to secure your work a little more, overlap the first two stitches of the new ball with the last two stitches of the last ball. There is no need to make any knots or join yarn :)

Scarf 1

The first scarf is made with shades of blue with yarn which was prepared by Lidl for their craft section.  The instructions that came with the pack require that the scarf is worked along the whole lenght of the scarf and advises that 200grams are necessary to finish it to a decent lenght.  It also explained that 80 stitches are what is needed to cover the entire lenght of the scarf.  I worked according to these instructions and the result is a nice ruffled scarf that when hung from the tip, the ruffles kind of circle in on themselves to form waves.  Here are some pictures:

  The picture is a little sideways but you can see the wavy ruffles.

 Scarf 2

The second scarf is worked differently. I decided to deviate from the instructions and instead of working along the lenght of the scarf, work along the width.  I decided that 10 stitches would be enough for a decent width and then worked all the yarn in the 4 bundles. The result was a slightly longer scarf that the blue one with ruffles overlaid on top of each other.

Here are some pictures:

Sorry about the picture being a litte sideways. You can see the ruffles are different from the blue one.

I hope you found this tutorial useful and if you wish to check out on some ideas on how to style these scarves, you can visit last week's Fashion Friday here.  I shall be featuring these two in other Fashion Friday posts and create new looks so look forward to that.  If you have no idea how to knit and don't know where to begin, if you live in Malta I would be more than glad to knit your scarf for just 5Euros, provided that you buy the yarn of your choice yourself :)  All you have to do is drop me a message below or on Facebook  here :)

Till next post,
Saranghae,
Pauline

Fashion Friday

Welcome to another Fashion Friday and today I am going to talk about scarfs :) These scarfs that I want to share with you today are completely hand made and knitted with the latest novelty yarn on the market called ruffle yarn.  I bought two pack from Lidl and they had instructions on how to do them inside the packet so being the crafter that I am, I gave them a shot.

That is one of the packs in shades of grey. It came with four 50gram bundles and the instructions said that with 200grams you can complete a full scarf.  Along with this I purchased another pack in shades of blue and green.  I followed the instructions using the bluish pack and then decided to try out a different way of doing it with the grey ones.  Here is the result:

The blue one is worked sideways, where you pick up the stitches according to the length you want the scarf to be, whereas the grey one was worked in the traditional way, from top to bottom, where the first row determines the width of the scarf.

I will post a tutorial on how to work with ruffle yarn in the coming days, for all the knitters out there :)

I tried out the scarfs with a purple top and I must say that both colours matched in. I don't intend to pair them with purple (at least not the blue one) but here are some pictures on how they look:

  

As you can see, the blue one ruffles differently from the grey one :)

I am going to pair these scarves with light coloured clothes, for example white or cream tops or dresses that are so in fashion this autumn, and am thinking of tying them with a coloured brooch or maybe a ribbon.  They will look great without the brooch when worn with blouses or blazers too.  You can really be creative with these kind of scarves, even when choosing the material with which to work them as the ruffle yarn comes in an endless variety, some even have glittering thread in them.

Please look out for other Fashion Fridays where I shall be incorporating these two scarves in the looks :) And for my local followers who are not into knitting and would like to have these kind of scarves, all you have to do is go to a craft store and purchase enough ruffle yarn and make contact with me, I will be glad to knit them up for you for a very small fee (for the time taken to knit them). 

Well, that's it for now, see you again next Friday with another Fashion post :)

Saranghae,

Pauline

Etude House: Silk Scarf Hair Moisture Pack Review

Hi again.  As part of the chane in the schedule of topics, product reviews shall be published every wednesday. I have quite a few products that I want to share with you and am going to start with a hair product from Etude House - Silk Scarf Hair Moisture Pack.







I have gone through a full tub of this product and found it really amazing.

It is meant to restore shine and moisture to your hair and also helps in nourishing it and combating frizziness.

For best results this product should be used in conjunction with Etude House : Silk Scarf Moisture Mist which I shall be reviewing in another post.

Let me talk about this little treasure today.

 Below are some picture of the product:

Here are some close ups of the real tub.  I really like the packaging but I am not in love with the way you have to scoop out the product from the tub. You have to dig into it litterally and it gets under my nails which is a bit annoying.  There are directions in english as well for us who don't understand korean.. mine is still a bit of a mess, even though I can actually read all the characters. The cute bow holding the lid in place makes it look so princessy :)

The product smells really nice and floral, it's not too sweet and is not over powering but leaves the hair smelling awesome even after a good rinse which is a plus.. I love nice smelling hair :)  The consistency is somewhere between runny and creamy, I can't exactly put a finger on it, and is pink :)

As you can see I have gotten through the whole tub! I must say that a little goes a long way and this one tub lasted me over 6 months where I used it once a week. It's effects on my hair were amazing. I could do without trimming my hair for weeks simply by using this.  All the split ends disappear  and my hair looks really healthy and feels really smooth all week long. I tried using it on it's own for the five minutes as directed on the bottom of the tub, but the results weren't amazing so I lengthened the time to half an hour and results were better.  Add to it the moist mist and there you go, hair is completely controlled and I did not need to blow dry it, which is even better to keep it healthier and delay damages to the ends.  I found that by using the hair cap that came with the Hair mask from the same line, I could continue the day's chores without any of the product getting in unwanted places (eyes and such) and the heat that is generated from the scalp helps the product to be better absorbed by the hair.

Pros:

Does exactly what it's meant to do. Restores moisture to the hair, repairs or rather prevents damage to the ends, makes hair look shiny and smoother, smells really nice without being too overpowering, and helps me go by without blowdrying my hair.

Cons:

It needs more than 5 minutes in order to achieve good results, and it is annoying to have to scoop the product with your hands as the product sticks under the nails. A hair cap should come along with the product since it needs to stay on for more than 5 minutes.

The positives by far out do the negatives so I think everyone should get her hands on this product and I shall be repurchasing this item soon.  Currently I am reviewing another hair care product line which I will talk about at a later date, but so far this one product has made it into my essentials list.

I got my Silk Scarf Moisture Hair Pack from W2Beauty for $14.28c. If you wish to get your hands on it, just click on the W2Beauty link on the right hand side which will direct you directly to the store and let Alice know that you read my review. If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact her, she will be more than willing to help you in anything you need :)

I hope you found this review useful. If you have tried this product, I would love to know what your exprience was like :)

Till next Wednesday,
Saranghae,
Pauline

Weekly Manicure

Hi everyone :)  I would like to announce that the weekly manicure shall be published every tuesday so please look forward to it :)  I shall be reviewing part of the BK Nail polishes collection which I recently purchased from Born Pretty Store and will be linking the link in each post. I shall also be sharing with you some other polishes which I bought locally from the new brand She.

Today I want to share with you BK Polish in number 25 which is a beautiful peachy shade of orange.

 

BK polishes are really easy to use, just two coats are enough for perfect coverage for the dark colours whereas three coats are needed for the lighter ones. They also dry very quick and have a nice scent to them according to their colours when they dry up. The scent also serves as an indicator that the polish is dry :) I still recommend you wait a little while longer after you start smelling the perfume before going back to your normal routine so you don't chip your nails.

Here is how shade 25 looks:

 

This picture was taken two days after I applied the polish and you can see some fading at the tips.  This can easily be prevented by applying a top coat.  A top coat will cover up the scent that this polish emanates but it will make it last around 7 days and make it shinier :)

This particular colour gives off a nice orange scent when it dries up.  I find this colour perfect for Spring, Summer and Autumn because it is lively but not over the top. You can also add some nail art to give it a more sofisticated look. I shall definitely be using it again with some decorations but for the sake of trying the colour out and sharing it with you, I decided to leave it as is.  I did not apply a top coat because I wanted to test it's longevity and the result is 3 days in perfect condition, following that the polish starts fading at the tips. This may also be due to the fact that I don't use gloves while doing house chores and washing the dishes doesn't help any polish for that matter.

If you like this colour, you can buy yourself one from Born Pretty Store by clicking on the pictre below. It forms part of a set of 18 colours but there is the option to purchase only the colours that you like.

 

Keep checking out the products as some may be out of stock and may be back in stock without notice. Prices also vary according to any offers that are currently on at the store.  I remember getting my whole set for just $35 which makes each one costing $1.95. Individuals may be more expensive to purchase! 

I hope you found this post helpful :)

Till next Tuesday,

Saranghae

Pauline

Fashion Friday

This is going to be a new section where I shall be sharing with you my fashion hauls and wish lists from my favorite stores.  I wanted to start it off by sharing with you some bracelets that I have been eyeing lately and which make beautiful accessories for fall :)

I hope you will enjoy this section as much as I enjoy preparing it and any comments are welcome :)

I have just purchased a white button embelished dress and am waiting eagerly to receive it and in the mean time I was checking out some bracelets to match it. I have already bought some necklaces, a scarf and a hand bag to go with it. Nothing has arrived yet but as soon as I get them, I will share them with you. Can't wait!

Here are a few links to the items I have just placed on my wishlist:

 

This cute bracelet is an ideal match for any light coloured dress.  It is ideal for any time in between Spring and Fall when the tops range from three quareter sleves to spagetti straps or even strapless. It fills up the wrists and if yours are tiny like mine, it will make them look fuller and less bony :)

 

This one would also match most garments especially classy ones, but it will make any outfit look more elegant and classy. I think this is an all year rounder and can go with everything but mostly blouses and dresses because of its classy look.

 

This is the last one for today that I a have got my sights on. I am not quite sure whether I should pick one in particular or just get all three of them. This one is an inbetween classy and casual, the gold tone makes it a little more rich that if it were silver.

What do you think? Would you buy them all or do you have a favourite pick? Let me know in the comments below :) In the mean time should you wish to go ahead and get them for yourselves, all you have to do is click on the pictures which will take you directly to the products :)

Till next Friday,

Saranghae,

Pauline