Marbled Madness

Doing my nails is another luxury I like to indulge in; having nicely manicured nails always makes me feel that tiny bit more dressed up than I already am. Here's a quick post on my favourite set of nails yet, and a sneak peek at a new addition to my bag family. 

After lusting over my favourite blogger Willabelle's nails for a very long time, I decided it was time to bite the bullet. It was in the christmas of 2013 that I paid my first visit to The Nail Artelier, a little shop house nestled in the heart of Singapore's Haji Lane. One of their nail artists set me up with this adorable set of christmas themed nails, and I was sold. I have since made it a point to visit them every time I return during the semester breaks, resulting in this set and this set. 

This marbled, geometric, iridescent masterpiece is the handiwork of Ying who is at their Kembangan branch. They are able to do any sort of nail art you want - portraits, anime characters, intricate lace designs, 3D nail art and textures - you name it, they do it. I leave you their Instagram page  for your perusal.  

I've visited my fair share of bad nail salons - those that roughly remove gel manicures, destroying your nails in the process, to those that charge an exorbitant $20 extra during Chinese New Year and don't tell you until after you're done. But The Nail Artelier is by far the best and most professional I have ever been to. Each time I visit them I am satisfied and impressed with their work; all their nail artists are skilled and meticulous. They always deliver exactly what you want and I can guarantee you will not leave disappointed. 

I'll give it to you that they are on the pricey side, but for this quality of work - in the words of Taylor Swift - "The high was worth the pain". 

UNICORN LOVE, 
- R 

Print in Pink

I can't believe how fast the first month of 2015 has passed. Where did that whole month go? But aha! While that means the depth of winter for those of you in New York (I heard about the blizzard, bundle up, everyone!), or the height of  the summer haze for those in the land down under, for me it means my favourite time of the year is almost upon us. Oh yes, I said it. I like February way more than I do Christmas. 

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet - February heralds the approaching of the Chinese New Year fesitivities. At this point I could write an essay about what goes on during the celebrations, but here's the tl;dr: We go on shopping sprees for a new wardrobe, because it's good luck to welcome the New Year with NEW ERRTHANG. We wear said new wardrobe to visit relatives and friends where we feast on traditional cookies, cakes, bak kwa, yusheng, hotpot and a truckload of other good food. Relatives give you red pockets with money in them. An all encompassing excuse to shop, pocket money, good food and good company. Who could want for more? 

In the spirit that you should wear a little colour during Chinese New Year, here's a post with a blush-toned palette at Melbourne's iconic Brighton Beach, to take a break from my favourite black and whites. I couldn't leave without doing a shoot here, of course. This gingham skirt sat in my ASOS 'saved items' page for a really, really  long time till one day the discount god bestowed a 70% blessing upon us for two days. What can I say - this skirt and the beach took to each other like they were always meant to be, and had this gorgeous baby of a shoot. 

The sun was abysmally bright, making it a pain in the tush to shoot anything at all, and I felt like I was being microwaved alive, but even I long for the burning heat and cool waters as I put my nose to the daily grind. 

 

SHOP MY CLOSET

ASOS Gingham Pink Midi | ZARA TRF crop top 

Lovisa necklace | Charles & Keith loafers similar here

Photography by Lily Chen 

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R