This week’s nails.

Yes, my nail art has been getting progressively more intense of late which surprises me as I’ve never been a fan of traditional nail art. You know the kind, airbrushed palm trees applied by a suburban nail salon – it just isn’t my thing.  But my trip to Japan in late ‘08 opened my eyes to the wonders of full deco style, Japanese nail art and a whole new level of craziness ensued.

At first I thought I’d be destined to forever look and not touch, or perhaps only get the chance to wear them on a special occasion.  Lately, though, all my experimenting has paid off and I can now wear something this OTT without any dramas and they last up to three weeks!  Of course, all this be-dazzled fun has lead to numerous stares, smiles and of course questions.

Who does your nails?

I do.  I have had some great support and advice though from friends like Violet Le Beaux and her nail adventures ( she makes awesome sets of these for Etsy if you don’t feel up to it yourself), as well as brilliant inspiration from forums like this.

I can’t afford the time or the cost to have them done in a salon every week, so this is the best solution for my lifestyle.

Are they real?

No, they are stick on acrylics.  This means that I can make several sets of different styles all at once, like a craft project to wear later.

How long do they stay on?

Generally, with a bit of care, they will last 2-3 weeks.  Occasionally one will pop off but I carry glue in my makeup bag for emergency touch ups. The glue I use is “Fingrs” with the red top, they say it is professional strength.

Do they damage your natural nails?

To a degree. Just like applied acrylics or gels, they leave the natural nail softer underneath.  It pays to remove them and give them time to breathe between sets to ensure that the nail beds stay healthy.

How do you get them off?

I don’t use any chemicals like acetone to remove them, simply warm water.  I soak my hands in a bowl for 10-15 minutes and the water gets in and separates the glue, then I can just peel them straight off!  This also means that washing dishes and activities like that should always be done with gloves to extend their life.

How do you do anything with nails like that? I couldn’t possibly do anything!

You’d be surprised just how much I can do.  Washing, cleaning, washing dogs, typing, playing with kids, crafting, cooking, threading needles…. just about everything! The only tricky thing is stuff like trying to peel stickers and do up fiddly little buttons.  The trick is all in the length you choose which is why for me, I generally choose the short sqaure length and only have long ovals for particular occasions.  I do get a few more typos wearing these nails, but nothing too serious.

But what about all the bling, does it stay on?

Pretty much. I may loose a diamante or two in three weeks, but overall they are great.  It is all in how well they are applied and how long you let them dry.  I apply the decorations with superglue, give everything a finishing lacquer coat and let them dry for at least 24 hours.

Where do you get your ideas?

From that dangerous place called my brain! Seriously, sometimes I know exactly the result I want, other times I start with a colour or mood in mind and spend a few hours in front of the T.V painting one by one as ideas strike.

Are they expensive?

Not at all. A box of 200 nails is available at Priceline for $14.95.  I tend to buy $3 polishes with the odd fancy $20 bottle thrown in. Diamantes, pearls etc I get from various craft supply stores, eBay, even the Reject shop.  So each set comes out at only a few dollars if that.  Pretty great for a three week manicure!

So, that should just about cover it, but if you have any more questions please feel free to ask away in the comments.

If this has inspired you to give it a go, check out these blogs for loads more information, polish reviews and great colour ideas.

Nixxy’s Nails

You’ve Got Nail

Sterling Nails

Never Too Much Glitter

I’ve been asked the question recently about where to buy vintage in Singapore? I haven’t had the opportunity to do a totally exhaustive investigation, but when I get the chance to spend a week or two doing nothing but visit Singapore’s vintage scene, you’ll be the first to know!

In the meantime I thought I’d let you know about two favorites that I actually have had a chance to visit.

First up.. Dust Bunny Vintage.

I came across Dust Bunny when hunting online for some examples of good quality vintage bags.  I was so impressed with their range and variety as well aas the calibre of what they had.  I was thrilled last week to receive an email telling me that they have just revamped not only their online store but their real world store too, and now have over 700 sq feet full of vintage dresses, hats, shoes, bags and jewelry! That is a lot of vintage!  Not only do they have so much stock that you’ll need to spend the day there and take a packed lunch,but they even offer inhouse alterations and customisations.  So no more buying something that just ends up living in your project pile for a year. If you’re looking for great iconic 1970’s, a bit of Philip Lim or Alexander Wang, then this is the place to be.

They can be found at :

• Blk 112 #01-203 Bukit Purmei Road, Singapore 090112

As I wandered through Haji Lane (a must do expereince for tourists in Singapore I’m told), I came across a delightful little store where a ginger cat wandered around my feet and another snoozed on the window sill. It was calm, light and airy; something not often associated with vintage stores, but in the case of Dulcet Fig they have the perfect mix of old and new.  Everything is well displayed and can be clearly seen, so no digging around is necessary.  They carry both their own Dulcet Fig label as well as a selection of vintage. The vintage pieces consist mainly of cute little 1970’s frocks and a good range of accessories.

Dulcet Fig can be found at 41 Haji Lane, Singapore

If you have any favorite vintage stores in Singapore you’d like to recomend, then please leave me a comment. But they must actually carry vintage to make it onto my list, not just second hand or vintage inspired.  If I get a good enough list together then perhaps there may be another investigative trip on the horizon sometime soon!

What are your experiences with vitnage in Singapore? Can you find what you want or if you’re a real vintage lover like me, do you simply look online for everything you need?

I’ve been having the best time these holidays. I’ve had Mr. SKM all to myself for a little while so we’ve been attempting to get out together a little bit more.  People often ask me whether Mr. SKM is also into all things vintage and retro, but I have to admit that I am alone on that island in this household. Even so, there are a few things we have in common. Our love of Sci Fi T.V, Kung Fu action movies and EATING! I’m no brilliant cook and as he tells me since I started blogging, I spend even less time in the kitchen, but still I love food. Now, I’m not going all ‘Food Blogger’ on you, but I’ve been asked to occasionally share snippets of what I’m doing in what I’m wearing, so here goes.

Last night we went on a bit of a date night to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie (which as an aside was crackingly good!) and proceeded it with a bit of a ‘pot luck’ dinner.  By that I don’t mean a 1970’s style dinner where everyone shows up to your house in lounge pajamas with a casserole, but the type of dinner you haven’t booked and don’t know where to go until something just jumps out at you. And what jumped out to us was Kam Fook at Westfield Doncaster.

Right off the bat I loved the decor and the pretty pretty crockery. It suited my Princess mood perfectly.

And then I see Princess Tofu on the menu! Oh this is going to be a good night!

Sheer heaven on a plate! By FAR the best Salt and Pepper squid I have ever eaten. I believe you can tell the measure of a Chinese restaurant by the standard of their Salt and Pepper Squid and the calibre of their dumplings. Kam Fook – you win for me.

Ironically, even though I live in the Antipodes I still bought a bottle of water from… Antipodes?! After the trials of the Christmas and New Year party season I am trying to be good to my body but still trick it into thinking that I am having something special, hence the bottled sparkling water.

Can’t you just taste it?

Santa came a little early for me this year, in the form of a stunning and much coveted new suitcase! I am feeling like a bone fide celebrity traveling with this beautiful lady holding all my treasures.

I came across Hideo Wakamatsu quite by accident and loved them so much I promptly contacted their Australian supplier to find out more about the brand.  Little did I know at the time that Hideo Wakamatsu had such a distinguished design history.

“Born in Tokyo, Japan, Hideo Wakamatsu showed a natural flair and passion for design. Through his formative years, his family’s business was lauded as Japan’s
premier luggage artisans. To this very day, their Randoseru schoolcase is considered a national treasure and is still adopted by Japanese school children and fashion gurus alike.”

Hideo Wakamatsu designs not only very practical luggage, but very very beautiful pieces, which is why I fell in love with them so quickly. It seems I am not alone in this feeling, which is the story behind how they made their way to Australian shores.  I spoke to the Australian distributor to find out just how these Japanese beauties came to be in my town.

” I got involved with the brand when I was traveling in London. I was on a bus when a cow print suitcase in a shop window caught my eye.  I couldn’t get this bright, happy print out of my mind, and so when I returned home, I looked for the suitcase online hoping to purchase one.  I found out that the products were not available in Australia, and so contacted the designer for the rights to bring the products into Australia and New Zealand.” … the rest is history.

I love it when people find something they love so much they just have to share it with others – hence this post!

As you can imagine the Sakura print (or Cherry Blossom) was my immediate favorite and I just had to have one to replace my current case.  I’ve been struggling with a large two wheeled suitcase for some time now, and while it is still relatively new, it just doesn’t handle the rigors of my travel. One of the major problems with the old one being that it weighs 7kg when empty so it meant I could bring less shopping home! The two wheel problem meant that I have had some very undignified moments struggling to get my very full suitcase over curbs, ending up stuck in a Tokyo down pour being soaked to the skin while I cursed my way to a taxi rank. Not very glamorous I can assure you.

So here is why I love my Hideo Wakamatsu Sakura case.  It has four, smooth inline wheels that mean not matter how full my case is, I can roll it with ease even in my towering heels. It is a light weight but tough hard shell case that stops my hats from being crushed and rain from soaking through. It has a secure and tight locking system with no zips to break or snag, just a combination to remember so don’t try and unpack if you’ve had too many airport cocktails!  It has HANGERS inside! Not just a suit section, but actual hangers that I can hang things on in the case and then remove to hang in the wardrobe wherever I go. I particularly love this feature as it makes me think of the old fashioned steamer trunk and instantly evokes promises of a great adventure.

And last but not least – the print. You will never get your luggage mixed up with anyone else’s because not only can you choose one of their amazing prints, but you can make your own on the Easel range of cases!

The Hideo Wakamatsu range runs from modern to traditional; even designing luggage that would not look out of place in the hands of Katherine Hepburn in the African Queen or perhaps on the dressing table in Elvis’ Blue Hawaii. Check out the gorgeous leopard print beauty case!

Oh they are just so good! In fact, I should very much like to extend to a whole collection and add this gorgeous Sakura Beauty Case. Considering I am planning another trip to Japan in 2010, it may be just the ticket!  You can find them online or at Flight 101 and R.G Madden for real world browsing.

You’d think I would have run out of things to show you from Singapore by now, but no. (In fact I still have lots from pre- Singapore trip that I haven’t even gotten around to yet!)

I am a magpie. That is to say that I endeavor to have nothing in my life that is neither useful nor beautiful (thank you William Morris), but darn it, I just keep on finding little knick nacks that serve both those purposes. Mind you, when you are quickly taken in by the cute, the shiny and the moderately useful (USB fan anyone), is is hard not to be a shopping magpie.

I haven’t even gotten around to photographing any of the clothes or shoes I found in Singapore, so I’ll save those to be measured out when styled in various outfit posts. Instead I’ll show you just what manages to creep into the “useful or beautiful” category!

Just to kick off the hilarity of this shopping trip, I stumbled upon Butt-on Trendy Undies. Now seriously, what the hell is that?!  Are they undies you button on to become a trend setter, or perhaps perhaps it is intended as a pun on “right on”? And when did undies become a trend statement? Sheesh, I must be so behind the times. LOL – did you see what I did there? “Behind the times!” Seriously.. perhaps I should start my own underwear store with marketing talent like that!

Anyway…. while wandering around the basement of Far East Mall, I came across the real world shops that are being run by what is know as “Blog Shops.” I wasn’t all that familiar with the concept of Blog Shops before the Nuffnang awards, but when I saw that introduced as a category I did a little looking around. It seems that there are a number of stylish and entrepreneurial bloggers out there who are retailing their own choice of clothing through a blog platform.  Not specifically pieces made or designed by them, by things that are sourced by them from different manufacturers and presented with their own spin. The clever bloggers have taken their ideas a step further, pooling their resources to set up “Best of Blog Shops” in a few different locations.  That way they can all share the space, the overheads and the work! I picked up a few fantastic pieces from Tracyeinny.

But then as you can clearly see, I then went mad and indulged in my favorite Asian destination shopping pastime… finding more cute sparkly things!

An incredibly cute USB fan (that has actually been coming in handy on these 35 degree days) and my very first Decotti set!!!

I am so very excited to try this one out and already have some ideas for it that to my knowledge, have never been seen before!

Let’s see now – Candy in awesome tins ( a small selection of the many I brought back), Cute Pokemon figurine sitting on top of a notebook that looks like strawberry chocolate, more food related stationery products, and yet more notebooks to perk up the daily To Do lists with a Miffy pen to wobble whilst I write.

An exceedingly useful ruby toned bejeweled Bearbrick – you mean you don’t have one too?

More polish for my famously over the top, bejeweled, bedazzled manicures.

Shills facial bubble peel – just because the packaging was brilliant, not because of any inherent beautification factor that I know of.

Another sparkly ring, purchased in duplicated for a Power Twins moment; and a delicate and gorgeous Swarovski bracelet about which I have nothing clever to add as it was probably the most practical of all the purchases.

Yep, my penchant for Kawaii is all but satiated… until next time!