I'm back I'm back I'm back!!!

My trip to Asia was a world wind! I went to Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong. Flying 6 times especially with two 13 hour flights, it took me a while to get my bearings when I got home.

I was in Taipei for a weekend getaway and the main purpose was to eat their street food and street meat! I never new Taipei was known for their street food, they put other cities and countries to shame.

I did do my nails prior to leaving Vancouver thinking I will get a blinged out Asian manicure while I am away. Let's just say it did not pan out as I thought it would. My friend and I were exhausted from a day filled with shopping and eating so we decided to go get a manicure. Mind you, this was about 10:30PM. We were in a pretty bumpin part of town near our hotel. However, I did not recall ever seeing a tattoo shop or a body piercing place. Hummers parked on street corners in Asia. So gangster. Regardless, we finally saw a nail salon that was open!!! We practically ran in because we wanted someplace to sit and get pampered. Boy oh boy were we in for a surprise. This two seater place also had a bed in there for girls to get eye lash extensions ... in the open. We sat down and we knew it was a mistake. The vibe from the place seemed like they catered to a specific type of late night career woman. Then the girl doing my nails started FILING off the polish instead of using nail polish remover. I almost cried. Because they only spoke Mandarin, I was in no luck. I was locked in for the rest of the ride. Turns out the polish was Shellac-ish. I had the worse time getting it off when I got home and my nail underneath was scratched up :(

So ladies, don't go to some random hole in the wall at around 11 in the night to get a manicure. Wait until daylight when you are well rested and level headed.

I thought I would score lots of cute DIY knick knacks while I was in Korea. But no such luck and no such time. However, while I was in Hong Kong my BFF Vivian took me to the fabric district. I was in HEAVEN. It was basically blocks of stores selling fabric, trims, beads, buttons, bindings, findings, crafting goods ... just EVERYTHING!!! This area is called Sham Shu Po in Kowloon.

One of my favorite places in that area is Accessory Republic Company Ltd. Not only was their selection HUGE but their prices were so CHEAP (to the eyes of a Canadian crafter that is). The ladies working there were more than helpful! If you have a project in mind they will let you know exactly where each component is and would give you detailed tips and tricks as well. Let's just say these ladies know their stuff and around the neighborhood too. If they didn't carry something they will direct you to a shop nearby.

All in all it was a good trip! I didn't leave my heart in any city but I did leave one of my best friends in Hong Kong. Technically, I didn't leave her there, she moved there hahaha. Vivian, I was glad I got to be with you 24/7 for a couple of weeks until the next time I see you! 

SPECIAL GUEST POST!! :)

Hello cee.kwan readers!! *waves*

While cee.kwan is off getting Asianized, I volunteered to do a guest post on her blog. However, like most things in my life...I procrastinated. At first I was super gung-ho to do a tutorial on Canucks inspired nails merging my two obsessions in life together...but Vancouver, I'm sure you know how that panned out this season :( Next year....

Regardless, I still get to indulge myself in nail polish just minus the Canucks, at least until September when preseason starts. Back to nail polish...I have a ton...and I do mean a TON...no joke. But I occasionally get asked...well, doesn't some of it dry out? The answer simply put is yes. There are ways to prevent this like making sure the rims are always clean, but I understand how that isn't a priority sometimes especially when your freshly polished nails are drying. To me, there are three things I do with dried out or slightly dried out nail polish:

1. throw it out

2. use nail polish thinner  **if you choose this option don't shake to mix it. I can't stress it enough how bad it is for nail polish to be shaken! Roll the bottle in your hands or hold onto the shaft and roll it out if it's not palm friendly. Shaking nail polish creates bubbles and sometimes it can dry out your polish even more. I see people shaking polish all the time and I think a bit of me dies each time...CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE!!

3. Designs!! :D

Semi dried nail polish is great for nail plates, but I also like to make little thin abstractesque lines with them, especially when a lot of different colours are used on a neutral base. I'm feeling lazy so I will only use one colour, but hopefully you get the point. So what am I trying to achieve? This:

How do I get this?

STEP ONE: plop some nail polish on a surface. I like doing this on my nail plates. Just a reminder this also works with fresh nail polish too, but it'll just take slightly longer.

STEP TWO: Using a dotting tool or a bobby pin start jabbing at the nail polish lifting it off the surface until the polish is stringy. Remember how I mentioned fresh polish will take longer? This is what I meant by that...it'll just take a bit more time for the polish to become aerated. 

STEP THREE: Once you have it at a nice stringy consistency, drape the little strands over your nailbed from both sides. The closer you do it to the nail polish blob the thicker lines you'll get...similar the cheese on pizza when you pull away. 

STEP FOUR: Clean up the edges and voila! (see above)

Ok this was fun!! I'll post again the next time cee.kwan is on vacay, though it might be avec moi! :D

....provided she lets me that is!

- smallberries