Nail Art: Sunset Colours

For this week’s nail art, I decided on a graduation effect for a change. I did a slightly different art on the thumb nails, again with a half moon manicure, decorated with a ribbon and rhinestone.

今週のネール・アートはグラデーションにしてみました。親指のネールにはハーフムーン・アートにして、キラストーン入りのリボンを描きました。

How to:
1. Apply clear base coat.
2. Paint nails in yellow (here: Chanel No.577 Mimosa).
3. Paint nails in light pink glitter (here: Savvy Brownie No.17).
4. Paint a fine line along the half moon shape and then a ribbon on each thumb nail with purple glitter colour (here: Rimmel No.631 Starlet).
5. Apply dark pink glitter colour (here: Savvy Brownie No.31), starting at the line/ribbon of the thumb nails and at the base of all other nails, adding gradually more glitter colour to create a graduation effect.
6. Stick on the pink rhinestones in the middle of the ribbons (here: from Daiso Japan), using clear nailcolour as “glue”.

方法:
1. クリーアのベースコートを塗る。
2. ネールの全体に黄色(ChanelのNo.577 Mimosa)を塗る。
3. ネールの全体に薄いピンク・グリッター(Savvy BrownieのNo.17)を塗る。
4. 紫色(RimmelのNo.631 Starlet)を使って、親指ネールのハーフムーンにそって細いラインを描いて、リボンを描く。
5. 親指ネールの紫色のライン、そして他のネールのもとから濃いピンク・グリッター(Savvy BrownieのNo.31)でグラデーションをつくる。
6. クリーア・ベースコートを使って、リボンの真ん中にピンク色のキラストーンを付ける。

Shoe Challenge No.44

Shoes: fed international / シューズ：fed international
Worn with: Blouse by H&M, Skirt and bag by Max Mara.
H&Mのブラウズ、Max Maraのスカートと鞄。

These shoes are not only one of my favourite pairs, but probably also the pair of shoes which has received the most compliments! I actually had seen a similar pair (same style, different colours) in Italy, which was unfortunately way too expensive, before buying this pair. After nearly forgetting about said Italian shoes, I found these while shopping with my friend M. in Taipei during a holiday in Taiwan in 2007. I actually searched for a picture of me wearing them back then, but my feet/shoes weren’t visible in any of them, so this one will have to do 🙂 I had to order my size since it was sold out in that particular store and luckily got them in time just before the end of the holiday. Since then these have been worn countless times and hopefully I will be able to wear them for many more years! Here they are up close, all golden and sparkling:

この靴は一番すきな靴の一足です。それにはいた時に一番みんなにほめられた靴です！実はこの靴を買う前に、イタリアで似たような靴（同じスタイル、違う色）を見ましたが、その靴が高すぎて買えませんでした。あのイタリアの靴をほぼ忘れた時、２００７年に友達のMさんと台北でショッピングして、この一足を発見しました。その時の写真を載せたかったのですが、靴が見えるような写真はありませんでした 。私のサイズが売り切れで他の店から取り寄せしてもらいました。ちょうど帰る前に届きました。買ってから何回もはいて、これからもまだ一杯はきたいです！こちらはキラキラ・シューズのクローズ・アップです:

After wearing them so often, the insides look a bit worn, but on the outside they are still in pretty good condition. To me, these are a perfect pair: Comfortable, gorgeous and a colour that can be worn with anything! The brand, fed international, seems to be Chinese, and you can see more of their current styles on their homepage – sadly, I haven’t found any English version, but the pictures are easy enough to find!

たくさんはいたため、中はもう少し古くなっていますが外側はまだ大丈夫です。私にとって、カンペキな靴です：はきやすくて、綺麗で、なんでも合わせられる色です！ブランドは中国のブランドみたいです。最新のスタイルはホームページで見れます。残念ながら中国語だけですが、写真はみつかりやすいです！

Shoe Challenge No.42

Shoes: Zara / シューズ：Zara
Worn with: Jeans by Seven, top by H&M, cardigan by Day Birger et Mikkelsen, bag by Lanvin x H&M.
Sevenのデニム、H&MのTシャツ、Day Birger et Mikkelsenのカーディガン、Lanvin x H&Mのバッグ。

This is Sunday’s outfit – I can’t believe so many days have passed already! I’m too busy with my uni work and didn’t get to do any more shoe challenges….after going out last Saturday night with my lovely friend N. to the P1 club in Munich, I got up after just 2 1/2 hours of sleep to go with my mom and friends to another garden market, this time in the beautiful city of Bad Tölz, Bavaria.If you come to Bavaria, you should definitely go to Bad Tölz where lots of beautifully painted traditional style buildings can be seen on the main street. If you’re there, give the delicious ice cream at Grangelato (Marktstraße 18, Bad Tölz) a try! Below is a view of the river Isar, which runs through town:

こちらは日曜日のコーデーです – もうそんなに時間がたってしまいましたね！卒業論文で忙しすぎて、シューズ・チャレンジができなかった。。。土曜日の夜友達のNさんとミュンヘンのP1クラブに行って、たった2時間半寝て、日曜日に母と友達とまたガーデン・マーケットに行きました。今回のマーケットはバイエルン州のBad Tölzという綺麗な町にありました。バイエルン州に来たら、是非Bad Tölzを見に行ってください。メイン通りにそっている建物の壁は伝統的できれいな絵でデコレーションされています。同じメイン通りにあるGrangelatoと言う店 (住所：Marktstraße 18, Bad Tölz) のおいしいアイスクリームも食べてみてください！以下は町を通ってるイザール川の写真です：

What I was mostly looking forward to – despite the main focus of the market being roses – was the exotic plants! Finally I found a protea, which I had been looking for for a long time. Proteas are very seldom sold here in Germany, and I didn’t want to buy one off the internet, so I was really happy to get one – you can see me carrying it in the outfit picture! As it’s not in full bloom yet, I won’t post an extra picture and instead show you the other plant I have bought. This one is not exotic at all, but a typical plant for here, the Edelweiß. I love it’s cute, kind of fluffy flowers!

マーケットのメインがバラだったにもかかわらず、私が一番楽しみにしてたのはエキゾチックな花でした！ずっと前から探していたプロテアをとうとうみつけました。ネットで買いたくなくて、ドイツではあまりうっていないので本当に嬉しかったです：コーデー写真で持っています！まだ花が完全に開花していないので、それ以外に買った花の写真をのせます。こちらの花はドイツっぽい花で、まったくエキゾチックではないセイヨウウスユキソウです。ちょっとふわふわした花が大好きです！

Last up, a picture of my shoes: After a night of dancing I opted for a sensible and comfy, yet not boring pair of ballerinas from Zara. They have been worn a lot already and definitely needed to be saved!

最後に靴の写真です：クラブで踊って、足が疲れたのでらくな靴にしました。このZaraのバレェシューズはらくですが、つまらなくはないと思います。今までよくはいた靴で絶対に救出したかったです！

Shoe Challenge No.37

Shoes: Lanvin x H&M / シューズ：Lanvin x H&M
Worn with: Top by H&M, skirt by Max Mara, bag by Armani.
H&MのTシャツ、Max Maraのスカート、Armaniのバッグ。

Finally I got to wear my beloved pumps from the Lanvin x H&M collection. The reviews of this collection were pretty mixed on the internet, but I must say that I really adored it, being a lover of cocktail dresses and crazy shoes! When it came out, I was in Japan, where everything was like double the price from Germany, so after just looking at the shoes in Shibuya’s H&M (where my size wasn’t left anyway since I’m not a fan of getting up early and queuing up endlessly) I ordered not one, but two pairs (the other ones are the flowery turquoise ones) online from the German shop. I think they are really close to “real” Lanvin shoes and to me they feel quite comfortable despite the relatively high heel. I love the rhinestones on the heel:

到頭この大好きなLanvin x H&Mのパンプスをはけました。インターネット上、そのコレクションのレビューは色々でしたが、カクテール・ドレスと派手なシューズが大好きな私は本当に好きでした！コレクションが発売された時は日本にいました。ドイツとくらべると、日本での値段がばいぐらいでしたので、渋谷のH&Mで見て（早起きすることも、行列で並ぶことも嫌いなので、着いた時には私のサイズがすでに売りきれていました）、結局ドイツのネットショップで二足も買いました（もう一足はターコイズ色のリボンがついた花柄です）。「本物」のLanvinの靴にかなり近いだと思っています。それにヒールが高くても歩きやすい靴です。ヒールのストーンが大好きです：

Shoe Challenge No.33

Shoes: Zara/シューズ：Zara
Worn with: Tunic by Laurèl, jeans by Seven, bangle by Maendler, earrings by Cinderella Chance, bag by Samantha Thavasa.
Laurèlのチュニック、Sevenのデニム、Maendlerのバングル、シンデレラ・チャンスのピアス、サマンサ・タバサのバッグ。

Today I decided on wearing flats again. Lately I’ve always been wearing heels, and my feet needed a break! I love these flat sandals because they feel like walking barefoot – just right for summer. I just went to town today to give back the rental DSL box since our new WLAN box arrived yesterday.

今日はフラットな靴にしました。最近、ヒールばっかりをはいて、足が疲れました！このようなサンダルをはくとはだしで歩いているような気持ちなので大好きです – 夏にぴったりのシューズです。昨日はとうとう新しいWLANボックスが届いたので、今日はレンタルのDSLボックスを返しに行きました。

Shoe Challenge No.20

Wow! This is already my 20th Shoe Challenge! If I continue at this pace, hopefully I can save all my beloved shoes! The weather forecast said today was the last nice and warm day of the week, so I decided on saving one of those many strictly good-weather-only-shoes…one the one hand, I’m sad the weather will be colder again, but then again the rain will wash all the horrible pollen out of the air – I’ve already had hay fever the last few days!!!

Shoes: Shoes One
Worn with: Jeans by Seven, top by H&M, cardigan by H&M, bag by Prada.

Let me say at first, in case you’re wondering: No, these shoes are not the real Miu Miu ones (unfortunately!). I know, I know, copies are not good, but since I couldn’t get my hands on a real pair anywhere and wanted needed these too much, I couldn’t resist when I read about this “alternative” on the two blogs  Shoe Daydreams (contra) and Pink Haired Princess (pro). On this matter, I agree with Pink Haired Princess: The label in the shoes says Shoes One, so while the design is 100% copied and cannot be called “inspired by”, they’re at least not trying to pass off as real Miu Miu’s, and I also would tell anyone who asks me they aren’t real ones. Well, everyone has to decide for themselves on this matter! I just think brands should stop producing so super-limited quantities of items that popular!

With this topic out of the way, on to the outfit! I decided to pair them with a simple outfit so they would really stand out … and stand out they did! I couldn’t even count how many people turned around to stare at them. As many people here tend to wear simple or sensible shoes or just plain sneakers they must have been quite a sight, even though they are not the craziest pair in my collection 😉  Maybe, hopefully it will inspire more people here to wear different shoes!

And last but not least, some pictures of another decorated rollcake (actually from yesterday, but I wasn’t wearing any shoes then – just relaxing in the garden!) . This time I made it 100% Japanese style following the book instructions – the time before I had used the ordinary German rollcake recipe – and it turned out really nice. I want to make another one soon!

It was filled with cream, strawberries and blueberries  – so it was really healthy (at least a little bit 😉 )

Flower embellished Wedges and Ballerinas by H&M

How adorable are these flower embellished wedges by H&M? I personally prefer the light pink colour as they look more like summer but as the uppers are fabric the black ones could be more practical. Lately, I’m totally into wedges – they make walking on cobblestones so much easier! If you like the cute flowers but not the heels, these were also used on these sweet peeptoe ballerinas, which come in the same colour options.

Both  the wedges which retail for 39,95€ and  the ballerinas which cost 14,95€ are available at the H&M online store.

Which ones would you choose?

Shoe Challenge No.14

Today was the official start of spring! The weather can only get better from now on :)! I’m already thinking about relaxing in the garden….. Today, we actually had beautiful sunshine but it was still kind of cold, but I just had to wear something else than boots, so I decided on the following outfit (with a jacket and scarf for outside):

Shoes: Love Like Lip

Worn with: Top by H&M, skirt by Zara, cardigan by Max Mara, bag by Prada.

Today I went with my mom to see a vernissage by a friend of hers near Munich. As I love painting myself, I also always enjoy looking at art exhibitions.

These shoes are from the Japanese brand Love Like Lip and I got them a while ago in Tokyo. They have a rather low heel and are comfortable to wear for a long time. The shape is nothing extraordinary, but I like their champagne colour, the cute pearl/ribbon/rhinestone/fur decoration and the light pink glittery sole. The colour is easy to combine with other colours and I’m always happy about some non-black versatile shoes!

If you’re interested in shoes by Love Like Lip, they are available for example in the Marui web store. If you love this pair, they currently have a very similar style here for 9,345 Yen (approx. 80€) – check out the cute heart on the sole!

Another close-up:

What to do if your shoes are too big?!

If you’ve ever bought a pair of shoes which fit perfectly in the shop, but then were too big at home or became too big after wearing them often, then you know the problem. It’s close to impossible and super-annoying to walk in shoes that nearly fall off your feet with every step. So the logical solution would be to sell them/ throw them away. .. but what to do if you just love them too much to just give them away? Well, one solution would be to use some gel cushions, like for example these from Scholl.

If that still doesn’t help, I have found shoe bands to be a big help. Shoe bands are basically an elastic band which you slip over your foot+shoe and keeps the shoe from falling off. They come in a huge variety of styles and can also be used for decoration. Also, if you can’t find any where you live, you could easily just make some yourself. What other ideas and solutions do  you have for too big shoes?

Get the shoe bands pictured above: Click  here for the sequined style, here for the crystal style, here for the two-row pearl style, here for the buckle, here for the simple band and here for the three-row pearl style (all approx. 15-20€, depending on style).

Late Christmas Wish: Sergio Rossi Sandals

If I had one more wish for Christmas, I’d wish for this absolutely stunning pair of Sergio Rossi Sandals. I love everything about them, from the crystal-encrusted spiral heel to the ribbon-like cut-out on the front. Unfortunately, even on sale they still cost 1166 USD.  If you still have a free wish, you can make it come true at Luisaviaroma.