ASK bare naked challenge: Week 8

I know I know ! I've skipped week 7 ooooops ! Although I kept using the products; I didn't have time last week to do a blogpost. It's been very hectic with the upcoming wedding. Only 30 days left ieeeeek ! We are arranging some little details and it is taken a little bit more time than expected. Although we're almost done pfew! We only have a few things to do which are planned this weekend and than we are DONE! Woohoo... *does a little happy dance*

Well I really don't know what more I can say about the products; because for me it's done a wonderful job and I'm planning to place a big order soon so I can keep using them. My nails grow much easier; but I don't keep them too long. They are very strong and my cuticles - which I could never leave alone - are looking so much healthier. I rarely bite them anymore which is a BIG improvement before I started the challenge.

Left hand:

Right hand:

My products are almost empty though; so I don't know if I can make it the entire 10 weeks. So I will update my blog soon with some regular nail polish swatches.

I will also post pictures of my possible wedding mani's; so stay tuned !

Thanks for reading!

ASK bare naked challenge: Week 6

Week 6 already !! Whooooo ! It's really going quicker than I thought it should hehe. Although I can't seem to get used to my naked nails... Anyhow. My bottle of TIPS for toes is álmost at the bottom. My bottle of TIPS nail conditioner is at the half. If I finish them; I'm definitely buying more hihi. I'm convinced about the products and it does a wonderful job.

Last week I did a pretty stupid thing though. I was peeling the potatoes and I 'slipped'. This happened:

NOOOOOO ! I can still hear myself screaming hahaha. Ow well; just filed it back and that's it. I really thought I ruined my nail completely; but it was just a bit at the top.

My cuticles look a lot better !! Although I'm still not there; but that's not a shock. When I stopped biting my nails a few years ago; I could never stop biting my cuticles. This is the first time that I can leave them alone for more than just a few days.

Thanks for reading !

A-England - Ascalon

Whaaa I feel sorry already... After 5 weeks of naked nails; being really strict with the ASK bare naked challenge; I broke it and polished my nails today *ashamed*.
It's sunny and beautiful weather; it just screamed of a holo polish. So yes I polished my nails... I'm going to take it off tonight and I know it's not terrible to polish the nails during the challenge; but when I start something I'm always trying to follow the instructions as it should.
I just really really really wanted to polish my nails haha. Bad excuse.. I know.

I like the lenght of my nails already. They aren't very long; but long enough to show a nice polish like this. A length Deborah of the blog Love Varnish, chocolate and more... particularly likes haha ! (If you haven't checked that blog out yet; please do! Even with her short nails her swatches are amazing !!)

Outdoor:

Indoor (with flash):

I just love A-England polishes. It was untried for about 5 weeks now (I received them júst when I started the challenge lol); but o so prettyyyy !
This was 2 easy coats without topcoat. I just can't stop staring at the holo goodness with flashes of pink!

Thanks for watching !

ASK bare naked challenge: Week 5

Hi everyone ! Ugh I'm a little late for my blogpost; sorry about that :( I had a very hectic week due to some wedding stuff we had to take care of. We received our invitations and I really wanted to post 'em out this week; so every evening after work; I was busy with folding them and writing down the addresses. Waw I didn't realize that took sooooo much time.

Anyway; for this week of the Ask bare naked challenge; I wanted to post a picture collage of the results from the past 5 weeks. So I'll let the pictures do all the talking:
(To have a more detailed look! Click here )

Thanks for watching !

ASK bare naked challenge: Week 4

The routine I use is as followed: Get up and first I apply TIPS for Toes to my nails. I shower and get myself ready. Eventually washing my hands with the Ask Revival hand & Nail cleanser; and after that rubbing my hands with Ask Revival Skin conditioning milk.
During the day; when I've been outside a lot or when it's really really cold and my hands get really dry; I apply the skin conditioning milk again.
In the evening I do the same routine (when I haven't been in water for at least 2 hours!)

The products: There is a reason why I postponed the review for a week... About a week and a half ago I noticed my hands kinda felt dry. When I took a closer look I saw some redness apear. I haven't used any other hand products; but I can't tell for sure if it's cause of the products and wanted to use the products more intensively so it might get better.

My hands have little bumps on it. It started last week but this week it gotten worse. I really have no idea what it is; because it doesn't itch or anything. It feels.. bumpy !

I will contact Lisa and ask her what I can do about it. If it's possible that I could be allergic to one of the ingredients? Other than that I'm pleased about the products. It moisturizes my hands and it has a nice subtle sent to it.

It's so weird; because the nails products really do a wonderful job for me! I'm so happy about the progress. I file them every day and make sure I follow the procedure as good as possible.
How my nails look now; after 4 weeks of using:

Even my cuticles look a lot better already !

Next week I'll make a summary about the progress so far and will put the pictures together so you can see what 5 weeks of using the products did to my nails.

Thanks for reading!

ASK bare naked challenge: Week 3

Another week gone by ! I wanted to give you a detailed review of the hand products this week; but I must say.. I have to give the products another week. I'm not negative towards them; but I'm not positive either to be honest. They haven't done a lot for my hands just yet. I'll give them another week and will test them more thoroughly. So next week; I'll give an update about the hand products. I promise!

For this week I will just show you the nail pictures ! My cuticles started to tear up last week and if there is anything I can't stand it's loose skin so... Yes I must admit I have picked them awww... It.. doesn't look nice *ashamed*

I did notice a change in the structure though. I noticed a little dent ! And not just one nail; but all of them have this. Maybe it's the growth cause of the products? I don't know...

And my right nails:

That's it for this week ! Nails are still strong; so I'm still happy how they grow. Now I have to slap myself whenever I notice myself picking the loose skin iekkkk !

Thanks for reading!

ASK bare naked challenge: Week 2

How are you on this fine wednesday?

I've been ill since yesterday. Sitting with the flu at home and trying to sleep as much as possible to get better soon. I hate being ill blergh...

Anyway: Another week has passed and I've been using the products as I should (being the good girl that I am hehe). My hands do get a lot of suffering with this cold weather here; so they feel very dry. But I must say that the skin conditioning milk helps a lot! But being ill the last few days I neglected to rub my hands in; so now they are réally dry... My own fault though :-(

To show you a good comparison this week; I decided to post a picture of my right hand from 2 weeks ago and how my nails look like now. 

Again: I'm still shocked how strong my nails feel. I tore my skin open last week on my left hand; near my nail (on my ring finger) and it really hurt bad; but my nail didn't at all. Normally it would be bruised like h..... Well; you know what I mean ;-)

Here is the picture of my right hand 2 weeks ago:

And this is how my nails look now:

At this pace my nails will definitely look beautiful at my wedding !! I still keep them short though. As you can see my middle finger is uneven; but that'll work out fine in a few more weeks.

Next week I'll give a more detailed review about the skin products.

Thanks for reading.

ASK bare naked challenge: Week 1

So.... It's been a week since I received the ASK products and I want to share you my opinion so far.

I've been using the TIPS for toes twice daily now (yes on my nails!) as it will give a great boost to my nails! Nails must be completly dry before applying; so the best time to apply them is first thing in the morning; and again during the day when I notice my nails becoming dry again (or when I've been in lots of water with my hands).

It's an odd smell. It's not bad at all; but it doesn't smell of flowers either ! I'm quite used to it; but I really can't describe it... Quite interesting smell. Yes. Let's call it interesting hahaha.

The file is really really easy to handle ! It smoothens the nails and that's it! A fine file; I like it !

The products (nail & hand cleanser and skin conditioning milk) feel nice. But I don't know yet what they really do to my hands. I haven't used the products long enough to give my opinion about them to be honest.

What I notice after a week: Wow my nails have néver been this strong before !! Wonderful ! Because that's always been a problem of mine. My cuticles look better than last week; but it's really hard to leave them alone . I'm so used to pushing them back but I really really really can't do that now haha. Ow well; it's for the best; right?

So here are the pictures of how they look today:

Don't they look healty already?? I'm happy with the results so far.

Just compare it with last week ! They aren't dry anymore and cuticles ánd nails are getting better and better. I really didn't expect anything after just one week; so this really pleases me.

So tonight I'll clip my nails again; to get all the chips and bruises gone and so they can grow 'smoothly'.

Next week another update about the challenge.

What do you think ? Do they look better??

Thanks for reading!

ASK bare naked challenge: The start

Woohoooo the postman came with a little package from Canada today !

And what I found was:

So I started reading the little manuals that were inside; and ofcourse the e-mails Lisa send us with instructions. I am very eager to begin this challenge so today is a good day to get me started !

First things first ! I clipped (clipped?? Yes !!) - I seriously néver clip my nails. I read so many blogs how this could damage the nails etc etc... but I am planning to stick to the procedure and there it says I should clip my nails if they are too damaged. So yes I clipped my nails! My nails are really awful. After my gel nails they were so weak I broke 'em easily.
The result (I swear this is about the worse my nails have ever looked):

My terrible cuticles ugh...

The producs look nice ! They don't smell weird and the file is really really neat ! So easy to handle and it 'smoothens' the nailtip really nicely.

The fun part about TIPS nail conditioner is that you can just 'slap' it on ! It hás to go on half the cuticles and your nails. Unlike polish where you are really careful so you don't have too much clean-up. Nope; just spread it all around and under your nail and on your cuticles. Just wait a bit and rub any excess into your hands. DONE !

This is how they looked afterwards ! It 'looks' kinda oily; but it doesn't feel like that at all.

And so it begins.... :-) I'll keep you updated every week with how I experience the products. I'm very positive about it so far !

Eye of.. euh.. some days ago

I want to show an eyelook I do a lot when I have to go to work. It's not thát spectaculair; but I like it and especially: it's done with my new favourite palette: Urban Decay 15th anniversary palette !

Just look at it ! Drool-worhty; if you ask me !

The look is made with only 3 colours: Vanilla in the inner corner and as a highlight colour, blackout in the crease and ace on the eyelid.

What I particularly like about this look is that it brings out the green in my eyes.

Products used:

- Urban decay potion primer

- Vanilla/Blackout and Ace from the UD 15th anniversary palette

- Gosh liquid eyeliner pen - black star

- MaxFactor kohl pencil black

- MaxFactor false lash effect mascara

Do you like this look? Do you own any UD palettes?

Thanks for reading !

Wedding stories: The proposal

About a year and a half ago; my boyfriend and I went on a luxury holiday to the Garda lake in Italy for 10 days. We left home at midnight and changed seats every 3 hours. We were pretty beat when we arrived at about 9 am at the hotel. But waw; it was soooo beautiful...

This is the complete view of the hotel (yes there were suites with a  private swimming pool ! But we had a suite without swimming pool. Still very luxury though.)

And the pool ! Awesomesauce !!!

Than we visited the city Bardolino and enjoyed the beautiful weather and people and view. We had a very romantic dinner in a restaurant near the lake where the view was absolutely stunning:

After dinner we went back to our appartment and I was making myself comfortable on the couch when my boyfriend said  he forgot our navigation in the car... So I waited... And when he came back he had a huge smile upon his face. I was a bit confused; not really knowing what I was waiting for; when suddenly he kneeled down in front of me and asked me to marry him. I was a bit in shock. For years he said he didn't want to marry at all; so I kinda... laughed a little when he asked me ! It wasn't until I saw the ring I realized he was serious!
My boyfriend and I are together from 2003. We live together from 2007 and we love each other very much. Ofcourse my answer was YES !

My engagement ring:

Needless to say it was the most wonderful vacation ever ! Ok I must say I was also really really charmed about Garda lake itself and Italy in general. We had a great time and I'm dying to visit it again.

And what an amazing feeling it gives when you see the beautiful lake and enjoy the sound of water (can't help it. I just love the lake/sea/ocean sounds!)

Our wedding is planned 28th of april; and time is going really fast !! Lots of preperations to do but it'll be worth it.

Thanks for reading.

A girl can never have enough shoes

Another addiction of mine (and with me; of many girls): SHOES !!

I love high heels. Love love love them ! My 2 newest pair are from nelly.com.

It felt like forever though until they got delivered ! It would take 3 to 7 workdays; but when I buy something online; I want the doorbell to ring the minute I press the 'buy' button (I guess many of you will recognize that feeling).

I received my first note saturday the 14th; saying they would try to deliver it again on tuesday... TUESDAY !! Arghh.... And the problem was: I knew I wouldn't be able to get them as I WORK in the daytime haha... Luckily they dropped them off with our neighbours ! Woohooo they are here *insert happy dance*

My first pair: I wasn't too sure about them; but they look very classy! I like the snake-print and they fit perfectly:

The second pair..... I opened the box and there I found a whole different pair than what I ordered ! ARGHHH I was soooooo frustrated ! They deliverd the wrong shoes... Grrr..... But I was too curious so I put them on and WAW. I instantly fell in love with them! I couldn't return these pretties ! They are even more awesome than the shoes I wanted to order haha. So eventuelly I'm really happy with the mistake the shop made! (For the curious people among us: This is the pair I was going to order)

They are freaking hiiiiiiiiiiiigh !! 14cm with a plateau of 3cm ! Love 'em! I feel like a giant when I have them on haha. (Although they only make me 1m78; cause I'm a small girl hihi).

What do you think of my new purchases? Love or hate them?
Would you buy such high heels ?

Thanks for reading!

Disastrous nails

A few weeks ago; I read about the ASK Cosmetics' "Ultimate Bare Naked Nail Challenge". To sum it up: For 8 to 12 weeks you have to use the ASK Cosmetics products. These will help strengthen your nails and cuticles. Every week you have to write down your experiences and make pictures of the progress.

This sounded very interesting to me ! I'm getting married at the end of april and I'm really hoping to have my nails long and strong by then. I don't want to have to go to the nail salon and get myself fake ones. I keep myself busy with nail polish so I really want to do my own manicure !
But nót with short broken ugly nails and cuticles you just want to hide for the world...

So I send in my motiviation; hoping to be one of the lucky girls !

Here are the pictures I have send to Lisa; so you can see what I have to deal/start with.
These are my nails. Naked; no products used.

Left hand:

Right hand:

Right... So... The history of my nails !
As so many polish addicts; I was a biter. I bit my nails until they bled and even then I would bite my cuticles and everything; I just couldn't stop. 2,5 years ago I decided it was enough. Now nail polish is one of my many 'addictions'.

My nails suffer a lot though... I'm a system engineer; so I have to build computers and have to type continiously, so I break my nails a lot.  Last year I was fed up with the breaking of my nails and bought me a nail starter kit for gel nails. It looked nice but... Well to be honest, nothing beats natural nails. You can see it immidiatly when someone has false nails.

I don't regret doing it but, I really want my natural nails for my wedding day. So about 3 months ago I decided not to fill them in with gel anymore; but the gel has really destroyed my nails. Every day I put hardener on as a base coat; hoping it would help make them stronger. Every day I put polish on so I don't have to look at the bruised nails and ofcourse I also use top coat and rub in my cuticles every day with lemony flutter (from lush). 'Hoping' for the best and that my nails will look photograph-worthy on my wedding day.

Hopefully the products from ASK will really do their work ! I will post updates about the challanges regularly.

Thanks for reading !

History of my nails

Ohai ! To start this 'must-follow'-blog. Here are some manicures of the past few years:

And this is the manicure I'm wearing right now: OPI - Grape... Set... Match...

Thanks for watching !