This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

Phew! What a week!

This week as well as a whirl of unpacking, bouts of holiday blues and a hefty dose of belated Birthday celebrations, two of us Mice have started brand new jobs. Cue a back to school-esque urge to stock our brand new desks with shiny stationery, and kit ourselves out with fresh work uniforms. All we can say is that those first pay cheques better hurry up and hit our accounts VERY soon.

When we haven't been eyeing up new staplers or getting into the office keen bean early to put apples on our bosses' desks, this week the Mice have mostly been... 

Spiralizing absolutely anything and everything in sight. For anyone totally baffled by what the hell I'm talking about, let me introduce you to this life-altering, kitchen marvel - blog buds, meet the spiralizer...

Looks like a cross between a giant pencil sharpener and an instrument of torture, but it's actually your key to creating healthy, low-carb noodles. Grab yourself a courgette (or let's call it a zucchini), a carrot or a sweet potato, spike it in your spiralizer, crank the handle and hey presto - you've got a bowl of zoodles, coodles or umm... poodles. Possibly not the chicest addition to your cooking artillery but who cares about appearances when with the flick of a wrist, you can produce a whole heap of these bad boys...

All sounding good on paper but no idea what on earth you'd pair with your zoodles? Let me introduce the authority on all things spiral, Inspiralize - a blog completely dedicated to bringing you delicious recipes that you can whip up using your new piece of kitchen kit. 

Ok, so you may be rolling your eyes and scoffing at me right now, but with a bowl of zoodles coming in at just 21 calories and less than 4g of carbs compared to a bowl of spaghetti at a whopping 346 calories and 64g of carbs, the spiral logic starts to stack up. Snap up your very own spiralizer (just £30 on Amazon) give spiral slurping a whirl and I'll bet you'll be going round the twist for it by this time next week...

Nailing it with the latest soft gel mani brand that's landed at my fav HK pampering haven, the Loft by the Nail Library. Hot off the boat from Japan is an alternative to Shellac or OPI Gel Colour Nail Labo's Presto Bambina.

I'm now on my second set of Bambinas after I swapped my first set of holiday party nails for a more new job appropriate pale pink this week. While these gels aren't vastly different in terms of durability or shine to any other gels I've had before, the thing I'm loving about the Bambina range is the colours. Ranging from palest pastels (including a lavender-hued white that I'm definitely trying next time) to the brightest neons - see for reference my holiday mani below - the entire colour spectrum is catered for.

If you're looking for a weekend pick me up, what could be better than a snuggling into one of the Loft's comfy leather recliners with a stack of magazines, a glassy of something sparkling and a glossy set of rainbow bright nails?!

The Loft by the Nail Library
Level 2, 26 Cochrane Street,
Central.
+852 2618 8623

Adding some Rad to the weekend's beaching with a Sunday session at new Hong Kong beachside hot spot, Mavericks.

Set on a shady stretch of Pui O Beach in Lantau, Mavericks is the latest venture from Chef Austin (of Brickhouse, Roundhouse, Boomshack & Salon Number 10 fame...). The open-fronted space is decorated with graffiti and surfboards, blasts out sunny beats and serves up a whole host of killer cocktails and laidback comfort food (think - hot dogs, burgers, fish & chips and sliders).  

After hiking round to Pui O from Mui Wo ferry terminal (a fairly hilly 9km amble) we arrived at Mavericks hot and in need of hydration and sustenance. Nothing a few coronas, a couple of bottles of rosé and a round of wonton nachos couldn't sort out.

The ideal spot for whiling away a lazy weekend afternoon and feasting on a devilishly delicious chocolate chip cookie ice-cream sandwich (or six)...

Mavericks

Pui O Beach

Hong Kong

+852 5402 4154

Listening to Lily on a loop. We know we're late to the party on this one, but we've just discovered the latest Lily Allen album - Sheezuz - and it's ace! If you haven't already, download it now and make it this weekend's soundtrack.

iPod loaded with Lily? Great! So, this weekend's one rule?

Have a fab one!

x

The Mice

This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been

Well, at the risk of scaring you off before you've finished the first sentence, this week has been an incredibly, incredibly dull week in Miceland... 

Well, it has in Hong Kong anyway. This Mouse has mostly been slaving away over stacks and stacks and stacks of documents. I hate whinging, so I'm not going to. But, let's just say, I've been going to bed every night this week at the sorts of times you usually only see when you've had fifteen Jager Bombs and a round or six of vodka jelly shots... Which given that it's Rugby Sevens week in Hong Kong, is exactly what my week should have been filled with. 

But, no Rugby for me, as I type this, I'm currently on a little lunch break, the first I've taken this week, and one I'm only rewarding myself because I miss the blog and I have now been awake and working non-stop for twenty nine hours and counting - so I'm basically feeling like this...

But because blogging about wanting to sleep is even duller than whining about work, here's a very brief canter through what's been keeping me sane during a pretty hellish week...

Nails Inc Gel Effect Polish
£14
If you have to sit on a call at gone 10pm, you may as well be doing something useful while you're listening... And if you're going to spend the next six hours watching your fingers flying across a keyboard, they may as well be pretty! I did a bit of a Sephora minesweep while I was in New York last month (rest assured a full on beauty haul post is in the works) and this bad boy was one of many beauty bits I snapped up. This shade is Downtown - a deliciously juicy watermelon pink (I may also have popped the coral-tastic Kensington Passage in my basket too...). These aren't actual gel/shellac polishes (see the London Mice's post on DIY-Shellac brand, NK1, if that's what you're after) but they are super shiny and definitely look gel-esque on. Sadly, they don't quite last a couple of weeks like gel, but, as someone who usually gets chips a couple of hours after painting my nails, I can vouch for the fact that these last longer than your average polish. They are quite pricey, but the colours are fab and you get a gorgeously glossy salon-worthy mani - exactly what I needed on a desk bound, dull Wednesday!

Mermaid Candle
US$50
Another New York find, this time a luxe orange blossom scented candle which has been flickering away at the edge of my desk long into the night over the last few days. On our Williamsburg wanderings, we came across girlie heaven, Catbird nyc. While I was trying on stacks of rings and lusting over shelvesful of other pretty bit and bobs, I spied a candle called 'Mermaid' and was immediately smitten. One sniff and I was totally whipping-out-my-credit-card-quicker-than-you-can-say-'overdraft' sold! I'm now trying to eek it out for as long as humanly possible...

Pretty desk accessories

I zipped up to the flower market in Prince Edward a couple of weeks ago and couldn't resist picking up an orchid from a little shop stuffed to bursting with every conceivable variety. The pot it came in was a bit of an eyesore, so as soon as I got home I whipped him out of his old home out and planted him in an old Diptyque candle pot - a much chicer new pad! He now sits right beside my laptop and makes me happy whenever I catch a glimpse of him!  

And a Little Bit of YSL Love 
I first blogged about these YSL Love Postcards almost two years ago and I've finally got round to framing and hanging them above my desk. The perfect eye candy for work-weary peepers! 

I got my set courtesy of the very lovely Mandy in Morocco who if you ask her very nicely will ship you your very own postcard-shaped scraps of love wherever you are in the world!

Elizabeth & James Nirvana White

US$22

And let's end on a sweet note - yet another NYC purchase - Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen's new perfume Nirvana White. The Fashionista sisters' new fragrance line comes in two varieties, a daytime White and a darker, sultrier, Black. I got drawn in by the adult version of sweets at the till while I was queuing to pay for the contents of my groaningly full Sephora shopping basket and snapped up this clutch-friendly rollerball version of White. I now wish I'd bagged the bigger version, I can't get enough of this clean, fresh peony amazingness - it's like spritz of spring whenever I spray it!

And with that I'm off to make a little bit more of a dent into the mountains of paperwork littering my desk... And then my friends, I have some pretty exciting Friday night plans which look a lot like this...

Happy Weekend!

x

The Mice

3BM Beauty: Savvy Shellac...

The London mice have returned and it's officially the worst case of holiday blues we've had in a long time! 

Gone are the days lounging at the yacht club sipping Piper with a permanent back drop of something like this...





And now we're back to this...

The only way to bypass this hideous bump back to reality is to drinks lots of Hendricks and cram as many fun plans in as humanly possible - that's around the jet lag and excruciating work hours of course!

Without bringing back too many sunny memories which will only heighten my darkening depression, I need to let you all in on a beauty revelation we discovered before jetting off!

Preparing for a holiday can be expensive - not only the holiday itself but new bikinis, sun cream, aftersun...and that's not even including hair, waxing and nail appointments for the ultimate prep! 

There is nothing nicer than shiny, chip free bright nails on holiday, however last year I was a victim of constantly melted vanish from the sunshine and vowed to Shellac before flying in future!

With limited cash flow (we were saving for all those rum coconut cocktails we devoured) and little time to waste in a salon, there was only one thing for it...purchase an at home Shellac kit of course! That way we could do them ourselves in the comfort of our own home in PJ's with a glass of wine...perfect!

We opted for the NK1 Starter Kit which comes with the option of 4, 6, 8 or 10 colours. Prices start at £99.95 for the 4 colour set, a bargain when an average Shellac mani pedi comes in at around £50 with a further charge for removal. 

The NK1 kits provide you with everything you need and clear instructions, making the whole process very simple and easy to follow. However if you have any issues Andrea who works at NK1 will gladly assist, she was lots of help when I was putting our order through!

You pick colours from the online guide when you place your order - there are tonnes to choose from but  after much deliberation we opted for: Decadence (a deep red), Fedora (Black), Cream Puff (White for Tipex style nails!), Linette (Coral Red), JuJu Berry (Rich Pink), Violetta (Pretty Lilac pictured below) and Lydia (Neon Pink) and can assure you, we love them all! 

Having done my mani pedi once before holiday and once after, I can safely say I wouldn't ever go back to a salon again. It's so easy to do, once you get the hang of it - really quick and really does last the two weeks promised!

The initial cost may seem hefty at £100, however we would have parted with this by both going to a salon pre-holiday AND the bonus with NK1 sets are that we now have everything we need to do them at our own convenience and for no additional cost...beauty savvy or what?!

Right, now onto the how to details...a few tips to help you achieve the perfect nails....

Firstly make sure your nails are totally clean and there are no traces of varnish, lotion or oil on them as otherwise the varnish won't take.

And secondly, take the time to prep your nails as it's totally worth it for a perfect mani/pedi. Ensure you push your cuticles back, file and buff your nails. A flat, clean nail is what you need to ensure the varnish takes and lasts the 2 weeks as promised!

Other than that it's as straight forward as varnish and set, varnish and set...you get the picture!

A few quick pictures of each step...

Shape, file and buff out any ridges before wiping the nail with the Prep and Shine solution on a lint free pad which is provided... (Wipe each nail twice to ensure they're fully clean and hydrated). 

Apply the base coat and ensure you leave a small gap around the bottom and sides so the varnish doesn't touch the skin or it can't bond and seal properly to the nail. As you paint start from the middle, push down to the base and up to the top finishing by wiping the brush across the tip to enable the seal. 

Set the layer under the UV lamp with the 2 minute timer...

Apply the first coat of colour using the same method as above and set for 2 minutes under the UV lamp. Apply 2-3 layers dependant on the colour density desired! Heating and setting under the lamp after each layer. 

Finally apply the top coat using the same method as before and set for another 2 minutes under the UV lamp.

Put a few drops of prep and shine on a lint free pad (do not use cotton wool as this will leave fibres in your varnish) and wipe each nail. This removes the sticky residue on each nail and leaves you with the amazing shine! 

All done, easy peasyyyyy... and our finished results....