Pretty Pastels

This past weekend, I decided to take a walk on the wild side.  

No, not this wild.  However I LOVE this bright braided look, courtesy of Refinery29.  Instead, I tried "chalking."  No, this is not something happening in bar bathrooms across NYC.  It did happen in my bathroom and I have the pros and cons for you.  

The Beauty Department gives you the play by play to achieving this look here.  Basically,  you twist your strands as you color them with dry chalk pastels.  I have been dying for this look since LC debuted colored tips over the summer.  After much twisting and making a powdery mess of my bathroom, my tips were colored, but you could hardly see it.  If anything, the chalk made a mess and has left my hair feeling like I washed it repeatedly with glue and hairspray.  Not cute.  

In nail-related news (that is the point of this whole thing, right?), I had pretty pastel tips to compliment my lack of pastel hair tips.  

Colors used - Revlon Minty, American Apparel in Summer Peach, and Rumple's Wiggin by OPI

Liquid Liner and Frosted Pink

You can blame this post on my current addiction to liquid eye liner.  When it comes to evening make-up, I definitely subscribe to the "more is more" philosophy.  I am all about a strong cat-eye, frosted lipstick, and tons of lashes at the moment. 

via

 To go along with this glam look, I am loving bright pastels for nails.  

I am absolutely dying over this manicure.  The color, the black "liner" and the gold minx art.  After finding this on Pinterest, I have done some extensive internet stalking of this image.  Here are a few sites that it is linked to:

TheJunQui

a FAT girls BLUES

In related news, at the very top of my spring polish wish list is Mod About You by OPI

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Golden Age

One of my favorite fashion bloggers, Blair, recently rocked a very bold nail accessory - a gold nail ring. Her blog, Atlantic-Pacific, is always a daily read for me.  She has a way of effortlessly mixing colors, trends, and genres while always looking completely polished.  In addition to her fantastic sense of style, she has me feeling major bracelet envy.  This week Blair debuted a new bauble courtesy of Bijules.  

 

Do you spy her left right fingernail?  I'm calling it now - this will be a major nail trend.  

Nicole Richie rocked them - back in 2009!

Beyonce wore the Bijules nail rings in her Sweet Dreams video

The Bijules website boasts numerous nail ring collections.  The Bling Privee collection features the slightly more wearable mid finger-cocktail rings.  I've been hearing some buzz that the new way to rock a ring will be mid-finger and I'm all about this look.  Of course sporting one bauble at a time makes the trend a little more wearable.  And - can we talk about that paint job?

Is this a trend you are ready to rock?

Back in Black

Winter is in full swing (at least every other day - this weather is so weird) and there is nothing I love more than dark, bold, winter nails.  While I love a classic black glossy mani,  I get that that can be too intense for some.  I  also think that black polish chips faster for some reason (or is it just more noticeable when it chips?  chicken or the egg?), so I've been looking into some ways to spice up black lacquer. 

The basic building block for all of the below looks is a good black polish.  Here are a few I can recommend:

Essie Licorice

Deborah Lippmann Fade to Black

Wet N' Wild Black Creme

 One of my top contenders, as first seen on Pinterest, is the matte french manicure.  

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While this look could technically be done with any color, I think that black would probably make the biggest statement.  You can recreate by painting nails black, taping off tips with scotch tape (or those fancy french-tip stickers) and applying a mattifying top coat to the top part of nail.  I was gifted with Essie Matte About You  (thanks, Casey!) this Christmas and I plan recreating very soon.  

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Shiny black polish looks party-ready with a gold and red ombre glitter top coat.  This polish looks both tough and glam at the same time.  Black, ombre, and glitter - three of my favorite things in one nail look!

 

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This nail art is supposed to resemble chocolate nonpareils.  Am I the only one who just sees confetti?  Either way, I like it.  I like the concentration of design near the tip instead of all over.  Even though this look is intended to be done in dark brown, I think black polish with bright - dare I say neon (helloooo spring trend) would be even better.  Paint nails in two clean coats of black, then use nail art pens, skinny brushes, or even a toothpick to add colorful dots near the tips.  Another look I'm sure to try any day now.  

via Wah Nails

Black with a winter twist - glitter fade and snowflakes.  I recently rocked snowflakes for the holidays and, although a manicurist painted them for me, they have to be one of the simplest nail designs to DIY.  It's easiest to use white polish or acrylic paint and a nail art brush, but you could even try a toothpick.  It goes without saying I think that pretty much all Wah manicures are fashionably fabulous.  

Where Have I Been?

First and foremost, if you didn't read this blog title in a southern drawl, then it's crucial you watch this video for reference.  Fast forward to the 1:10 mark if you are impatient.  You'll thank me later.  

Second - I'm back.  I totally dropped my blogging ball game right before the holidays hit and then it was just hard to get back into my groove.  Here are a few snippets of what my nails and I were up to over the past month or so...

My signature print in fun jewel tones

Enjoying a pre-holiday glass of wine

Santacon with my cousin and fellow fashionable blogger, Erin

Holiday mani in Size Matters by Essie (how could you not love that polish name?!)

New jammies on Christmas Eve with Dad

Finally got to dip my fingers into Chanel Peridot - it's about time.  Thanks to my bff for Christmas gifting me with the polish I lusted after all fall!

No better way to ring in the new year than in faux fur and a party crown!

Now, I am not usually one for sticking to resolutions, but I resolve to be better about blogging this year.  Cheers to a very polished 2012!

xo LNW

Bad Romance

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Love her or leave her - GaGa is definitely one to make a major statement.  GaGa's Workshop Collection, currently available at Barney's does not disappoint.  The exclusive Holiday collection includes a little bit of everything- from onesies and t-shirts, to leather jackets, biker hats and gloves, to eyelashes and - you guessed it - nail polish and accessories.  The nail looks are just as over the top as the entertainer herself, but shamelessly fun (much like the entertainer herself.) 

 Here are a few of my picks:

Press On Nails - $45.00

Tribal Press On's - $45.00

Flame Press On Nails - $225.00

Pinned

I know I am way late to the party - but about a week ago, I FINALLY caught on to the current craze sweeping the masses (or at least all the southern girls I'm friends with on Facebook), PINTEREST.  I signed up for the site months ago, but never really gave it a chance until recently - thanks to my cousin Erin, who would not rest until I drank the kool-aid.  Well, I drank it, and in one short week I feel like I've been sucked into a little bit of a black hole.  I love all the fashion inspiration, home organization and decor, recipes, and hair and beauty looks that seem to be never-ending.  Additionally, there are more nail looks than I can count just waiting for me to give them a whirl.  I am seriously having trouble deciding what to try first. 

 Here are my top contenders:

via the Nailasaurus Blog

via Passion Nail Art

via Fashion Trend Alerts

via Pocket Size Fashion

via Grosgrain Fabulous

I am beyond overwhelmed with nail art and inspiration.  My one pet peeve regarding Pinterest is that I find it incredibly frustrating when people do not credit the original website for the pin.  Notice I took extra care to credit each site on here?  Bloggers take note - always give credit where credit is due!

Technicolor Tips

My newest colorful endeavor....

I achieved this look (you have no idea how tempted I was to title it "Just the Tip") but scotch-taping my tips off, then painting my nails with two coats of Chinchilly by Essie.  Then, I used various bottles of Kiss Cosmetics nail artist paint (the brushes are super skinny) to create a rainbow french mani.