Major Upgrade

I recently had the chance to catch up with a girlfriend who happened to be carrying a big, fancy camera.  The results speak for themselves.  I realize that my iPhone nail shots are no longer going to cut it.  

While holding the glass of water (my hangover had a hangover) does nothing for my street cred, it does showcase my nail art quite nicely (as does my formerly blonde mane.)  I painted my nails One of a Kind by Essie, one of my faves.  I then enlisted a friend to help with the designs on my right hand (it's always feeling neglected.)  The sparkles were an after-thought.  The results were fun - thanks to Graham for the steady hand and Angela for the artistic vision!

Hey Barbz...

*Disclaimer: for those of you not versed in the language of Ms. Minaj, please refer to the Nictionary in order to decipher this post.  

This is happening.  One of Nicki's very loyal Kens has just alerted me that the First Lady of CMYM is launching her own line of nail polish for OPI.  Following in the steps of Katy Perry, everyone's favorite H.B. has come up with six new shades as colorful as her language on Pink Friday.  Here's a peak at what we can expect from Nicki and OPI in 2012:

via

The shades, named for some of Barb'z biggest hits, are just as festive as the petite (in most places) rapper.  If only I could have gotten my hands on them in time for last year's Pink Friday party...

Breaking News

Essie Polish is on sale for $4.00 a bottle (that's half off!) on the Nail Supplies mecca website!  Ready for more good news - I'm pretty sure this sale is permanent.  Nail Supplies has a huge selection of polishes and products, and it appears that as far as Essie is concerned, they have just about every color.  I am literally restraining myself from buying the bar.  As I'm sure you are all familiar, Essie makes fabulous of-the-moment colors, with some of the cutest names around. 

 Here are a few shades I am loving right now:

Nutrcracker Sweet 

(Mauve is huge right now)

A-List

(a true racy red)

Bahama Mama

(a pretty purple for fall)

Charleston

(a rich brown reminiscent of my old stompin' grounds)

School of Hard Rocks

(dying for this slate shade)

Lady Godiva

(an almost-black burgandy)

I could literally go on and on.  I don't know about you, but whenever I am looking for a specific shade in Duane Reade or a salon, it's always the shade that's sold out.  The good news is - fashionable polish is now just a click away - at half the price!

P.S. - Thanks for sharing the link Laura - keep 'em coming!

Trick or Treat

Halloween is right around the corner and my creativity is seriously lacking this year.  I am usually one to go all-out with costumes (theme parties are my jam) but I am just not feeling festive right about now.  Creative costume notwithstanding, there are some fun Halloween nail ideas popping up all over my radar.  Sally Hansen has struck again in the form of Halloween-themed nail strips.  I am always a proponent of using these on an accent nail or two if the all-over look is a little too overwhelming for you (or your uber-professional workplace.)

If you have read my blog before, you know I am a fan of these easy to apply polish strips.  They last longer than polish (especially if you use a good top-coat) and look great!  The second Halloween nail look to discuss comes from Lauren Conrad's Beauty Department.  While I try to check up on LC and her beauty tips a few times a week (I am secretly DYING to dip dye my hair the rainbow shades she debuted this past summer ... shh), my cousin Erin, and blog author of HuddyP,  sent me this link and ordered me to blog about it.  Done and done.  

Fashionable Candy-Corn nails can be yours with orange, yellow, and white nail polish and a roll of scotch tape.  Lauren walks you through the painting process in 6 carefully detailed steps on her website.  I can vouch for this method - I am currently rocking color blocked nails courtesy of the scotch tape trick.  Happy Halloween painting - and good luck to those creating costumes!

Total Basket Case

I am ALL ABOUT basket weave nail art these days.  WAH Nails tweeted some shots of the look a few weeks ago and I haven't given my nail polish pens a rest since.  I love that basket weave looks great on either all nails, or just an accent nail (or a few).  It goes great with other designs and looks fab in gunmetal and black, as well as pastels.  Here are the pictures that started my obsession:

Wah Nails Dublin Basket Weave

Candy Basket Weave, also by Wah Nails Dublin

Basket Case Remix (aka my theme song) by Wah Nails

Once again the nail artists at WAH have me wishing they would open a salon in NYC.  I would go broke, but I would go down with fashionable nails.  Here are some shots of my own nails rocking basket weave.

Trend Alert

Nylon Magazine is forever tweeting fabulous nail pictures, looks, and trends.  Today, the hot topic to catch my eye - Magnetic Nail Polish.  It's not what you think, your nails will not stick to your refrigerator.  Think more Magna-Doodle, less Electromagnetism.  Nails Inc. has three shades of the polish, currently sold at Sephora.  You paint your nails as you normally would, then wave the magnet-laden polish cap over your nail and voila! totally unique nail designs.  My mind is already conjuring fabulous nail designs and fun color combos I can create with these lacquers.  

colors L to R: House of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben 

images via Sephora 

Put A Ring On It

I have had two weekends of back-to-back wedding dress shopping.  Not for myself mind you, (always a bridesmaid...) I am on the verge of starring in a bootleg sequel to 27 Dresses.  This white dress is for my very best friend since birth, Cary.  She and her amazing fiance got engaged in July and I have been bugging her for a wedding-bling nail pic ever since.  She finally came through this weekend...sort of.  

Her very of the moment nails feature slate grey and eggplant in various colorblock designs.  I love them!  I was raving over them! Until I saw her other hand...

Being engaged MUST be exhausting, because she was "too tired" (her words) to colorblock her right hand. I can't fully blame her - precise nail art can be very time consuming.  

decisions, decisions...

I came home from a grueling day in the classroom to a real treat - new nail polish!  My roommate saw two shades of MAC lacquer that he said were screaming my name, and bought them for me - in the name of fashion and blogging.  The first shade actually made me elicit a squeal of delight - In the Buff, a cream shade.  I am ALWAYS on the lookout for good neutrals and this one definitely fits the bill.  I can picture this perfect taupe on my nails with chunky gold jewelry and the perfect black dress.  The second polish, a frost finish, is called Style Clan.  While to the naked eye, it looks like a smokey grey-brown, it's actually flecked with bronze shimmer.  Now that I am in possession of two fabulous new little bottles, the only question is: which do I use first?