I've been seeing this all over the blogosphere, and from what I've read, its AWESOME. It's a top coat from Katy Perry's OPI collection that you apply over dried nail polish and it leaves your nails looking crackled. It's a little pricey (you can probably find it cheaper in stores rather than online), but considering you can wear it over any color polish, I'd say that's reasonable. 

    If you know me at all, you know that I'm constantly painting my nails. I don't just do a single color, I do stripes, rhinestones, decals - you name it, and two days later I'm back to work because my polish has already chipped. I've tried numerous top coats - extra shiny, matte, even "hard as wraps," and as much as I hate to admit it, I've wasted a lot of money because none of them really work for longer than a day. But it's looking like I've found the answer to all of my nail problems. I recently heard about Shellac manicures, costing about $30-45 (depending on where you get it done), and the selling point is a manicure that lasts two full weeks without chipping. And there is absolutely no drying time. This is the answer to all of my manicure problems.
      Nail technicians use special Shellac (a hybrid nail polish containing no formaldehyde, toluene or DBP!) that you put under a special UV lamp after each coat of polish. There are four coats total - a base, two color and a top coat, but how nice would it be to actually be able to reach into your purse for your keys without ruining your just-done manicure? For the amount of money that I've spent getting my nails done and buying a ridiculous number of top coats, it's about time that they last for more than 5 minutes when I accidentally bump them trying to get in the car.
     Although you can't take Shellac off with regular nail polish, it only takes 10 minutes at the salon. A sticker is placed over each nail (so you can do something else while waiting, an added bonus), and after ten minutes the polish slides off. Check out the Shellac polish website for more information about how it works, where you can find a salon that offers it, and the colors available. I will definitely be getting this done over Christmas so be looking for a review of it. If anyone tries this before then, let me know how you like it!

Chanel Nails

     Chanel is my favorite brand, so naturally I wanted the double c's on my nails...

I'm off to start moving in things so I apologize if I'm MIA for the next few days :) But I'm sure I'll be taking a LOT of pictures so get ready!

Pearl Necklace Nails & Miscellaneous Ramblings

L.A. Girl Flare in Light Orange, Rimmel London Nail Tip Whitener, Sally Hanson Hard As Wraps top coat & rhinestones!

1. I painted my nails again last night, it's become somewhat of an addiction, haha. They're a light orange (Kind of hard to see in the pictures! Sorry for the Macbook photos!) Also excuse my work clothes :(

2. I finally got around to seeing Eat, Pray, Love today and I LOVED it! So inspiring, especially for where I am in my life right now. I started researching meditation a few weeks ago and now I'm convinced that I should try it out. I also have the urge to travel like crazy. 

3. I had seen this blogger's pictures all over and I've always saved them, but I finally found the source. The Notebook Doodles is my new favorite blog and I've been practicing copy her handwriting so that I can use it in my own notebook and for making cards. 

Criss-Cross Nails

     After spending probably too much money on nail polish (story of my life!), I redid my nails using Silver Mercedes by Pure Ice and white Stripe Rite polish. It was surprisingly easy to do my left hand (I'm right handed) so I definitely recommend Stripe Rite polish. Ahhhh, I love it. 

DIY Nails

     Since I've stopped paying tons of money every month to get my nails done at a salon, I've started being a little more creative doing them at home. I've been wearing a lot of really bright colors lately (I'm currently wearing Ogre-the-Top by OPI (part of Shrek collection). This is the next thing I'm going to try:

drips!

    I just got done trying out sparkle half-moons and this is what I got (sorry for the awful pictures, my camera refuses to focus):

One of these days I'm going to try a solid half moon so I'll post pictures after. I stumbled upon these nail designs that I'm in love with...How crazy are these nails done at WAH Nails in London?!

Andddd just for kicks:

DIY Nail Art

     A few weeks ago I went to the Women's International Show and bought the Konad C-3 nail stamping kit for $25. It comes with everyone in the picture below and basically all you do is paint over the image on the plate that you want, scrap the excess paint off, and then stamp it on your nail. All of the polish dries within 30 seconds so you have to move fast, but there's no down time waiting for it to dry once it's on your nail. Even though it's a $25 cost up front, I think it's worth it because nail art typically costs around $3 each time at the nail salon. 

     If you visit the Konad website you can pick between a TON of different products and image plates. You can also buy different color polishes for $6-7 each. Just email the company (info@konadusa.com) and they can place an order for you!

Matte About You

Photo Credit: http://headdress.tumblr.com/

     I have been DYING to try out the matte polish look, and I fell in love when I saw this manicure. If it wasn't the end of May right now, my nails would look like this 24/7. Not only is it super chic but it also mixes up the black polish look that's been so popular for the last few years. Your nails need to be short in order to keep it classy and definitely make sure that the glossy black tip isn't too thick. I would love to try it in red and in navy. Check out OPI's Matte Lincoln Park After Dark for black or Essie's Matte Finisher to instantly make any of your nail polishes matte!