stiletto nails

Beauty, Fashion, Manicure

Experimenting with Nail Shapes

When it comes to manicures, I think that I am very traditional. I never get too crazy with my nails…I’m not afraid of bright or wild colors color, but they need to be tasteful. Clean, simple, and classy is the route I usually take.

Lately, I’ve been mixing things up a bit, not so much with color and design, but with shape!

You’re used to seeing me posting my square / squoval nails all over the place, but I’ve been working to achieve the stiletto look. I’m trying to create a more appealing, work-appropriate version of the super long, weapon-like shape:

Eek! These actually aren’t too harsh compared to some others out there! Credit

I began this nail journey last week, it took 3 brand new nail files to finally get rid of my square shape! My nails started out very oval, and not so stiletto. It’s funny to think how drastic of a change this felt!

As they grew, I began rounding them off more & more…

Over the weekend, I sharpened them up even more…and I changed the color to this great blue shade. It was a Confetti polish  “Blue Bombshell”.

Before it was time to go back to work on Monday, I re-painted my nails a deep burgundy:

You can tell how far they’ve come & how much more they have to go, but I must say that they are totally growing on me! I can’t wait to for them to get a little bit longer so I can really achieve the look.

What do you think of stiletto nails? Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone when it comes to nail shape? What style are you usually rocking? Let me know 🙂

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Beauty, Fashion, Food, Makeup, Manicure, Uncategorized

2012 Fall Favorites

Fall is one of my favorite times of year…the colors, smells, food, and fashion- to die! Not so lucky for us on the East Coast, this Fall has been aggressively interrupted by Hurricane Sandy, and most recently this friendly little Nor’easter named Athena. While my state, and town are currently buried in fresh white snow, I wanted to bring it back and remember that regardless of what we may feel…winter is not here yet!

To help get back in the mind set, I picked out some of my absolute favorite things about Fall 2012 thus far- enjoy!

Fall nailpolish! This has been a favorite of mine this season: Essie Bordeaux
This manicure is two coats of Gelish “Sweet Chocolate” with two coats of Essie “Bordeaux” on top. I’m in love with the pairing!
Transitional season jackets! I love this black leather one that I picked up at Marshalls a couple of years ago!
Candles! I burn candles year round, but the Fall scents are my favorites. My go-to’s are Vanilla, Pecan Pie, Fresh Baked Cookies, and Pumpkin Spice 🙂
My midnight snack: Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt. I am obsessed with their Blueberry Vanilla Graham flavor!
Halloween! This is one of my favorite days of the year! I usually like to get super creative, but kept it simple this year. Here’s the funny thing about our costumes: my boyfriend has to grow his hair out, one night we were playing around with it and he looked JUST like Danny Zuko! So we thought it’d be fun to dress up as Sandy & Danny for Halloween. Before you know it, we were about to get hit with Hurricane Sandy & everyone decided to dress the same in honor of the storm! I didn’t even really care for the costume, we did it all for his hair- which he barely ended up styling LOL. So you’ve heard it here: I did not dress up in honor of Hurricane Sandy, I dressed up to compliment my boyfriends locks!
Belts! I love adding a belt to a plain pair of slacks or around a simple sweater!
My Louis Vuitton 🙂 I got this bag last year & it is so special for many reasons! I carried it right up until the beginning of Spring last year, and then packed it up until Fall- in my opinion it’s far too seasonal to carry throughout the summer! Ever since, I have been itching to take it out again. I think that sometime this week I’ll transfer everything & start carrying it again!
Bath & Body Works Paris Amour hand lotion, Gelish NOURISH cuticle oil, Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing “Fearless” Gloss, and a Revlon nail file. These three items are crucial, the lotion & oil I use at least a dozen times per day- my hands and nails get very dry once the weather starts to get chilly. I must have them on me (in my purse) at all times. 😉
Seasonal phone wallpaper. It seems silly, but I always change my phone background with the seasons, holidays, etc. I had a colorful Fall scene for a while, but I just changed it to this gorgeous photo once the snow started coming down today! I know it’s borderline Winter, but I found it on Google a while ago & have been dying to use it. (I believe it was shot by Madeline Bea Photography– she has gorgeous work!)
Big, cozy sweaters! I bought this wrap from H & M in 2007 and still adore it 🙂
Family dinners: Fall is all about cooking! I spent last weekend cooking a mini Pre-Thanksgiving dinner with my Mama. Nothing I love more than spending time with my family 🙂
Everything APPLE! My Apple Crisp pie is hands down my favorite Fall recipe (and always a crowd pleaser!) I’ve already baked two this season & plan on making at least a couple more. Let me know if I should post the recipe!
Half/Oval/Mini-Stiletto Nails: I decided to try a completely new nail shape. I attempted this look almost a year ago & hated it! I decided to give it another shot except this time around I used a different filing technique & am currently in love with these nails! As they slowly grow longer, the pointier I’m able to shape them 🙂 (Polish = Gelish “Black Cherry Berry”)

Those are just a few of my favorite things this season! What are you loving about Fall this year? Let me know 🙂

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