Nail of the Week: Japanese Manicure

Here's my first attempt at the 3D nail art technique known as Japanese manicure. Designs for this technique are fun and creative and “anything goes”. I chose a corsage theme for this one. Usually florals are done with miniature acrylic flowers—I used a combination of scrapbook decals and miniature earrings (posts were cut off with a wire cutter.) Enjoy! Comments and feedback welcome.

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips Avril Lavigne Collection

Avril Lavigne and her punk/skater girl persona seem so 10 years ago so either she's making a comeback or just in a retro mood. 

I'm surprised more celebrities haven't jumped on this train because this product is selling like gangbusters and Sally Hansen is fast and furious at churning out the new limited edition collections.

Anyway this collection has some cool patterns. My picks are the rainbow leopard print Purr-fect Harmony and the metallic gradient Crowd Surfer.

Nail of the Week: Sally Hansen Aflorable

I like this print for today because it has some green for St. Patrick's Day, plus the springlike print will be perfect for the first day of spring (Tuesday). 

Brighten Up Your Day with Neons: Target Xhilaration Green Crossbody

This preppy green handbag will brighten your day and your outfit. Just $19.99 at target.com.

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Brighten Up Your Day with Neons: Nars Lipstick in Schiap

This is the hottest of hot pink lipstick shades. If it's too intense for you, try a sheer hot pink such as Tokidoki's sheer lip balm in Pink Martini. Both available at sephora.com.

Brighten Up Your Day with Neons: Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Tenacious Teal

Teal is trending this spring and I've been craving it myself as an antidote to my usual neutrals. I would pair this superbright shade with a soft lip color such as Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss.

Brighten Up Your Day with Neons: American Apparel Nail Polish

Nothing like the brightest of colors to clear out the winter cobwebs. Pastels are so last week, right now I'm feeling neons. First up: American Apparel Neon Nail Polish. $6 for one or buy all 6 shades with a clear top coat for $32.

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Sweet Handbags for Spring: H&M Apricot Striped Shoulder Bag

I love the colors and vintage 80's feel of this casual cotton bag from H&M. What a steal at $17.95!

Not available online but like the Jason Wu clutch below this is totally worth the trip.

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Sweet Handbags for Spring: Jason Wu for Target Straw Clutch

Act fast, there are still a few of these left from the mostly-sold-out Jason Wu for Target collection. Use the Target website to find the nearest store that still has it in stock. At $29.99, it's worth the trip. Alternatively these are selling on Ebay for $40-$50—still a bargain considering that a clutch purse from Wu's high-end line will run you upwards of $680.

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Sweet Handbags for Spring: Michael Kors 'Flight'

Looking forward to spring, and to celebrate I've picked three fresh handbags that can take you right into summer. First up: the Michael Kors Flight Crossbody in turquoise. The shade is right on trend and this compact leather bag has pockets galore. Bonus—it's on sale at nordstrom.com, $149 down from $228!

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Pastel Nails for Spring

Spring has not quite sprung in New England but with Easter a month away I'm feeling pastels. Somehow they look better on a mixed palette. Here are my picks:

• Revlon Sunshine Sparkle (yellow)
• Revlon Angelic (pink)
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac (lavender)
• Essie Sweet Talker (blue)
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mint Sorbet (green)

The bottle I'm holding is a beautiful pale lavender from Revlon called Lilac Pastelle.

New Spring Designs from Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips

This display in Target contains some old designs and some adorable new spring ones. I especially like the green gingham design Checker Out.

Mermaid Nails 2

Here's another entry for my mermaid nails collection. For this mani I used 5 different shades, each of which are so gorgeous they would look perfect on their own. But they look even more beautiful together. I created a gradient design using, from the bottom up, the following shades:

Revlon Gold Coin

Revlon Downtown

Revlon Blue Mosaic

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