Nail of the Week: Matte/Gloss

Revlon's new shade Surf is a great muted blue option for Fall. To add some dimension I used the topcoats NYC Matte Me Crazy and China Glaze Patent Leather.

Nail of the Week: Simply Striped

I looked for a milky white shade that was glossy and semi-opaque and I found it in Sally Hansen's Polar Bare. The blue is essie Beach Bum Blu and I used nail tape for the pink metallic stripe. 

Nail of the Week: Summer Berry

This shade is Butter London Queen Vic. It has a slightly jelly-like finish so the topcoat (China Glaze Patent Leather) really brings out the shine. This was my first Butter London purchase and I'm not sure if I’ll splurge on another $14 shade soon (although I did use an Ulta coupon). The quality seems standard, nothing special, and I found the brush a little too thin and flimsy to get an even application. Your mileage may vary of course—I know this brand has a devoted following. On the positive side I do like that this polish is DPB, Toulene and formaldehyde free. 

Nail of the Week: China Glaze Aquadelic

I love this shade as a more vibrant version of Revlon Sheer Seafoam which I bought a few months ago. I also gave CG's Patent Leather topcoat a try here. I like it, but found it's just as good as my favorite glossy topcoat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Clearly Quick.

Nail of the Week: Sally Hansen Good Morning Glory

This is another of my favorites from SH' Spring 2012 limited edition nail polish strip collection. It's mostly sold out everywhere, but I still see the display here and there and I happened to spot this at Walgreens yesterday. These are so lovely and feminine—perfect for a summer bridal shower or cocktail party. 

Nail of the Week: Pink Lemonade

I used a gradient to create this soft, summery mani design. The shades are:

• Sally Hansen HD Hue
• L'Oreal I Pink I'm in Love

Nail of the Week: Summer Blues

Time for those bright, vibrant blue shades that seem to look best in the summer. Here's a stunner—beach bum blu from essie. I tried to find a lower end dupe but this is such a unique shade I couldn't find anything close.

Nail of the Week: Blue and Green Color Blocked

I used nail tape to separate the three stripes. My shades are:

• Top: Revlon Blue Mosaic
• Middle: essie Sweet Talker
• Bottom: Sinful Colors Mint Apple 

Nail of the Week: Pale Purple Gradient

I have so many beautiful shades of purple in my nail polish collection. Here are just a few. From the bottom up:

• Revlon Lilac Pastelle
• Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac
• Sally Hansen No Hard Feelings
• China Glaze Full Spectrum (layered over No Hard Feelings)

Nail of the Week: Revlon Sheer Seafoam

I usually don't have the patience for sheer polishes because it takes so many layers to build up some actual color payoff. This shade, from Revlon's Spring/Summer 2012 limited edition Escapism collection, was worth the effort.

It took me 6 heavy layers to get it as dark as I wanted, but I love the result—it has a beautiful glasslike quality and it's so glossy that no topcoat was needed. Teals are hot right now and this shade is a great choice if you want a toned-down look.

Nail of the Week: Easter Peeps

I'm still getting the hang of applying these Sally Hansen nail polish strips, but here's my best effort. This adorable Easter print is called Not a Peep.

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.

Valentine's Day Nail of the Week: Fishnet Nails

This design was created with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lovely Lilac and a half-yard of black lace from Jo-Ann Fabrics. The key is to apply the lace while the nail polish is still wet, then once it dries seal it with a clear top coat.

Nail of the Week: Water Marbled Hearts

It's been a while since I've used my favorite nail art technique. I found it incredibly difficult to produce actual hearts so I settled for this more abstract design—at least I got the color scheme right! As usual I used YouTube as my training guide. 

Nail of the Week: My First Gel Mani

I took my favorite nail model Aryana for gel manicures yesterday. The salon we went to was using Gelish brand nail polish.

We both loved Aryana's results. She chose the hot pink shade Shake it Til You Samba with black zebra stripes.

I have mixed feelings about mine. I got pink (It's a Lily) layered under a blue glittery top coat (Izzy Wizzy, Let's Get Busy). I love the smooth, glass-like texture but I wish I had chosen darker shades since both colors looked darker in the bottle.

Now we'll see if they stand the test of time—gel nails are supposed to last for weeks without chipping.

Nail of the Week: Emerald Express

This deep jewel tone from Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri collection is a great Christmas shade. I used a gold striper to add an extra holiday twist.

Nail of the Week: Silver Bells

Time for some silver—my nail posts have been heavy on the gold lately. The hi-glitz shade I'm wearing is Showgirl Chic from Sally Hansen's new Gem Crush collection. Great for New Year's Eve! The glittery purple shade I'm holding in the picture below is Be Jeweled.

Nail of the Week: Winter Wonderland

Here's a snowy nail art design that's easy to create freehanded. I started with two layers of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Deep Blue Sea. For the snowbanks I used NYC Cashmere Cream and Sinful Colors Snow Me White. The snowflakes are from a set of Nailene decals I bought at CVS. I covered it all with a layer of Sally Hansen Disco Ball.

Nail of the Week: Holiday Royale

I love this glamorous half moon design for Christmas—L'Oreal's Caught Red-Handed is the ultimate holiday red with a subtle gold shimmer.

Nail of the Week: Snow Bunny

It's not officially winter yet, but we've already had a snowstorm in New England. This is a cute alternative to all the dark shades so many of us wear in the fall and winter. To create this look I wanted a very specific shade of light pink, but everything I had was too sheer, too light or too dark. Here's what I finally came up with:

• 1 thin layer of Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl
• 2 thick layers of Sinful Colors Glass Pink
• 1 layer of Sally Hansen Disco Ball