Manicure Monday!

Tanie has been running her weekly Manicure Monday posts for a minute now, and today I finally got my act together to play along! Not gonna lie: I have an embarrassingly large nail polish color collection. So really there's no excuse for my talons not to be dressed their best too.

And heh, my nails matched my outfit today. I decided to do a neons twist on the crescent moon/half moon mani. 

Butter Tea with the Queen, OPI Did it On 'Em

Nail art has definitely made some strides into the mainstream--anyone have some awesome nail art blogs to recommend? My coordination and skills aren't quite there yet, but I love to look at what people have managed to create!

Zoya Twitter promo

Zoya colors: Midori, Pasha, Loredana

Did anyone else jump on this a couple of days ago?

Zoya recently did a promotion where they promised to give away three bottles of polish for free to customers if they could hit 5000 Twitter followers.

I just got mine in the mail a few days ago and I'm really happy with the product overall. Their shtick is their polish is the longest wearing all natural polish - no horrible chemicals and it's nice to your nails.

I was skeptical because I felt like certain chemical ingredients existed in nail polish for a reason. But so far the colors I chose look amazing and my current manicure (in Midori!) has lasted four days without chipping.

Reviews on polish blogs (scrangie.com and the Nailphile are two I frequent) are also glowing. At $8 a pop, they are even comparable to other salon brands. Love it.

Things I'm Digging

With the whirlwind events of last month, I haven't really had a lot of time to shop. My friends and coworkers may disagree with me on this point, but usually a lot more thought and planning goes into any purchases than my closet (and credit card bill) implies. Maybe it was because of all of the vacation time I took (where almost all rules are off), or maybe it was because I was too busy to even snoop my usual haunts. I used to stalk all my favorite stores, boutiques, and online sample sales regularly-- mentally noting price reductions and remaining stock. I used to keep a bulletin board to plan modes of attack.

Wardrobing is tough in tough times. I guess the real reason I've fallen out of line is that I've been trying to distract myself with less expensive hobbies. But despite all the cupcake baking, designing on a dime, and being a cat lady, it's hard not to be sucked into amazing new fall things.

Starting with nails. I like to be lacquered up at all times and don't like to wear the same color all the time. Maybe this stems from my obsession with The Hills.

I looove the new matte nailpolishes. And Karen O. She's modeling here for Knock Out Cosmetics flatte polish. OPI and Zoya have also come out with incredible looking shades this season. Flat but with a shimmer, almost like wearing asphalt nails. Did anyone snag any during the Zoya Twitter promotion?

Speaking of Karen O, the model in the July Anthro catalog was styled to look so much like her! I found this to be surprisingly both hardedged and quirky, which felt very new for them. I also LOVE this month's catalog, which I just got yesterday - they pulled real people from New York, Paris, and London to be photographed in the clothing. It feels like Garance Dore, the Sartorialist, and lookbook.nu in print form and styled very fresh and not just the preppy/bohemian/girly world traveler-whimsical woman Anthro typically portrays.

Real family. I love the genuine expressions!

Free People Corset Heels, $198 and Jeffrey Campbell Rilla, $242

Edgy but still feminine - Ann D. inspired boots at (somewhat) reasonable price points. I was dying for a pair of these last season (I so don't care if they're so last season) and almost took a crazy leap (into major debt). I'm glad I held out because I really dig the suede version.

Rebecca Minkoff 3-zip clutch, $295

Rebecca Minkoff just reels me in each season with something extra special. In the Spring it was the punchy mini minis. This season it is this hot little number. Zippers? Tassels? Chain strap? Do I really need to explain this one?

J. Crew Wool Ruffle-front coat, $268

Do we love this coat? Yes. Will we be able to accept this as a substitute for the grey Manoush coat I didn't buy last season? Yes. Do I still have that photo of that charming girl wearing the coat and refer to it frequently? Yes.

The photo in question. From the Sart.

Maybe the fashion bug still has its hold on me after all. Though I must say, from this overview it looks like I'll be wearing a lot of black this upcoming season. Once I figure out where to shoot I'll start posting outfit photos again.

xo