The Plunge.

After many months without a post, I've decided to leave fashion blogging behind.

You can still always find me on tumblr and twitter.

I'm not ready to give up blogging, but I realized the passion was gone and wanted to make a change. If you look back at my last few posts you can probably see that things were going to go in this direction...I've started a nail blog!

http://holymanicures.blogspot.com

Check it out if you're interested!

Acetone Injuries.

I haven't posted in a few weeks now, and that means that I'm a bit behind on sharing some of my favorite recent manicures! I especially liked the butterflies, I might even try that one again. I think the reason those ended up being at the top of my list is that they reminded me of two childhood toys.


I don't know if anyone had either of these but I remember being obsessed. I begged for the first one when I was little, and those nails immediately brought me back.

Also nail related, I've been thinking about starting a nail blog. I don't know exactly how I'd go about it, but I'm keeping it in mind. I already spend far too much time perusing other peoples' nail blogs.

Thoughts on any of the above?

It Was All The Truth.

It is hard to believe that I've been going to school in Manhattan for just over a month and so much has already happened. I haven't done my best at keeping up with sharing all that excitement with you, which means that although I'm sure each exciting thing that has happened deserves its own post, I'm going to attempt a little bit of condensing.

I had barely been in New York when Fashion's Night Out came around. I had been envious in years prior when I was stuck back home with no fashion events to speak of during FNO, which made me all the more excited to be able to participate this year. I tried to make my night worth it, squeezing in a trip to Bloomingdales to meet Rachel Zoe, a stop at Tiffany's to see Leighton Meester perform, and a quick stop at Coach to meet Seth Meyers. I am still seeing pictures on facebook from events I wish I could have made it to, but I think I made the most of the night. Just in September I have met more celebrities than I have in all of my life.

After kicking off fashion week with FNO, I was ready to get in on all the fashion week volunteer opportunities made available by FIT. I believe I ended up standing in lines for a total of four hours in order to sign up (two of which were done in the rain) but it was all worth it. There is really nothing like seeing your first real fashion show. I was able to volunteer for two Elle Style360 fashion shows, Abbey Dawn and Samantha Black. I got to watch all of the Abbey Dawn show and although the collection wasn't my style, the atmosphere was great. Old school Avril Lavigne songs were blasting and everyone was happy to be there, especially when they realized they were in the same room as Kim and Kourtney Kardashian and Brody Jenner sine Kylie Jenner was walking in the show. Next I was able to go backstage and help with a show, which was another great opportunity. Nik from America's Next Top Model and Angela Simmons were both walking in the show which resulted in a lot of very excited volunteers. There was a lot of chaos backstage, but getting to be a dresser for a fashion show is an excellent experience.

Not everyday gets to be quite as exciting as fashion week, but another way I have found a lot of cool opportunities is through the merchandising society at FIT. Each week the club meets and has a guest speaker. So far I've had the opportunity to see/hear people from both Burlington Coat Factory and Macy's. The club also had each of its memebers work an hour each week in their student run store. Not only is this going to be a great job to put on my resume, but I also have a feeling it is going to really enhance my jewelry collection. So far I'm at one hour worked, and one purchase made.

One of my more recent bits of excitement was going to an event for Tyra Banks' new book, Modelland. I heard Tyra would be at Barnes and Noble the morning of the event and decided I couldn't miss out on the opportunity. I got there extra early and was able to get a seat right near the front after picking up a signed copy of the book. Before Tyra came out and spoke I also was able to meet Coco Rocha.

I, of course, love Coco and could not have been any more excited when she sat in my row during the event. Seeing Tyra was great too, she talked about the book and answered a lot of audience questions. I guess I am becoming a bit celebrity obsessed because I even made a second trip last week to the New York Public Library for a different Tyra appearance. It was definitely worth going twice as soon as I hear Tyra sing "Be a Star" from the film she was in with Lindsay Lohan, Lifesize.


I'm glad I've finally shared a few of my favorite exciting moments from my time in New York. What was the most exciting thing that happened to you this month?

The Perfect Planet.

I guess despite the constant inspiration of living in New York and going to fashion school I still managed to let the past two weeks escape me in terms of blogging.

Getting back into the routine of blogging, I thought I'd share a particular piece of inspiration I picked up on in one of my fashion courses.

"Fashion must be the intoxicating release from the banality of the world."

I was happy to learn about a fashion quote I wasn't familiar with, and especially one I found so relatable. This Diana Vreeland quote perfectly describes fashion to me. Fashion is a means of escape when life is boring. When I read Vreeland's words for the first time I immediately imagined myself, in high school, always overdressed. The fashions you choose to wear don't have to suit the state of your world, rather they can alter your world. The perfect outfit can just add that little bit of necessary excitement to your day, and that is part of the magic of fashion.

I'd love to hear a quote you are enjoying at the moment!

Snail Mail No More.

If you are wondering why I'm starting today's post with a random shot of my bulletin board, the answer is that it's the home to my letter stating that I was a runner up in the Teen Vogue/CND nail art contest. I entered the contest back in the summer and didn't give it much thought after that. The first prize was going to fashion week, but at the time of the contest I was having a nail art related mental block and ended up just submitting something from the beginning of summer. I wasn't expected to hear anything back from Teen Vogue or CND, but around a week and a half this letter and twelve CND polishes showed up at my house!

I received 6 colors (Raspberry Plunge, Flashpoint, Electric Orange, Bicycle Yellow, Asphalt, and Oilslick) and 6 effects (Raspberry Sparkle, Copper Pearl, Sapphire Sparkle, Violet Shimmer, Gold Pearl, and Gold Shimmer), which can be layered over any other nail polish for a different result.

So far I've played around with most of the polishes and I love them. They are great quality, you can get a perfect opaque look in just one or two coats, and all the effects add so many different options. I haven't had the chance to do any crazy nail art with these just yet, but since this is a nail post, I thought I'd include a few of my recent favorites at the end!

That's it for now, hope your week is off to a great state!

New Location.

My first week at college was definitely eventful. There were a few too many orientation events, an earthquake, a lot of Pinkberry, and a hurricane.

I am supposed to start my classes tomorrow (after the first day of school had to be pushed back for Irene.) I feel like I'm starting to settle in (although I still need to get on the wall decorating) and I'm even en route to signing up for volunteering for fashion week. There is a lot of other excitement coming up, like Labor Day in New York and Fashion's Night Out.

I'm hoping to post pictures of my dorm soon but I still need to buy a rug and start hanging things on the walls. I don't know what to expect my work load to be like just yet, but I'm hoping to keep my posts regular especially because I know I already have a lot of new blogging material to work with.

Happy Monday! Hope you weathered the hurricane well. I'm off to prepare for a floor meeting, learn to do laundry, and hopefully fit in time to do my nails again.

Last Minute.

I decided I should try to squeeze in one last post from home amidst all my rushed packing. (I've never been very good with not procrastinating!) Tonight I'm driving up to just outside of New York and then on Sunday morning I'll be moving into my dorm.

I can't believe I'm about to start college. I haven't had much time to think about it because I've spent my last few days trying to finish up a bunch of different things. I've done more shopping this week than I have in the longest time.

Yesterday I dedicated a good five hours of my day to getting my hair done before moving in. I had a keratin smoothing treatment done, and so far I love it. I'll definitely be posting about that more very soon.

That is all for now because every time I look up there seems to be a new person at my door offering something else I can't forget to do in the next few hours! I'll be blogging again in the next few days, but from a brand new location.

The Light Frames Your Face.

Jeans have always been one thing I definitely don't enjoy shopping for (and I love to shop.) This mostly stems from the fact that I have a lot of trouble finding jeans that fit me right. I usually have to dedicate a long shopping trip or two to finding new jeans, involving trying on many pairs that don't fit right or are just freakishly long on me. After these trips are finished I often still find myself with jeans that still only fit "just okay", or sometimes worse.

So when I found myself in need of new jeans again, I decided to cut out all the struggle of trying to locate affordable and well fitting jeans by heading straight to Nordstrom. And it was as simple as that! I went into Nordstrom, asked the sales girl for suggestions on dark wash straight leg jeans that aren't too low of a rise. She immediately grabbed a pair of Citizens of Humanity Ava jeans. I tried on a few different sizes and found a pair that fit perfectly. They do alterations for free there so I didn't have to even take the length issue into consideration.

I debated about getting two pairs of the same style of jeans, but ended up deciding on a bootcut pair too in order to mix it up a little and better suit an outfit with heels. The salesperson told me that not many jeans have just a slight bootcut right now, most of them are a more dramatic flare, but once they would hem them for my height the flare would mostly be gone. She pulled a pair of Paige Premium Denim Skyline jeans and sure enough they were the perfect choice again.

In the end my two new pairs of jeans cost me a lot more than I'm used to, but I'm at peace with that since the higher cost was in exchange for less stress, better customer service, and most importantly a great fit and the right length.

Do you usually splurge on jeans or have you managed to find the perfect pair for a jealousy inducing price?

I Wanna Go.

One of the times that I have been most glad to be attending FIT in the fall was when I heard that the Museum at FIT's next exhibit is Daphne Guinness's clothing collection. The exhibit is expected to be the next great thing in New York after the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met.

The exhibit will feature 100 fashion items including pieces from McQueen, Lacroix, Chanel, and Valentino. You can preview a few of the items that will be on display by clicking here.

Other than looking forward to being so close to this exhibit all the time (this is definitely my idea of a good source of inspiration,) I'm also excited about all the other great opportunities New York provides. For example, I live in a small town in Maryland. Maryland seems to be a state that bands and musicians often leave off their tours. I rarely find concerts I'm interested here in Maryland, and I've already found two I want to see within my first few days in New York. Concerts are just one of many things I'm thrilled to have at my fingertips in the city.

Are there any concerts or museum exhibits you are hoping to see soon?

Don't Leave.

I guess I really let this week get away from me when it comes to blogging. I didn't want to make the mistake of postponing blogging any longer while I honed in on the perfect blog post idea, so I thought I'd share some more of my nail art for now.

I don't have any intentions of this becoming a nail blog although a lot of my July posts definitely veered in that direction. I just happen to spend a lot of time working on my nails, especially with my very unpacked summer schedule.

I think my blogging might have taken a hit again recently because I've really been slacking on keeping things in order, aka my room is a total mess and as I've mentioned previously, as soon as that happens I seem to become lazier. I'll definitely be getting it under control within the next few days!

In other news, come tomorrow I'll have exactly two weeks until I'm moving into my dorm in New York City. Pretty exciting! I still have a lot of prep work to do, I think I'm going to work on getting some of that done tomorrow and hopefully catch a showing of Crazy Stupid Love. I happen to love both Emma Stone and Steve Carell so that should round out a perfect college shopping filled day.

Hope you're enjoying your Saturday night!

Don't Break On Me.

When crackle nail polishes first started appearing all over the polish blogs I frequent I knew it would be a nail trend I'd be playing around with. As soon as OPI's Black Shatter was available I raced to pick up a bottle (the racing was necessary because Shatter quickly became impossible to find until places started restocking.) I also picked up Silver Shatter as soon as it became available. I enjoyed them both (especially the Black Shatter) but decided after having my fun and getting lots of fun manicures that it wasn't worth buying any more of the exciting colors they were releasing crackle polishes in.

I had come to peace with not being able to try every crackle color imaginable because it seemed like a bit of a waste since most crackle polishes are at least $8 a bottle. (OPI, China Glaze, Nicole by OPI, Sephora by OPI, and Sally Hansen have all come out with crackle polishes in a range of colors.) However, I was browsing Five Below and spotted the crackle pattern on the tops of a few nail polishes bottle. I had never tried a Funky Fingers polish before, but they were $3 each and decided that was the perfect price for a little more crackle experimentation.

I picked up four of their crackle polishes, and I believe they were also selling a black and a silver shade that I didn't need thanks to my OPIs. I bought the polishes in Blue Scales, Fuscia Scales, White Scales, and Gold Scales.

I tested out all the crackles on the manicure I had on at the time and decided to do a full manicure with Fuscia scales. I used it over China Glaze's Pink Voltage, which ended up being a really nice look.

I'm not dying over the crackle trend like I was when I first started wearing it back in January or February, but it's always fun to have a few cheap polishes to play with, and I think this is a great way for anyone who hasn't tried the crackle trend yet to take a stab at it.

Overall I was really pleased with the quality of these polishes, the brushes are a bit smaller than what I'm used to but they each polish crackled nicely, just as well as my OPIs. I don't have any negatives for these polishes, and you really can't beat $3. So, if this a trend you've been considering trying but would like to save a little money, try looking at a Five Below.

Have you tried a crackled manicure yet? Which brand has been your favorite?

Tore the Lines Up.

After a lot of debating and searching for the perfect comforter for my dorm, I finally went ahead and made a purchase last week. I ended up choosing a comforter from Target that has a soothing Tiffany blue damask print. The best part about finally having the comforter debacle put to bed is that now I can plan the rest of the dorm around it. I bought a few of the basics when I got the comforter (towels, sheets, pillows, etc.) but now I can purchase the fun decorative things that will make the dorm more like home.


My favorite dorm accessory I've picked up so far is this giant furry pillow. The photo certainly doesn't do it justice because I almost didn't recognize it when I looked online. In person the pillow is a very light off-white and is the softest thing ever. When I took a closer look at the tag it says that the pillow is actually a floor cushion. I'll probably mostly use it as an oversized decorative throw pillow, but if push comes to shove it'll work nicely as a bit of extra seating.

This post has just been a little preview to let you see how my dorm plans are starting to come together, but I'll definitely be sharing pictures when I move in (August 21st) and letting you see everything in place!

What's Your Damage?

I was reading an excellent article today about Heathers and I realized that I somehow haven't expressed my adoration for the film, Heathers in blog form yet. (If you love Heathers, you'll love the article. If you've never seen it, read the article and let it convince you to.)

Basically, if you aren't familiar with the film, it is the world's most perfect teen comedy. Forget Mean Girls, forget Clueless, forget anything else you're fond of. I love a lot of teen movies, but nothing compares to Heathers. I've heard it referred to as Mean Girls with murder, which does seem pretty accurate. But on top of that you have the impeccable 80's fashions, a lot of crazy thanks to Winona Ryder, a young Shannen Doherty, plenty of wit, and just as many great one liners as your previous favorites. It'll be hard for you not to be throwing out quotes your friends won't understand after seeing this one.

It's the kind of film that I'm always forcing friends to watch because I don't quite think I can express the awesomeness in words. If you are ever in the mood for a dark comedy, look no further. (Speaking of dark comedies featuring former Beverly Hills, 90210 cast members, check out House of Yes on Netflix too.)

I could probably drone on about the film forever, instead I'll just leave you with one of my favorite lines,

"Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast? First you ask if you can be red, knowing that I'm always red."

The Things That Fall.

For some reason I can never position my fingers right for nail photos and they come out looking kind of weird, but anyway, I realized today that it looks like I've been majorly slacking on the blog posts! I really didn't want that to be the case, so I thought I'd share the two different looks I wore on my nails this week. I bought some new nail art supplies recently so I've been having fun trying different things out.

You can expect another post this weekend!

Things I Can't Live Without This Week.

Heels

I used to wear heels all the time, I've always loved wearing them, even in high school when no one else would. At some point though I stopped wearing them as much, maybe it had to do with having to run to make it to class on time every morning during my last semester of school (I like to sleep.) Anyway, I'm getting back into the swing of things and remembering all the cute heels I used to love to wear. It actually took seeing a petite friend looking adorable and perfectly dressed for summer in a pair of wedges to remind myself how much I adore heels.

Netflix and 30 Rock

Summer means relaxation to me, and relaxation just so happens to involve a lot of television and movies. I've taken an extreme liking to being able to use the watch instantly feature on Netflix. I've already gone through multiple shows and movies, my favorite so far being 30 Rock. I've always loved the show but decided to re-watch it from the beginning, totally making myself love it a million times more. Now I'm looking for a new show to watch and take up some of my spare time with, so I'd love suggestions!

Online Shopping

I've been doing my fair share of online shopping lately. It started with a book I needed for school, then it was a FIT t-shirt, then a laptop case (I chose a Speck Satin See-thru case in Peacock.) I also ordered a bunch (25) plates for stamping designs onto my nails. I'm a big fan of shopping in person too, but there is definitely a thrill whenever a box shows up on the doorstep with my name on it.

Skyscraper

I'm not a huge Demi Lovato fan, but her new song Skyscraper came up in my newsfeed on facebook and I decided I should just take a listen. Well, I haven't been able to stop listening. The vocals are great and I love all the emotion in the song. I've had it on repeat, which is something else I found on facebook, a way to play videos in a constant loop! Love.

Stationary

One of my good friends is going to the Coast Guard Academy and for her summer there she isn't allowed to use any kind of social networking or have her phone. Her only way to keep in touch with her friends is through letters, which has ended up inspiring my love for cute stationary. I found a bunch of cute prints and patterns at Marshalls, which I highly suggest if you are in the market for any. It makes writing your letter so much more fun. I figure I'll have plenty of opportunities to send hand written notes when I'm applying for internships when I'm at school too. My favorite stationary so far is a set of cute flat cards with cold Eiffel towers embossed on them. They're so cute I left them on display on my desk!

Stud Earrings

At the beginning of this school year I decided to take a break from earrings. I don't know why, one night I took my everyday pair out and ended up keeping them out. For a few months I didn't wear them at all, and then I switched to just wearing a cute pair every once in a while. Now I've gone back to just wearing simple diamond studs in my first hole at all times. I like seeings just a flash of shimmer when I catch a glimpse of my ears in the mirror, so I think I'll be sticking with them for a while.

Turquoise Jewelry

My mom gave me an old turquoise ring of hers after I admired it in her jewelry box, and it has been my favorite piece of jewelry to wear lately. Turquoise seems so perfectly fitting for summer, and I love pulling out the different tones in the stone with a pair of dark army green highwaisted shorts.

Do-Over.

I recently posted about my nail polish collection storage and I decided that I should also share some of the nail art I have been doing recently. I used to not care for more than just a solid color on my nails, but now I love to experiment with my nails. The look above was done by creating a gradient with a makeup sponge and then stamping the dots on using Konad.

I tried a few different tactics with this look. I wore these nails for graduation and wanted something really fun. I started with an orange base color and added a glitter polish to a few of my nails. On some I completely covered the nail, and on others I did another gradient. I also stamped on flowers and dots.

This was one of my first looks using Konad. This is one of my favorite patterns I have for stamping, it is perfect for spring and summer.

I've done looks similar to this a few times because I love it so much. This version was all about the neons. I stamped the leopard print onto my nails (but if your hands are more steady than mine you can do this look freehand) and then used a dotting tool (a toothpick or bobby pin works too) to add the dots to the leopard spots.

This was a fun paint splatter look. Anyone can do this one, all you need to do is start with a base color and then dip a straw into nail polish and blow through the other end so it will splatter onto your nails.

This is another one of my favorite looks I've done. It's a funky lightning bolt french tip that I was able to do by using tape for straightedges.

Those are just a few of the fun things I've done recently! How are your nails painted at the moment?

Patterned Rugs and Recovery.

I've learned a few things about myself, other people, and stuff in general since starting a job in retail. Here are a few things that I've thought about.

• Comfortable shoes are the most important thing in the world. And why are flats supposed to be more comfortable than heels, yet always so painful?
• People are really gross and messy sometimes. I don't know how hard it is to hang things up when you are done trying them on. Especially when they are already on a hanger but are thrown on a chair/in a bin/on the floor anyway.
• I've become much more aware of when people greet me and how I respond. It is uncomfortable when you greet people and they just ignore you.
• When you stealthily hide something you don't want somewhere other than where it belongs someone will notice. They will notice even more if they just took that item down from a really high rack for you or just looked all over the store for it.
• Baby clothes are the best.
• Hangers are the worst. They like to poke holes in plastic bags and always seem to get in the way.
• The person asking you to sign up for a credit card or write down your email is just as uncomfortable as you are.
• People really enjoy telling me they want to make a change to their purchase after I have passed the point where that is possible. For example: noticing something came up as a different price than it should have, remembering they had a coupon, etc.
• People are willing to wait around for a manager to come so that you can fix that thing they noticed at the last minute, even if it only makes a $1.00 difference.

What are things your job has taught you?

Or if you would like to participate and don't have a job/have never learned anything in a working situation, how am I going to do my nails next?

Redundant In a Good Way.

This pile of stuff is what would eventually become my Melmer. If you're wondering if you are supposed to know what a Melmer is, don't worry. A Melmer is a small 3-drawer filing cabinet style storage system. The name was coined by the online beauty/nail polish community and comes from a product Ikea sells, called the Helmer. The Helmer started being used as nail polish and makeup storage, and then when people started using something similar from Michaels for the same purpose, it became known at the Melmer. The storage system is actually intended for scrapbooking storage, but happens to work perfectly for storing nail polish too. I was in desperate need of a new storage system, and decided I couldn't go wrong with the Melmer. I've been considering it for a few weeks now and finally got around to going to Michaels where I picked one up. (If you go to the store, don't ask for the Melmer, they'll have no idea what you mean.) The original price was $35.00 but Michaels has a lot of great sales (when I was planning to go a few weeks ago I had a 50% off coupon) and I was able to get it for 40% off, which after tax ending up costing me $22.00.


Once I got the Melmer home I was eager to build it and get everything organized (I love both organization and nail polish so it seemed like a win win situation.) However, I'm not the most handy person in the world. Despite that, I set to work building the Melmer. It thankfully wasn't too complicated, but it was time consuming for me. I decided not to pay attention to the time though, I just set Pandora on my favorite station at the moment (Hedley) and stayed focused. The picture was taken over 2/3 of the way through my building adventure, which did end up being a good excuse to break out my paisley tape measure.


And here is the Melmer finished and waiting to be filled with polish!


I had a bit of trouble getting photos of the polishes actually in the drawers. Things were either too blurry or too bright or not even close.


After playing around with my camera settings a bit I ended up getting the best results with the "food" setting. Who would have guessed? I was able to fit all of my nail polish into one drawer of the Melmer. There are around 115 polishes in that drawer, which means it really can hold a ton of polish. Currently I have the polishes organized first my brand and then by color, but I might change things depending on what ends up being the most convenient for me. I have a tendency to organize and reorganize until things are perfect.


Right now the second drawer is home to all things deemed "nail polish related." That means base and top coats (recommend me a new base coat while we're on the topic), files, buffers, nail art tools (more on my favorite one, Konad, in another post), etc. This drawer still has plenty of room and I haven't even touched the third drawer. That leaves me lots of room to expand my nail polish collection and it also means I can keep other things in the Melmer too, which is what I plan to do at school. I haven't quite decided what yet but I know there will be something! After seeing the Melmer in person I even think it could work a bit of double duty in my dorm come fall as a night stand too.

Question time! You know I love to hear your thoughts too. Today I want to know:

1. How do you store your nail polish?
2. Is nail polish something you love to collect or something you prefer to keep to just a few favorite shades?

Happy 4th of July!

Pink Lemonade Season.

It seems like an update is in order. Have two months seriously passed since my last post?

• I graduated high school at the beginning of June.
• I received an award for achievement in design.
• I received a senior superlative in the student newspaper for "Most likely to take over the world when you least expect it."
• I got a summer job working in retail.
• I'm spending most of my time thinking about college and living in NYC.

That is it for my little update, but I'm going to be moving to Manhattan in less than two months (hard to believe) and I know I'll have lots to blog about during that time, and even more once I'm in school. This is going to be the beginning of much more regular posting!

Talk to you soon, looking forward to it.

The Day Awaits.

On the agenda for Thursday:
-AP Literature test
-Interview for summer job (retail!)
-Rewarding myself with fro-yo
-Waiting for the weekend