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?