valentine in july

That’s what I feel like today…

I like this pink striped miniskirt; since it’s pretty body-skimming I kept things conservative up top:

Forever 21 miniskirt, H&M button-up shirt, Report flats, Banana Republic studded bar necklace, Classic Hardware heart charm bracelet, Forever 21 patent belt.

I’ve got Fing’rs Edge press-ons on again today, this time sheer with pink and black argyle-patterned tips.  Decorative French tips sorta make me feel like a softcore porn actress, but at the same time I kind of like that whole cheesy vibe.

Over the weekend I also tried out another 99¢ brand of crackle nail polish, Santee Shatter in neon pink, on my toes:

I think this brand might be my favorite of all the crackle polishes I’ve tried; the pattern comes out just right.  I painted it on over Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Petal Pusher.

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stripes and swirls

Took a cue from Moschino Resort ’12 today by combining a demure silhouette with mismatched prints:

For jewelry, a ton of rhinestones.

Xhileration blouse, Mossimo for Target sweater, Stop Staring! patent belt, Forever 21 skirt, Report flats, Banana Republic and 99¢ rhinestone rings, both pairs of glasses from the Del Amo Indoor Swapmeet

cracked and shattered

For 4th of July weekend I wanted to do something kinda seasonal with my nails without getting all obvious about it.  Over the weekend I picked up a couple of new shatter nail polishes at my favorite 99¢ bodega (shocking, I know) and I was eager to try them out.  Patriotically, I had picked out red and blue shades, so here’s what I’m working with for Independence Day:

Cherimoya 2012 Cracked in Savior over Essie in Silken Cord.  Accent nails: Kleancolor Crack in Red Crackle over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Celeb City.

The two different crackle lacquers reacted differently — the Cherimoya 2012 is great and works pretty much like the OPI shatter polishes.  It starts cracking immediately and has a pretty uniform vertically-aligned pattern to it.  The Kleancolor is weirder; it cracks inward verrrrrrry slowly and is more subtle, as you can see in the photos.  Over some polishes the Kleancolor just dries and flakes off immediately, but it seems to work best over metallics and shimmers.  Ultimately I think I would recommend the Cherimoya 2012 Crack overall — it’s super cheap and comes in 24 awesome colors.  I’m going to grab some more bright shades next time I hit up the bodega for sure.

Speaking of bright shades, my friend Allison just sent me this New York Times article about wild nail polish going mainstream.  The comments are interesting; lots of readers seem to maintain that all nail polish is completely tacky.  What do you think?

pressing on

Okay, press-on nails are gross and trashy and a little creepy and vaguely softcore porny.  But secretly they are also kind of awesome.  I mean, how else can you sit down and in fifteen minutes have a complete set of fully done digits that look like this?

These are Chinese “Sweety” press-ons clearly meant for children (fortunately I have tiny baby hands, so I was able to make them work).  I picked them up for 99¢ at one of my favorite North Long Beach bodegas, and they definitely fulfill my lazy/tacky/cute fingernail requirements.  I got a set in yellow as well:

Like, what?  They’re so weird and cute and ridiculous and cheap, I just couldn’t resist them.