Professionalism Day Means...Hot Pink Nails!

Today at the law school was an event known as "Professionalism Day"...also known as "Dress up like a lawyer and sit through presentations day" where we all broke out our suits and heels and had a show. Of course, always being sure to show some personality, I had to do a nail design that screamed I may be a lawyer but I like to have fun, too. Hence, some hot pink stamping. They looked perfect with my black suit and weren't over the top enough to get odd looks from the partners and law school professors who shook my hand. Nice! Now it's back to law school work.

In other news, does anyone have a nail blog that I can check out/follow?! One of the main reasons for starting this blog, apart from the fact that it allowed me to keep a portfolio of all the designs I had tried, was the community that I found on blogger. There were so many nail bloggers just like me and I was thrilled to get feedback from them and comment on their designs. As I was going through the list of blogs that Ihave followed for the past 3 years (since the beginning of Nikki's Nail Files) I noticed that so many are apparently inactive (haven't posted in like 8+ months!). Now I'm looking for a whole lot of fresh, active, and new nail blogs to keep me entertained and inspired with their incredible nail designs. Please please please leave your information (blog name and URL) in my comments (or email me!) and tell me what you post on your blog (designs, swatches, tutorials, reviews, etc). Although I love all things polish related I do prefer to follow blogs that most frequently post designs not just swatch posts (although I post swatches too and I love those as well). Thanks everyone and, if anyone responds, I look forward to checking out the blogs!

Nail News: Pick Up a Polish for Charity!

Toetally Tuesday - My favorite zebra

I used to do Toetally Tuesday posts because I thought pretty pedicures didn't get enough love on nail blogs. It's been a while but I'm going to say it's back!! And naturally I wanted to kick it back off with one of my absolute favorite nail designs ever...hot pink zebra tips! There's just something girly, fun, and eye-catching about these babies. The first time I did this was on my toes and it was even before I started this blog...as seen in the photo in my very first post that included a few designs I had snapped a picture of before the blog. That's how much I love this design, I was doing it even before this blog started. I've done it on my fingernails too but shockingly it hasn't made it on my blog yet!!

Tell me these are not fun. I dare you.

From the Vault: Halloween Nails for 2013

Before doing my adorable vintage taxi NYC inspired nails I had taken a bit of time to doll up my digits with a Halloween-themed manicure. I thought it was too far away from Halloween for me to post it though so I held onto it on my computer. Ten days is close enough for me to release these darling nails right? I'm not jumping on the Halloween spirit too early...even though my Halloween decals given to me by my older sister last year have been on my nails since I think October 1st. Following my 2012 Hocus Pocus inspired nails, this design seems so simple but a tad more "spooktacular" than the Hocus Pocus ones. I love the purple background, it looks really sharp with the black...if I do say so myself! =) I created some eerie trees with some bats flying beneath and then on the ring fingers I added a witch.  I'm sad looking back at them now knowing that I had to cut my nails down to nubs when I didn't have time to paint them for my interview (unpolished long nails creep me out to the max). I had so many Halloween manicures in mind but they need some length. Hopefully my nail nubs will grow out quickly!

Have I told you how much I LOVE stamping? I feel like I finally am getting the stamp where I want it (not crooked, half-on-the-nail-half-off, upside down, etc) and these manicures dry SOOO much quicker. I'm talking dry in seconds people!

Trip to NYC and Vintage Cabs

Today's post is inspired by my trip to NYC this past Wednesday with my sister to celebrate her birthday! We had such a great time doing some shopping, walking through Central Park, visiting a restaurant we haven't been to in years (do any of my NYC visitors know about the Cowgirl Hall of Fame??), and spoiling ourselves with some sweet treats from Financier and Cupcakes by Melissa. While we were there of course we saw some cabs so it got me thinking about a vintage cab inspired nail design! I looked online for a photo and found the one to the right (you'll go to the source if you click the cab photo). Also, with Halloween coming up the design reminded me of a costume that I look at literally every single year because it's so adorable. If I had actual plans for this Halloween I'd totally by it but my plans only consist of eating my weight in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and watching Hocus Pocus (remember my Hocus Pocus nails from last year?) Anyway, for these nails I did a yellow and black checker instead of white and black because I wanted the color and I got to use my BundleMonster plates to get the pattern. Gorgeous!

Newspaper Nails

As a study break today I tried my hands at the newspaper nail technique. I've seen so many pictures of the design and every time I thought they looked really nice for how easy it is to create them. All you need is a newspaper and alcohol. That's it! Mine turned out ok...a tad wonky on the pointer but, eh, first try.

Philadelphia Bridal Expo

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon with my Bride-to-Be older sister, my dear mom, and the official first bridesmaid Miss Kelly at the Philadelphia Bridal Expo!! It was so much fun and there were quite a bit of vendors there showing off their products and such. For example, check out the group of 3 photos to the right. The Bride-to-Be (BTB) reallllllly wants a photobooth for her wedding and I have to say, they are so much fun. The BTB (in the pink and black masquerade mask), Bridesmaid Miss Kelly (middle), and little ole Maid of Honor me (on the right) couldn't help but take advantage of a photo op. Love how it came out! So cute!

I have to say though, we were all a tad disappointed in the Bridal Fashion Show they had planned. The venue had a stage and would have been perfect for the modeling of the bridal gowns but instead they had the brides walk through the crowd (which not everyone could see). The BTB was disappointed and asked "Where are the lights?! Where is the music?!" I have to agree.

Anyway, I was planning on something white and whimsical and bridal for the corresponding manicure and I like how the design came out for the most part. I must admit, this is not freehand (it's much too perfect a design)...although I did add a white tip to sort of cap it off. 

Anyone have some good ideas for bridal nails? I have more bridal events coming up throughout the year (Bridal gown shopping, Bridesmaids dress shopping, Bridal Shower, etc) and I need some ideas! Help me out if you're reading this and I'll give the design a try!

Inspired by: Etsy Dress

I forget what I was looking for to make me find this little dress on Etsy but as soon as I saw it I thought it would make a cool nail design. Between the orange/red base, the white flowers, and black birds (are they birds?) and lines, the dress reminded me of summer and nice weather and being outside so I wanted to try to recreate this look on my nails. By the way, I really need to replace my black detailer polishes because they're getting clumpy and have started to leave little wisps of polish when I use them (you'll see what I'm talking about on my index finger). Anyway, this Etsy dress inspired my nail design for today!

To get this look I used OPI Flit A Bit, Zoya Snow White, and

 Kiss Brush On Nail Art Paints in Black and White.