I hate sitting and waiting for my nails to dry! It is extremely annoying, but here are a few tips to dry that mani quickly.

The Fastest Way to Dry Nail Polish

Dunk your hands in a bowl of ice-cold water. “The cold water freeze-dries polish, sealing and hardening it quickly,” says Belinda Rivera, a nail specialist in Austin, Texas. Allow nails to air-dry for two minutes, then submerge in ice-cold water for three minutes, which is enough time for the polish to harden completely.

Another option: Blast nails with cool air from a hair dryer in between coats. This helps each layer of color dry as you go.

Quick tip: Old nail polish can take forever to dry, since time can turn polish gooey and thick. Toss bottles when the polish begins to change color or separate. At that point, the lacquer has probably thickened and become unusable.

Source

The new year is upon us and it is about that time that everyone sets goals that they want to accomplish throughout the year. I don’t necessarily believe people have to wait until January 1 to make a change, but for many people this is a good starting point. I always write my goals out in various categories such as: faith, relationships, career, finances, health, etc. So this year I added two new categories, fashion/style and beauty thought it would be fun to share my fashion and beauty resolutions with you all for the upcoming year.  So here it goes…

1. Shop my closet: When I shop, I sometimes forget to think about what I already own. I sometimes end up with two or three of the same or very similar items. It’s not until I get home and put everything away that I realize I had something similar. So I can only buy things that I don’t already own.
2. Create more creative looks: When I say creative looks, I don’t mean “crazy.” I usually stick to classic pieces, which you can never go wrong with, but I want to play around with more colors, textures, prints, and accessories
3. Buy more accessories: My accessories collection is slowly fading, and accessories transform an outfit. So when I shop, I will look for accessories first, since they are significantly cheaper than purchasing an entirely new outfit, to create different looks.
4. Use my makeup: I have A LOT of makeup, not as much as a makeup artist, but I only wear makeup when I’m going out or on the weekends. Sometimes I don’t feel like getting up 15-minutes earlier to “put on my face” for work. So I must not waste my money and use what I have.
5. Hair Rules: I want to try different styles. I have three “signature” styles that I rock now: my good ol’ faithful doobie wrap, a sleek-chic ponytail, and curly/waves. I want to try different hairstyles to switch up my look. Also work on getting my hair healthier. I am not on this “natural” bandwagon that most people are on. I was considering going natural, but then I really thought about it and thought why? My hair is healthy now, and I am relaxed, but I want it to grow fuller and longer.
6. Nails, Nails, Nails: I used to do my at home manicures every Sunday, then I fell behind with some things at work and spent my Sundays trying to catch up instead of pampering myself. So I need to keep up with my manicures because they do wonders for my old lady hands.

What are your 2011 fashion and beauty resolutions?

Last week I did a post on the couture manicure featuring YSL nail polish (click here to read) and this week my sister, niece, and I went to the nail salon for or manis. So here are the photos.

She really wants to be like mommy and auntie, so my sister let her get her nails done like this. She has pink and yellow nail polish with blackberry flower thumbs (that is my sister’s phone)

My sister has a mint green and white version.

All three of us together. I have a purple and pink combo.

I think the couture mani will be my “thing” for the summer. Its fun!

What do you think about HGBs Couture Manicure?

For the past year the nail craze was to paint four fingernails one color and have the one nail (usually the ring finger) a complimentary color. Well that is still a trend, and obviously many people have becomed bored with it, and so the latest nail fad is what HighSnobette have coined as “The Couture Manicure.”

This is a spin on the traditional french manicure. Many of you are probably rocking this look now, but during the summer be prepared to see combos like orange and pink, yellow and blue, peach and teal. Well not only is HighSnobette showing the “couture manicure” they also debuted the new collection from YSL Beauty which launches in August. More photos and details about the colors below

The collection will be sold as a duo to create this look. The color combos are

• Belle de Jour( Turquoise & Purple)-pictured
•  Rive Gauche ( Orange & Fushia)-pictured
•  Belle de Nuit( Plum& Gold)-pictured
•  Y-Cone (  Pink & White)-1st pic

The colors are bright and bold! I am excited for this new trend and collection.

Source

So the other day in the hair salon I saw a woman who had green nails. I am not a huge fan of green but her nails looked AWESOME! She was wearing Sephora by OPI “Leaf Him At The Altar“ The color looks absolutely amazing. I am not sure how it will match with my complexion, but it doesn’t hurt to try…right?

It is a metallic vine green with great illumination. It has gold specks which really shimmers in the sunlight. To purchase visit any Sephora or shop online at www.sephora.com

OPI Hong Kong S/S 2010 collection is scheduled to be released February 2, 2010. Here is what you can look forward too…

Top Row Left-Right

Lucky Lucky Lavender, Jade is the New Black, Dim Sum Plum, Bling Dynasty, Hot & Spicy, Meet Me On the Star Ferry

Bottom Row Left-Right

A Good-Mandarin is Hard to Find, Pearl of Wisdom, Suzi Says Feng Shui, Chop-sticking to My Story, Panda-monium Pink, Read My Fortune Cookie

My list:

The entire top row lol and Suzi Says Feng Shui and Panda-monium Pink

OPI always have the cutest color names.

What are your picks?

I did a post about the Essie “Matte About You” Nail Polish. It is like a matte top coat finish. I have been meaning to purchase it and try it but it wasn’t until I saw these pics on www.ferOHHHsh.com that I actually want it now!

Here is a pic of the nails before the Matte About You nail polish

Here is the After

Purchase the polish at www.essie.com

The 2009 is quickly coming to an end *tear* but be excited for what is in store for 2010!!! So I am going to give you my list of what was hot in beauty for the year 2009. Here it goes….

1. Edgy hair cuts “Shaved Heads” Definitely an epidemic!

2. Intense EyeLashes

3. Plum Lips

4. Metallic Eyeliner

5. Minx Nails

6. Alternating nail colors

Ok there you have it! Stay tuned for my list of best dressed celebrities, fashion trends, accessories, and more !

One of the latest trends that ruled the runway for Fall/Winter 2009 is the Ombre Effect! Ombre is a French word that means shading and is used to describe a technique used by many fashion designers where they fade or bleed colors into one another. Now this technique is somewhat difficult. You would not attempt to do the fading like we did back in the day with the half and half nails. You have to have the right polish to accomplish this look as well. I think colors that are vibrant and shiny would work better, it would be less of a dingy look if you tried with say a dull or matte color.

 Calgel Usa have online training sessions and kits where they teach you the technique (www.calgelusa.com) . You can also go on youtube and type in Ombre Effect for nails and there are many videos that will pop up. I hope my nail technician can accomplish this because I simply love it!

When I first laid eyes on Matte polish I fell in love immediately!!!! It is something so sleek, sexy, and sophisticated about matte nails. In the Summer and Spring we tend to go for shiny, glossy, bright colors, but  now that we are moving into Fall its time to switch up the nail candy.

Brands like O.P.I. (pictured above) have a pretty good selection of colors. My favorites are the black and the green. Alos pictured above is Zoya. These brands have a limited line/selection of matte colors. 

Well Essie has created a new product “Matte About You” This is a matte finisher used like a top coat! You can apply the finisher to any nail polish and it will have a smooth matte finish! This great product is only $10. You can’t beat that price. Think about it this way,  you can use all of the colors that you purchased for the summer in the Fall. The matte finish will tone down the glossiness and brightness to give it a sleek look, which is so appropriate for the fall.

This is an example of the product. Look at all of the possibilities with the matte finish! This is a great buy! you can purchase this product at www.essieshop.com