WIW 05.07 [cherries wide]

I spent most of the day in my jammies working at home and watching baseball (double header!), but in the evening had a casual birthday dinner out with my husband and his dad to go to. Last night I fell asleep thinking I hadn't worn many of my red items lately, and decided to wear this red cashmere sweater in whatever outfit I came up with. Yes, these are the kinds of thoughts I have before sleep ^^ Since today is forecasted to be the last dry day in a little while I wanted to wear something floor skimming while possible, so I chose these slouchy gray wide legs to lighten up the deep cherry red. Accented in my favorites: white (booties, necklace) and gold (earrings, clutch). To keep it more casual, I wore weekend-style light makeup (no mascara and cherry tinted lip balm) and big retro sunnies to finish the look off. Hair is still crazy sassy today, I'm lovin' it!

I also did my nails up to match: deep berry crème base with a red+white glitter topper.

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

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Nail Tips and Tools pt3: Tools, Household and Specialized

I've gotten lots of questions about nails so I thought I'd put together a little series of posts about some of my favorite basic products and tools, along with some tips on how I get the most from my mani. There are loads of nail blogs out there with far more detailed information as well as step-by-step instructions ranging from simple to the complex, and of course tons of nail art on Pinterest. One of my favorite nail art blogs is Chalkboard Nails, you can get to lots of others from there. A very comprehensive Pinterest collection can be found here, with a HUGE nail art board specifically found here.

Household Tools

There is a surprisingly large amount of nail art that can be done just using things you probably already have (photo #1).

Bobby pins and toothpicks are both excellent dotters, and you can somewhat control the dotting size on a toothpick by cutting it and flattening the end. Toothpicks can also be used for interesting drag marbling, where you blob on two colors of polish and then use the toothpick to swirl where they meet. Both of these can also be used when polish is a bit tacky to leave indentations.

For tape manicures (where you tape off sections to paint different blocks of colors), nothing beats electrical tape; since it's flexible it will follow your nail curve perfectly, and turns out nice clean lines all the while leaving the underlying polish in good shape. This is one instance where it's highly beneficial to use quick dry oil over the base layer and wait a few minutes to tape. For any taped layer, I will tape all fingers first and then paint and slowly remove the tape one nail at a time while the polish is still wet.

Makeup sponges are usually cut into littler pieces, and can be used for gradients, layering, or soft-edge effects like those you see in galaxy manicures. The polish can be either applied directly to the sponge or on a bit of wax paper in which the sponge is then dipped.

More Specialized Tools

And there also are, of course, plenty of specialized nail art tools out there. I'm only going to mention a couple of the most common and useful ones here (photo #2).

If you want more options than bobby pins and toothpicks provide for dots, or perhaps a bigger hand hold area, proper dotting tools come in many dot sizes. The smallest sizes can be used like a fine paint brush as well.

Extra-thin striping tape, most commonly found in gold and silver, is great for very fine striping work and can also be left on as part of the manicure. I get mine at Sally's Beauty Supply, and would guess most beauty supply stores carry some. It's somewhat specialized so you may need to order online otherwise.

Getting into the more advanced tools, a very fine and long thin brush called a striping brush (which I don't have, but you saw something similar in part two) is great for fine freehand painting.

And a stamping set is another fun option, though they take practice to get working well; there are so many cool plates available for stamping! I use an inexpensive one by Essence (you can find them at ULTA), but disliked the scraper that it came with and instead use an old credit card. I haven't done much stamping yet, but the most useful tip I can share is that you don't have to keep what you've picked up on the stamper: if you didn't get a good pickup, simply wipe it off and do it again. A great tutorial with some additional resources can be found here.

I'm happy to answer any questions, and would love to hear your own tips!

[Part one: The Essential Stuff You Don't See]
[Part two: Painting Technique and Effects Polishes]
[Part three: Tools, Household and Specialized]

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Nail Tips and Tools pt2: Painting Technique and Effects Polishes

I've gotten lots of questions about nails so I thought I'd put together a little series of posts about some of my favorite basic products and tools, along with some tips on how I get the most from my mani. There are loads of nail blogs out there with far more detailed information as well as step-by-step instructions ranging from simple to the complex, and of course tons of nail art on Pinterest. One of my favorite nail art blogs is Chalkboard Nails, you can get to lots of others from there. A very comprehensive Pinterest collection can be found here, with a HUGE nail art board specifically found here.

Painting Technique

My favorite is the 3-stroke technique, a great visual and explanation can be found here. All of the tips listed in that post are excellent as well, especially starting with your non-dominant hand; she's also got a great little tutorial about nail cleanup linked at the bottom, though I usually just gently peel off anything that strayed onto my skin in the shower. I've found that the key to keeping the lines clean, off your skin, and out of your cuticles is don't be afraid to go slowly. I find it especially helpful as my hands are a bit shaky, so taking that extra time helps stabilize the lines.

The other thing that will help your manicure last longer, especially with longer nails, is to wrap the tips (photo #1). By this I mean to swipe a bit of polish along the tip of your nail so that the polish is wrapped around your nail, from above to below; use another finger to gently pull the skin away from the nail. I usually paint the nail and then wrap the tip, but I don't think the order matters. If you wear your nails short, it's difficult to do this without smearing polish all over your skin, so I skip this step when my nails are short and just make sure that I extend the polish all the way to the tips. Hopefully my photo helps make sense of wrapping for you, it was tough getting a picture of both hands by myself ;) After using Seche Vite as a topcoat, this is the second most important tip I can share!!

Specialized Effects Polishes

I'm not going into much detail about the myriad effect top coat options out there, just a couple of the most unique and helpful (photo #2).

The first is a matte top coat, many of which are available out there. I use an inexpensive one from Essence, you can find them at ULTA. While there are some matte finish polishes out there, using the top coat will transform any polish into a matte version of itself. When using this, I'll do the manicure as usual including the Seche Vite top coat and then follow that with the matte top coat last. The matte effect will wear off as the days go by, so I'll sometimes pop another coat on to refresh the matte look a couple days in.

There are also many types of nail stripers out there, most often in crème or glitter finishes. These come with a long, thin brush which allow for finer detail work, the most common of which is, as the name implies, striping.

And  though not a topcoat, one other really fun polish I showed dries to a matte sandy finish; I'm especially fond of the ones with sparklies in them. When worn alongside normal polishes you can get some really interesting effects. No top coat used on these, so you definitely have to let them dry a good while. I like to do 2-3 VERY thin coats with these as opposed to fewer thicker layers, which speeds the drying time up a bit as well.

Beyond these, some of the other common effect-type polishes you'll find are: glitters (in all shades, shapes, sizes, and densities), flakies (color shifting transluscent shards, found in silver/clear, yellow, red, green, and blue), duochrome polishes (both standalone and topcoats) that shift colors depending on the angle, and shattered top coats.

I'm happy to answer any questions, and would love to hear your own tips!

[Part one: The Essential Stuff You Don't See]
[Part two: Painting Technique and Effects Polishes]
[Part three: Tools, Household and Specialized]

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Nail Tips and Tools pt1: The Essential Stuff You Don't See

I've gotten lots of questions about nails so I thought I'd put together a little series of posts about some of my favorite basic products and tools, along with some tips on how I get the most from my mani. There are loads of nail blogs out there with far more detailed information as well as step-by-step instructions ranging from simple to the complex, and of course tons of nail art on Pinterest. One of my favorite nail art blogs is Chalkboard Nails, you can get to lots of others from there. A very comprehensive Pinterest collection can be found here, with a HUGE nail art board specifically found here.

The Essential Stuff You Don't See

As with everything, a good foundation is essential. While the quality of polishes ranges widely, you're definitely not required to go high end to make your manicure last. Having a good topcoat is they key, and I HIGHLY suggest using Seche Vite. It is magical. If you take away only one thing from this series, let this be it! This stuff not only toughens up your manicure so it can withstand more wear and extends its life, it also makes dry time EXTRA fast. You can usually wait 5-10 minutes then go on with your business, though I'm overly careful and use it as an excuse to relax for 30 minutes or I'll just paint my nails before bed. Put it on thicker, and minimize the number of strokes to avoid bubbles; no need to wait until the polish below is dry, and actually you'll get better results if it's a bit tacky. Just use a light touch. I get mine from Sally's Beauty Supply, but it's also available at Target, ULTA, and of course online.

A base coat will help even out nail ridges, protect the top layers of your nail, and aid in nail stain prevention (especially with blues and greens). I've been using OPI's Natural Nail Base Coat for years and like it for its fast dry time, though it's very thin and provides only minimal protection/smoothing; if you need nail treatment, hardeners or have thin/grooved nails then a more specialized base coat would be a better option for you.

Another incredibly useful behind the scenes tool is quick dry oil which you can use to speed up in-between coats drying times, and is especially helpful in tape manicures or those with freehand painting; it can leave behind a powdery white residue which disappears under top coat and after washing. I like Sinful Colors Quick Dry Oil because it's inexpensive and fairly accessible (I get mine at Walgreens).

My last essential is a cuticle cream. While nail polish can be tough on nails, it's actually the remover that's the toughest, especially if you use acetone-based removers like I do. I swear by Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream; I rub a little on at night before bed to keep my nails healthy and help prevent splitting, both with or without polish on my nails.

I'm happy to answer any questions, and would love to hear your own tips!

[Part one: The Essential Stuff You Don't See]
[Part two: Painting Technique and Effects Polishes]
[Part three: Tools, Household and Specialized]

32 comments

WIW 05.06 [slouchy all over + better hair]

This year I needed to refresh my jeans, and set a goal for three pairs: one flared, one faded skinny that's actually skinny, and a lighter washed BF. Happily I think I've got all three sorted! I bought the JBrand Love Story flares which are at the tailor for hemming, faded skinnies from LOFT are on their way to me, and then these BF jeans here from the GAP. I ordered these in three sizes because I wasn't sure what I'd like: two at regular length (which hits just below my ankle on me), and on a whim, one in the tall in hopes that they'd fit full length. I liked the smaller of the shorter pair which fit like a very slim BF, but since these have no stretch I decided instead to go with these talls which are long enough to roll up to wear cuffed at full length. This is a look that slowly grew on me, and I'm giving it a test run today to see how I feel about it. So far so good ;)

Since these are extra casual even for jeans (sunfaded wash + distressing + big and baggy), for today I decided to veer dressy with the rest of the outfit to counter that. My first thought was to pair with all black, but then I decided the wash was a perfect match with my floral pumps and swapped the whole look over to light instead. I wasn't sure if this giant silk-sleeved sweater would be too much volume, and it probably is, but I'm feeling JFE in it; added structure back in by pushing up the sleeves and semi-tucking into a rigid white belt. Extra sassy hair warranted big bold hoops, and I took a little '90s turn and chose plum lip gloss instead of something lighter. Faded denim calls for sequins (naturally) so I grabbed my gold sequin clutch to finish things off. Very happy with how this extra slouchy, half-casual half-dressy look turned out! I'm thinking these will be a fun alternative to my shorter and darker BF jeans.

Plus, as advertised, here are some better hair photos. I usually keep the stylist's styling a few days but I really wanted to get a feel for the cut so I re-washed and styled it how I usually do, much softer, wilder, and also bigger ^^ It shows off the rounded shape and choppy layers a lot more styled like this. I'm very happy with it, actually I like it much more today!

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

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WIW 05.05 [to the hairdresser - UPDATED]

Another wet day today, but it's lightened up considerably throughout the day. I'm off to run some errands (read: returning a bunch of online orders, heh) and then to the hairdresser for a desperately needed hair cut that I've been putting off for weeks while trying to decide (without much success) what I wanted to do with my hair. I'm thinking of changing the shape up to something more 70s and roundy, but it needs to be a bit longer before that really works so we'll see how that goes. Pardon the semi-wet hair, I didn't have time to wait for it to dry before taking photos today ><

The two key factors to today's outfit is that I wanted something that's easy-to-walk-quickly-in as well as something that'd work sans coat because I hate racing around the mall in a coat. OK I'd have considered wearing my cream trench coat but that's at the cleaners ;) Thought I'd give these slightly shiny, relaxed windowpane pants another go (though they still need some alteration at the knee break) and paired with white and mint to bring a little spring to the dreary day. Keeping with the color palette I added my white pumps, gold/white stone earrings, white watch (the leather feels more casual than metal) and black clutch, then some cherry-pink lip tint to finish the look. I'm off now, will report back about hair later tonight!

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

UPDATE down below!

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WIW 05.03 [weekend in the rain]

This weekend it's pouring and I'm spending most of it inside in my jammies :) I wore this outfit out for a casual dinner yesterday, and while I have no plans to leave the house today if I do I'll wear it again. For some reason I don't mind repeating weekend outfits but not work outfits, and more people see me on the weekends than on workdays! I enjoyed the square mix with this sweater and these flats a couple weeks ago, added to the print mix with the zebra belt, and of course pulled out my trusty weekend BF jeans. I just picked up a second pair in a sun-bleached wash, now I'm just trying to decide which length I'll keep: shorter for wearing rolled high like this, or long to wear rolled to look full length. The hat was mostly for hair laziness but also for a shot of bright color, though it did help for the short outside time too. I've been on the hunt for a cream slouchy beret for spring, having trouble finding one with the right shape and volume. No mascara on the weekends, and finished off with pinky-red lip tint to match the hat.

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

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SE Okala sizing?

OK I'm finally biting on the Okalas. I know lots of us have these now, and have a question on the sizing. I'm sometimes 7.5 and more often 8; I kept the 8s in the Bella Vita 'Wow' pumps for reference, though they're a wee bit large. Which size of the SE should I get? I'd much rather not order two sizes. Thanks!

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Ask Angie: Have you seen this satchel in person?

I'm thinking of asking for one of these as a birthday gift and was wondering if you (or anyone else) have seen either in person. From the various reviews across this bag's colorways, it seems that the leather is soft and not stiff which is a big plus for me, but there was a couple complaints about the snake stamping looking cheap. If the quality is good, then I'm torn between which one to get. I'm leaning towards the white/cream because that's a wardrobe hole and the all light tugs at my heart strings, but the orange/gray seems fun. Tough problem to have, I know ;)

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WIW 05.02 [slouchy and structured]

Well I had a totally different outfit planned for today but just had to change the plan when I saw the collections feature blog post! I haven't made many purchases this season, and some are from currently unsupported sites, so I added the finds I could and then built an outfit around a couple items from there: ivory sequin tank, white pumps, and black clutch. Curiously enough, none of these items were purchased this season but are all still available; I bought the tank and pumps last season, and the purse was a gift from my sister this past winter.

It's significantly cooler today, but it's still warm. I knew I didn't want full-length pants and debated between cropped pants or long shorts, but after opening a few windows and feeling how muggy it is I knew long shorts were the better choice. Truly, long shorts are one of the best types of bottoms for summer here. Unfortunately I only have two pairs, and really really need to get serious about finding a couple more. Today I'm feeling the glam bug so I pulled out this silky black cargo pair (*waves to Anna*).

I tried a couple different toppers before going with this gray cotton shrunken blazer; since the pants sit low on my hips AND the tank is quite long (though I managed to cover it up in the photos ><) I decided to play with the long torso thing with a cropped jacket. The long torso effect is much more obvious sans topper, and I quite like the look so I'm filing away this combo to wear again when the temperatures go back up later this summer. I added black and white chevron earrings to continue the graphic vibe, and finished things off with sheer light pink lipstick to add a little softness.

Extra high happiness with this one! It's super slouchy, but has a more structure than I've been able to get lately due to the shrunken nature of the blazer and lots more exposed skin. Plus it has loads of other things I love in it (blazer! sequins! white! pumps!) Hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday ^^

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

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