Beauty Booty: Nail It

Nail polish is definitely high on my list when it comes to beauty product obsessions. I can’t tell you how much I own, because it’s a little embarrassing. I just can’t resist…the bottles are like tiny jewels…just $10 for a shiny, trendy goodness!? Ummm….OK I’ll take three! My friend Erica and I have weekly nail polish conversations; it’s important to me to have a friend who knows all the OPI colors by name.

With the holidays coming up, there are tons of fun nail colors and great occasions to wear them, so I thought I’d share some of my current faves and party recommendations! I go one of three routes when it comes to holiday nails: chic (unexpected pastels), glam (dark), or festive (glitter, but not tacky).

My current obsession is Christmas pastels. (This isn’t just for nails; it’s for everything from cards to wrapping paper.) It’s always fun to be pretty in pink, but shades of grey, blue, and green have been having a moment lately, and I love blues and greens at Christmas. Mint is my favorite shade and I have been wearing OPI “Hey! Get in Lime!” I think it’s sea foam, my mom said it’s more Tiffany blue…the point is, it’s totally unexpected, yet somehow, still Christmassy.

For blue, I just picked up Essie “Looking for Love.” It’s Cinderella blue, a dove blue almost, and I love it. I want to paint an apartment this color!

My other go-to shade for winter, Christmas — OK really anytime — is pure, pearly white. I get so many compliments when I go with this. It’s classic, but somehow people still go crazy for it. However, there is one trick I have learned to getting it to look right: you must layer the sheer white over a thick, solid, “Is that White-Out?” white. If you don’t, it will look streaky and gross. If you have money to burn on nail polish, Chanel “Blanc Petale” is the most gorgeous, but otherwise, OPI “Kyoto Pearl” gets the job done very well!

For the white base, I just use a cheap white from Sally Hansen and it works every time! I use this trick with a lot of sheer nail polishes; actually the Essie “Looking for Love,” is very sheer without it. (Too sheer in my opinion.) When you layer it over the white, though, it gives a pale “Frosty” kind of glow to your nails.

You can also go the complete opposite direction and go dark. I am kind of over dark nails, so if you’re going to do it, I say you need to mix it up a little. I love “Lincoln Park After Dark” and “Vamp” as much as the next girl, but come on. Let’s move forward! If you must do this, try one of the new matte versions of these classic shades. They are sort of weird, with absolutely no shine, but hey, at least it’s different. I have the “Lincoln Park” matte, and it makes my nails look like leather. Lately though when I’m in the mood for something darker, I have been doing Revlon “Hot for Chocolate” (and not just because I love the name).

My current dark favorite is OPI “Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow.” This is a deep forest green, which I have been very into this season. (Green is my favorite color anyway.) This goes on so dark it’s almost black, but in the light, you can definitely see the green tint. It’s kind of weird but sexy, and dangerous, in, like, a Swamp Thing kinda way.

Because I like a little drama, I also like to go the glitter route, particularly on a pedi. It’s less tacky that way and, more important, it just does not budge, and I don’t feel like painting my toes too often. My first this season was OPI for Sephora (amazing line) “212 Sephora.” The base color is a greenish gold, with gold flecks of glitter. So festive!

Then just last weekend I picked up OPI “Dear Santa.”

When I put the first coat on, my nails looked exactly like Dorothy’s ruby red slippers in The Wizard of Oz. Toes in Technicolor? Kind of shocking, but I love it!

Right now, I have one more thing on my wish list: a gold glitter polish! I love OPI “Shim-merry Chic”…