Back on Track

So, I decided I'm going to start posting frequently (at leas a couple times a week) again. I'm not just going to talk about style anymore; pretty much anything important that happens I'll talk about here. Life. Wooo. The first thing I want to focus on though is what it means to have style and how you can define yourself by what you wear.
Things that don't contribute to having style:
1. Going into Urban Outfitters and stocking up on high waisted jeans and those bra things that are see through and seem to have no purpose. ("I'm so hipster and everything is too mainstream, ugh I hate life"). The only thing more mainstream than this, my little fipster friends, would probably be the Kardashians. cue Kingsley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkzG5PWVnqY
2. Being obsessed with brand-name things. Or things with easily recognizable logos everywhere. Just because you may be able to outfit yourself in head to toe labels doesn't mean you should...If you're confident in your own style, you won't need the brand to reassure you that something's cool.
3. Dressing inappropriately. Going to the airport? Fine, you can wear a big sweatshirt and converse. Going to a tennis match? Go ahead and wear workout clothes! Even though I usually talk about wearing too casual things like these daily, it's just as bad to show up somewhere overdressed. Especially now that I'm in high school and need to start thinking about college, it's important to master the art of dressing for the right event.

Instead:
1. Be able to mix high-low things. My favorite thing to do! Taking special pieces and mixing them into your daily look effortlessly adds an unexpected level to your style. I like to wear something classic but more expensive, like my mom's old Chanel flats for example, with a concert tee from a show I went to with my friends tucked into perfectly fitting pair of jeans. Being able to integrate special "you" things with your look really lets you define yourself through what you're wearing.
2. Find a style icon or seven. This week I'll talk about who inspires me and why, including Alexa Chung, Hailee Steinfeld, Elle Fanning, and Tavi Gevinson. You can get inspired by anything: movies, TV shows, or an old picture.
3. Go shopping by yourself, not with your friends, because sometimes an extra opinion just clouds up what you think. My mom almost didn't buy the dress she wore to my brother's bar mitzvah because of a friend's opposite opinion. But then she did and it was completely stunning and everyone died. The end. Moral: wear what makes you happy. Unless it is one of the three things you shouldn't do above, and in that case, please reconsider your life.

I'm bored now. My family all went out and left me home. And school is boring. And I've been getting a lot of creepy emails lately from colleges trying to recruit me or something? Sorry, University of Miami, highly unlikely I'm staying here...

Gradient Glitter Nail Tutorial

It's winter...LOLJK we live in Florida

So I've been kind of depressed lately, because it's already mid-December and I can still wear shorts outside and go to the beach. I am so ready for cold weather and cozy sweaters, but no. Clearly that's not happening this year.
To make up for it I decided to do a glitter gradient manicure with silver/holo glitter on white polish...kind of looks like snow falling, no?
I attempted to make a video to describe the process; please pretend like it's not completely terrible?
Like there's a video tutorial curve?
Like the curve that's probably going to be on the physics exam I took this morning?
Ugh. My voice.
The manicure is much prettier in pictures than in the video and MUCH MUCH prettier in real life, my webcam clearly couldn't capture all its rainbow holo gorgeousness. Two in the shade and one in the bright lights of my newly blue bathroom.

One blurry picture so you can appreciate all the sparkle going on. 

And now...ugh. The video. The only things good about this are the shiny silver bow on my head that makes me look like a present and the Justin Bieber Christmas music playing in the background. Because, it wouldn't be Christmas without glitter and Justin Bieber. 

Kitten Eye

Confession: I'm kind of developing a complex where I think I'm Alexa Chung. Alas, I am not a British model turned muse turned TV host. But with a simple stroke of eyeliner, I can pretend I am. I was reading this month's issue of Instyle when I noticed a whole spread on what they called the "kitten eye". It's a cat eye, but thinner and less dramatic. I found a great tutorial by Lauren Conrad on thebeautydepartment.com (see: other blogs I love), grabbed my liquid liner and tried it out!

I really like the results. It's fun and adds a little oomph to my no-makeup look. I think I'll make this my new thing! What do you think?

XOXO
-A

Other water marble, New York recap

Right now I am sitting in Chinese class because we just finished a test, and I have some time so I thought, "why not open a British P.O. box?" And when I couldn't do that, I figured I should post. Last weekend I went to New York for the annual girls trip. I had to do another water marble for the occasion, and you don't know how many times I had to explain to people how I did it. If they read this, they would know - silly gooses. I actually did it on Yom Kippur when I was fasting, and after I did a couple nails I had to leave the bathroom because the fumes were making me dizzy...probably a stupid move...*TGIP*. For this, I used Essie mesmerize, a light blue from forever21, some random teal of my friend's, and a bronzy color from Butter London.

So, when I was in New York, I had a meeting with some people at Racher Press, the publisher of MMR and Chain Drug Review that I write for sometimes. They talked to me about putting together a beauty panel where we would review products to help retailers, which I thought would be really cool. Considering how much time I spend reading blogs and keeping up with trends, I happen to know more about beauty than almost anything. Except maybe Modern World, because the quarter test is coming up soon and I've been studying like a mad person. That night I also went to a Hot Chelle Rae and The Script concert with my cousin and his girlfriend - they're the kind of couple that makes you want to throw yourself off a bridge, you know?! - which was AMAZING. It was General Admission, so I somehow managed to push my way to the first row by the end of the night. Danny jumped into the crowd right where I was standing and I touched him. Dead.

So yeah. That's pretty much what's been up lately. Oh, and, also in New York, I did a major Topshop spree. When I saw my friends there they were all wearing shorts and tshirts...no big deal...but here we get a cold front and it drops down to 75 and everyone's like OMG FREEZING! Which is good, because it gave me an excuse to wear my new adorable Topshop sweater.

XOXO
-A

Moon Manicure

I have another interesting manicure for you today, and it's called the moon manicure. It's supposed to look like the top of the moon...from space...use your imagination. Here's the finished product:

Ok, so to do this mani you're going to need the following:

1. White polish (or whatever color you want to make the "moon"

2. Black polish (the rest of the nail)

3. Paper reinforcers

These little white circles are the paper reinforcers, and you can get them from Office Max or Office Depot or wherever else you get your school supplies. They are supposed to be put on the holes of paper to keep it from ripping, but everyone buys already reinforced paper anyway so there's not much of a use for them. Except for doing nails. These will help you make the arch of the moon without the need of insane nail art skill. 

So the first step (after base coat) is to paint your whole nail white. Whites can be a little streaky so you probably need two coats. Wait for it to completely dry (sit in front of a fan and it will go faster), because if you continue to step 2 before it's dry the sticker will peel off your nail polish. 

Next, put a reinforcer on your nail where you want to leave the white for the moon. This will keep the black nail polish from getting into the white part and you should get a perfect line. Paint one coat of polish over the rest of your nail. 

Lastly, wait for the black to dry and peel off the reinforcer. And voila! Easy moon manicure/reverse french/awesome nail art that will have your friends going "no...really. Where did you get it done."

XOXO
-A

New Year, Other New Things

HELLO THERE! DID YA MISS ME?
If the answer to this question is no, then you have no friends anyway.
No judgement on my lack of comeback skills.
But I did *come back* to you! (hehe..)
It's only because I love you.
Just kidding it's because I want to get into college. Jokes!
Although I do want to get into college...
SO.
To start off this blogging year fresh (as a freshman - see what I did there? see?), today I have a very special mani - a water marble!
So when I first saw pictures of this type of manicure I was like "ahhh this must happen". But it looked way too time consuming and complicated and physics homework awaited. But, this weekend I was at my grandma's house in Long Island, so what better way to waste time? If you search "water marble manicure" on youtube, you can find a bunch of tutorial videos, which is what I did.
Basically, here's what you do:
1. Get a small plastic cup (or a cup that you don't mind getting nail polish all over) and fill it with room temperature water. The water MUST be room temperature.
2. Choose which colors you want to use. I used Revlon Red, Essie Gucci Mucci Pucci, and Chanel Blue Rebel. You can pretty much use as many colors as you want.
3. Cover whichever finger you want to dip first in tape, so that the nail is the only part not covered. This is very important because it makes clean-up a lot easier after you take your nail out of the water.
4. Drip the polishes into the water one by one in whichever order you want. As you drip a color, the polish will expand in the water. By putting in drop after drop, eventually a bullseye will form in the middle of the cup. Keep the nail polishes open as you're forming the bullseye to minimize drying in-between drops.
5. Using a toothpick, create a design in the polish. You can marble it however you want; each finger can have the same design, or each can be unique. Don't marble too much or else the colors will all blend together.
6. Dip your tape-covered finger into whatever section of marble you want on the nail. Put it in nail first, not straight in, and leave it in the water for a couple seconds. Using the toothpick, pull off whatever pieces of the water marble is left in the water around your finger so when you pull it out it won't get ruined. Finally, pull out your finger slowly to reduce bubbles.
7. Lastly, peel off the tape and clean up any nail polish that got on your finger. Finish with topcoat and you're good to go!

Here's my finished product:

The last picture is matte. Just for funsies.
Opaque polishes work the best for this, but if you want to use a polish that is a little more sheer, you can put a base of white on your nails.

So, in conclusion, new school year, new jew year, new blog year. New 15th year too, by the way! I can drive! You might want to stay off the roads until further notice though...
XO!
-A