The Nail Files

I'm up in New York for this long weekend finalizing some wedding details before the last push.

Like, you know, getting a marriage license.

Oh, and big things, like picking out which nail polish color to wear on my toes!

Big details people. Almost as big as picking the future husband.

So, I spent a long day yesterday trudging around Manhattan with my mother and getting abused by some very nasty stationery people (evil woman at Kate's Paperie on 73rd and 3rd...I loathe you) while trying to get programs ordered.

On the walk back home, we stopped to get a Pinkberry...mmmm....Pinkberry and a pedicure at Pinky!

My mother picked out Limo-scene, a tried and true favorite for her, but a little to white white for me. I picked Spaghetti Strap, a pale, slightly sheer baby pink. I wanted to go with Blushing Bride...you know, because of the obvious suckering of me into anything with the word "bride," but the manicurist dissuaded me. Too sheer, she said.

The color looks great on my toes, but we raced home to check the color against my wedding shoes.

And therein lies the rub.

The shoes are a champagne color, and the pale pink looks too pink. So, the hunt continues.

Any Essie or OPI suggestions?

When Good Things Come From Very Very Bad Things

Like any card carrying member of the American cable subscribing public, I watch a boatload of Law and Order reruns.

Damn you, Dick Wolf, and your entrancing characters and sick twisted plotlines! I swear, if Fred Thompson forces the networks to pull my reruns for some pseudo-Red Lion reason, there will be hell to pay.

Anyhoo.

During my countless hours devoted to watching Chris Meloni snatch up bad guys, I was also forced to watch umpteen commercials for the USA Network "mini-series" The Starter Wife. And let's just say that it looks, well, to use a word...feculant.

Ok, I said it. Berate me if you will, but that thing looks awful. And it's like 8 hours long.

Spread over a month.

Ack!

But I did notice that Essie did a line of nail polishes named after that go-get-em-girl! spirit that the series allegedly embodies, like "Wife Goes On" and "Pink-ing Up the Pieces." The best one that I found was actually named after the series, a pale and very sheer pink.

I shamefully purchased it and applied it in secret. It's a fantastic shade. It gives your nails that shiny but natural look, almost as if you are not actually wearing nail polish but you just have really healthy and pretty nails. And it looks good when performed by a non-professional!

I guess that was the idea. If you get dumped by your millionaire husband in a community property state and somehow get no money and then are forced to live in Malibu and choose between two hot guys vying for your affection, you need to have a nail polish that you can do yourself.

Riiight.

Whatever, I bet Serena Southerland does her own nails too.

Also, I went on a little nail polish binge so there will be lots more Essie related posts to come.

photo courtesy of nymag.com

Wedded Bliss

I spent the past weekend in Michigan attending a good friend's wedding. This also marked the first wedding I've attended out of town where I was not a member of the bridal party and therefore required to participate in multiple events where I was told how to walk, smile, and breathe, so that I don't screw up my friend's pictures forever.

So, while I wandered around the small Detroit suburb of Birmingham with my sister asking people, Rachael Ray-$40-a-Day style, where we could get a pedicure for less than the Devil would pay for my soul, we stumbled upon Todd's Room, a fantastic little beauty shop.

The concept is pretty fantastic. They carry several high end makeup and fragrance lines, like NARS, Fresh, L'Artisan, Becca, and DuWop as well as some offbeat stuff and accessories. Then, in the back, they have makeup artists who do application and lessons.

(Unfortunately not shown on the website, but they have the most adorable graphics)

They also did have a nail technician, but we had already gotten our cheapie mani/pedi, where the technician had actually snipped my sister which lead to many panic attacks that she would get "rabies."

I graciously informed her that was pretty much impossible. Tetanus and staph, on the other hand...

The thought of lip gloss seemed to calm her down and we set about trying on pretty much everything in the store. We both settled on NARS Pillow Talk, a sheer pinky brown color with just a hint of shimmer...and after a scare where the salesgirl could only find one tube...possibly leading to an international family incident we both left with a new look for the wedding.

it doesn't look like this at all. but I love the little tadpole shape.

They also had some products on sale...so I snagged a tube of Essie's gloss-e in Vanity Fairest at half off! It is described as "very twinkly and pinkly" on their website.

I mean, who can resist that?

All in all, the wedding was beautiful and my sister and I had the best lipgloss around...the best part about NARS lipglosses is that they stick around through the tears at the glass smashing, the post ceremony cocktail, and the never-ending slightly awkward toasts. However, pastry flakes from pigs-in-blankets should be approached with trepidation.

photos courtesy of sephora.com and essie.com