Bold Nail Designs

I've been painting my nails a lot more often lately and experimenting with different things - I never knew you could do so much with just a few different shades of polish! One of my favorite nail trends that I've seen is the bold nail design trend.




"La Mode: Fashion Club at UW: Trend 2010: Nails." La Mode: Fashion Club at UW: Trend 2010: Nails. Web. 21 May 2012.


"A BRIT GREEK: Nuts for These Nails!" A BRIT GREEK: Nuts for These Nails! Web. 21 May 2012.

Although I love the nails above, being an amateur nail-painter I haven't been able to create any designs that cool yet. Here are my nails:

I used Wet 'N Wild nail polish from Walgreenes that was on sale. Although the nail polish is pretty cheap, it works pretty well as long as you put a clear coat over it to avoid chipping. I was just goofing off when I was playing with different designs with my nails, but if you're a little more serious about it, I'd suggest better, maybe more expensive nail polish for really cool effects. Walmart, Walgreenes, Target, and CVS Pharmacy all have a pretty good selection of nail polishes. So does Sally's Beauty Supply and the employees there are usually willing to offer advice about which nail polish works the best for which style. You can get nail polish pretty much anywhere.

I'd like to try bolder designs and brighter colors like in the picture above. The combination of the colors in the second picture down are reminiscent of the eighties to me and I love eighties stuff so I think that's the next nail style that I'm going to try to accomplish. My only advince to anyone who is looking to try out this style is to be patient. Make sure you have at least a couple hours of free time if you're going to try to do bold designs like the ones above. If you use multiple layers and color of nail polish and aren't patient while waiting for them to dry you could really screw up. I usually pop in a movie or watch a season of my favorite television show to occupy myself when I paint my nails. 

The Accent Nail Trend

I've recently spotted people sporting this nail trend: painting almost all of your fingernails one color and then painting one or two nails a different color as an accent. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about this odd trend but I've decided that it's really cute.

Emily Axel who claims to be a "polish-aholic" also blogged about this subject on her website, "The Mani-Maniac". Here is a link to her post:

http://themanimaniac.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/the-accent-nail-lets-discuss/

On her blog, she questions how much the accent nail should stick out compared to the others: whether it should be almost unnoticable at first glance or if you should go all out with it. I think if you're going to try the accent nail trend then you should go all out.


"Tagged:Celebs Nail Trends." NightFame With Style. Web. 16 May 2012.

Vanessa Hudgens was one of the first celebrities to rock this trend. I love her execution of the trend. I think it looks very fun and fashionable. If you're going to try out the accent nail, going for bold colors is a good idea but also using glitter on your accent nail is a must.

I think when I try this trend, I'll go with a somewhat plain color, like a light pink or a brown, then I'll paint the accent nail(s) to match the shirt I'm wearing or my purse and use glitter nail polish. The glitter really makes it pop and I also think it's really cute when the accent nail(s) matches an accessory,

While looking at this nail trend, I stumbled upon this very interesting webpage:

http://nightfame.com/style/tag/celebs-nail-trends/

It includes other celebrity nail trends and pictures. I'd suggest checking it out if this post interested you. My personal favorite trends are the accent nail trend and the bold design nails. The accent nail is great because you can do your own thing with the trend - if you'd like to keep it subtle, you can do that or you can go bold. It also gives you a chance to showcase a couple different shades of cute nail polish at the same time without looking trashy.

Putting it Blatantly

So, I’m guessing if you’re a high school student and if you’re a girl, you’ve probably been fantasizing about prom. I mean, how couldn’t you? Just think of all of the movies with all of the memorable prom scenes. Think of all of the hype – finding the perfect prom dress, the cutest heels, getting your hair and your nails done. Prom is something every senior looks forward too. I don’t know how my fellow seniors enjoyed prom, but I for one was let down.

Just to put it blatantly, prom sucked. It sucked so bad that I didn’t even attend post-prom. I didn’t even want to. All I wanted to do was to go home and lay down. Of course, this wasn’t any fault of the people who planned prom, I guess I just got my hopes up.

I expected prom night to be the one night of the year when everyone would act like ladies and gentleman. I mean, come on some girls spent six hundred dollars on their dresses and at least a hundred on their shoes just to kick off their shoes as soon as they arrive and start grinding? Prom was the same as any other high school dance. And I felt like the same outcast I have every day I’ve spent in high school and at every school function I’ve ever been to. Trust me, prom was nothing special.

But all of the odds were against me on prom night. My first day at my job was scheduled for the same day as prom. So before I left for prom, I had to work six hours at my new job. I’d also barely gotten any sleep the night before. On top of that, my boyfriend couldn’t go with me to prom. And even though I tried to go the single way, prom is really a thing for couples. It’s not very fun to go by yourself.

I think I’d gotten my hopes about prom by watching movies like Pretty in Pink. But even Molly Ringwalds character, Andie in the film didn’t stay at her prom very long. She ended up being reunited with her young love and leaving early. I guess that’s similar to what I did. My boyfriend picked me up early and I left with him.

I guess the moral of the story is to not get your hopes up for prom. If you set your hopes to high for anything, you’ll be upset because the actual event won’t be able to come close to how you’ve been imagining it. I’m not saying you shouldn’t attend your prom. You should definitely at least go for the experience. But don’t get your hopes up. I cannot stress this enough. Don’t expect that you’re going to be just like a princess and that you’re going to have an evening right out of a fairytale. Just go to have a good time, go for the experience. Maybe you’ll have a better time than I did.

Acronym Poem

My sophomore year I took a creative writing class with one of my favorite teachers in my school. The full year of the creative writing class consisted of three terms: one for fiction writing, one for play writing, and one for poetry writing. I took the full year of creative writing, though a lot of people just take one term of it. One of the first things we did in his class was write an acronym poem. He gave us strict directions to follow. It had to spell out our first name (or our full name if we were ambitious) and it had to include a few things. If I remember right, he wanted us to include a kind of fruit in our poem, an ocean, and a color...something like that. When I showed my poem to the class, he told me I should submit it to my schools literary magazine (but I never did). He liked the poem quite a bit.

I haven't tried writing much poetry since I took that class. I write song lyrics all of the time, but I never just sit and write just plain old poetry. Although, I'm not going to post the acronym poem I wrote for his class. I'll post the latest one that I've been working on.

I think acronym poems are a lot of fun. I usually like poems that don't rhyme, but sometime free verse stuff is a little too crazy for me. Acronym poems still have some order but don't have to rhyme. They're a lot of fun and pretty easy for anyone who wants to experiment with writing poetry.

My name is a unique statement of who I am, a stamp of my originality. A declaration of my love for being the only person I can be, me.

You might hear it without a second thought. Pass by it without a second glance. Maybe you don't hold the same reverence for your name as I do mine. Maybe you wonder how letters can represent a person. Just letters out of something as organized as the alphabet. You try to form the letters, the vowel, the sound with your lips. You try to grasp it, but they are still just letters to you. Just the same familiar combination of letters that have represented you your whole life. The same combination of letters that you're father yelled when he was angry with you, or your mother called in search of you, to tell you to come inside when you playing outside as a child and it started to rain. That's all your name is to you.

Nothing could make me feel worse for you, then your lack of identity. I hope you find it someday, some where in those letters and if not, create a new name. Create an identity for yourself. Pick the letters so carefully out of that wide alphabet splayed before you and create something that you will find can only define you.

Doing this, I hope will help you establish yourself, as I have established myself. I hope it will help you find pride in your identity. I hope when your name is called out in class or in the middle of a grocery store by an old friend, you will smile and you will be proud that your name belongs to you.

I can only hope that this will bring you the same personal fulfillment it has brought me and that will find a sense of belonging to just letter out of the alphabet. You'll find a love for something that you once found so trivial, you will find your mark, your stamp.



Single

I always pictured going to the prom with a date. Stopping to take pictures for my grandmother before we left for a romantic dinner, just the two of us. Then making our entrance together, dancing to a few slow songs and having a good time at the post prom party. I've been looking forward to prom since I was a freshman.

Alas, though no date. Sure I have a boyfriend right now, but we just started dating and it's a little late to sign him up for prom (besides he's a little bit older than me and I don't think he'd be interested in a high school dance). I'm going to be going to prom single. I've decided to go out to eat before with a group of friends. Sure, it's not the prom I pictured but I'm sure it will be a good time.

I bought a tie that matched the color in my dress. It's been sitting on my floor for weeks. I should mention that I did have a date to the prom. But I can almost guarentee you I wouldn't have had a good time with him. I found that one of the only reasons I was prolonging our dreadful relationship was to have a man on my arm when I walked onto the dance floor. That's an awful reason to stay in a relationship.

When I broke up with him, he begged for just one more chance. He said that he'd actually take me out on a real date for once and be a gentleman if I'd give him that last chance to be my date to the prom. I could've taken him up on his offer. But the whole time I would've been thinking about my new boyfriend and he would've been goggling all of the other girls at the prom. He probably would have wanted to go to his favorite restaurant before prom and still would've made me pay for my half. He'd probably have his mom drive us to dinner or take the bus - does that sound like a romantic night or a chance for redemption?

I apologize for my rant. That's a little off of the subject. I guess I'm sending a shout-out to anyone else who is going to the prom without a date: don't let it bring you down. I have a friend who is thinking about skipping prom just because she doesn't have a date. Prom is one of the last fun things we get to do before we graduate. Why would you want to skip that? It's part of the fun of senior year. Even if you don't have a date, you owe yourself a chance to go and at least check it out. Someday, if/when you have kids they may be going to their prom and ask you about yours. You might not think you'll feel any regret now but maybe you will then.

So go with a group of friends, maybe even throw a sleepover or something for the night of prom. Make it into your night. I placed way too much importance on having a guy to slow dance with or grand march with me. But what is really important is just having a good time. There is too much pressure on students to have dates to every dance, especially the prom.

Denim Jackets

One of the items that I think about every woman should have in their closet is a denim jacket. When some people think of denim jackets, they think about the denim on denim cowboy look. There are a lot of creative ways to wear a denim jacket.

One of my favorite ways that I have seen the classic denim jacket worn is with a sundress. Lighter colored denim jackets go really well with white and floral print sundresses. It’s a really cute look. I love it because you can pair it with just about anything and it can be such a laid back look. I’ve seen girls pair sundresses with denim jackets and flip-flops and although it looks effortless, it looks good. I’ve seen this look on a lot of mannequins in store windows at the mall.

Denim jackets aren’t only good with dresses though. You can easily pair a denim jacket with pants, but not just denim pants. I’ve seen girls wear dark wash denim jackets with plaid pants or even candy colored skinny jeans. Dark wash denim jackets add an extra edge to any outfit, I believe.

Denim jackets are also great to own because you can customize them so easily. I have a denim jacket that I covered with buttons a while ago. You can even sew patches on them too. If you enjoy creative stuff like I do, a denim jacket makes a really great project. You can easily find a denim jacket at a thrift store, then take it home and alter it however you like.

Personally, I really enjoy wearing my denim vest with the black dress I have and I enjoy wearing my dark wash denim jacket with my red sun dress. I barely ever wear jeans but I do wear denim quite a bit. Denim is good for so much more than just pants.

Denim jackets are great because they're so common. You can find them just about anywhere, whether it's at a department store, a little shop in the mall or your local Goodwill. I love denim jackets because they are so versatile. You can wear them with almost anything and customize them any way you like.

The Perfect Date

One of the most common themes of my friends’ conversations lately has been "the perfect date." This is probably because prom is right around the corner and we're all fantasizing about the big night. But I can't help but realize how girls can have such drastically different perceptions about "the perfect date."

For example, my sister said that her perfect date would consist of eating sushi and then watching Star Trek all night. This was after I told her that since this was hypothetical, she could have anything she wanted. I told her the cost of the date didn't matter and she still just wanted to eat cold fish and watch a dorky science fiction show.

Not all women imagine the perfect date as being taken for a night on the town in a limo. Personally, I could have fun just walking through the park or going to see a movie. Besides, I don't think it's the location that makes the date perfect but how well the date and I get along.

None the less though, I do imagine my perfect date just like my girlfriends do. It's always a little different in my head. I think of different scenarios. I'd like to go out to an open mike show at a comedy club or at a restaurant. One of the nicest dates I've ever been on, my date sang karaoke to me. I always think it's cool when people can be so fearless.

But ideally, my perfect date would probably be a midnight stroll in a garden or something. I know, it sounds romantic and silly. I think all of the perfect date scenarios sound a little silly though. I wonder sometimes if guys ever think about the perfect date. I know it sounds really goofy and they probably don't spend any time thinking about it at all.

I would hate to be a guy. Guys have to stress about creating the perfect date. It seems like a double standard to me. The girl expects to be treated like a princess, have the guy pay for the meal, pull her chair out, get the door for her...but does she treat her date like a king? Maybe there's a reason why guys don't fantasize about the perfect date. It may just be because they don't care that much though.

I'm even uncomfortable with a guy paying, so thinking of a guy kissing up to me the whole date would make me uncomfortable. I guess it doesn't make the other girls uncomfortable. But isn't it a little rude that we're fantasizing and holding guys up to these romantic expectations that they'll never be able to live up to? After all, shouldn't it be more about the connection with your date and less about how much he spends on a meal or if he forgets to open a door for you?