Watercolor Mermaid

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Pop of Color

Stuck in My Head: Glee's Smooth Criminal

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a big fan of Glee. Santana is one of my favorite characters, partly because I just love Naya Rivera's voice. I normally don't listen to a lot of Michael Jackson, but I have been playing this version of "Smooth Criminal" nonstop since Sunday.

You can check out Glee's MJ tribute episode tonight at 8:00PM.

The Trouble with Nail Stampers

I used to be under the illusion that nail stampers were only for beauty gurus who had a very comfortable bank account. A recent stop to Amazon.com (yes, that's all it took) convinced me otherwise. As it turns out, you can get stampers for less than five dollars, and 25 plates for fifteen or twenty.

So guess what? I'm hoping on the nail stamping train.

The more I look at the manicures these tools produce, the more I fall in love with them. I have at leave five ideas swimming around in my head right now, and I'm drooling over the possibilities. The price is right, I want them, and I'm excited about them, so why haven't I already placed my orders? I have no idea what to get.

The brand Konad keeps coming up as one of the best, but also one of the most expensive. Then there are ones with reviews saying that they work as well as Konad without the high price, only the price isn't that far off from that of an Amazon Konad.

And then there's the conflict of getting a kit (which has a stamper, scraper, plate holder, and plates) or buying everything separately. Can you mix brands? I imagine everything works universally, but is it worth it to save a few bucks?

Do you have a nail stamper? What buying method worked best for you?

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Shailene Woodley Rocks Valentino

Not many people paid attention to (or attended) the Directors Guild of America Awards Sunday night, but everyone noticed Shailene Woodley.

The young The Descendents star arrived in a killer look to support her director, Alexander Payne, and George Clooney, her co-star and director of The Ides of March.

She wore a red, see-through crochet Valentino Spring 2012 gown, paired a two-toned mini dress with a sweetheart neckline underneath, and then made it look flawless. Shai completed the ensemble with a long side braid and simple makeup.

I love this. It looks so interesting and young, and much, much better than what she wore the SAG awards. Do you agree?

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What I'm Reading: The Hunger Games

There's been a lot of talk about The Hunger Games recently, even though the first book in the trilogy came out in 2008. Why? The movie, of course.

I admit, I didn't really know anything about The Hunger Games. I saw it come up occasionally when being compared to Twilight (all arguments said it was vastly better in all forms), but other than that, nothing. Then I saw this trailer:


Oh my goodness! Are you intrigued? I was. If you didn't watch because you don't want to spoil it for yourself, I'll give you a brief intro. Every year a girl and a boy from each of the twelve districts in the country of Panem (once North America) must participate in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death. When her younger sister is chosen, Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute to the Games. Cue danger, alliances, survival, and some conflicting emotion towards her District 12 male counterpart.

I devoured this book. It is so amazing I could see why both girls and guys love the series. The characters are so (what's another word for amazing?) spectacular, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Half way through the book I wasn't sure how this could turn into a trilogy, but then a couple turn of events convinced me otherwise. I absolutely recommend that you read this book. Believe the hype, they are fantastic. I'm going to pick up the next one this week, so go read it!

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Be Natural

So Cute and Fluffy!

If we can memorize dog breeds, we can certainly learn cat breeds. 

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My SAG Awards Favorites

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held in Los Angeles Sunday night in The Shrine Auditorium. There were a ton of stars in attendance, and while the majority didn't brought their A-game (probably to make their Oscar debut that much better) there were a few ladies who got it right. Here are my favorite looks of the night (and yes, most of them are from Glee).

Naya Rivera was extremely glamorous in this slinky and sparkly Naeem Khan silver gown. This old Hollywood ensemble is total and complete redemption from the Golden Globes.

I love this fun look from Jenna Ushkowitz. The cut-out dress is by Rebecca Minkoff, and her hair and makeup are dazzling.

I thought Giuliana Rancic looked amazing in this red Basil Soda gown. The embellishments and silhouette made her look ten miles long.

Lea Michele amped up the sexy in this metallic Atelier Versace. That slit was daring, but she worked it, and the color is fabulous. It completely blew her Golden Globes ensemble out of the park.

Jayma Mays was my absolute favorite look of the nice. In fact, it's so good, she gets two photos.

Her black Acra gown was stunning. I love the train, the back, the sparkle, and her hair (and the earrings, OMG)! This is definitely her best red carpet appearance to date.

Honorable mentions go to Ariel Winter, Emma Stone, and Viola Davis. Who was your favorite?

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Out Shopping

Midsummer Night's Dream

Sing Sweet Nightgale

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Black & Lace

Think French

Jessica Stan for Harper's Bazaar

Check out Canadian supermodel Jessica Stan looking absolutely gorgeous in the March issue of Harper's Bazaar Australia.

In her spread, shot by Victor Demarchelier, Jessica wears a ton of designers from Louis Vuitton to Prada to Dolce & Gabanna to Chanel. 

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Change of Plans

I have some sad news, you guys. My fingernails all broke to the point of hopelessness, so I cannot do this week's manicure challenge. It's not just that they're short, it's that I basically have no free edges. I'm going to let them grow out and get stronger, and then do the sparkle rays next week.

To make up for it, I painted my toes and did a fun little design. I used Jade in the Shade from Nicole by OPI for my base color. It's a beautiful color that reflects the light wonderfully. The design is Kiss Nail Artist black (of course).

I applied two coats of Jade in the Shade. The second coat had to be a bit more generous due to the odd fact that my toe nails aren't exactly flat/smooth. The color photographed a little darker than it looks in person, but you still get the idea of what it looks like.

For the design, I chose this simple star shape. I didn't want it to look perfect, so I painted it with little flicks of the brush instead of smooth, careful lines.

Let's hope that my nails recover so I can do the manicure challenge. Please feel free to comment with any suggestions for building longer and stronger nails!

We've Reached Over a 1,000 Site Views!

Yay! It's our first milestone! Thank you to all of the readers and followers for getting us here. As a special reward, here is a cat running to read more Chic-Thoughts:

Don't forget to like Chic-Thoughts on Facebook to receive updates. And if you haven't already, click that "follow" button!

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New Butter London Collection

Butter London has released their Spring / Summer 2012 collection, and oh goodness do I want to get my hands on it. It features five wonderfully warm-weather friendly colors.

Here are the names and descriptions from left to right:

Disco Biscuit - a tropical hot pink with an undercurrent of tiny iridescent glitter particles

Bossy Boots - a light, opaque pistachio green

Slapper - a truly teal lacquer, bold and very bright

Trout Pout - an opaque shade of cantaloupe, pale and retro

Knackered - a sheer, twinkling oyster shade flecked with micro glitter particles

Butter London is known for being a dreamy, creamy (and expensive!) nail polish. I, myself have never used a bottle because, well, it's hard enough coughing up the $8 for Essie and OPI.

Oh, and in case you were curious about those names, they're all club and slang words. So, if you were to read them from left to right it would be Ecstasy, Bossy Children, Slut, Woman with Too Much Lip Botox, and Exhausted. Cheeky, huh?

My favorite shade is Knackered. What's yours?

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Old World Inspired

I love this look so much, especially the jewelry!

Where are You Going Today?

I'm going to try to drag my mom out to breakfast. Where are you going on this Saturday?

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Someone Go Buy Me This!

This beautiful nail polish is Go Overboard. Essie describes it as "a limitless sea blue," and I want it bad. I know it's a bit summer-y for January, but it's okay, I promise. Please, it's only $8 and I'll love you forever. 

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S*** Fashion Girls Say

There are a lot of these videos out there, but this is the first one that made me laughing continuously to the point of threatening my mascara. It's also pretty darn true and amazing.

Starlight

This Dress Weighs 110 Pounds!

Paris Fashion Week is a big deal, and with all of that fabulous couture around designers often go to extreme lengths to be noticed. So how do you do that? Well, you could make a dress that weighs as much as a 16-year-old Justin Bieber.

Stephanie Rolland created this long-sleeved, embellished silk jersey gown (ironic, huh? Jersey is supposed to be lightweight) for her fashion show. It weighs in at 110 pounds and features a train 145 feet long.

The model, 47-year-old Yasmin Le Bon, required two assistants to help her navigate the runway in the heavy ensemble.

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Photographer Greg Kadel

Natasha Poly for Vogue Spain. Bonus points if you can find her other foot.

Carola Remer for Vogue Germany.

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Sunshine

I miss that Florida weather.

Princess Stories

I came across this fan art picture and busted out laughing. You see, when I was in Disney World this past weekend (by the way, guys, it was AMAZING!) I met Rapunzel and we had a little talk about Ariel, who's one of my favorites. Here's what she to me:

Rapunzel: Oh, have you seen Ariel yet?

Me: No, but I want to. 

Rapunzel: Well, when you see her, could you tell her I have her dinglehopper? She swam over to our castle last night and she thought she could comb my hair with a fork, and I was like, ‘Okay…’ and it got lost in there. Anyway, I found it this morning, so if you see you could you let her know?

It was amazing.

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Reader Manicure Challenge

We have another reader response to a manicure challenge! Check out Katie's glitter gradient!

She used Rimmel London French Manicure Pro in French Rose for her base and Essie's A Cut Above for her glitter. I recently purchased A Cut Above myself, and this makes me very excited to use it. You can check out Katie on her blog The Polish Project.

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Casually Cute

Start Your Day with a Laugh

Seriously the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

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My Own Home

 

"Color Sketch by Ken Anderson and Vance Gerry when preparing for the last scene of The Jungle Book. It was a very tricky scene given that as both Mowgli and Shanti are really young, it had to be the perfect balance of innocence and sexy." [via]

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Lea Michele is the New Candie's Girl

Yay for Lea Michele! The Glee singer/actress is the new face of the Candie's line, and her ads have been released.

Candie's, which is only available at Kohl's is known for having sexy/sweet ads with a lot of pink. When asked about representing the line, Lea said, "Candie's is such an iconic brand and I am so happy to be working with them."

Former Candie's girls include Vanessa Hudgens, Britney Spears, and Fergie.

What do you think of Lea's ads?

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