Suzanne Calling

Once again, I walked into my nail appointment with Katie and didn't pick colors, nor did I have an idea of what I wanted. Apparently, she knew what was going on my nails, so I walked out with this: In a bit of a departure from the norm, it seemed like there was a hubbub of activity while I was getting my nails done. Another client needed a toenail fix while I was having the old color soaked off and the three of us chatted the entire time I was there. Then, one of hairstylists came over and asked Katie if she'd take her client's credit card because she didn't realize that it was cash only at the salon. So, it made my visit seem like no time had passed at all, but I was rather distracted and don't even know what colors I have on my nails! I will say this, the base color is OPI, maybe A Good Man-darin Is Hard to Find, the top light glitter is Shellac's Gold VIP Status and then the ring fingers are the Shellac Effects glitter. It's funny that I don...

My friend A told me 'do something different with your nails', but Katie had a plan that I liked, so I have something that is a little different. I LOVE THIS COMBINATION! The pictures do not pick up the iridescence or the fact that they kind of glow in person. I suspect there will be more 'I love your nails' than usual with these!

I talk about my nails a lot here. After 40+ years of crappy nails, the fact that I have nice looking nails with minimal effort on my part makes me happy to share the information and the pictures. Two years ago, I'd read a thread on a message board asking about Shellac, I was curious about the concept of a two week manicure and did some investigation. Like many of the people who visit my blog, I'm just a consumer-a savvy one. I looked for the good, bad, and ugly about gel nails, because I wanted to get my money's worth. You do, too. My two experiences with acryllic nails left my soft nails weak for months afterwards. I didn't want a repeat. So, today, I share what I know. Why? Because there is a ton of information about there saying that Gel nails are bad. When done by a TRAINED nail tech, they can be very good for your nail health. Trust me on this one-nearly 45 years of nails that split, peeled and chipped if I looked at them the wrong way and now, they ...

I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world... At least that's the way I feel, every time I look at my nails. The color looks really good, but it really is NOT me at all. I liked the way it looked on Katie's toes, and well, after the fantastic job she did on my nails with Azure Wish and the glitter Effects, I had not a clue of what I wanted this time. This is what I have now: What I did not consider is the items in my wardrobe that aren't in the blue/green/purple palette. I went to put on a red shirt today and it clashed. Then a salmon colored shirt and the same deal. Soooo, the next three weeks will be spent planning ahead, instead of grabbing the top shirt of the pile when I get dressed in the morning!

In the time that I wasn't getting my bi-weekly manicures, CND came out with several blue and green shades that I have been working my way through. The last manicure featured Pretty Poison, the one before that Limeade. I just saw a layering of the two that makes a nice Kelly green. That idea is getting tucked away for next St. Patrick's day. Meanwhile, on the blue front, there was Azure Wish (nice nod to Princess Bride, IMO) and Midnight Swim to try. Fortunately, my nail tech knows my love for the blue, green, and purples, and she stocks them as soon as they come out. This time around, it was Azure Wish, but I mentioned to Katie that I thought it needed a little more pizzazz, like maybe a layer of Zillionaire. This was while texting back and forth to change my appointment time to a day earlier (several clients asked for mani-pedis when they'd just booked the manicures.). She even played around with my layering suggestions on her sample nails and sent me pictures. ...