I know NYE is a little ways away still but don't tell me you haven't considered a few nail options yet? Right? Yeah, that's what I thought. For this glittering glory I started with 3 coats of Maybelline Express Finish, 650 Sunlight. You can get away with 2 but I like 3 since this polish is on the sheer side. I then topped it with a couple of coats of Sally Girl, Chunky Gold Glitter. This glitter is a little tricky to apply because instead of swiping like a normal polish you have to dab it to place the glitter where you want. I love the 2 different sizes of glitter so I don't mind applying it this way at all.

What do you think? Is this nail look perfect for NYE or what? 
PS. Click through to see what it looks like with a coat of Essie, Matte About You on top. Spoiler alert... it's really awesome.

For the matte look...

KEEP READING...

Well I missed mani monday but I am making up for it with this awesome combo for you all! I have been sitting on these Forever21 Love & Beauty glitter polishes for a couple of months now. I finally pulled them out monday night and I am so happy I did!

I started with 2 coats of Zoya, Verushka which is one of Zoya's matte velvet colors. Its a rich warm forest green and when topped with clear it comes alive with beautiful shimmer. I then added 1 coat of Forever21 Love & Beauty, Turquoise. It has tiny holographic circle glitter and large hex glitter. With an almost tone-on-tone color combo it adds a richness and depth to make this combo look awesome! I was so pleased with the results. I think it's perfect for the holiday season. I hope you all enjoy.

Have any of you out there tried the Forever21 Love & Beauty polishes? thoughts?

Hey kittens! If you're in the NYC area and want to join me for a craft up this coming sunday well you're in luck! I'll be co-hosting a craft up with my girl Sonia (@alwaysinstyle). We're starting at 3:30pm and going until we run out of materials... or get too tipsy to glitter anymore.

If you're interested in coming simply RSVP to me lesley@lesleykat.com to get the address. While you're at it, check out my DIY Pinterest board.

Hope to see you there!

This weeks's manicure is a snow globe inspired look. I used 2 coats of Color Club, Sheer Disguise as my base color. It closely resembles the grey-blue color that the sky becomes when it's snowy. I then used LASplash, Great White and a dotting tool to carefully  place my snow flakes, which are more like snow balls, but whatever. I made them more dense at the bottom to resemble accumulation. I then topped it all off with Sally Girl, So Disco to give it a bit of winter magic.

Now if only that snow would just get here already! Enjoy kittens.

Love is in the air. Or maybe that's just l the smell of the nuts for nuts truck wafting down broadway. Either way, I  can always dig a cute, pink, valentine's day themed manicure. Corals and ladylike pinks are HOT colors for spring so why not try incorporating them in to your beauty routine now?

To create the ombre effect I started with a 2 coats of Shades by Shades by Bareille, Blossom as a background base. I then used a makeup sponge to dab on thin layers of Deborah Lippmann, It's Delovely, being sure to sit a few minutes between coats. Then I applied OPI by Sephora, Lost Without My GPS followed by a bit of CND, Firefly just on the very tip to darken out the ombre effect. I sealed it all with Seche Vite, Fast Dry Top Coat as usual. Just for fun, I added some reflective heart nail art pieces from my Cina, Flirtini nail art kit. To do this I applied a bit of clear, placed the heart with the tip of an orange stick and then sealed with more clear.

Giving movies as gifts is pretty popular but I personally don't have the space to store a big collection of DVD/Blueray discs. Plus, I don't usually watch the same movies over and over. A Netflix credit is a great way to give entertainment. They start at $7.99 a month for streaming and go up to $9.99 for streaming and 1-disc at a time rentals. You can buy someone you care about an entire YEAR of entertainment for less than a hundred dollars! This is a great last-minute option and doesn't require fighting the crowds at the mall or wherever you shop for presents.

WHO: The Movie Buff
WHAT: Netflix Credit
PRICE: $7.99-$9.99/month
AVAILABILITY: Netflix.com/GiftPurchase

If you need an idea for some last minute gifts but are feeling a little uninspired, may I suggest making them. I made a ton of these dough ornaments that I found on Kaboose crafting site. They're easy to make and with a little patience and the right tools (paint, glitter, glue) you can turn flour, salt and water into beautiful hand made ornaments.

To find out how to make these
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Do you ever want to get a group picture without having to do the hold-your-arm-out-as-far-as-possible thing or want to take a picture in low light but dont want to have to anchor yourself to the stillest thing possible? Chances are most people will answer yes to this question if they have a smartphone and a pulse. This little compact bad boy is fantastic for these such instances. It can be configured for many situations from watching a movie on a plane to taking your daily outfit photo. ;)

The container store's description: Small and mighty, this tripod is ruggedly constructed to hold an iPhone, iPod, iPod touch, Blackberry® or other smart phone in either the landscape or portrait position. The rubberized clamp protects your device and can be opened wide enough to hold most devices in cases. Use it to watch videos, read recipes or listen to music with your hands free. You can even set it on your desk and view incoming calls, emails or text messages. Unscrew the clamp and the tripod can be used to hold a small digital camera. The tripod is lightweight and folds flat when not in use, which makes it ideal for travel.

WHO: Anyone who has a smartphone
WHAT: Personal Media Tripod
PRICE: $19.99
AVAILABILITY The Container Store

Candles make great gifts but nobody wants an ugly or foul-smelling one. CB2 has beautiful candles and holder options. One of my favorites is the Lumi set that comes with three hand-blown, heat-tempered glass candle holders and three 12" white taper candles.

The CB2 website discribes them as: "suspended flicker. Streamlined sculptures flare in delicately handblown, heat-tempered clear chem lab beaker glass. Double-walled forms appear (disappear) to suspend candlelight."

WHO: The Candle Lover
WHAT: 6-piece lumi gift set
PRICE: $14.70
AVAILABILITY: CB2.com

Digital cameras rule the world right now. This is a fact. However, many people still enjoy the special quality that instant film camera posses. Why else would there be a hundred different apps that add that instant-film effect? FujiFilm has totally redesigned the instant camera with the FujiFilm Instax mini 7. It is light, compact and takes adorable small pictures. I took mine to a party and it was a HUGE hit. Everyone gushed over its greatness.

WHO: Photo enthousiasts 
WHAT: FujiFilm Instax mini 7
PRICE: $64.95 (reg price, $84.95)
AVAILABILITY: Adorama.com