Check out this awesome Halloween-inspired nail art we found at thebeautydepartment.com!

Happy Fourth of July from Calico!

OPI has finally jumped on the nail wrap bandwagon (after the uber-fabulous Minx and subsequent Sally Hansen knock-off, Salon Effects) and teamed with Sephora to bring us this khaki-hued collection of six safari-inspired nail colors, along with corresponding “Chic Prints” in giraffe, tiger, leopard, and zebra prints (find ‘em here.) Can’t wait to hit up our local Sephora and try these babies out!

{Vintage 90′s cropped lace blouse borrowed from @britt_rock; vintage 60′s cotton skirt from Circa; vintage 80′s Nine West sandals from Calico; vintage jewelry, and vintage studded belt}

FINALLY went for mani/pedi’s with my girls last Friday! We all did takes on “ring finger mani’s,” painting all our nails one color, with some kind of variation on each ring finger. My pastel-hued Essie mani inspired the outfit above.

Hollah Dollah: Hollywood Nails

Amelia: Simply Smashing from OPI’s Serena Collection with ring finger in Black Shatter from OPI’s Katy Perry Collection

Britt: French Mani with bejeweled ring finger — kinda hard to see

Me: Essie Turquoise & Caicos with Essie Fiji ring finger

We love this over-the-top crystal-encrusted mani from Christen Mitchell! Christen notes in her blog that her usual Boston salon didn’t offer crystals. (What???) And her subsequent trip to CVS only yielded a minuscule packet of nail jewels. To avoid Christen’s disappointing plight, might we suggest a pre-mani craft store raid? Hit up your local Michael’s or AC Moore and stock up on low-priced crystals in a variety of colors and sizes. Armed with a trusty tube of nail glue, you’ll be ready to bedazzle your talons to your heart’s content!

Loving these vintage nail ads!

{Images via Google}

From sweet to insane, this week’s Mani Monday is all about candy- and junk-food-inspired nails!

{Sources: Google Images, The Berry}

The leopard print mani technique may take a tad extra dexterity–but, once you get the hang of it, it’s surprisingly easy to master! Check out these YouTube tutorials, using everything from toothpicks and acrylic paint to felt tip eyeliner to create the spots! (We like Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens, $7)

Here’s a quick simple how-to we love:

Can’t wait to try this technique? Show us your results on Facebook or tweet a photo @shopcalico!

{Sources: Fuck Yeah Nail Art, Wah Nails, karinaraquel & ChristenMitchellStyling.com}

Googly Eye Mani by Kelly Eident of I’m Your Present

Googly Eye Shoe from The Dandy Project

Googly Eye necklace from The Swell Life

Sooo creepy! What would you DIY with googly eyes?…

xoxo,
Elissa

As soon as I got my pass, I headed straight for the tents with my buddy, Leila, and we dashed to make it to the Twinkle by Wenlan show at the Promenade.

I had received an invite to the show, but was bummed to hear we only had standing room once we arrived. My favorite part of Twinkle was when I was bumped from standing room to an actual seat–in the second row!! I was ecstatic and it allowed me to snap some great shots of the runway with my Blackberry!

I liked the ultra-wearable chunky knits and military-inspiration in this collection

Elissa found these these shots of the Twinkle make-up and nail design at All Lacqured Up –We love the smokey coal hued eyes and satin nail polish for fall 2010–what a great update on the matte trend!

Right after the Twinkle show, we hit up Irina Shabayeva, the season six winner of Project Runway. It was really tough to get good shots of this show, as the lighting made everything blown out, but here are my faves via the MBFW website:

Loving the strong shoulders, intricate cut-outs, and exotic feathers from this collection

I also got the best swag bag ever, which came with lipgloss and tupperware–SCORE! LOL

xx,
John