THE NAIL REPORT: 3 TRENDS WORTH TRYING

I've fallen in love with the creative nail trends of the last two years, watching them become more and more bold and somewhat outlandish. But the thing about them that I love the most is how personalized they've become. You can tell exactly who a girl is through her manicure. Timid, bold, a sports fan, a total queen, a no nonsense type. The list goes on. 

Find your own style with this helpful cheat sheet of manicure shapes via Nails Magazine.

You can find a detailed list on how to achieve this shape and others HERE.

We've spent so much of time past on drab shades of candy apple red, but no longer! Bring on the glitter, the gold, holographic, neon and reverse french manies!

What could be more stylish than well filed nails? Holographic well filed nails. I dreamt about such a magic as a little girl and I'm so pleased I've lived to see such a thing. In fact, the more holographic things I see the happier I become.

Image via Beautylish nail color via GOSH

There's some serious archaic power in flaunting long, pointed paws. Lana knows this, Adele knows this. Celebs are going the witchy route in full force this season. I can't imagine what we'll see when fall comes around.

Image via Terry Richardson

JULY INSTAGRAM RECAP

Downtown Nashville // Harpeth River + Tip A Canoe 

One of my sweetest childhood friends and I took a Kayaking trip down the Harpeth this past Monday, making it the third time I've traversed those murky looking (yet oh so fun) waters. Renting a Kayak for a six hour long adventure is only about $30, you should get in on that before the summer is over! I do suggest a dousing in sunscreen though - I'm still recovering from my wounds.

Cummins Falls State Park 

If you get a chance - check this place out! It's one of Nashville's newest State Parks and it's only about an hour outside of Nashville toward Cookeville. 

Such a beautiful place, and a great little hike down! Wear good shoes. Trust me. 

Shoe collection // Ugly Mugs Coffee, East Nashville // more illumination // Top: American Apparel, Sunglasses: Anthropologie 

Sandals: Urban Outfitters // My pet chicken, Sugar, asleep on my chest // Glasses: Warby Parker // My new business cards. My Daddy helped me make them! Exciiitttting. 

Turquoise Ring: Nashville Flea Market // Boots: Vintage // Choker 

& Top: Urban Outfitters 

// The Hanged Man Tarot Card via Center of Symmetry // Nashville's curiously occult-y jail building 

// Marathon Village + Marathon Music Works.  Home to the American Picker's store - Antique Archeology & many other wonders (OMG BANG CANDY COMPANY!)

DIY: SILVER ACCENT TOTE BAG

CREATE THIS ADORABLE TOTE BAG IN A FEW EASY STEPS!

MATERIALS:

1. Plastic or leather tote bag

2. Metallic spray paint

3. Painter's tape & scrap paper

4. A ruler if you plan on doing something fancy.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mark off the section(s) you'd like painted with painter's tape and scrap paper.

2. After you've taped everything off - take your bag outside and lay it on a bed of paper for easy clean up. Spray away!

It really was just that easy. 

5 PRACTICAL SECRETS: NEARLY FREE + FABULOUS

Times are tough, and they're getting tougher! Fabulous women such as ourselves shouldn't have to fret about the amount of their next paycheck. Feeling beautiful doesn't have to translate into spending $175 on a haircut or an entirely new wardrobe. It can be just as simple as checking the contents of your medicine cabinet. 


I've included some of my favorite tips and tricks for every day beauty dilemmas to help keep your life stress free, and yeah - help out your wallet too. 

1. BAKING SODA: It has SO many uses, I swear. 

• Try it on blemishes! Add a little bit of water to a dab of baking soda and apply it to any red spots beginning to form, and viola! Promise. You've had friends tell you that tooth paste can dry up a pimple - and this is why! 

• I have finally gotten away from "normal" toothpaste and since switched to an all natural version. The upside is no yucky chemicals, the downside however is that my teeth weren't getting as white. My mother used to swear by this: Add a sprinkling of baking soda to your toothpaste and brush as normal, keep this up for a week and I promise you'll look like you just had them whitened at the Dentist.

2. GET YOUR HAIR DID:

• Do you feel as if you could have supported a third world country on the budget that you set aside for your hair? Assuming you answered yes, then this is for you. Many Beauty schools across the country offer discounted services if you are brave enough to allow a student to cut your hair. These girls have already gone through plenty of training, I promise - they may not be seasoned vets, but really, sometimes thats a good thing. Paul Mitchell for example, has schools pretty much everywhere and offer cheap haircuts ($16 in Nashville!)and a wide variety of color services for super cheap. On top of this awesomeness, some P.M schools offer facials, manicures and other goodies. FIND A SCHOOL NEAR YOU or check out PAUL MITCHELL NASHVILLE 

3. THE MANY USES OF SHOE GLUE:

• For about $4 you can glue together your life. I mean it. It happens to all of us; a purse strap breaks or your sole decides it no longer wants to be a part of your shoe. For those moments you should behold the glory that is SHOE GLUE. A friend of mine recently had a sole break free and bought a tube. After I saw how good it worked, I was sold. It also just so happened that my very favorite purse strap was quite literally hanging on by a thread. Shoe glue to the rescue! Now I no longer live in fear of my purse snapping. 

4. BORING CLOTHES!

• If your wardrobe is feeling like a warDRAB you can always shake things up without spending all your hard earned money. Cut off the sleeves, DIP DYE IT, SPRAY PAINT IT, stud it using the studs off an old belt from high school, (you can also find studded belts at goodwill which can be cheaper than ordering studs online!) or cut a slit up that favorite skirt of yours. BAM. 

5. CURE FOR THE DREADED GREEN FINGER:

•  Who has gotten a case of The Green Finger? You know what I'm talking about. If you've ever bought a ring from F21 I know you do. Buying cheap rings is fun, but if you practice unsafe ring wear, you'll end up with a case of The Green Finger. Avoid this by lining the inside of your rings with a few layers of clear nail polish.