Now that October has come around, it's time to put up the Halloween decorations!   Halloween is definitely my favorite time of the year, so I try to drag it out as long as possible.

I'm already seeing really great products and video tutorials coming out, so if you're not sure what you want to do or if you need inspiration for your everyday attire to get into the spirit, here are some great links and videos to get you started!

This is my favorite video so far this year.  A great Mary Antoinette inspired tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqpZ8VuYp9Y&feature=feedu

MissChievous does amazing makeup and Halloween videos.  Definitely a great place to get ideas.  She has everything from sexy and cute to scary and gory!
http://www.youtube.com/user/MissChievous

Sally Hansen puts out a lot of great products, but be sure to pick up these Salon Effects for Halloween this year!  They are so cute and last a long time.  If you need a break from painting your nails everyday (or is that just me?) then this is the way to go!
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod3710253

There are also great costumes that came out this year.  I'm seeing tons of older movie, game and cartoon characters out.  Everything from Freddy Krueger and Edward Scissorhands (for girls) to Mario and Luigi (also for girls) and Judy Jetson!
http://www.spirithalloween.com/product/rb-miss-scissorhands-adult-md/
http://www.buycostumes.com/The-Jetsons-Judy-Adult-Costume/33049/ProductDetail.aspx?REF=SCE-froogle

Last but not least, here are some cool clothing ideas to get you feeling spooky!

Hope this helps you get started!  Feel free to post your Halloween ideas and ghouly finds!

Polka Dots!

Polka dots are a great way to take any coat of nail polish to cute and sassy!  They're also extremely easy to do.  A couple of dots here, a couple of dots there, and you have yourself a totally new look!  Here are a few dot ideas I had

6 Must Haves

I generally like to change my nail polish daily. Sometimes I like to do just a solid color, some days I want something simple but fun and some days I go crazy with it! I feel that there are a few must haves in your nail polish collection!

1. A good black color. Whether it is a solid black or a black with green glitter in it. I just think black can look so classy, especially on shorter nails.

2. A cool glitter polish. I have quite a few of these. You can use them for SO many things. You can just do a coat over a solid nail polish for some sparkle, or you can use it to build up a look.

3. A matte. I recently given a bottle of China Glaze - Matte Magic and it really is magic. I love the matte look. You can also use it to play with matte vs glossy. I love to do a matte coat of polish with the shiny tips.

4. A color changing fleck polish. I love these because they can go on any nail polish color, and you'll always get a different effect. For example, I can use Sinful Color's 'Green Ocean' on a black and it will reflect with blue, green and purple colors. Or I can put it on a bright green and it will reflect green and a cool peachy/pink color.

5. Hidden Treasure. This is a color changing fleck described in #2, but it's really a must have. It's SO amazing. I just think that everyone should have it. It's totally worth the money!

6. Lastly, a bold color. Everyone needs at least one bold color that they just love. I am always up for wearing obnoxious colors on my nails (like yellow) but I always feel like I can't go wrong with my bright purple, neon green or burnt orange. I just love them! Maybe these colors aren't for everyone, but you always want to have something for when you're feeling funky!

I also have a few polishes that didn't really pay off for me (I'm still experimenting with color combination), but it's ok because I can just look at them and be mesmerized. Sinful Color - Hottie and ORLY - Love Each Other. Both look amazing! I just wish they went on like they look.

I definitely don't have the biggest collection, but because I have these basics, I can get so many looks out of fewer polishes.

YouTube Nail Favorites

 spend a great deal of time on YouTube and over time have found a few really great tutorials that I actually use often. They're easy but so fun and away from just the normal coat of paint.

This is a gradient that I've used with many different colors. Sometimes I do a white to black gradient that is very bold! Obviously you don't have to use such contrasting colors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPnytAFANig&feature=related

Not only do I love the colors for this one, but it's funky and fun! Believe it or not, this is actually really easy to do, as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX_STg1ZsjQ

This is probably one of my top favorites. It's incredibly easy to do, and when I wear it I can't stop looking at my nails! I just love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRS6_WQQyMk

As for something more complicated, I really love the idea of this. I've never done it (successfully). I get a little ways into and I feel that my nails are just a giant beacon for attention. I love bold, but it's just too much for me. I'm sure that with the right color combination and toning the dots down just a little this look could be so lovely and cute! Perhaps someone else would like to try it out and show me their outcome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO0qkEK8miU&playnext=1&videos=Oo78NwA8_XQ

I hope you enjoyed!

Short Nails Unite!

I don't know about you guys, but I've always had really frail nails so I tend to keep them short. Often times when I see really awesome nail ideas it's catered towards people with much longer nails, and wouldn't really work otherwise. I just figure, just because I have short nails, doesn't mean I don't want to make them pretty!

I'm going to do a little series of blogs for short nail design ideas. I'm going to do some simple ideas for people who are impatient like me, and some more elaborate ideas for people who really want to go all out!

Here are a couple of "on the go" ideas that I use often for when I just want to do something other than a coat of polish.
For this top look, I painted my nail like normal and then took a thick glitter polish and hand painted the tips. It really doesn't have to be perfectly straight, and because the polish is so thick, it makes it easier to control while putting it on. This also dries pretty quickly. I used Sinful Color Gorgeous and Nail Junkie for this look.For the bottom look, I painted my nails like normal and then took a plain makeup sponge (you can obviously use any sponge you'd like) and sponge painted on the second color of polish. This look also dries very quickly and can also be very cute and summery with something like a bright green and a teal sort of blue. I used Sinful Colors Mint Apple and the other paint's sticker came off. It's a black with green and blue sparkles in it.

I tend to use Sinful Colors because they're affordable, and I've found that many other glazes NEVER dry on my nails. I've tried everything and it just doesn't work. So, I stick with the basics.

I will post some more ideas soon! Let me know what you think!