Foxy Nails

I have recently been playing with many fun nail styles and have been inspired by some of the local nail artists we have here in San Francisco. Mia of Sparkle SF gave me amazing nails for my Palm Springs Vacation. These included a sunset fade, lots of glitter and some mod black and white stripes. It was perfection! And last weekend I took a workshop from Taylor of SF Party Nails and learned many new techniques I can't wait to try out (see my super glittery girly samples below). If you want to learn how to do it yourself check out Taylor's super fun classes at Workshop SF, where I also teach my Fox & Doll Beauty School Rebel makeup series.

I plan to play more with different styles, and get my designs looking cleaner (ie no more messy edges at the cuticle).

 essie 'Who Is The Boss' and OPI Sephora 'Are You Glistenin?'

 

essie 'Mod Squad', essie 'Splash of Grenadine', Zoya 'Heather', essie 'Who Is The Boss',

Mineral Fusion 'Glint of Mint', all topped with essie 'Matte About You'

My favorite 'three free' polishes I am loving are Mineral Fusion, Zoya, Fanchromatic, and Floss Gloss. The last two are also San Francisco made, yay! In case you don't know, you want to stay away from the following ingredients in your polishes: formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate. 

If you would like to know more about why these ingredients are to be avoided please read this:
http://greenbeautyteam.com/answers-advice/makeup/go-qthree-freeq-for-safer-nails/

The more I am wearing polish the more I will be switching over to using polishes free on these ingredients so watch here on the blog and on my instagram for great 'three free' color options and nail inspiration! I am a little addicted at the moment...

essie stickers strips 'Embrace The Lace'

 

essie 'Turquoise & Caicos'

Follow my blog...

In an effort to get with the times I have added a Bloglovin account:
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Some other blogs I like to keep up on lately are: http://blog.modcloth.com/
http://makeshiftsociety.com/blog/
http://www.keikolynn.com/
http://www.calivintage.com/
http://www.ashleyording.com/
http://www.puglypixel.com/
http://www.creatingspacemindfulliving.com/blog
http://thegreenproductjunkie.blogspot.com
http://thebeautydepartment.com

Palm Springs! Finally!

I have been wanting to go to Palm Springs for forever it seems. Thanks to my gal pals we finally did it this month! I have fantasies of returning very soon, so expect this to be the first of hopefully many posts about this lovely desert oasis. 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was driving around and looking at the houses and neighborhoods. We also stopped off at some amazing hotels to see their decor and bars, The Parker was my favorite of these. With interiors designed by Jonathan Adler, we had fun taking some photos in the impressive super 70's loungy lobby, then wondering around the maze of the seemly endless tropical grounds.

Another highlight was the vintage shopping which we didn't get the chance to dive very deep into, but another great reason to return. My favorite we found was Mr. Cox Vintage, with a super classy selection of well cared for glamorous pieces. Plus I got the chance to wear a few of my favorite warm weather dresses, including this hot little full length tropical number below.

And how could I not mention our perfect accommodations at the Ace Hotel. The rooms were super comfortable and the food at King's Highway Diner (a restored Denny's) was excellent, served poolside and open late night. I adore everything about the Ace! I was also thrilled to find out a friend from Estie School is new the Lead Esthetician there, so if you go make sure to get a facial at The Feel Good Spa!

Chances are I will be back in Palm Springs very soon!

Blog Redesign and Relaunch

April 2013! The blog has been redesigned and relaunched! Welcome!

More pictures and projects to come and I am so excited to share all I have been working on. This updated version will include my JEWELRY and design work as always, but will also include more about my hair and makeup work posted under BEAUTY, including product recommendations and reviews. I will also include more projects posted under MAKE, including recipes and things you can make at home. This new MAKE section is likely to include anything from information from the kitchen (I love to cook and make cocktails), to fun crafty things for your home, to blending up custom beauty products. Only time will tell, so join me and check back frequently! And you will see lots more to come in the COLLABORATIONS and CUSTOM sections, I assure you I have been busy and have so much I want to share! Lastly keep an eye on EVENTS, I have lots of fun workshops coming up.

I hope you like how I have reorganized and categorized the blog for ease of search and interest. All feedback is welcome.

While I now plan to post weekly in each category it will still remain that the most up to date daily information on what I am working on and inspired by will be at my two Facebook pages:
Shana Astrachan Jewelry
Fox & Doll

And I am increasingly obsessed with Instagram & Pinterest so please come follow me:
http://instagram.com/shanaastrachan/
http://pinterest.com/shana_astrachan/

So many new posts to come, I am overwhelmed with all I want to share. In the meantime here is a little tutorial I did last year for the Creativebug Blog! Cheers!

Special thanks to the following superstar creatives for the assistance with the relaunch of this blog:
Suto Designs: Don't you love my new banner! This will change out seasonally to reflect my current projects and inspiration. This special lady has the perfect eye that suits my retro vintage esthetic.
Pugly Pixel: This amazingly talented gal and rad blogger offers the online course CSS Pretty which empowered me to take on this redesign without having to hire it out. I love a good challenge!
Meighan O'Toole: One complementary consultation with this lady changed the future of my business, I am grateful!
Makeshift Society: I just completed a 3 month residency at the Co-Working space for creatives, hence my break from even my usual minimal blog posts. You will see more to come about my projects that resulted from this time at Makeshift and about how the space has inspired me and helped me take my business to the next level!