Channeling Audrey

I just love nail polish! It's actually border-line obsession. I started painting my nails on a regular basis about two years ago. Polished nails are sort of frowned upon in Japanese schools.  Students definitely aren't allowed to come to school with anything on their nails, and I suppose teachers are supposed to set the example.

Well, I went along with that rule for my first 3 years in Japan, but by the time my fourth year rolled around I decided to rebel a little...in the form of pink nails. At the time I was a habitual nail biter, and I quickly realized that when my nails were painted, I bit them a lot less! From that point on, I have kept my nails (almost) perfectly polished.

While I normally like to change the color up each week, this summer I am in love with Essie Cute as a Button (click here to see it).  It's the perfect pinky-coral shade, and I keep coming back to it week after week.  Although, at the moment I have given myself a nautical Fourth of July manicure using some nail stickers I found at a shop in the city.

My next step is to get up the courage to make an appointment at one of the many Japanese nail salons to get gel nails.  I've seen so many cool pictures and am dying to try it, but I'm not sure if my Japanese is really up to par.  These are some of the designs I really love.