Six Six Sick: Valley Girl

My K.O. matte manicure with 3-D ribbons from Valley

As I mentioned last week, one of my best friends, Ashley, gave me a birthday gift certificate to Valley, a Nolita vintage-store and nail salon that specializes in Japanese nail art. The prices for nail extensions and custom manicures are rather steep, and I definitely wouldn't ever allow myself such an indulgence, even if I've been very curious for quite some time now. Thus I was extremely excited to be given the gift of this ephemeral luxury (which will probably be extra short-lived considering that I work with my hands, in addition to being notoriously klutzy and accident-prone).

I stopped by this Sunday, so I could have them in time for my cousin's wedding (pictures to come). When I arrived, they had a tray displaying various nail-art options, ranging from 3-D ice-cream cones to rhinestoned Chanel logos. I took a peek, but I already had ideas of my own, inspired by my friend Aimee Philip's set of extensions. I saw her right before she left for tour (she manages our friends The Drums, as well as The Scissor Sisters), and she was boasting a perfect multi-colored glittery set, with each nail adorned with a tiny 3-D black bow. Aimee is a total glamourpuss, and apparently has a lady who comes to her house to do them. Anyway, rather than going glittery, I picked out K.O.'s matte nail polish in array of powdery hues that were meant to compliment the Chloe dress I wore to the wedding. I love matte nail polish, especially how the pastel colors look kinda like toothpaste!

Still, when I sat down with Maki, the manicurist, I started having second thoughts on the entire proceedings. I've never gotten nail extensions before,and when she started snapping them on at their full length (about twice as long as they are in the picture) I have to admit I almost freaked out and didn't go through with it. I suddenly remembered my childhood aversion to nail extensions, and flashed back to memories of my babysitter's hooked set of lacquered red talons which always made me squirm. Maki must have noticed the look on my face cause she immediately assured me she would trim them down. She had to keep on trimming them though, and I'm sure most nail enthusiasts would laugh--they ended up only about 1/4" longer than my real nails. Still they're plenty long for me, and I'm very happy with the results, even if it means I have to relearn how to type, in addition to performing other basic finger-functions...