Sandra‘s Closet

To conclude my Gucci adventure in Italy, I would like to share those fun pics of the other bloggers who were also part of Gucci’s 16 handpicked style bloggers participating. Most of us knew each other before, so it felt like going on a trip with old friends.

Betty (Le Blog de Betty) from Paris with me at the Sheraton Diana Majestic hotel in Milan where the Gucci show took place.

Her nails were from the Lady Gaga workshop at Barneys in NYC.

Those feather cuffs are from Topshop and she put them over her leather jacket, love it!

This is American-born Misha from Tokyo (Tokyo Fashion Diaries) who loves wigs. I adore her crazy and eclectic style.

On her colourful nails were little pumpkins painted that actually looked like the Vivienne Westwood logo.

Outside the Gucci show with Tina (Bagsnob) from Dallas and famous Bryan Boy.

You know that already, I love him!

Tina with Ingrid (The Bag Hag Diaries) who carried the amazing Céline python box bag in neon yellow (remember my fluo pink version?) and me before the show.

Outside the Gucci manufacture: Lovely Emily (Fashion Foie Gras) from London with Tina (Bagsnob) and me.

Tina got all excited seeing how her new 1970 Gucci bag is made.

Sexy back!

My vintage Gucci bag.

At the Gucci Museo: Misha looked like being part of the installation at the museum’s contemporary art space.

I truly enjoyed the whole trip! And I hope that you did, too…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

While being in New York, one trend caught my eye: White nail polish.

Personally, I like the opaque version very much. It emphasizes the shape of the nails while looking cool and fresh. Moreover it suits every skin tone. The only downside is the maintenance as the white hue doesn’t last as long as other shades.

My favourite tone is Ecume by Nars, which is part of their recent summer collection.

Ecume is described as “An opaque white nail enamel that is at once vintage-inspired and avant-garde in sensibility.”

If you like to take it one step further, get inspired by stylesetter Alexa Chung. She painted little palm trees or tine hearts on her white fingertipps. I am loving it and you?

LoL, Sandra

The nail polish is back and fashionistas all over the world crave for the newest It-colours. Celebrities even go a little further and wear sparkling glitter stones to leopard prints and striped designs. Arabian princesses might like master manicurist Leigthon Denny, who has an original nail boutique at the Urban Retreat Day Spa & Salon at Harrods in London and offers his Diamond, Sapphire and Ruby Encapsulization manicure for only $32.000.- . For this amount, you will get nine carats of precious gem inlays. O.k., this is totally insane!
But let’s come back to the actual question: Is nail art tacky or chic?

Let’s investigate this. Having the logos of Oreo cookies and Goldfish decorating your fingers is definitely ultra-tacky. Fruits, Hello Kitty and more have also no style factor. Ultra-long and sharp filed nails look more like a witch going to the carnival and who would like to be touched by those?! Ouch!

Short nails up to 2-3mm over the fingertip are very elegant and stylish. With this length all colours look beautiful. The key is to pay attention when applying the nail polish. Better make sure you do it more than perfect. It might seem tacky to match your nails to your dress like the Miu Miu version above but I am in love with this.

Half-moon manicures like Dita van Teese parades them are absolutely the style of the moment due to all the 50s and 60s inspired trends.

I also love my camouflage design. I took the three limited Les Khakis de Chanel for that. Khaki Brun is the base colour, Khaki Rose and Khaki Vert the spots.

For special events, Sephora by OPI offers self-sticking foils in all sort of designs for your nails. I think that they are kind of hard to apply but they can be fun.

So Ladies, experiment a little but keep in mind only well-groomed nails look really good. See your manicure as the crowning touch to a perfect outfit!

LoL, Sandra