Since I've reentered the land of full time employment, it's been a bit hard to snap a pic of my mani before it gets mangled in a zipper or the tips wear away as I furiously outline a plan for world domination (or Q4 of 2011, whichever comes first). After a quick trip through Duane Reade this weekend, I spotted L'Oreal's Project Runway Collection and was inspired by a gorgeous grey nail lacquer. Never being able to leave well enough alone, I applied a teal flakey glitter (inspired by my latest handbag, of course) to just add a little insanity to a classic early fall nail.

Gray coat #1: L'Oreal's Project Runway Collection Charming Cockatoo's Wisdom

Gray coat #2: Orly's Pixie Dust

Teal glitter: Forever 21's Love & Beauty Turquoise

It's refreshing that we've moved away from greige tones and brought back the classic gray. Have you given gray another chance this season?

Early last week, I headed to Haven Spa in Soho (obviously) for my first post-hospital mani/pedi. I was beginning to look like I powered the Flinstone car, if you know what I mean. Since its mid-August, I decided that it's time to start to think about Fall colors. I've put away the neons and turned my focus to smokey shades and jewel toes. Butter London's HRH perfectly fits the bill. A true royal purple with a metallic sheen, it's a nice way to usher in the coming season without going directly to the deep, vampy shades.

The polish wore well with minimal tip wear (mostly due to my own peeling nails, no fault of the formula) and looked vibrant for a solid six days. There are so many great colors in Butter Londo's fall collection that I had to pick a couple up during my first trip to Ulta earlier this summer.

Have you switched to more fall-friendly nail polish shades? Are you still in summer mode? I hope you'll share what's currently on your nails!

Every beauty girl has at least one color that she's particular about. For me, I'm always in pursuit of the perfect blue eyeliner (it's much harder than you think) and anything red (well, except eye products. That's just creepy). I've just about completed the perfect red lip collection and now that I've found CND's Rouge Red nail polish, I can stop questing for the perfect red lacquer. No, really.

A red cream sounds like an easy color to find, especially when there's a bottle in every color collection from high end to drugstore. There's something about the right red - a shade that easily slides somewhere between warm & cool - that seemingly sets your fingers (or toes) ablaze. Have you ever noticed how hypnotizing and impossibly chic red nails can be? So classic and daring, simultaneously.

Rouge Red has become the multi-season red for me. What's yours?

When I received Urban Decay's Rollergirl Nail Kit, I was mesmerized by Woodstock, a neon pink that could almost glow in the dark. As I studied the colors more, Miss T stood out to me, mostly because it reminds me of MAC's Pink Pearl pigment but in nail polish form (and don't think i hadn't tried to DIY this color myself. I did and failed).

I applied Miss T on Sunday with two thick coats, since I'm completely incapable of applying anything else. Generally, I polish my nails with the skills of an uncoordinated four year old - aka slather the polish all over my skin and then use a nail brush it the shower the next morning to scrub it off. Since I applied the healthy top coat of Seche Vite that same day, I haven't touched my nails. In fact, polish is almost as perfect today as it was on the day it was applied. Color me mystified.

Miss T is a special pearlized pink. The kind of shade that shows hints of purple mixed with a strong, feminine pink sizzling with pearl but not in an obnoxious way. This color was clearly created by an expert and is exactly the kind of polish that will distract you as pound away on your keyboard in the midst of spreadsheet Candyland.

Miss T and Woodstock are exclusively available in Urban Decay's Rollergirl Nail Kit, a set of six mini nail polishes for $28. Hey, isn't that less than the bottle of one Chanel polish?

As promised, I finally decided which of Zoya's gorgeous lacquers from the Touch collection I'd wear this week. I have to admit that it took me two days to decide. I spent two days (at home, thankfully) with three nails on my left hand painted with each of the polishes. While all three are gorgeous, I finally decided on Shay. All three colors are full coverage neutrals, with the slightest pearl. Shay is warmer (and a smidge darker) than Minka, it's sister color. Then there's Pandora, a pink hued neutral, making the most unique in the collection. I can see myself reaching for Pandora later in the summer as my tan deepens.

It's been three days since application and so far, no chips. Not even the slightest hint of tip wear. I'm the first to admit that I'm horrible at applying polish and I feel like lighter colors, like Shay, make imperfections more noticeable. However, even with all my perceived application flaws, I absolutely love looking down at my nails as I type. For me, that's the sign of a great color.

Have you tried a nude shade for the summer or are you sticking to brights? What's your favorite color that you've worn so far this summer?

Forgive the half styled photo. I am currently on my way to New Jersey to visit Unilever's headquarters with a few of my favorite ladies. We will be chatting with the executives about the business of blogging and a few of our favorite products. I'm excited to learn more about the Unilever brands and spend some time with my blogging gal pals.

Needless to say, I whipped a few coats of MAC's latest polish, Ocean Dip, across my nails this morning before running out of the house. Hope you don't mind the DKNY makeup bag backdrop, but I just had to share a snap of this stunning color. Released as part of MAC's Surf, Baby! collection. Given the weather in NYC recently, I must say that it was optimistic of me to select a color from a beach-inspired collection, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

Ocean Dip is a bright, clean teal. Similar to other shades (thinking Alice & Olivia, for example), but somehow sweeter. Don't get me wrong, it's not meant for a conservative office environment, but it's a notch below neon. The formula is a perfectly opaque cream. Truth be told, I can't wear to get this shade on my toes during my next appointment at Haven Spa Soho.

MAC's Surf, Baby! collection is on counters and online now. Ocean Dip retails for $15. What's on your nails this week?

My love of nail polish was instilled in me at an early age, thanks in large part to my mother and her product whoring ways. Of course, my love is only fueled by my fortunate access to the latest and greatest products from the beauty industry, which is why I'm thrilled for this Nail of the Week. People - Becca has launched nail polish.  Can you believe it?t

I was fortunate to get a peek at a few of the new shades at dinner earlier this week, so naturally when I had a chance to use one at a recent manicure, of course I jumped. For this week, I selected Tangerine Dream (not only because the color name reminds me of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream), but because it's a softer, creamsicle orange. Not a super-vivid orange, but definitely a shade that makes you want a tropical cocktail and perhaps a cabana.

Tangerine Dream is one of a trio of nail lacquers available as a part of Becca's Halcyon Days collection. The other colors, along with Dancing Barefoot and Summerdaze, are $15 and available at BeccaCosmetics.com and select boutiques nationwide. Halcyon Days launches on the newly redesigned BeccaCosmetics.com (don't forget to check out the fab new blog, Becca Spotlight), where you can find the perfect foundation for you with Becca Skin.

How do you feel about orange hued nail lacquers? Are they for you?

A couple of weeks ago, when I was visiting my beloved Haven Spa in SoHo, i spotted an electric purpled pink amongst their impressive Zoya selection. For some reason, I chose to go with Dita (a deep magenta, for the record). Only a few days later, the lovely ladies from Zoya sent me a care package that just so happened to include Charisma. I took it as a sign.

When I hear the word "charisma", two things come to mind: A - it's always a quality that you would like to think that you posses (and want more of) and B: I immediately think of Charisma Carpenter from Buffy/Angel. How can either of those references be bad?

This shade of nail polish does, indeed, have a lot of charisma. when I applied the first coat (after removing a botched attempted matte mani, admittedly), the first coat dried with similar properties as a matte formula. I immediately became nervous. After convincing myself to move forward (it was a Monday, after all),I applied the second coat and finally the top coat.

Since I am admittedly unskilled when it comes to applying polish, I wasn't phased by the slightly uneven texture of the two coats that I applied (I belong to the school of "slap it on in a thick coat all around"), but the dulled finish and deeper color had me concerned. However, the moment I applied the top coat, the shade sprang to life (and mimicked the color in the bottle perfectly).

Charisma is a little complicated. In the sunlight, it is a vibrant neon purple infused pink. Indoors, it can appear to be a punchy purple. I am absolutely in love! i have a feeling Charisma might be transplanted to my toes during my next Haven visit.

Pick up Charisma for only $8 here.

Have you tried Charisma? What color is currently on your nails?

While I obsessed over MAC's Wonder Woman collection, the nail polishes totally slid under the radar - until last night. I've tried so many blue polishes (Essie's Aruba Blue and Dashing Diva's Box Seats are two favorites), but I've never seen anything like Spirit of Truth.

Initially, I thought that Spirit of Truth was a tad darker than I would normally think a blue associated with Wonder Woman would be. However, after two coats, this shade is right on point, especially in the sun. Spirit of Truth is a gorgeous opaque cream, with violet undertones. While I applied two coats, the formula was completely solid in one.

Have you checked out the Wonder Woman collection? What did you think?

I'm currently sitting in the Upper East Side, basking in the afterglow of my Shellac manicure at Jin Soon's 73rd St location. So many of my friends have tried CND's latest polish creation - a  long-lasting hybrid that is tougher than the typical nail polish but thinner than other gel manicures that I've tried. Each time I see them, I am always secretly so jealous of their shiny nails. Shellac boasts a 14 day wear time with lasting "mirror finish". I'll be keeping a close eye on the performance and will share all my thoughts in next week's edition of Nail Of The Week.

The Shellac process was pretty intense. My manicurist throughly prepped my nails (admittedly, they were in bad shape), but didn't do any extra filing that might cause damage (like in other processes). After she applied every coat - the manicure includes a base, two coats of polish and a top coat of Shellac, my nails were placed into a UV lamp to seal each layer. Fortunately, there's no need to worry about smudges or ruining your mani after you leave the salon.

I have been such a fan of Jin Soon since I first learned about her through her limited edition color collection for MAC. The 73rd St location is a polish-lover's paradise. Lining the walls of the salon are almost every conceivable brand of polish you can dream of - from limited edition Chanel shades, to Avon, Zoya, Sally Hansen, CND (of course), Essie and more.

Jin Soon Hand & Foot Spa

421 E 73rd Street #2

New York, NY

212 - 249 - 9144

Shellac manicure (complimentary for consideration): $47