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Good morning all!

Today I have a guest review from blogger Kasey from Bay Area Style File. She will be chatting about CalGel nails and showing some great photos of her manicures. Enjoy!

I first discovered CalGel by chance. I was looking at the August 2009 issue of Marie Claire where new nail innovations was a topic. Of course I had tried Minx and matte nail polish so the next natural step for me was to try CalGel. Amazingly the only shop with a certified technician as well as a certified trainer (Keina Kataoka) was Bisou Nail Lounge (right in my backyard in Oakland, CA).

Now what is CalGel? Well it’s made of organic compounds formulated to the texture of smooth honey, it doesn’t require any electric filing, doesn’t use any nail clips for removal, and your nails can “breathe” eliminating the fungus and infection associated with acrylics. Since I’ve had CalGel nails (August 2009) and I haven’t experienced any of the lifting/peeling/chipping associated with acrylics.

The application process is pretty simple: first your nails are lightly buffed (by hand); then a thin coat of a clear CalGel is applied (like applying nail polish); nails are then “cured” under a UV light. After that point you can be done or you can get creative by adding colored CalGel, glitter, rhinestones, pearls, and even dried flowers, there are really no limits.  CalGel starts around $45 dollars (depending on the shop in your area) for a clear overlay, and goes up depending on what you add on ( rhinestones, glitter etc). CalGel can last up to 4 weeks and they have to be rebalanced (CalGel talk for a fill) after that time.

Here are some of Kasey’s amazing CalGel manicures.

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Imagine my surprise when I opened my German Nutcracker box only to find a wookie from Merced, CA in it! Imposter!

This is my handmade special “K” necklace from the seller called Duchessa on Etsy. You might not know this, but Anne Boleyn had a “B” necklace similar to this style (of course I’m sure hers was real gold and pearls) and also America Ferrera wears one on Ugly Betty as well. I had searched high and low over the years for a “K” one, and finally found someone on Etsy to make me one! They can make one for you too if you are interested and I think it was only about $30.00!

These berries are pretty much always in our backyard, but don’t they seem perfect for the holiday season?

Don’t watch it! I got kinda interested after last week when so many people on Twitter were talking about how ridiculous it was. So I Tivo’d an episode to see what the hype was about. I got literally 30 seconds into it and deleted it. I could NOT watch a show with this hairdo on it.

I mean seriously??? Wait this is nothing, check out the back of the hair (and hideous tattoos).

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