Minx Mani: Meh? Uniqlo: Go!

Last night, after kind of a crappy day, I headed down to the Madewell store for an event they were having: 20 percent off jeans (and their jeans are pretty cool, I must say), other unmentionable sale stuff, and, most important: a free Minx manicure. I got there right at 7 and placed my name on the list, calculating that I had at least an hour to check out the Costello Tagliapetra collection at Uniqlo. Excuse me while I digress....



There was only a couple of racks left of the stuff, but quite a number of different dresses. I tried on almost all of them, so attractive is the drapiness. However. The material on most of these dresses (the cutest ones) is paper-thin. If you have any bumps or bulges at all, fuhgeddaboudit. I did get the chartreuse dress above, in olive green, for $29.95. It's a thicker cotton, almost sweatshirt material. Win! Also got a flouncy T-shirt dress—Uniqlo is pretty much ground zero for T-shirt dresses. Also pretty much my new favorite store.

I made it back to Madewell just in time for my name to be called. You could get the Minx, a metallic gold or silver foil, on one nail per hand, and the rest polish. I weirdly chose my index finger (shoulda gone with the ring finger, I think) and selected a dark purple for the polish. It looked pretty cool, I think. I would have loved to have had the thumb Minxed as well. So supershiny and durable-looking.



HOWEVER. The manicurist told me the Minx would last four days, because (according to a commenter) they weren't putting a coating or cap on it because it was a freebie. Now, I don't know if my manicurist was particularly unskilled at Minx application or what, but this shit was chipping after TWO HOURS. All I did was go home and eat sushi and go to bed! This should not happen! This morning? The Minx nails are totally chipped and dinged up, and lustre-free. What the hell? I'm REALLY glad I didn't pay the usual $60 for a full Minx manicure. I'd be pissed. Those of you who a) don't believe me and b) like crazy/stupid patterns can now get a Minx kit at Sephora. (Why the hell not in gold and silver and, uh, solid colors?)

Anyway, some cute stuff I didn't buy at Madewell:


Canon messenger bag, $128. So effin' cute. Want.


Bensimon elastic sneakers, $55. Cute. Easy. Summer. I decided to stick with my $17 Urban Outfitters slip-ons, though. LOVE THOSE.



Legere cardigan, $68. I don't know why this picture makes it look so garish. It's much softer-looking than it appears here (though still a bold color), but I loved the subtle contrast in colors between the body of the sweater and the trim.



Brunch shorts, $59.

Uniqlo: You Take The Good With The Bad

So, here's me, and you can tell by my face the kind of reaction I'm having to discovering plush, candy-colored tiny backpacks at Uniqlo. Ack. Unsurprisingly, they were priced to move. Also unsurprisingly, they didn't seem to be moving. The orange one looks like that orange Weight Watchers "Hungry" guy (who I'm positive a descendant of the Domino's Noid.)


I will hand it to Uniqlo -- their HeatTech three-quarter sleeve scoop-neck shirts are fantastic. They're made of like, some thoroughly thought-out heat-preserving material, milk and protein I think, and astronauts or something. Anyway, the shirts are under $15.50, come in a variety of sizes and colors, and, best of all, they're super softy and silky, and when you wash them, they don't get all gross and shapeless. I'm a huge fan of the long-sleeved black tops -- I bought a few in black (again -- they're $15.50 -- can't beat that price), and have held up like champs. Plus, models like 'em.