The Goods!: New York Gets The Goods...It's Been Too Long! Shopping and food are a perfect combo! Here's the selection the ladies had to shop from.

It seems like forever!!! Six months to be exact, but I finally made it out to New York last week and JUST missed the snow!! YAY!! I had seven days to visit my cobbler and tailor, host a potluck and shopping party with the one and only Kerin Rose, have multiple meals out with my friends, a little bit of shopping and of course bring The Goods! to my accounts. I had the great pleasure of meeting Pamela Castillo of Market Publique and chatting vintage. A brief stop at the Nina/Delman Shoes offices to chat about their Delman exhibit at FIT: Scandal Sandals and Lady Slippers. Sadly I missed out on dancing but it was an intense work week, so work it was!

The Goods!: New York Gets The Goods...It's Been Too Long! Our very own, Kim gets The Goods! Here she models her "Prowling Ass Outfit". Jungle dress and bitchin' boots!

Make sure to check the gallery to see The Goods! available at Marmalade Vintage, Daha, Narnia, Zachary’s Smile and Portia & Manny! PLUS some nails did!

Finished Product!

I have been hearing about Minx for quite some time now; they were even mentioned by Sheree (of She by Sheree fame? LOL) on the Real Housewives of Atlanta. And you know if she co-signs, “they must be hot” (said in a Lisa Wu voice). I knew Valley was waiting on a new shipment of the decals, which you can read more about on the Minx website here, and I was dying to try them.

I was set-up with the amazing Markita, who is a pro with the Minx. I picked out various different styles, including a silver overlay with black dots and a gold decal with a fishnet graphic on it. I also like the leopard ones and a set with a block pattern that almost looks 3D in person. But Markita let me know that the gold and silver ones were some of the most popular choices, and although I loved them, when she mentioned a lot of girls were doing them, I wanted to be “different”. Oh girl, you so different!

I chose the crazy Deee-Lite flowery pattern, because it reminded me of a Murakami painting or something. After hemming and hawing about the color for the rest of my nails, I chose China Glaze’s “Secret Periwinkle”, which just mismatches enough. Markita masterfully put Cal gel (which they affectionately call Val gel at Valley) over the decal once it got warm under a heat lamp, as well as Cal gel over the rest of my clear nails. Once that dried, M painted my nails and added topcoat. The gel lengthens the life of the manicure, makes your nails harder, and does not damage your nails like acrylics. It isn’t too thick on the top of the nail either, and we all know that nothing looks funkier than a girl with a bubbly set o’ nails. The ladies of Valley tell me the gel should last about a month, give or take a few days. The best thing about not doing a whole set of Minx is that I can change the color of the polish myself and the cal gel will stay intact over my nails. This way, I can keep the flowery graphic and change the polish to orange or pink when I get bored of the Periwinkle….or when I feel that fall is here and I am holding onto the idea of summer too long.

All in all, it was a great experience, and I can’t wait to get to Valley with Markita again! Definitely go to her, but don’t steal all the appointments, beezys! I think next time I may do a different graphic for each finger, or maybe do all the fingers but the middle finger, just so I can change the color of “the bird” whenever I see fit. Either way, I am not officially OBSESSED with the process.

Also, while I was getting my nails did, Leah from Married to the Mob stepped in to chat with the ladies of Valley. It was great eavesdropping fodder during my session!

Check out some of the nail art at the Valley website, and make sure you tell them when you want to do Mix, as not all of the nail technicians do them.

The Goods!: New Vintage Arrivals at Marmalade Vintage

The Goods! are just that…the goods. On a recent trip to New York city I restocked some of my long time accounts and joined forces with some new. M.I.S.S. readers get the first look into what’s new with the old at some of New York Cities finest vintage boutiques. Please contact each individual store for size and price inquires!

Marmalade Vintage

The Goods!: New Vintage Arrivals at Marmalade Vintage

Daha Vintage

The Goods!: New Vintage Arrivals at Daha Vintage

Zachary’s Smile

The Goods!: New Vintage Arrivals at Zachary's Smile

Portia & Manny

The Goods!: New Vintage Arrivals at Portia & Manny

The Goods!: Portia & Manny At Valley NYC

Valley, NYC’s home of the virtually painless Brazilian wax and wild style manicures recently made a move. Relocating to Nolita from the LES, Valley is now located on 198 Elizabeth Street and has joined forces with the vintage boutique, Portia & Manny. Owner Christina Kornilakis is no stranger to vintage. Co-owner of former Nolita vintage boutique, Sweet Tater, Kornilakis has set-up shop within the Valley walls. Offering her very well edited selection of 70’s and 80’s vintage clothing, shoes and accessories you’ll find design worthy footwear, wood stacked heeled boots (think 70’s Zodiac and Frye), high-waisted 70’s denim, gauze tunics, tops and dresses and lurex laced blouses. The merchandising is tight and offers the customer suggestion on how to wear the clothing…from top to bottom. The offerings at Portia & Manny will sending you swooning! Stop into Valley + Portia & Manny and get your whole get-up and go!

The Goods!: Portia & Manny At Valley NYC

M.I.S.S. Meet-Up NYC

We had a rare opportunity in New York last week. Gabriella, Krish and I found ourselves in the same city at the same time! So, we gathered the ladies for an East Coast meet-up…and of course it involved cupcakes! We recently brought on a team of interns from around the globe and invited those near NYC to come out for sweet treats at Sugar Sweet Sunshine in the Lower East Side. Janessa came from Boston, Randi came out from Staten Island and Gee reps Money Makin’. Randi came extra correct with her M.I.S.S. nameplate necklace made from Shrinky Dinks, Krish rolled in with her Valley mani and Janessa’s girl, Gillian from Mishka, stopped by with Krink inspired nails.

M.I.S.S. Meet-Up NYC

Thanks ladies for coming through! We look forward to taking our “M.I.S.S. Meet-Up” on a world tour and meeting the rest of the ladies…and gents that are part of the team…coming soon to a cupcake shop near you!

KO Knock Out’s Flatte Nail Polish

I love that there are still new things to be invented and discovered in the nail coverings department. And I was sooooo excited to walk into Valley NYC this past weekend and find KO Knock Out’s Flatte Nail Polish. Yup, that’s right, Flatte or Flat or Matte…however you’d like to spell it there is no shine or gloss to this polish. Just a matte, lack luster finish. Love it! KO (READ: Knock Out) is the creation of makeup artist Mike Potter – best known for creating the hair and makeup for the groundbreaking stage and film versions of Hedwig & the Angry Inch. Nina at Valley recommended a “tuxedo” french mani…Knock Out’s Flatte black base with a glossy tip, très chic, no?!?! Available in “Powder” or “Black” get yours on-line here or at Valley NYC.

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Earlier this year I set out to find the perfect FLAT grey nail polish. Was it really that hard? Was I really asking for too much? Apparently, at the time, yes. It was that hard and I was asking too much. It only made perfect sense. Nail polish trends in recent years have gone from black to white…With companies like Chanel causing a wait-list frenzy for their version of black polish. Um, I hear White ‘n Wild makes a black polish, ya’ll! Anyways, I digress, that’s old news. Imagine the killing and frenzy Karl would have made had he introduced grey polish, not that he’s hurting but it’s something I would have expected from the house of Chanel. So I said, “FINE!” to the nail supply industry and decided to make my own. And I did. And the people freaked out.

Learn how to make your own and if your not so D.I.Y. inclined, find where you can FINALLY (it’s taken a couple of months for the nail polish industry to catch-up) get your shade of grey after the jump!

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Ok, so I do love some nails did. And surprisingly enough I usually just go with a solid color…the occasional hand design or airbrush BUT since I rock my real nails, the designs and paints don’t last as long as they do on synthetic nails…booooooooooo! Well, the lovelies over at Valley recently shared with me something new called “Calgel“. It is a gel coating that is activated by UV lights…here’s what they say:

Calgel is a superior gel nail system that promotes nail health, making it the healthier alternative in nailcare. It also soaks off in just 15 minutes! Calgel won’t lift, peel, chip, go rubbery or damage your own nails with harsh acrylics or drills. Calgel doesn’t interfere with nailbed metabolism which is why it can actually strengthen your own nails giving you the nails you always dreamed about. Calgel can be used on tips or as a natural nail overlay, and is available in over 80 colors, so the days of smudging, chipping and peeling nail polish are over!

Valley offers a clear “Calgel” that is a protective barrier for your nail and should be redone about every 3 weeks. I’m trying the “Calgel” out right now and love it! I loved my entire manicure experience at Valley! Maki was my manicurist and I have to say this has been by far the BEST I’ve had! Um, the hand/arm message was amaaazing! She was gentle, thorough, fast and neat. She hooked my kit up with the insane leopard print all done by hand. No airbrush here ya’ll! You get what you pay for and them some at Valley. Treat yourself…you are worth it!

See more of Maki’s work after the jump! Read the full story

Valley is hosting a House of Jackie Brown Bikini Trunk Show on Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. House of Jackie Brown is a new line of swimwear that released earlier this year by Jaclyn York and Emily Brown. They decided to launch a line of bikinis that accentuated women’s assets and brought to life their love of fashion, beauty and the beach.  Their Summer 2008 Collection is called “Caliente” and is inspired by the heat, color, vibrance and fire of Miami.  They shot the catalog in the streets because these ladies are city girls at heart.  The bikinis are very cute and flattering and have super nice details including ruffles, kiwi scents and linings that pop!  This trunk show is a great chance to get a bikini that will set you apart from the rest.  Details and pictures of the “Caliente” bikinis after the jump . . .

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Extended hours for nails!! These girls don’t mess around so go get your nails did and get your shop on!