Happy New Year!

Happy new year!! I hope your 2012 is already off to a great start I had a lot of readers ask me for photos of my ring, which you’ll notice above in my New Year’s Eve manicure photo (which is one coat of NYX Be Jeweled with one coat each of Zoya Opal and Zoya Maisie).

The ring was designed by jeweler L T Denny in Seattle, who came as a very high recommendation from a good friend of mine.  It was the perfect ring for me:  simple, elegant, timeless, with a subtle tapered band with a round solitaire.  I had always envisioned white gold, but we went with platinum, because white gold is rhodium-plated and requires re-dipping over time to maintain that “white” look (you can also consider palladium as a platinum alternative).  A good jeweler will spend a lot of time educating you before trying to sell you on something–Yelp! is a great place to start looking for a reputable jeweler!  If you missed it, Shaun (who is also know as “tech guy”) proposed to me here on Christmas Eve.

• Stila Smudge Crayons for spring [Musings of a Muse]
• Gorgeous holiday red lip [theNotice]
• How-to wear glittery, shimmery makeup no matter the age [BellaSugar]
• A look at Chanel Perfection Lumiere
• A gorgeous polish in W7 Metallic Jupiter [Lipglossiping]
• Ombre lips tutorial [xSparkage]

For those interested in the ring, a few more photos