If Chicago were a color, apparently it would be blue (although judging from the sky today, gray might be more apropos). Within recent months not one, but two different popular establishments here have created very different shades of nail polish to pay homage to the Windy City. And both nailpolishes are blue. And as fashionable… read all

Recently I heard a woman at a nail salon asking for Minx when she really meant that she wanted a no-chip manicure. At that point I had only tried Shellac — arguably the most well known no-chip manicure on the market. I was happy with my Shellac experience, but if you read the Monday Manicure… read all

How many no-chip nail polishes and manicures are currently on the market? Now there are MANY. It can be hard to even figure out which one to get, each nail salon seems to offer something different. I’d been on the no-chip nail polish fence for a while, but I got lucky for the first time… read all

It’s 2011, and the plan for Afrobella is to be bolder and braver than before! So I figured it’d be best to kick things off than with a Monday Manicure that takes no prisoners. TA-DOW! Disco ball nails! It’s the kind of manicure that’s either totally up your alley, or not your cup of tea… read all

I realize it takes me like a good month to catch up on life after I get back from a trip to New York City. It doesn’t even matter how long I’m there for – I went to NYC for a whirlwind weekend in August and I STILL haven’t fully unpacked my makeup bag or… read all

My experiments with nail art have been hit or miss thus far. And a recent experiment was such a miss, I was like – lemme just stick with bold bright nails and keep it moving. Clearly I don’t know what I’m doing with nail pens or mini paintbrushes. But last Friday, I was lucky enough… read all

I admire red nails, but they’re not really me. I’m more of a purple or blue kinda gal. Red and orange are the official colors of Mama Bella, and [art of me still thinks of those shades – particularly red – as belonging to the domain of glamour and womanhood and things that are older… read all

Last Monday, I gotta admit — I was hardly in the mood for a manicure. On Saturday May 22nd, my husband and I got some awful news. A dear friend of ours had been killed in a motorcycle accident. This was the kind of friend who changed our lives – especially my husband’s life… He… read all

I like my makeup, my fashion, my overall approach to life, to be a mix of high end and low end. So when I wanted to try my hand at at-home nail art for the first time, going the high end/low end route was just natural and right and FUN. But the question was —… read all

Following the sad news about the death of Lena Horne and an additional sense of Monday malaise, I decided to shake the blues off with something bold, bright, and indisputably funky. Then moments after this photo was taken, I managed to bend my fingernail all the way back and break the nail in the middle… read all