When you work for a demanding, fashion-forward kitty dictator model/boss, you come to really appreciate the extra time that results from only having to apply one coat of nail polish.

When you’re on call 24/7 and have to be ready for anything, every second counts, and NARS Diamond Life Shimmer Nail Polish ($17) fits my hectic lifestyle. One electric, shimmery layer, and I can move on to more pressing matters, like reorganizing Tabs’ toy collection by theme — feathers, strings, catnip-filled, and crinkly balls.

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Aha! I always knew (or hoped) that those countless hours spent watching Pop-Up Video would pay off eventually. Yup, it was while watching Britney shake her moneymaker in the Toxic video (one of my faves) the other that day that I came up with this idea for a Mixed Metal Mani.

You know that nude bodysuit she wears with the diamonds? Wouldn’t that look pretty chic and blingy on your nails? — a minimalist nude nail layered with gold and silver glitter?

Let’s find out!

I started with a base coat, and then slipped on two layers of creamy beige Essie Brooch the Subject, which would be my nude background color.

I wanted a subtle sparkle from the golden glitter — nothing too overpowering — so I chose Essie as Gold as It Gets for its tiny flecks of golden glitter in varying shapes.

(NOTE: Next time I give something like this a try, I just might add a top coat and stop right there. Coupled with a nude background color, I think it’s a very pretty, subdued way to approach glitter.)

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Whenever I think of cuticle oils, a couple of things come to mind…

1. Co-dependency, in how I feel like I always have to have a bottle within reach.

2. And PPs (translation: Purse Problems).

I couldn’t even venture to guess how many times I’ve mistakenly ruined a purse and all of the products within it by forgetting to tighten a bottle of cuticle oil. Ah, the sweet, sweet pain of opening a clutch, only to discover that your favorite NARS blush has been irreparably smothered in mango-scented cuticle oil…

For a long while I’d been using these handy-dandy clickable cuticle pens from Sephora. No muss, no fuss. And they worked just fine, but you know how it is to be a beauty nerd. I got bit by the itch to try something new.

That led me and my cuticles to a brand called Julep. The company — an indie brand based in Seattle with their own line of polishes, nail care products, nail salons and an upscale, eco-friendly vibe — squeezed their Essential Cuticle Oil into a convenient roller-ball.

And it’s genius!

To apply, just unscrew the cap, and guide the roller-ball along your cuticles. It’s kinda like writing with a ballpoint pen, only instead of ink, it distributes an oil with a lovely lavender scent. Then, after covering the area, I use my thumb to massage the oil in.

Besides preventing a mess, the roller-ball also makes it easy to control how much oil I use, so my fingers aren’t left feeling like I’ve dipped them in grease.

I came across Essential Cuticle Oil through Julep’s holiday Glowing Hands Gift Set ($48 for a $102 value), which, along with the oil, includes two polishes (sheer pink Jennifer and creamy red Catherine), a Glycolic Hand Scrub, a makeup bag and a crystal nail file.

It’s one of several holiday gift sets available now on the company’s website.

The set is by no means cheap, but it represents quite a bargain, when a bottle of Julep’s Essential Cuticle Oil regularly costs $18 by itself (and the polishes sell for $14 each). Looking at it that way, I think it’s a pretty good deal.

Swatches of Catherine (left) and Jennifer (right)

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Yes, ma’am, I’m still in a metallic mani mode, also known as a mixed metal mani state of mind. Why? Because it’s magnetic! — not literally, of course — but I think there is something bewitching about nails that look like shiny baubles shimmering in silver and gold. Perhaps it’s because they remind me of disco balls, or perhaps it’s an ancient urge more primitive and primal than that.

This particular metal mani, a silver and gold ombre affair, is a manifestation of this MAC purse from holiday 2007, and how its tweed pattern melts from silver to gold (LOVE!).

Since the look required a number layers, I grabbed two polishes that I knew would dry quickly, a silvery glitter from Essie called Set in Stones, and a golden glitter from China Glaze called Blonde Bombshell. Of course, you could substitute other silver and gold glitters from your personal stash.

After applying a base coat to prime and even out the surface of my nails, I applied three (!) coats of Essie Set in Stones to build up the glittery silver backdrop that covers the surface of each nail. To ramp up the bling even more, you could always apply four.

Next, to initiate Project Ombre Effect, I applied Blonde Bombshell, beginning at the base of each nail, and tapering as I moved toward the tip.

Then, I added one extra layer to intensify the transitional effect where the gold meets the silver, concentrating a little more glitter at the base of each nail.

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Earlier this year when I met with Rob, a personal stylist at Nordstrom, one of the things we chatted about was metal — that is, mixing metal accessories.

I was drooling over a pair of shoes with silver accents at the time and wondered about incorporating gold and silver jewelry into the outfit. Rob said, “Sure!” He thought that mixing silver and gold was a cool and modern way to update a look.

I remembered Rob’s metallic moxie this week while trying to figure out something fun to do with my nails. I wanted something festive that wasn’t red and green, so I figured, how about silver and gold?

It’s a little quirky, but that’s one of the things I like about it, and I can see myself wearing this with various shiny baubles all year round.

Are you ready?

First, I painted my nails with a clear base coat to create a nice, smooth surface for the following steps. Next, I applied two layers of the color I chose for the silver background, Icicle by China Glaze.

Once Icicle dried, I reached for my stickers — punch-hole reinforcement stickers, the office supply kind (I got these at Target) — and applied them about halfway down each nail.

Here, “careful” and “gentle” are the operative words. I was careful to gently position and press the stickers into place, making sure they were firmly in position. I learned the hard way (screwed something like this up once before) that it’s also a good idea to wait a few extra minutes before applying the stickers to make sure that the background color is completely dry; if it’s wet at all, the stickers might peel part of the background color when they’re removed.

With the stickers stuck, I painted the portion of each nail above them with two coats of my golden shade, Champagne Bubbles by China Glaze.

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