Lately I’ve been loving the look of creamy, bright nail polish. It’s so fresh and summery!

Today I painted my nails with OPI A Grape Fit!, a creme lilac shade with no shimmer, and I love it.

Last week I wore Zoya Pippa, a creamy bright yellow (if you follow me on Twitter you might have seen me post the picture below on Twitpic):

Don’t you love my new ring?! It was a gift from Julia at All About the Pretty (and no, it’s not my birthday, she’s just awesome like that!)

Some other hot summer colors I’m looking forward to wearing this season are Essie Funny Face, a bright pink, OPI Green-Wich Village and, of course, Chanel Orange Fizz.

What colors are you looking forward to wearing? Any must-have colors that I’m missing? Tell me and I’ll add them to my summer nail polish list and feature them here on Makeup Bag!

Originally uploaded by Makeup Bag

Keeping myself entertained between volleyball games by taking photos of my manicure. Today I’m wearing OPI’s We’ll Always Have Paris, a near-black red.

Now if I could only find a way to keep Janey entertained. This kid is driving me crazy!

This morning my friend Ann came over for a visit and, as always, we got to talking about our favorite beauty products and trends of the season.

We both agreed that deep purple nail polish is our favorite trend right now with the gorgeous Chanel Vendetta taking top spot. However, if you’d rather not spend $23 on a nail polish, here’s a few shades of purple that are a tad more affordable:

Jessica Cosmetics in Birds of Paradise ($7)

Application is tricky with this polish as it tends to grab and pull the first layer of color, but if you can get past that, you’ll be left with gorgeous jewel-toned nails that are beyond shiny.

Orly Nail Color in Midnight Star ($7.50)

Not only is this a beautiful, shimmery shade of rich purple, but it also comes with a coordinating gemstone costume ring.

Nicole by OPI Nic’s Sticks in I’m on Deadline ($5.99)

Janey turned me on to Nic’s Sticks last year and I have to say—they’re quick, easy and great for travel. The new shades for spring are expected to hit counters in May and I’m in love with this intense blue-violet shades called I’m on Deadline.

CND in Deep Velvet (On Sale for $6)

CND polishes never fail to impress me. My all-time favorite shade is Nail Noir but I’m adoring Deep Velvet, a deep shimmery purple.

Check out these tips I picked up from the Creative Nail Design nail pros while I was in New York in February:

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If I can find time on the weekend, we like to give myself a mani/pedi.

Over the years, I’ve realized that I prefer home mani/pedis to any I’ve had at a salon—it’s just so much better to decompress on the couch with my favorite polish while catching up on episodes of The Girls Next Door .

These home treatments also guarantee that my nails are shaped the way I like them (short and square with rounded corners) and my polish covers the entire nail (all the way to the edges).

Of course I still like to be pampered at the salon but more likely than not, I end up walking away disappointed in one way or another.

To enhance this at-home ritual I try to make it as salon-like and relaxing as possible with scrubs and massage lotions. One of my favorites, OPI Manicure/Pedicure, is now available in two new flavors: Tropical Citrus and Cucumber.

Cucumber has a twist of pineapple and is my absolute favorite—so refreshing!

OPI Manicure/Pedicure scrubs and lotions are available online at OPI.com .