Galaxy nails

My darlings, have you ever tried galaxy nails? They're brainy, nerdy, playful and cool all at the same time--yet still elegant enough to wear to work. I keep spotting them on pretty ladies around our neighborhood. Here's how to get the cosmic look...

1. Get a dark blue nail polish for the base, plus a few lighter sparkly polishes (for stars and comets!). We went for Navy Baby, Laser, Spectrum and Diamonds.
2. Paint the dark blue on all your nails as the base layer.
3. Now layer the glittery colors over the dark blue, but over only parts of each nail. A swipe here, a dab there. Mix things up with each nail, since you want them all to look different.
4. Layer a lot, since, instead of your nails looking flat, you want to get that 3-dimensional look of a far-away galaxy, like you're gazing up at the night sky.

(My friend Caroline modeled, since she has prettier nails than I do. Her rings are from her collection Brvtvs. Photos by the wonderful Jamie Beck for Cup of Jo)