One of the ways I love to de-stress is by doing my nails. When you’re stressed or anxious about something, it is good to just take a step back and do another activity before returning to it — kind of like taking a break from reality then snapping back after you’re all relaxed and refocused. Doing your nails is an activity that needs your full concentration, which takes your mind off of what you were so worked up/concerned about.

I love to experiment and get inspiration for cool designs and ways to paint my nails, and one of my personally favorite sites for nailspiration is thebeautydepartment.com! This website was created by the beautiful Lauren Conrad, former Laguna Beach and The Hills star. On this site, there are always new step-by-step tutorials on different nail designs almost every week. One of my favorite things to do with my manis is to do selectivity with my ring finger on both hands and do a color or design that’s different than the rest of my nails. This adds a little variety and twist to your usual mani. I’m also obsessed with matte, which is the opposite of shiny! Experimenting with texture can also be another way to mix it up with your manis!

If you’re bored with your usual monochrome, shiny mani, check out thebeautydepartment.com for unique ideas that will make your friends and co-workers ooh and ahh!

Photo courtesy of: thebeautydepartment.com