Nina Dobrev Rocks The Nail Color of Summer—a Mod White Mani—on <i>Cosmo</i>'s September Issue

Remember in middle school when you painted your tips with Bic's Wite-Out instead of paying attention in math class? Well, the days of whiting out your nails are back in full force.

"White polish on your fingers and toes is mod, clean-looking, and very popular during summer months [for starters, it makes you look sunkissed instantly!], and it's a great canvas for nail art," says Tracylee, nail guru and Sally Hansen ambassador, who painted Cosmo's September cover girl Nina Dobrev's nails with the chic shade. "But the coolest thing about this color is that if you're not ready to go stark white, you can opt for iridescent white shades, which will give a similar, yet less intense effect."

But while white lacquer is super hot right now, its chip-rate is about 100 percent, since it's highly pigmented and opaque. And, when it starts to come off, it's highly noticeable, which makes you look, well, unpolished. So, we asked Tracylee to give us the secret to keeping your mod mani in tact for more than a week.

"First you're going to want to take off your old nail polish with remover and then swipe your nailbeds with a cotton ball covered in rubbing alcohol. Nail polish remover has conditioning agents that are left behind on your nail, which leads to improper adhesion. The rubbing alcohol clears away any of these conditioning agents so that your basecoat sticks better to your tips," explains Tracylee.

"After applying your basecoat, always coat the free edge (aka the very tip) of your nail with polish first, and then paint the rest of your nailbed. Capping the tip of your nail minimizes the amount of chipping, since you're essentially sealing the polish on your nail," she says.

"Lastly, it's a good idea to reapply your topcoat every two to three days. This just strenghthens the barrier that protects your polish from chipping," adds Tracylee.

For a hot-right-now white polish to paint on asap, try Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in White On, $3, drugstore.com, which also happens to be the exact lacquer that Tracylee used on Nina's nails below.

Here's a closer, behind-the-scenes look at the Vampire Diaries star's white tips, complete with the intricate nail art that was applied for our shoot.  

Will you be swiping on white nail polish for your beach vacay this summer?

Photo Credit: Matthias Vriens-McGrath

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My Engagement Ring Cost $100. And It Rocks.

Around the time that I got engaged, my now-husband was making pennies as a line cook. We're talking date nights of PBR, cheap burgers, and free concerts in the park. Because, when you have negative dollars, that's how you roll.

So when I knew he was ring-hunting, I steered him in the direction of a $100 sapphire ring. Actually, I think it was $99.95, but I digress. He protested a little but finally caved and bought it—and I love it.

Once we got engaged, though, it was pretty obvi that my friends/family/barista at Starbucks thought it was lame that he didn't spend a bajillion dollars on a rock the size of Texas. (Not that I advertised the cost; I just didn't have a honking diamond on my finger which apparently is a crime in some neighborhoods.) My mom actually thought I didn't want to get hitched because I didn't care about the ring and wasn't that into planning the wedding. I was just wanted to marry the dude I'd been dating for five years. Crazy-pants, I know.

So I was amped by a new study that found a growing number of women don't want to wait until their guy can afford a huge ring. Finally! Engagement news that speaks to my people.

The study surveyed men and women and found that 73 percent of ladies would rather their guy just effing propose already instead of waiting until he can shell out for something ginormous. On the flipside, 45 percent of men said they'd want to wait until they can afford a nice ring.

Can we just take a sec to think about that? You both want to get hitched, but he wants to wait so that he can go broke spending money on a piece of pressurized coal. Diamonds are pretty and all, but c'mon, guys! (BTW: If huge diamonds are your thing, more power to you. It's just not mine.)

With more women earning college degrees than men, guys on average are earning less than we are. It's nice to see that we've adjusted our expectations accordingly, but apparently men need a little more convincing. So, guys, seriously: Just chill the hell out already. This is pretty much the only time that size really doesn't matter—go with it.

A rock is just a rock. Marriage is forever (um, hopefully).

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Photo: Jeffrey Westbrook/Studio D

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Pron, Seks, and Other Ways to Get Your Rocks Off on the DL

Pron
Girl, we know you love your lady porn (and why shouldn't you?). If your man comes across this one in your history, he'll probably just think it's a new hair tool he's never heard of.

Mamada
Another cool trick is to look up a naughty word in another language. Google imaging "mamada" (It's Spanish for blow job) turns up some very NSFW pictures.

Pnis
Hey, sometimes you feel like eyeballing a little baloney pony. Eliminate the "e" in penis and suddenly it looks like just some random acronym. If anyone asks, you were searching for the "Polish National Integrative Society" or, um, whatever.

Seks
So, you and your man are spending the weekend at your parents' house…and forced to sleep in separate rooms. Yeah, no wonder you're craving a little solo pleasure inspiration. If your mom sees the word seks in your search history, it won't raise any alarm bells—it sounds like the name of a trendy new sushi restaurant.

RSS Sex Position
Putting a naughty term in an RSS aggregator, like Google Reader or Feedly, can help you leap over any pesky filters. Because you're linking to the site via a second-party Web site, the system might not register it as a forbidden term.

D1ck
Subbing in a number for a letter circumvents filtered internet access, so if you're using public wireless that restricts what you search, type in something like 0ral s3x instead. For all they know, it could be some kind of html coding mechanism.

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Rihanna Rocks a New 'Do

Meet the Beauty Bloggers

Carly Cardellino: I'm the beauty and fashion editor here at Cosmopolitan.com. I'll try just about anything once (I have the crop cut—my hair used to be super-long—and body wave to prove it) and then report back. I'm obsessed with hair products, like volumizers and salt sprays, as well as mascara, nail polish, a good foundation (right now I'm using Tom Ford Beauty Traceless Foundation SPF 15), and blush (it literally changes the way you look in seconds)—hopefully you can see why I'm in this business. I also love picking out head-to-toe outfits for friends whether they're going on a date with their guy or a black-tie wedding—so feel free to click on that "contact" link below and send me a question.

Leah Wyar: Ladies, I’m the DIY beauty guru. My specialties? Spray-tanning and mastering the at-home manicure. I’ve tried dozens of spray-tanning formulas and have mastered the art of the self-tan (don’t worry, I’ll share!). Plus, I paint on the hottest nail trends every week (currently I’m obsessed with the glitter and dark polish trend). Follow me as I branch out and perfect my DIY skills (up next: waxing!).

Marta Topran: I’m obsessed with making my skin as glowy as possible. That means trying out every anti-aging potion out there and never leaving the house without some sort of shimmery highlighter on my cheekbones. I’m also the resident brow and lash addict. Right now, I’m rocking super long lash extensions that I can’t believe I ever lived without.

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Scarlett Johansson Rocks the DNC

The Democratic National Convention just wrapped after showcasing speeches from stars like President Obama, Sandra Fluke, Bill Clinton, and…Scarlett Johansson. That's right, ScarJo spoke at the DNC, and she totally rocked it.

"In 2008, less than half of all eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted," she said in a speech on Thursday. "Young America, why are we only speaking with half our voice when so many issues at stake here directly affect us? You know who I'm voting for. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for. I'm here to ask you to commit to vote."

We love that Scarlett didn't tell people who to vote for, but encouraged young people that they can make a difference on Nov. 6.

Not registered to vote? You need to do it by Oct. 9 in order to vote in this year's presidential election. Most states have info about it online. Just Google "how to register to vote in [insert your state here]" and follow the instructions.

(Keep in mind, too, that if you've moved in the past four years and didn't update your license, you also need to fill one of these forms out in order to vote near where you live now.)

Do you know who you'll vote for on Nov. 6?

Photo: Getty Images News

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