Nails

Nails Will Sparkle Like a Disco Ball Wearing Deborah Lippmann’s Holiday 2011 Collection

November 8th, 2011 by Karen 25 Comments

lippmann holiday 2011

Not even strobe lights could compete with the glare from the glitterific shades in Deborah Lippmann’s latest collection of nail lacquers. I hope you’re ready to pump up the jam, love, because this disco ball’s droppin’, haaay! It’s time to hit the dance floor with Deborah’s holiday collection. 🙂

This ode to sparkle and shine, available now, contains six separate nail polishes, four limited edition and two permanent shades ($16-18 each), and the $42 three-piece Get This Party Started set (with full-size bottles).

Today my nails took four of the individual polishes and the entire Get This Party Started set out for a joy ride. With their fun flecks of glitter and rich metallic finishes, these colors are just begging to be worn on a dance floor.

Deborah Lippmann Nail Polishes for Holiday 2011 ($16-18 each)

Shimmery red Do Ya Think I’m Sexy, glittery gold Shake Your Groove Thing, glittery graphite I Love the Nightlife and iridescently glittery Stairway to Heaven catch and reflect so much light that I think I was almost hypnotized!

Having a clear formula should make these limited edition shades (Stairway to Heaven’s base appears slightly milky) great for layering with other polishes, perhaps atop a base of shiny red, silver, gold or gunmetal gray, but I think they sparkle just as well when worn alone.

Set aside at least 30 minutes for these, though, if you want to cover your nails entirely with glitter as it may take five or six coats to get a good distribution (on account of the clear formula/base).
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A-

Get This Party Started Set ($42)

My favorite part of the collection. 🙂 It comes with three full-size bottles — Deborah’s famous Happy Birthday shade (a mutli-colored glitter in a clear base), and two new riffs on the shade.

The first, Candy Shop, is Happy Birthday in a sheer pink base. The second one, Forget You, combines Happy Birthday with a sheer black base. I love both the contrast between the small and large pieces glitter in all three of these, and how it gives the group of them extra dimension. I also just like how fun these colors feel. We’re talking light rays and disco balls here.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

Here are swatches of four of the individual shades and all three polishes in Get This Party Started. In each of these, I’m wearing two layers (without a base or top coat).

lippmann get this party started box
Get This Party Started

lippmann happy birthday
Happy Birthday (from Get This Party Started)

lippmann candy shop
Candy Shop (from Get This Party Started)
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LancÃ´me Must Have Red the Book on Classic Color and Shine Before Creating Mini Les Vernis in Shade 102

November 6th, 2011 by Karen 29 Comments

LancÃ´me Mini Les Vernis

Somewhere out there is a bottle of LancÃ´me’s Mini Le Vernis in Shade 102 looking for a new nail to call home. One of five nail lacquers in the new LancÃ´me The Golden Hat Foundation Holiday 2011 Collection, it’s a true red-lovers dream, with a creamy finish that matches L’Absolu Rouge Lipcolor in Caprice to a T.

One coat delivers rich, opaque coverage and Swarovski-like shine, and if that wasn’t enough, the brush is just the right width, with firm bristles that don’t splay, making the brush easy to control.
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What Are You Wearing on Your Nails?

October 25th, 2011 by Karen 71 Comments

I rarely like a color so much that I’ll commit to wearing it on both my peeties and paws at the same time, but I’m doing exactly that with Blue Streak.

It’s Sally Hansen’s $4.95 Insta-Dri in Blue Streak, and I can’t tell you how many girls asked about it at the conference last weekend.

The wide brush covers a large swath of the nail with every pass, which cuts down on the brush strokes, and it dries fast for a polish packing this much pigment. I’m wearing two coats here, and each one dries in less than five minutes.

It’s available now at Ulta stores, among other places that carry Sally Hansen polishes, and also online.

Stuff seems pretty sturdy, too. The mani I gave myself on Friday is still going strong. No chips whatsoever (note: I also applied a base and top coat). And I love the way I feel when I see it on my nails. 🙂

What are you wearing on your nails today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Three Pieces of Quiet with the Becca Lost Weekend Nail Colours

October 21st, 2011 by Karen 8 Comments

For fall this year Becca made a beeline for the neutral zone, introducing an eight-piece release of earthy tan, caramel, chocolate, peach and pink shades called the Lost Weekend collection. I looked at some of the color products when they pulled up last summer, but I only recently checked out the three new nail colors ($15 each) from the release.

My first impression? Shiny. Very shiny. Which I like. I also like how quickly Billy Tea (a creamy taupe), Toasted Marshmallow (a creamy brownish pink) and Saddle Up (a creamy nude) dry once I get them on my nails. They aren’t billed as 60-second quick-dry polishes, but they still dry to a high-shine finish in about 10 minutes flat.

Becca hasn’t been in the nail polish arena for long, having only introduced their first three shades earlier this year with the summer Halcyon Days collection, but already I think they’ve improved their game. All three of these are thinner, smoother and less apt to streak than their older sisters.

Go team. 🙂
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China Glaze Thinks We Should Let It Snow

October 17th, 2011 by Karen 56 Comments

china glaze let it snow

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but China Glaze is so delightful. And since we’ve no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 🙂

You’ll have to set down that Halloween candy corn for a minute, though, but don’t worry. I have a holiday candy cane and a cup of eggnog for you instead. Yes, it’s time for another holiday collection, and this one’s from China Glaze.

Even though winter is still months away, I say Let It Snow — as in the new 12-piece collection of festive polishes coming soon from China Glaze (about $6 each).

I’m wearing two layers in each of the swatches below. Have a quick look, and let me know if any of the colors ring your bell.

The China Glaze Let It Snow Collection

Poinsettia — A creamy ruby red

Ring In The Red — The holidays wouldn’t be complete without at least one glittering red polish

Winter Berry — A creamy cranberry red (perfect for sipping hot cocoa by the fire)

Velvet Bow — A rich, creamy red inspired by red wine

Glittering Garland — A dazzling glittery green the color of pine trees and mistletoe

Holly-Day — A rich hunter green sans sparkle

Champagne Bubbles — A sophisticated metallic gold with golden shimmer

Twinkle Lights — A mix of glittery shades that twinkle like tree lights

Snow Globe — A frosty white with flecks of snow

Icicle — A shimmery silver with a flash of ice

Tinsel Town — A metallic silver glitter perfect for a night on the town

Blue Year’s Eve — A lustrous, shimmering blue to ring in the new year

china glaze let it snow
From the left: Poinsettia, Ring in the Red, Champagne Bubbles, Twinkle Lights, Snow Globe and Icicle

china glaze let it snow
Holly-Day, Blue Year’s Eve, Velvet Bow, Tinsel Tow, Winter Berry and Glittering Garland
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The Essie Cocktail Bling Collection and TV’s Latest Dance Craze

October 3rd, 2011 by Karen 49 Comments

essie cocktail bling swatches

Watching The Jersey Shore is completely exhausting (but yet strangely hard to resist). And with all of the underwear flashing that’s been happening over the past few eps, it’s also been quite gross.

I want to stop, but I almost feel like I’ve already invested so much time in following these goofy characters that I can’t quit now. And, truth be told, I’m also weirdly fascinated by Ronnie’s unique outlook on dance.

He’s not the nicest boy in the world (that’s one way to put it), but I gotta give it up to the guy for taking his club moves so seriously.

Lately he’s been doing this one thing where he puts his hand in front of his face and wiggles it side to side really fast, like “Peek-a-boo!” 🙂

I started trying to work it into my own living room dance moves…but with a makeup and beauty twist. That’s Essie’s Cocktail Bling collection for winter on my nails (available in six shades; $8 each).

essie cocktail bling swatches
Essie Cocktail Bling colors from the left: School of Hard Rocks (creamy grayish green), Brooch the Subject (creamy pinkish beige with a touch of gray), Bangle Jangle (cool, creamy amethyst), Bobbing for Baubles (creamy blackish sapphire), Cocktail Bling (creamy periwinkle gray) and Size Matters (creamy ruby red)

essie cocktail bling swatches
Bobbing for Baubles
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MC K-Dawg on the Mic: Sonia Kashuk Fall 2011 Nail Colour

September 16th, 2011 by Karen 20 Comments

sonia kashuk fall 2011

Here’s a shout-out to Sonia K.,
Her new Nail Colours, I just gotta say,
Might be some of my fave fall colors, haaay!

sonia kashuk fall 2011

At $4.99, they don’t cost too much.
Two coats will do you if you’re in a rush.

The brush? So precise.
Formula? Smoove as ice.
The colors? TrÃ¨s glam, and ooh! — look at that price.

Sugar Rush, well, hey, yes, she’s a baby pink.
Chocoholic is a dark reddish brown (so distinct!).

sonia kashuk sugar rush
Sugar Rush

sonia kashuk chocoholic
Chocoholic
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Thanks to Deborah Lippmann, the Forecast Calls for Stormy Weather and Billionaire This Fall

September 15th, 2011 by Karen 35 Comments

deborah lippmann fall 2011

Girlfriend, I think it’s time…

I fought fall’s relentless approach with every fiber of my being, but thanks to the new Deborah Lippmann polishes for Fall 2011 ($16 each), I think I’m finally ready to get with the program. I guess it’s about time, after all, seeing as the first official day of the season is just a single week away (on September 23).

Goodbye beaches, swimming pools, flip-flops and fro-yo (well…). Hello, knit hats, knee-high boots, scarves and sweaters.

Soon the last of the summer watermelons will disappear, only to be replaced by the first of fall’s pumpkins.

Don’t ask…

Easing the transition from summer to fall are the following four new nail polishes from Deborah Lippmann, which combine dark, moody colors with both cream and shimmer finishes, and a consistency that’s neither thick nor thin.

deborah lippmann fall 2011
From the left: Stormy Weather, Brick House, Billionaire and Single Ladies

The four of them dry reasonably quickly but do require patience, as I’ve had to use about three layers of each of them to achieve fully opaque coverage. And together, the three layers take about 45 minutes to dry (not including a base or top coat).

Two of the shades, Brick House and Single Ladies, apply a little streakier than I expected them to…

deborah lippmann fall 2011 brick house
Brick House
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