Nails

The New Becca Halcyon Days Nail Colours Are On Like Donkey Kong, Quick Like Mario Kart

May 18th, 2011 by Karen 66 Comments

Ten weeks. I’ve been salivating over the thought of the Becca Halcyon Days Nail Colours ($15 each) for roughly ten weeks.

From those first PR pics back in March — the warm, summery pink, peach and coral — I couldn’t wait to get these on my claws, and I’ve been drooling like Pavlov’s dog ever since.

As far as I know, this is Becca’s first foray into nails, but it seems like everything the boutique-y Aussie brand does is pretty much on like Donkey Kong, and, in this case, fast!

Manis and pedis with the three creamy shades take almost no time (well, very little) because the polishes apply and dry wicked fast. Not as fast as it takes to get my attention with shirtless pictures of Channing Tatum, but still. Fast. 🙂

The brush is one of the reasons for the speed. It’s wide and covers a large portion of the nail, so it only takes two swipes to thoroughly coat the nail in color; on top of that, each coat dries in a little over two minutes.

The little touches take these up a notch for me. One of them, the square shape and rubbery matte texture of the brush handle, makes the bottles super easy to open. My mom would probably kill me if she know how many times I opened smooth nail polish bottles with my teeth. “Do you know how much I paid for that smile?” she’d surely rail. “Braces aren’t cheap, young lady!” Well, it looks like I won’t ever have to go there with these.

From left to right: Dancing Barefoot, Summerdaze and Tangerine Dream
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If Essie Summer 2011 Comes Calling, I’ll Be at the Beach

May 4th, 2011 by Karen 51 Comments

essie summer 2011

Yesterday I dug out my old surfing wetsuit and tried to put it on. No. Such. Luck. Not without a gallon of Crisco and a whole lot of prayer.

Le sigh…

I haven’t surfed up here in years, but I’m starting to get desperate. Since I don’t see a tropical trip on the horizon, either I brave these frigid waters again, or I dry up like a land-locked fish.

And the Essie Summer 2011 Color Me Braziliant Collection (six colors; $8 each) is only making things worse. It arrives in June, right around the time I’d love to be out galavanting on a beach vacation.

essie summer 2011
From the left: Brazilliant, Smooth Sailing and Meet Me at Sunset

Inspired by the daring, sexy beaches of Brazil, the collection, with its corals, reds and hot pinks, is also peppered with pretty splashes of light green and blue. I can’t remember seeing a more summery collection from Essie in a while.

Remember last year’s release with it’s dainty purples, pinks, corals and that shot of kelly green? I loved that collection, but I felt it also could have passed for something from spring (which is fine).

But with Braziliant, I didn’t give spring a second thought. These are bikini, beach and summer shades all the way. If last year’s collection was a demure girl in a floral dress sipping tea from a dainty cup, this year’s is that same girl hanging out at the beach in a beaded bandeau bikini. And she’s not afraid to wink at that Adonis with a surfboard.

essie summer 2011
From the left: Too Too Hot, Super Bossa Nova and Absolutely Shore

While there are lots of classic Essie cream finishes in Summer 2011, the collection also plays with glitter and pearl effects. It’s not as out there/full-on crazy as the neons from 2008 and 2009 (LOVE!), but still, it’s nice to see the line doing something I didn’t expect.

Some of the colors look so edgy, I think they’d pass for China Glaze, like Smooth Sailing, a blue topaz with silver glitter; and Super Bossa Nova, a hot pink with pink and purple glitter. I also see it in Braziliant, with its pink, orange and purple pearl pigment shifts. Cool.

Essie’s polishes have always performed pretty consistently for me. Two coats and I’m good, but I should note that the two shades I was looking forward to the most, Braziliant and Meet Me at Sunset, did leave some streaks, and with them I needed three coats to achieve the opaque look I like. The rest of the collection, however, looked great with two.

I only put these on yesterday afternoon, so I haven’t tested for wear time yet, but with other Essie polishes, as long as I use a sturdy base and top coat, I get at least seven days out of them with minimal chipping.

Here’s a look at the swatches. Let me know if you see something you like. 🙂

essie summer 2011 Meet me at sunset smooth sailing brazilliant
From the left: Brazilliant, Smooth Sailing and Meet Me at Sunset

essie summer 2011 brazilliant
Brazilliant
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What’s the Current Price of Gold? With Milani Jewel FX Nail Polishes, It’s About $5

April 30th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

Milani Jewel FX Nail Polishes

It takes a few layers of Milani’s new Jewel FX Nail Polishes ($4.99 each) to really get your sparkle going, but if you have the patience, they’ll reward you with dazzling tips and toes.

These three glittery gals just came out a little while ago. Each of them — Gems, Gold and Silver — is a clear base with big gobs o’ glitter swimming inside. Not only do they look spectacular worn by themselves, but they also accessorize the heck out of other polishes when brushed on like a topcoat.

Someone over at Milani must remember Deborah Lippmann’s breakthrough $18 Happy Birthday party from 2009. It was a gorgeous, multicolored glitter polish, and Gems could easily pass for a $5 dupe (truly outrageous!).

Can I get a what-what for affordable alternatives? 🙂

In these pics I’m wearing three coats, so as you can probably tell, it takes a few layers to really coax out the shimmer from these. The base itself is quite thin, but every subsequent layer increases the amount of and concentration of glitter.

The glitter applies unevenly, of course, but shaking it well helps. It takes forever, but by dabbing the tip of the brush on the nail, I can sort of direct where I want the glitter to go.

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What Are You Wearing on Your Nails?

April 28th, 2011 by Karen 65 Comments

Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂 I’m working some China Glaze action today with Pelican Gray on my fingers and Starboard on my toes. Both colors hail from the Anchors Away Spring 2011 collection.

Pelican Gray

Starboard

How about you? What are you wearing on your nails?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What Are You Wearing on Your Nails?

April 14th, 2011 by Karen 56 Comments

C is for cookie, Canada and also for Chanel. I’m feeling a little nostalgic tonight, so I’ve got 2009’s Chanel Vendetta on my fingers and Jade on my toes.

How about you? What are you wearing on your nails?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Hey, good lookin’. It’s (almost) Friday, at last. I was just thinking that we should start a petition to officially declare that every weekend be a three-day weekend. We could send it with Tabs to Washington. Maybe dress him in a sharp suit and tie. 🙂

Tonight’s my last night here in Canada, and I’m plum tuckered out. The mission, which I still have to be cryptic about for a little longer, was a success. It was like a James Bond movie, filled with intrigue, secret doors, unique technology, provocative personalities and catchy nicknames. Pretty soon…

What’s new in your neck of the woods? Anything new to report?

Chips, Ahoy! It’s Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer, Matey

April 11th, 2011 by Karen 17 Comments

Estee lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer shades clockwise from the purple bottle on the left: Violet Diva, Fuchsia Flame, Purple Passion and Hot Coral

I try to treat my nails well. I really do. But the constant clacking away at the keyboard, coupled with the opening of countless cans of gravy, take a toll. That’s why I’m looking for nail polishes that do more than merely look good. They also need to stand up to the everyday drama/trauma I put my nails through.

I was hoping to find such a polish when I tried the new Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquers ($19 each). Last month the brand launched a newly reformulated line, adding eight bold, pigmented shades to their permanent collection (Frozen Fantasy, Rosa Rosa, Hot Coral, Pure Red, Enchanted Garnet, Fuchsia Flame, Purple Passion and Ultra Violet), as well as eight limited edition shades bound exclusively for Nordstrom stores (Sizzling taupe, Oyster Cult, Perfect Storm, Chocolate Crave, Mega Fuchsia, Violet Diva, Wicked Green and Wild Blue).

I’ve long loved EL’s polishes and really hoped these new ones would be just as great as their predecessors.

By all appearances, they are. The new shades sure look gorgeous on nails, don’t they? Vibrant, un-ignorable colors with a finish so shiny that it could cause temporary blindness? Hello!

Last week, along with my usual base and top coats, I wore two coats of Hot Coral on my fingers and Fuchsia Flame on my toes. From the get-go, things looked good; they applied just as smoothly as I hoped they would.

estee lauder pure color nail lacquer
Fuchsia Flame (left) and Hot Coral (right)

estee lauder pure color nail lacquer
Violet Diva (left) and Purple Passion (right)
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The Urban Decay Rollergirl Nail Kit Makes the Claws Come Out

April 1st, 2011 by Karen 69 Comments

urban decay rollergirl nail kit

Sometimes I wonder if Tabs has lost his ability to connect with felines and humans outside of the digital world.

Urban Decay Rollergirl Nail Kit

Since getting his iPhone, he communicates more and more of his ~~requests~~ demands via text, like this one from yesterday:

Woman, you need to swatch the Urban Decay Rollergirl Nail Kit ASAP or suffer the consequences. Don’t make me take my claws out!

(*sigh*) I live under a high-tech tabby dictatorship…

Urban Decay Rollergirl Nail Kit Swatches
Swatches from the left: Fame, Xanadu and Superfreak
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Sonia Kashuk’s New Spring 2011 Nail Colours Have a Formula That’s Right on Target

March 30th, 2011 by Karen 31 Comments

sonia kashuk tutti fruitti
Tutti Frutti

If Sonia Kashuk’s new Nail Colours were any easier to apply, they’d be called Nail Polish for Dummies — or, in my case, Nail Polish for the HELLA Sleep Deprived.

I barely slept at all last night, which, as you can probably imagine, isn’t conducive to good decision making. For reasons I won’t even try to understand, I decided to do some swatching this morning…at 3 a.m. (aka the witching hour). Yes, I know. Crazy, right? Well, I was awake, and it just seemed like a good idea at the time. Despite the ridiculous hour and this little thing called “poor hand-eye coordination,” Sonia’s polishes still did a remarkable job.

I tried three of the four new colors released for spring — khaki green Fatigued, creamy purple Violetta and bright reddish coral Tutti Frutti. I also really wanted to try the fourth shade, hot pink Jammin, but I haven’t been able to track it down. Like another one of Sonia’s popular products, her Flat Top Brush, it’s always sold out at the store.