Nails

Essie Summer 2009: The Neon 2009 and North Fork Collections

April 10th, 2009 by Karen 38 Comments

essie-neon-summer-2009

For summer 2009, Essie’s delivering some non-traditional colors in their two new collections — one focusing on blues and the other on brights.

Coming soon: Neon 2009

I’m *really* looking forward to the April 15 (the wait is taxing my patience) arrival of Neon 2009.

The release looks like an extension of last summer’s jaw-dropping Neon collection (LOVED IT!), which was all about bright and funky.

Neon 2009 introduces four colors: Flirty Fuschia, Funky Limelight, Perky Purple and Punchy Pink ($8 each). I cannot wait for these colors to drop … especially the YELLOW!

Now available: North Fork Collection

essie north fork collection summer 2009

Neon won’t be here for a few days, but there’s no need to wait for Essie’s North Fork Collection because it’s out now. Somebody pass me a little black backpack, a spaghetti-strap dress and a white baby T because North Fork has me feeling very 1995.

The hot polish that year was Hard Candy’s Sky. A creamy baby blue nail, Sky looked unlike any other shade available on the nail scene, and women went NUTS for it.

And while none of the three blues in Essie’s North Fork ($8 each) are an exact match for Hard Candy Sky, I bet they drew a little inspiration from it.

Shelter Island: a creamy, light azure blue
Sag Harbor: a shimmery light grayish blue
Greenport: a creamy, light cerulian blue with hints of green

essie north fork shelter island summer 2009

essie north fork sag harbor summer 2009
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Do You Always Wear a Base Coat with Your Nail Polish?

April 10th, 2009 by Karen 33 Comments

essie first base base coat

Base coats, like the Essie First Base ($8) shown above, act like primer for nail polish, ensuring better adhesion of polish to the nail. Not only does that mean a more uniform application of color, but it means a longer lasting mani or pedi that’s slower to chip.

Other reasons to use a base coat

Base coats with certain proteins, Aloe vera, vitamin E and/or calcium can strengthen nails that are brittle and dry and reduce splitting and peeling.
Dark nail polishes like blues, blacks and bright reds can stain the nail and seep into the nail bed. Applying a base coat may prevent that from happening.
A base coat provides a hint of shine, and when used properly (base coat, color coat, top coat), the shine lasts even longer.

Sounds good, right?

Then why don’t I use one all the time, LOL? I wish I could say that I always take the time to apply a base coat, but I don’t. It’s a step I’ll skip if I’m feeling lazy or rushed, which is about half the time.

As a matter of fact, before my visit to the Lippmann Nail Bar last year, where I got a rundown on base coats from an accomplished polish pro, I used to skip the step entirely.

When you do your nails, do you always take the time to use a base coat?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Summer 2009 Cote D’Azur Nail Colours: For Die-Hard Chanel Fans

April 8th, 2009 by Karen 30 Comments

chanel-les-vernis-nail-colour-golden-sand-orange-fizz

If you’ve ever lost your sense of balance upon seeing a new Chanel nail polish for the first time (hellooo, VAMP?), you’re not the only one!

I almost passed out at the counter a few months ago when I first peeped deep, shimmery violet Vendetta — so frickin’ hot!

And before that, after seeing fall’s Haute Chocolate, a shimmery deep brown, I almost dropped to my knees.

But with the new Cote D’Azure collection, Chanel seems to have taken a quieter approach, with two fairly basic summer shades ($23 each): Orange Fizz (a creamy coral) and Golden Sand (a shimmery, peachy gold).

chanel-orange-fizz

The colors still have an elegant, summery vibe that I think stays true to the Chanel brand.

Can you imagine how pretty they’ll look with a tan?

Each color applies differently. Golden Sand, a limited edition shade, applies smoothly with even pigmentation. Using Orange Fizz, on the other hand, which isn’t limited edition, is a little bit trickier — as in thick and a little streaky — but a good base coat should fix the uneven color issue.

I’ve always had good luck with Chanel polishes in terms of wear time, and these shades seem just as durable as usual.

chanel-golden-sand

While I like these colors, my jaw didn’t drop (and I maintained my balance) when I saw them for the first time. Yeah, they’re pretty, but I wouldn’t drop everything to snatch a bottle.

As much as I LOVE Chanel and always will — this time, one could probably find similar shades from other nail polish lines for half the price…
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Barielle Decadence Nail Polish Blue Me Away

April 1st, 2009 by Karen 101 Comments

barielle decadence bottle

After working on my paper last night, I rewarded myself with an at-home pedi using Barielle’s new nail polish in Decadence ($8), a shimmery hot teal.

It’s one of six new shades from Barielle’s summer collection, and I think it’s my latest favorite polish!

It’s starting to warm up out here, and Decadence’s deep ocean blue really fits with the program.

These close ups *barely* do it justice.

barielle decadence 1

Get a load of that shine!

barielle decadence 3

You could easily skip the top coat.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Confessional

March 13th, 2009 by Karen 44 Comments

quelle-horreur-final

Heya, cuties! I’m feeling the need for some end-of-the-week beauty catharsis. As I sit here typing this sentence, my hair stinks more than sticky pleather pumps in the summertime.

This week several beauty rituals fell by the wayside. There were so many exciting makeup releases to cover (Chanel summer!!), plus I had hella reading and homework to do.

Thank goodness for all the fab beauty remedies we have at our fingertips. Without ’em, I might’ve completely devolved into Pig-Pen territory.

pigpen-1

With the Powers-That-Be as my witness, here are all the beauty violations I’m guilty of this week.

rene-furterer-naturia
Beauty Confession: I can’t remember the last time I washed my hair. I think it might’ve been Tuesday? I’m usually very motivated to be clean so I shower every night, but for the past few days I haven’t been washing my hair before bed. Drying five pounds of wet hair at 1 a.m. is no fun.

When my hair smells sketchy in the mornings I reach for Rene Furterer Naturia Dry Shampoo ($24). It’s a fine powder mist I spray on my roots. Naturia removes the greasy smell, erases oily shine and boosts volume. While not as refreshing as a real deal shampoo sesh, in a pinch it gets the job done.

sally-hansen-kwik-off
Beauty Confession: All the nails on my left hand are different colors. Avril Lavigne could get away with it during her Sk8er Boi era. On me it just looks plain crazy.

When I’m feeling swamped, eliminating the cotton ball from the nail polish removal equation makes the job a billion times easier.

Sally Hansen has one for busy beauties like us called Kwik Off ($4). It’s a big ole’ sponge soaked with nail polish remover and housed in a jar. I open the jar up, stick my finger into a pre-made hole in the sponge, twist it around a few times, et voila — my nail polish disappears faster than Cuba Gooding Jr.’s film career.

clean-shower-fresh-eau-de-parfum
Beauty Confession: I haven’t showered in two days. Earlier I mentioned that I usually shower every night, but last night I was totally glued to the tube (The Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo, watch it!). Plus, just the thought of squeezing a jar of body wash felt exhausting.
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Spa Ritual Lacquer Nail Polish: Loved by Dentists

March 11th, 2009 by Karen 23 Comments

spa ritual nail polish

My mom would totally flip out if she read this, but it’s the honest to gawd truth: when bottles of nail polish are too tight for me to open with my hands, I wrench them open with my teeth. I chomp down on the caps pirate style, arrgh! — gnarling and twisting until they come lose.

So nasty, I know! Besides the damage cap biting can do to teeth, it leaves bite marks all over the cap, which I’ll forget about when I lend a polish to friends. Usually a text or email will follow along the lines of, “Did a small animal get a hold of the bottle??” or “Did you use your teeth to open it? GROSS!”

Thanks to Spa Ritual Lacquer ($9), my cap-biting days are over.

The smart folks at eco-friendly Spa Ritual have a simple solution that works wonders — a rubbery, non-slip cap that’s a cinch to open.

Unlike regular slippery smooth nail polish caps, Spa Ritual’s rubberized cap is ridged and easy to grip.

The cap on a bottle of nail polish may seem like a silly detail, but I can’t tell you how many times my lotioned hands have struggled to open a bottle of polish.

spa ritual nail polish delight

As for the polish itself, it delivers fabulous pigmentation and shine. I tried three shades from Spa Rituals’ spring collection: Delight (a creamy, pale greenish blue), Marvel (a shimmery lavender) and Treasure (a shimmery golden orange).
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Let Lippmann Take You Back to the 80s with Spring Collection 2009

January 30th, 2009 by Karen 26 Comments

Hey, pretty young thing, do you think you can stand the purple rain?

Flash back to the ’80s with Lippmann’s two new spring 2009 nail polish shades. Available next month, both colors pay homage to two of the biggest song hits of the decade, Prince’s Purple Rain and Michael Jackson’s P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).

Purple Rain ($15) gives props to Prince, aka the strange little man who made wearing ruffles and high heels hot. It’s a frosty light violet that reminds me of something from the Wet n’ Wild nail polish line circa 1986, and it’s so dead-on ’80s that I want to pull on some black jelly bracelets and ride around the neighborhood on my banana seat bike!

I love Prince and purple, but I’m not totally sold on Purple Rain. Help me out. What do you think? Does it look a little too pale and frosty on my nails? I keep seeing images of Dame Edna’s purple coif.

Lippmann teamed up with designer Zac Posen to create Purple Rain for his Spring 2009 runway show at Mercedes-Benz fashion week in New York, coming up with the name and helping to develop the color.

I might try layering it over a darker color to deepen the shade.

If you’re of a lighter skin tone than I am and like the way you look in pastels, Purple Rain could look really great on you. Lippmann polishes always deliver when it comes to durability, and that’s also the case here. Making and Beauty Blog Rating: B-

P.Y.T. = one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs of all time! “Pretty young things, repeat after me, say nah nah nah!” So you know I had to bump that jam when I painted my nails with the second shade in Lippmann’s spring release, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) ($15).

$michael jackson wearing a yellow vest back when he wasn\'t totally scary$
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New Essie Naturally Clean Moisturizes with All-Natural Ingredients

January 28th, 2009 by Karen 24 Comments

I wash my hands. A lot.

I do it to lessen my odds of catching colds and because I’m a little obsessive.

Perhaps my almost unnatural love of hand cleansing is what has me so stoked about the Essie Naturally Clean collection. The products in the release are 100% natural and contain essential oils like eucalyptus (a natural antiseptic), vitamins and antioxidants. Essie went au natural with Naturally Clean and shied away from harsh chemicals, yea!

The collection had me at hello.

I like the light lemon scent of these five products and their minimalist packaging. Of the five, I’ve tried three:

Purifying Nail Polish Remover ($6 for a 4-fl. oz. bottle; $16 for a 16-fl. oz. bottle)

Viva la FAST!

This stuff works like greased lightning! It removes nail polish faster than you can say the words, “Why, yes, Christian Bale, you may certainly massage my feet.”

Purifying Nail Polish Remover effortlessly lifted the remnants of the Essie Spring 2009 swatches (aka the infamous “broke ass manicure“) that were still clinging to my nails.

I soaked a cotton pad in it, pressed it down on a polished nail and then wiped from cuticle to tip. It only took one swipe — amazing! Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

100% Purifying Hand Treatment with Nourishing Botanicals ($24 for a 8-fl. oz. bottle)

Essie loaded Purifying Hand Treatment with lots of good stuff: aloe and vegetable glycerin to moisturize skin, eucalyptus oil to sanitize and vitamin-enriched rice bran for antioxidant protection. It’s like an all-natural version of Purell with added moisturizers.

At $24 it’s hella expensive — certainly more expensive than Purell — but it’s natural, works well, feels good and, thankfully, a little goes a long way. A pea-sized amount thoroughly cleans and moisturizes both hands. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Purifying Hand Wash with Nourishing Botanicals ($14, 8-oz. bottle)

In winter, frequent hand washing can leave my paws feeling tight and looking ashy.
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