Nails

What Are You Wearing on Your Nails?

February 8th, 2011 by Karen 81 Comments

I’m ready for you, Vampire Eric!

Well, pardner, I’m wearin’ NARS Desperado ($17) now, but I reckon I won’t be for much longer.

I thought it would look more like the Forever 21 necklace in the picture at the top because of how it looks in the bottle, but on my nails it looks more orange than that.

The more I think about it, the more Desperado reminds me of the antique brass spitoon my parents have in their living room (allegedly there for decorative purposes).

And yes, that’s a Hello Kitty bandage. I spaced out for a sec while making a smoothie the other day and, like a numbnuts, reached into the blender when it was off to rearrange some fruit chunks. Needless to say, I cut myself. 🙁

‘Twas not one of my smartest maneuvers…

At any rate, what are you wearing on your nails today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Press-On Nail Stickers: Fab or Faux Pas?

February 4th, 2011 by Karen 21 Comments

Press on, girly. We all just gotta press on…like Minx manicures. They press on. 🙂 Ever since Minx hit the scene a few years ago, press-on sticker nail coverings have been all the rage.

I generally try to keep adhesives away from my fingertips on account of an “incident” I had with a set of Lee Press-On Nails back when I was a kid (long story), so I’m not really into ’em, but when I spotted the new Glee-inspired Chic Print For Nails ($15) stickers at Sephora the other day, I almost caved!

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Oh, HAPPY FRIDAY! If you plan to celebrate the end of the workweek with a little makeup, Hautelook is having a great sale on NYX. To partake, you do have to join Haute Look, but it’s free (they will send occasional emails) and only takes a second.

Does the Sephora by OPI Glee Collection Hit All the Right Notes?

February 3rd, 2011 by Karen 48 Comments

sephora glee collection swatches top

“What does a show about high school choir have to do with nail polish?” I wondered, standing in the middle of Sephora yesterday. Gazing upon the display for the new Sephora by OPI Glee Collection, I tried to connect the dots between Mr. Shue, his band of musical misfits and OPI’s line of limited edition lacquers.

I guess the answer was obvious enough: who cares? 🙂 In a world with Spanx for Men, I suppose anything is possible.

Shoot, if Katy Perry and Justin Bieber can do it, why not the kids from McKinley High?

SIDENOTE: I predict the next stop on the Glee beauty bus will be a fragrance. Soon, your 10-year old cousin will be asking you to buy her the new Glee-eau de toilette (a fruity-floral, for sure!).

The lyrical line, which just arrived on shelves, contains 10 new shades ($9.50 each) and three packs of stick-on nail prints ($15 each). If $9.50 sounds like a lot, there’s also a set of six 0.12-oz. mini-bottles for $24. In true Glee fashion, the colors have names like “Slushied” and “Celibacy Club.”

I was hoping to find “The Chronic Lady,” “My Shop Teacher Has No Thumbs” and “The School Nurse Gave Me These Vitamins,” but then again I like to think of the quirky first season as the golden age of Glee.

I briefly considered the polka-dot nail stickers, but I think I was still under the influence of the drugs I got at the dentist… Adhesive beauty products aren’t usually my thing (I blame it on a traumatic experience involving Lee Press-On Nails many years ago).

Er, maybe?

But I did walk away with the Glee 6 Piece Mini Kit ($24). I already have a couple of Sephora by OPI polishes (love, LOVE Let’s do Lunch), and I think OPI’s polishes tend to be pretty sturdy when used with a good base and top coat. At a minimum, I figured I’d be getting polishes that would resist chips.

Sephora by OPI Glee Collection: The 6-Piece Mini Kit

Doesn’t the box look all Christmassy? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was originally slated for a Christmas release, because I think even the jewel-toned polish colors have a holiday feel.
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Your Nails May Want to Get a Little Closer to the Zoya Intimate Collection

January 27th, 2011 by Karen 68 Comments

zoya intimate collection

If you’ve yet to get your fill of purple, this spring’s prince of the color-sphere, feast your eyes on the sweet new shades in Zoya’s Intimate Collection ($7 each; available in six colors).

zoya dannii jules caitlin
Polishes from the left: Dannii, Jules and Caitlin

zoya dove marley gemma
Dove, Marley and Gemma

zoya dannii swatch
Swatches from the left: Dannii, Jules and Caitlin

zoya jules swatch
Jules

zoya caitlin swatch
Caitlin
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$20 Dolce & Gabbana Nail Lacquer in Platinum Looks Like a Million Bucks

January 18th, 2011 by Karen 56 Comments

Besides its top-shelf pigmentation and oodles of micro-glitter, Dolce & Gabbana’s Nail Lacquer in Platinum ($20) has a nice surprise that makes it stand out from all the other gray polishes showing up at department store counters this spring (see Estee Lauder Wild Violets and Dior Montaigne).

The sole nail color in the new Secret Garden Collection might look like your typical shimmery silver polish in the bottle, but on my nails Platinum subtly flashes from silver to gray to green to taupe depending on the light. Very cool!

Dolce & Gabbana Platinum nail polish swatch

I haven’t yet tested Platinum for durability since the bottle just came in, but if it’s anything like the Dolce & Gabbana polishes from the last few seasons it should resist chipping with a good base coat.
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A $5 Dupe for Chanel Riva? Yes Way! The China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Sea Spray

January 6th, 2011 by Karen 50 Comments

If price made your pretty nails pass on Chanel’s breathtaking but budget busting resort collection Riva ($27, ouch!), Anchors Away!

One of 12 nautical shades in the new China Glaze Anchors Away Collection for spring goes by the name of Sea Spray (about $5).

Here she is in her bottle next to Riva…

china glaze sea spray swatch

With a familiar marine-like blue vibe and similarly subtle micro glitter, both could be cousins, judging by the way they look in their bottles.

But how do they look beside each other on nails? Well, they aren’t twins, but they come fairly close. Sea Spray looks a little darker than Riva does and isn’t as creamy. And its micro glitter is silver, while Chanel’s is teal.

If you’re impatient, you might prefer China Glaze’s formula to Chanel’s, so that’s something else to consider (in addition to the difference in price). Sea Spray packs more pigment than Riva and takes just two coats to achieve full opacity; Chanel’s requires at least three to four (I used four here).

Chanel riva china glaze sea spray swatch
China Glaze Sea Spray (left) and Chanel Riva (right)
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Set Sail for Spring with the China Glaze Anchors Away Collection

January 5th, 2011 by Karen 75 Comments

Ahoy, matey! The new China Glaze Anchors Away Collection for spring 2011 just docked onto my doorstep, so I thought you’d want to see some swatches. 🙂

From left: Pelican Gray, First Mate and Lighthouse

Knotty, Life Preserver and Ahoy!

Starboard, White Cap and Sunset Sail

Below Deck, Hey Sailor and Sea Spray

Pelican Gray
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Take Your Nails from Grinch to Gorgeous with This Holiday Nail Art How-To

December 24th, 2010 by Karen 11 Comments

Written by Kerry

Blogger Kerry wants to help us get our nails into the holiday spirit with a work of nail art in today’s guest post.

I love winter. Hot cocoa, scarves, fireplaces, snow, Christmas music and movies, and the opportunity to get away with crazy nail art. I love using glitter during the winter months — I think there’s just something special about the way it sparkles in the winter sun. Today, however, I want to show you a simple nail design that I love to rock the week before Christmas. This is an unexpected nail look that’s fun yet understated.

NOTE: The links in here are just to show you what products I used, and not to recommend the particular sites. I purchased everything shown here at Five Below, Ulta, and Walgreens.

The first step is to apply a base coat. I like using Sally Hansen’s Insta-Grip Fast Dry Base Coat, but use whatever you feel comfortable with.

Once that’s dry, apply two coats of red polish. I used ORLY’s Monroe’s Red because it’s a bright Christmas-y color. If you find that the color clashes with your skin tone, use any red that you like. For this design, though, I think it’s better to stick to creams than shimmers. Monroe’s Red does have the subtlest of subtle red shimmer, but you really can’t see it unless you get millimeters away from my nails in the sunlight.
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Nails

At any rate, what are you wearing on your nails today?

What do you think of press-on nail stickers?

Sephora by OPI Glee Collection: The 6-Piece Mini Kit

Written by Kerry