Archive for December, 2008
Dashing Diva Sneak Peek – The Manhattan Collection
Hey kids! Guess who’s got the scoop on the new Dashing Diva collection? That’s right, moi! To celebrate the new year and a successful five years in New York, Dashing Diva is launching The Manhattan Collection which just happens to coincide with the opening of their 8th New York location on Long Island.
The Manhattan Collection
Central Park After Dark – a soft wine, burgundy
East Village – chocolate brown
NYPD Blue – true dark navy blue
The Red Carpet – true bright red
And just in time for the holidays, Dashing Diva released two new metallics. Rich and sparkling to add a bit of flair to your party look, Golden Opportunity and A Silver Lining are pure bling.
Dashing Diva products can be found at their salons and online at DashingDiva.com. Right now, they have a bunch of colors on sale for 25% off, including one of my favorite blues ever… Stellar Ella, so check it out.
Full reviews of The Manhattan Collection are on their way so stay tuned.
Gift Guide – The 21 Hottest Holiday Polishes
So you have a nail fanatic in your life that you’d love to surprise with the gift of polish but have no idea where to begin. Whether you’re dropping a bottle in a stocking or creating a personalized gift set, I’m here to help you navigate the racks with the 21 trendiest shades of the season.
I hand picked the best of the best from this year’s fall and holiday collections to take the guesswork out of the polish shopping experience. Check your fanatic’s stash and if you find the collection lacking these shades, they’ll certainly be delighted to receive any of them from you.
Red and Green – What colors best represent the season than red and green? And this year I got my wish by seeing even more lovely greens come out on the market. So whether your fanatic is traditional (red) or a little more daring (green) these beauties will be the perfect party accessory.
Grey/Greige/Taupe – This oddball part of the color spectrum was a huge hit for fall. Funky shades are “it” my friends. And even though Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy technically came out last year, you can’t blame Ji Baek for being ahead of the curve. Leaving Stormy out would be a crime of nail fashion!
Metallic – Molten nails have been all the rage and whether you go subtle with a light shimmer or punch it up with glittering gold and silver, these babies are sure to get compliments. They’re the perfect addition to a New Year’s Eve ensemble. Chanel Kaleidoscope isn’t easy to find but you would be such a rock star for scoring a bottle. I’ve seen them on ebay and even though I don’t condone price gouging, sometimes we have to say “uncle” and give in.
Purple and Brown – This color story wasn’t as prominent but for vampy nail lovers, purple and brown are a fresh take on that tired black and navy of years past. If you’ve been searching, like I have, for the ideal brown creme, one that isn’t too red or black based, you MUST buy Zoya Nina. Perfection!
For purchase information and full reviews, click on the polish names. For those not linked, check RescueBeauty.com, SpaRitual.com, Zoya.com, Head2ToeBeauty.com and 8ty8beauty.com for more info.
So I’m dying to know… how many of you own all of these shades? Which ones are you missing? What makes your “must have” holiday list?
Chanel Moscow Nail Colour Collection
Spring boarding off the huge success of last summer’s Robertson Nail Collection, Chanel is introducing yet another set of limited edition polishes. The brainchild of Global Creative Director, Peter Philips, the Moscow Nail Collection consists of three glowing and intense looking glittery, black-based polishes inspired the beauty of Russian women. Making an appearance at the Chanel Paris-Moscow show on December 3rd, the colors are now available for purchase.
Now I don’t know Peter Philips but I have a bit of a crush on him. During my trip to NYC in October I had the pleasure of having tea with Chanel’s PR team. During our meeting, the ladies shared what a polish fanatic Peter is. That just made my little heart flutter. To see a prestige brand that recognizes the power of polish. That realizes that it isn’t just an ancillary product but an important part of the overall aesthetic. To that I say BRAVO! It’s now my goal to meet Mr. Philips some day.
“The Or de Russie nail colour we used on the models at the show comes from the new CHANEL Moscow Collection, composed of three shades that I specially created for the show,†states Peter Philips. “The base of these three shades is black, to which we added a different sparkle for each of the colours: red, gold and blue. The Feu de Russie shade is intense and reflects passion. Or de Russie has a slight gold patina and evokes richness, while Nuit de Russie blue is full of mystery. When you apply the shades, which are rather dark, the surprising element is that they capture light so well that they create a fireworks effect – the shades dazzle with an unbelievable sparkle.â€
The 2008 collection looked to Moscow, capital of a country and a culture which fascinated Gabrielle Chanel. With the Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich, Mademoiselle discovered the splendor of the tsars. In 1927, with Ernest Beaux, the perfumer of the tsars, she created her own fragrance, Cuir de Russie. She borrowed the pea jacket and pelisse from her lover Dmitri and gave them a feminine touch. The lavish embroidery and the byzantine accents of the Russian empire jewels are recurrent leitmotivs in the world of Chanel. But her most brilliant connections with Russia are still those with the Russian artists like Stravinsky, Diaghilev and Lifar.
The Chanel Moscow nail colour collection is available exclusively at CHANEL boutiques, CHANEL Makeup Studios and on Chanel.com. Suggested retail price: $30.00
Stay tuned for a full review and swatches but in the meantime, who’s buying?
info and product images courtesy of Chanel. additional images: Vogue UK
Celebrity Nail Watch – 12-12-08
Let’s see what’s happening this week in the world of celebrity nails
 Rihanna, our favorite nailista, donned some taxi cab yellow smiley face tips at Capital FM’s Jingle Bell Ball in London. They’re cute but maybe not outfit appropriate. I’d rather see gold or red with this look. |
 Not even a month after giving birth to baby Bronx, Ashlee Simpson stepped out on the town to support hubby Pete Wentz‘s gallery opening at Gallery 1988. She’s wearing what looks like OPI You Don’t Know Jacques. Very on trend! Me likey. |
 Party girl and The Hills Audrina Patridge rocked some berry tips at the Waiting in Beijing VIP Reception. I’m not normally a fan of her looks and even though the top is a little sheer in the boobage region, I’m diggin the nails. |
 Reality TV BFF’s Lauren Conrad & Lo Bosworth hit the Hornitos “Midnight in the Garden of Agave” party sporting matching classic red tips. Do these two do anything without the other? |
 Even more MTV reality stars in the house at the Hornitos event. Tila Tequila and her on again off again gal pal Courtenay Semel also did the matchy matchy nail thing with dark vampy tips. Are matching nails a new trend or just a coincidence? |
 And even though this is an older picture from Lindsay Lohan‘s 6126 launch at Henri Bendel, I have to thank my pal Jamie from The Beauty of Life for sharing it with me. I just love her blue polish. I’d say it’s Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm unless it’s shimmery. Any guesses on what it might be? |
image credit: WireImage
Jessica Custom Nail Colour – Holiday Petites
Jessica Cosmetics is the nail care brand founded by Jessica Vartoughian, the woman the New York Times dubbed “The First Lady of Nails.” Since 1969 when the Jessica Nail Clinic opened in LA, the brand has practiced natural nail treatments including use of their signature nail polish, a 3-free line of colors.
For Holiday 2008, the brand put together two mini nail polish sets from both the Jessica & Jessana lines; Nutcracker Sweet and Sweet Treats. Each set includes three mini .25 oz bottles of nail color, base coat and top coat. I had the opportunity to test out the Nutcracker Sweet set.
Previously I’ve only seen Jessica products at TJ Maxx and like all the beauty products they sell, the quality can be sketchy. I once bought a Barielle treatment only to get home and find the bottle half empty, dried up and open. Lesson learned, always open the boxes before buying. Anywho the Jessica sets I’ve seen at the Maxx are usually sheers or french mani kits, not my thing, so I never bothered but the colors in Nutcracker Sweet, totally me.
Even though the bottles are small, the caps are still nice and long, easy to handle. The brushes are full size as well so application was a breeze. I really like the medium viscosity formula and high pigmentation. They’re able to pack in a ton of color without making the formula goopy. It dries relatively fast as well. I could touch each shade after a few minutes.
Lilac Snowflake is not what I’d think of as lilac. It’s more fuchsia to my eye with pink and silver shimmer giving it a metallic look without the brush stroke downside of metallics.
Crimson Dew Drop reminds me a lot of OPI Midnight is Moscow only with way more glitz. It’s a black based, uber-dark red with a ton of duo-chrome micro-glitter that reflects both red and gold depending on the light. And because the glitter is so small, the polish dries smooth and glossy. No matte finish here!
Sugar Plum Fairy on its own is reason enough to buy this set. It’s the color that immediately drew me in. A blue based purple, it has the same amazing micro-glitter that’s in Crimson Dew Drop. Believe me, it’s WAY better in person.
The Jessica Holiday Petites are available on the Jessica Cosmetics website. Nutcracker Sweet retails for $16.50 and Sweet Treats is on sale for $12.50.
Who’s a Jessica fan? What colors do you recommend for a Jessica newbie?
Lisa N.
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