Archive for June, 2010
Exclusive – Illamasqua Nail Varnish Competition Winners
Exciting news Fanatics! As you know Illamasqua hosted the first ever Nail Varnish Competition giving nail fanatics worldwide the chance to create their own signature shade of nail polish. Talk about an amazing opportunity!
Over 6,000 entries were received and those were pared down to a Top 100 for a panel of experts to vote on. The panel consisting of Sophy Robson, Alex Box, Pixiwoo girls and David Walker Smith of Selfridges were given such amazing choices that they selected not just one winner but THREE!! Thanks to Illamasqua, ALU is one of the first to bring you the news of the winning shades and the inspiration behind them. Have a look-see! |
CND Monday – Experimenting With Girlie Pink
Welcome to CND Monday, a regular series here on ALU. On each CND Monday I’ll be sharing a new layering combination from CND Colour & Effects to show you the versatility and creativity of the line.
Recently a reader emailed me asking about some of the lighter shades in the CND Colour range. After seeing my comparison of China Glaze Something Sweet & CND Tutu she was interested in finding additional opaque, cool-toned pinks in the CND lineup. Even though pinks aren’t necessarily my bag I’m happy to oblige reader requests when I can. Though unfortunately for this particular reader there aren’t any colors lighter than Tutu that are cool and opaque. Instead I went one step darker and pulled out Girlie Pink and some coordinating Effects to play with. |
ALU Link Love 6-20-10
This past weekend was packed with fun for the boyfriend and I. He’s on his annual summer break from Friday Night Hockey so we trekked out to the drive-in to see The A-Team and Killers. Per usual, the wine we packed put me to sleep during the second movie so I only saw The A-Team in full and let me tell you, staring at Bradley Cooper for two hours doesn’t suck. Oh and the movie was alright as well.
We spent yesterday evening at the yacht club with my Dad for Father’s Day. The weather was absolutely beautiful and there were no mayflies to be seen. Anyone along the Lake Erie coast knows what a blessing that is in June. We’re gearing up for our annual group outing to Put-In-Bay this weekend so hearing that the mayflies have come and gone from the area is amazing news. By the by, why are they called “mayflies” when they don’t show up until June? Makes no sense.
So let me get a little shameless self promotion out of the way before hitting you with my fave reads of the week. Indulge me Fanatics.
I wrote a fun piece on nail trends for AOL Stylelist that I hope you’ll enjoy. Check out The 5 Biggest Nail Trends For Summer 2010.
Also, Victoria Kirby from Makeup.com interviewed me for her Behind The Blog series. FYI, the OPI polish I referenced is Rainforest, not Greenforest. I talk REALLY fast so I’m sure it was quite a task for her to keep up with my babbling.
Now for my beauty blog must-reads for the week:
Christine from 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic agrees that MAC’s new Highlight Powder is just too pretty to use.
Have you found your new summer fragrance yet? Nancy from Beauty411 just might have found hers with a sneak peek at the new Coach Poppy fragrance.
Teri from Beautiful Makeup Search asks if you want a (fake) tan like one of the infamous Kardashian sisters. Check out her thoughts on the first product in their beauty line.
You know I love a quiz and this one from FabSugarUK is fun and relatively easy. Try it: Beyonce Song or Nail Lacquer Shade?
I’ve been meaning to meet up with Celebrity Manicurist Traceylee Percival during my past few trips to NYC and our schedules never mesh. This September it WILL happen. In the meantime, check out the summer nail tips she gave my girl Kristin from Fashion Style Beauty.
How do you feel about nail art on just the big toe? Glamour’s Girls In The Beauty Department want to know what you think.
Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog swatched the new Milani Liquid Metal Color Intense collection. I picked up the blue, Molten Rock, and it’s gorgeous!! Bonus: Milani is on sale this week at CVS BOGO 50% off.
Product Girl has been featuring some sneek peeks from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.
Orly Plastix Satin Finish Nail Polish Swatches & Review
“Gretchen, stop trying to make FETCH happen! It’s not going to happen!” – Regina George leader of “The Plastics” in Mean Girls.
For the past year now nail polish brands have been trying to “make fetch happen” with a seemingly never ending barrage of matte nail polishes. My lazy, always-running-late self loves mattes for their quick dry time and I know I’m not alone but the detractors seem to be in the majority. I get it. The wear issues and flat wall paint finish aren’t exactly selling points and most certainly deal breakers for a lot of you.
Enter Orly’s twist on the game, the Plastix Collection, a set of four satin lacquers. Like their Nails For Males and now discontinued Matte Top Coat these polishes dry with a semi-gloss “plastic” finish. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this type of finish but it hasn’t come in fun colors until now. The Fall runways featured lots of satin nails as well which is why I’m declaring Satin is the new Matte.
My 2010 Wedding Season Mani-Pedi Combination
This past weekend the boyfriend and I attended the wedding of one of our favorite people on the planet. She is funny, smart, charming. Just an amazing friend. One of those people that you meet and just know you want in your life. So you can imagine how happy we are that she found a man who realizes how special she is and treats her a queen.
Of course a wedding means planning the right outfit all the way down to your fingers and toes. I immediately knew which dress I wanted to wear but deciding on nail color was a challenge. Do I go trendy because I’m the all knowing nail girl (my friend said that, not me)? Do I play it safe because it’s a wedding? Or do I march to the beat of my own drummer and go with what strikes my fancy? I chose D – All Of The Above. |
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
