The original Footloose is one of my all-time favorite movies. Even though coordination and grace are not attributes I possess, I love to dance and I’m a sucker for any flick involving dancing (Center Stage, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Step Up, etc). Footloose makes it to the top my list thanks to the combination of Kevin Bacon and an awesome 80s soundtrack.

So you can imagine my horror when I heard a Footloose remake was in the works. Does Hollywood have to remake EVERYTHING? Are there no original stories left that aren’t based on actual events? I mean really! And how bad would it have been if they stuck with the original idea of a musical version of Footloose with Chase Crawford? Hairspray was bad enough. It destroyed the perverse magic of John Waters but a singing Ren McCormack would have been too much for me.

Now I’ve heard that the Footloose update isn’t as horrible as I predicted but I still won’t be forking over cash in a theater to watch it. However one good thing did come from all this; Deborah Lippmann teamed up with HSN to be a part of their Footloose Collection. She created two exclusive nail polish duos named after the songs we all remember from the original film – Almost Paradise & Footloose and Dancing In The Sheets & Let’s Hear It For The Boy.

Formula & Application: Deborah Lippmann nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and doesn’t contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Her signature glass bottle is so distinct you would know the brand even without the name on it. It’s one of the best bottle shapes in the industry. The curved cap was designed with professional manicurists in mind as it is shaped to rest comfortably between your fingers.

The Lippmann brush is short, round and average in width with flexible bristles that easily fan out over the nail plate. The three creme polishes all have the same creme/jelly hybrid formula that I’ve come to expect from Lippmann. They are packed with pigment but have a squishy, jelly type feel. The one shimmer is thin, easy to manipulate and pigmented. I was able to get great coverage in two coats with all but one (Almost Paradise) though the red (Footloose) probably could have used a third coat as there is a wee bit of VNL (visible nail line).

Deborah Lippmann Footloose causes immediate flashbacks to Ariel’s signature red cowboy boots. The ones her preacher daddy hated SO MUCH. Of course Ariel’s boots looked more dark cherry in the movie and Footloose is a ripe tomato creme. While I’m normally pretty immune to red polish, this one flowed on the nail so phenomenally that it turned me into a red lover for a hot second.

Deborah Lippmann Almost Paradise is not the kind of green I normally fall for. Yellow-based hues just aren’t that flattering on me but there’s something about this cross between chartreuse and celery that I’m obsessed with. Even though it takes three coats, it’s totally worth it. Get involved people!  Side note, the Dior Spring 2012 runway featured a bold red lip paired with a light green nail that wasn’t nearly as pretty as this color. Hop on the trend early by wearing an Almost Paradise mani with a Footloose pedi.

Deborah Lippmann Let’s Hear It For The Boy is a pale periwinkle blue creme. It has a bit too much purple in its base to qualify as baby blue, as the name suggests, or sky blue and I dig it. It’s like a watered down version of China Glaze Secret Periwinkle.

Deborah Lippmann Dancing In The Sheets is a moody indigo shimmer. The deep aubergine base is sprinkled with ice blue shimmer that makes the polish look duochrome in the bottle. On the nail it has an inky, almost black look and in bright light, the shimmer comes to life.

Bottom Line: I love the Lippmann formula and its wear but have always found the core line lacking in blues. If you love blues like I do, the Let’s Hear It For The Boy/Dancing In The Sheets duo will definitely fill that need. They will happily join Across The Universe and Lady Sings The Blues in my collection. The duo containing Almost Paradise and Footloose is worth a look if you’ve been hunting for that perfect pale yellow-based green. Even if you’re not all that into reds, you’ll fall for how amaze Footloose applies.

The Deborah Lippmann for HSN Footloose Nail Polish Collection Duos are available exclusively on HSN.com. The duos retail for $32/set for two .5oz bottles.

Are you feeling the Footloose collection polishes? Which duo is your fave? If you could create your own duo from the four shades, which two would you put together. Who saw the remake? Which version is better?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Deborah Lippmann. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

From olive to hunter, military inspired designs and colors dominated the Fall 2011 runway shows. Those shades came straight off the models and into nail polish bottles in a number of the fall collections.

Over the next couple weeks I’ll be walking you through the big nail polish trends for the season, showing you the newest shades to hit the market and the old school colors you may already own that will get your nail style ready for fall.

The New Class (Fall 2011 Release) – all polishes are shown using two coats

Laying down: MAC Fatigues & Deborah Lippmann Billionaire. Standing: China Glaze Westside Warrior, Color Club Artsy Crafty, Finger Paints Military Green, Butter London Wallis, OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down The Window & Cult Nails In A Trance. Top Row: Zoya Yara & Zoya Dree

Butter London Wallis ($14, butterLondon.com, Beauty.com, ULTA, Nordstrom) is a metallic olive green that leans heavily towards gold. The base is a dark olive but the green-gold flakes floating on the surface give this colors a foil-like finish.

China Glaze Westside Warrior ($3, Head2ToeBeauty, TransDesign. $6, Sally Beauty) reminds me of castelvetrano olives. I only recently discovered these buttery gems through a friend and I’m obsessed. My only complaint with Westside Warrior is that the formula wasn’t up to par. It was pigmented but a little goopy and hard to work with.

Color Club Artsy Crafty ($8, ShopColorClub.com) is a lush forest green with a greyed underbelly that gives it some grit.

Cult Nails In A Trance ($10, CultNails.com) is a browned olive green shimmer. The satiny finish and old world charm hearkens back to medieval tapestries or royal gowns.

Deborah Lippmann Billionaire ($16, DeborahLippmann.com, Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom) is the darkest of the fall green offerings. It’s as if you took a vivid hunter green and drabbed it out with a touch of brown and black. The color was used at the Lela Rose F/W 2011 show and it’s got this great jelly consistency that is packed with pigment.

Finger Paints Military Green ($4.99, SallyBeauty.com) honestly looks terrible in the bottle. It was kind of yellowish, like baby poo or something but on the nail, LOVE! It’s reminiscent of Essie Sew Psyched or Chanel Khaki Vert and applies flawlessly on the nail.

MAC Fatigues ($15, MACCosmetics.com) is part of the MAC Me Over! collection and what I love about it is that it’s not as yellow based as the other colors in this category. It’s more cool tone friendly.

OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down The Window ($8.50,OPI.com for locations) is a vivid olive hue. I know the words feel wrong together but I’ve been calling it a bright drab. The name is the only thing that bothers me. Even though, at my core, I’m a 12 year old boy with a love for potty humor, mixing that with something in the beauty world doesn’t sit right with me.

Zoya Dree ($8, Zoya.com) is the darkened version of OPI Uh-Oh. They definitely live in the same neighborhood, go to the same school and may even share some classes together.

Zoya Yara ($8, Zoya.com) – Okay so I have this sweater that I refuse to get rid of even though it’s so out of style it’s not even funny. The reason I keep it, it looks exactly like Yara! It’s this yellow-based green knit hoodie that has small golden threads woven throughout. Now that I have a polish to match it, why would I donate it?

The OG’s – The “Original (Military) Greens” in my stash

Not all of these shades are still available but if you have them in your nail wardrobe, now is the time to rock ‘em.

Laying down: NARS Mash & Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War Standing: Essie Sew Psyched, Chanel Khaki Vert, American Apparel Hunter, Zoya Gemma, Rescue Beauty Lounge Diddy Mow, Illamasqua Hectic, NARS Platoon

Best colors to pair with Military Greens – Berry, gold, pewter, camel

Thoughts on the Military Green nail color trend? Did your faves make the cut? Which new colors do you plan to pick up? Are there any readily available shades that I missed that we should know about?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for butter LONDON, China Glaze, Color Club, Cult Nails, Deborah Lippmann, Finger Paints, MAC, OPI and Zoya. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

Deborah Lippmann is a busy lady this holiday season. Not only is she releasing four new party-in-a-bottle glitters but she’s also teaming up with Juicy Couture to create some exclusive nail polish shades for the brand.

Fill your stocking with everything for luxe nails and flawlessly luscious lips this holiday season. For Holiday 2011 Juicy Couture introduces exclusive collaborations with the creative force behind the fashion industry’s hottest nail looks, Deborah Lippmann, and make-up artist to the stars, Troy Surratt. These beauty collections are must-haves under the mistletoe for every Juicy girl to sparkle and shine.

Deborah Lippmann, the first name in fashion-setting nails, collaborates with Juicy Couture for a dazzling holiday collection. Featuring two exclusive regal Deborah Lippmann nail lacquers and four classic shades, the Deborah Lippmann and Juicy Couture collection offers chic holiday hand looks for every glamour girl.

“Just like Deborah Lippmann nail lacquer, Juicy Couture’s trendsetting style makes fashion fun—each collection has a playful twist. A collaboration between the two celebrity cult favorites just made perfect sense,” says Deborah Lippmann.

The Deborah Lippmann and Juicy Couture collection includes:

Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer and Juicy Couture Hand Warmer Gift Set ($68): Keep hands happy this winter without covering up your gorgeous nail color with limited edition Deborah Lippmann polish and Juicy Couture hand warmer sets:

• Jewel in the Crown: A Juicy Couture and Deborah Lippmann shade exclusive, this shimmering pewter is made for the modern matriarch.
• Believe: Inspired by the queen of onstage glam, Cher, this glimmering gold beige gets nails holiday-ready in an instant.

Precious Metals ($48): Experience high-impact sparkle metallics like never before. This holiday, Deborah Lippmann and Juicy Couture present two new eye-catching glitter colors and one Deborah Lippmann classic that begs to be noticed.

• Here Comes the Queen: A Juicy Couture and Deborah Lippmann shade exclusive, this sheer glaze is infused with ultra-glam gold. Arrive in style by wearing it alone or on top of your favorite shade.
• Jewel in the Crown: A Juicy Couture and Deborah Lippmann shade exclusive, shimmering pewter is perfect for adding a glow to fingers or toes.
• Believe: A glimmering gold beige created with Cher.

Shimmer and Shine ($48): Wake up your winter style with this set of three luxe glimmer lacquers by Deborah Lippmann, the perfect pick-me-up for every holiday look. Shades include:

• Bring on the Bling: Divine shimmer containing virgin diamond powder
• Whatever Lola Wants: Sassy, sparkling lavender
• Since I Fell For You: Shining shiraz

I already see a potential holiday gift in the Precious Metals set. My metallic loving mother is already a fan of Believe since it’s created by one of her idols, Cher, so I’m sure she will adore the LE colors accompanying it.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. I’ve been doing quite a few interviews lately for various publications about summer and fall nail trends. Of course we know that crackle is EVERYWHERE, nail art isn’t dying out anytime soon and neutrals have been making a resurgence. But what I find funny is when looks that are pretty much “old hat” in the nail community end up being the “new” hot trend. I was recently asked by the Style Network’s StyleSpy about the “new” celebrity accent nail trend and the best ways to wear the look. Of course, this isn’t exactly a new look but since so many celebrities have been rocking the accent nail it’s now a thing. My advice has always been to look for contrasting or complementary color combos. Black & white, purple and gold, lime and fuchsia, etc. For this summer my favorite combination is orange & blue or teal & coral, so I rummaged my untrieds to create a fun accent nail manicure and came up with Deborah Lippmann Lara’s Theme and Orly Frisky.

Formula & Application: Deborah Lippmann nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and doesn’t contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Her signature glass bottle is so distinct you would know the brand even without the name on it. It’s one of the best bottle shapes in the industry. The curved cap was designed with professional manicurists in mind as it is shaped to rest comfortably between your fingers.

The Lippmann brush is short, round and average in width with flexible bristles that easily fan out over the nail plate. Lara’s Theme has the same creme jelly hybrid formula that I’ve come to expect from Lippmann. They are packed with pigment but have a squishy, jelly type feel. I was able to get great coverage in two coats but the polish was a bit temperamental and could end up streaky if you press too hard on your brush, requiring a third.

Formula & Application: Orly nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and does not contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Orly polishes come with the fan fave rubberized cap. That signature easy-to-grip topper makes it easy to control the polish. The brush is long and thin with flexible bristles. I personally would like it if there were more bristles to get more coverage in each stroke.

The consistency of Frisky is kind of thick and it isn’t the best at self leveling but wow is it packed with pigment. I used two coats and that almost felt like overkill.

Deborah Lippmann Lara’s Theme was created with supermodel Lara Stone. Of course, the polish is named after the song from Doctor Zhivago. I had a music box that played this song when I was little and even played it on my flute. It’s so haunting. The polish is a Dutch orange creme in honor of Lara’s country of origin. Similar to the Summer 2010 release, Essie Vermillionaire, though Lara’s Theme has a bit more intensity.

Orly Frisky is part of the Happy Go Lucky collection and even though it’s described as teal, I see it as cross between sky blue and turquoise. It has a hint of green in its base though next to a polish with the same depth, Essie Turquoise & Caicos, it looks very blue. It’s a much more interesting color than I expected.

Bottom Line: Together these colors have me longing for Key West or Miami beach. Somewhere with a great party atmosphere, a beach and fruity drinks. On their own, Frisky is definitely the more unique flower. If I were calling the shots, I would say definitely pick up Frisky and snag Lara’s Theme only if you don’t already own Vermillionaire.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: Since I love how these colors look together, I’m STASHing both. I can see a Lara’s Theme pedi with a Frisky mani in my future.

Deborah Lippmann Lara’s Theme is available at DeborahLippmann.com and Nordstrom stores as well as Nordstrom.com and Beauty.com and retails for $16/ea for a .5oz bottle. Orly Frisky is available at salons nationwide including Sally Beauty and ULTA. Orly nail polishes retail for $7.50/ea for a .6 oz bottle.

What if your favorite accent nail combination? Do you switch up the nail you polish with the contrasting color? Thoughts on Frisky and Lara’s Theme?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Deborah Lippmann and Orly. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

More like, let’s get this GLITTER party started! As part of Nordstrom’s annual Anniversary Sale, Deborah Lippmann has yet again put together a glitzed out set of glitter polishes called Get This Party Started.

Nothing says ‘Party’ like the magnetic sparkle of glitter. So for the biggest party season of the year, I’ve created shades that truly dazzle. Get This Party Started, a set of three glitters, was inspired by the overwhelming demand for my best selling Happy Birthday, a glittery party in a bottle. The set includes Happy Birthday, along with two new variations of the sparkling shade: Forget You and Candy Shop. They’re both packed with the same unique hexagon-shaped glitter that gives Happy Birthday its magnificent glint, only Forget You has a sheer black base and Candy Shop a bubblegum pink.

I love how festive all three look and feel, whether wrapped a round a champagne glass or peeping out of a glamorous pump. But what I truly love the most: how a few coats of any shade instantly transform you into the life of the party.

The set (l-r): Happy Birthday, Candy Shop, Forget You

Happy Birthday – a party in a bottle (glitter)

Candy Shop – bubblegum pink (glitter)

Forget You – party all night (glitter)

The Deborah Lippmann Get This Party Started set launches on July 15th 2011 during the Nordstrom Anniverary Sale. The set will retail for $42. Pre-orders officially begin July 5th though I hear some stores are accepting them now.

Thoughts on Get This Party Started? Will you be picking up the set when it comes out? Or will you wait for the individual colors to come out in August? What is your favorite Deborah Lippmann glitter? Is there a specific type of glitter you wish she would come out with? I would love to see an emerald version of Lady Sings The Blues.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. It’s funny how my feelings about my birthday have changed over the thirty #$%$# years I’ve been alive. Growing up an only child, my parents spoiled the pants off me so it’s no wonder that I spent my teens and 20s turning my day into a week that was “all about me.” When I hit 30 the world was ending, of course, and now that I’m more comfortable with that first digit in my age, I find myself not caring so much about the celebration as I used to. I just remember how lucky I am to have two amazing parents who think the world revolves around me (it does doesn’t it?), a boyfriend/partner who goes above and beyond to make my life complete and a wonderfully diverse cast of characters who are more like family than friends. And of course, I’m so so lucky to have all of you supporting me and sharing the polish love. Today’s polish choice was a no-brainer since today is my birthday. Cue the fanfare, ha! I started off the month with a polish named Happy Birthday so it seems fitting to close it out the same way. This time with Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday and guest star I Know What Boys Like from the Summer 2011 color collection.

Formula & Application: Deborah Lippmann nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and doesn’t contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Her signature glass bottle is so distinct you would know the brand even without the name on it. It’s one of the best bottle shapes in the industry. The curved cap was designed with professional manicurists in mind as it is shaped to rest comfortably between your fingers.

The Lippmann brush is short, round and average in width with flexible bristles that easily fan out over the nail plate. Both polishes have a squishy, watery feel in application. It’s as though the formula is a blend of jelly and creme. For reference, Call Me Irresponsible has the same texture and reminds me of the current Essie formula. The level of opacity in these two polishes is very different so I’m going to address that in the individual reviews below.

I started my birthday manicure with a base of Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like one of the new Summer 2011 polishes. When I first saw IKWBL last Fall I immediately thought of Call Me Irresponsible. I even asked if this was the blue version of that shade. In essence it is but the formula is much better in my opinion. Whereas I needed three coats with CMI, IKWBL is utter perfection in two flawless coats.

I feel like I’m using the word periwinkle a lot lately but it fits this color rather well. Though unlike the smoky versions of the shade I’ve talked about recently (Zoya Caitlin, Sparitual A World of Compassion) this is a rich, vibrant representation.

I added two coats of Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday on top to add a little flair. Happy Birthday is nail confetti. Its clear base houses what can only be described as a sh*t-ton of glitter (nice mouth, I know). A rainbow of large hexagonal sequins are mixed with smaller square glitter. Every piece is a colored mirror begging the light to play with it. Now these types of glitter polishes are tricky to work with. If you want the most glitter impact per stroke you have to lay it down kind of thick and with authority and even then the majority of the glitter will end up closer to your tips. It’s the nature of the game.

Now my original plan was to go all out with a full Happy Birthday manicure but the whiny baby in me didn’t want to deal with the removal. But after I completed my layering manicure I decided I needed a bit more bling so I removed the polish from my ring finger and turned it into my glitter accent nail. To get this look I used four thick coats of polish. And as much as I worried that it would make my nail feel really thick, it didn’t. The base is so nice and thin that all you really feel is the texture from the glitter, which with top coat isn’t that noticeable. The sequins lay down nice and flat so there’s none of that bumpy feel you get with some glitters.

Bottom Line: I Know What Boys Like is so my style, that I can’t imagine not loving it. Clearly I’m having a periwinkle moment and this vivid version is perfect for the season. As soon as I saw it last September I had a feeling that it would be a favorite and now that I’ve worn it, I know it’s true. Now Happy Birthday does have several dupes on the market including the more budget friendly Milani Jewel FX Gems. I would say the one advantage HB has over Gems is the color range of its glitter. Gems feels a bit Christmas-y in that red, gold and green tend to stand out as opposed to HB’s pops of pink and blue.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: While I don’t know that I’ll use HB as much as IKWBL I’m STASHing both.

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday and I Know What Boys Like are both available now at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Barneys NY stores. Online shoppers can head to DeborahLippmann.com,  Nordstrom.com,  Barneys.com,  Beauty.com, and NeimanMarcus.com. I Know What Boys Like retails for $16/ea and Happy Birthday retails for $18/ea for a .5oz bottle.

Thoughts on these two shades? Do you plan to pick up either shade? What is your favorite Deborah Lippmann nail polish? What was your last birthday manicure?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by PR reps for Deborah Lippmann. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. Deborah Lippmann’s Spring 2011 Collection nail polishes both made their first public appearance during New York Fashion Week. Naked, a classic backstage beige, was seen on the ADAM runway where the look was a modern take on 70s fashion. Glitter in the Air, which Deb created after seeing Pink’s ethereal performance at the 2010 Grammys, was the finishing touch to a layered manicure with Fashion at Badgley Mischka. When I first saw Glitter in the Air last September, I couldn’t help but drool over the cotton candy confection. My mind starting racing with layering ideas, including Waking Up In Vegas but it was Deb who suggested wearing it over Naked so I decided to combine the two for today’s post.

Formula & Application: Deborah Lippmann nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and doesn’t contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Her signature glass bottle is so distinct you would know the brand even without the name on it. It’s one of the best bottle shapes in the industry. The curved cap was designed with professional manicurists in mind as it is shaped to rest comfortably between your fingers.

The Lippmann brush is short, round and average in width with flexible bristles that easily fan out over the nail plate.  Both Naked and Glitter in the Air had a squishy, watery feel in application. It’s as though the formula is a blend of jelly and creme. For reference, Call Me Irresponsible has the same texture and reminds me of the current Essie formula. The level of opacity in these two polishes is very different so I’m going to address that in the individual reviews below.

Naked is a creamy beige. It reminds me of Barbie doll skin, in the best possible way. It’s probably one of the most neutral beiges I’ve come across in a while as it doesn’t lean pink or peach. In terms of pigment, it’s not the most opaque polish but that was not Deb’s intention. She wanted coverage but not full coverage and with three coats, that’s exactly what you get.  There is a hint of VNL but it’s tolerable. Due to its jelly-like texture, Naked dries extremely glossy.

Glitter in the Air is a milky baby blue jelly filled with pink quartz and sky blue hexagonal glitter in varying sizes. The past couple years we’ve seen Deb contain her “glitter party” to the latter half of the year but this time around she has extended the fiesta until spring. As much as I would love to tell you that all that dreamy blue haze translates to the nail, it doesn’t. The base color barely makes a difference when applied over Naked and the glitter can be persnickety.

To show you what additional layers of GitA can do, I used one coat on my pinky, two coats on my ring and three coats on my middle. While the blue base color makes Naked look a bit more cool and pink toned, it’s not as noticeable a change as I expected.

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Bottom Line: Clearly I’m a sucker for trends as I find myself enjoying the company of neutrals lately. There’s something about how fresh and clean they look that is drawing me in. For a girl that loves color as much as I do, I seriously don’t understand how this happened. Regardless, I’m INTO Naked. Like ready to introduce it to my parents smitten. Glitter In The Air, on the other hand, wouldn’t even get a rose in round one of a nail polish version of The Bachelor. I was hoping this would be my new Today Was A Fairytale but it missed the mark. Considering the price point of Lippmann glitters, it’s just not worth it to me.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: Naked is going nowhere – STASH. While my inner hoarder says to stash Glitter In The Air, I’m putting it up for adoption – SHARE.

Deborah Lippmann Naked and Glitter in the Air are available now at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Barneys NY stores. Online shoppers can head to DeborahLippmann.com, Nordstrom.com, Barneys.com, Beauty.com, NeimanMarcus.com. Deborah Lippmann nail polishes retail for $16-20/ea depending on the shade for a .5oz bottle.

Am I alone in my odd neutrals phase? It is only a phase, right? Thoughts on Naked and Glitter in the Air? Did you pick either of them up when they launched? Would you stash/share Glitter in the Air?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by representatives for Deborah Lippmann. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards took place tonight and even though I was out to dinner during the majority of the show, I knew there was some MAJOR nail news happening when I saw Deborah Lippmann tweet, “I Polished @ladygaga tonight and as they closed the coffin she said I love my nails!”

Yesterday when I was backstage at ADAM I had the pleasure of meeting Deborah’s other half, Jude, who revealed that she was at the Grammys and working with someone huge.  Of course when I saw Deb tweet about my seeing Barbra Streisand that’s exactly where my mind went but I couldn’t be more off base.  Deb tended to the tips of the one and only Lady Gaga and lacquered her up with a bright yellow manicure.  But what is this mystery color?

Now, I don’t know about you but I’ve never seen a yellow in the Deborah Lippmann line before. Well, get ready people because we’re going to. I got the scoop straight from Deb that she’s launching Yellow Brick Road in April 2011 and it’s a JELLY!! Put me on the first tornado to Oz because I’m all in on Yellow Brick Road.  So while you can’t exactly get the look NOW, you can soon.

What do you think of Gaga’s nails?  Are on board with Yellow Brick Road?  What was your favorite performance from the Grammys?

I heard Gwenyth Paltrow sang with Cee-Lo, that had to be good.  I can’t wait to get home on Tuesday and watch it all, including the E! pre-show.  Seriously, who ever made the mistake of letting the Grammys occur during New York Fashion Week is NOT my friend.

image credit: WireImage

As you know I was in NYC for Halloween weekend with the boyfriend and per my usual travel ritual I was up late the night before we left. I did actually get five hours sleep with is a record for me. Baby steps… Anywho, as I tend to do, I gave myself a middle of the night manicure, procrastinating because I couldn’t decide on a color. Unlike my trips to NYC for Fashion Week, I wasn’t going to be changing my color daily so I wanted something that would not only last but go with every outfit I packed. Finally, around 2 am, I pulled out the polishes I bought the day before, determined to wear something new. Little did I know, the combination I ended up choosing would last me 7+ days with barely any tip wear. Read on to see my manicure with Lancôme Les Rouge L’Wren and Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow and check out some pics from my trip.

On my trip to the mall I picked up the new Lancôme L’Wren Scott Holiday Collection polishes and a few of the Sephora by OPI Holiday colors. When I pulled them out Friday night I fully expected to put on the slate grey, Le Gris L’Wren, and surprised myself by falling hard for the garnet red shimmer, Les Rouge L’Wren. This red kick I’m on seems to have no signs of stopping. Weird, I know!

If you haven’t seen the new Lancôme polish bottles, they’ve changed the size and brush on us. After releasing a mini set for Fall they’ve changed things up, opting for a bottle somewhere between the .185oz minis and the old .34oz bottles. This new slimmer bottle holds .21oz of polish and has a lower price point ($14.50).

My only point of contention is with the brush. I loved the old flat brush and this one has a similar shape and length, it’s just not as firm. The floppy bristles make the polish harder to control. I would suggest that Lancôme bring back the old bristles because they were the bomb.

Okay on to the color… Les Rouge L’Wren was created in collaboration with famed designer L’Wren Scott. Last February we saw the blue-grey color from this collection grace the tips of the models at L’Wren’s show and Les Rouge L’Wren hit the runway in September. The lush wine hue has a sprinkling of silver, gold and red micro-glitter that lights up the polish on the nail. I’m seriously infatuated with it.

I didn’t originally intend to wear it layered but considering that I barely held my eyes open long enough to polish my nails, it was no surprise when I woke up to see sheet marks wrecking my mani. So in a quick rush before heading to the airport I threw on a layer of Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow, the gold Holiday Collection counterpart to Today Was A Fairytale, which I showed you back in August.  Boom Boom Pow contains 24K gold dust, gold micro-glitter and gold hexagonal sequins in a clear base.

These shots were all taken after SEVEN DAYS of wear. That’s right, we’re talking seven full days that included hauling luggage, schlepping all over NYC, multiple subway rides and constant hand washing (NYC is a germaphobe’s nightmare). I used Dermelect Launchpad Anti-Aging Base Coat and Olan Quick & Slick Top Coat but you would think I used glue.

The only casualty was my right thumb and that didn’t happen until I went to bowling on the Thursday following our trip.  Yep, I’m in a bowling league with the boyfriend.  It’s a beer league and a lot of fun.  The only downside is that my thumb nail always takes a hit.

Halloween Weekend in NYC

I wasn’t sure what to expect being in the city for Halloween. I’m not a fan of the holiday so we avoided the famous NYC Village Halloween Parade but it was a lot of fun seeing people with the outrageous costumes riding the subway or walking the streets with everyone else in their street clothes.  Though I could have done without seeing the drunk girls wearing little more than a bandage and dental floss barely keeping it together in Times Square.  It was way too cold for that.

Since we were staying in midtown near Rockefeller Center we wandered through Times Square and around the shops on 5th Avenue on Saturday, ending the evening at Aroma Kitchen, a restaurant I visited during a NYC beauty tour a few years back.  The food at Aroma Kitchen was fabulous and not much of a strain on the wallet.

Sunday Funday found us venturing out to Brooklyn for brunch with my pal, StyleIt’s Sarah Conley.  Silly me, I thought that since the restaurant was in Brooklyn, where Sarah lives, it would be an easy trip for her.  Little did I know it was a shorter trip for us than it was for her.  Shows what I know about NYC transporation.

Anywho, I chose Seersucker after hearing about it from co-owner, Lancome VP of PR Kerry Diamond.  Kerry and her boyfriend, Chef Robert Newton, opened the Southern comfort food spot this past summer and I’ve been wanting to check it out.  Fashion Week is usually too crazy for a trek out to Brooklyn so this trip proved to be the perfect time.  Seersucker more than lived up to my expectations.  The boyfriend loves biscuits and sausage gravy and said it was one of the best he’s had.  I just wish we would have been in town on Tuesday to experience the fried chicken I’ve read so much about.

As if we needed more food, Sarah took us to her favorite cupcake shop, Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea where I got to intro the boyfriend to Sarah’s FW partner-in-crime, LesleyKat. After all that, a walk was definitely in order so we continued our NYC tour with a stroll through Central Park to see the Bethesda Fountain.  It was a brisk, sunny day, perfect to take in the fall foliage.  We finished the night with drinks in Union Square with Sarah and Heather Park and dinner at Dos Caminos.  Their homemade guacamole is SOOO good.

Monday was all about the boyfriend.  When we planned the trip he asked to see three things; The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Ground Zero and a Ranger’s hockey game at Madison Square Garden.

We started out bright and early to catch the ferry to Liberty Island and arrived to find out that Monday is school group day.  Kill me now!  Despite the throngs of noisy children, seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was amazing.  Emotional even.  We climbed the 156 steps to the pedestal of Lady Liberty and the view was stunning, learning the history of the statue along the way.  You can climb a full 315 steps to the crown but neither of us were up for that.

On our way to to the hotel to recoup before the hockey game we stopped to pay our respects at Ground Zero and visited the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site and that’s where I lost it.  I fully admit that I’m a sap but I can’t imagine anyone can visit the site and not get teary-eyed.

Later that night we met up with a friend of the boyfriend’s for drinks at The Flying Puck, a hockey bar.  Yes, in a foodie town like NYC I went to a hockey bar but like I said, it was the boyfriend’s day.  He was in his glory watching the Rangers take on the Chicago Blackhawks and I was excited to see the Garden.  It was a lot smaller than I expected and the color scheme threw me for a loop.  Barney purple and turquoise? Who was in charge of that??

We capped off the night with a visit to the Empire State Building.  It was FREEZING but the view was incredible.  Someone on Twitter mentioned that there’s a better view from Rockefeller Center but we had purchased our tickets in advance and it just seemed like “the” place to see the city.

More than one person recommended we hit up Katz’s Deli so we headed there on Tuesday for lunch. I’m sure you remember the scene from When Harry Met Sally that was filmed there. “I’ll have what she’s having.”  The corned beef and matzo ball soup were delish!

We also went on the NBC Studio Tour that day but we weren’t allowed to take pics inside 30 Rock.  Due to my Sex & The City obsession we stopped at Magnolia Bakery and holy overrated Batman!  Their red velvet is beyond terrible. Flavorless and covered in lard frosting.  GROSS!  Don’t. Do. It!  At least we ended the trip on a high note, hanging with Keri Blair at a local organic eatery, FreeFoods.  I had a yummy green juice that energized me for the journey home.

Lancôme Les Rouge L’Wren retails for $14.50/ea for a .21oz bottle and is available now on Lancome-USA.com and at Lancôme counters nationwide. Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow retails for $20/ea for a .5oz bottle and is available now at DeborahLippmann.com, Nordstrom.com, Beauty.com and at Barneys NY.

I hope you enjoyed my little (or not so little) recap of my NYC trip.  What do you think of my Lancôme/Lippmann manicure?  Have you fallen for a color family recently that you normally shy away from?  What’s the longest you’ve worn a manicure before it started showing serious signs of wear?  What was that magical product combo?

Disclosure: A product sample was provided by Deborah Lippmann and Dermelect, all other products and services mentioned were purchased by me. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

image credit: Seersucker image from Becoming Brooklyn.

Oh hello there!  I didn’t forget about the challenge.  I’ve just been running around NYC like a madwoman.  I returned late Wednesday night and literally slept my Thursday away.  A week of only sleeping four hours a night will do that to you.  I could actually crawl into bed right now, I’m that tired. Not that you want to hear about any of that.  I was having an absolutely fabulous time so a little sleep deprivation is a small price to pay.  So Day 4 for me was Sunday.  It’s always one of my fave days at NYFW because it kicks off with the triple threat beauty team of Deborah Lippmann, Sarah Lucero from Stila and Ted Gibson backstage at Lela Rose. Since I knew I’d be seeing Deb, I concocted a layering combo using her holiday color Today Was A Fairytale.  I’ve been pretty obsessed with it ever since I wore it to an Emmy watching party.  This time instead of using a pale blue underneath I opted for something a little more industrial and gritty, the new Dashing Diva Penthouse Views from their fall color collection.

My day actually started an hour before the Lela Rose show when I went backstage at Derek Lam and got to see the talented Jin Soon again. She showers me with more love than I deserve and always compliments my nail color. We have very similar taste when it comes to nails so getting a compliment from Jin is very high praise.

The base color of this manicure, Dashing Diva Penthouse Views is a metallic gunmetal gray. It looks more shimmery in the bottle but on the nail, you see those telltale metallic streaks.  I hadn’t actually worn this color on my nails prior to this so I was disappointed in the application and VERY happy to be layering something over it.  The consistency was pretty thick and while the color is very pigmented I wouldn’t wear it on its own simply because the finish is so streaky.

However, applying a coat of Deborah Lippmann Today With A Fairytale on top really saved the day. The streaks were still there but the glitter and hexagonal sequins masked it for the most part. Unless you held my nails up to your face, you weren’t going to see any problems including the oops I made on my pinkie finger when I accidentally bumped the polish with an orange wood stick. At 2am mistakes are bound to happen!

Deborah Lippmann Today Was A Fairytale is available now at Barneys NY stores and will be coming to DeborahLippmann.com in October. Dashing Diva’s Fall 2010 nail color collection is available now on DashingDiva.com and at Dashing Diva salons.

What do you think of this combo?  Do you like Today Was A Fairytale better over the light blue-grey or this gunmetal shade?  What colors would you suggest putting underneath it?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by Deborah Lippmann and Dashing Diva. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.