Are you kids ready to dive into Spring? I know I am. I’ve been sitting on the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Spring collection for way too long and I’ve been dying to gush. With a heavy floral inspiration these shades came straight from the runway to the bottle. I couldn’t be more excited about these polishes if I tried. Every one is a winner. Even the yellow! You know, I’m not sure why but every time I use a creme from the SH Salon line, I am so impressed with the formula and how it applies. As if I didn’t already know how fantastic it is. It’s so weird. I’m sitting there, painting my nails thinking, “My word, this is outstanding! Why am I not wearing these more often?” Riddle me that and you win a prize (not really but you know what I mean). Seriously, these polishes are all hyper pigmented, smooth and glossy. The hues are vibrant. The tones are true to bottle color. Shall I go on? I could just keep yammering away but seeing will make you a believer.

Tassel was the shade selected for the Tracy Reese runway show. This rich, warm gold was the perfect neutral complement to Tracy’s designs. You have no idea how happy I am to find a metallic that applies smoothly. No brushstroke city. No streaking or unevenness. I did need three coats to get it opaque and perfect but it was worth it.

I showed you Night Hydrangea in a NOTD post a few weeks back. For me, this is pretty much the perfect purple shimmer. It’s that elusive “purple in every light” we’re all looking for and it does so without hitting neon territory. I KNOW tons of you will be hunting this one down.

Nasturtium brings out my love of coral that has been hiding the past few years. You don’t even know I was such a coral fiend. One of my first bottles was Essie Carousel Coral and it set me off on a streak for pretty much an entire summer. Nasturtium is just so effortlessly spring and casual that I can’t help but love it.

Honeydew – THANK YOU Tracy Reese for throwing in something for us green lovers. It has this light, watery feel that isn’t full on green yet not blue either. Does that make it teal? Aqua? Blue-green? Green-blue? Does it matter? It’s stunning! Naturally, Honeydew is the shade I popped open first and all I could say was, “come to momma you gorgeous thing!” This is the only one whose shimmer does more than add depth. It’s clearly visible.

When I saw Forsythia, all I could think was, “Oh no! Pantone’s color of the year, Mimosa, has leaked into the polish world!” My polish fears had come true. But you know what? Forsythia is a lot less golden than Mimosa and much more flattering than I expected. Its muted tone differs from the day-glo yellows we’ve seen in years past. Is it the easiest shade to pull off? No but I’m oddly drawn to it.

Beet Stain is a kissing cousin to Fall’s Night Lily, only a tinge more red so, if you missed out on it last season, now is your chance. It seems the berry trend that was so prominent in makeup last season is carrying over to spring for nails. Zoya put one in their spring collection as did OPI.

Azalea is a bold red-pink creme. It’s a bit softer than what you’d think of as a “hot pink.” A perfect pedicure shade for when we finally get to break out our sandals.
The Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Spring color collection is set to hit shelves in March but you know the drill. These babies aren’t easy to find and when they finally go on sale, they’re gone in a flash. So keep your peepers on your local drugstore displays and let us know when you find them. We all want to know!

images: Vogue UK, Janice from Specktra.net and All Lacquered Up

In the third and final installment of our Nail Files journey with CND, we’ll be looking at custom blending. Or to you MUA nail board girls, the art of the Frankenpolish. If you missed the previous two segments, be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Custom blending is what intrigued me the most during my visit with CND Education Ambassadors Kristina Baume and Shelena Robinson at their production suite. Figuring out the perfect combination of colors to precisely match a swatch of fabric or Pantone shade is such an art form. Having a keen eye for color and a vivid imagination is key. Plus it just sounds like a lot of fun.

The process reminds me of mixing finger paints as a kid, learning about the color wheel and how yellow and blue make green. Of course for Kristina and Shelena, creating an ideal hue is serious work and they have time constraints to adhere to. So the pressure is intense even with all the tools they have on hand; a Pantone guide, various lighting options (fluorescent, incandescent and daylight) and a flow chart containing all the CND shades (including international exclusives).

What amazed me most is all the colors that go into the blends. Colors you wouldn’t even imagine. Like neon or orange in a soft gray. Glow-in-the-dark purple in a deep blue. Shimmer in a creme.

According to Kristina, a lot of times when a shimmer or micro-glitter polish is used in a blend, it doesn’t result in a sparkly shade. A shimmer based polish adds reflectiveness, depth and shine to the final hue. That even if a shade appears shimmery in the bottle, it can dry with a creme finish. This is the reason they present color options to designers on the nail and not in the bottle. The sparkle can be deceptive.

Get The Look – Nordic Grey Creme from Costello Tagliapietra F/W ’08 Mix 1/2 bottle Retro White with 22 drops Black Platinum, 10 drops Voodoo and 8 drops Hot Pop Blue. Note: I only used 4 drops of Hot Pop Blue and substituted Color Club Black for Voodoo. CND does not recommend mixing brands so blend at your own risk.

Get The Look – Heather Grey at Catherine Malandrino F/W ’08 Mix 1/2 bottle of Nordic Grey Creme (above) with 1/2 bottle of G’listen Adding G’listen to the blend creates a warmer, slightly shimmery gray.

Get The Look – Custom Blue at Karen Walker F/W ’08 Mix 1/2 bottle Blue Blood with 1/2 bottle Studio 54 Note: Blue Blood is discontinued but can still be found on eBay until CND decides to bring it back. PLEASE Bring It Back!!

While I don’t have an exact recipe for the shimmery violet gray shown at the Twinkle F/W ’08 show, it certainly has the most diverse color combination I’ve seen yet. A mix of Voodoo, Hot Pop Yellow, Kumquat Dahlia, G’listen, Rock Royalty, Blue Nirvana

Finally, one of CND’s Spring collection shades is a custom blend used during NYFW for Spring/Summer 09 Get The Look – Fill a CND bottle with Retro White up to the bottom of the C. Add Voodoo to the top of the C plus 6 drops NFS, 6 drops Hotski to Tchotchke and 6 drops Hot Pop Blue. Note: NFS is another discontinued color but you can find it on Goddess Within and eBay. The result – a gorgeous cool toned, medium grey creme.

Bringing you this series about CND at NYFW has been so much fun. I hope you have enjoyed it. I want to thank CND, Kristina Baume and Shelena Robinson for granting me such amazing access and taking the time to share their passion with all of us. In closing, I’ll leave you with a quote from Kristina that really sums up why I am so fanatical about nails. “Nails are not just nails, they’re accessories.”

To compliment Thakoon’s sexy, provocative collection for Spring 2009, CND created what I think is the coolest nail look of the season. A reverse moon manicure. Totally funky, unique and innovative. Would you expect anything less from CND? They certainly know how to put a twist on traditional nail styles.

The CND team took the 20s-style moon manicure and flipped it on its ear with a black moon on a nude base. For those that are unfamiliar, the moon manicure was originally created in the 1920s by a manicurist at MGM studios as a twist on the French manicure. A traditional moon manicure leaves your lunula (that white half moon at the base of your nail) bare or white and the rest of the nail dark and vampy.

Get the look: Reverse Moon Manicure
For advice on how to recreate this style, I went straight to the expert, CND Education Ambassador Roxanne Valinoti. Here’s her 5-step technique:

1. Coat the nail with “Stickey” base coat.
2. Apply 2 coats of “Serenity” enamel.
3. Use a small detail brush, or the corner or the enamel brush with “Voodoo” to outline the half moon at the cuticle of the nail.
4. Use the detail brush dipped in enamel, or the enamel brush lightly dotting in enamel to fill in half moon for full coverage. Be careful not to apply to much enamel.
5. Let dry for 3-5 minutes before applying “Airdry” topcoat.

To accentuate the strong, powerful look of Tibi’s Spring 2009 collection, designer Amy Smilovic called upon CND‘s team of nail artists to give her models fiery red tips and toes. In a recent Fanatic Feedback discussion I brought up the theory of red nails exuding confidence. This look certainly propagates that idea. Pairing vibrant red lips with CND Wildfire makes quite a statement.

To make sure that each model’s nails are flawless while stomping down the catwalk, CND Ridge Out is applied as a base. It provides an even surface for the lacquer while a layer of Speedy quick drying top coat helps prevent smudges as the models rush to get dressed.

Thank you to my friend and fellow blogger Jamie from The Beauty of Life for granting All Lacquered Up exclusive use of her backstage images and info.

additional images: Vogue UK, Style.com, Elle.com

Well it looks like the Times and I are on the same wavelength today. They have a great video up about CND called The Unsung Heroes of Fashion Week. Included in the slide show is a pic of Selena Robinson and Kristina Baume in the production suite and a voiceover by NYT journalist Natasha Singer, working undercover as a nail artist. Check out the nail art boards and behind the scenes footage. Definitely a must see!

image: The New York Times

Tracy Reese and Sally Hansen have done it again. Season after season, they continue to wow me. This is her sixth collaboration with Sally Hansen, the fourth for the Salon line of polishes.

For Fall 2008 Tracy’s weather and nature themed collection brought us great earthy, dusty, vampy shades. For Spring 2009 she is looking at nature from a floral perspective, pulling together vibrant tones and sweet, watercolor pastels to create a unique and colorful palette. I just know this release will cause nail fanatic hysteria. I see drugstore stalking in the future for many of us when these pretties hit shelves next year.

Continuing the warm metallic trend we’re seeing at Fashion Week, Tracy chose Tassel, a honey gold, to compliment her designs. On each model’s nails the Sally Hansen team applied a coat of Age Correct Strength to provide a smooth even base, one coat of color and a layer of Speed Shine 10 Day Top Coat for the perfect glossy finish.

Thank you to my friends and fellow bloggers Jamie from The Beauty of Life and Janice from Specktra Beauty News for granting All Lacquered Up exclusive use of their backstage images and info.

additional images: Style.com

At Toni Maticevski’s Spring 2009 show, the dominant color palette consisted of black, white and champagne with just a few splashes of color thrown in. To compliment his decadent evening wear, Maticevski tapped Zoya to be the official nail care products for his show. The polish of choice, Indigo, a navy blue shimmer peppered with multi-colored glitter. And while it’s not necessarily a shade I would pair with black, it is definitely an elegant nighttime color. It’s funny, whenever I see Indigo, I think of Annie from Blogdorf Goodman. Both times I’ve seen her in the past year, she’s been wearing it on either her tips or toes.

To celebrate being selected for Toni Mateceski’s show, Zoya is offering a Fashion Week promo. Receive a FREE bottle of Indigo with any online purchase of $20 or more at Zoya.com or Qtica.com. Enter code FASHION at checkout.
Offer valid thru Friday, September 12 (midnight, EST). Offer not valid in conjunction with other discounts. Limit one per order.

images: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

The look at Rosa Cha, the Brazilian swimwear line, was that of an uber-bronzed beach goddess. To compliment the models’ golden skin CND artists applied Crowned, a muted coppery metallic. It looks like the Fall metallic trend will carry over to Spring.

Though what really caught my eye is the gorgeous blue shimmer on the CND artist’s nails. Could this be a preview of their Spring line? It’s too light to be Blue Blood and too blue to be Jiggy. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Thank you to my friend and fellow blogger Jamie from The Beauty of Life for granting All Lacquered Up exclusive use of her backstage images and info.

additional images: Elle.com & Coutorture.com

New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week for Spring ’09 kicked off yesterday and while I won’t be there this season to report on the trends in person, I’ll still be bringing you backstage reports on all things nail related. Thanks to my blogging partners in crime, you’ll get to see the trends first.

Also, for great makeup scoop and updates on the behind the scenes action, check out MAC’s Senior Artists as they send out live Twitter updates (see sidebar). Over the past year I’ve become quite the Twitter fanatic. To the point that it drives the boyfriend nuts. But as you can see the Twitter revolution is gaining serious momentum, especially now with MAC using the platform to connect with their fans. So check back to see what the artists are up to OR if you are a Twitter user yourself, use these links to follow the artists yourself.

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