The first nail-focused beauty blog

Winter 2009

New from MAC – Light Affair & Dim The Lights

By on December 30, 2009
in Brown, MAC, Nude, Winter 2009 with 29 Comments
mac-dim-the-lights-light-affair MAC always finds a way to drag their fans out of the house the day after Christmas thanks to their post-holiday collections.  This year they launched Love Lace and Warm & Cozy both of which included new nail colors.

Love Lace with its focus on the dark smokey eye comes with the pale creamy Light Affair while Warm & Cozy has a very sitting by the fire with a cup of cocoa feel thanks to Dim The Lights.  Check them out after the jump!

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China Glaze Wizard of Ooh Ahz Swatches, Comparisons & Review

china-glaze-wizard-of-ooh-ahz-dorothy-who The highly anticipated Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection is finally here.  After a lot of nail board begging, petitions and pleas the people at China Glaze listened and brought back the famed 2001 collection including the much talked about but rarely seen Dorothy Who?, Good Witch? and C-C-Courage.I’ve been fortunate to have owned, or seen in person, all the original WOOA polishes but most have not been as lucky, even the people AT China Glaze.  Thanks to the help of original WOOA owners, like myself, the brand attempted to re-create the collection and they’ve come pretty close for what they had to work with.  Check out the 2009 version of these beauties and see how they stack up against the originals (that I still own), after the jump!

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Zoya MatteVelvet Winter Collection Swatches & Review

By on October 27, 2009
in Berry, Green, Matte, Purple, Winter 2009, Zoya with 17 Comments

Keep On With The [Mattes] Don’t Stop
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
lyrics by Michael Jackson (altered by moi)

As long as you keep loving the Mattes, its seems Zoya will keep pumping them out. And if they’re as hot as the Winter MatteVelvets, sign me up.

You all know that I’m a fan of the matte top coat vs. matte polish but some colors are worth the short wear time. For me, that color is GREEN! Big surprise, I know. Throw in my other love, purple, and we’ve got ourselves one helluva matte party. Check out the Winter MatteVelvets after the jump!
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Essie Winter 2009 Sweet Time of The Year Swatches & Review

In case you were wondering, the mint green train isn’t stopping anytime soon. I know some of you feel it’s too light for Fall/Winter but I’m so all over it, I can’t stand it! In fact, Essie is introducing her twist on the minty nail trend in her candy-themed Winter 2009 collection.

I had the privilege of meeting Essie backstage at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. In fact, I saw her two days in a row. How crazy is that? A friend introduced me in the backstage area and we chatted for a few and then the next day she hosted a press event for the limited edition Capri Blue polish she created for MBFW. That’s when I first laid eyes on the Winter colors and you KNOW I fixated on that green. Get all the details and see the colors, after the jump!


First of all, let me say that Essie is a doll to chat with. I was uber-intimidated to meet such a giant in the polish industry and her statuesque figure only adds to her presence. She’s one tall drink of water. But my butterflies were unwarranted because Essie is very down-to-earth, extremely inviting and so in love with color.

When asked what colors she loves to wear, Essie admitted that while she’s normally a Bordeaux girl when it comes to her toes, she wore Lacquered Up all summer. And because she spends a lot of her time in meetings, she prefers to keep her fingernails pretty and safe. She wears combinations of sheers and pales, changing her look each week. Some fave combos include Ballet Slippers with Mademoiselle and Fed Up with Blushing Bride though she’s currently loving Mademoiselle with Blushing Bride.

For Fashion Week she collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to create a polish to match their Capri Blue metallic paint. Essie Capri Blue was available exclusively in the Mercedes-Benz backstage lounge but you can get a similar look wearing Midnight Cami from the Fall Cuddle With Color collection.

For Winter, Essie wanted something whimsical, fun and refreshing. She created these confections with that in mind.

Rock Candy is your typical Essie pink sheer. It’s a bit milky and I ended up using three coats to get it even. You know I’m not one for sheers so it’s not really my style.
Lollipop is unique in that it applied like a glaze. Not jelly-ish and not creamy more like a lip gloss. Though in spite of its texture the color is opaque in two coats. Very unusual and candy-like for such a traditional red hue.
Mint Candy Apple is the pièce de résistance. You know how I’ve swooned over the other mint greens to date and this one is in a class all its own. This really does look like pastel after dinner mints. Oh how I love those. So delicious and melty in your mouth. This beauty is creamy, slightly blue and unfortunately for your wallets, utterly unique. Even though it took three coats for a completely even, opaque finish, I. Don’t. Care. It’s gorgeous!

I swatched it next to every mint green I own and not a one comes close. Lined up against its predecessors it totally stands out.

MAC Peppermint Patti, Barry M Mint Green, Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Damone Roberts 1968, Chanel Jade

The Essie Winter 2009 collection launches in November though I’ve heard rumors that it will go on sale on Essie.com tomorrow October 15th.

What do we think Fanatics? Who’s up for mint green-a-palooza this winter?

Coming Soon – Zoya MatteVelvet Winter

By on August 20, 2009
in Winter 2009, Zoya with 7 Comments

The matte train keeps on rolling through. Get ready for three more MatteVelvet shades from Zoya including a GREEN. You know that makes my heart go pitter pat. Considering how pretty the Fall shades are, in spite of their wear issues, I’m sure these will be just as gorg.

The ZOYA color experts have done it again!

Introducing three new LIMITED EDITION, exclusive MATTEVELVET* shades for Winter 2009/2010…

MATTEVELVET WINTER

Savita – plum gray matte shimmer
Harlow – rose matte shimmer
Veruschuka – evergreen matte shimmer

The incredible Zoya MATTEVELVET* shade collection has been expanded with three new LIMITED EDITION beauties. Get all of the color, none of shine with MATTEVELVET*, Zoya’s exclusive blend of matte base and subtle shimmer resulting in utterly wearable and truly stylish nail polish.

*MATTEVELVET nail color by Zoya is not intended to be worn with a base coat, top coat or speed dryer of any kind. Due to the unique matte formulation, color is not as long-wearing as traditional nail color. A completely clean, dry nail surface yields the best results for matte nail color wear. For best results make sure to always prepare nail with Zoya Remove + (3-in-1 nail polish remover, nail plate cleaner and new color prep.) prior to applying color.

MATTEVELVET polishes retail for $6/ea and release on September 15th but you can Pre-Order them now on Zoya.com. ***FYI – the price will increase to $7/ea in October so get your orders in now.

What are we thinking Fanatics? Are you itching for more Zoya mattes?

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