Fanatics I have some fun news to share. Last year I raved about New York Magazine’s Shop-A-Matic feature and how much I loved that they did one focusing on nail polish. Well this year, Editor Diana Tsui invited me to be a guest editor selecting my favorite colors of the season to be included in their comprehensive listing. Talk about a thrill and a challenge. Narrowing down my top picks for Summer 2010 to a short list of 19 was no small feat.
If you haven’t browsed the NY Mag Shop-A-Matic in the past you’re missing out. Each polish is shown in the bottle, on the nail and as a color blob. They also include shopping information for the NYC area and online availability.
All the polishes are categorized by color and can be sorted by price but if you want to see my picks, select that option from the “Color” drop down menu.
Of the 19 polishes I selected, Diana asked me to share with her my Top 3. Find out my choices later today on The Cut.
I get a lot of questions and comments regarding the tools and treatment products I use to keep my nails healthy and in tip top shape. Since my routine changes as I test new products, I’ve launched, The Arsenal, to share with you the items that are “must haves” in my nail kit.
The bare bones basics of any good manicure is base coat, top coat and color. I’ve shared with you one of my all-time fave top coats but I’ve never dedicated a post to base coats. Obviously this is long overdue!
I’ve been a fan of CND Stickey for forever and a day. I even posted about the “Stickey Sandwich” method back when ALU was just a baby. However Stickey has a major competitor for the “holy grail” crown in Nubar Foundation Base Coat.
I’ve had bottles of Foundation Base Coat floating around the polish room for years now but it wasn’t until I ran out of Stickey that I discovered its magical powers. It doesn’t dry tacky like Stickey or Orly Bonder but Foundation Base Coat grips on like glue. I get amazing wear every time I use it. And although it’s not a ridge filler, it provides a smooth surface for the polish to glide along even in spite of my less than stellar nail beds. I told you it was magic.
Nubar Foundation Base Coat can be purchased online from ByNubar.com for $6.99. The shipping is steep though so I suggest banding together with some friends to hit the $75 limit for free shipping.
 Greetings from South Bass Island, home of The Beer Barrel, the world’s longest bar, and Perry’s Monument, a tribute to Commodore Perry who lead the forces to a victory in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. I’m here for Memorial Day weekend with the boyfriend and my parents to enjoy the holiday and celebrate my birthday.
Put In Bay, the village on South Bass Island, has been dubbed the “Key West of Lake Erie.” It’s a big party destination with a ridiculous number of bars considering the small size of the island (approx. 4 sq miles). The thing is, there’s so much more to do here besides drink and this weekend I explored one of the more relaxing attractions the island has to offer, the Isola Day Spa.
*warning foot picture ahead* |
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 Last weekend The Makeup Show came to NYC and I was there for a long three-day weekend to take it all in. The Makeup Show was founded by The Powder Group for makeup artists to discover new products and learn new techniques and trends. This is the fifth year for The Makeup Show and next year they’re planning to expand to a European destination. It’s an amazing trade show and I was honored to have been invited to attend.
As always, I pack every trip to NYC with meetings and outings and basically run myself ragged. But I figure I should make the most of it and I certainly did that on this trip. Between the show, meet-ups with fellow bloggers and meetings with a few brands I had a blast. Read all about my adventure and check out what I brought home after the jump! |
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 Last week I did something so unlike me. I decided to go on a three day juice cleanse. Now I’m not a fad diet person and I don’t typically jump on the bandwagon when it comes to trends but this one sucked me in. Why? Well I’ve been hearing about this company called Blueprint Cleanse on various blogs for over a year now and I was curious but not enough to order. I’ve often pondered the benefits of juicing, I used to love those Jack Lalanne informercials, but my lack of willpower kept me from finding out more. It wasn’t until I read about my pal Heather Park’s journey with BPC that I finally took the plunge.
Heather wrote on her blog about a feeling of clarity and lightness. She talked about how the cleanse changed her relationship with food and how it made her want to research becoming a raw foodist. For a carnivore like her, that’s a huge statement. All these things intrigued me and became the final push I needed to place an order. I realize that this isn’t a typical post for me but so many people on Twitter and Facebook showed interest in hearing about my experience that I decided to share it here. If you scroll past this post, you won’t hurt my feelings but those of you who are curious, read on! |
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If you haven’t browsed the NY Mag Shop-A-Matic in the past you’re missing out. Each polish is shown in the bottle, on the nail and as a color blob. They also include shopping information for the NYC area and online availability.
All the polishes are categorized by color and can be sorted by price but if you want to see my picks, select that option from the “Color” drop down menu.
