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Almond Glow

Normally, I'm not much of a nude nail polish person.  I just feel like my hands look better with darker shades on them, for some reason.  Plus, a lot of nudes that I've tried make me feel like I have old lady hands.  (As in, when I look down at them, I think, "Huh.  This looks just like a color my grandmother would've worn.")  But when Pixi sent me their new Almond Glow shade, I just had a feeling that I was going to like it, so I broke with tradition and put it on.  Described as a "medium nude with subtle pink shimmer," it's my new favorite neutral.  On me, it's sort of a pinky-peachy shade with an understated sparkle that only becomes noticeable up close.  It's just really, really pretty.  And I love that it's the kind of color that works during the day just as well as it does at night.  You can easily go from the office to a party with this shade and never feel out of place.  Not to mention, the one big advantage to neutrals is that they usually wear longer (at least on me) and when they do finally chip, it's way less noticeable.  (Chanel Black Satin, I love you, but once you start to come off, you look terrible).  Yet another reason to swing by Target on your way home from work this week...        

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Pixi by Petra

The Fabric Effect

Even though I could never pull off 90% of the things that Alexa Chung wears, I still love her sense of style and how interesting she always looks.  So when I heard that she was collaborating with nails, inc. on a small collection of new shades, I was super excited.  I knew they'd be unique and different and I was right. 

There are six shades in the fabric collection and honestly, they're all must-haves.  I'm a big fan of the nails, inc. formula to begin with, so this only made me love the brand even more.  I've only gotten my hands on two of the shades so far and I can already tell that I'm going to be stalking Sephora until I have the other four shades in my possession. 

The shade above is called Alexa Sequins in Black and Gold and it's by far my favorite shade of the six.  I mean, look at it!  It's so gorgeous, right?  It's fine matte particles mixed with gold metallic glitters and it's meant to mimic the effect of a fabulous sequin dress.  (Side note - I love sequins.  My prom dress was emerald sequins and I still remember putting it on for the first time and thinking, "This is the best dress ever!  I'm never taking it off!"  What can I say - it was the 90's).  There's also two shades of black - a Silk that reminds me of my beloved Chanel Black Satin, and a Leather, which is Alexa's version of their best-selling leather black - it dries with a matte leather texture that I'm dying to see in person.  There's also a shade called Alexa Camo - I have this one and it's another stunner - a mix of green and nude metallic and matte particles that's meant to create a camouflage effect for your nails.  Very cool.  There's also a neutral pinky-beige called Alexa Cashmere in Mink and the other one that I cannot wait to use - Alexa Lace in Red.  This one is super, super interesting.  It contains red matte particles in different sizes that create a lace effect.  It's supposed to be worn over your favorite nude, which I really like - doesn't that sound like an amazing combo?  They must all be mine!

The collection is available now at Sephora and on nailsinc.com, but I'd act quickly.  These seem far too cool to last long!

Note:  Samples of this product were sent to me by a PR representative working with nails, inc.

Nights In Black Satin

Okay, I KNOW that I was just talking about how ludicrous a $50 bottle of nail polish is on Monday and let's face it, Chanel is still a very expensive bottle of polish, but at $27, it's at least a little more justifiable.  Especially when it's a color like Black Satin, that I've worn countless times and never gotten tired of.  In fact, I got a manicure on Sunday and used it once again because I love it just that much.  It somehow manages to be black without being goth or overwhelming or too much in any way.  I kind of like to think of it as a sexy neutral, which might be a weird description, but it's just where my mind goes.  It matches everything and looks good on both long and short nails, plus it's super shiny and like most Chanel polishes, wears very well.  I put top coat on it every other day and it lasts a long time for me (for a dark polish) before it starts to chip.  My bottle is getting dangerously low and as crazy as this sounds with as many polishes as I have, when it runs out, I'll be buying another one immediately.  It's that important to my polish wardrobe.  This is one splurge you'll be glad you made!

The Ultimate Polish

So what sayeth we all about this?  Christian Louboutin has just released Rouge Louboutin, which is described as "A timeless shade of red nail colour, vibrant on any skin tone and inspired by the iconic sole of every Christian Louboutin shoe."  I mean, I covet Louboutins as much as the next woman (WHEN WILL I MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO AFFORD A PAIR?!) and I'm sure the color is beautiful on, and I think we can all agree that the bottle is a work of art.  But it costs $50.  For a bottle of nail polish.  One bottle.  One single bottle.  I mean, that's just... ludicrous.  And yet, I still want it!  (The power of marketing, people!)  I can say with 99.99% certainty that unless it magically shows up on my doorstep, I will never own it because I just can't spend that much money on nail polish, but has anyone tried it?  What's the formula like?  Does the color make you happy every time you look at it?  For $50, is it magic nail polish that instantly changed your life?!  I NEED TO KNOW!

Shell Of A Good Time

I've been trying to stay away from Sephora lately because I can't really buy anything right now and it's way too hard to look and not take stuff home.  I'm shallow like that.  But yesterday I had to pick up something at the mall and if you think I can find myself standing five feet from the entrance and not actually going in, well, you don't know me very well at all. It was like a magnetic pull towards the front displays.  I was powerless to resist!  And out of everything I saw in there, the one thing I really, really (really!) wished I could walk out with was Ciate's new Shell Manicure.  It's the coolest looking textured nail ever with crushed shells that you wear on top of the polish (either on all your nails or on just one as an accent nail).  It's available in three shades - Wish Upon a Starfish (a holographic white), She Sells Seashells (a pink multicoloured) and Mermaid You Look (a pretty purple).  I'm not normally a huge fan of purple shades, but I LOVE this one.  It's almost got a grey tint to it so it looks a little neutral and you could definitely wear it to the office if you wanted.  I have a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't last all that long on your fingers as an every day manicure because the shells seem like they would probably pop off easily, but when it looks that cool, I almost can't bring myself to care.  I kind of just want to own it for the next special occasion I dress up for - wouldn't it be a great accessory for your favorite LBD?  I seriously need this.  Immediately.  Quick, someone give me a reason $25 isn't too much to spend!

Totally Enamored

Ooh, I am super loving this shade of Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer from Marc Jacobs.  I'm SO ready for spring and summer shades and as much as I love my Chanel Black Satin, it's been a constant fixture on my fingers this winter so it's time for a change.  Enter Shocking.  It's described as an "opaque muted hot pink" and it's just super pretty.  It's bright, but not too bright, pink, but not too pink.  Just the perfect color to transition into hotter weather wearing on your fingers and toes.  And I love the bottles - they're so sculpted and elegant.  I want them all!  

Spring Is Blossoming

Oooh, how unique is this polish?  I kinda love it.  It's the Cherry Blossom Top Coat by Formula X for Sephora and I'm going to need to own this one.  Look at how pretty it is!  It's described as "A clear top coat infused with petal pink glitter particles in assorted shapes and sizes that celebrates the bounty of cherry blossom season."  Doesn't that just sound pretty?  I have so many polishes this would look great over, I kind of can't wait to buy it and test it out.  See you this weekend, Sephora!

Magical Thinking

Oh man, I love these so much I want to carry them around with me at all times so I can just whip them out of my bag and stare at them whenever I want.  I'm OBSESSED with Zoya's Pixie Dust shades and these are like Pixie Dusts on steroids.  They're new shades for spring - Zoya calls them Magical PixieDust and I so agree.  There are three shade in the collection and this is how Zoya describes them:

• Cosmo -
  silver crystal sparkle, textured PixieDust with mega hex iridescent particles - See more at: http://zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Cosmo-ZP717.html#sthash.8HBjlMW2.dpuf
  silver crystal sparkle, textured PixieDust with mega hex iridescent particles - See more at: http://zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Cosmo-ZP717.html#sthash.8HBjlMW2.dpuf
  A silver crystal sparkle textured PixieDust with mega hex iridescent particles
• Vega - A blue opal sparkle textured PixieDust with mega hex iridescent particles
• Lux - A rose quartz sparkle textured PixieDust with mega hex iridescent particles

These are textured, unlike the previous PixieDust shades, and they have holographic pixie particles in them so it's like a mega glitter explosion.  I mean, they could not be sparklier and I love it.  I want to wear them on my fingers AND toes!  I also want them to make many, many more of them so I can have them in all the colors of the rainbow.  Even the ones I don't normally like!  Get on that, Zoya!

Lucy In The Sky

 

Butter London's new Boho Rock Collection is pretty damn great, but my absolute favorite is Lucy in the Sky.  Love, love, love this one.  It's described as a sheer, iridescent, gold and silver glitter suspended in a rosy pink base and it's just gorgeous.  I'm wearing it now and I can't stop staring at my nails.  It's super glittery and sparkly and reflects light like crazy.  So damn pretty.  It looks great on my fingers but it's also going to look amazing on my toes the next time I'm at the salon.  If you like glitters, don't let this one pass you by!

Glitter Into The New Year

I super love glitter nail polish.  Like, way more than anyone my age should.  It's just so sparkly and pretty!  I don't usually wear it on my fingers, but I'm almost always wearing it on my toes and sometimes, I admit, I give in and wear a shade I'm particularly excited about on my hands.  So when I saw the display with the new L'Oreal Gold Dust shades, I got super excited.  There are nine different colors in the collection, which is a limited-edition release for the holidays.  The polishes all have a textured formula, and they dry to a matte finish (they also dry very quickly, which is a bonus for those of us who get impatient and smudge our nails constantly).  The shades are all unique and super, super pretty - I can't get enough of Hidden Gems (a dark turquoise with silver glitter), Rough Around the Edges (a black with silver glitter) and The Reign of Studs (a purple glitter).  Those are definitely my three favorites, but I love the other six too - this is the one collection I've gotten recently that doesn't have a dud in the bunch.  I'd wear them all.  (And clearly, other people agree because they've been on my desk all day and every woman who walks by picks them up and oohs and aahs over them).  I've seen the displays in almost all the drugstores by me, but they're getting picked over fast, so if you see them, definitely scoop them up and run to the counter - you might not get another chance!

Note: Samples were sent to me by a PR representative working with L'Oreal