Chanel Peridot

Hello.  I have something special to share with you this lazy rainy Sunday.  Peridot, part of Chanel's Fall 2011 precious metals collection, is a complex sophisticated antique gold/olive green duochrome.  Duochromes, polishes that have two distinct colors depending on how the light hits them, can sometimes be very juvenile, but Chanel has created a very sophisticated take on this with Peridot.  And for the hefty price of $25, they darn well should!

In the light this polish is a beautiful antique gold with lots of sparkle flecks.  In the shade it takes on an olive green sheen.  The less direct light it receives, the darker the olive green effect.  I used two coats of Peridot with no top coat.

Chanel Peridot, two coats

Chanel Peridot, two coats

Peridot is fairly easy to apply and dries very quickly.  So quickly in fact that I had to keep extra polish on the brush so that it would stay wet while I painted.  20 minutes after manicure time and Peridot is ready to take on the world.

Image of Peridot gem, photo courtesy of JTPeters.net

I like the way Chanel has played on the way light hits an actual peridot gem, picking up the range of colors between dark olive green to gold.  Peridot is the birthstone for August, so those of you late summer babies might want to pick up this polish for that alone.  What do you think?  Does this color have you pining?

Zoya Minka

Howdy Y'all!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Summer (and Fall).  It's great to finally be back to you, now live and permanently from the state of Texas.  That's right, I am officially a Texan now.  But more importantly, I am moved into my apartment and have been reunited with my entire stash of nail polish.  I think they were lonely without me.

Today I have for you Minka, from Zoya's Touch collection.  This collection was released over the summer and contained three full-coverage neutrals designed to work with your skin tone.  Minka is the lightest of the three shades and I thought it would work well with my sightly olive complexion which I attribute to the Greek side of my family.  This is two coats of Zoya Minka, no top coat.  I've been on a no-top coat kick recently.  The specific finish of each polish intrigues me, I guess you could say I'm taking a test run at being a nail polish purist.  Since I'm not using top coat to even out flaws and prevent bubbling, I had to wait extra long in-between coats just to be safe.

Zoya Minka, two coats with flash 

Zoya Minka, two coats with flash

As I suspected, this color is much more flattering now that my hands are a little paler.  Usually I dont have that problem, but being in Texas keeps me a bit darker I guess.  I love that it has just a bit of sheen.  You can really see it in the bottle and then just a little bit when it's on.  It's definitely complete coverage as advertised.  Some nails were almost ok after one coat, but I did two just to make sure everything was completely even.  If you go too thick you might have a problem with streaking, but overall the polish is pretty self-leveling.

 One quick word about not using top coat- Be sure to wrap your tips!  After you've finished your last coat of color, take a quick swipe of the brush over the tip of your nail to lock in the color.  This way your manicure lasts longer.

So what do you think?  Does such a pale color appeal to you for winter?  Have you picked up anything similar?

Zoya Manon

Today I have a beautiful color to share with you.  You may remember a while ago Zoya had a facebook promotion where they were giving away your choice of any three polishes.  I chose Mimi, Pipa, and Manon and am finally getting around to swatching them!

Manon is a romantic seductive Summertime alternative to red.  It's a raspberry maroon with a strong shimmer that has a cornflower blue tint to it.  In the sunlight with top coat, this polish shimmers fantastically.  Now that I am used to Zoya polishes, I had no trouble applying it.  It dried very quickly and I'm sure I will be able to get at least 5 days without it chipping.  Here is Zoya Manon, two coats.

Zoya Manon, two coats with top coat, flash

Just as I was finishing my manicure, I received a surprise flower delivery!  As I signed for the beautiful arrangement, the delivery boy asked if it was my birthday.  I said no, I just have the world's best boyfriend :-)

Surprise flowers from the wonderful boy!

Revlon Minted

I always love good deals, and when HEB provides a $3 off Revlon coupon, I can't pass up the chance for a  $0.98 bottle of nail polish!  Especially when it's a color I've been eyeing for a while.  Revlon Minted is a springy pastel sea-foam green.  The color complements my skin tone very nicely; for me its the perfect minty shade.  I used two coats and one coat of CND Air Dry to help even the surface and prevent bubbling.  Minted applies a little unevenly, but not as much as Zoya Avril.

Revlon Minted, two coats, indirect sunlight

Revlon Minted, two coats, indirect sunlight

Love it!  Already I can tell I'm going to have a hard time figuring out which polishes to bring to Tanglewood this summer...

Zoya Avril and Sally Hansen Antiqued Gold Crackle

Today I have an elegant crackle manicure to share with you.  While at Walgreens I ran into the Sally Hansen new crackle collection and decided to get Antiqued Gold.  I chose to pair it with Zoya Avril, a beautiful dusty pale pink creme.  Avril takes time to get a smooth manicure.  I got away with two coats because I was putting crackle on top, but if you want it opaque on its own or have longer nails, you will need three coats.  Here is Zoya Avril on its own:

Zoya Avril, two coats with flash

After the polish was completely dry (I waited 15 minutes)  I added a coat of Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Antiqued Gold.

Zoya Avril with one coat Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Antiqued Gold

The effect is very subdued but I think it has the elegant look of ballet and Versailles and yes, antiqued gold.  This crackle didn't crack as much as the OPI Black Shatter, so I recommend using a very thin coat.

Overall I'm pleased with how this turned out.

What do you think?  What colors would you pair gold crackle with?

OPI The Color To Watch

A few days ago I found out I get to go to a wedding this weekend.  I LOVE these events, so I gave great consideration to what would be on my nails.  (More consideration, in fact, than to what I'll actually be wearing.)  At first I thought I'd go with Chanel Morning Rose, but when it came time to paint my nails yesterday, I decided I was in the mood for something with a little more complexity.  Chanel Paradoxal and RBL Insouciant were considered, but I ended up deciding on OPI The Color To Watch from the Fall '10 Swiss collection.  I fell in love with this shade after choising it for an outsourced pedicure.  It looks fabulous on toes!  Not wanting to miss out on this shade, I caved and bought a bottle from ULTA.

The Color To Watch is a beautiful sophisticated lavender/blue shimmer.  It's not quite a duochrome, but both hues are definitely present.  It falls somewhere inbetween RBL Insouciant and Sally Hansen Virtual Violet.  Insouciant has a more strong lavender base and Virtual Violet has a stronger blue flash.  For this manicure I used three coats of The Color To Watch and one coat of CND Air Dry.  The top coat really helps give TCTW a glossy finish.  TCTW has a thin formula so I experienced minor cuticle drag.  Aside from that, application is pretty good.

OPI The Color To Watch, three coats, indirect sunlight

OPI The Color To Watch, three coats, direct sunlight

This polish is officially on my list of all-time favorites.  It is also my permanent go-to pedicure.  Happy Sunday, I will take lots of wedding pictures to share with you!

RBL Insouciant & some tips on Short Nails

Hello everyone, I'm back!  I apologize for being so remiss in posting.  My last semester of grad school turned out to be a whirlwind, and the following day I moved three hours West and started a new job.  Finally, I feel like I've regained some control back over my free time and I'm happy to be back sharing pretty colors with you.

It seems fitting to start off with Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant.  This shade was my mother's present to me after winning my job.  How did she know that I would absolutely love this sophisticated dusty lavender with a subtle blue shimmer?  I may have suggested it.

RBL Insouciant, two coats with top coat, flash

RBL Insouciant, two coats with top coat, flash

You may notice that my nails are significantly shorter than before.  I'd been having a problem with peeling and so decided to file them all down and let them grow out again to see if that fixed the problem.  Since they've been short, I have noticed a few positive benefits:

• Manicures last longer.  With shorter nails there is much less tipwear, so manicures look much fresher.
• Products last longer.  Shorter nails use less polish, less top coat, etc.  One bottle of top coat will take you farther.
• Removal is a cinch.  Let's face it, those Deborah Lippmann glitters look phenomenal on long nails, but they are a pain to remove.  On shorter nails, there's less polish to take off, so removal is much quicker.
• More Colors Look Good.  Shorter nails are suited by a greater range of colors.  (Not that this ever stopped any of us with long nails from wearing whatever color we wanted.)

I've run into a lot of people that keep their nails short who think that manicures just won't look good on them.  I highly disagree.  I think the short nails is a chic look that can perfectly pull off any shade imaginable.  Let's not forget that Coco Chanel counseled her boutique maidens in the movie Coco et Igor that long nails were "trop vulgare."  While manicure execution may be slightly more difficult to pull off on short nails, here are some tricks I've found that greatly help with achieving a professionally-done look on short nails.

• Make sure nails are filed to a uniform length and shape.  This will make your nails look professionally groomed no matter what the length.
• Attend to your cuticles.  Soak cuticles in warm soapy water and gently push them back with an orangewood stick.  This will give your nailbed a greater surface area, and it looks more groomed.
• Moisturize.  It's always good to moisturize your nails and the area surrounding them.  I like Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream.  Doing this right before painting your nails also makes clean-up easier since any extraneous polish on your fingers will wipe right off.
• Cleanse.  You've moisturized your nails, now you need to make sure you have an oil-free surface for polish to adhere to.  Before painting, use an alcohol-free facial toner and swipe over nails with a cotton ball.

After having my nails short, now I understand why a lot of people prefer this look.  I am seriously considering keeping this look for a while.  What do you think?  How long do you keep your nails?  Which length do you think is most desirable?