“What’s On Your Nails?” with Amy from China Glaze

What’s On Your Nails? is a series focusing on my fellow beauty bloggers and industry insiders, their favorite nail polish and other hot nail topics.One of the greatest gifts writing ALU has brought me is the amazing relationships I’ve formed, like my friendship with Amy MacGregor, Assistant Brand Manager for China Glaze. Amy doesn’t just work for a beauty brand, she has a core love for color and nails that totally reflects in her work. As one of the creative forces behind some of my all time favorite polish collections (Summer Days, Bahama Blues, Ecollection), Amy understands what true fanatics want and delivers over and over again. After months and months of emails I finally had the chance to meet Amy over breakfast last summer in L.A. and she’s just an absolute doll. The fact that she surprised me with the BEST green glitter EV-AH (Emerald Sparkle) was just a bonus. So read on to get to know Amy better, find out what product made her acrylic to natural nail transition possible and see a perfect example of a natural french manicure.

Introduce yourself to the ALU readers. Tell us a little about your background.
I grew up in and around the professional beauty industry because of my mother. I worked professional beauty trade shows and made sales calls with her at a very young age. I love that this industry is so large but at the same time you know almost everyone.

Working with China Glaze has taught me so much. Not everyone understands that there is a real distinction between the professional side of beauty and the retail side of beauty but that is what makes it interesting to me because you’re involved in so many different things – development, manufacturing, sales and then ultimately, the consumers’ feedback.

What is your favorite nail polish?
Honestly I don’t think that anyone could choose just one… I have several (in no particular order): Gussied Up Green, High Maintenance, Emerald Sparkle (pictured), Up All Night, Evening Seduction and Designer Satin. I’m a sucker for a rich vampy but occasionally I will throw something soft into the mix: Heaven and Inner Beauty are two of my favorite light shades.

What is on your tips and toes right now?
On my toes I am wearing High Maintenance and on my tips I’m wearing Rock Hard treatment by European Secrets. Sometimes I go a day or so with just a treatment on my nails because I have such a hard time figuring out what color I want to wear! Most of the time I choose 6 that I want to wear, look at them throughout the day and then get feedback from friends, coworkers and family if I am really having a hard time.

Do you consider nail polish a beauty necessity or accessory? Why?
I think that nail polish is considered both a necessity and an accessory. Nail polish transcends an outfit and makes a statement!

How many bottles of nail polish do you own?
I think I have about 100 bottles of China Glaze at home that I have been gathering from the collections I have worked with – Anniversary, Ski, OMG, Ecollection, INK, Rodeo Diva, Operation Colour, Bahama Blues, Romantique, Summer Days and a few others. You also need to remember that I am surrounded by nail polish all day so I have so much while I am at work!

How often do you change your nail polish?
It depends… lately I have been testing different formulations so my polish changes daily. I also tend get bored with having a color on my tips for too long – I think the longest I have gone with one color is 4 days!

Do you have a favorite nail treatment you think my readers should know about? Why is it so fab?
Rock Hard by European Secrets!!! It’s amazing! In March of 2008 I made a commitment to myself to stop wearing acrylic nails after 10 years and at the same time to stop biting my nails and cuticles. BAD HABIT! I wanted what everyone else I saw had – naturally beautiful nails that were my own. In the beginning of the process it was hard because my nails were thin, peeling and weak. Ever since then Rock Hard and I have had a nice lasting relationship. I also am VERY fond of Seche Vite Top Coat – without it I wouldn’t be able to change my tip color so often because my hectic work schedule here in the office.

What do you think will be the big
nail trend for spring?
Every year, I see polish becoming more and more important in editorials and advertising so I think women will continue to experiment with color.
Lots of women have started to recognize how shimmer flatters their skin tone and calls attention to a pretty manicure or pedicure. So, I guess I predict more die-hard crème fans will experiment with shimmer, glitter and maybe even some nail art.

What nail trend do you wish would go away?
Hmmm, this is a hard one – I guess chipped nails would be my answer. It just looks messy.

What is the biggest nail faux pas that women make?
They don’t value the importance of treatments. A great base coat really anchors the color and a quality top coat will preserve your polish.

Thank you Amy for sharing and all the great polish pics. Rock Hard certainly seems to be nail magic considering how fab your tips look. I’m getting a bottle for my Danny Devito Syndrome weak a$$ nails, stat!