“What’s On Your Nails?” with Christine from Temptalia

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.When I first discovered an online gallery of makeup looks by this person calling herself Temptalia, I never thought that I’d someday be rooming with her at Fashion Week. You see kids, I was big time FOTD (Face of the Day) junkie on all the beauty message boards, wishing I could have the mad blending skills of these should-be makeup artists and Temptalia was part of the group I admired most. The unique color combos and detailed technique info she provided got me hooked so when she launched the Temptalia.com beauty blog, it became one of my daily “must reads.” And if it isn’t one of yours, it should be! What’s funny is that I was really intimidated to meet Christine (aka Temptalia) let alone room with her and it was all for naught. She’s intelligent, motivated and, in spite her internet fame, friendly and easy to chat with. I was also insanely curious to see how much product she travels with and observe her routine in person. Amazingly enough, she actually packs incredibly light (a skill I don’t possess), wears beautiful but natural makeup (no yellow/green eyes) and has a relatively simple beauty regime. It just goes to show that you don’t need to use 10,000 products to be a beauty like Christine. Read on to discover Christine’s fave polish shade (it’s been a Fanatic Favorite two years running) and what nail care system she swears by.

Introduce yourself to the ALU readers. Tell us a little about you and your blog.
I’m Christine, and I run Temptalia.com! It’s a beauty blog driven by looks and tutorials, reviews, and fun ways for readers to participate by answering questions or filling out surveys. I’ve only been a beauty addict since 2004, but I’ve made up for the lost time by becoming totally immersed in it!

Why is For Audrey your favorite nail polish?
China Glaze For Audrey is my absolute favorite polish for its uniqueness in color and for the way it looks against my skin tone. I’m not even a Tiffany kind of girl, but the color is gorgeous no matter the link. It’s a color you don’t see often, which always makes it a nice conversation starter!

What is on your tips and toes right now?
Skittles nails from swatching Zoya’s Spring collection! My toes are For Audrey by China Glaze.

Do you consider nail polish a beauty necessity or accessory? Why?
Nail polish is one of my favorite ways to add color all the time. I don’t change my nails on a daily basis, but I try to get them changed every week or so if I can manage it! I love being able to rock a dark blue or a vampy red on my nails–when I wouldn’t feel so comfortable with on my face.

How many bottles of nail polish do you own?
Must be at least a hundred!

How often do you change your nail polish?
I try to do it once a week for tips. Right now, since my toes are always in socks, I’m not changing my toes much. I tend to keep them in For Audrey pretty regularly.

Do you have a favorite nail treatment you think my readers should know about? Why is it so fab?
I absolutely adore Zoya’s ColorLock System. I swear by it! I use nothing else but Zoya’s ColorLock System. It keeps my polish on for as long as I want it to–no chipping, quick drying, and looks great. I also swear by Lush Smitten hand cream to keep my cuticles and hands in top shape.

What do you think will be the big nail trend for spring?
Pastels, beiges–but interspersed with some more daring shades, like Chanel’s Vendetta.

What nail trend do you wish would go away?
How about the one where chipped polish is the in thing? I mean, I love that when I’ve gotten lazy, I can pretend like I’m being trendy… but c’mon!

What is the biggest nail faux pas that women make?
For me, I see really, really long nails as just too much. But I try not to judge–I wear bright yellow eyeshadow, so who am I to call what someone does a nail faux pas?

Thanks for sharing Christine! I’m so with you on the chipped polish thing. I want to buy everyone a pack of remover wipes for their purse.

Fanatics, make sure you visit Temptalia.com to keep up on Christine’s latest looks.