A Manicure So Tough, Not Even NYC Can Wear It Down
As you know I was in NYC for Halloween weekend with the boyfriend and per my usual travel ritual I was up late the night before we left. I did actually get five hours sleep with is a record for me. Baby steps…
Anywho, as I tend to do, I gave myself a middle of the night manicure, procrastinating because I couldn’t decide on a color. Unlike my trips to NYC for Fashion Week, I wasn’t going to be changing my color daily so I wanted something that would not only last but go with every outfit I packed. Finally, around 2 am, I pulled out the polishes I bought the day before, determined to wear something new. Little did I know, the combination I ended up choosing would last me 7+ days with barely any tip wear. Read on to see my manicure with Lancôme Les Rouge L’Wren and Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow and check out some pics from my trip. |
On my trip to the mall I picked up the new Lancôme L’Wren Scott Holiday Collection polishes and a few of the Sephora by OPI Holiday colors. When I pulled them out Friday night I fully expected to put on the slate grey, Le Gris L’Wren, and surprised myself by falling hard for the garnet red shimmer, Les Rouge L’Wren. This red kick I’m on seems to have no signs of stopping. Weird, I know!
If you haven’t seen the new Lancôme polish bottles, they’ve changed the size and brush on us. After releasing a mini set for Fall they’ve changed things up, opting for a bottle somewhere between the .185oz minis and the old .34oz bottles. This new slimmer bottle holds .21oz of polish and has a lower price point ($14.50).
My only point of contention is with the brush. I loved the old flat brush and this one has a similar shape and length, it’s just not as firm. The floppy bristles make the polish harder to control. I would suggest that Lancôme bring back the old bristles because they were the bomb.
Okay on to the color… Les Rouge L’Wren was created in collaboration with famed designer L’Wren Scott. Last February we saw the blue-grey color from this collection grace the tips of the models at L’Wren’s show and Les Rouge L’Wren hit the runway in September. The lush wine hue has a sprinkling of silver, gold and red micro-glitter that lights up the polish on the nail. I’m seriously infatuated with it.
I didn’t originally intend to wear it layered but considering that I barely held my eyes open long enough to polish my nails, it was no surprise when I woke up to see sheet marks wrecking my mani. So in a quick rush before heading to the airport I threw on a layer of Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow, the gold Holiday Collection counterpart to Today Was A Fairytale, which I showed you back in August. Boom Boom Pow contains 24K gold dust, gold micro-glitter and gold hexagonal sequins in a clear base.
These shots were all taken after SEVEN DAYS of wear. That’s right, we’re talking seven full days that included hauling luggage, schlepping all over NYC, multiple subway rides and constant hand washing (NYC is a germaphobe’s nightmare). I used Dermelect Launchpad Anti-Aging Base Coat and Olan Quick & Slick Top Coat but you would think I used glue.
The only casualty was my right thumb and that didn’t happen until I went to bowling on the Thursday following our trip. Yep, I’m in a bowling league with the boyfriend. It’s a beer league and a lot of fun. The only downside is that my thumb nail always takes a hit.
Halloween Weekend in NYC
I wasn’t sure what to expect being in the city for Halloween. I’m not a fan of the holiday so we avoided the famous NYC Village Halloween Parade but it was a lot of fun seeing people with the outrageous costumes riding the subway or walking the streets with everyone else in their street clothes. Though I could have done without seeing the drunk girls wearing little more than a bandage and dental floss barely keeping it together in Times Square. It was way too cold for that.
Since we were staying in midtown near Rockefeller Center we wandered through Times Square and around the shops on 5th Avenue on Saturday, ending the evening at Aroma Kitchen, a restaurant I visited during a NYC beauty tour a few years back. The food at Aroma Kitchen was fabulous and not much of a strain on the wallet.
Sunday Funday found us venturing out to Brooklyn for brunch with my pal, StyleIt’s Sarah Conley. Silly me, I thought that since the restaurant was in Brooklyn, where Sarah lives, it would be an easy trip for her. Little did I know it was a shorter trip for us than it was for her. Shows what I know about NYC transporation.
Anywho, I chose Seersucker after hearing about it from co-owner, Lancome VP of PR Kerry Diamond. Kerry and her boyfriend, Chef Robert Newton, opened the Southern comfort food spot this past summer and I’ve been wanting to check it out. Fashion Week is usually too crazy for a trek out to Brooklyn so this trip proved to be the perfect time. Seersucker more than lived up to my expectations. The boyfriend loves biscuits and sausage gravy and said it was one of the best he’s had. I just wish we would have been in town on Tuesday to experience the fried chicken I’ve read so much about.
As if we needed more food, Sarah took us to her favorite cupcake shop, Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea where I got to intro the boyfriend to Sarah’s FW partner-in-crime, LesleyKat. After all that, a walk was definitely in order so we continued our NYC tour with a stroll through Central Park to see the Bethesda Fountain. It was a brisk, sunny day, perfect to take in the fall foliage. We finished the night with drinks in Union Square with Sarah and Heather Park and dinner at Dos Caminos. Their homemade guacamole is SOOO good.
Monday was all about the boyfriend. When we planned the trip he asked to see three things; The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Ground Zero and a Ranger’s hockey game at Madison Square Garden.
We started out bright and early to catch the ferry to Liberty Island and arrived to find out that Monday is school group day. Kill me now! Despite the throngs of noisy children, seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was amazing. Emotional even. We climbed the 156 steps to the pedestal of Lady Liberty and the view was stunning, learning the history of the statue along the way. You can climb a full 315 steps to the crown but neither of us were up for that.
On our way to to the hotel to recoup before the hockey game we stopped to pay our respects at Ground Zero and visited the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site and that’s where I lost it. I fully admit that I’m a sap but I can’t imagine anyone can visit the site and not get teary-eyed.
Later that night we met up with a friend of the boyfriend’s for drinks at The Flying Puck, a hockey bar. Yes, in a foodie town like NYC I went to a hockey bar but like I said, it was the boyfriend’s day. He was in his glory watching the Rangers take on the Chicago Blackhawks and I was excited to see the Garden. It was a lot smaller than I expected and the color scheme threw me for a loop. Barney purple and turquoise? Who was in charge of that??
We capped off the night with a visit to the Empire State Building. It was FREEZING but the view was incredible. Someone on Twitter mentioned that there’s a better view from Rockefeller Center but we had purchased our tickets in advance and it just seemed like “the” place to see the city.
More than one person recommended we hit up Katz’s Deli so we headed there on Tuesday for lunch. I’m sure you remember the scene from When Harry Met Sally that was filmed there. “I’ll have what she’s having.” The corned beef and matzo ball soup were delish!
We also went on the NBC Studio Tour that day but we weren’t allowed to take pics inside 30 Rock. Due to my Sex & The City obsession we stopped at Magnolia Bakery and holy overrated Batman! Their red velvet is beyond terrible. Flavorless and covered in lard frosting. GROSS! Don’t. Do. It! At least we ended the trip on a high note, hanging with Keri Blair at a local organic eatery, FreeFoods. I had a yummy green juice that energized me for the journey home.
Lancôme Les Rouge L’Wren retails for $14.50/ea for a .21oz bottle and is available now on Lancome-USA.com and at Lancôme counters nationwide. Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow retails for $20/ea for a .5oz bottle and is available now at DeborahLippmann.com, Nordstrom.com, Beauty.com and at Barneys NY.
I hope you enjoyed my little (or not so little) recap of my NYC trip. What do you think of my Lancôme/Lippmann manicure? Have you fallen for a color family recently that you normally shy away from? What’s the longest you’ve worn a manicure before it started showing serious signs of wear? What was that magical product combo?
Disclosure: A product sample was provided by Deborah Lippmann and Dermelect, all other products and services mentioned were purchased by me. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
image credit: Seersucker image from Becoming Brooklyn.
Lisa N.
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That shade is quite unique! I haven’t seen one in that color combo I guess. We’ve seen similar ones but in the same ‘ol color schemes but not this scheme.
I love the mani, but I’m going to have to skip them both. $14.50 for 2.1 oz? HAAAA. Ha. No.
But you know, I have a sudden craving for olive greens…I never liked them, but suddenly I’m ravenous for them. Crazy!
And your trip looked like a great time. It made me so homesick.
And I’m glad you guys got a chance to go to Ground Zero. It’s not a fun time, because I don’t know anyone who doesn’t cry at least once there. But it’s a powerful experience that every American should have at least once, I think.
That’s how I feel about the wear of RBL! I was in Pittsburgh last week and traveling with luggage through airports always destroys my mani. I was wearing RBL Jane and I didn’t get a single chip after 6 days of wear. I got one tiny chip on the 7th day before I got my new mani.
Btw, Billy’s cupcakes are definitely way better than Magnolia. BUT, next time you are in NYC go back to Magnolia for their banana pudding. You will not be sorry. It is to die for!
I love what you did and for it to stay on for 7 days!??!?! Seriously — and I love the word schlepp. haha!
I might have to put those on my Hanukkah wist list!
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
Great reportage, I enjoyed reading it, I’m glad you had fun in NYC!
I love your manicure, although I’m not a fan of gold flakie-thingies, but this combo works for me too. But my longest manicure (9 days!!!) was with Illamasqua Rampage and Essie Good to go! top coat. 9 crazy days, when I just didn’t find the time to change it and luckily it was Rampage, that I can’t get sick of, otherwise I’d go insane with 9 straight days with the same colour. It had a bit of tip wear in the end, but nothing extreme. It started to show my nail-growth though. Still, 9 days!
Looks like a wonderful time….and that color. I love it. Hate sheet marks but now I know what to do with them. Thanks
Lately my obsession has been green! (I think it’s your fault)
I’m usually a black & blue girl but green is taking over! I couldn’t wait for an “official” holiday season to start so I’m currently wearing China Glaze Jolly Holly. I’m absolutely in love with the color!
I have to agree! I didn’t like the original “black greens” when they started to come out, but ever since Sephora’s “Leaf Him At the Altar” greens have been coming out that actually work on my skin tone! It’s very exciting. I’m looking forward to the holiday green that was swatched here awhile ago.
I loved the trip! welcome back.
I fell hard for blue this summer. I almost never wear blue anything, especially not nails, but after I fell in love with emerald green last fall, I moved through mint, turquoise, and teal this summer, into craving a royal blue and a navy this fall. Nothing will ever take the place of purple on my nails, though. Palest to nearly-black, purple will always be foremost in my heart.
Oh, and the longest mani I ever did was a cheapie Rimmel 60-second polish, in Camoflage (true green), with OPI base and top coats. It probably stuck like glue because it’s got every nasty chemical known to man in it, but it lasted longer than my longest OPI.
I’m right there with you! Purple has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember! My first bedroom was even purple (lavender)! My favorite shades of purple are the “burple” tones like when I was little I was completely obsessed with this Crayola crayon color called “Blue Violet”. I wanted everything that color lol. Anyway I’m like you, purples, blues, and greens are my most loved colors.
If you’re in a blue mood: RBL Dead Calm and Under the Stars are unbelievable! I got those during the sale so they got here Saturday and I’ve never seen anything like either of them! Catherine H is also stunning and totally unique!
Thanks for sharing your vacation – sounds like a great time and I loved the photos. I’m really curious about the base you used with your mani – which is gorgeous! I’m glad to see you are enjoying the reds – thought I’d never see that :)!
Well damn! I actually got Boom Boom Pow and Today Was A Fairytale back in Sept and just haven’t had time to wear them yet because I’ve been on new polish overload with so many great collections from everyone since then. I knew TWAF had a clear base, but in the bottle BBP looked like it had almost like a sheer gold base so I was desperately hoping it would be more opaque on its own like Across the Universe, Ruby Red Slippers, Bad Romance, and Lady Sings the Blues all are.
I keep experiencing this same disappointment with Lippmann alot lately. First with Some Enchanted Evening then TWAF and now this! I just love how all three of those colors look in their bottles so I wanted badly to be able to wear them on their own and make them seem opaque. I just found the perfect opaque creme match for the base and glitter color in SEE so I’m thinking of trying one very thin coat of RBL Smitten under 2 or 3 coats of SEE in the hope that even though its more work maybe it will give me a look more like the bottle or a pink version of the darker glitters like AtU.
Your mani looks great as always though!
Also: Are you planning on swatching the China Glaze Holiday collection? I only ask because I’ve seen them for sale at all the usual e-tailers and love all the glitters plus it appears to be full of tons of gorgeous colors, but I don’t want to go nuts getting them all until I’ve seen swatches. Your swatches and reviews have always been the only ones I trust so if you were planning to swatch them then I’d wait, but if not I’ll go ahead and get a few. Thanks!
Love your pics of NYC! The top of the Emp State building at night is the best view ever! I love your nail color combo and I’m trying to avoid buying the Boom Boom Pow…I’ve been eyeing it for weeks now! I’m not sure I’ll be able to say no to it after your pics. LOL. I’ve never tried Lancome polish…
What do you do to prevent/fix sheet marks? It seems no matter how long I wait for my nails to dry those stupid sheet marks are just inevitable.
What’s the story with an anti-aging base coat? my nails are probably the last place that I’m worrying about that problem. By the time my fingernails look old I don’t think I’ll give a rat’s butt anymore.
What a fun trip! I need you to teach me how to paint my own nails – I’m horrible at it. PLEASE.
Glad you had a great time in my home state. I never get under the sheets without my Seche Quick Dry if I do my late night manis. It fends off all sheet marks..lol You just missed this cold streak we have now. Lucky you.
Michelle, thanks for stopping by Seersucker! And for giving yourself the world’s best Lancome manicure. Wow.
Your pictures are terrific. What a gorgeous shot from the Empire State Building.
Billy’s cupcakes are much better than Magnolia’s. My favorite though is Sugar Sweet Sunshine on the Lower East Side.
You can try their cupcakes and our fried chicken on your next visit. xoxo
Loved hearing about your vacation, sounds and looks like you had a great time! I am always getting sheet prints and hate them, have resorted to the same trick you used with pretty good results. Love the color combination of the Lancome red and Lipman gold. Definitely could see this for a “holiday look”.
What a fun trip! Glad you had such a great time! I have been meaning to buy those Lippman polishes, maybe now I will trek out to Beachwood Mall and get them
Hahaha! I laughed out loud at your mini-review of Magnolia Bakery. I couldn’t agree more! I’ve been there once and was VERY underwhelmed – I thought my cupcake was actually sort of gross. It was one of the worst cupcakes I’d ever had! Glad to see someone going against the grain and publicly admitting they sort of suck XD
Love the mani, too!
and here I thought I could pass up Boom Boom Pow. Anyway, Magnolia is crazy over-rated The shop is much too warm so the consistency is terrible (I don’t think I’ve had a good red velvet ANYWHERE! I don’t get the obsession) can anyone suggest a place to GET a good example in NYC or Philly!?
After seeing Cupcake Wars and the judges didn’t care for any of the red velvets on the show, I wonder if anyone can really make one or if it’s just an overrated baked good.
OK Now I am going to have to try Seersucker! I believe its in Carroll Gardens, we were looking for an apt there 3 weeks ago and I thought the place seemed cute! Its hard to find southern food here in NYC and when you do there is always a line
oh and I back you up completely on Magnolia Bakery BLECH!!!! My in-laws wanted to go there and I knew it sucked but I didn’t want to take the visit away from them. Next time you’re here go to Sugar Sweet Sunshine on the lower east side YUM YUM!!!
I love this color combo! I have been planning to try something similar by layering OPI for Sephora’s “Only Gold For Me” over their “I’m With Brad.”
I love Dos Caminos! I ate brunch there every Sunday for four years.
I’m glad you loved the guacamole! 
I *wish* I could get seven days out of my manicure — but I’m happy with four. Where with practices and all these damn dishes the boyfriend leaves for me.
Thanks for giving your report of NY. I love how long your mani lasted.
I was so excited to pick up some colors from the OPI Burlesque collection today. Now that I see this post, I really want the Lancome L’Wren Le Rouge color. That is beautiful. Not having any luck online. I think I will have to call stores tomorrow.
Grr! I only bought the grey Le Gris L’Wren color! I knew I should have gone with my gut and purchased both! Can you compare this gorgeous red to any other red because I’m dying for this shade or one like it? I’ve called different department stores counters all over and even Lancome’s main 1-800 (website was sold out, they knew absolutely nothing which really surprised me). From what I understand, wasn’t the L’Wren collection a Nordstrom exclusive? Anyway, they’re all sold out! Can you please swatch and compare this color to others? How does it fare next to butterLondon’s Chancer? Great pics of NYC! I love your blog and don’t remember how I lived without it! Congrats on all your success.
Sounds like you had an amazing trip! I did a little cheer when I read that you attended a hockey game for your boyfriend. Funny though, in my relationship it’s my boyfriend that gets dragged along for hockey games. I’m the fanatic. I’m currently visiting Ottawa at this moment and my nails are painted kelly green and true blue for tonights game against Vancouver! I’ve been to a Rangers game in MSG myself and I have no idea why they’ve been using that colour scheme. It reminds me of the wild berry pop-tarts. LOL! Hope you had fun.
Sounds like you had a great time!