CND
CND Monday – Another Perspective on CND Shellac
In this special edition of CND Monday, ALU’s new contributor Christine shares her CND Shellac experience with us.
As I mentioned in my Cosmoprof Recap, Christine is a fellow polish fanatic who I met through the Specktra message boards. Like me, she’s all about nails, makeup and hair but what’s funny is that as a chemical engineer she spends a lot of her day out in the field, surrounded by guys, wearing a hard hat and getting dirty! Not very girlie. But one thing Christine is known for at work is her crazy colored manicures. She always has some fun color or nail art going on. While I still refuse to take the plunge into Konad-land she has fully embraced it. Since I tried Shellac way back in February I thought it would be fun to get another perspective on the product now that it’s fully launched. Thankfully CND was able to accommodate us during Cosmoprof so Christine could get the full Shellac experience. Here’s her take: Getting the opportunity to attend Cosmoprof with Michelle was in itself exciting. I had my own Press Pass! How cool is that? When Michelle told me she scheduled me an appointment to get Shellac’d at CND, I could not have been more thrilled! After all, I am your typical DIY nail polish fanatic. I change my polish so often, it doesn’t pay to get regular manicures, but I was really looking forward to having a little pampering. |
Cosmoprof 2010 Day 2 Recap
Monday was utter craziness at Cosmoprof North America. Christine and I arrived bright and early and hit the ground running.
We met with the teams at CND, OPI, Orly, SpaRitual and Zoya and I think by the end of the day we were both visually overwhelmed. You can’t really grasp the scope of how large this show is unless you’re here. Outside of all the major nail, hair and skin care brands that are represented there are a tons of smaller and international brands to check out. Three of the big trends I’m noticing are keratin treatments, hair tinsel and gel polish. The amount of brands that have come out with those three products is exploding. Check out our finds from Day 2 after the jump! |
A Quick & Easy Gradation Manicure with Butter London Stroppy
Remember way back in February 2009 when I had a CalGel Gradation Manicure done at Sakura in NYC? If you’re not familiar, a gradation manicure creates an ombre effect where the polish fades down the nail. I wore a version with a purple tip that faded into clear but you can also fade two colors together.
As much as I loved the look of my CalGel mani, the thought of spending two hours at the salon to get it done and another half hour or longer to remove it does not sound appealing. There has to be an easier way. An at-home method to get the look for less. Enter butter LONDON Stroppy. |
CND Night Factory Duo – Urban Oasis & Teal Sparkle Swatches & Review
Like your favorite pair of jeans, the CND Night Factory Duo of Urban Oasis and Teal Sparkle can take you from day to night based on how you wear it. The blue-green denim creme can be worn alone with a high gloss finish for a chic day look, electrified with Teal Sparkle for a night on the town, or sandblasted with a satin finish matte for a casual weekend look.
As I shared with you in previewing “The Look” for Fall/Winter 2010, CND was heavily influenced by the heathery blues, hunter greens and taupe greys as seen on the Marc Jacobs and Rag & Bone Spring 2010 runways. Those colors came together to form Urban Oasis. To pair with it, CND chose the largest of their Effects micas to create the illuminating Teal Sparkle. |
Get The Look – The CND Ruffian Matte Moon Manicure
Brian Wolk and Claude Morais, the designers behind Ruffian, have declared the “moon manicure” their signature nail. After two seasons of incorporating the moon mani into their runway look, the nail world went nuts for the crescent moon inspired design from their Fall ’10 show (shown left).
Each season it’s not just about a moon manicure it’s about invoking a specific look or reference. The Fall ’09 ruby colored moon (below right) was inspired by a vintage Vogue cover while the Spring ’09 raspberry and black art deco design (below left) was pulled from a tapestry.
For Fall ’10 the nail came together in a magical way. After meeting with the designers, CND’s Jan Arnold was walking the Manhattan streets when she looked up to see a crescent moon glowing against the midnight blue sky. The moon had a golden cast to it and she was immediately inspired. When she spoke to the designers, they had also seen the moon and had the same thought to translate it onto a nail. |
Lisa N.
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