Essie
Isn’t Sheeee, Pretty In Pink (Creme)
I’m not a girly pink loving kind of girl. I give that title to my girl Nikki who is pink personified. However, this summer in addition to my major orange fetish, I’m all about a glossy pink nail. But I’m not talking about baby pinks or sheers here. No it’s all about bright, bold, hot pink cremes. Creme finishes give these vibrant hues a chic spin that keeps them from being too garish.
And I’m not the only one feeling this trend. Celebs like Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Mannillo and Miley Cyrus have all been caught rocking the pink. And even though the hamsters on Big Brother 10 have only been streaming live for a couple days now, one of the contestants, Keesha, has already delved into the nail polish stash to pinkify her nails.
If you want to join the Pretty In Pink-ness here are the shades I recommend. For a slightly softer pink that still makes a splash try: Wet N Wild Dreamy Poppy, Essie Movers & Shakers, OPI Elephantastic Pink, Essie Guilty Pleasures, Orly Butterflies, Nubar Camelot Blossom
And if you want to go for full-on bright, in-your-face fuchsia look for CND Hot Pop Pink, Zoya Jewell, OPI That’s Hot Pink, NARS Schiap, Lippmann Angel Eyes and Nubar Geisha Blaze. (Note: Geisha Blaze & Angel Eyes have extremely subtle shimmer but it doesn’t show on the nail)
Now the trick in pulling this look off is perfect application. Any bubbles, dents or ridges will only be magnified with a creme so prep is the most important step. If you aren’t going to a salon (I don’t) make sure you buff out any flaws and use a great ridge filling base coat, like Seche, to give the lacquer a smooth application surface.
It’s A Neon, Neon World With Essie & Orly
As my favorite nail color queen, Rihanna, has already shown us, bright, bold, in-your-face shades are what’s hot right now. She’s been spotted wearing orange, teal, purple, etc. and even though she’s driving the bandwagon other young celebs are jumping on board. Take Lindsay Lohan for example. She wore a hot pink to match her prom-tastic dress at her 22nd birthday party and was caught lighting up (don’t do it!) with glowing orange tips.
To feed your need for neon, Essie and Orly have hit us with a one-two punch of bright, four color collections for Summer.
The Essie Neons are quite a departure for the usually subdued brand. They tend to target the conservative, classic nail fanatic. I give Essie two thumbs up for addressing the trend. Unfortunately I have to give a thumbs up/thumbs down to the formula. While half the shades (Mini Shorts & Short Shorts) were OK, the others (Bermuda Shorts & Shorty Pants) were pretty nightmarish. As expected, the neon pigments cause these polishes to dry matte but for some reason they don’t smooth out easily. You have to put in some work to avoid an uneven texture. But the colors, love them! Mini Shorts is definitely my favorite.
Orly High Voltage is a mixture of saucy shimmers and punchy cremes. The gold shimmer in Heat Wave is captivating. As soon as I picked up the bottle, I had to have it on my tips. It’s really a stand out lacquer for me. Charged Up is a nice grape but it’s also the only polish I had application issues with. I needed three coats to get even, full coverage. And if I were picking a hot reddish pink, Hot Shot would be my choice. It’s way more vibrant in person, somewhat shocking.
The polishes pictured are shown with a top coat since the majority dry matte. I chose images for each lacquer that best represented the color so they aren’t all shown in sunlight.
The Essie Neons and Orly High Voltage collections are available now online and in stores including hair and nail salons, Trade Secret, ULTA, Sally Beauty Supply and Regis. Contact your local retailer to check availability.
Essie Spring 2008 – In The Mood
In the mood for all his kissin’
In the mood his crazy lovin’
In the mood what I was missin’
It didn’t take me long to say
I’m in the mood now
When I hear Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood“ I can’t help but picture the scene from Cannery Row in which Debra Winger and Nick Nolte swing dance with competitive ferocity. The same image came to mind when I first saw Essie’s Spring 2008 collection, In The Mood, with it’s cheeky names and sweet girly shades.
For the most part all the polishes applied smoothly with no streaking. Looking For Love being the exception. It was just too difficult to get a fluid sheer look. Even after the three coats I applied it was still semi-sheer and splotchy (see below).
Body Language - Is a pinkish gray nude. A very neutral and wearable creme. I honestly didn’t expect to like this one at all, this is so not a part of my normal color range. But once I had it on, I loved the clean chic look.
Great Expectations – An opalescent gray, the shimmer is extremely subtle to add depth. I see light to medium grays becoming more and more popular. In fact this color would have fit right in with the silvery/pearly whites that were seen on the red carpet at the SAG Awards.
Hard To Get – A bubblegum pink creme with a hint of lavender in it’s base. It didn’t really mesh with my skin tone but I think it would be a fun pedi shade. With it’s high gloss shine, Hard To Get is the slight deeper sister of one of my favorite patent finish polishes, China Glaze Go Go Pink.
Hi Maintenance – You know sheers and I aren’t friends so even though this milky pink makes a great french manicure base, it’s not for me.
Looking for Love – This one was the big disappointment for me. Lilac and lavender shades make my hands look alien-esque so even though I love wearing purples, the lighter ones are a no go. Though regardless of the color the formula bit it, big time. Major application issues makes me give Looking for Love a double “thumbs down”.
Secret Affair – Is my other favorite from the collection. The shade is hard to describe which is why I find it so intriguing. Is it nude, pink, taupe or a combination of all three? With this one, it really depends on the light which makes a Secret Affair a winner in my book. 
The In The Mood collection is available for sale now online and is slated to be in stores and salons on February 1st.
Who’s buying what? How many of you are going to clutch your dark polishes, run and hide in a cave vampire-style until all this pale sheer madness goes away? And who is starting to venture towards the light? As much as it pains me to say, I’m kind of loving the freshness of these light colors. Shh, don’t tell! My green and blue polishes may revolt and run away.
Live From The Red Carpet – It’s Essie
Ok so I’m sad about the fate of the Golden Globes this weekend. A news conference style awards show? That’s more pathetic than the Seacrest-In-The-Round Emmys. I’m all for the actors supporting their Writers Guild brothers & sisters by not crossing the picket line but, I still want my red carpet coverage and ten thousand re-runs of E!’s Fashion Wrap.
So what do we have to comfort ourselves? A little bit of the red carpet, in a bottle. Essie and E! Entertainment Television have teamed up to create a limited edition polish inspired by “E! Live From The Red Carpet,” appropriately named Live From The Red Carpet.
A glossy cherry red creme, Live From The Red Carpet is so well pigmented, you hardly need a second coat. And I know all you Big 3 Free lovers are going to hate me saying this but there is something to be said for keeping the chemicals. This formula is so easy to control and apply that I don’t care what’s in it.
Live From The Red Carpet is available now through the end of February at salons and beauty outlets such as ULTA ($8).
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month
It’s never too late to make a difference. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month but that doesn’t mean that it’s all over tomorrow. We need to promote prevention and research, all year long. You can still help find a cure by supporting these manufacturers’ efforts.
Dashing Diva supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For every bottle of pink Dashing Diva nail polish you buy, we will donate 50% of the profits to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Pictured are seven of Dashing Diva’s most popular pink polishes. (l-r)Petal Pushing Petunia, Dizzy Pinky Lizzie, Daisy Pink, Falmingo Fay, Pink Martini Marni, Pink Lollipop Lola, Prima Donna Pink
nubar announces the Collection for the Cure for 2008. A collection of four nubar nail products which are great for everyday wear. Two beautiful pink shades, Pink Cami and Je’Taime, a foundation base coat and Diamond Seal & Shine. 10% of the retail price of the Collection for the Cure will go towards St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Cancer Treatment Research Foundation and the City of Hope. nubar offers products that are free of harmful ingredients such as; Toluene, Formaldehyde or DBP (Phthalate). Your purchase is a commitment to help support education, outreach, research and all of our critical programs throughout the country.
Show your support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month with Pink of Hearts, a new OPI Nail Lacquer created exclusively to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure in its promise to end breast cancer forever. In 2007, OPI will make a donation of $25,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.*
Join Essie in their Pink Is Powerful campaign. The shade, Pink Is Powerful, is a pale, shimmery sheer pink intended to inspire hope. 10% of the profits from Pink Is Powerful will be donated to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund throughout the month of October.
In addition, Essie is offering this limited edition Pink Is Powerful Minis set. The set includes 1/8 oz. bottles of Sensitivity Base Coat, Pink is Powerful Limited Edition Colour, Pink Glove Service Colour and Good to Go! Topcoat. Essie will donate $1 for each set sold to the Women’s Cancer Research Fund.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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