Green
A Visit to Dashing Diva
A trip to New York isn’t complete without a stop at Dashing Diva. It’s the perfect destination for a little pampering and a girly good time. So when I was in the city for Fashion Week back in February, I had to pencil in a manicure with some of my beauty blogging pals.
This time we visited the Upper West Side location and I had a chance to replace my broke down four day old mani with a fab cobalt blue; Stellar Ella (see left). Pictured with me is Julia from All About the Pretty and Erika from Makeup Bag. We were joined by our fearless Beauty Blog Network leader Elke and the fabulous and charming Sam from Dark PR who made the excursion possible.
Of course in the sea of conservative french manicures and pale pinks my tips stood out but I’m sure they would have been right at home with the funkier clientele at the downtown locale. But you know me, I’ll flash my bold nail personality anywhere. And the staff couldn’t have been more welcoming and professional. As expected the service was top notch and extremely hygienic which just makes my desire for a Cleveland Dashing Diva even stronger. Are you listening TPTB?
I took my time perusing the massive polish display and fell in love with a few shades that I just had to make my own. They’re not necessarily Spring season appropriate but they’re must haves for my collection.
Black Diamonds – I first wore this shade back in November and I regretted not bringing a bottle home. And while the gunmetal gray trend may not be as strong this coming fall, I still think this color is relevant. It’s got a bluish, slightly lavender base that softens the dark gray pigment. Super shiny and a relatively brush stroke-less metallic, Black Diamonds is mesmerizing.
Merlot Luscious Molly caught my attention with its subtle gold shimmer that weaves throughout this deep wine inspired shade. It’s even richer in person and in warm, incandescent lighting takes on a pretty rust colored cast.
Northern Lights is a no brainer “me” hue. A blue based green with gold shimmer that is peppered with bronze, blue and green glitter, this polish is truly unique. Depending on the lighting it can lean towards either blue or green. And while it may not appeal to the mainstream, I’m in love. Though if it were up to me, this color would be called Under The Sea. It’s the color you’d see while scuba diving, looking up at the sun sparkling on the surface.
Dashing Diva polishes retail for $7.99 and can be purchased online or in the salon. For more information go to their website, http://www.dashingdiva.com/.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
For ’tis green, green, green, where the ruined towers are gray,
And it’s green, green, green, all the happy night and day;
Green of leaf and green of sod, green of ivy on the wall,
And the blessed Irish shamrock with the fairest green of all.
~Mary Elizabeth Blake
I am not the least bit Irish but that doesn’t stop me from loving St. Patrick’s Day, the greenest day of the year. With my undying love of all things emerald, is it any wonder. It’s the one day when draping yourself in it is perfectly acceptable.
Of course that means green is shade of the day for nails and I’ve put together my picks to best express your Irish Pride or just join in the fun. All the polishes featured are current and available for purchase.
My St. Paddy’s Day manicure is of the gorgeous Sinful Colors San Francisco. Sinful Colors is a drugstore brand that you can find at Walgreens. They have a wide variety of shades and are very reasonably priced. The formula on this one is similar to a jelly finish. It spreads like jam on the nail. But the color is so outstanding that I’m willing to play to get it right.
For a darker more forest green look, check out NYX Las Vegas, butter London Thames, Zoya Suvi, China Glaze Outta Bounds and Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle.
And if you want a bolder emerald or springier green, look for Rimmel Underground Camouflage, Carolyn New York Greenwich Ave, Sinful Colors San Francisco or China Glaze Treehugger.
So what are you wearing for St. Patrick’s Day? Have a favorite green I left out?
Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle
Well I can tick one item off of my 2008 Wish List. Thanks to the brilliant Ji Baek, founder of Rescue Beauty Lounge, my dream of finding a quality green creme has come true.
Recycle, part of RBL’s Spring collection, is a glossy forest green creme. The highly pigmented lacquer applies smooth and even; a steady hand could get away with just one coat. I needed two.
The wear on this one really impressed me. I had swatched it on a bare nail to show my mom and thanks to my own laziness I left it on for a couple days. To be honest, when I realized there was no tip wear or chipping after two days I decided to leave it on, just as a test. By day four I had to lose the crazy one green nail look. That’s when I gave it the true test. A five day run with base and top coat and let me tell you, this one really holds up.
Overall, Recycle gets two enthusiastic thumbs up. I just wish it wasn’t so expensive because I really wanted to get Yellow Fever as well. I kind of hate the my eternal love of green forced me to shell out $18.00+ shipping. I know compared to a lot of beauty products on the market that’s nothing but in nail world it is.
China Glaze Spring 2008 – Ecollection
It seems like “going green” and focusing on the environment is on everyone’s minds and it is affecting every aspect of our daily lives. And if it’s not everyone, it certainly should be. Now more and more beauty companies are starting to get on the “green” train and China Glaze is no exception. This Spring they introduce the ecollection a set of polishes with an earth conscious theme that comes in recycled paper packaging.
To preserve the beauty of our world’s colors, tread lightly and leave only footprints. In Blahniks or Birkenstocks, going green is always fashionable.
Overall I’m a fan of this collection. I’ll admit the grouping is odd in terms of shade until you read the names and reflect on the theme. So let’s talk formula. As you may already know this new Big 3 Free formula that was introduced last summer is thicker than the old formula and therefore requires a bit of getting used to. I’ve found that it applies best in two medium coats. Too thin and it pulls/drags on the nail, too thick and you get bubbles. All the manicures pictured below were done with two medium coats of lacquer.
Tree Hugger reminds me of a green apple but with multi-tonal green shimmer. It’s like the perfect spring shade for me. Just looking at it makes me happy. I could go on and on about how gorgeous this polish is but it really speaks for itself.
Solar Power can only be described as “taxi cab yellow.” It is a loud and proud shade and with the yellow trend popping back up for spring/summer Solar Power, with it’s golden shimmer, fits right in. I have to admit that I prefer the jelly finish of last year’s Yell-O-Neil from the Surf collection. Simply because its glass like look is so completely unique.
Shower Together is a slightly lighter version of the oh so popular Aqua Baby from the Patent Leather collection. It’s like Aqua Baby and For Audrey had a baby which makes this blue green stunner is a color I could just swim in. Doesn’t it look like pool water?
Unplugged isn’t a shade I normally think of when I look towards Spring but it adds a nice balance to the collection. A red based brown with ribbons of gold shimmer running throughout, the overall color is that of a deep bronze with flecks of gold.
Hybrid is a pinky beige with silver shimmer. In other lighting it’s a dusty nude rose. So hard to describe which is what makes it stand out. Does anyone else think it’s similar to Chiaroscuro but without the green shimmer? I’m just not sure I love this on me. What do you think?
Recycle is a shade a lot of us have been longing for. A mid-tone gray creme that reminds me of rubber wire coating. Even though some of the MUA nail girls have franken’d their own gorgeous grays, I love being able to get it without the muss and fuss. Gray is going to be the next big shade in polish, especially in fall so, I’d get this one now before gray becomes a scarce commodity.
The China Glaze ecollection is available now in salons and online at 8ty8Beauty and Head2ToeBeauty
Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Weigh in lovelies!
Rescue Beauty Lounge for Spring
You read my swooning over Rescue Beauty Lounge Under The Stars, well now I’m practically drooling over their Spring collection. Why? Hello? Green! Do I need to say anything more?
RBL’s Spring collection pulls its inpiration straight from the bold jewel tones and brights seen on Lanvin’s runway. Alber Elbaz chose cobalt, green, yellow, red and violet to showcase his designs and Ji Baek has translated that to nail fashion.
RECYCLE is a deep blackish emerald green. This color makes your nails looks like precious jewelry.
PURPLE HAZE, a vivid violet, provides the perfect sour counterpoint to all those sweet garden prints.
YELLOW FEVER, a mouth-puckering lemon, will brighten up summer whites, and neutral shades of navy, khaki and olive.
And finally, a Lanvin dress inspired the re-launch of CHINOISE, my all-time favorite warm China red lacquer.
The Spring collection is available for purchase now through this special VIP link so if you want these colors, I suggest you order now before they show up in the magazines and cause a frenzy. RBL polishes retail for $18, which I know is steep. Personally I’d love to get them all but I just can’t justify that type of splurging so picking up Recycle will probably be my limit. My green loving knows no bounds.
images and info: Rescue Beauty
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