Silver
China Glaze Sleigh Ride for Holiday 2008
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
-”Sleigh Ride” lyrics by Mitchell Parish
The holidays are coming early kids. Have you made out your wish list? Because I did. Back in January I wished for an emerald green version of China Glaze Ruby Pumps named Emerald City and now it’s been fulfilled. It may not be called Emerald City but you won’t hear me complaining.
I showed you a sneak peak of the polish back in July when I talked about my visit with the women of China Glaze but now you can finally get a bottle of your very own. The Sleigh Ride collection is all you need for a truly blingtastic holiday manicure. Included in the set is the ultimate green dazzler, Emerald Sparkle, a glitzy silver, Tinsel, and core collection best seller, Ruby Pumps. All three are well pigmented, packed with micro-glitter and include that amazing China Glaze jelly finish. The glitter will cause the polishes to dry slightly matte and bumpy but a coat of Seche Vite brings out their brilliance and fire.
Emerald Sparkle! That so deserves an exclamation point. There aren’t enough words for how truly stunning this polish is. I couldn’t dream up a better green shimmer if I tried. Bravo China Glaze! You have just made my year. Not only have you created the perfect green but you made it PIGMENTED. Like seriously pigmented. What you see below is two coats and there’s no sign of nail beneath.
Tinsel will be your go-to color for New Year’s Eve bling. Better yet, can you imagine this icing your Emerald Sparkle tips? Totally over the top and not for everyday but come on, it’s the holidays. Live a little! Now Tinsel is not as pigmented as the other two polishes. What you see is two coats and there is still a bit of tip showing but with three coats, you’re solid.
Ruby Pumps is a classic, jazzy red, glitter bomb. For the past two years, this has been my holiday pedi choice. Originally introduced with the Wizard of Ohh Ahz collection Ruby Rumps is the lone survivor that made the China Glaze core lineup. A brilliant twinkling red, this is a great shade for conservative gals that aren’t ready for green but still want to up the ante on special occasions.
The China Glaze Sleigh Ride collection is on sale now at 8ty8beauty.com and will be arriving soon at Head2ToeBeauty.com. China Glaze is also carried at ULTA and Sally Beauty Supply. Call for seasonal collection availability.
Rachel Bilson on Page Six Magazine
ALU reader Megan contacted me regarding Rachel Bilson’s recent photo spread in Page Six Magazine. She wanted to know if I could pinpoint Rachel’s nail polish shade.
My immediate thought, that she’s wearing Chanel Kaleidoscope. Considering how unique the shade is and its sellout status, I was willing to bet on it. Fortunately my Chanel contact was able to confirm that the former O.C. princess, who I’ll always think of as Little Miss Vixen, is indeed sporting Kaleidoscope on her tips (see below).
And while Kaleidoscope can only be tracked down on eBay (those damn scalpers) and is a hard shade to dupe, I suggest you try its distant relatives (you know, the ones we don’t talk about at reunions); Essie Steeling The Scene or Boots No 7 Molten (found at Target). Or for something a bit more champagne but in the same metallic vein, Orly Too Much Bubbly.
Do you know of a good Kaleidoscope twin Megan can try? Leave your suggestion in the comments.
Color Club Glitter Vixen for Fall 2008
Glitter me timbers! Color Club is going glam rock blingtastic for Fall. One of the two new collections from Color Club, Glitter Vixen’s glitz factor is no joke. Consisting of seven clear nail polishes packed to the hilt with glitter, these lacquers are not for the faint of heart.
Now you kids know I loves me some outrageous and sparkly nail colors but these are a bit much. Don’t get me wrong, they’re totally fun and for a special occasion I’ll be rocking the green (that’s a no brainer), blue and holo but the formula is what’s putting me off.
We all know that glitter polishes are a pain. They dry bumpy and are a b*tch to remove but these ones take the cake for me. Usually in a glitter polish, the base is pigmented so it doesn’t have to be as glitter packed but these are allllllll glittah! It took two coats of Seche Vite to get the surface smooth and removing the green was such a PITA (even using felt instead of cotton rounds) that I used a nail wheel for the rest of the swatches. The scratching was just too hard on my nails, sorry girls. So I’m showing the collection in both sunlight and artificial light on fake tips. All swatches use three coats of polish (two on my nails) and no top coat. Enjoy!
The Color Club Glitter Vixen collection retails for $1.99 each and is on sale now at 8ty8Beauty.com and coming soon to Head2ToeBeauty.com.
So what do you think gals? Too blingy or is there no such thing? What has you drooling?
Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Fall 2008
Last February I gave you a peek at the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Salon Collection for Fall 2008 and a backstage look at the Tracy Reese show. Well now I can finally show the rest of the collection which will roll into stores in September.
Drawing inspiration from nature and weather, this collection is filled with soft dusty neutrals, dark earthy vamps, rich floral cremes with one FANTASTIC smokey blue thrown in for good measure. Overall, I’m pretty smitten with all the colors and more than pleased with how they apply and wear.
Moonstone is the perfect name for this pearly silver metallic. I found it to be slightly streaky but not so much that it’s unwearable.
Divinity is what the MUA nail board might call a BABB (Band-Aid but better) shade. A warm nude shimmer, I think cool toned girls would have problems pulling it off.
However, that’s where Quartz Chameleon steps in. This pinkish neutral shimmer will flatter most skin tones. And while I’m not the biggest fan of nudes/neutrals, if I were looking for one to wear, this is what I’d reach for. Very work friendly.
Torrid Bloom was the shade used for the Veiled Nail look on all the Tracy Reese models. It’s a glorious deep magenta creme. I can’t even begin to tell you how impressed I was with the application and pigmentation. I totally fell in love while putting it on.
Night Lily is a purple tinged deep berry red creme and it flows on the nail as fantabulously as Torrid Bloom. Like seriously, I normally dread applying cremes unless my nail beds are flawless because they pick up every flaw. But the two in this collection are like magic. Just perfect!
Cruel Heart is a blood red shimmer. Pretty but not a standout.
Alchemy is unique in that it’s a plum with subtle bronzey shimmer. The shimmer isn’t super apparent but it brings warmth to the overall shade.
Imagine melting a Hershey’s Special Dark and adding ribbons of shimmer and you have The Good Earth. This almost-black chocolate shade has more sparkle than Alchemy but isn’t glitzy. In brighter indoor lighting and sunlight, it’s a stunner.
I’ve shown you Stormy Blue before but I just can’t get enough of this steely smoked out blue. I even told you about my male friend loving it on his toes, making it a unisex shade.
Raven’s Wing is even more jet black in person but the micro-glitter makes it appear lighter to my camera. It’s actually an inky shade with floating silver and tarnished gold glitter that dries smooth to the touch.
Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer is available at most drug stores and retails for $6 US.
My personal picks for “must haves” from the collection are Quartz Chameleon, Torrid Bloom, Alchemy, Stormy Blue and The Good Earth. Which ones will make your shopping list?
NYC New York Color Nail Glossies Fall 2008
I first discovered drugstore gem N.Y.C. (New York Color) through my fellow fanatics on the MUA nail board. It was a swatch picture of Skin Tight Demin (a gorg navy) from their Long-Wearing line that drew me in. A quick trip to Target and I was adding Skin Tight Demin, Big Money Frost and Turquoise Seas from the Nail Glossies line to my collection.
I’ve always been very pleased with my N.Y.C. polishes. They are affordable, Big 3 Free and have a varied color range that isn’t overwhelmingly large. But what has really caught the attention of all us fanatics are the Limited Edition Nail Glossies shades that accompany their Fall makeup collections. Fall 2006 brought us the rich glittering Cognac Sparkle, a shade that still creates lemmings on the nail board. It was so popular that girls were stalking it at every drugstore in town and buying extras for other nail boarders. Same thing happened when Midnight, a teal tinged blue-black sparkler, hit shelves last year. And I have a feeling they may have another hit on their hands.
Molten Metal from this Fall’s collection will fit right in with the metallic trend we’re seeing. A mix of silver glitter and bronzey red base, the overall shade is hard to describe. In sunlight it’s pewter, indoors the base gives it a rosy cast. It’s unique, that’s for sure! I used 3 thin coats to achieve bottle color and used a high gloss top coat since it dries a bit matte.
The only downside of these Limited Edition shades? They aren’t restocked and come in a special display that only holds 3 bottles. So if you’re digging this color you have to be on the ball.
Molten Metal and the rest of the Fall N.Y.C. color collection will hit shelves in September and can be found in drugstores and mass merchandisers like Target, CVS, Walmart, Rite Aid and ULTA.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
