The first nail-focused beauty blog

NY Fashion Week F/W 10

Need This NOW – butter LONDON Marrow

For two seasons in a ROW I’ve missed the Vena Cava show and it’s killing me! Each season butter LONDON’s Nonie Creme works with the designers behind Vena Cava, Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock, to create a custom nail color for their show and they have all been stunning.

Last February it was the knock-out British Racing Green that launched last Fall.  This past September I was at a blogging conference when Nonie mixed Artful Dodger and Royal Navy to create a stunning cobalt blue.  And now there’s this…

butter-london-marrow-vena-cava-nyfw-fall-2010

Nonie, you’re killing me!!  When I saw Nonie backstage at the Betsey Johnson show, I had to ask about the shade all my beauty blogging pals had been tweeting about.  Marrow was given its name by the designers and it’s a deep purple with this slightly dusty  look to it.  Though it’s the flecks of glitter that really made my eyes pop.  Though Nonie told me that the mix used for the show had more glitter than what we’ll see when Marrow hits shelves.

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Are you dying over this color or what?  That’s what I get for flying in a day late.  You better believe that won’t happen again.

ALU at NYFW – Twinkle by Wenlan FW 2010

By on February 25, 2010
in CND, MAC, NY Fashion Week F/W 10 with 7 Comments
twinkle-wenlan-nyfw-fw-2010-runway Saturday was my first real day at the tents and it ended with a show I always look forward too, Twinkle by Wenlan.  I just love Wenlan’s knitwear and she always has a great story behind her collections.

You see, when I go backstage to check out the beauty look, I’m looking for inspiration and a fab fashion story really adds to that.  I’ve heard all I can take about a “fresh, pretty girl.”  Give me something quirky, intriguing, mysterious, etc. and I’m over the moon.

This season Wenlan took us on an adventure into the haunted woods and the teams from CND, MAC and Redken helped create her vision giving the models a dark, romantic fairytale-inspired look.

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CND Monday – Day 5 of the ALU NYFW NOTD Challenge

alu-cnd-monday-green-scene-cream-washed Welcome to CND Monday, a regular series here on ALU. Each week I’ll be sharing a new layering combination from CND Colour & Effects to show you the versatility and creativity of the line.

With the exception of my unworn bottle of MAC Studded, the new matte polish from the Riveting collection, I actually completed my NYFW NOTD Challenge this season.  I ended up getting something top secret and very special applied to my nails on Day 6 so that nixed my planned MAC mani.  I’ll tell you about soon but in the meantime let’s talk about Day 5.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the challenge I planned out my color according to the brand I’d be seeing that day.  Since CND worked on 20+ shows throughout the week, every day could have been CND day but I chose Tuesday since they were working with The Blonds that night.  The Blonds are known for their outlandish designs and over-the-top nail looks so if there was a day that green polish was in order, it was Tuesday.

I could have just thrown on a couple of coats of Green Scene and called it a day but I wanted something a bit different.  I chose to create my own version of a Jade gemstone using Cream Washed.  Check out my look after the jump!

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ALU NYFW NOTD Challenge – FW 2010 Day 4

sally-hansen-notd Last Monday was a big day for me at NYFW. Not only did I run myself ragged covering like 6 or 7 shows in a day but I was invited to sit front row at the Tracy Reese runway show at the tents.  Can you even?  I nearly died inside when I found out.I’ve been to shows in past seasons and once I was even pulled to the front row as a seat filler at an off-site show.  But this was totally different.  I love Tracy Reese’s designs and her show is always one of my faves.  Plus she draws some great celebs each season and being a total Entertainment Weekly/E! type of girl, my inner celeb stalker was thrilled.

Of course, I had to plan out not only what I would wear but my nail color.  Since Sally Hansen partners with Tracy Reese each season, a color from their new Complete Salon Manicure line was a natural choice.  But with so many colors in the line, which one do I bring?  Color of the moment and Chanel Particuliere doppelganger Commander In Chic?  A fun metallic like Pedal To The Metal?  A very “me” blue or green?  See what color I chose after the jump along with some pics from my front row vantage point and my web celeb encounter.

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ALU NYFW NOTD Challenge – FW 2010 Day 3

There is no rest for the weary at Fashion Week and while most people were enjoying their Sunday morning in bed, I was up with the roosters (like there’s farm life in NYC) to head backstage at Lela Rose. There are a few shows that I can’t miss each season and Lela Rose is one of them. Why? Because the dream team of Ted Gibson and Deborah Lippmann is more than enough reason to get out of bed in the morning. Add in Tina Turnbow for Tarte and Supermodel Carol Alt with her Raw Essentials skincare line and well, can life get any better? Seriously, there was so much magic in that room, I could barely handle it.  I spoke with Carol for over 15 minutes and couldn’t stop myself from going gaga inside over how fabulous she looks.  Total fan girl moment!

Of course I’ll spill the deets on the backstage action with you later but let’s get back on track with the nails. I had this whole plan set in motion about how I would plot out my polish based on who I’d be seeing that day.  Sally Hansen for the Tracey Reese show, China Glaze for Charlotte Ronson, etc.  Though I made the mistake of telling Deb’s publicist that I would be wearing Marquee Moon on Sunday. So even though I woke up with a massive hangover from being out WAY too late Saturday night, I somehow managed to drag my happy ass out of bed extra early for a polish change.  It’s a good thing I did because she totally checked up on me!

I’ve showed you Marquee Moon before so you know about its origins but in case you need a refresher, this is the shade Deb created with sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy the brains behind Rodarte.  It’s a silver metallic base with hexagonal silver sequins that look like tiny mirrors on the nail.

The whole point of Marquee Moon is to have a perfectly imperfect manicure.  It’s not about getting the same number of sequins on each nail.  If some end up with no sequins, so be it.  Which actually makes this an ideal last minute manicure choice.  You can just slap it on and not worry about the end result. If you biff it, the world isn’t going to end.

BTW am I the only person one the planet still saying “biff” because everyone who’s heard me use that word this week is all, “aww, ‘biff’ I haven’t heard that in forever.”  Well, I’m bringing it back people!

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Marquee Moon retails for $16/ea and can be purchased online from DeborahLippmann.com or Beauty.com. You can also pick up Deb’s polish at a Nordstrom near you.

ps I hear that Badgley Mischka selected this shade for their runway show this morning.  That there was a whole Avatar theme happening.  Can’t wait to see pics from the show!

Disclosure: A product sample was furnished to me Deborah Lippmann. For more information view my Disclosure Policy.

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