Matte
My Go To, Last Minute Holiday Manicure – OPI Here Today… Aragon Tomorrow Suede
After a long and lovely Thanksgiving break, I’m back to blogging. I took a bit of a break to give my nails a rest from swatching and to focus on enjoying the holiday with my family and friends.
The boyfriend and I hosted dinner again this year and all I can say is I am very thankful to have found a man who can cook, and cook well. I’m a disaster in the kitchen and he is a Turkey Day champ! We packed our schedule pretty full including Cleveland’s Winterfest Wine & Ale Fest downtown Saturday night. Naturally I was running late so I relied on my usual last minute manicure trick, matte nail polish. It’s a quick drying lifesaver. Given the holiday theme of the event I opted for a green, OPI Here Today… Aragon Tomorrow, and it’s the perfect shade for the season. |
All Cracked Up with Crackle Nail Polish
Who remembers the old CoverGirl Crackle Lacquers? I know they were popping up in dollar stores a few years ago but I was never lucky enough to score one. I did find one old bottle of purple Crackle in my Caboodle at my parents house a while back but it was dried and crusty. And yes I realize I just totally dated myself with the Caboodle reference.
With nail art hitting a fever pitch it’s no surprise that this look would come back. Between nail stampers, water marbling, nail art pens, ombre nails and crackle nail polish DIY nail fanatics have endless options when they want to amp up their nail style. I’m still unsure of how I feel about the crackle look but I figured I’d give it a whirl. As I mentioned in my Link Love post on Sunday, my friend Sara from Bit By The Beauty Bug had a crackle pedicure at her salon in Boston. Sara told me about it just before I went to Vegas and mentioned that her tech got her bottle from overseas. So of course while I was at Cosmoprof I scoured the International section looking for crackle nail polish. I hit the jackpot when I visited the Mia Secret booth. |
Chanel Gold Lamé, Illusion D’or & Black Velvet Swatches, Review and Comparisons
Pulled straight from the runway, Chanel’s Noir Et Or Paris-Shanghai Collection is a black and gold extravaganza that would make Cleopatra proud. Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of Chanel Makeup, was inspired by the “glamorous fantasy of Shanghai in the 30’s and 40’s” when he created this limited collection consisting of three new nail colors and an eye shadow/liner palette.
Like most of you, my brow wrinkled when I heard that Chanel was jumping on the matte bandwagon so late in the game but I was intrigued by the idea of a gold glitter. After missing out on the gorgeous Tokyo Happening glitters, I hoped this would fill that lemming and it more than surpassed my expectations. Check out my swatches and full review after the jump! |
Chanel Noir Et Or Paris-Shanghai Collection Preview
For the “Metiers D’Art” fashion show in Shanghai, Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of Chanel Makeup, created an exclusive collection, Noir Et Or. The collection is a glamorous fantasy of Shanghai in the 30’s and 40’s as Coco Chanel herself may have imagined it. The black and gold eyes and nails complimented the gilded and jet black accents shown on the runway.
Like the Paris-Moscou Collection, the Noir Et Or Paris-Shanghai Collection is a limited edition set of colors taken straight from the runway. I have to admit I’m a bit surprised to see Chanel coming out with a matte polish at this point in the game. They’ve always been trendsetters not followers so I’m curious to see how Black Velvet is received. |
NAILS:
Le Vernis Nail Colour in Black Velvet – Matte black nail color in a frosted bottle ($25.00)
Le Vernis Nail Colour in Gold Lamé – Satiny gold nail color ($25.00)
Le Vernis Nail Colour in Illusion d‘or – Transparent sparkling gold nail color ($25.00)
EYES:
Ligne et Ombre de Chanel in Jet-Gold - Matte black eyeliner and sparkling gold eyeshadow ($45.00)
The Noir Et Or Paris-Shanghai Collection launches in April 2010. It will be carried exclusively at Chanel.com, Chanel Boutiques and Chanel Makeup Studios.
What do you think Fanatics? Do any of these LE shades have you excited? How do you feel about Chanel releasing a matte polish?
MAC Riveting Matte Nail Lacquers Swatches & Review
MAC is hitting us with a lot of nail color this spring. Almost all the collections include nail polish and Riveting, MAC’s ode to 80s rocker chic, is no exception. They’re hitching their wagon on the matte polish train with three true, flat mattes. Unlike the Jin Soon polishes that were rumored to be matte (they were cremes) these are matte polishes as we’ve come to know them.
One thing that is a bit different about the Riveting nail polishes is that, unlike other brands that included one finish per matte collection, Riveting has two cremes (think OPI Matte) and one shimmer (a la OPI Suede). If you still don’t have your fill of the matte look, take a peek at these after the jump! |
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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