Shimmer
Jessica Custom Nail Colour – Holiday Petites
Jessica Cosmetics is the nail care brand founded by Jessica Vartoughian, the woman the New York Times dubbed “The First Lady of Nails.” Since 1969 when the Jessica Nail Clinic opened in LA, the brand has practiced natural nail treatments including use of their signature nail polish, a 3-free line of colors.
For Holiday 2008, the brand put together two mini nail polish sets from both the Jessica & Jessana lines; Nutcracker Sweet and Sweet Treats. Each set includes three mini .25 oz bottles of nail color, base coat and top coat. I had the opportunity to test out the Nutcracker Sweet set.
Previously I’ve only seen Jessica products at TJ Maxx and like all the beauty products they sell, the quality can be sketchy. I once bought a Barielle treatment only to get home and find the bottle half empty, dried up and open. Lesson learned, always open the boxes before buying. Anywho the Jessica sets I’ve seen at the Maxx are usually sheers or french mani kits, not my thing, so I never bothered but the colors in Nutcracker Sweet, totally me.
Even though the bottles are small, the caps are still nice and long, easy to handle. The brushes are full size as well so application was a breeze. I really like the medium viscosity formula and high pigmentation. They’re able to pack in a ton of color without making the formula goopy. It dries relatively fast as well. I could touch each shade after a few minutes.
Lilac Snowflake is not what I’d think of as lilac. It’s more fuchsia to my eye with pink and silver shimmer giving it a metallic look without the brush stroke downside of metallics.
Crimson Dew Drop reminds me a lot of OPI Midnight is Moscow only with way more glitz. It’s a black based, uber-dark red with a ton of duo-chrome micro-glitter that reflects both red and gold depending on the light. And because the glitter is so small, the polish dries smooth and glossy. No matte finish here!
Sugar Plum Fairy on its own is reason enough to buy this set. It’s the color that immediately drew me in. A blue based purple, it has the same amazing micro-glitter that’s in Crimson Dew Drop. Believe me, it’s WAY better in person.
The Jessica Holiday Petites are available on the Jessica Cosmetics website. Nutcracker Sweet retails for $16.50 and Sweet Treats is on sale for $12.50.
Who’s a Jessica fan? What colors do you recommend for a Jessica newbie?
Lippmann Collection for the Holidays
Deborah Lippmann was definitely in the party mood when she created her Holiday polish collection. For this holiday season, she’s got all your special occasion needs covered. Elegant and vampy, check! Blinged out, yep! Red and sparkly, got it! Light and frosty, done!
Following the Lippmann tradition of naming her nail polish creations after songs, she certainly made some interesting choices this go round. Though I’m not quite sure which version of “Maneater” she’s referencing: Nelly Furtado or Hall & Oates (did I totally date myself?).
Superstar consists of a milk chocolate brown creme packed with copper glitter. Very unique. It’s opaque with two coats but unfortunately, when you apply it, the glitter rests on top making the surface really rough. Two coats of Seche Vite made it smooth, which looks Ah-mazingly fun but, that’s a lot of bother unless you are a glitter fanatic.
Icing On The Cake is a frosty, light pink; a perfect compliment for the icy winter. It’s not something I’d wear but it’s a great evening option for women who normally wear neutrals and pinks. Now because this is a frost, application is tricky. You have to be real careful with your brush strokes.
Maneater is a deep dark chocolate creme. It’s definitely what you would call an “almost black.” My issue was that it required three coats. It was just too streaky to get it even in two. It could just be my application but due to that, it’s a pass for me.
Holiday is my hands down winner of the four. Though I’m not usually into reds, I do get drawn to them around holiday time. It’s all red and green for me and the glitzier, the better. So this color is right up my alley. The base has a jelly quality, similar to I Want Candy from last fall, only more pigmented. Add to that a boatload of magenta micro-glitter and you have a hit on your hands deserving of the Madonna song it’s named after.
Speaking of “Holiday”… I can’t hear that song without thinking about Truth Or Dare. I’m kind of a harmony geek when it comes to music. I can’t sing to save my life but I love hearing people harmonize. It’s the one talent I wish I possessed. And I loved watching the backstage moments when Madonna and her backup singers would practice the harmonies from “Holiday” before going on. There’s a brief moment of it in the clip below.
The Lippmann Holiday collection is on sale now. It’s currently out of stock on the Lippmann Website but you can also find the brand online at Beauty.com and in stores at Bath & Body Works flagship locations, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Nordstroms.
OPI Holiday In Toyland Darks & Neutrals
Toy land, toy land
Li-ittle girl and boy land
While you dwell within it
You are ever happy there
-Toyland lyrics by Victor Herbert
Blocks, Nutcrackers, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs. Visions of old school playthings dance through my head at the mention of the word Toyland.
I think of the workshop from Santa Claus The Movie starring John Lithgow and the late Dudley Moore. Tell me, I’m not the only one who remembers it. How I wanted to play in that toy shop with all the wooden handmade presents. And who didn’t want to be one of the elves? Living off sugary treats, spending their days singing, dancing and playing. What a life, no?
However, even though OPI’s Holiday in Toyland collection has an old time-y theme, the colors are anything but. Suzi has totally hit the mark with the Darks & Neutrals. So on trend with the grays and metallics. Totally “me” right now!
You’re A Doll! – Is a pinkish nude shimmer with very subtle reddish sparkles sprinkled throughout. Not really my deal.
“Sheer” Your Toys! – Is the color I was most excited for. I’m on board with any light gray and this one, with it’s slightly pink tint, is pretty neutral. The only issue, the application. Hello problem child! It was kind of thick and didn’t flow very well. For a polish with the word “sheer” in the title I’m sure this baby wasn’t meant to be worn opaque but I wasn’t feeling it. So three coats later and you get a great opaque, slightly silvery gray.
Glamour Game – is champagne metallic duochrome. In the bottle the shade looks more pewter and on the nail, more gold. Unique but, like most metallics, not the easiest to apply.
Brand New Skates – is an oddball gray sparkler. Its jelly-like formula spreads like the China Glaze glass flecked polishes though it isn’t overly opaque so you need three coats. The micro-glitter give off a warm cast to what would normally be a smokey gray.
Play ‘Til Midnight – well what would an OPI collection be without a dark blue? It seems like Suzi just can’t resist the blues. This one is a jeweled burple with fine pink, purple and blue shimmer. Very similar to Russian Navy. The only difference is in the base color. While RN’s base is blue-green like Glacier Bay Blues, Play ‘Til Midnight is a deep cornflower.
Baby It’s “Coal” Outside! – is my 2nd runner up for best of the collection (behind “Sheer” Your Toys!). I was expecting it to be just another black/gunmetal shimmer. But there’s something about how opaque and pigmented the color is despite the high level of shimmer and multi-colored micro-glitter that attracts me.
The OPI Holiday In Toyland Collection hits shelves tomorrow, October 1st. You can find OPI in salons and stores like JC Penney, ULTA, Trade Secret and online at 8ty8Beauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com
China Glaze Bahama Blues for Winter 2008
Kids, China Glaze keeps hitting it out of the park. I can’t even handle it. I’m already on serious color overload after Rodeo Diva and Operation Colour. Now a collection of all blues?? You know how I love my blues.
OK I know what you’re thinking. How many are repromotes, dupes, etc? China Glaze already has a bunch of amazing blues, how can they put out more? Well, I don’t know HOW they did it but I can attest to not having a SINGLE dupe for any of these shades. I own practically every blue China Glaze has produced.
For Winter 2008, China Glaze is whisking us away from the cold, drab bleakness and transporting us to the warm, vibrant tropics. Blue skies, sandy beaches, crystal clear waters. Can you feel it? Girls, I am so in need of a vacation. You don’t even know. As I was testing the colors, I couldn’t help but wish I was back in the Caribbean. On a cruise, a beach in Belize, a swim-up bar in Mexico, wherever. Get me out of the Cleveburg!
Bahamian Escape dries darker and more vibrant than the robin’s egg bottle color would suggest. It’s a very opaque creme that hardly needs two coats. As you can see below it’s not the Color Club Blue Light dupe I expected it to be.
Caribbean Blue‘s speckled silver micro-glitter is what drew me in. The color has a slightly dusty quality which keeps it from becoming garish. It’s my favorite color in the collection.
Blue Island Iced Tea will charm all of you Stroke of Midnight fans. It has the same micro-glitter packed jelly formula that made me fall in love with China Glaze in the first place. This unique deep sky blue has a foil-like finish depending on the lighting but it’s a bit sheer so you need an extra coat. Love it! LOVE IT!
Blue Paradise falls somewhere between cornflower and denim on the blue scale. Its metallic shimmer does equal brush strokes but if you’re careful they aren’t too problematic.
Bermuda Breakaway is a fantastic indigo creme. What some may call burple. It flowed fantastically on the nail. In fact it was thinner in consistency than Blue Paradise yet just as pigmented.
Calypso Blue is the only color that didn’t make me jump for joy. It’s a blue-black and we’ve seen a lot of those. Though I give it credit in its application, pigmentation and glossy finish. And while I didn’t have a dead on dupe, it’s so dark that only true fanatics could tell.
The Bahama Blues collection is on sale now at Head2ToeBeauty.com and 8ty8beauty.com. You can also find China Glaze at Sally Beauty and ULTA but call for seasonal collection availability.
Chanel Haute Chocolat for Holiday 2008
 Hold on to your wallets ladies because CHANEL is calling and you may not be able to resist. Launching in October, the Chanel Holiday collection is filled with warm, rich tones including one super hot chocolate nail polish.
The collection features three nail colours: Rosee Perle - a warm beige pink |
 I’m also excited about the Limited Edition gold highlighting powder, Poudre Precieuse Or. I’m a sucker for gold, shimmery makeup. I covet my Bobbi Brown gold Shimmer Brick so I’m very curious about this powder. |
 One of the things that makes this polish so unique is its origin. Chanel teamed up with Seventeen magazine to give their readers a chance to create a nail shade in the Color Of The Year Contest. Thousands of entries were submitted but it was Amy Gonzo’s nail colour name and inspiration that triumphed. Amy, a 19 year-old from Port Washington, WI, drew inspiration from her favorite holiday drink, hot cocoa, and gave it a name with a french twist, Haute Chocolat. Looking back on her favorite holiday memories, Amy “wanted to combine the comfort and warmth of the season with the chic elegance that is indicative of CHANEL.” |
Chic, elegant and warm are perfect descriptors for this rich chocolaty lacquer but the gold flecks are what really make it stand out. What I love is that it’s dark without looking black, warm yet not overly red and it flows on the nail like pure molten chocolate.
I dug through my box o’ browns to see if I could find you all a dupe but I came up empty. The majority of my browns are very red based or extremely dark. Only OPI Espresso Your Style and Sally Hansen The Good Earth came close but neither one has Haute Chocolat’s sparkle.
The Chanel Holiday collection will be online at Chanel.com and on counter in October with the Nail Colour retailing for $20. Also, be sure to check out the October issue of Seventeen Magazine (already on stands) to learn more about Haute Chocolat’s creator Amy Gonzo.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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