These are a few of my favorite things.

I was going through my stash yesterday and rediscovered a lot products that I love. I wanted to get them down on “paper” so I don’t forget again.

Base coats: Creative Stickey, NailTekII and Orly Bonder. Stickey & Bonder both dry tacky to grip your lacquer and keep it adhered to the nail. Bonder is easier to find locally since all Sally Beauty Supplys carry Orly products. NailTekII (or Nailtiques) are both great for soft, peeling nails. A trait I inherited. Lucky Me!

Top coat: Poshe. Nothing beats it for me. Dries hard and fast and so shiney. It’s tricky to use at first. You have to get a good blob going and spread it fast. It will even out on it’s own. Once you get it down, you’ll never use another top coat again. Seche Vite (pronounced ‘Se-shay Veet’) is very similar but something about it doesn’t work as well for me. Poshe & Seche products are both sold at Sally’s. Get a Sally’s card! You’ll definitely save the price in nail product discounts. I also like a combination of Creative Super Shiney and Qtica 1/2 Time Drying Accelerator when I have the time. Super Shiney will not dry hard on it’s own. You can wait and wait and it will dent, no matter what. You need to use drying drops with this one but the shine you get is worth it. It still takes longer than Poshe to dry but, it works really well with Zoya polishes for some reason.

Cuticle Remover: Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. 15 seconds is all you need. I use a metal cuticle pusher but orange sticks are fine. Just please don’t clip your cuticles!!! You need them to protect your nails from bacteria. Tell your manicurist to push them back, no nipping! Be gentle when pushing the cuticle back. Being too rough can cause ridges.

Cuticle Oil/Balm: Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme is a winner for me. It’s moisturizing without being greasy, easily portable and has a great lemon scent that’s not too overpowering. It does make your nails look a little dull when you first apply it, so I suggest using it at night. Creative Solar Oil is always on hand as a backup but it is greasy. Sally’s carries a line of scented cuticle oils from Haken if you don’t like the cherry almond scent of Solar Oil. Of course, you can always grab some olive oil from your kitchen and use that too.

Foot cream: Sweet Melissa Natural Body Care’s Shea Butter Foot Creme. Sweet Melissa is a bath & body products e-tailer. She is one of the few that makes all her own bases and her foot creme is outstanding. It’s slight peppermint scent is refreshing and after a night in a pair of comfy cotton socks, your skin feels so smooth. Try one of her Moisturizing Must Have sets for $6.50 and you’ll be hooked. If you like Pink Sugar try Sugar Dust, a blend of Pink Sugar and Sugar Cookies. To die for!

Polish Removal: Hands Down Ultra Nail & Cosmetic Pads. These are essential for removing toe polish without ruining your mani. They have a tab and protective backing to keep the remover from getting near your nails.

I’ll cover colors in another post. Now get to shopping!

If you haven’t tried OPI’s Designer Series, you are really missing out on an amazing polish formula. They are not shades for the color shy but the exclusive Diamond Dust formula applies like a dream. Coupled with OPI’s new ProWide Brush and it’s heavenly. I’ve honestly never had a polish apply better. It goes on so smooth and even that you can actually achieve that 3 stroke application that all the nail techs talk about.

The original set of 12 colors were all holographic. The 2nd four were smooth glitter with a slight duochrome effect. Well, I just found info on the 3rd collection that is set to debut February 7, 2007. Here are pics, names and descriptions. I can’t wait to see what the finish will be like. This may be my saving grace in the upcoming polish season.

Amethyst – alluring light purple bursting with brilliance

Glamour-diamond encrusted blue-violet

Passion-precious pink shimmering with stardust

Desire-rich,deep smoldering gold

Until better bottle pics and swatch pics come out, there’s at least a bigger picture of the collection.

I’m going to make a guess at the names based on really crappy bottle pics, names and descrptions I found on a pro beauty supply site.

Top row (l-r): Fair Dinkum Pinkum (a sparkling pink), Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It (bright bold shade of red orange), Brisbane Bronze (shade of golden brown), Koala Bear-y (berry berry beautiful berry), Red Hot Ayers Rock (hot desert red), Fit For A Queensland (Iridescence white)

Bottom row (l-r): Kangarooby (deep ruby red), True Ab-Original (a gleaming coral), Canberra’t Without You (Light Beige Nude Glimmer), Suzi Loves Sydney (a darkish shade of wine), Didgeridoo Your Nails (gleaming mauve), Don’t Melborne the Toast (warm pink brown)

Why oh why is every brand coming out with pale colors for spring? Where are the brights, sparklies or holo? Could these new collections be any more boring? I just hope that they aren’t all sheer and that there are some interesting finishes to all this paleness.

It’s not that I don’t embrace all shades but why all pales, all at once. The only hope I have is that some of the OPI Australia colors are unique. I have more than enough polishes for one lifetime. I’m only colleting interesting colors now.

Let’s hope there is something more to these blah teaser pics. Like shimmer, duochrome or multi-colored sparkly goodness.