Nail Care – Forty, Flirty & Fabulous

Great Deal Alert! butter LONDON + Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

In celebration of Nordstrom’s Anniversary sale, butter LONDON introduces the limited edition, Backstage Basics ($39, $78 value).

Known from New York to London as the lacquer of choice at Fashion week, butter LONDON has compiled these nail essentials, delivering everything that’s needed for catwalk-ready style:

· Nail Foundation Flawless Base Coat
· Hardwear P.D. Quick Top Coat
· Powder Room Nail Lacquer Remover
· Nail Lacquer in Thames (blue-green with a hint of gold)
· Nail Lacquer of your choosing

This is a great set for those who have never tried butter LONDON polishes or products. Two polishes would normally be $30 ($15 each) so it’s like you get the remaining 3 products for $9! These polishes are very high quality and are 3-Free (products are free of formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP). Awesome!

Available at: Nordstrom and Norstrom.com.

Cool Summer Nail Looks

I change my nail polish a lot and try to always have something on my nails. I find it’s an inexpensive way to put my personality into my look!

Here are some ideas for fun summer nails:

Well-manicured nails are sure to become your signature this season! The newest nail products and accessories from essence offer excitement and versatility for the budding fashionista who craves new looks and trends. With the addition of new nudes, brilliantly innovative nail art and a top coat to seal the deal, the possibilities are endless!

What I think — these products by essence are great affordable nail art. I especially like the combo of the nude polish with the decoration kit — really cute. It takes a little practice to make the gemstones and glitter look perfect, but it’s worth it. The top coat is very stick, so make sure you have lots of time to let it dry.

Available at Ulta Stores nationwide and Ulta.com.

In the Mood Color Changing Nail Polish ($8.00 USD) — Welcome to the fun whimsical world of mood changing nail polish. Don’t worry – you’re not crazy, but your nail polish, on the other hand may be described as …..unstable. Finally, a nail polish that will reflect your inner hysteria. Amuse yourself by guessing what shade your nail polish will be at any given moment.

The new metallic shades from left to right are The Blues, Loved and Envious.

What I think: These change to body temperature. So when you are outside in the heat, they will be the lighter color and when you are cooler they will be the darker shade. If you are hot and wash your hands in cold water, you might get darker tips, which is really cool! I think these are very fun!

You can purchase these at www.themoodpolish.com.

Make waves this summer with the new China Glaze® Sunsational collection. This fun palette of six brighter-than-bright crèmes and six juicy jelly polishes create a bold pop or sheer hint of color that are sure to see you through every highlight of your summer.

Mix and match these hot hues and different finishes from China Glaze® Sunsational for a vivid and bold expression on your tips and toes:

Sun of A Peach: Popping peachy crème

Neon & On & On: Flirtatious pink crème

Bottoms Up: Passionate bubblegum pink-purple crème

That’s Shore Bright: Playful purple crème

Too Yacht to Handle: Teasing teal crème

Highlight of My Summer: Mellow mint green crème

Shell-O: Juicy coral-pink jelly

Heat Index: Enticing pink jelly

You Drive Me Coconuts: Panic-causing purple jelly

Are You Jelly?: Vivacious purple jelly

Isle See You Later: Marine blue jelly

Keepin’ It Teal: Totally Turned Up turquoise jelly

What I think: These are super fun summer colors! I love creams, but I think I would have to say my favorites are the jellies, especially Are You Jelly?, Isle See You Later and Keepin’ it Teal!

These are available at salons and beauty supply stores including Ulta and http://www.ulta.com.

Enjoy your fun nails!

Manicure Tips and Tools From Sally Hansen

Sally Hansen has released some cool tools that will help you achieve a flawless manicure!

A natural nail should be shaped to mirror the shape of your cuticle. This is the natural shape the nail grows and will keep the structure of the nail intact. Breaking, cracking or splitting happens when the nail shape is altered. Always file in one direction; Never saw back and forth on the nail as this will shred the very delicate keratin layers of the nail, causing chipping and nail peeling!

Sally Hansen Ahead of the Curve 2 Step Sapphire File ($4.49 USD). This double-sided nail file features a two-part smooth and shape system with medium grit on one side and fine grit one the other. Start with the medium grit to adjust nail length and shape then follow with the fine-grit outer curve for a perfectly smooth finish.

Sally Hansen Nail Shaper Nail Boards ($1.29 USD) — The ideal filing surfaces for nails not too hard, not too soft.

Sally Hansen No More Ridges Nail Shaper & Buffer ($1.49)- Shape, smooth, buff and shine nails with this professional salon smoothing block.

As the ultimate color authority, Sally Hansen has always been at the cutting edge of nail innovation. First, Sally Hansen introduced the first-ever polish to deliver five steps of a professional manicure with the Complete Salon Manicure collection ( $7.99 USD each). Now the nail care leader is upping the ante with two additional benefits—gel-like shine and chip-resistance—for the ultimate 7-in-1 formula.

New pastels are dusty(I Lilac You), urban (Gray-T Escape) and not your standard pink or lavender(Pink a Card) for a more wearable and less traditional spin.

Available at drugstores and mass market retailers near you. Learn more at www.sallyhansen.com

Enjoy!

Pamper Your Hands and Feet With LCN Nail Care

In the summer, hands and feet are on display. I try to keep my nails polish — but sometimes I forget to take care of the skin around them.

LCN has some great mani-pedi products to prepare your skin for summer exposure.

LCN Urea Chapped Skin Cream ($17.90 USD) — Urea 40 % Chapped Skin Cream containing 40 % urea reduces callusses with the help of fruit acids particularly fast and effectively without leaving an oily film and is supported by calming panthenol and nourishing bees wax and anti-inflammatory sage.

Aside from its main ingredient urea, the cream also contains a special carbohydrate complex and hyaluronic acid which is why it is optimally suited for daily use for stressed and chapped skin.

LCN Bamboo Cuticle Pen ($15.90 USD) — Apply this moisturizing gel to the nail and cuticle daily to achieve strong healthy nails. Containing bamboo extract and shea butter, this is the ultimate natural health treatment for maintaining your cuticles, a key part of healthy, beautiful nails.

LCN 7in1 Wonder Nail Recovery ($11.90 USD) — This innovative top class multi function polish combines 7 properties in one: Base Coat / Top Coat / Wet Look / Quick Dry / Super Hardener / Ridgefiller / Whitener Especially for sensitive, thin and brittle nails, this LCN 7in1 Wonder Nail Recovery strengthens the nail plate and evens out surface irregularities. Like a protective shield, this viscous polish settles on top of the stressed nail and offers a means of recovery for the nail. Nails are shiny and firm and due to the whitener function brightened.Ideal to use as base coat to avoid yellowing of the nail caused by colour polishes as well as ensuring longer durability. Its ridge filling function ensures an even nail structure.For a perfect Wet Look Finish this super fast drying LCN 7in1 Wonder Nail Recovery can be used as a Top Coat sealant.

Purchase at http://store.lcnusa.com

Enjoy!

imPRESS Press On Manicure by Broadway Nails

I was lucky to received a set of Broadway Nails imPress Press-On Manicure complimentary to review from Influenster (www.influenster.com to sign up for their sample program).

What are these nails you ask? Here are the details:

Introducing imPress Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails, the revolutionary way to apply polish! Featuring advanced nail technology, you can get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds – simply peel off, press on, and you’re done. There’s no drying, a killer shine and a manicure that lasts up to a week! And, imPress is so easy to remove, you can change it up to match your mood as often as you want. Check out all 36 colors and patterns, including trendy brights, classic darks and animal prints. With imPress, your nails will always be your best accessory.

What I think: These nails are so much fun to apply and wear! I first took them all out of the cute packaging and found the correct sizes for my nails, I then removed the plastic over the adhesive and applied them, pinky nails first and ending with my thumbs. They looked really pretty on!

I loved these so much, I went out and bought the pattern “Hottie” for my daughter. Her hands are smaller than mine, but she found the right sizes for her nails as well!

I think these are perfect for a special night out. They lasted a couple of days on me and one day on my daughter.

You can learn more about these at www.impressmanicure.com, and use their fun app that lets you try on the different shades of nails.

Enjoy!

Nicole by OPI Introduces Texture Coat

Nicole by OPI announces the launch of Texture Coat, a line of graffiti-style nail art products inspired by OPI’s bestselling Shatter. Available in six chic shades – Gold, Silver, Red, White, Turquoise and Black – Texture Coat offers a simple way to create unique, unpredictable patterns on nails with a quick, at-home application.

“Fans of Nicole by OPI are fun, fashion-forward women who love experimenting with trends and using nail lacquer as a form of self-expression,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “Texture Coat offers an easy way to create your own completely customized nail art. Whether you choose pastels, darks, glitters, shimmers, or sheers to pair with Texture Coat, the endless options will accessorize every look.”

To use this product, start with Base Coat Plus, followed by two coats of any Nicole by OPI nail lacquer. Let the lacquer dry completely before applying Texture Coat. Complete the manicure with Top Coat Plus for a high-shine finish.

Nicole by OPI Nail Lacquers and Nail Treatments contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Nicole by OPI formulas are long-lasting, fast-drying, and salon-quality, with products featuring the Perfect Stroke brush for streak-free, even coverage. Texture Coat will be available July 2011 for $7.99 each at ULTA, Target, Meijer, Harmon, Wegmans, Sears, and H-E-B. Texture Coat will be available in Canada at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart and Loblaw.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

La Fresh Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover

Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover, 8 packets — La Fresh Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover

La Fresh Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover (8 for $4.99 and 16 for $9.99) — Bye-bye polish removers that are harsh on the nails and harsh on the nose. Hello fresh, healthy nails and an incredibly delicious scent. LA FRESH delivers this revolutionary good-for-nails polish remover that quickly cleans & conditions all 10 nails with just one pad. Helps moisturize with Aloe, Glycerin and Vitamin E. Helps strengthen nails with natural Rosemary and Horsetail Extract. And best of all, helps deliver an unbelievably fresh experience with natural Tuscan orange aromatherapy. Free of parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, acetone, acetate, dyes, PEGs, artificial fragrances & animal byproducts. Try it to believe it.

What I think: Convenient and great smelling, these wipes are easy to use and so nice to have around. One wipe removes polish from all 10 nails, except for when I used a crackle coat over my base polish. Then it took two wipes, but that’s because it was a lot of polish to remove.

Learn more and purchase at http://lafreshgroup.com. Pick some up, they are a must to have around!

Perfect Your At-Home Mani and Pedi With Nutra Nail

I do home manicures and pedicures all of the time. I usually go to the salon just once a year in the spring to get a professional pedi, then I take care of my feet all year long. And I always do my own manicures? What’s the trick? The right tools, LOTS of different shade of polish and products that keep my nails looking better for longer.

Two of my biggest nail challenges are wak/brittle nails and smudged polish. Which is precisely why Nutra Nail, the nail treatment company with over a half a century of nail care know-how, comes to the rescue with two new innovative products with big pay off.

Flex-Shield Nail Hardener — When striving for healthy, beautiful nails, the first thing that comes to mind is strength so you can grow your nails exactly how you like them. Weak dry, brittle, peeling nails never look attractive, however, using the right nail care remedies can help you to achieve a beautiful set of ten. Since we only get one time to make a first-impression, healthy, strong nails are just as important as the rest of our appearance. To combat this common beauty predicament, and ensure the strongest nails possible, Nutra Nail® developed the new Flex-Shield Nail Hardener.

This innovative formula coats nails with a super-hard, yet flexible and invisible shield to reinforce nails and help prevent breaking, tearing and peeling. Patented technology keeps the shield flexible to better absorb daily abuse to the nails, making it chip resistant and longer lasting. And if this must-have product wasn’t remarkable enough, Flex-Shield Nail Hardener can be used as both a base coat and over colored polish as a top coat.

What I think: I really like this product. I use it as a base and top coat when I polish my nails and I swear my polish lasts longer without chipping! I also use it when I am not wearing polish as it protects my nails and gives them a nice sheen.

Instant Smudge Repair — How many times have you left the nail salon, reached for your wallet, keys, or coat and accidentally smudged your nails? Or even worse, spent time doing your nails at home, thought they were dry, but wound up with a ding, ping or smudge? And let’s not forget going to bed with presumably dry nails only to wake up with those infamous bed sheet marks. After investing time and money on a professional manicure, or prioritizing your schedule to polish your nails at home, there really is nothing worse!

Introducing the best “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that?” beauty product to hit retail in years: Nutra Nail® Instant Smudge Repair. This miracle formula literally brushes away smudged, nicked, smeared, or dented polish in a snap. Just brush over the manicure mishap and instantly restore polish to a smooth, shiny finish without removal or reapplication of polish.

What I think: I have found that this works really well on small smudges. Really big ones need to be removed and re-polished, but the smaller smudges can be smoothed out. Very handy to have around!

Nutra Nail® Instant Smudge Repair is $3.29 and is available at Walmart, CVS and other national drugstore chains; Flex-Shield Nail Hardener is $4.98 and is available at Walmart and other national drugstore chains. Visit www.nutranail.com to learn more.

China Glaze Crackle — The Hot New Nail Trend de Jour!

Looking for the hot new nail trend for 2011? Two-toned nails with a “crackled” top coat, is the it thing right now. And you can do it yourself with China Glaze Crackle polish (8.00 USD)! China Glaze brings a whole new level to the game with “Crackle” polish! Create endless edgy looks and make a statement with fun, fearless, color. Everyone has asked for it, and now China Glaze is giving it to them! The six different Crackle colors include:

Lightning Bolt – White Crackle
Black Mesh – Black Crackle
Broken Hearted – Pink Crackle
Cracked Concrete – Grey Crackle
Fault Line – Purple Crackle
Crushed Candy – Teal Crackle

An innovative technology allows you to play with a wide array of color combinations and achieve an edgy, new wave look. This unique formula was developed to give your nails a “crackled” design over traditional nail color. Contrasting colors are used one over another to achieve a deconstructed shatter look that takes place right before your eyes. Instant art for your nails!

How do you do it? It’s easy! Apply your favorite China Glaze glitter, shimmer or crème. Depending on the color you are using, apply either one or two coats for full coverage. When the colored enamel is dry, brush on a thin layer of the Crackle color. Allow the Crackle to work its magic during dry time. After approximately 5 minutes when the crackled design has completely formed, apply a top coat to seal the design for prolonged wear.

I applied China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint (a soft mint green from the Up and Away collection), let it dry completely, and applied Cracked Concrete over it. It works almost like magic as it shatters apart right before your eyes! Once that dried, I applied a top coat to seal the look. It lasted almost a week! Remember to apply a thin coat so it cracks apart easier. This is a really cool look, not too office friendly (unless you work at a casual office like I do), but perfect for night out!

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

Nail Fraud Nail Decals

I had so much fun trying the Nail Fraud Houndstooth ($12.00 USD) decals! They are a fairly easy (once you get the hang of them) to apply and look very cool on! Here are some details of this cool product:

• Kit comes with two sets of 20 nails, a Nail Fraud emery board inside a re-useable clear pencil case.

• Easy to use. No experience necessary. Just pick the right size, place on nail starting from bottom and file off excess.

• Made from flexible film which is waterproof.

• Stays on for one week.

• Easy to remove, just peel off or use nail polish remover.

• Frauds advantage over Polish:
No waiting, No chipping, No smearing

The pros of this product are that they look amazing and are easy to apply. The cons are that they started peeling off about an hour after I applied them. I think with a top coat, they would last longer. I am now into my second day of wear, and the tips have peeled off of most of them. I would recommend these for a night out or a special event.

Visit www.nailfraud.com to learn more and to purchase.