Essie Shine of the Times over Funny Face - weekly nail review

Looking to transform your nail polish collection, then look no further with Essie's Luxeffects collection.  Initially released for the 2011 holiday season, we're now being graced with these dynamic top coats on the other side of the Pacific.  It truly was a pleasant surprise to see these in French Pink, as they are somewhat of an urban legend in the US due to the shelves being raided by polish fiends and nail enthusiasts. I first came across one variation of the flakie polish here, but never gave it a proper go as I get my nails done on a weekly basis.  Now I don't have any excuses to not wear it.  Heavy on dimension, depth, and personality - flakie top coats really add that extra sparkle to one's overall appearance. The opalescent shine lends itself to a myriad of colours; by pairing it with anything from the rainbow, it can truly give you endless options and be transformative as it wears you.

For my base colour I went with Essie's Funny Face, a punchy pink that smacks of raspberry.

Depending on how the light hits your nails, you can catch specks of gold, green, yellow, orange, blue and pink.  Application was a cinch; Janice applied one coat of Funny Face and then followed it up with Shine of the Times.  Wear time was optimal - I didn't notice any chipping or peeling except on the usual right pointer finger (darn zipper).

This week I switched things up a bit more and played with Set in Stone and Pure Pearlfection.  Make sure to check back next week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day and have a shamrock shake for me.

LMFF night one (for me)

Now that you've seen what I wore, here's a closer look at my makeup.

On my lips I wore NARS Mexican Rose, for cheeks I dabbed on a bit of Blush Horizon de Chanel and on my eyes I smoked them out with Chanel's Illusion D'Ombre in Illusoire.  I tried to recapture most of the look Marina created for me the night before; last Saturday Scott booked me in for another appointment with Chanel for me to really enjoy.

Essie Smokin' Hot - weekly nail review

Gray, purple with a hint of black when the light hits this colour just right; these colours are what makes Smokin' Hot so irresitible.  Instead of popping on a stole, I find myself more inclined to channel the sultry glamour of the 40's and 50's with the help of my nails.  In one of my film classes in college I learned about lighting tricks and filters; Casablanca was the film we used as a guide in order to point out essential filming elements.  These elements created a foundation for the look and feel and ultimately set the tone for love that could never be. Ingrid Bergman should come to mind for you if you ever come across Smokin' Hot.  It's worth mentioning silk stockings were the item used to give her the "lit from within" look.  Soft, perfect and a little bit mysterious, just like my nails.

Here's looking at you, kid.

In other nail-related news worth sharing, be sure to make your way over to Nihrida's site.  A few days ago she posted about how she gets her nails camera-ready and perfect.

Butter London's Slapper - weekly nail review

I had to look up the definition of the word slapper and without mincing words, I've taken it's meaning as a woman who is somewhat loose. I get that Butter London is trying to be a bit tongue-in-cheek with some of their names, but when I see this colour those sort of thoughts don't come to mind.  Slapper is bold, a bit poppy (in the sense that it's the colour you'd find featured in a piece of Andy Warhol's pop art) and pretty much punches/slaps you in the face.  Creamy, teal and smooth - it's a colour that can be worn year round and catches the eye of all nail polish lovers.  Can you say nail envy?

When these photos were taken last Saturday, it was hot (close to 40 degrees c) and I was about to leave for the beach.  Yesterday it was absolutely bucketing; just looking at these photos leaves me begging for summer.