Cosmoprof: 2 August 2011

As you may have read on Twitter, as I was getting on my plane to go home, I got a phone call that my Dad was going into the ER.  He's been transferred to another town where he's awaiting more testing - we're thinking it's heart related.  So I do apologize for this posting being late.


One booth that I visited the previous day was Prolana.  This is a salon only brand that was created in part by Donna Lewis, who used to work on China Glaze.  It's a big 3 free polish that is long wearing.  They have over 45 shades in normal sized bottles as well as travel sized.

Prolana Bare Naked Lacquers Collection

Proloana Ice Queen Collection

Prolana Holiday 2011 Cheers!

Prolana Winter 2011 Shade

Proloana Nail Wheel

Prolana Color Overdose (neons) Collection

Prolana Per Suede Collection

Next I went to see Dare to Wear by LE Chat.  They had all kinds of new things to look at - most impressively for me was their "Perfect Match" system which has a gel polish for hands and a matching nail polish (same color/shade) for your toes or just touch ups... and did I mention they were glitters?  They have tons of glitter polish, neons, crackle, and very nice gift sets during the holidays.  All gift sets (box sets) come with a DtW top coat.  You can also Like their page on Facebook.

Dare to Wear Crack-m-up Crackle Polish

Dare to Wear Disco Tech

Dare to Wear glitters

Dare to Wear Halloween 2011

Dare to Wear Holiday 2011

Dare to Wear Neons

Perfect Match system

My next stop was Color Club.  They have SO much coming out this year.  In addition to the collections already out (Fractured, Back to Boho), they have their Halloween and Holiday sets, Backstage (launched at Cosmoprof which is a bunch of chunky flakies and glitters), Copycoat (which are scented fast drying top coats - the scents are major perfume company scents), Foiled, PRIDE (some proceeds will go to GLAAD), All About French (available very soon), and Beyond the Mistletoe (Holiday 2011).

  

Backstage on the top, Beyond the Mistletoe on the bottom

  

Foiled swatches

As I was leaving, I found a really cute waxing product, but for some reason I broke out in welts after the application.  We're not sure if it was because I'm on Remicade for Rheumatoid Arthritis, or if the generic brand lavender oil that was used after the product caused problems, or what.  I do want to try the product again to make sure it wasn't a fluke, but we'll get back to all that later.


After a bit of searching, I found the Essie section.  They also have a lot coming out soon.  Right now is Carry On - all about fashion basics... earthy... 50s chic.  Next in September will be their Breast Cancer Awareness color Raise Awareness which will be a limited edition pink creme.  For winter, you'll see Cocktail Bling which has been inspired by different jewels (but are not jewel toned).  During the holidays, you'll see their New Years Eve metallics with Dive Bar and then will be Luxeffects a 1-2 coat top coat that you don't need another top coat with.  All 5 colors in that collection will be sold for the same price as regular Essie.

  

This was a super busy day for me, being the last one and all.  I went by the NYX Cosmetics booth to find out that they are reinventing themselves again.  As you may remember, I was NOT happy with the one NYX polish I bought back in October of last year.  Starting in the first week of September, they will be coming out with the Advanced Salon Formula, which is supposed to be a one coat polish with over 144 colors.  (Anyone else recognize the bottle shape?)  For their consumer line, they are calling it NYX Girls which is their "entry level" polish available for $3 a bottle.  They are also introducing a new matte collection which will be around $4-5 a piece.

I also stopped by Piggy Paint who had their adult "Refined" line and their new Puppy Line for pets' nails.

And right as the show was closing, I turned the corner and ran into Jordana.  They have a lot of nail polish with art striping brushes coming out, great for the seasoned pro and also for the nail art newbie (like me!) as well as a Crackle collection.  Also coming out are their Jewels collection - some intense glitters (MORE YAY).

And with that, I'm spent.  It was an absolutely amazing 3 days of beauty related products and I'm sad it wasn't about 5 days longer.  I loved looking at everything coming out, all the people who spoke "my language", meeting everyone, and just the general atmosphere of the convention.  I hope you enjoyed and I will have more coming up in the next few weeks from the China Glaze nail wheels that I was able to get to the entire line of Layla Magneffect polishes and even some NUBAR and No-Miss products!


In case you missed it
Cosmoprof: 31 July
Cosmoprof: 1 August
Cosmoprof 2011 Post-Show Press Release

NYX Blue Avenue

Back in October, I made a trip to San Antonio and stopped in the local HEB that my friends work at and made a beeline for cosmetics.  They have a much larger selection of nail polish than my HEB, including OPI, Cosmetic Arts, LA Splash and this brand, NYX.  I should have known by the milky appearance that this was meant to be a layering color and not opaque, but frankly I don't know what I was thinking.


Oh yes.  I was thinking FLAKIES!  Suspended in this polish are light green, blue and orange flakies (flake like glitter - much like fish scales).


However, these flakies aren't as defined as say, Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure.


I used a base coat of Seche Natural and 2 coats of NYX Blue Avenue on my first two fingers.  After seeing how sheer it was (and not buildable), I put a coat of CND Blackjack on my other two fingers, then two coats of Blue Avenue.  Everything was topped with Seche Vite.

As you can see in the sun, the flakes are pretty non-existant on my first two nails.  The blue base that you see in the bottle isn't visible either.  You can somewhat see flakes over black.

In the shade you can see the flakes a little better, but frankly I was disappointed.  I would rather have bought a Nfu-Oh at full price and have less coats with more coverage.  Lesson learned.


I purchased my bottle of Blue Avenue for $3.99.  NYX can be found online or in stores.  You can also Like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.