Dr.'s REMEDY Defense

I'm back with some swatches!  Finally, right?  I'm trying to still battle being sick and I've had almost 6 straight days of CLOUDS.  The one day I have sun?  I'm in bed all day sick.  Yep.  Dr.'s REMEDY Defense was from their fall 2011 line and is a "deep red" creme.  Unfortunately, my bottle had leaked in its cap, so I lost like 1/3rd of the polish in leakage.  I cleaned it up with some acetone but couldn't get it all out of the square cap.  As a result, I'm not able to separate the square cap from the round cap inside.


I used a base of Duri Rejuvacoat, 2 coats of polish and a top of CND Air Dry.  The polish itself was like most dark red cremes I've tried - which you'll see below.

Yep, streaky.  It's like the pigment just didn't want to sit right.  Now I'm not sure if this is accurate of this color, or if it has something to do with mine being exposed to the air for so long until the leak dried itself up, sealing the bottle off.

Same here in the shade - you can see that while shiny, this color just didn't really go as opaque - more like a jelly.

Indoors with a flash - I'm a bit torn on this one.  You can sort of see the brush strokes on my ring finger, but is it just me that really sees this?  I'm also just not in love with the color - but that's a personal preference, not something indicative of the brand.


Dr.'s REMEDY [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] Enriched Nail Polish is available for $16 online at http://www.remedynails.com or by calling 1-877-323-NAIL.  

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

RUSK at the Golden Globes!

Did you watch the Golden Globes?  I fought it for awhile before I realized that I didn't understand what people were saying on my Twitter timeline anymore, so I decided to finally turn it on... and eventually turned it off.  While most beauty friends of mine were gushing over Zooey Deschanel's Tuxedo Nails (yours truly included), there were many more red carpet beauty finds including Nancy O'Dell's loose bun.  Please enjoy the following "how to" from Rusk!

Image courtesy of Y Public Relations

For a long night of chatting with Hollywood royalty at the Golden Globe Awards, Entertainment Tonight Host Nancy O'Dell needed a chic and elegant hair style that would stay in place.  O'Dell's stylist Heather Haynes opted for a loose bun – an easy-to-create style she suggests for any red carpet wanna-be: 

STEP 1: Haynes began by spraying a generous amount of Rusk's Thick Body and Texture Amplifier throughout Nancy's towel dried hair, with emphasis on the root – particularly at the crown of the head.  

STEP 2: As she blew out Nancy's hair, the thickening spray helped create body and volume.  Haynes blew out the hair in sections, using a round, boar bristle brush and again, paying close attention to the root to emphasize volume.  

STEP 3: Once Nancy's hair was dry, Haynes used a dime sized amount of Rusk's Deepshine Oil – spreading it evenly throughout the hair.  If you suffer from dry or split ends, it's best to use additional oil on the ends – this will condition the hair and eliminate frizz.  

STEP 4: Haynes created a simple side part and swept Nancy's hair into a high, loose pony tail – making sure to leave enough volume at the crown of the head.  She then tucked the loose hair from the pony tail under, securing with bobby pins to create a neat bun.  

Image courtesy of Y Public Relations

STEP 5: For the quick finishing touch – Haynes sprayed a misting of Rusk's Deepshine Oil Finishing Hairspray around the entire look.  This formula is perfect for combatting flyways and frizz that can creep up during a long night on the red carpet.

Image courtesy of Y Public Relations

Time to get CRACKING for Chinese New Year!

Do you celebrate the Chinese New Year?  Are you still into crackle nail polish?  Please enjoy the following press release from Pure Ice!


Chinese New Year is observed for two consecutive weeks, and is popularly known as Spring Festival. It usually starts from late January and early February. The variation in the date of festival is due to the changes in the track of the new moon. The Spring Festival ends on the 15th day when the Lantern festival is celebrated. Pure Ice has a quick and simple nailpolish set to help you achieve this perfect look.

Image courtesy of Bari's Beauty Bubble

In 2012, Chinese New Year Day will be celebrated on January 23. The New Year festival will start from January 22 (Chinese New Year' Eve) and end on February 6 (Lantern Festival). 2012 marks the 4710th Chinese New Year, and this time it is the Year of Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac calendar.

The Dragon is the 5th sign of the Chinese zodiac and it is regarded as an auspicious symbol which stands for power, good luck, success, and happiness.

Since ancient times, the Chinese New Year was considered as the time to honor ancestors and heavenly deities. In addition, it was the time to organize family gatherings and grand feasts.

There is a legend associated with the celebration of New Year in China. There was a monster named Nian who used to harass the villagers by eating their crops, cattle and taking away their kids. The villagers had no other option but to place food at the entrance to their homes so that the monster would eat it and go away without harming them.

One day, the villagers realized that the monster was scared of red color. So, they adorned their doors and windows with red paper cutouts and spring scrolls. The villagers also burst crackers to frighten the monster. Since then, Nian never came again to the village. Hongjun Laozu, a Taoist monk, was the one who captured the beast later on. Since then, the Chinese have been celebrating the capture of Nian on their New Year's Day.

Chinese New Year is celebrated with fireworks, lion dancing, dragon dancing and cultural performances on the street. Families organize reunion dinners on New Year's Eve and make special preparations like spring rolls and Chinese dumplings. 

You can celebrate with Pure Ice Crackle Duo Gold & Red (ShowStopper) and ring in the Year of the Dragon in style.

Dermelect Hand Recovery System

Don't panic but Valentine's Day is coming up really quickly. Instead of the usual flowers or chocolates (which are still welcomed by the way), how about getting the lady of your life a hand recovery system? Please enjoy the following press release from Dermelect.

Image courtesy of Dermelect

Hand Recovery System

For the manicure obsessed

• Launchpad Nail Strengthener – a base coat developed to fight aging nails
• Makeover Ridge Filler – base or top coat developed to improve nail appearance
• High Maintenance Instant Nail Thickener – a top coat developed to strengthen brittle nails
•  Rejuvenail Fortifying Nail & Cuticle Treatment
• Timeless Anti-Aging Hand Treatment

SRP: $69.00 on www.dermelect.com

Nail Files "Jersey Shore Up In The Painted Nail" Breakdown

I'm a bit behind in finishing my breakdowns of season 1 of Nail Files... after meeting Katie in July at Cosmoprof, I felt like my life was complete.  Okay, not complete - I still need to get a pedicure down at the Painted Nail... but still!  


So after a sleepless night, I decided to clear out my DVR queue and realized I still had 4 episodes of this awesome wonderful show!  There has been zero word from TV Guide if or when a season 2 would air, so I'm not sure what's going on there.  Time to beat on the Facebook Wall of TV Guide Network!!!


In this episode, we had so much happening.  First, the girls from the Jersey Shore dropped in.  Considering that their reality shows are produced by the same SallyAnn Salsano, I'm not very surprised.  The Jersey girls hold nothing back from sex tips using Jolly Ranchers to toe licking (equally ew).


They did raise a great point though - where else can someone have such a relaxing experience?!  Not just the whole cocktails idea, but just a relaxing spa experience, and especially for the right price.


Walter Time!  I really want to meet him, just because he reminds me a cuddly teddy bear.


Tina.  Tina!  I think Tina has succumbed to Reality Show Syndrome.  She's single-handedly decided to "Save the Salon" from reality show drama.  Um fail!


So - next we had Amy's dog party.  Now, I think Amy is amazing - Katie raved about her baking, many times.  (Hey Katie, glad you enjoyed the funfetti!  I'll keep note of my raincheck for my nails!)  In case you didn't know, Amy has started her own bakery, Brown Sugar Marketplace - you can Like her on Facebook now!


More Tina drama as the episode continues.  I feel so bad for Nichole, the store manager.  She's really stuck in such a crap place.


Now I've never personally witnessed the drama that Tina has self-produced but holy cow.  The fake email, the fake clients... crazy doesn't begin to explain it!


By the way, I absolutely LOVE the rainbow organization of Katie's nubar polishes!


Back to Walter Time and Katie's attempting to bake.  dun dun dun!  Call on Amy!  (If she ever ships her cupcakes, I'm getting a dozen.  I just asked her if her cookies are available... I hope they are because they are extremely affordable.  Let's just say I spent a little over $200 on cookies as thank you gifts and well, my wallet isn't happy!)


Over to the Zoom Room for Austin's birthday party - that's Amy's 8 year old dog by the way.  They have gone all out - red carpet, pictures, podicures (polish), celebrity dogs.  Oh.  And humping dogs, and poo on the floor.  (Sorry friends, but I'm a cat person for sure.)


Back at the salon, cue the dramatic music because Tina has walked in!  This girl wants some serious camera time!  Okay, so it may not be as dramatic as I'm saying.  Reality shows need to show the "best" moments, and by best I mean the ones that you sit on the edge of your seat to watch.  (I have a degree in TV, really, so I feel qualified to say this ^_^).  Katie was pissed though - you can tell.  Oh, and then Tina resigns and gets haughty.  That's pretty real right there.


By the way, Katie does NOT act like she's perfect.  Hanging around her at Cosmoprof for the time that I did, really showed me how down to earth she is.  We even had this awesome little disaster at a restaurant and Katie was cool and calm about it - didn't complain at all (even when they overcharged her because somehow we miscalculated the cash we left behind).


Next week is the Oscars - which I've watched and will have the breakdown coming!