CND Daily Nail 2.11.12 Flirty Flowers at Rachel Antonoff

More fashion week news - this time from CND!  Check out the great looks that they created.

The CND Daily Nail 2.11.12

Flirty Flowers at Rachel Antonoff

February 11, 2012 - Welcome to the third installment of The CND Daily Nail at Fall 2012 Fashion Week! Today's manicures were whimsical, Mexican inspired, Edwardian and velvety nude. Here's the scoop:


At Rachel Antonoff, CND's Candice Manacchio designed three playful nails for the gal with a sense of adventure:


• "Starry Night" evoked the nighttime sky on a lake with two coats of CND Colour in Midnight Sapphire with sponged overlay of Eclectic Purple and Studio White, with a coat of CND Effects in Sapphire Sparkle.

• "Flirty Flower" was created with two coats of bold red CND Colour in Flashpoint with hand detailed ferns using CND Colours in Brilliant White and Anchor Blue.

• "True Red" was created with two coats of CND Colour in Flashpoint.

At Christian Cota, Candice Manacchio crafted a "Terra Cotta" manicure to accessorize bright, bold, Mexican inspired patterns in the collection. The manicure's ombre effect was created with CND Colour in Chocolate Milk and Putty. DIY with the help of a makeup sponge by applying Chocolate Milk from the cuticle to half way down the nail, then add Putty from half way to nail end. Use CND Super Matte Top Coat to combine the two colors while still wet to finish the look.

At Wes Gordon, Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" met "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" with a "Midnight Noir" nail designed by Shelena Robinson. This manicure was custom blended with CND Colours in Eclectic Purple, Inkwell and Blackjack, serving as a gorgeous complement to a luxe jewel toned collection.

For Monique Lhuillier, CND's Wanda Ruiz crafted a "Velvet Manicure" with CND Colour in Putty and CND Super Matte Top Coat. This nail was paired with elegant leather and silk contrast gowns in navy, black and red fabrics.

Stay tuned for The CND Daily Nail during Fashion Week for show-by-show reports from:


• Alexandre Herchcovitch
• Behnaz Sarafpour
• Catherine Malandrino
• Joy Cioci
• Karen Walker
• Milly
• Naeem Khan
• Skaist-Taylor
• The Blonds
• Theory
• Victoria Beckham


To read Jan Arnold's daily backstage blog, please visit cnd.com. Track @CNDWorld during Fashion Week, on Facebook, Pinterest and on YouTube.

Elixir Lacquers With A K

More than ever, you are seeing indie companies come up with their own nail polish.  Today I bring you Elixir Lacquers, created by fellow blogger - Nicole of Nail Polish Wars.  Recently she had a sale of buy 2, get "A Cool Fool" free, so I had to make a purchase.  Actually, I originally attempted to purchase With a K when she first launched the website but due to a PayPal error, my order had to be canceled and re-ordered.  With a K is listed as a silver and violet holographic micro glitter with violet prismatic hexagon glitter, suspended in a violet jelly base.  This is a 15 ml bottle for $10, and is big three free.  I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and a top of CND Air Dry.


Now I'm slightly confused that my polish is most definitely pink, not violet, and the "prismatic hexagon glitter" tends to get sucked into the jelly base so you don't see it as well, but I still really love polish that is called "With a K" since I always have to say my name as "Krystal, with a K."

While I was playing with my polish being in the trees, I smudged my middle finger.  Grr.  Can't win, can I?  Definitely a pink color though for me - not purple.

In the shade, you can see what I mean about the prismatic glitter - unlike China Glaze Techno, the glitter is sandwiched into polish.

Finally indoors with the flash and this color almost looks Barbie pink.


So is it purple?  I can't call it purple - just pink.  Not Pepto pink though - more Barbie girl pink.  I wished it had been purple, but maybe it's just batch differences?  Not 100% sure.


Elixir Lacquers [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] is available on their website for $10 a bottle.

CND Daily Nail 2.10.12 - Time Machine Manis at Nicole Miller

Time for some CND Fashion Week updates!  Every time I see CND being used, I am absolutely obsessed with owning the bottles.  I know how great the formula is and then the design of the bottles make me fall in love every time.  Please enjoy the following press release from CND.  All images are courtesy of CND.

The CND Daily Nail 2.10.12

Time Machine Manis at Nicole Miller

February 10, 2012 - Welcome to Day 2 of The CND Daily Nail at New York Fashion Week! Today's manicure styles were a blast from the past.


At Nicole Miller, CND's Wanda Ruiz helped showcase parallel times to prove that "the past plays out in the present." CND's "Time Machine" manicures at Nicole Miller were trippy and hypnotic in colorful swirls of CND Colours in Plumville, Electric Orange, Bicycle Yellow and Anchor Blue. Master this look at home with a toothpick (or a detailing brush) and some patience.

Vintage-centic NAHM featured a "Sugared Neutral" nail with pink undertones. This color was custom blended by CND's Angi Wingle, but can be recreated at home by layering CND Colour in Desert Suede with one coat of CND Colour in Marshmallow Rose, topped with CND Super Matte Top Coat. Strong nude nails looked flawless with minty green wingtipped eyes and glamorous '20s 'dos amidst punchy plum and eclectic green patterned fabrics.

At Correll Corell, CND 's Roxanne Valinoti perfectly contrasted metallic nude makeup with boldly pigmented CND Colours in Inkwell and Raisin in the Sun. These manicures matched blue tones throughout the collection and coordinated with smoked burgundy and rusty cognac shades on the runway.

For Jen Kao, CND's Shelena Robinson took nails to back to French Vietnam for a darkly seductive look using CND Colours in Blackjack or Oilslick. This manicure was unapologetically promiscuous, strong and sophisticated when paired with rich tones and textures of satin and fur.

Stay tuned for The CND Daily Nail during Fashion Week for show-by-show reports from:


• Alexandre Herchcovitch
• Behnaz Sarafpour
• Catherine Malandrino
• Christian Cota
• Joy Cioci
• Karen Walker
• Milly
• Monique Lhuillier
• Naeem Khan
• Rachel Antonoff
• Skaist-Taylor
• The Blonds
• Theory
• Victoria Beckham
• Wes Gordon


To read Jan Arnold's daily backstage blog, please visit cnd.com. Track @CNDWorld during Fashion Week, on Facebook, Pinterest and on YouTube.

Lynnderella Mercury's Rainbow vs China Glaze Techno

Oh yes, you read right.  Lynnderella's Mercury's Rainbow has a twin... China Glaze Techno.  Techno was originally released in the Glitters & Cremes, also known as the Specialty collection, and was re-released in the 2012 spring TechnoPop collection.  I had both sitting on my desk when I had my OMG moment that these two are definitely related.  Check out this bottle shot.

Both have micro and slightly larger hexagonal rainbow/holographic glitter.  The only difference is that Lynnderella has a slight murky grey base and Techno is in a clear base.  I layered 2 layers of polish over Sephora Black and topped with Glitter Tamer.  (My base coat for all was Duri Rejuvacote.)

Sun doesn't do this polish justice, so here is some indirect light.  Now, there is definitely more microglitter in Techno than in Mercury's Rainbow, but it's just really in how many coats do you put on.  I have loads more pictures in the shade now.

Now, how alike are they?  Yeah, more microglitter in Techno, less medium hexagonal glitter and just the opposite for Mercury's Rainbow.  Am I going to keep both?  Yes.  Do you need both?  I wouldn't.  I'm perfectly happy with just my Techno, to be honest.


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

OPI hits the runway with Jason Wu and Rebecca Taylor for New York Fashion Week

On 10 February (my son's 5th birthday!), OPI was out in full force for the Jason Wu and Rebecca Taylor shows.  Oddly enough, 10 February was also the anniversary of Rebecca Black's "Friday" song debuting.  Hah. Please enjoy the following release from OPI.  All images are courtesy of OPI.

OPI was used on nails for the Jason Wu and Rebecca Taylor fall/winter shows at St. John’s Center Studios and Lincoln Center! For Jason Wu, models’ nails were painted with taupe hue, San Tan-tonio. The noticeable neutral complimented clothes in taupe, black and gold with pops of fuchsia and red.

Meanwhile, Road House Blues, a purple-y navy, was painted on models’ nails for Rebecca Taylor to compliment the collection’s dark colors and floral prints. 

 Celeb attendees of Jason Wu included Shailene Woodley (actress, The Descendants), while Rebecca Taylor’s front row seated Olivia Palermo and Zoe Kravitz.