Glitter Tips

Trending this season is a very easy DIY manicure that will certainly add some bling to your nails. 

In order to show you what it looks like I went to my stash and chose 3 glitter polishes that I thought would look best with ASK Cosmetics's Sheer French Pink - my all time favourite in sheer polishes. 

2 coats of Sheer French Pink shown here.

 

I get so many compliments when wearing this polish.  One manicurist even glanced at my nails and said, "What a subtle French manicure you have."  I said thanks and explained they were my natural nails with two think coats of Sheer French Pink. 

 

My point is:  if you nails are healthy to begin with and show vibrant shades of pink and white, then all you need is a sheer polish to enhance the natural, healthy appearance of your nails - that is, if you even choose to wear polish on them at all. 

 

Choice #1:  Sheer French Pink by ASK Cosmetics + A Cut Above by Essie as my glitter tip

 

Choice #2:  Sheer French Pink by ASK Cosmetics + Strobe Light by Sally Hansen as my glitter tip

 

Choice #3:  Sheer French Pink + Rockstar Pink by Sally Hansen as my glitter tip

 

The manicure that decorated my nails for a special Xmas party was the third version.

 

Glitter tips can be seen everywhere at the moment.  I had fun creating these looks and will show you some more glitter creations throughout the next few days. 

 

Which one would you have chosen as your holiday mani?

 

 

 

 

 

L'Oreal's - The Queen's Ambition, The Queen's Night

If you like a more dramatic look on your nails, here's the polish for you.

 

This photo gives you the impression of a hint of dark blue, but in reality it is all black on your nails. 

 

I think this would look awesome with the right outfit for any of your upcoming cocktail parties or Christmas get-togethers.

 

It became quite evident to me that black polish doesn't look great on me, but I do love the subtle hint of glitter.  Here you can see 2 coats.  This glitter polish went on very evenly.

 

The second in this L'Oreal collection was called "The Queen's Night" #296. 

 

I was surprised to see that once applied it had a strong fuschia undertone that I wasn't really expecting with this polish.

Overall, the two lacquers by L'Oreal shown above were great to work with.  Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that black will still remain one of my favourite choices for clothing not for nail polish and any shades of pink will not really enter my favourites.

 

Have you tried any of "The Queen's...." Collection by L'Oreal?

 

Thanks for stopping by,  Lisa M

 

P.S. Sorry for the very brief post today.  Hope you enjoyed it nevertheless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mini Manis in honour of Juvenile Diabetes

 A first-time fund-raising event is taking place tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 24th, in my hometown.  There will be tons of fun activities for the entire family to raise both awareness and money for JUVENILE DIABETES. 

 

After seeing all the beautiful manicures which were posted on World Diabetes Day Nov. 14th, I decided to offer my "services" and give all the young girls and teenagers wearing something blue a manicure.  In addition to painting their nails I will be educating them on proper nail hygiene and good nailcare practices.  I am so excited to volunteer and maybe brighten someone's day tomorrow.

 

Here are the shades I have to offer:

 

L - R:  Essie's Beach Bum Blu,

NYC's East Village,

Rimmel's Marine Blue,

L'Oreal's Now You Sea Me.

 

L - R:  ASK Cosmetics' Rich Sapphire,

SC's Rain Storm,

Maybelline's Styled Out,

Sally Hansen's Gemstone.

 

So, here is your TGIF Contest.  If you can email me (lmueller@askcosmetics.com) or tweet me (Lisa Mueller @nailcareasklisa) the shade you think will be the overall favourite for tomorrow's manis, you will be the winner.  The lucky prize winner will receive a selection of ASK Cosmetics nailcare products.

 

All entries must be sent in by 4 pm EST on November 24th, 2012.  All entries must be sent either to the above-mentioned email address OR tweeted.  Contest open internationally.  Please note that any entries left on the blog site as comments or on the ASK Cosmetics Facebook page are not valid entries.

 

 Thanks for stopping by and joining in the "blue" Saturday fun this week.  Lisa M.



Essie's Stylenomics - Greener than Green!

This Fall/Winter 2012 polish by Essie really gives your nails a rich shade of green.  Under certain light conditions it tends to go so dark you can't distinguish what colour it actually is.  Let me show you what I mean....

Coats:  2 (some people might prefer leaving the manicure with one coat only)

Thickness of polish:  on a scale from 1 (thinnest) - 10 (thickest) "Stylenomics" would be a 9.

Ease of Application:  fairly easy once you become accustomed to the thickness.

Wearability:  fairly good (5 days with minor evidence of wear and tear)

Appeal Factor:  lovely shade for late fall, reminds one of Xmas

 

In my humble opinion, dark green cannot be worn with all the trendy fall colours, but it will add an elegant accent to your nails that says: "Look at me!"

 

"No need to tighten your belt when you practice...

according to the Essie print ads seen in all fashion magazines.

 

 

I feel this green will be showing up in a lot of Christmas nail art this year.  So, I tried my hand at a very simple bit with my homemade tools again.

Base colour is Stylenomics by Essie with dots in Perfect Red by ASK Cosmetics Inc.

 

Fun Fact of the Day:  Light trauma, like typing on a computer stimulates nail growth.  Well, this kind of "trauma" is more like a massage for your nails. 

 

Would you wear dark green?  And if so, what do you think it would go well with?

 

Thanks for stopping by,  Lisa M.

 

 

 

 

 

The Colour Wheel

I often meet people who ask me how to coordinate the colour of their make up with the rest of the outfit. Sometimes, they even get confused which are the colours that suit them. To determine which side of the colour spectrum you should go for, I suggest you cleanse your face and hold up a pink and a peach towel against it. See which colour suits your complexion best.

Peach: you probably have tanned/dark skin so warm colours suit you best.

Pink: you are probably fair, so go for the cool colours.

Both: you probably have fair skin with brown/black hair. Both warm and cool colours suit your complexion so don't be afraid to expirment.

Now back to the colour coordination. Personally, I like to think of make-up as an accessory so if for example I'm sporting a bright red lip, I keep the outfit simple with just a pair of button earrings and a delicate bracelet.

To coordinate colours, it is a good idea to take a quick look at the Colour Wheel. The color wheel is a chart of colors of the visible spectrum that is used to show how colors relate to each other. It is made up of three primary colors, three secondary colors, and six tertiary colors or intermediate colors. Primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) are colors that can not be mixed by any other colors. Secondary colors (purple, green, and orange) are formed by mixing two primary colors together. Tertiary colors (red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange, and red-orange) are formed by combining a primary color with an adjacent secondary color. Here is an example of a colour wheel. I chose this as it has a broad spectrum of shades so you get a better idea.

Keep in mind that opposing shades counteract each other. This is very important when for example, you want to conceal dark circles under your eyes. The circles are usually a bluish tinge, so go for an orange-based concealer depending on your skin tone. The same goes for concealing red pimples or acne. A green-tinged concealer works best since it counteracts red.