The Progressive Pedicure.
The other day a new client of mine said to me that she dreads the strappy summer sandal season because she never has time for a pedicure and is always embarrassed about the state of her feet. Just for a moment, a rather surreal moment, after hearing this, I had a very dark and chilling thought about life without the possibility of pedicure, I shivered for a second and then popped back to the magic of present moment of all things mani and pedicured. Needless to say, I felt for her. No time for a pedicure? No time to feel fabulous and confident in gorgeous summer shoes? *shivers again and races back to my happy place*
Then I asked this lovely lass if she’d ever thought of a progressive pedicure? A progressive pedi might indeed be the salvation for her sole. *idea* All you need to do for a progressive pedi is to scrub your feet, especially the heels and balls of your feet and around the skin along the sides and bottom of your big toes with a pumice stone when showering daily, which takes like…a minute. Then when your drying your feet, make sure to firmly rub to dry all over your feet as this does wonders to further slough off dead skin. Then moisturize your feet, as post showering is ideal. At some stage, take the opportunity to clip your toe nails and file them short and squarish. That can be all that’s done at this time.
On the next opportunity you have a hot minute post your daily pumice, firm dry, and moisturizing session, push your cuticles back carefully and paint your toes with a base coat. If you prefer toes sans polish, just gently push your cuticles back, buff your clean, clipped, and square-filled nails and leave it at that. If you do decide to polish your nails, just do a coat at a time. You can do a lightening-fast coat a day or a coat between chores etc.. It’s lucky for us, that toe nails that are cut short and squared will actually hold a neater polish longer. When you have finally managed to polish your toes completely and follow up with a top coat, they will stay looking dazzling for sometime. Especially, if we continue to moisturize after showering. You can also do a quick slick of top coat every few days to ensure that your nail polish remain in good nick. So there you have it. Great looking feet that are in fantastic form before you know it! Do enjoy!
A Handy Number From Ms. Necessity…Literally!
Since we wouldn’t dream of dashing out with dingy digits if we can help it, what’s a quick little number to dry those nails in a hurry? Well, thanks yet again, to the mother of invention…Ms. Necessity’s got you covered. To dry nail polish quickly, try popping your nails into very cold water, but only after you have waited a minimum of about 5-7 minutes of natural drying time. Alternately, you can hold your fingers in the freezer for several minutes or longer if you can Brrrrrrrr…I mean bear it! *boom tish* That aught to give your polish the brisk hurry up, for sure.
Just awesome! Thanks, Ms. Necessity! xx
Flip Flops And Popsicle Toes!
What more could you need to be in good step this summer? I can’t think of much more. But then again, I just can’t get enough of brights this season, especially when it comes to dashing digits. We are currently in the midst of the coolest collaboration I’ve ever seen where all things tootsies are concerned. KIT Cosmetics and Havaianas have put their gorgeous heads together and come up with this delicious LE Brazilian holiday-inspired KIT nail polish and Havaianas flip flop collection.
Introducing the LE Summer Quartet:
HAVAIANAS MAGENTA: Vivid Fuchsia
HAVAIANAS MANGO: Creamed nectar
HAVAIANAS BLUSH: Baby pink
HAVAIANAS CORAL: True Coral
This delectable and utterly drool-worthy quartet is performing in all KIT stores now, but only while stocks last! Too cute!
Femininity Catches Fire!
Admittedly, a great slogan always gets my attention, but this one got me hook, line, and sinker. CND (formerly Creative Nail Design) is imminently releasing its newest and hottest enamel collection to date and I just had to go along for the gorgeous ride. CND invites you to be part of the heat this summer with…
FLASHPOINT -”Where femininity catches fire!”
I must say, albeit somewhat flushed faced…I’m am so there! FLASHPOINT is one sizzling collection. You’ll be instantly resort-ready in any of these 4 Woman On Fire nail enamels that radiate an exceedingly vibrant tropical sensuality. FLASHPOINT’s sunset-inspired palette is comprised of the following combustible forms of expression:
Glow An ethereal nude gold shimmer
Burn A bright hibiscus red crème
Scorch A lively sparkling magenta
Flare A juicy watermelon crème
FLASHPOINT by CND is available from select salons, day spas, and online from September 2007 and are dibutyl-pthalate (DBP) and formaldehyde free. Just Gawjus!
Atmospheric Beauty.
Finally, a 7 day forecast you can bank on! M.A.C.’s Blue Storm Collection is set to roll into town with gale-force on September 10th, 2007. The rainmakers at M.A.C. have drummed up a new formation of limited edition hues:
Stratus blues, dense billowing pink-tinged cumulus, set against deep, rolling, overcast greys…A thunderclap of shades so intense, deeply pigmented and atmospheric. They take your eye to the heart of the storm with a look that is sophisticated, well-rendered, and paradoxically calm. For the lips: Light filled bolts of clear silver, dusky pinks and red-sky-at-night plums. Forecast to last…
Lipglass:
Lightening White silver sparkle (frost)
Lull Pink lilac (frost)
Atmospheric Rich grape with red and gold pearl (frost)
Eyeshadow:
Blue Storm Cool royal blue with blue and silver pearl (frost)
Stormwatch Deep teal (matte)
Thunder Rich blue with purple pearl (frost)
Cumulus Creamy grey with silver pearl (frost)
Cloudburst Black with blue pearl (velvet)
Kohl Power: *
Feline Rich black (frost)
Mystery Rich black with green and teal pearl (frost)
Zoom Lash:
Zoomblack (R) Rich black
Nail Lacquer:
Whirlwind Metallic royal blue with green, blue, and purple pearl (frost)
Rainy Day Metallic gunmetal grey with lilac pearl (frost)
Storm Watch: Blue Storm is available from all M.A.C. counters and online from September 10, 2007. Limited Edition.
*But wait, there’s more!
M.A.C.’s new castor oil and vitamin C & E enriched Kohl Power eye pencils are ophthalmologist tested, safe for use with contact lenses and can be easily used on the waterline. Yessss!
It’s A Bit Warpo, Really…
Nail polish, that is. Ever polished your nails in the evening, just before bed, in anticipation for the following days adventures? Filed and shaped your nails like the gorgeous beauty that you are, gone the obligatory base coat, 2 coats of colour, a top coat, assumed the requisite nail drying position and before time fallen asleep! Drats! Me too! Sometimes you can be lucky and zonk out with your nails free from anything that will emboss your polish, other times… not so lucky. You awaken from your much needed beauty sleep only to find your polish has gone warpo and is now not so gorgeously shiny, but kind of matte and unintentionally texturized. Grrrr. Now what? Fingers crossed, you can just barely wet a cotton bud with nail polish remover and quickly and lightly swipe the unflatteringly embossed area in one direction from your nail bed towards your finger tips (the direction in which you applied the polish) to sort it out. This may just smooth the offending area enough that a top coat is all that’s needed to bring back a smooth glistening shine. Alternately, you may have to go with one uber light coat of coloured polish first then follow up with topcoat. Most times, this will get you out of shtook. An additional slick of top coat alone works a treat for restoring matte nails to their intended stellar finish a great majority of the time. If neither of these tips are working, you might just have to take off the polish and start again. Sighs. But do weigh up the time and frustration factor before you head down that road. Are your nails really that jacked up? Can’t you get away with a little tart up and just keep your hands moving so no one can get a clear fix on your random design? Are you positive you can’t just rock your mani like you meant it? After all, apparently the word on the street is that the deconstructed manicure is all the rage in the Paris shows. -And that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
All That Glitters Is Not Gold.
But a gorgeous little silvery number as well. Zoya Trixie is the hottest colour for polish we’ve seen this season. Some say silver is the new black. My take on silver is that it translates as black’s edgier sister. Zoya’s newest nail lacquer colour, Trixie, is street smart, glam, and totally on trend. Short and squared nails are transported instantly out of the stratosphere when sporting Zoya Professional Nail Lacquer in Trixie. Trixie is made of the same divine formulation that we have come to know and love from Zoya. As always, Zoya polishes are free of industrial chemicals like toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) for those who are concerned about some of the possible naughties that can find themselves in nail polishes. We love that!
Check out Trixie as well as other beaut bits of nail gorgeousness at Zoya.
