now you see me...

It's that time of year...A/W 2013/14 Runway is here. For the next few weeks I will be recreating runway manicures, and creating designs inspired by the fashions walking down the catwalks at NYFW and LFW. This look was inspired by the Michael Kors collection. His show featured bold colors like orange, cobalt, and yellow color blocked in contrast to the significant amount of black shown on his runway. Leather, mink, houndstooth and camouflage took on a modern appeal and definitely made a statement at NYFW. Michael Kors described his show best when he said: 

“BRIGHT LIGHTS, FAST CITY… URBAN ATHLETICISM MEETS UPTOWN POLISH… AN ATTITUDE BASED ON SPEED, ENDURANCE AND GLAMOUR…ELECTRIC COLORS FROM NEON ORANGE, TAXICAB YELLOW AND ROYAL JUXTAPOSED WITH BLACK, WHITE, OLIVE AND CHARCOAL…A LUXE TAKE ON CAMO AND GRAPHIC DOGSTOOTH CHECK… HEAT-SEALED CLOSURES, MOTO TAILORING, PERFORATION AND QUILTING EQUAL HIGH PERFORMANCE CHIC…GLEAMING METALLIC ACCENTS ON SLEEK STRUCTURED BAGS, STREAMLINED PUMPS AND BOLD BELTS…THE OVERSIZED GOGGLE…THE GLOVED HAND… URBANE SPORTIF…”

To best translate the look of Michael Kors' show, I decided to emulate the cobalt, grey, black and white camo print shown in both a pant suit and a stunning mink coat. Because the camo is a little loud, especially in my choice color palette, I wanted to break it up by doing an all black nail on my ring finger. This also helped to tie in the use of shiny black leather and patent from the runway show with the camo print I had planned on each nail. 

For this look, I started with butter LONDON's Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat. I decided to use white as my base color for the nails with the camo print so the other colors would show up well. I painted two coats of O.P.I.'s Alpine Snow on all but the ring finger. Next, using butter LONDON's Union Jack Black, I painted the ring finger and added my first round of camo print on all the white nails. While this initially looked like cow print, I had faith it would turn out alright. 

The closest shade of polish I had to the grey in Michael Kors' line was butter LONDON's Chimney Sweep. It was a bit darker and slightly more glittery, than I would have liked, but it made an effective second camo coat. Lastly, using Essie's Mesmerize I painted the third coat of camo print on each of the nails to capture the striking cobalt of Michael Kors' design. 

As a finishing touch, I really wanted to make the black on the ring finger and in the camo print stand out, as to imitate the leather/patent on the runway. I decided to paint all the camo print nails with my matte topcoat, Essie's Matte About You. Next I painted the ring finger with one coat of my ultra shiny SV Topcoat. Then on the camo print, I carefully painted over the black parts of the camo using a skinny brush and SV Topcoat. This way, the black popped on the print and tied into the patent/leather ring finger. 

What do you think of this look? Are you a fan of the Michael Kors A/W 2012/13 runway collection?

Alpine Snow                       Union Jack Black                    Chimney Sweep                Mesmerize

SV Topcoat                                                 Matte About You

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pretty in pastels

Being that it is currently 9 degrees and the snow is falling, it is hard to think of spring as being right around the corner. Well in the fashion world, seasons always come early, so I am lucky enough to bring you the fabulous Spring 2013 collection from butter LONDON. 

This collection is all about pastels...think easter, macaroons, sweethearts candies, and everything spring! According to Katie Hughes, butter LONDON Global Colour Ambassador, “Pops of pastels are iconic for spring and look like candy on the nails.” This seasons catwalks were flooded with pastels--from the structured dresses in Chloe and Givenchy's shows to the flowing pieces in Eli Saab and Alexis Mabille's, the three dimensional florals of Christian Dior and Giambattista Valli, to the pattern of Erdem and Antonio Marras. 

As you can see the beautiful Spring 2013 shades coordinated fabulously with a number of designers collections for this season. So without further ado...

Kerfluffle            Jasper             Molly Coddled        Fruit Machine          Fiver               Cuppa

 Kerfluffle
A beautiful peachy coral créme lacquer.

Jasper

A cheerful soft yellow crème polish.

Molly Coddled

A peppy lavender orchid shade of an opaque créme formula.

Fruit Machine

This bright bubble gum pink créme polish definitely gives your look a punch!

Fiver

Talk about stunning....this icy mint créme shade is sure to turn heads.

Cuppa

This toasted neutral tan créme shade looks fabulous on, even with my lighter skin tone.

All six of the polishes in the collection are of exceptional quality. Anyone who reads my blog knows I adore butter LONDON products for their lack of harsh chemicals and beautiful application, but this collection in particular had a fantastic formula. All of the créme shades go on quite smooth and while acceptably opaque with just one coat, I always prefer two for a more full coverage. Any of these shades would make for a perfect addition to one's spring wardrobe. 

Not only are these shades fabulous on their own... but they also make for some really fun combinations!

I did the following two designs after getting my first three of the six lacquers (Molly Coddled, Fruit Machine, and Cuppa). I love the contrast of the peppy pastels with the neutral Cuppa. The first design is actually one of my favorites, despite its simplicity. The polka dot one, was just for fun!

Design 1:

Design 2:

What do you think of the butter LODNON Spring Collection?

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goop

One of the lovely holiday gifts I got from my sister was this butter LONDON lacquer set from goop. For those of you unfamiliar with goop, it's a lifestyle website created by Gwenyth Paltrow that features weekly articles and collaboration products. This limited edition set of butter LONDON shades was created exclusively for the site and only available for a short time. When I got the announcement about the collection and had a chance to get a glimpse of the shades I just knew I had to have it. Unfortunately my polish budget was nonexistent so I had to put in an emergency Christmas order with my sister. Was I ever happy to open this up Christmas morning and see that she came through. All three colors, aside from having fabulous names, look stunning on. Here's a peek:

Hampstead Heath: a mossy green and gold glitter. 

Abso-bloody-lutely: Tell me this sassy name doesn't say it all. This deep blood red is so on point this season. 

Bread & Butter Pudding: I may have a new favorite neutral here. This natural ivory cream polish is the perfect polish for a minimalist look. 

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ribbons and bows

Hello dolls! Hope you all enjoyed your holidays with family and friends. I did this festive design on the fly with only a few butter LONDON colors. I started off with one coat of butter's Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat and two of Cream Tea. Next using Saucy Jack, I painted the bow on my ring finger, extending the ribbon across the other nails. to finish the look off I outlined it in my favorite glitter, West End Wonderland to tie in the red and add some holiday flair. Sealed with one coat of butter LONDON's P.D. Quick Topcoat, my nails were holiday ready. 

Wishing you a marvelous end to 2012. 

xoxo

Cream Tea                                       Saucy Jack                       West End Wonderland 

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dash away all

Merry Christmas!

Santa certainly made a stop at our house last night. Per usual the kids (that includes my 19-year-old sister) were up and ready to go at 6:50 am which meant there was no sleeping in for me. I kindly kept the kids at bay until 8 when I let them wake up all the parents so we could start opening presents. It was definitely a good year with some of the favorites being iPad mini's and for me... lots of nail polish!

This yuletide look was inspired by the book we read every Christmas Eve... The Night Before Christmas. So, on my nails we have the big man followed by Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen (note the eyelashes). And on the right, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. As I did on the last few designs, I started with one coat of butter LONDON Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat and two coats of Cream Tea. Next using Teetotal, I painted the shape of the reindeer faces on the 9 nails. Again using Cream Tea, I painted the eyes on each deer and the antlers with La Moss. On Rudolph I used Chancer to give him his signature shiny red nose. Next I used my staple polish, Union Jack Black to outline all the reindeer. For Santa, I used a bit of my Nail Foundation to get the natural skin color. Next using Come to Bed Red, I painted his hat, later adding a bit of glitter with Chancer. I then added a little bit of Cream Tea for the fur on his hat and his snow white beard. To define his face I used Union Jack Black to outline. I finished it off with one coat of OPI Topcoat. 

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 

Cream Tea          Teetotal         La Moss         Union Jack Black       Come to Bed Red     Chancer      Nail Foundation   

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not the gumdrop buttons

For this gingerbread house look I started with one coat of butter LONDON Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat and one coat of China Glaze's Mahogany Magic. Using butter LONDON's Cream Tea, I painted the icing design on each finger (unfortunately--or fortunately i guess depending how you feel--the pointer, middle and pinky nails ended up looking a bit like hostess cupcakes). I embellished the ring finger and the gingerbread house on the thumb using some Holiday glitters from butter: Chancer, Swinger, Scallywag, and West End Wonderland. I painted one coat of O.P.I. topcoat to finish the look. Good enough to eat? 

Mahogany Magic           Cream Tea               Swinger                Chancer         Scallywag          West End Wonderland 

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fa la la it's christmas eve eve!

It's Christmas Eve Eve!!

Today happens to be my favorite day of the year. Christmas Eve Eve is perfect because I spend the whole day with my sister and we always conclude by watching Eloise at Christmastime while drinking hot chocolate and then sleep under the Christmas tree, falling asleep beneath hundreds of multicolored, twinkling lights. The magic of Christmas is in full force today, which is why I prefer the day to Christmas itself. You spend days and days decking the halls, listening to christmas music and tuning in to the overwhelming amount of cheesy, predictable, yet addicting christmas movies and then as soon as Christmas hits, it's all over--back to reality. That's why Christmas Eve Eve is so wonderful...it's at the height of all the anticipation and joy the Christmas season brings. Anyway, here is today's holiday nails, hope you enjoy and take a moment to enjoy this fabulous day!

As usual I started off with one coat of butter LONDON's Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat and two coats of Cream Tea. I decided to use all glitter polishes (despite the absolute pain they are to get off) by butter for this design. For the green ornament I used Swinger, red--Chancer, blue--Scallywag, silver--one coat of Diamond Geezer for the base then one coat of the more transparent, high impact glitter Fairy Cake. To decorate each ornament I used my favorite golden glitter, West End Wonderland to paint a pattern on each bulb. Using a thin brush and Union Jack Black I painted the hook on each one. Finished everything off with one coat of O.P.I.'s topcoat (courtesy of Grandma) and my Christmas Eve Eve nails were fa la la la finished. 

Top: Cream Tea                             Swinger                              Chancer                       Scallywag
Bottom: Union Jack Black            West End Wonderland             Diamond Geezer           Fairy Cake   

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winter wonderland

IT SNOWED!!! There is nothing I love more than a white Christmas...both the Bing Crosby song and having real, glittering, fluffy white snow for Christmas! Honestly, there is nothing more dismal than dead trees, dark skies and a snowless midwest landscape... so I was so excited this morning when I woke up to a winter wonderland outside my window. 

Naturally, my nails need to mimic the scene outside, so I got to it. I decided to do something a little different and break from the traditional Christmas color combinations and used one of my new butter LONDON polishes--a stunning neon pink-- Cake-Hole. After using one coat of butter LONDON Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat and one coat of Cake-Hole, I was surprised to find that the polish had a somewhat matte, rubber-like texture very similar to the Illamasqua rubber polishes. 

After applying a second coat of Cake-Hole, I used a thin brush and Cream Tea to paint the snowflakes on each nail. Fortunately I had dozens of paper ones hanging from my ceiling for inspiration. After I finished the snowflakes I decided the look needed a little sparkle to capture the glitter of the new fallen snow outside. To get the effect I was looking for I used butter LONDON's Frilly Knickers overtop each nail before applying one coat of butter LONDON's P.D. Quick Topcoat. 

Hopefully you are all lucky enough to get a little winter wonderland in your neck of the woods too! 

Cake-Hole                         Cream Tea                 Frilly Knickers 

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peppermint twist

So after a week of the flu and finals, I am finally home and stress free. Sitting with my puppy by my lit up christmas tree watching crappy tv reruns and a little nail painting sounds like a pretty good way to spend the day...perhaps even my whole break. 

I started this look off with one coat of butter LONDON Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat, followed by two coats of Cream Tea. Next, using Saucy Jack, I painted the bright red pinwheels on each finger. I actually really like the simplicity and color contrast of the look after this first step, but had been waiting for an excuse to use one of my new butter polishes, Swinger, so I couldn't stop there. Swinger is a gorgeous bright green glitter--the perfect shade to match those green and red little peppermint candies. Anyway, I used that to paint another set of thinner pinwheels in the spaces between the red. To balance out the red and green I added a dash of red glitter over top Saucy Jack using Chancer. Finished off with one coat of butter LONDON P.D. Quick Topcoat. 

Do have a favorite Christmas nail look? 

Cream Tea                Saucy Jack               Swinger                 Chancer

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