Blue Period — Chanel's Blue Satin

February 01, 2012 by Francesca Nunez in Lacquer Lust, Nailed It!, Polish Prophecy, The Nail Files

Remember this lovely surprise I received on my doorstep a few weeks ago? Well, here is the swatch I promised you!

Chanel's Blue Satin, is a deep deep blue. In fact, it's almost black...... and in low light it looks black.

But it is gorgeous and perfect for the winter, not to mention, all the rage right now.....

Here it is in medium light on my friend, who loved this blue for her 30th b-day party!

And, really? Do I need to advertise the amazingness of any Chanel polish?

No.

- ~~Varnish~~ Varnish

Blue Period — Essie's Lapiz of Luxury

January 30, 2012 by Francesca Nunez in Lacquer Lust, Nailed It!, The Nail Files

We are entering into February and with it brings BLUE, to which we will refer to as the "Blue Period," previously made famous by Picasso, who painted with such blue-green colors between the years of 1901-1904.

And, not that I am feeling anything like Picasso, or profess to have any talent resembling his. And not that I am somber or sad either.

But just because I love blue and am feeling a bit monochromatic at the moment.

I mean, just check out all these blues I have collected over the past few months....

(Thank you, Gloss, for adding two more blue lacquers to my collection and solidifying my Blue Period.)

So, without further ado, I begin my blue period with Essie's Lapiz of Luxury (who's title I also have a special affinity for, as Lapis Lazuli is the exotic stone of ancient Egypt, but I digress).

Essie's Lapiz of Luxury is my new favorite blue! Bright and, on a clear day, the color of the sky....

(It has been 80 degrees all weekend in LA!....not a cloud in the sky, as you can see directly behind my hand)

Ok, so Lapiz of Luxury is not exactly the color of Lapis Lazuli, which is a much deeper blue that is famous for detailing Tutankhamun's Sarcophagus. I would say Essie's Lapiz of Luxury is more of a cobalt blue. And I just love it!

- ~~Varnish~~ Varnish

Breaking News — The ZOYA Has Landed

January 19, 2012 by Francesca Nunez in Lacquer Lust, Stashes

THIS JUST IN!

I received a delightful package just minutes ago! The ZOYA colors I ordered from that awesome giveaway have just arrived!

Pippa is a softer yellow than what I expected. She seems to be baby chick yellow as opposed to lemon yellow; probably for the best, much more wearable. Isla remains a mystery. I'll have to wear her before I truly know. Malia is deeper than I expected, much less pastel, but I'll have to see it on. And finally, Dree. In real life, Dree is truly olive, as in "the color of the olives I ask for in my martinis." I think Dree will be best used with some Nail Artz. Hmm...

Oh! ZOYA sent a palette (visible in photo above) showing all 12 colors from their latest collection, plus their three new Fleck Effects. And a pamphlet with little dots of every single color they have. Oh, I love a good piece of collateral. Very nice giveaway, very nice package. And can we talk about speed? I only placed my order on January 6th! I am really impressed. One and a half weeks later, and here we are.

I am SO excited! The only bummer (I use "bummer" v. loosely) is that I have planned my nail color (which you know I update weekly) through the end of March... So we'll have to wait and see how I end up using these unless I happen to coerce one of my friends into hand modeling again. :)

How about y'all that took advantage of ZOYA's promotion? Have yours arrived yet?

Wheeeee, GLOSS

What a Teese!

January 15, 2012 by Francesca Nunez in All Thumbs, Lacquer Lust

There's a Dita Von Teese in every girl who loves make-up, dresses, and other prissy things.

This next manicure is one that Ms. Teese is often sporting beautifully.

The Half Moon manicure with a 1950's twist.

Furthermore, this tutorial, is for you inner Dita Von Teese.

Easy to follow. Easy to reproduce. So damn sexy.

So, grab your favorite lingerie, barrel curlers, red lipstick, and the hottest red nail polish you have, and get to work, girl!

First, cover nails in base coat. Then one thick coat of NYC's Love Letters and let dry completely:

Then place reinforcement labels at the tops of each nail and paint tips with Essie's Really Red:

Once completely dry, carefully and slowly peel off reinforcement labels.

Make sure to cover in top coat and voila!

For the full Dita Von Teese effect, check out this makeup tutorial and some of her beauty secrets here.

XOXO, Varnish

Chanel — Vamp

January 09, 2012 by Francesca Nunez in Lacquer Lust, Nailed It!, The Nail Files

Like a fine wine. Not necessarily because it gets better with age (although one could argue this for any Chanel product), but mainly just because Chanel's Vamp is the color of wine and oh so sweet!

First let me tell you a story about how this beautiful Chanel color graced my presence:

This story begins with yet another story, which is called Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, about a boy who has a horrible day.

Obviously.

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

This is exactly the kind of day I was having.

When I arrived home from this horrible day, I found a package sitting on my bedroom floor:

I hadn't ordered anything, so I was surprised and also curious to what was inside. I quickly opened it.