Essie Chinchilly with LuxeEffects Set in Stones

We talked to Elle about some tips for removing stubborn glitter nail polish (she says warmth helps — it will come off more easily if you try to remove it with nail polish remover while taking a warm shower!); how she and J. Lo are all about the glitter (“I’m a bling bling girl!”), and more. Elle herself was donning Essie’s Pearl Perfection Luxe Effects which looked so flawless, you would think they were gel nails. I wanted to combine the silver Set in Stones polish with another nail polish but couldn’t decide if I wanted the navy Bobbing for Baubles or the lighter granite gray of Chinchilly. Elle mentioned that considering my skin complexion and being a brunette, a beige color family would suit me best (South Asian peeps — she loves the likes of Topless and Barefoot for our skin color!)

Essie LuxeEffects Set in Stone

I always end up going back to my initial preference and stuck to a layer of Chinchilly topped with Set in Stones. I loved the sparkle! And considering it was a Glamour event, I felt like nothing says “glam” more than this glitter:

.

The rest of the collection has a similar glistening specks if you’re looking for a little holiday flair. I can’t wait to try the rest of them!

Essie LuxeEffects line: Shine of the Times, A Cut Above, Pure Pearlfection, Set in Stones, and As Gold as it Gets

Left to right: Shine of the Times, A Cut Above, Pure Pearlfection, Set in Stones, and As Gold as it Gets

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION
- Pure Pearlfection: decadent baroque iridescence.
- A Cut Above: shattered pink diamond glitz.
- Shine of the Times: scintillating opalescent aura.
- Set in Stones: disco mirror-ball chaos.
- As Gold As It Gets: gilded lamé sparkles.

.

I feel like my fingers looks like little diamonds. And for the record, it’s really been keeping me in a rather delightful mood . Anyone else planning to bling it up for the holidays?

The LuxeEffects polishes are $8 and available at Ulta stores, Nordstrom and online.

Salon Info:
Tenoverten
112 Reade St
2nd Fl
(between Church St & W Broadway)
New York, NY 10013
212-406-1010
TriBeCa

x
Shy

“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

Thanks to Glamour, Elle Gerstein, TenOverTen, and Essie for a very girly (and much needed) mani and breakfast! No better way to start the day.

Colours from the Capitol

Yes, I am one of those people who devoured The Hunger Games trilogy so when I saw that Lionsgate and China Glaze have officially launched their nail polish line inspired by the colors of the fictitious Capitol, I had to share. It didn’t happen without a little bit of drama though! You’ll also notice that the colors at the core are influenced by the twelve districts of Panem (not just the Capitol):

Luxe and Lush – District 1 (Luxury)
Stone Cold – District 2 (Masonry)
Riveting – District 3 (Technology)
Hook and Line – District 4 (Fishing)
Electrify – District 5 (Power)
Fast Track – District 6 (Transportation)
Mahogany Magic – District 7 (Lumber)
Dress Me Up – District 8 (Textiles)
Harvest Moon – District 9 (Grain)
Foie Gras – District 10 (Livestock)
Agro – District 11 (Agriculture)
Smoke and Ashes – District 12 (Mining)

Cliff notes: If you have no idea what I’m talking about, BASICALLY The Hunger Games is about a post-apocolyptic world where whatever’s left of it is called Panem. Panem is broken down into 12 districts and the Capitol is the governing city. They have an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each of districts for a massive televised battle in which only one person can survive. And the main character Katniss pretty much kicks ass. And yeah, at times they make her wear nailpolish before doing so.

The line launches March 1, 2012 (right before the movie release!). Nerd alert: Who’s going to be rocking one of these colors to the premiere?

x
Shy

“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Plaid About You

It took me ten minutes to apply it before heading out to meet my friends for brunch (this is when no-dry time comes in handy!). My friends loved the design, which also happened to match the red lipstick I was rocking that morning — Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Vesuvio! Thought it was a good way to ring in December and the holiday season…and it unexpectedly re-invigorated the 15-year-old-Nirvana-listening-flannel-obsessed-Shyema. Someone cue Smells like Teen Spirit!

Flannel nails a la Sally Hansen

Flannel nails at the office

What do you think? The new prints also include Peppermint Twist (red and white candy stripe), Snow Bunny (white with red snowflakes), Prep’s Cool (black and silver argyle), and Winter Funderland (black, silver and blue glitter) and costs $10 for a kit of 16 polish strips, a cuticle stick, and mini file-buffer.

Sally Hansen Holiday Salon Effects, $10 each

x
Shy

“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

Essie Winter/Holiday Collection 2011

Last week, Glamour magazine invited me to a very special event: breakfast and manicures with Essie nail polish creator, Essie Weingarten! It goes without saying, Essie is a leader in the nail polish industry — it’s practically impossible to walk into any salon without her polishes lining the shelves. And Hello, Allure was Kate Middleton’s polish of choice for the Royal Wedding! I myself have found some of my favorites in her collection — Tart Deco and Fiji for summer, Wicked for winter, and the French Affair collection?! J’adore…

Tenoverten Salon in Tribeca

So I went downtown to TenOverTen salon (another place I’ve been meaning to check out FOREVER!), and met the lovely girls at Glamour who introduced me first to Essie’s new Winter/Holiday 2011 line: Bling it On!

Essie Bling it On collection

The colors are so rich and beautiful. The line up includes:
Size Matters – blazing hot ruby red
Brooch the Subject – creamy cashmere cameo
Bobbing for Baubles – deepest darkest sapphire
School of Hard Rocks – midnight malachite
Cocktail Bling – precious pale gray jewel
Bangle Jangle – lavender amethyst

I was smitten, and it was hard to decide which one to go with, but I finally settled on School of Hard Rocks!

My manicure: Essie School of Hard Rocks

While we were getting our manicures done, Essie was game for any and all of our questions. Of course we had to ask, Does she have a favorite color? She smiled and quipped, “Do you have a favorite finger?? I love them all!”

She finally let up and gave us this: “There’s one color that has a special place in my heart…and that’s Ballet Slippers.” It’s easy to see why: in 1989, Queen Elizabeth’s hairdresser sent Essie a letter requesting the color — “the only color her Majesty could wear.”

Talking with Essie Weingarten over manis and coffee

For me personally, I found Essie such a breath of fresh air. She’s gracious, friendly, incredibly passionate about her work, and amazingly sweet. Even more — she’s a tremendous foodie!! She absolutely adores eating and cooking. “My theory is if someone really enjoys their food, they enjoy their life.” Here, here!

She was listing her favorite restaurants for me!!

When I asked her about her favorite restaurants, she gamely replied, “Okay, let’s start by cuisine…” and starts rattling off a dizzying list of all her favorite places in the UES (where she resides). It was wayyy too much to remember so I asked it’d be a bother to contact her again about it… “Give me your email and I’ll send it to you, I promise!” And she did! I copied that list of all her favorite places at the end here .

I also played with the polishes and changed my color to the nude Brooch the Subject yesterday…what do you guys think?

Brooch the Subject

Brooch the Subject

The thing about this collection specifically that I love is it fits so many moods and seasons. Can’t wait to try them all. Thanks so much once again to Glamour, Tenoverten, and Essie for such a wonderful, intimate event!

Thanks, Essie!

ESSIE WEINGARTEN’S FAVORITE NYC RESTAURANTS

1. ABC Kitchen – 35 E. 18th Street

2. Amaranth – 21 E. 62nd St

3. Fred’s at Barney’s (lunch only) – 660 Madison Ave, 9th Floor

4. Milo’s – 125 West 55 Street

5. Pastis – 9 9th Avenue

6. Peter Luger’s Steakhouse – 178 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

7. Roc - 190A Duane Street

8. Sant Ambroeus – 1000 Madison Avenue

9. Via Quadronno – 25 East 73 Street

BARS

10. The Dutch – 131 Sullivan Street

11. Surrey Hotel Bar Pleiades – 20 East 76th Street

12. The Jimmy - 15 Thompson Street

ESSIE’S FAVORITE SALONS & SPAS

13. Bliss Spa – 568 Broadway, 877-862-5477

14. John Barret Salon at Bergdorf Goodman – 754 Fifth Avenue, 212-872-2700

15. Samuel Shirqui Salon – 37 East 65th Street *Ask for Josephine, Essie’s personal manicurist!

16. Senses – 20th Street and Fifth Avenue *Ask for Essie’s hairdresser, Myrna!

17. Warren-Tricomi at the Plaza – 1 West 58th Street. 212-262-8899 [Editor's note: I love Pich and Nyoku there!]

x
Shy
“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

Duri's Wine Tasting Party Collection

The people at Duri must know their audience; the arrival of autumn means leaving the icy cocktails of summer and once again embracing the comforting flavors of red wine and darker, richer imbibements. I treated myself to a mani/pedi with two of these colors: Cabernet Sauvignon for my toes and Bloody Mary for my fingernails. Gorgeous and rich hues, perfect for the season. What are your favorites?

“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

I have been pretty grateful for not even being able to remember the last time I was sick. {Side note: Did anyone watch Unbreakable? I always reference that part when Bruce Willis’ character starts to see that he’s different and he traces it back from not remembering when he was sick, and actually realizes he was NEVER sick before, and thus a superhero. Not that I’ve never had a fever before, but this is my favorite hint that maybe I’m becoming a superhero }. So yes, I couldn’t go back to sleep and was still in denial so I decided I was going to make myself feel better – by painting my nails. Obvi.

Teal nails

I found this gorgeous teal nailpolish that was in my Spa Week gift bag from the night before, LCN’s Azure Blue and painted a few coats that dried rather quickly. I felt like it had almost a gel-like finish to it too.

LCN Azure Blue

After that, I wore my best striped skirt and black shirt, threw on a gold chain, heels, and a blazer and walked to work. If I didn’t feel good, I decided I might as well fake it. At the office, I was getting compliments on my outfit, my perfume (Lavanila Pure Vanilla Perfume, which one of my co-workers said, and I quote “It smells so good…I kinda want to eat you.”), and yes the nails. I like to think it carried me through the day.

Right now, I’m in love with this aqua-teal shade – it’s a pop of color that’s not obnoxious, and still sophisticated enough to wear to the office.

LCN Azure Blue

LCN is a professional nail color brand, so I figured I dig some other colors up in the same family that are a little more accessible!

Teals and aquas

I did actually last the whole day OK, until it got to about 6 PM and then I couldn’t focus anymore and went home. I went straight to bed with the rest of my night consisting of drinking soup and hot tea. I guess I’m not a superhero after all.

x
Shy

“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter