By Nicci Jordan Hubert

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?

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I’m obsessing over Essie’s newest Spring collection inspired by none other than fashion’s epicenter: France. Aptly named “ French Affair,” it pretty much reminds me of the first time I went to Paris myself — love at first sight. The 6-piece collection feature the prettiest statement-making pastels that’s seriously making me forget about the blizzard outside right now. With the exception of the Coat Azure, which is a little more bold (but still the most different hue of blue I’ve ever tried on) most of them are delicate, feminine. They sent me the collection to preview and you will probably see me rocking them for the next few months straight. The problem is it’s hard to choose which one’s my favorite — which one are you loving here?

The collection’s namesake, French Affair (above) a “tres innocent pink” reminds me of a 60s glamour girl. I picture Topless and Barefoot (below), a coquettish peach, to be worn at a spring cocktail party.


Nice is Nice (above), a supremely lovely lilac is refreshingly spring-ready. Sand Tropez (below) is so sophisticated looking — wear it to work, or for a night out with your LBD.


You definitely won’t go unnoticed if you decide to go with the shimmery Parisian blue, Coat Azure (above). I don’t think it totally suited my skin tone, but it could be good to shake things up a bit now and then. On the other end of the spectrum, there is Kisses and Bisses, a barely-there iridescent pink.

OK voting time! Which one is your favorite? I’m torn between A French Affair, Nice is Nice, and Topless and Barefoot.

French Affair will be available in February 2011, $8 each at essie.com.

x
Shy

Good Idea: Showing up for your court date.

Bad Idea: Having “F*** You” painted on your nails when you show up for your court date (a la Lindsay Lohan).

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My cute lil cousin Sabeen just got engaged recently, and for the ceremony she came across Valley, a nail art salon in Nolita that also randomly sells vintage clothes on one end of the store. The nail artist there helped her customize a unique nail design just for her.

First she put two coats of gold glitter polish:

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I went to Bliss 49 yesterday for a manicure, and spotted the receptionist sporting these nails:

She was nice enough to let me take a pic — they do Minx at Bliss too! This design looked REALLY cool. What do you think?

x
Shy

This made me laugh.

Fellow beauty writer, Andrea Arterbery, explained to me that the reason she painted all her nails black except for the thumbs (which she chose a metallic silver for) was because that’s her ‘blackberry bling.’ Had to take a pic with my phone:

While she’s clicking away on her blackberry, her silver thumbs stand out.

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