Thursday, March 5, 2015

Hair Craft Studio by Ray

A while ago I got to meet the talented master hair stylist, Ray Guh. When he asked me to swing by his new studio to sit for him as a model how could I say no?

 

First, some background. I don't get my hair done very often. I probably hadn't gotten it touched in over a year. I've never had it professionally dyed and I was ready for a change! I have always been obsessed with a long A-line cut after I saw the terrible movie Doomsday featuring Rhona Mitra. In the movie she sports a very high in back, long in front, wavy A-line. 

I gave Ray a little idea of what I was looking for and he went to work!


First went the length. I haven't had medium length hair since I was a kid!


Bye bye luscious locks.


After a quick cut, Ray went to work hand painting individual sections of my hair for a soft balayage to add some dimension to my hair. I also know I'm not into getting my hair done all that frequently so a coloring that was natural on top and becomes lighter on the bottom is a great option for me as it grows out.


Ray's private studio has everything! It's set up intimately to take one customer at a time and has absolutely everything that a larger salon would have. Ray told me he wanted 100% off his attention to be on each customer when they're with him, as opposed to the hustle and bustle of a busy salon working on getting out out of the chair as quickly as possible.


The studio is lovingly decorated. There is a funky metallic deer skull hanging from one wall and some zebra striped lounge chairs if you bring a posse. 


What's a cut and dye without a style! I first met Ray when he was styling hair for an event and he does gorgeous work! I'm planning to wear this A-line cut with loose waves.


First look and I'm obviously pleased. :)


The final look is exactly what I wanted! I've got a soft fade to lighter ends, but nothing noticeably fake or artificial. The cut is long in the front and a bit shorter in back. The waves look so good! This length gives my hair a lot more volume. 


Are you in NYC? Stop by Hair Craft Studio by Ray at 167 W 21st St. He's even running a pretty amazing voucher of $150 to his studio when you pay $100. 

What do you think of my new do?

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Zoya for Rolando Santana at New York Fashion Week

Being at New York Fashion Week for the Winter/Fall 2015 season went by in a flash! Zoya was kind enough to have me backstage at a few shows to catch the nails for the runway. The Rolando Santana show was unique in their shades. Zoya custom mixed three satin shades just for the show!
Unfortunately, these shades aren't available for sale, so this is a special peek! If you absolutely love these shades and have to have them, let Zoya know. Your demand could bring them to a store near you. :)

Satins were all the rage at Fashion Week this season. Essie, Zoya, Julep, and many other polish brands are debuting these mixed finish shades that give a soft focus effect somewhere between matte and glossy.

Zoya - Constance
Constance is a forestry, moss green. I love that the satin finish adds to the earthy feel of this polish. 

Zoya - Dagmara
Dagmara is a soft, puce shade. This is very complementary to my skin tone! This may be my favorite from the trio. 

Zoya - Antoinette
Antoinette is a stunning, muted navy. I love the shade, but the formula was a bit thick. All of these satin shades had fantastic coverage and could have been one coaters, but I used two just for good measure. 

Since you are going to be seeing a lot of satins hitting the shelves for spring, you may be wondering how different they actually are compared to glossy and matte finishes. Here we have Constance with a glossy to coat on the pointer, a matte topper on the middle, and satin finish on the ring finger. 

Which finish is your favorite? Are you excited to try satins on your nails? 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Jeremy Scott NYFW Nails

Fashion Week has been an insane whirlwind this season! The looks for Winter/Fall 2015 are strutting the runway. 

Many of the repeating trends have been high necklines, embellishments and gems on garments, naturally worn hair, fur combined with leather, and dress pockets.

That's no fun when it comes to nails though so I searched out some of the most colorful, brightest looks on the runway. Of course, Jeremy Scott came to mind.  


Jeremy Scott's W/F season is full of color, prints, and exciting patterns. I used inspiration from four of his runway looks to create some corresponding nail art using all China Glaze shades and some acrylic hand painted accents. 


I used Sunshine Pop as the base for the first nail and hand painted all the other splatters of color. For the middle finger I used a base of Fuchsia Fanatic with messy polka dots of For Audrey. The ring finger has a base of Man Hunt with a hand painted three eyed bear. Finally the pinky finger is a saran wrap nail using Sunshine Pop, For Audrey, Life Saver, and Something Sweet. 

Happy Fashion Week, loves!

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

January Julep Maven 2015

It's been awhile since I've blogged about my Julep Maven boxes! I've still been getting them monthly, I just haven't had much time to sit down and write about them. This year I want to keep up with my subscription boxes. Any bets on how long I'll last? If you comment and are correct I may send you a prize box!

This month features The Chrysalis Collection. This box came with a free metamorphosis top coat, playing into the collection namesake. I switched over from my regular Bombshell box to Classic with a Twist. 


With the extra free gift, my box is packed full this month!


My products this month included a Julep Oxygen Nail Treatment in Ivory, a Luxe Lip in Sheer Pink, Julep Maryam, Julep Tyra, and some Junior Mints!


Maryam is a merlot shimmer while Julep Tyra is a very sheer, purple pearlescent topper. 


Julep's Luxe Lip is enriched with natural ingredients to soothe, hydrate, and plump. Sheer Pink has a shimmery tint that still lets my lips look natural. I love the cool metal tip of the applicator! It gives me a nice smooth application and is really refreshing. 


Julep's Oxygen Nail Treatment is a favorite of mine. I'm always wearing it when I'm giving my nails a day off to allow them to breath and strengthen. I loved that they released this in a new ivory shade and I had to have it. I'm happy to add it to my collection!


Tyra is shown here alone on my pointer and over various colors. The Metamorphic Top Coat collection can be used over different colors to change their finish. The color really shows up best over dark shades like black or navy. I can see using this over Zoya Casey (an almost black, vampy purple) to give the shade more dimension and pop!


Maryam is a very pretty merlot full of golden shimmer. If there is one thing Julep does well, it's shimmer polishes! This shade perfectly captures gold at the right angles when your nails hit the light.


Want to try Julep out yourself? This month they're running a special! Sign up by clicking here and using the code BEMINE. You'll get a free 4-piece intro box worth $58 including a holographic heart glitter top coat, plus three more beauty treats. You can keep the freebie box and cancel your subscription at any time.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Christmas Nails with BornPrettyStore

Christmas surprises are just the best!

I came home to a surprise package from BornPrettyStore. It was full of Christmas cheer with stamping plates and nail water decals.

Fun Fact: This is my first time using water decals! They're so easy and they give you a great design without the hassle.


I painted two coats of Motives Nail Lacquer - Red Stiletto and let them dry completely. When using water decals you simply cut them out, let them float on a water surface for one minute and slide the decal off the paper. You have about one minute to place it, orient it, and work out any air bubbles before it dries. Finish it off with a top coat and you're all done!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

LiveLovePolish Review

LiveLovePolish is an online store that carries some of your favorite brands such as China Glaze, Models Own, Floss Gloss, NCLA, and Seche.

Seche Vite may be one of your favorite polish top coats, but did you know they have a whole line of beautiful colors?


I received Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat and Seche Coral, a hot pink creme, from LiveLovePolish.

As a nail artist who specializes in hand painting, cremes are my favorite! They make beautiful bases for art. I am sick of the freezing weather we've been having so I decided to brighten up my day a bit.


These hand painted daisies complement Coral beautifully!

Seche's formula is wonderfully smooth and incredibly easy to apply. I did notice that Coral dried a bit darker than the vibrant shade seen in the bottle. Not a huge problem when the formula is so lovely!

Check out LiveLovePolish! Which brand do they carry that is on your favorites list?

Sunday, November 16, 2014

31 Day Nail Challenge: Day 1

Welcome to my second round of the 31 Day Nail Challenge! I will be completing this challenge over the next couple of months. 


Day 1: Red Nails



For these nails I had to break out my Louboutin Rouge! I was inspired by the bottle to create a red to black fade.  On each nail I used a freehand brush to create negative space.


Each nail has it's own unique shape for a mix and match.



Which nail is your favorite? 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

myNCLA Nail Wraps

NCLA has just launched a new app called myNCLA. On the app you can upload pictures from your library or take a picture in app. Anything you can take a photo of, myNCLA will print as nail wraps! 

I wanted to go for a bit of an artsy route so I used an image I took at The Color Run. 


This was taken right after we completed The Color Run. If you haven't ran The Color Run I highly suggest it!


After the nail wraps are printed they'll be shipped to you in this folder along with a file to trim off the excess nail wrap. 


NCLA suggests using a glossy top coat as a base before applying your wraps but, for extra strength I added a base coat. The wraps have a sticky side and are actually paper based. After applying the wraps with the size that fits best, seal everything in with a top coat and you're good to go. 


Each custom nail wrap sheet is printed with your name in the center!


The wraps on my nails look fantastic. It's a look that can't be replicated if I was doing these freehand. Yes, there are splatter nails but when you get up close you can actually see where each spot fades a bit into the shirt.

Have you downloaded the myNCLA app? What would you put on a set of custom nail wraps if you could choose?

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Aladdin Nail Art as a Tribute to Robin Williams

My uncle Bruce was a producer in Hollywood. One of his first big movies was Mrs. Doubtfire where he and Robin Williams grew to become friends.

When my Uncle passed away in 2012 the Williams family was kind enough to send a gorgeous flower arrangement and their condolences to the ceremony.

I hope that they are surrounded by the same support and comfort during this difficult time as they offered us.


Last night I created these Disney Aladdin nails as a tribute to the late, great, Robbin Williams. 

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Shark Week Nail Art!

Happy Shark Week!

I've whipped up a little something just for the occasion.


I used a blue gradient with Essie Aruba Blue, Essie Butler Please, and OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and then hand painted the Shark Week logo and the shark itself. Everything is topped off with a Matte Top Coat from Julep.


How are you celebrating Shark Week?