The Product Pasha » Nail Polish

SpaRitual Soulful Collection – Can you nail polish do that?

PPasha — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:00:30 +0000

Overlooked by me for a few weeks now, I finally got around to trying the summer-inspired collection by SpaRitual called Soulful. This discreet, small, simple yet divine collection reflects nature’s warm pink sunsets, coral reefs and pale blue skies. I know what you’re thinking: perfect!

SpaRitual founder Shel Pink was on to something here. “Summer is the perfect time to slow down and simplify life,” she says. I say “bring it on.” I need this simplicity in my life year-round! The three shades are inviting and uplifting, and can be customized to look sheer or vibrant. Check it out:

Pure of Heart: a sheer neon pink that is delicate without being childish. I used 3 coats to get a brighter shade.

Full of Life: a perfect vintage blue. Not too powdery, not too aqua, not too blue.

Love & Happiness: my favorite in the collection, this might be the coral rust orange I’ve been looking for my entire life.

SpaRitual Soulful Collection is available for $10 at fine salon and spas nationwide.

SpaRitual Kaleidoscope Collection – a bounty of colors at your fingertips

PPasha — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:54:18 +0000

When I read the press release for SpaRitual’s collection of summer-inspired nail polishes adequately named Kaleidoscope, I thought: “Come on! Really??!!” I mean, the claim that there’s a “therapeutic quality” to the colors made me cringe a little but once I started playing with the colors, all of that reservation went out of my head. All I could think about was: is it time for a mani?

These colors are simply gorgeous. From the brightest shade of white to the deepest shade of blue, this collection has something for everyone – or lots of somethings for someone like me! The formula, as always, is toxic-free and last a good 5 to 6 days without chipping (that’s with base and top coat).

Check out some of my favorite colors:

Illume

White Light (as with most whites, this one required an extra coat)

Lustress

Color Trip (super ultra bright neon pink – formula is more liquidy than normal)

SpaRitual nail polishes are available for $10 at fine stores and spas nationwide.

Is there such a thing as too retro? Orly Plastix Collection (pictures & swatches)

PPasha — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:48:18 +0000

Now, you all know that I have nothing but mad love for Orly, right? These affordable nail polishes do trends like nobody’s business and the toxic-free formula last longer than any other polish I know. So you know that it pains me to say that I’m not really feeling their new Plastix Collection.

“Plastix evokes the vintage classic trend with four new lacquers and a unique new formula that coats the nails with a smooth glossy matte “plastic” finish. The exclusive finish and texture is a first in the nail category, delivering a monochromatic, shiny and rubbery look that takes experimentation to an entirely new level…”

Well, I don’t like the colors nor the finish, though I dig the monochromatic bit. The orange is too orange and the red not cherry enough. The other colors are ok – the blue and purple are wearable and I might revisit them later in the fall. The formula was thicker than normal, making it harder than usual to apply and get a streak-free look.

Check them out:

Old School Orange: a classic orange

Purple Pleather: a shiny purple

Viridian Vinyl: a glossy blue-green

Retro Red: a traditional red

Orly Plastix is available for $7.50 at www.orlybeauty.com, Ulta, and other fine places throughout the US.

MAJOR! Jin Soon and Mac Nail Trends F/W ’10 (photos & swatches)

PPasha — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:15:19 +0000

Again, as New York Fashion Week quickly approaches, nail artist extraordinaire Jin Soon joins Mac Cosmetics for their ultra fabulous Nail Trend Collection. For 2010, Jin Soon found inspiration in colours taken from the sculptures, tiles, architecture, fabrics, and decorative papers of Imperial China. The result? Breathtakingly beautiful combinations of orange, blue, taupe, green, purple and, of course, lacquer red. These hues are opaque and rich with pearl essences for a subtle dimension.

Six must-have shades will be sold with our top coat Overlacquer to finish off the manicured look:

Concubine- Blackened red with red shimmer (frost)
Earthly Harmony- Muted Taupe with copper shimmer (frost)
Ming Blue- Cobalt blue with teal and red shimmer (frost)
Rain of Flowers- Blackened violet with violet shimmer (frost)
Imperial Flower- Bright reddish orange with gold and red shimmer
Jade Dragon- Emerald green with teal shimmer (frost)

Here are my favorite – and you know I’d opt for the blues and greens!

Rain of Flowers

Ming Blue

Jade Dragon

Mac Nail Trends F/W ’10 hits counter in September.

Walk Like an Egyptian: Jessica’s Spring 2010 Polish Collection

PPasha — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:26:00 +0000

As many of you know, I’m a newbie when it comes to Jessica Cosmetics. I have only recently been introduced to the brand and this is my very first experience with their spring collection. All I can say is that it won’t be the last!

Walk Like an Egyptian is everything you want from a spring nail polish collection. It has bold colors and soft hues, bright pinks and deep reds – all the colors you need to match the gradual warming up to summer.

The Walk Like An Egyptian collection includes:

Cleopatra’s Rule (#494) – Neon pink
Build Me A Pyramid (#489) – Light lavender
King Tut’s Gem (#490) – Sky blue
Desert Rose (#492) – Shimmery rose
Pharaoh (#493) – Hot pink
Great Sphinx (#491) – Crimson red

Here’s are my favorites:

Desert Rose

Great Sphinx

Jessica’s Walk Like an Egyptian is available for $7 a bottle at select drugstores and at www.jessicacosmetics.com.

MAC’s Spring Forecast 2 Malibu Peach Nail Lacquer is the bee’s knees!

PPasha — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:11:21 +0000

You know that lately I’ve been drooling over MAC’s upcoming Spring Forecast collection and its vast range of drop-dead colors – and the nail lacquer collection is right up there on my list. From brights to nudes (see our review/swatches of Abalone Shell from Spring Forecast 4 here) there’s something here for everyone.

But I also know that everyone will die – DIE! – over Malibu Peach, a limited edition coral polish due to hit counters everywhere February 11^th.

Malibu Peach – tangerines, anyone?

Ultra creamy and glossy, Malibu Peach is coral and peachy without being too bright or too “Palm Beachy.” In other words, you can wear this safely without thinking that you might have to join the cast of the new version of “Jersey Shore.”

Will anyone be able to resist this color?

So, what trends and colors will you be sporting on your nails this spring? Share it with us!

Spring is coming! Bloom with Orly Spring 2010 Collection

PPasha — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:18:21 +0000

Call me silly but I always get super excited when my favorite nail polish brands start coming out with their Spring collection of polishes. There’s something almost magical about spring colors- unlike fall or summer, you are never really sure of where they’ll go, what hues they will incorporate, what shades they’ll embrace…

And Orly’s Bloom is no exception! I was blown away by the bright colors here: blue purples, burnt oranges, and wine reds are just the perfect hues for the upcoming season – and are perfectly balanced by Orly’s Sweet Collection (see photos and reviews here).

One of my favorite winter coats (I get tons of compliments every time I wear it!) is a deep vibrant burnt orange – little brighter than a rust but deeper than an orange. And that’s exactly the color of Orly Ginger Lily!

This has got to be one of my favorite spring colors EVER! Wild Wisteria is everything you want in a nail polish and then some. The color is unlike any color, any purple, and blue out there. It’s perfectly balanced between the 2 hues and just gorgeous!

And as always, Orly polishes are free of DBP and all traces of toluene, formaldehyde, and formaldehyde resin. The Bloom collection will be available in February for $7.50 a bottle. Check orlybeauty.com for more details.

So, what are your favorite nail colors for the spring? Are you keeping any from past seasons? Which ones?

MAC’s Abalone Shell might be the perfect nude nail polish!

PPasha — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:00:24 +0000

You know me: I love my nail polishes. Brights, darks, reds, roses, blues – I even love the greens! But – and this you may not know – I also love a good ‘natural’ color nail polish. For year that’s all I wore: a little Mademoiselle or Pink Slipper and I was happy. Though I have ‘graduated’ (lol) I have not left my affection for natural and nude colors behind. And MAC’s Abalone Shell (part of their Spring Color Forecast Collection #4 – due to hit counters everywhere February 11^th) might just be the perfect nude polish out there.

Abalone Shell in the bottle. Will it be remain this color on nails?

Why? Well, the formula is creamy and goes on perfectly – no streaking, no lines, no brush marks. And the color is highly pigmented to create a true-to-shade nude color without any transparency whatsoever. This is also a limited-edition, so get your before they sell out!

What do you think? Pretty nude, ey?

What’s your favorite nude polish? What makes a great nude polish? Leave us your thoughts!

Orly’s all about pastels this spring. Introducing the Sweet Spring Collection

PPasha — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:44:17 +0000

Think spring thoughts. What are the first colors that come to mind? I bet they were pastels. And that’s exactly where Orly is going this spring. Their Spring II 2010 collection – appropriately named Sweet – is all about feminine pastels: milky pinks, blues, yellows, purples, and greens.

If you don’t do pink, Pixy Stix might be a great way of introducing this shade into your life. The softest pink is delicate and feminine – without the girly hues normally associated with such a light pink.

One of my favorite colors in the collection, Gumdrop fits right in with spring and its colors. A creamy pastel turquoise goes on smoothly and flawlessly. The results? The combination of edgy and sweet!

Now, Lemonade might have to grow on me. When I first put it on, my first thought was “not even dead!” Something about the chalky pale yellow didn’t sit well with me – but again, neither did mattes when they first come out. So who knows? This might end up being my color of the season!

We all know that the world has been taken aback by purples lately – dark, vibrant, shimmery purples. Lollipop keeps purple in your life, but a softer version.

Each polish in the Sweet collection comes with a free matching flavored mini lip-gloss key chain. I have been wearing Pixy Stix and actually like it! And as always, Orly polishes are free of DBP and all traces of toluene, formaldehyde, and formaldehyde resin. The Sweet collection will be available in April for $7.50 a bottle. Check orlybeauty.com for more details.

So, what are your favorite nail colors for the spring? Are you keeping any from past seasons? Which ones?

From MAC’s Riveting Collection, I present you Wham Bam Glam Nail Lacquer

PPasha — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:58:21 +0000

We all wait, expectantly, to see what the next MAC collection will bring – what colors, what palettes, what great name? Well, MAC’s Riveting Collection (due out February 18th) leaves nothing to be desired, specially their Wham Bam Glam nail lacquer ($12).

A limited-edition dark taupe (think milky chocolate) matte, this polish recalls the uber edgy era of Jerry Hall and Pat Cleveland. I absolute love how matte this color is – no shine whatsoever!

From the Riveting Collection, Wham Bam Glam!

Have you converted to mattes yet? What are you waiting for?

The Product Pasha » Nail Polish

SpaRitual Soulful Collection – Can you nail polish do that?

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SpaRitual Kaleidoscope Collection – a bounty of colors at your fingertips

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Is there such a thing as too retro? Orly Plastix Collection (pictures & swatches)

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MAJOR! Jin Soon and Mac Nail Trends F/W ’10 (photos & swatches)

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Walk Like an Egyptian: Jessica’s Spring 2010 Polish Collection

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MAC’s Spring Forecast 2 Malibu Peach Nail Lacquer is the bee’s knees!

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Spring is coming! Bloom with Orly Spring 2010 Collection

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MAC’s Abalone Shell might be the perfect nude nail polish!

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Orly’s all about pastels this spring. Introducing the Sweet Spring Collection

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From MAC’s Riveting Collection, I present you Wham Bam Glam Nail Lacquer

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