New Nail Polish from Sephora

September 4, 2009 07:16 AM | Comments (1) | Posted in budget beauty, sephora, nail polish, Sephora

What: The new Sephora by OPI Matte collection features bright grape (Domestic Goddess), dark smoky purple (Metro Chic), and black (Where’s a Tire Jack?) nail polish. It’s on sale now at Sephora - they cost less than $10, which is something we always appreciate around here.

If you’ve prettied up your toe/finger nails with Sephora by OPI already, let us know what you think!

Neon Nails: Beauty Trend 2008

June 19, 2008 06:00 PM | Comments (1) | Posted in budget beauty, beauty trend, nail polish, neon, Beauty Trend

What the experts say: Have we resorted to the days of Day-Glo and Body Glove? Not to worry, says celebrity manicurist Jenna Hipp, telling us, “Neon has evolved from the ’90s ideal of ‘the more, the better’ to instead using these colors as bold accents. Nails are perfect for this.” If you’re feeling too shy to rock fluorescent lacquers on your fingernails, Hipp suggests indulging in a neon pedi. “It’s much more understated than wearing neon on your fingernails and will look fab with your new gladiator sandals!” Hipp’s only caveat? Neons tend to draw more attention to imperfections, so make sure to have a proper manicure before indulging in this season’s hot pinks and bright greens.

What we say: We ogled Rihanna’s intense tangerine nails when she strutted the Grammy Awards red carpet in February, but we absolutely loved the glowing green lacquer she flaunted last week at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards. We’re wondering, though—can we pull off luminous nails with the same aplomb as Rihanna? Most definitely! We are fashionistas, after all. While diehard beautyphiles are putting their names on the waiting list for the much-anticipated—yet way pricey—Chanel Robertson Boulevard fluorescent hues (available in July), we’ll be snatching up the same shades at lesser price points. Salon faves OPI and Essie have released brilliant neon collections that fit our budgets better: At $7.50 a bottle, OPI Mod About Brights are a more affordable option, and for $15, Essie Neon Shorts Collection pulls together four nifty neons that will look great on our digits. But nothing excites us more than a truly stellar deal: At $2.50, Claire’s Neon Nail Polish gets us glowing and keeps our cash flow, well, flowing.

Yellow Nail Polish: Beauty Trend

February 29, 2008 07:00 PM | Comments (5) | Posted in beauty trend, nail polish, OPI, color trend, Essie, Leatrice Eiseman, Beauty Trend, opi, leatrice eiseman, essie

What: From a distance, it looks like someone wore their red nail polish too long and it turned their nails—but if you take a closer look, you’ll see that more and more people are actually painting their nails yellow on purpose. 

The Word: In the January 2008 issue of Oprah magazine, Leatrice Eiseman, author of More Alive with Color and Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, was quoted (and yes, we quoted her) as saying that gray nail polish was the “it” shade. When asked what would be the next trendy shade to follow, she said: “Yellow.”

Our Word: Apparently Eiseman (not to mention Rihanna) knows her colors, ‘cause jaundiced fingernails are for real. OPI has Need Sunglasses?, Essie has Hot Pop and China Glaze is just launching Solar Power; all bright yellow polishes guaranteed to stop traffic. It might sound crazy, but yellow nails actually look pretty cool on darker skinned gals, especially when paired with dark gray clothing. For you fair skinned maidens, though, you might want to sit this trend out.

Photo: Bellasugar.com

Best Nail Polish Under $10: Reader Advice

January 29, 2008 11:00 PM | Comments (4) | Posted in nail polish, manicure, reader advice, OPI, opi

If you spend a buck on nail polish, you’re going to get what you pay for. But even spending more doesn’t always guarantee a decent finish that’ll hold up—and there’s nothing that’ll kill your style vibe quicker than busted up polish. We’ve always had good luck with OPI, which can be had for less than $10 (like here on drugstore.com), and generally lives up to its salon reputation. But what are your picks for best polish under $10 (especially ones you can get at the corner drug store)?