Let's Stay In Touch!

random art project spotted somewhere in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Happy Leap Day! I just wanted to quickly share a few ways you can follow Gotham Polish :) Many of the blogs I read have done similar posts recently and I've found new ways to connect with them. Gotham Polish is a Blogger blog so Google Friend Connect will stick around, but there are other ways to receive updates:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Facebook
Hello Cotton
Pinterest
RSS
Twitter

You can also receive email updates - check out the "follow by email" widget to the right.

As always, thank you for stopping by Gotham Polish!

Fall in Love with the Mattése Elite "Mon Amour" Collection

Inspired by the romance of Paris, the Mon Amour collection from Mattése Elite (exclusive to Ricky's NYC) will win your heart. It will surely be love at first sight when you lay eyes on the three "high-impact glistening glitter polishes" I received to share with you!

Mon Amour is a rose glitter nail polish. I adore how teeny tiny the glitter is - it's pixie dust sized! This would be a great glitter to use in a glitter gradient manicure. Mon Amour covers evenly but is thin. I didn't use any polish underneath ("underwear") but would recommend putting down a cream polish close in color to avoid using three coats as I did below.

Amour De Ma Vie is a silver, red, and teal glitter suspended in a black jelly polish. The touch of teal is quite unique - the colors remind me of 3D glasses :) Like Mon Amour, Amour De Ma Vie applies very evenly. Below, I used one coat of Amour De Ma Vie over a base coat of Wet & Wild Black Creme.

 

Je T'Aime is a magical iridescent gold glitter that can best be described as buried treasure in a bottle. At first glance, Je T'Aime appears to be a bottle of gold hexagonal shaped glitter in different sizes but held to the light, the true colors appear - blues, greens, and fiery oranges! The consistency was a bit thick but I only needed one coat. Mattése Elite created a winner (maybe a new lemming for you?) with Je T'Aime.

Mattése Elite Je T'Aime over Mattése Elite Playa de Chrome (a neutral underwear polish)

Here's a picture of the bottle... and in case you want to buy this right now, here is the link to buy it online.

Mattése Elite nail polishes are sold exclusively at Ricky's NYC stores and online for $5.99. For a location near you, here is the store locator. Over on the Gotham Polish Map, Ricky's locations are marked with a green pin.

I swatched Je T'Aime over gold and over black, click through if you're interested!

Where to Find Zoya Nail Polish in New York City

We all know Zoya's website is a great the greatest way to purchase Zoya nail polish. In my experience, I've found Zoya.com provides fabulous customer service, fast shipping, and the out-of-this-world promotions!

But as exciting as it is to receive a box of nail polish in the mail, it's also fun to browse colors in person. To pick a polish up. Hold it to the light. See a shimmer you never knew about. Fortunately, there are a few places in New York City where you can buy Zoya nail polish :)

Gideon's Drugs
1385 Broadway (corner of 38th St)

Haven Spa - salon
150 Mercer Street (between Prince and Houston St)

Irmat Pharmacy
2 Park Ave (between 32nd and 33rd)

Polished Beauty Bar - salon
250 West 78th Street (off Broadway)

Sharp Rite Beauty Supply (Brooklyn)
1682 E 13th St, #1, Brooklyn, NY 11229

Ulta, Rego Park Center (Queens)
61-35 Junction Blvd, Rego Park, NY

*Last updated 08/22/12

Where to Shop Map
What is this all about? Introducing the Where to Shop by Brand Guide

CND Asphalt is a Diva On and Off the Runway

Lincoln Center, NYFW February 2012

It's hard to believe that Fashion Week has blown through NYC and is almost ready to move on from London. Every season, I feel like I blink and it's over! What did you think of the nail polishes choices this season? Any shades win their way into your heart and onto your wish list?

As they have in years past, this season CND polishes rocked the runways in several shows including Milly, The Blonds, and Theory. CND's website is fantastic and you can see pictures of all their creations here, as well as polishes used in previous seasons.

Asphalt is a stunning deep grey polish that was used in several Fall/Winter Fashion Week 2011 shows. Like Poppyfield, Asphalt has an amazing creamy formula that was almost perfect in one coat. Dark grey is nail polish color I'd recommend everyone keep in their arsenal and Asphalt would be a great choice.

Asphalt walked the runways of the following shows:

Malandrino – Angi Wingle's Urban Haze manicure was custom blended using base shades of Silver Chrome and Brilliant White with drops of Asphalt, Putty, Desert Suede, Eclectic Purple and Bicycle Yellow. The finished look was satinized with Super Matte for an asphalt gray with purple haze overlay.

Ruffian – Kristina Estabrooks created luxe Tuxedo manicures fit for a black tie runway with Asphalt as a base, topped with Ice Blue Shimmer, Violet Shimmer, detailed with Blackjack, and finished with Super Shiney.

Isaac Mizrahi – Confectionery-colored clothing was accented with decadent, toffee manicures custom blended by Wanda Ruiz using Chocolate Milkmixed with 5 drops of Asphalt to match lips and eyes.

CND Colour retails for $9.00 per bottle, For CND Colour & Effects e-tailers or regional salon and spa availability, please visit cnd.com. In New York City, CND polishes can be purchased at the Polished Beauty Bar on 250 West 78th Street.

Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my disclosure policy here.

Zoya Color Box: The Peter Som Collection

When I heard Zoya created three custom colors for Peter Som's Fall/Winter 2012 fashion show, I actually hesitated clicking 'add to cart' because I'm someone who wants to see a few swatches before purchasing. But then I met a gal at the Custo Barcelona show who was behind the scenes at the Peter Som show and she convinced me I needed these polishes in my life! Great decision. My friend, are you out there? ;)

This was my first time ordering a Zoya color box. The feeling of opening a black, velvet box with three amazing nail polishes snugly tucked inside is nothing less than magical!

I adore everything about the way Zoya packaged the Peter Som polishes - there is even a little booklet included! These polishes are almost too pretty to disturb... but let's get to the swatches anyway :)

Audrey is a sheer pinky-nude that covers impressively even. I love the way Audrey lights up my nails! Any trace of yellow is covered and my nails look smooth and clean. Wouldn't it make a great polish for a glitter sandwich?

In the picture below, my ring and pointer fingers are naked to show you the subtle wash of color (2) coats of Audrey provides.

Katharine (my bottle is labeled Katharine: the website spells this polish as Katherine) is a sheer eggplant purple. Katharine is much sheerer than a jelly polish. But like Audrey, Katherine applied perfectly even and smooth. This would be a another great shade to use in a glitter sandwich. Below I used (2) coats.

Zoya describes Evvie as a "rich, decadent, smoky, eucalyptus cream". What a delicious and accurate description! Zoya gave Evvie their best formula - it's almost a one-coater. This shade is everything I want in a fall color (I can't believe I'm talking about fall polish already...) and it's so unique and fresh. This smoky evergreen has a chameleon quality to it - in low light, Evvie looks more grey. Can you think of anything like this? I sure can't!

Audrey, Katharine, and Evvie are custom colors created by Zoya for Peter Som's Fall/Winter 2012 fashion show. Bravo, Zoya! This collection actually sold out from Zoya's website within one day, but hopefully the fairies will think about bringing these beautiful polishes back this fall.

China Glaze's ElectroPop Polishes are Pastels with a Kick

China Glaze's spring collection ElectroPop is packed with amped-up pastels. "Inspired by all things girly, edgy and fun, the 12 shades of ElectroPop bring out the inner rock star in all". These are far from tame pastels - the ElectroPop polishes are super-saturated with color!

Dance Baby is a cool-toned bubble gum pink cream. I think I had high heels for my Barbies in this color - yep, these. While there are other pink creams available, nothing I have comes close - pinks are deceiving that way (did you see my pink gradient?) Dance Baby's almost perfect in one-coat formula also makes this a winning shade. Don't pass Dance Baby by - I suspect bubble gum pink is going to be a spring trend in nail polish this year!

 

Similar in almost one-coat consistency to Dance Baby is baby shower blue Electric Beat. This periwinkle polish has a slightly dusty look to it and isn't quite as intense as my camera photographed it.

Gaga for Green is spring-green meets mint-chocolate-chip-ice-cream green. The formula was very different from Dance Baby and Electric Beat - it's somewhere between a jelly and a cream. Can you think of a color like this? I think it's pretty unique!

I adore these three shades and think they complement each other perfectly. Together, Dance Baby and Gaga for Green remind me of the cover of the book Prep, or anything by Lily Pulitzer :)

The ElectroPop collection is made up of (12) polishes including a glitter top coat - China Glaze certainly has all your spring nail polish needs covered! In New York City, the best chance of finding the latest China Glaze collection is at Ulta in Rego Park or Sally Beauty in Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island. Click here for a list of China Glaze retailers in NYC.

Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my disclosure policy here.

Spotted: OPI 'Holland' Ad on an MTA Bus

OMG! Look what's on the side of this MTA bus - it's an ad for the OPI Holland collection! This is the first time I've seen nail polish advertised on public transportation. It's hard to tell but I think the model is wearing Pedal Faster, Suzi ;)

In case you're wondering... this is not one of my fun Photoshop creations. This ad is totally real :) Special thanks to my boyfriend for chasing after the bus to snap these pictures.

A Pink Gradient for Valentine's Day

Roses in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Hello lovelies! I hope you are feeling loved today <3 Even though it is the middle of winter here in NYC, there was no shortage of beautiful flowers blooming outside delis, newsstands, and bodegas. The streets were overflowing with buckets of roses!

While brainstorming a Valentine's Day manicure, I pulled out all my pink and red polishes. My collection has significantly grown since last year and I realized I had enough shades of pink to create a perfect gradient/ombre manicure (have you seen my grey version?) Listed from thumb to pinky, the polishes are OPI Step Right Up, Essie Fiji, Essie Raise Awareness, China Glaze Dance Baby, and OPI Shorts Story.

I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with lovely people and lovely polishes <3

Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my disclosure policy here.

Bloggers Night Out

This past Friday, hundreds of talented bloggers met for NYC's second Bloggers Night Out event. It was great to be surrounded by such confident (and well dressed!) men and women who share a passion for blogging.

It was so nice to finally meet fellow NYC nail polish blogger Carly from Lacquered Lover. Did you know she came up with the name of one of Manglaze's latest shades LesbiHonest? Carly rocked an impressive water marble created with China Glaze polishes.

What a fantastic treat it was to meet Maria from creator of Cult Nails! Maria is an inspiration - Cult Nails is only a year only, and the brand is already known and adored by polish fanatics around the world. Cult Nails polish even walked the runway this season at New York Fashion Week. Maria has some great behind-the-scenes pictures on her blog: http://www.r3daily.com/ Wouldn't it be great if Cult Nails products were sold in NYC?

I also met the lovely Lara from We Hearty Beauty, the stylish Alicia from Kitten Masks, and "facilitator of dance parties" Meghan from Meg's Mumbo. These ladies have great blogs, I encourage you to check them out! Bloggers Night Out really was a great opportunity to meet fellow New York bloggers.

Alicia wore Chanel Graphite and Lara wore a pink OPI polish

What did I wear on my nails? I was debating colors and designs for at least a week, but for some reason, the DAY OF Bloggers Night Out I fixated on creating a gradient glitter design. I had never even done a gradient glitter mani, but recently I bought a pack of 24 eye shadow sponges at Cosmetic Market and wanted to try it out. Now, I really don't recommend experimenting with a new technique the night before an important event but I had this design in my head and it simply would not go away so I went for it!

Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess (the purple) and Color Club Gingerbread (the glitter)

To create this look, take an (unused!) eye shadow applicator - you know, the one that comes in most drugstore eye shadows with two triangular-ish spongey ends? Tap the sponge tip against your nail polish brush so that the sponge tip picks up some glitter. Don't drench your sponge in polish. Starting at the tip of your nail, dab the glitter on and move back toward your cuticle. You can go as far as you want - the glitter should thin out as you go. If you didn't get enough glitter on your sponge the first time, go back and add some more to your tips. Keep playing around until you're happy with how it looks!

Thank you to the ladies who organized Bloggers Night Out and to the sponsors for an amazing event!

Let New York Fashion Week Begin!

Fashion Week is here! For the next week, all beauty and fashion eyes will be fixed on Lincoln Center. Nail polish plays an important role in Fashion Week and I love finding out what polishes are selected to walk the runways. The chances of ever owning a piece of clothing right off the runway are slim (well, for me at least!), but tracking down the nail polish used in your favorite show is a great way of owning a piece of Fashion Week.

Last fall, CND's "Poppyfield" was the color that demanded attention on the runway of Wes Gordon's Spring 2012 fashion show. This vivid orangey-red polish applies like a dream and radiates confidence. CND was ahead of the color forecast last fall because this shade of red is so hot right now!

CND will be at Fashion Week again and I can't wait to see what they have in store. Follow CNDWorld on Twitter for updates!

CND Colour retails for $9.00 per bottle, For CND Colour & Effects e-tailers or regional salon and spa availability, please visit cnd.com. In New York City, CND polishes can be purchased at the Polished Beauty Bar on 250 West 78th Street.

Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my disclosure policy here.

This week, NAIL ROCK's Zoe Pocock is back at Ricky's!

NAIL ROCK creative director Zoe Pocock is in NYC for Fashion Week and is back at Ricky's this Thursday and Friday!

"Wasn’t invited to front row at New York Fashion Week? Look like you were and ROCK OUT with NAIL ROCK Creative Director Zoe Pocock on Thursday, February 9th & Friday, February 10th at Ricky’s NYC.

Image courtesy of d2publicity

Meet Zoe as she applies Rock Cosmetic’s greatest hits: Eye Rock, Lip Rock and Nail Rock at Ricky’s Soho & Times Square locations (first come, first served). Each application is complimentary."

The details:

Thursday, February 9, 4:00PM - 7:00PM

Ricky's Soho, 590 Broadway (between Houston and Prince Street)

Friday, February 10, 4:00PM - 7:00PM

Ricky's Times Square, 1412 Broadway (at 39th St)

What's NAIL ROCK? NAIL ROCK is a "line of designer nail wraps from London from creative director & premier nail artist, Zoe Pocock, who counts singer Adele, Fergie and Kerri Hilson among her clients. These runway-inspired wraps require no heat, waiting or drying time and last up to 10 days on the fingers and 2 weeks on the toes."

NAIL ROCK has become the UK’s "leading nail wrap brand with trend-led designs and easy to use, long lasting applications." Check out www.nailrock.com for a full list of nail designs. Out of town? Shop for NAIL ROCK products on http://www.rickysnyc.com/.

Super Bowl Sunday - New York Giants Manicure!

 

Nail polish in the Super Bowl ;)

Tonight the New York Giants and the New England Patriots are playing in the Superbowl! This is huge for many New Yorkers and if the Giants win, there will be celebrations all night. I always look forward to the Superbowl regardless of who is playing - it's a great excuse to eat snacks. We're fully prepared here with chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, and a shrimp ring.

A Superbowl manicure is in order, of course! I free-handed the football - it's not the best work of art, but you get the idea ;)

Navy blue: China Glaze First Mate
Red: Goldie Rumors
White: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hard as Wraps White Tip
Brown: Essie Little Brown Dress

Kickoff is at 6:30PM ET. Will you be watching? Are you looking forward to the game, the commercials (Hunger Games trailer!!!), the food, or Madonna at halftime?

A Gray-dient Mani for the Grey Days of Winter

 

Winter can be so... grey. But grey nail polish is chic! Grey cream polishes are some of my favorites because they are simultaneously subtle and stunning.

While how you spell it may be influenced by where you grew up, there's a school of thought that "grey" and "gray" are different shades. Cloford.com actually has gray v grey defined down to the hex code - #D3D3D3 is "light grey" and #A9A9A9 is "dark gray". Whether you spell it grey or gray, it's still an achromatic color - or colour - that's great to wear on your nails.

I adore gradient manicures! The subtle change in brightness is edgy while still looking polished. My best attempt at a gradient manicure was created with the grey polishes in my collection. Listed from thumb to pinky (light to dark or grey to gray, if you will), the nail polishes I chose are Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Wet Cement", MAC "On the Prowl", Pure Ice "Kiss Me Here", CND "Asphalt", and OPI "Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees".

What's fun about wearing a grey gradient is that when you look at your nails, it looks like the light is playing tricks with your polish and maybe a few of your fingers are in a shadow.

What colors have you tried creating a gradient manicure with?

Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my disclosure policy here.