CIRQUE Tibetan Nights

Tibetan Nights captures the color of the night sky

When I visited CIRQUE at Artists & Fleas, there were a few polishes on my wishlist and I bought Tibetan Nights. From the nail wheel swatch, I just knew this was going to be a special polish!

Tibetan Nights is a beautiful deep blue jelly with scattered tiny round glitter and tiny bar glitter. Even if you're not usually a fan of bar glitter, in Tibetan Nights it is perfect and adds a feeling of electricity and movement.  While Tibetan Nights is a jelly, it has impressively good coverage and is not watery. With each coat, the glitter pieces become buried deeper into the manicure and a layer of depth.

The glitter sank to the bottom of the bottle so I did shake it well before applying. Even though there was still glitter at the bottom, I had no trouble getting it out of the bottle and onto my nails.

This shade of blue is so serene and soothing and is the color of the sky after the sun sets and the stars start to come out. My boyfriend said this polish looks like "Disney sky" - you know, like the ceiling of the Mexico Pavilion in EPCOT?

CIRQUE polishes are 'big 3 free' and can be purchased online: http://www.cirquecolors.com/. Yes, they can be shipped internationally!

Here are the upcoming dates you can check out CIRQUE polishes in person at the Hester Street Fair:

• August 4, 18
• September 8
• October 13, 27

Check out CIRQUE on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cirquecolors

Marc Jacobs Dot Manicure

I love Marc Jacobs' fragrances. Back in 2005, his debut Perfume was my first high-end fragrance and today my go-to scent is Daisy. When I heard about Marc Jacobs' newest fragrance Dot, I knew I had to check it out and headed over to Bloomingdale's where they just so happened to be holding a bit of a launch party!

The lady bug inspired bottle is so adorable - wouldn't this look awesome on a dresser or a vanity?

I saw this sign and knew I simply had to join in the fun :)

Zoya Rekha is the perfect Dot/lady bug red cream shade. I freehanded the dots with Wet & Wild Black Creme by using the back end of a small paint brush. Fancy, right?

I think Dot is sure to be a hit :) Do you have any Marc Jacobs fragrances? Have you check out Dot yet?

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

Weekend Shopping: New Fall Collections from Butter, Essie, Sally Hansen, and Zoya

Happy Weekend! What are you up to? You may want to take a break from the non-stop Olympics coverage and check out some of the Fall 2012 nail polish collections that are popping up already!

butter LONDON's Autumn/Winter polishes are available now at Ricky's! Hello, holo Trustafarian and Dodgy Barnett :) Store Locator

At Bed Bath & Beyond on the Upper East Side (410 East 61st Street and 1st Avenue), I spotted the new Essie Yogaga collection and fall 2012 Sally Hansen Insta-Dri shades. Check out In a Flurry and Freeze!

Mara from Mara in Polishland spotted new fall 2012 collections - Essie Stylenomics and Zoya Designer, Diva, and Gloss - at Gideon's Drugs (1385 Broadway, corner of 38th St).

What fall polishes are on your wish list? Happy shopping :)

Deborah Lippmann Nefertiti & Egyptian Art at the Met

I love the Egyptian art collection at the Met. There is so much to see and it's all so surreal - the drawings and artifacts are like a connection to another time. A very different time.

 

I love this shade of blue!

 

While Deborah Lippmann names her polishes song titles, I'd guess Nefertiti was inspired more by the Egyptian Queen than by Miles Davis ;) This shade of gold is quite yellow and tiny flecks of silver mixed in really brighten it up and add a nice touch of complexity. The finish is more of a foil than of a mirror.

Nefertiti is almost a one coater! I used two and the second coat actually felt thick. This full-coverage formula makes Nefertiti a great polish to use for stamping (used in this manicure).

Oddly enough, the only (2) Deborah Lippmann polishes in my collection are both gold.

There's a great story behind this polish! Shortly after I started blogging, I discovered that C.O. Bigelow (414 6th Ave between 8th and 9th St) is a pretty awesome place to shop for nail polish and bought Barielle Jess' Champagne Toast. As she was ringing me up, the salesgirl picked up a gold Deborah Lippmann polish and asked me what I thought of it (I guess I just look like a nail polish person?) I hadn't seen it before and told her I thought it was really neat. Then she said I could HAVE it - as in, for free! She explained that it was an unused tester that was going to be thrown out (!!!) I appreciatively accepted! It was like she KNEW this polish was going to a good home :)

In New York City, Deborah Lippmann polishes can be purchased at several retailers including Barney's, Bloomindales's, Catbird, and C.O. Bigelow. See the full list here.

See more pictures from the Met...

butter LONDON 24 Hour Sale - 3 for $30!

Great deal alert! Tomorrow, you can get any (3) butter LONDON polishes online (http://www.butterlondon.com/) for $30! Butter polishes are usually $14 so this is a great chance to pick up some shades on your wish list. Enter code "CHAMPION" at check out. Again, this sale starts tomorrow, July 25th, and lasts for 24 hours.

Need some ideas? Here are some swatches: Black Knight, Bluey, Knackered, and Wallis.

Zoya Fall 2012 Designer Collection

Inspired by backstage beauties, talented designers, runways and VIP fashion events, the NYFW 2012 Color Collections by Zoya for Fall 2012 are simply stunning. Choose from full-coverage creams and metallics or incredibly shiny jellies.

Each New Fall Collection (Designer, Diva and Gloss) features color that is beautiful, long-wearing and “haute” off the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Fall 2012 runway!

The (6) colors in the Designer collection are strong and rich. With bold hues from warm to cool, there is a color for everyone in this half of Zoya's fall line-up!

Evvie is the polish from the Peter Som Fashion Week collection that won my heart. I'm so happy that Zoya decided to make this color permanent! This smoky evergreen has a chameleon quality to it - in low light, Evvie looks more grey. The formula was great - it's almost a one-coater, but I used two. Can you think of anything like this? I sure can't!

Noot is a deep, smoky charcoal-green. It's related to Evvie, but darker. This is a great fall color! Two coats.

Natty is a faded denim blue cream. There's something comforting about this color, isn't there? It's smoky and dusty but wouldn't be mistaken for a grey. The formula was also great - I used two coats.

Monica is a deep grape purple. This shade of purple doesn't really step into blue territory, but it doesn't lean much toward red either. The first coat was thick, but I realized I hadn't shaken the bottle enough. The second coat applied flawlessly. To give you an idea of how well this polish wears, this picture was actually taken after (3) days of wear :)

Toni is a rich, bold berry creme. This is the perfect polish to wear during the transition from fall to winter, when it starts to get a little colder. Toni's formula was a touch watery and tried to run into my cuticles. But I adjusted and used thinner coats, and it turned out just fine. Two coats is all you need!

Rekha is a custom shade from the Bibhu Mohapatra New York Fashion Week show. Here is the inspiration behind how Rekha was worn in the fashion show (from Zoya's website):

The models all wore Rekha (the red) on their left hands and either Parveen (the nude) or Zeenat (the pewter) on their right hands. 

We wanted to know why Bibhu wanted the models to wear different colors on each hand, so he told us the story for this assorments inspiration.  He told us that the red was an homage to his mother. When Bibhu was growing up, he remembered his late mother always wearing the most beautiful color of red nail polish on her nails. Because it was customary to eat with your right hand in India, she only wore the red on her left hand. So he always rembered her left had being painted  That was the look that Bibhu was trying to recreate as the models were coming down the runway. All the models wore Rekha on their toes.

The formula was a dream. This bright neutral cherry red has a slight jelly finish, allowing it to light up in bright lights - perfect for a fashion show!

In natural lighting, Rekha looks much deeper and more like a "classic" red:

Zoya polishes retail for $8.00 and are Big 5 free. In New York City, Zoya can be purchased at several locations including Gideon's Drugs (1385 Broadway, corner of 38th St) and Ulta in the Rego Park Center. See the full list here.

I reviewed the Diva collection here.

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

Zoya Fall 2012 Diva Collection

Inspired by backstage beauties, talented designers, runways and VIP fashion events, the NYFW 2012 Color Collections by Zoya for Fall 2012 are simply stunning. Choose from full-coverage creams and metallics or incredibly shiny jellies.

Each New Fall Collection (Designer, Diva and Gloss) features color that is beautiful, long-wearing and “haute” off the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Fall 2012 runway!

The (6) colors in the Diva collection are bold and like real life divas, certainly demand (and deserve) attention!

Suri is a jewel toned royal/grape-juice purple with a glassy, metallic finish and a touch of blue and pinkish shimmer. The first coat was sheer but not streaky. A second coat intensified the color enough that I didn't feel a 3rd coat was needed. While I noticed a few streaks in the light box, in real life they aren't noticable.

Elisa is a jewel toned red with a similar metallic/glassy finish as Suri, but Elisa has more depth and radiates a glowing shimmer. Elisa was a DREAM to apply - you could pull off a one-coater and be very happy (I used two coats to create more depth). Elisa is hot. Beautiful. Firey. Metallic. I LOVE this polish!

Song is a jewel toned inky blue with tiny shimmer flecks that give this polish a lovely dimension. Zoya calls this an "Egyptian" blue, but I think it's also a very "American" blue. This is pretty much a middle-of-the-road blue: there isn't a trace of green and it doesn't lean towards purple. In low lighting, Song looks darker (it really lit up in the light box). The formula was perfect and very self-leveling.

Ray is a deep metallic forest green. Shake this one well! I noticed a few metallic streaks in the bottle and you can see one on my middle finger. Ray's formula felt a little watery at first and you can see bit around my cuticles, but it wasn't uncontrollable. I like that the metallic finish is subtle. Two coats.

Daul is an amethyst purple and gold polish with a finish Zoya calls "Metallic Micro Glitter". The kind of pinky-purple reminds me of the color of Dannii or Zara. Daul is a sheer polish - after one coat, I thought I would be using the entire bottle to get opaque coverage, but surprisingly, I only needed three thin coats. What makes this polish really magical is that it can be both purple and gold at the same time. This is a polish you should see in person (and if you do, you may not be able to put it down!)

Feifei also has the awesome "Metallic Micro Glitter" finish. Feifei is a graphite-silvery blue with gold and purple flecks mixed in. One coat is sheer but very even - I used three coats below. Feifei is really incredible and also should be seen in person!

 

Feifei is a really special polish. At certain angles, the purple tones really come to life.

I'm already planning fun ways to layer Daul and Feifei. Because they are both sheer, they have the ability to transform any base polish into a dazzling manicure. I can't wait to show you Daul and Feifei over black!

Zoya polishes retail for $8.00 and are Big 5 free. In New York City, Zoya can be purchased at several locations including Gideon's Drugs (1385 Broadway, corner of 38th St) and Ulta in the Rego Park Center. See the full list here.

I reviewed the Designer collection here.

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

Color Club "Too Violet" is a Bottle of Unicorns and Rainbows

When you hear the words Color Club, purple, and holo, what polish do you think of? Probably Wild at Heart or Fashion Addict. But did you know there is another Color Club purple holo that makes Wild at Heart look tame?

This Color Club beauty is called Too Violet. Too Violet is a tiny bottle of magic that was part of a limited release in 2009 exclusive to Japan called Japanese Glitters. While it's not a linear holo, the scattered glitter holo suspended in a pinky-purple polish pops and dazzles and will distract you from whatever you're doing.

I wore 'underwear' (it's a small bottle - 0.7mL/0.25 Fl Oz - a girl's gotta conserve!) and chose Zoya Yasmeen. The pink shimmer in Yasmeen made it the perfect match because Too Violet has the same incredible glowing pink tones. As gritty and glittery as Too Violet was, I expected the worst when removing it. To my surprise, it came of with little effort and I only needed one cotton circle thinger and some acetone. Big win.

Here's the story of how this polish came into my life. One day, my boyfriend saw a beauty supply store (through a bus window) on Roosevelt Ave in Queens. He was so excited to tell me that I couldn't say no when he wanted to take me there, even though in the past, these "finds" haven't always actually been beauty supply stores. But he was right this time! He had found CLIO Beauty Supply (75-17 Roosevelt Avenue). What made this trip a real success was finding this small bottle of purple holo joy.

Since Unicorn Puke, Unicorn Pee, and everything else synonymous with a fantasy creature's excrement is taken, I'm going to nickname this one Unicorn in Captivity.

Bonus points if you know what NYC museum this tapestry hangs in

Here's a Gotham Polish first - yep, it's a ridiculously low quality video taken next to a dog park.

Victoria Nail Supply carries Too Violet and more from the Japanese Glitter collection (link!) I've also seen it on eBay.

More purple holo polishes here, here, and here's one in Central Park.

CIRQUE Fascination Street on the Street

Fascination Street is a lovely cool toned purple/blurple holo from CIRQUE's debut Dark Horse collection (full review here. Fascination Street is also a song by The Cure. This polish really comes alive in the sunlight! Have you tried any CIRQUE polishes yet?

CIRQUE polishes are 'big 3 free' and can be purchased online: http://www.cirquecolors.com/. Yes, they can be shipped internationally!

Here are the upcoming dates you can check out CIRQUE polishes in person at the Hester Street Fair:

• July 21
• August 4, 18
• September 8
• October 13, 27

Check out CIRQUE on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cirquecolors

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

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

view of Manhattan from the Williamsburg waterfront

A few weekends ago, I took a trip to Williamsburg, Brooklyn to see CIRQUE polish's booth at Artists & Fleas and meet creator Annie. After brunch at Egg (amazing), Blue Bottle iced coffee (best iced coffee in the city - deserves it's own post, really), and stopping by the Brooklyn Brewery, we walked around and explored. And I finally went to Catbird! Catbird is like the Henri Bendel of Brooklyn selling jewelry and pretty things from a wide variety of designers, many that are NYC-based. They sell Deborah Lippman polishes, too :)

There was a street fair on Bedford Ave and this band was really fun to listen to - it's not every day you hear a band with a saw. They're called Sweet Street Symphony and I was surprised to find out they're from New Orleans because they seemed right at home in Williamsburg! Also, note the creative use of sod ;)

More interesting sights in Williamsburg...

The Wythe Hotel

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you are enjoying the 4th of July! Do you have any plans for tonight? I'm excited to see the fireworks in the city. Even though I'll be watching them on TV, I will be listening for the loud, echoing booms as the sound travels across Manhattan :)

I created my 4th of July manicure by sponging red glitter tips (my pick: China Glaze Love Marilyn) over a navy creme polish (my pick: China Glaze First Mate). Glitter gradient instructions here!

Check out last year's Statue of Liberty manicure and a patriotic red, white, and blue manicure.

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