Manicure Monday: fall is here! wait, no ?

by : Katrina

Happy Manicure Monday everyone!

“Katrina it’s 70 degrees today, tomorrow 84, and Wednesday 92!-_- and then back down to 70 on Thursday”  – morning text for Kim (lol)

NY weather seems to be trying to make it’s way into fall but still can’t cut the cord from summer just yet- similar to our manicures this week.

Kim’s Mani:

Color: OPI  “dulce de leche”  –  a beautiful nude/pink cream color!

& on her pinky: OPI ” diva of geneva”  – A red based- purple color with the perfect gold shimmer.

Isn’t her home mani on point though ?

Sam’s Mani:

Color: “Sprung” by OPI from their Mariah Carey Collection

The perfect and fun shimmery- copper color. &  its opaque!

Salon: Spring Nail on 14th st

Katrina’s Mani:

Color: “After School Boy Blazer” from Essie‘s fall 2013 collection.

This blue-black color is perfect.  Also- Lasted longer than any other Essie color I’ve tried.

Salon: Rose Nails – NJ

Thanks for checking out our bipolar manicures to match NY’s bipolar weather. What do you guys think?! 

Review: A Case of Deja Vu

By: Sam

Last Sunday, as I was walking in Soho, Oshi, a woman in front of a beauty shop called Shalva Dead Sea Minerals (68 Spring Street New York, NY 10012, (212)-219-8711)  offered me a sample of their lotion. As I gladly took a sample, she enthusiastically asked me to try out their body scrub for free. I had some time to kill so I decided why not? Here is a photo of the body scrub below:

Deja Vu Dead Sea Minerals Green Tea Luxury Body Scrub ($50). This body scrub is designed to cleanse and stimulate your skin’s natural activity, promoting smooth and refreshed looking skin. It is also ideal for all skin types, using dead sea minerals, tea tree extract and olive oil (safe enough to use on your face and whole body). Oshi put some of the body scrub on my hands and asked me when was the last time I washed my hands, which was 5 minutes prior at a Starbucks. I worked the scrub all over my hands, then she sprayed my hands with some water so I can rinse it into a bowl. I was so shocked and how clean and soft my hands felt I almost didn’t notice how dirty the water in the bowl was! It was that moment I became a believer.

Generally, I am skeptical about body scrubs and exfoliating because my skin is super sensitive and anything too harsh makes my skin freak out (although I know it is crucial to one’s skincare regiment). However, Oshi spent a lot of time convincing me that this body scrub (as well as their other luxury products) were the real deal and I saw and felt the results. Below is a slideshow demonstrating how I use the body scrub:

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I now use this body scrub every Sunday to wash the week off my body and start anew for the week ahead. My entire body feels so soft, supple, but deeply cleansed. It’s absolute heaven.  After scrubbing all you need is to rinse off with water and some body lotion. I highly recommend!

*Also, my manicure this week is Essie’s “Blanc”($8). 😎

I’m not sure they have other shops outside of New York City but a few seem to be available on Amazon.com  (from about $12-$20).

What exfoliators/body scrubs do you use?

A Beauty-full Birthday

By: Sam

Hey beauties! This past weekend was pretty eventful with plenty to celebrate. Graduating from college and my 24th birthday 😯 . Along with some pictures from my graduation and birthday, I’d like to share with you the amazing gifts I received for my birthday from my best friends. In other words… THIS IS A MAKEUP POST!!!

I made a wishlist of beauty proucts/makeup I am currently obsessing over and sent it out to Kim & Katrina. When I make wish lists, I make sure that everything that is on the list is something I love. I went to Sephora and checked out most of the items in person to make sure the list was final (lol). To my (not so) surprise, I loved everything! But I knew my BFF’s wouldn’t do me wrong ;).

Kim got me these lippies from NARS:  Satin Lip Pencil ($25 in Lohdi), Larger than Life Lip Gloss ($26 in Paris Follies), and Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Happy Days:

What can I say about NARS? These have found a permanent place in my makeup bag. I’ve been going very tame on makeup so I sport these colors with little to no blush and just emphasize my eyebrows and wear some concealer.

Katrina surprised me with Josie Maran’s new Cheek Gelee ($22 in Pink Esape) & Dior’s Jelly Lip Pen ($26 in Carioca):

(Cheek Gelee photo credit by JosieMarancosmetics.com)

I used the Cheek Gelee for my birthday look. It did not feel sticky and stayed on all night…LOVE. I always experiment with new lip products so I was equally curious about a gel cream blush and am so glad I got it! It has 50% coconut water, vitamin E and argan oil so it is both hydrating and refreshing.

Tangerine lips are a new trend for summer and I fell in love with Dior’s Jelly Lip Pen’s subtle but playful take on it. The color goes on sheer but can also be piled on for a more opaque look.

Here are a few moments from my wonderful weekend:

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*My manicure polish was Marshmallow by Essie ($8) and pedicure was Mermaid’s Dream by Deborah Lippman ($19)

* Katrina’s manicure polish was Pepperoni (1st coat) and Fishnet Stockings (2nd coat), and her pedicure was Marshmallow by Essie ($8)

* Kim’s manicure polish was A Crewed Interest and pedicure polish was Chastity by Essie ($8)

Tell us! What’s on your beauty wish list right now?

Pretty & Pristine

By: Sam

Hey, hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend! Today, instead of simply showing off a cute manicure, I wanted to include a few tips of my own for maintaining strong and healthy nails.

As you know it is always important, whether at home or at the nail salon to use a base coat. This is the base coat I’ve been using for about a year:

This base coat is made by a Colombian brand called, “Quimica Alemana“. I was introduced to this base coat by my local nail salon, Inwood Nails (4963 Broadway (between 207th St & 211th St) New York, NY 10034). My sister’s manicurist, Fisher always uses it on her nails and my sister liked it so much she purchased one from the salon. Ever since then, we both use it as a base coat wherever we go to get our nails done. It is advertised on Amazon.com ($7.39) as a “nail hardener”, treating nail chips, splits, and peeling. I also like to use it as a clear coat when I take a break from getting regular manicures (about once a month for about a week).

On my manicure “breaks” I also like to use NK’s Garlic Treatment (with Vitamin E) ($1.99):

It is designed to condition and fortify the nail to heal and prevent the wear and tear of frequently manicured (and gel manicured) nails. I know the word garlic may be a put off, but it is scent-free. I recommend using this at least once a week if not more. This was also purchased at my local salon but can be found online!

So here’s my manicure for this week:

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I opted for something simple…for now. My birthday and graduation are coming up so I’m saving all the drama for later this week, lol. This is OPI’s “It’s a Girl” as the first coat and then I chose OPI’s “Princesses Rule!” as the shimmery second coat. ;). I can’t complain, my nails have been in pretty good shape since using these products.

What are your favorite base coats/nail treatments?

Neon, Brights, and a French Twist

By: Thirteenth and Hudson

It’s a mani Monday! 😛

First comes a DIY from Katrina:

Nail Polish: Bachelorette Bash by Essie ($8)

While, Sam tried a polish from the new neon collection by Essie:

Nail Polish: Come Here! by Essie ($8)
Nail Salon: Inwood Nail 4963 Broadway (between 207th St & 211th St) New York, NY 10034
Price: $8
Manicurist: May

& finally, Katrina changed her mind and decided to opt for a classic French Manicure but with a subtle modern tiwst:

Nail Polish: Sandy Beach by Essie ($8) with white french tip.
Nail Salon: Queen Nails 543 Westside Ave. Jersey City, NY 07304
Price: $12

Tell us! Do you like french manicures? Do you wear neon polishes?

#ManicureMonday – Castaway/Cantaloupe & Mambo

Katrina’s Manicure

In this week’s edition of Manicure Monday, Katrina is showing off her skills! She did her own nails, using Essie’s Castaway ($8). I think she did a great job, what do you guys think?

Samantha’s Manicure

Next we have my manicure. I was looking for a neutral color that gave off some springy vibes. So I decided to use Essie’s Mambo ($8) as the first coat and Essie’s Cantaloupe ($8) as my second coat. I am loving the results of this combo!

Salon: Jeunesse Coiffure, 891 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10019. (Between 57th & 58th St)
Price: $6 (Polish Change)
Manicurist: Sandra

Tell us! Do you have a signature Spring polish? Or do you like to mix things up?

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#ManicureMonday- Sam’s Infatuation

Nail Polish: “Infatuation” By Essie ($8)

Nail Salon: Inwood Nail 4963 Broadway (between 207th St & 211th St) New York, NY 10034

Price: $8 (Mani/Pedi: $25)

Manicurist: May

*Perks: Very friendly staff. You can set appointments and choose your manicurist. They now also do glitter tattoos (lol).

#ManicureMonday- Katrina’s go-to color

Nail polish: “Mod about you” by O.P.I

Nail salon: Rose Nails 791 Broadway Bayonne, NJ 07002

Price:$7 mani, $23 mani&pedi

Manicurist: Marlene (usually Cindy)

Perks: clean and relaxing