A Complete Nail Wardrobe

I must admit I am not a fancy mani-pedi kind of girl. Unless it's for a specific event I either buff or clear polish. A colored nail is too much of a distraction for me, I can not help but pick at it but I love the idea of being able to have nails that are individual little canvases. Of course the artistic pedicure isn't new but to be able to peel and place the art on a clean nail within minutes on my own is. Sally Hansen offers just that. Salon Effect Real Nail Polish Strips comes in 24 styles, some of which are tame enough to wear to work, and if you follow directions can give you a fancy mani that can last up to 10 days.

Check Out Your Local Drugstores Before All The Ebayers Buy Them All Up!

The Final Nail For the Day...

During the winter months when feet are mostly hidden I tend to them on my own, clipping, filing, scrubbing, pushing back cuticles and forgoing polish for thick creams and warm woolie socks. But now that it's almost sandal wearing season I am considering when I should actually have my feet done by someone else whose hands understand the art of pedicures for display. 

In preparation for the the exposing of the feet I purchased the 3 Wet N Wild nail polishes shown above. The colors, from left to right - Haze of Love, Sheild and Distrubia - are oh so currently cool in New York. With a base and a top coat the polish lasts just as long as the pricier brands and the line offers a large variety of colors and finishes that at $1-$2 a bottle can easily be replaced by the corals and pinks when summer finally arrives.

Available at your local drug store.

My Constant Companion

The original all purpose salve!

I carry it with me always.
I use it on my lips, cuticles and other body parts

that need to be soothed and moistured.

http://www.amazon.com/Rosebud-Perfume-Co-Smiths-Salve/dp/B0014A6D74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1248396968&sr=8-1

Nail Envy

One of the new products on the market that I am itching to try is matte finish nail polish and at this point O.P.I. seems to be the leader in putting it out there. ( I know I just posted an economical comparison between O.P.I. and E.L.F, but when you want a product sometimes you have to spend the money asked, at least until other companies jump on the production band wagon.)

OPI Matte Nail Lacquers come in 6 shades, black, white, pink, red, green or blue. Each dries to a shineless matte that looks so chic and "new" that I am considering investing the $8.50 to try it but still can't seem to find it on the shelves. (BTW, despite my love of nail polish I usually only wear it on my toes!)

If it's not available in your area try Amazon.com -

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ED4M4Q/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=304485901&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002ED4M0K&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1VBRKK4CQPB3GEHCQXQT

Nail Art

Though this isn't my thing if you are someone who likes to use their nails as a canvas for your artistic expression check out Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens. They come in 8 ready to create shades that will set the Picasso in you free.

Available from $7.50-8 in most local drug and cosmetic stores

Hands Have It!

I recently purchased Sally Hansen's Hand Resurfacer with Micro-Cyrstals at Lot- Less for $1.99. I bought it as a tester and must admit that I love the results so much that I have added it to my hand care routine. It contains Collagen, Vitamins & Ceramides and micro crystals that resurface the skin and encourages natural collegan production and moisture retention so that you end up with younger, smoother looking hands. I will warn that if you have nail polish on you should be extra careful that the scrub doesn't come in contact with the polish and also that you should moisturize immediately afterwards, especially the cuticle areas, otherwise I am loving this item

If you can't get to a Lott-Less in New York you can buy the item from your local drugstore chain or from amazon.com ( http://www.amazon.com/Sally-Hansen-Resurfacer-Crystals-4-5oz/dp/B000EOI1BC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1233148747&sr=8-1 ) but it will cost you $9.00!

Do It Yourself Luxury - Hair and Nails

Given our busy lives most of the women I know, including my self, tend to snatch 5-10 minutes at a time to maintain our beauty routines. Today I am going to post about 2 small items that can make ten minutes of maintaince seem like 10 minutes of luxury.

To make applying nail polish easier during a pedicure most salons usually twist and turn strips of linen or paper between your toes. Some places even have special slippers for you to wear during this process. If you do an at home pedicure try using a pair of these toe separators. They can prevent even the most not to delicate home pedicurist from smearing a none too delicate application of nail polish on even the tiniest of toe nails. I bought this one and 3 others, which found their way into people's Christmas stockings, at Cosmetics Market for $0.50 each

I usally get my eyebrows done at an Eyebrow Stringing place on 24th Street but when I can't find the time to venture to 6th Avenue I gladly and delicately use one of these razors to tidy up the brow line at home. With a little patience and practice they are good for tidying up other areas as well. This is another goody I picked up for $1.00 at the C.M. I've also seen them in the 99cents stores.

Handy Product

At both my bathroom and kitchen sinks are individual bottles of
Jean Philippe’s No. 48 Wild Honey Hand Soap and Hand Cream.
I have fallen so under it's spell that I have even placed a bottle on my nightstand.

The sleek amber colored pump bottles sport an elegant apothecarically designed label that harkens back to the simpler time of duotone printing at 130 line screen. And to be honest it was the packaging that drew me to it in the first place. The soap isn’t harsh and both it and the hand cream have a mild fruity smell that doesn’t remind me of honey but is pleasant just the same. Before spying and purchasing it in a local 99cents store I hadn’t even seen or heard of the brand, but after using both for a week I returned to the store and purchased enough bottles to have back up in case I can’t find it again!

I on line researched both the lotion and the company that produces it and found items on line for CY$450.00(?? wonders if I can use debit card for better rate??heehee) and on Ebay for about $5.00. There were other fragrances available as well as shower gels, body scrubs and full body lotions but the wild honey hand soap and cream were the most appealing to me.

Let me know if anyone else encounters this company's brands. It seems Jean Philippe Fragrances also sells “alternative designer fragrances” and dollar store sales of their products are a regular part of their business sales (2002 notes on the company).

Handy Product

Another one of the goodies from the loot bag is J.R. Watkins’ Hand & Body Lotion in Aloe and Green Tea scent. 

http://www.jrwatkins.com/jrwatkins/index.cfm?Country=Usa

I did some research and found that this company has been making natural health and beauty products for around 140 years and I am sorry to say this hand and body lotion smells like it's that old. It’s not that it smells bad but every time I try and use it I keep looking around for my Great-Grandmother and her bingo cronies and they’ve all been dead for more than 30 years. I admit to being totally surprised by my dislike of lotion because I usually love the smell of products with a green tea scent, but this hand and body lotion also has apricot, shea butter, coconut, sunflower, jojoba and avocado oils as well as chamomile and calendula scents and maybe my noise picked out the scents strongest to my memory. Unfortunately those memories are of women in their 80s taking the bus to Bingo in their rolled down stocking and parlor done hair dos. I don’t think the product is bad. The lotion is thick and creamy and my skin quickly absorbed it. It didn’t leave an overly greasy residue, just the smooth film you want after moisturizing and unfortunately a lingering old fashioned scent.

The company has a wonderful long standing reputation for good products. I ran across this hand and body lotion as well as some other JR Watkin's products at the local Duane Reade, where a large bottle of this lotion sells for $7.00, but if you can't find it in your neighborhood pharmacy and you're interested in trying this or some of the other items JR Watkin's produces here is the website for quick reference
http://www.jrwatkins.com/jrwatkins/productsgroup.cfm?Group=8F7F4829-22E3-F379-01C8137431E35241&Family=BF040AEB-A5E2-0152-9E435783485A64D4&Store=E4C33ACF-2542-3708-4D6BFDC7F0F83A31&Country=Usa

Handy Product #2

To tie in with yesterday’s post about O.P.I.’s Nail Envy Sensitive & Peeling Nail Strengthener today’s post is about another goody bag treat for the nails, Creative’s Cuticle Eraser Treat.

The small tube of alpha-hydroxy treatment promises to micro exfoliate cuticles and condition the surrounding area, but with all the attention I am giving to my hands lately I am not certain if its this product or the other creams and nail strengtheners that are working. My cuticles do seem to be less ragged and more manicured so perhaps it is doing some good. At least it’s not doing any harm.

This is another item I may have never reached for if it hadn't been part of the grab bag because I have always been a fan of Revlon’s Professional Night Cream - http://www.epinions.com/reviews/Revlon_Professional_Cuticle_Massage_Night_Cream .

Revlon's Professional Night Cream is an old standard still worthy of use. I was introduced to at the age of 6 when I would "assist" my father every Sunday evening as he manicured his nails. Assist really meant that I would watch him meticulously trim, file, push back his cuticles, cream and buff the tops of his nails until they had a beautiful sheen and then I would try to imitate him and end up buffing off the top layer of my nail despite warnings not to. Though my technique has improved a little, Sunday evenings are still one of beauty and grooming rituals that I maintain to this day.

I am not certain if I will purchase Creative’s Cuticle Eraser Treat after I finish this tube and make it part of my nail routine or if I will return to the little Revlon jar that I can purchase from a local Duane Reade Drugstore, but in case you are interested in trying Creative’s Cuticle Eraser Treat I did do a Google search and to my surprise found it out of stock on Amazon.com! Maybe it’s more popular than I suspected and that’s why I haven’t seen it on any store shelves! It is available for $7.00 plus shipping on the Goddess Within Web site. If I do come across it during my shopping adventures I will definitely update this post with that information.

http://www.goddess-within.com/crnadeacuer.html

Handy Product

Despite my love of luxury I have a modest nail care routine. I daily clean and cream, push back the cuticles, trim and file nails that aren’t long but are manicured. I only wear colored nail polish on my toe nails preferring to use a clear strength building polish on my nails so that chipping isn’t as noticeable and I don’t have to worry whether my nail polish is complimenting or clashing with my outfit. (This is a blog from a crazed beauty product fan; did you think I wouldn’t be concerned about my complete “ensemble” as well?)

In my quest for healthy manicured nails I have purchased all types of clear polish at all price points and found that regardless of their claims or brand names most, even the strengtheners, flake, peel and discolor just like their colored counter parts. I had all but given up hope until I reached into the goody bag and pulled out O.P.I’s newer version of Nail Envy Sensitive & Peeling - Nail Strengthener http://www.opi.com/trNenvy.asp.

I am typing this product recommendation with nails still wearing the same clear coatings from September 21st (before you judge, this is an experiment!). My nails have maintained a semi gloss, clear, non-chipped surface, feel strong, not brittle and are healthy looking. I must admit that I probably would not have reached for the box packaged bottle on the nail product shelves without recommendation since it retails for about $17.00 a bottle. I guess that's why it comes in a box, to make it "price worthy", but after trying it I truly believe it's worthy of its price. Besides, I’ll just be more frugal on my colored nail polish purchases ;).

O.P.I.’s Nail Envy Sensitive & Peeling Nail Strengthener is available on line. It seems to be more economical via Amazon.com than drugstore.com.
(There are even “used” listings for those who want to try before they “invest)

Here are both listings -

http://www.amazon.com/OPI-Sensitive-Peeling-NT121-Strengthener/dp/B000ORM64M/ref=pd_sim_hpc_38

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=151170&catid=9656&brand=15542&trx=PLST-0-BRAND&trxp1=9656&trxp2=151170&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-BRAND&cmbProdBrandFilter=15542