Crystal File 038: Essie Winter 2008 Preview

What an awesome nail polish year we're having ladies, and it isn't over yet! We've been wowed repeatedly by the Fall collections, and the hits just keep on coming!

From the Essie press release:



Winter 2008
Available November 1, 2008

August 2008, New York, NY – Shine through the glamorous season with essie’s new winter 2008 nail color collection that is seductive, charming and right on trend!

Tailored jackets, floral prints and structured shapes brought an elegant grown-up look to this season’s runways. From New York to Milan to Paris, designers favored a sophisticated, ladylike silhouette with tweeds and twin sets to full skirts and full collars. Best of all, the little black dress is back with an updated twist and colorful accessories to accompany it! Try sporting a red suede clutch or amethyst ankle boots - and don’t forget the “it” accessory of the season, nail color!

Winter’s divine fashions parallel essie’s new collection of six striking nail colors from classy reds to shimmery violets and a surprising burst of gold, proving that “without color, it wouldn’t be fashion.” - Essie Weingarten

Show off essie’s winter nail colors for an instant chic look - and make sure to use a base and top coat like essie’s first base base coat and good to go! for a flawless manicure and pedicure!
Essie's winter 2008 nail color collection includes:

Bold & Beautiful – Rich, ruby garnet
Damsel in a Dress – Oh-so-deep currant
It’s Genius – A violet quartz shimmer
Rock Star Skinny – Glamorous crimson red
Sexy Divide – Electric Violet Temptation
Shifting Power – Sizzling molten gold

About essie cosmetics:
New York-based essie cosmetics was established 27 years ago and is now regarded as a leading international nail color manufacturer offering over 250 fashion colors and total treatments for hands and feet. Essie nail color is an industry icon; distributors, beauty professionals, celebrities and consumers trust its excellence. For more information, please call 1-800-232-1155 or visit us at www.essie.com.


I can't tell you how much i'm looking forward to the purples! Which ones are you gals most anticipating?

Crystal File 037: Zoya Flourish Preview, Winter 08/09

I am so excited for this collection! A beautiful purple, a fabulous vampy, shimmery berry-reds, i am drooling! Hopefully the real thing will be available to me soon, so i can share swatch pics and get you gals prepped for mucho purchasing :)







I haven't been given the actual release date yet, but as soon as i know, you shall as well!

Crystal File 036: Tips for Nail Shaping

In the past when i've posted NOTD photos on various forums i've gotten requests for advice on nail shaping. Since nail shaping was probably the one thing that took me the longest to get the hang of, i though i would give a few tips that i found useful.

1. Leave your polish on. Yep, no joke! This is the single-most useful piece of advice i've picked up over the course of my nail obsession. This trick is most helpful if your polish is an easily visible color (not a BaBB or a sheer)and fairly opaque. Why is this helpful? In my experience this makes it so much easier to keep the shape and length of all your nails even (in comparison to one another) because i'm able to avoid being distracted by the contours of each nail. Trust me, once you try it you'll see what i mean!

2. Use a crystal/glass file. I never realized how rough my traditional stainless steel file left my tips until i switched to a glass file. I have far fewer problems with peeling and chipping polish than i did before i found my first crystal file. I do all of the length removal and shaping of my nail with my file, i do not use clippers. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with clippers, as long as yours are sharp and clean. Personally i only use them if i am aiming for a more squared off shape. Since i prefer my shorter nails to be more of an oval shape i don't use clippers very often as i find it too easy to accidentally take off more length than i intended when i use them.

3. Buck the current nail trend and find the shape that you feel is most flattering and practical for YOU! Short, oval nails work best on me. It has taken a great deal of experimentation to come to this conclusion. Wearing my nails any more than a scant few millimeters beyond the tips of my fingers leaves me far more prone to breakage, so i keep them short. Just at or below the tips of my fingers if the best length for me personally, but if you're most comfortable with longer nails, i say go for it!

I hope you, my dear readers, find this information helpful. If you ever have questions, always feel free to ask via comments, i'll answer as soon as i'm able!

Crystal File 035: A quick NOTD, Zoya Anastasia

Zoya Anastasia is one of those fabulous colors that defy classification. Add incredible bronze-gold shimmer to a rich pink-plum base, and Anastasia is the result. In full sunlight it is a glowing metallic, in more subtle, indoor lighting the lovely plum base steals the show.


First up, full sun:








And indirect sunlight:






My conclusion: this is a wonderful shade for fall. The soft plum base and warm metallic glow fit perfectly with fashion and nail trends for fall.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, I'll see you again soon!

Crystal Files 034: NOTD Catch Up; Essie Over the Top and China Glaze Gussied up Green

So, i've been remiss in posting these past few days. Need to catch you gals up with some NOTD photos! First up i'll do Essie Over the Top, an oldie in my collection (from Essie's winter collection 2007), but still readily available at etailers and retail locations such as Ulta. This is a favorite gunmetal gray of mine, the shimmer is truly magnificent.











Next up, a newer addition to my collection. I'm not usually a huge fan of green on me, but it is one of my favorite colors, generally speaking. I did my NOTD with this color in response to a dare from my pals on the MUA nail board. I have to say, this green doesn't look nearly as unflattering on me as most greens do.













And i'd like to share with all of my readers the joy of my life, my little boy.




That's it for this post, have a wonderful day, and i'll post again soon!

Crystal File 033: NOTD Sephora by OPI I'm With Brad

Amazing! Fabulous! Look at how the shimmer just GLOWS! Like my other Sephora by OPI polishes, this one applied like a dream. Smooth as silk, richly pigmented, fantastic old-opi-style brush, what more could a gal ask for? I'm With Brad is similar to polishes like Midnight in Moscow and China Glaze X, but with one key difference, the shimmer is much more visible. I adore it!














Special thanks to my girl Deb on MUA, she tracked this one down for me since the Sephoras near my home were all out of stock.

Hope you enjoyed! See you soon :)

Crystal File 032: Essie Ulta Exclusive Groovy Grape

Wowza! Y'all know i adore vampies, and this one is no exception. Rich, dark, and delicious, blackened wine base with TONS of ruby red shimmer. Application was lovely, and this one has an awesome glossy finish. This is a fall Ulta exclusive available only at Ulta, and only in stores (NOT online).














As with any Ulta exclusive color, this will be available only while supplies last. If you want it, please go grab it! There are two other exclusives accompanying this one, Plumski (deep plum creme), and Retro Red (glossy bright red creme). All three are available at Ulta now.

Crystal File 031: NOTD OPI Russian Navy and Zoya Promo Heads Up!

First things first! Zoya has an awesome promo right now. If you visit www.thepolishpoll.com and cast your vote for the presidential candidate of your choice, you get a code for three free Zoya polishes (FULL SIZE!!) of your choice with any $20 purchase. This is a fantastic opportunity to expand your Zoya collection, or to try them for the first time.

Now, a few quick NOTD pics for you. Another Oldie-but-Goodie, OPI Russian Navy, which i owned, gave away, and then recently repurchased. At the time i wasn't nearly as expansive as far as my polish color choices. Obviously I've broadened my horizons considerably since then :)











Hope you enjoyed the pics, and also take advantage of the awesome Zoya promo! Have a great day!

Crystal File 030: Another Oldie-but-Goodie, OPI Light My Sapphire

Since i recently fell in love with Ink, (from the Night Brights collection, the same collection with which Light My Sapphire was released) I decided i needed to dig through my stash and try Light My Sapphire again. I remembered really liking this one the first couple of times i used it, but i had forgotten how MUCH i liked it! This one is also perfectly on trend for the coming season. Light My Sapphire definitely comes across more steel than blue on me, but i suspect it may be more blue on a gal with a different (perhaps cooler) skin tone.












Hopefully I'll be able to share some pics of the new Essie/Ulta fall exclusive Groovy Grape with you very soon! It'll be my next mani, and i can't wait, it is TDF!

Crystal File 029: NOTD OPI Ink, an Oldie-but-Goodie

Don't know how i resisted this one for so long! Finally nabbed it at Ulta yesterday, and i'm so glad i finally committed. OPI Ink is so gorgeous, i'd have to say its my #1 blurple! I love that it has a descernible blue glow even in low lighting conditions. Now, onto the pics!



















All photos were taken indoors, by the window, in strong, early morning sunlight. The variation in appearance of the polish depends on the angle, and that's the beauty of this one!

Crystal File 028: NOTD OPI You Don't Know Jacques

Well, if my readers have learned anything at all about me over the past few weeks, its that i'm not much of a creme polish gal. However, I couldn't resist the grungey allure of You Don't Know Jacques. So i made a compromise. By adding a small amount of OPI Pearls Night Out to You Don't Know Jacques, i was able to create a simple "frankened" version of You Don't Know Jacques incorporating subtle shimmer.

Here are a few pics of the resulting polish, which i'll call Jacques Night Out. Still the same base tone, a stoney taupe that reminds me of modeling clay, but with the addition of soft, glowy shimmer.









I also purchased Parlezvous OPI yesterday, and frankened it in a similar fashion. I promise pics soon!

Crystal File 027: Sephora by OPI Ms. Can't Be Wrong

Yeah, so I'm already plotting a trip back to Sephora AGAIN to get more later this week. Oy vey! These polishes are fabulously pigmented, and so far I've not regretted a single one. My only regret at the moment is that i didn't get I'm With Brad when i had the chance!

Ms. Can't Be Wrong fits very well with the season's stunning array of rich plums. The finish and color are very similar to OPI Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not but leaning more towards berry than pure purple. The shimmer in this one is very difficult to capture as it is tonally quite similar to the base color. The effect is that rather than looking like a shimmer or metallic on the nail, it has the appearance of a "glowy" cream.











Ms. Can't Be Wrong is part of the core Sephora by OPI color collection, but i would recommend calling before you run to Sephora to buy, as even the core colors have been selling out at many locations.