Beautiful Things My Mother Taught Me


Mom and me, circa 1979 Disclosure: This post is sponsored by CoverGirl. Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I’m so excited. Not just because Mr. Spoiled Pretty and my son, Westley, are treating me to a decadent brunch. But because it’s an opportunity to celebrate my hero, Andrea Stamps. I must admit that until two years ago, Mother’s Day was just another CONTINUE READING

Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candles: 2 for $22


At Christmastime, I agonized over what to get my son's daycare teachers. There are 12 of them - and even though he has his two main teachers, they all have interaction with him and take excellent care of him. So I needed to buy 12 gifts to show my appreciation, without breaking the bank. $10 each seemed doable, except CONTINUE READING

IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Creme SPF 15


As a beauty expert, I’m embarrassed by how late I am to the BB Cream party. In the past year, so many friends and colleagues have asked me about BB Creams—what’s the buzz, which brands are the best, etc. —and they would look at me funny when I admitted to not having tried BB Creams yet. I mean, they CONTINUE READING

CoverGirl Outlast Brilliant Shine Nail Gloss in Vio-last


I’m very fickle about my fingernails. Before I paint my nails or get them professionally did, I spend a inordinate amount of time pondering my polish options. I consider the season, recent trends, my wardrobe that week and anywhere special I might go. But despite all of this planning, I’m usually over my polish choice before it even dries. Not CONTINUE READING

My New Arm Candy: Rebecca Minkoff Swing Bag


After beauty products, handbags are my secondary addiction. But when it comes to arm candy, I have discriminating taste. For me, the perfect handbag seamlessly marries fashion with function, is handcrafted from high-quality materials, has really unique hardware and is classic but edgy - all at the same time. I don't like to carry the of-the-moment "it" bag. I CONTINUE READING

Bust a Move On Over to Saturday.com


Earlier this month, Kate Spade (aka creator of cuteness and the reason why I can't seem to keep money in my wallet), launched a brand new line called Kate Spade Saturday. Kate Spade Saturday is a new global lifestyle brand created to channel the spirit of Saturday seven days a week. This younger, more accessible sister to kate spade new CONTINUE READING

Nails

Polished: Deborah Lippmann Stormy Weather

Posted on by daneen in Featured, Nail Polish, Nails, Polished | Leave a comment
Deborah+Lippmann+Stormy+Weather Polished: Deborah Lippmann Stormy Weather

Deborah+Lippmann+Collection+Stormy+Weather Polished: Deborah Lippmann Stormy WeatherStormy Weather is the product of two people who are among the best in their industries. Deborah Lippmann is a top manicurist who has her own line that includes over 65 shades of nail polish. Narciso Rodriguez a fashion designer known for his sleek, modern designs and use of clean colors. I am an admirer of both of their work!
Stormy weather is a shade that Deborah Lippmann created with Narciso Rodriguez for his Fall 2011 show. It is a deep granite creme shade, that is unlike any color I have seen on the market. As a fan of dark and unexpected nail polish, I had to have this color. I was very excited when it appeared in my Christmas stocking, and could not wait to get some time for a manicure.

This is a great quality polish. It went on smoothly, and looked exactly like it did in the bottle. Above is a shot of two coats of the polish.

Then, it was time to play. After admiring matte effect nails for a long time, I finally purchased my own matte topcoat. I chose OPI for Sephora ($9.50). Here is a shot of Stormy Weather and a matte topcoat.

Deborah+Lippmann+Stormy+Weather+Matte+Topcoat Polished: Deborah Lippmann Stormy Weather

I could not be happier with this manicure!

-Alyssa

Polished: OPI Rainbow Connection

Posted on by daneen in Featured, Nail Polish, Nails, Polished | Leave a comment
opi+muppets+rainbow+connection+nail+polish Polished: OPI Rainbow Connection

“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me!”

OPI’s Rainbow Connection (from The Muppets collection) is billed as the rainbow glitter of your dreams, and oh, it is. This polish contains both small and large chunks of multi-colored glitter – blue, silver, red, orange, pink, green!

I had to to turn off my flash in iPhoto just to get a decent picture of my manicure, as all the photos I took with the flash on just looked like a blur of glitter.

This polish is definitely statement-making, and I think it is a great accessory for the holidays. I am considering a base coat of black polish, topped with Rainbow Connection as my festive manicure for New Year’s Eve. What do you think of this polish?

-Alyssa

Essie Chinchilly with OPI Servin’ Up Sparkle

Posted on by daneen in Featured, Manicure, Nail Polish, Nails, Spoiled Pretty family | Leave a comment

I may be the cosmetics connoisseur of the family, but my mom is definitely the nail phile. I know a lot about polishes and own an extensive library of lacquer, but every now and again I get schooled by my manicure mixtress mother. Her latest combo is a coat of OPI Servin’ Up Sparkle (from the Serena Glam Slam collection) layered over her all-time fave, Essie Chinchilly.


essie+chinchilly+opi+servin+up+sparkle+5 Essie Chinchilly with OPI Servin Up Sparkle
With flash
essie+chinchilly+opi+servin+up+sparkle+4 Essie Chinchilly with OPI Servin Up Sparkle
Without Flash

Polished: A Note On Nail Art

Posted on by daneen in Celebrities, Featured, Manicure, Nail Polish, Nails, Polished | Leave a comment
dita von teese nails Polished: A Note On Nail Art

Hello, spoiled pretty readers!

I adore good nail art. The Internet is full of great examples – chevron stripes, zombie faces, manicures in Tiffany blue with white detail to look like gift boxes – the examples are endless.

Personally, I always wanted to achieve half-moon nails at home. A beauty idol of mine, Dita Von Teese, often rocks a perfect half-moon manicure with ruby red and bare nail.

For my first attempt, I painted the bottom half of my nails silver, and went for purple on the top portion of the nail. It was so ugly, I destroyed the photographic evidence.

For my second and final attempt, I went for bare nails on the bottom portion, and red on the rest of the nail. I applied stickers meant for french manicures on the bottom of my nail, and painted over them. You are supposed to wait until the polish is completely dry to remove the stickers. I didn’t exactly trust that, so I removed the stickers when the polish was still slightly tacky.

alyssa+nail+art Polished: A Note On Nail Art

Some stickers left a well-defined line behind, some were crooked, and more still looked like I hadn’t even used stickers at all. Ugh.

I came to the conclusion that I am far too much of a perfectionist to ever be happy with do-it-yourself nail art on my own nails. I applaud those of you who have the patience and artistic ability to do it, I am just not one of those people. So, I am going to stick to what I am good at – basic manicures!
 
-Alyssa

Chanel Coco Blue and OPI Crown Me Already!

Posted on by daneen in Featured, Manicure, Nails | Leave a comment
 Chanel Coco Blue and OPI Crown Me Already!

After weeks of sporting a chipped-up, raggedy-ass-looking mani because I was too busy to get my nails did, I finally found some time to do them myself. Peep my new polish…

 Chanel Coco Blue and OPI Crown Me Already!

I started with a coat of Zoya Get Even (to create a smooth surface) and a coat of Zoya Anchor base coat. Then I applied two coats of Coco Blue, from the Les Jeans De CHANEL collection. Once Coco Blue dried, I layered OPI’s Crown Me Already! (from the Miss Universe collection) – a mix of sparkly microglitter and larger glitter pieces. Finally, I sealed the deal with Zoya Armor topcoat.

Glitterrific, no?

Polished: Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Enchanted Garnet

Posted on by daneen in Nail Polish, Nails, Polished | Leave a comment

estee+lauder+enchanted+garnet+nail+polish Polished: Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Enchanted Garnet

I was really excited to get this color from Daneen to try. Estee Lauder is a brand that I don’t often think of, but they have been putting out cosmetics in rich, exciting colors – and this polish is no exception! In the bottle, Enchanted Garnet is a clear, shiny red. My excitement faded as I started to apply the polish. The consistency is just off – it was sticky to apply, and dried in translucent layers that showed any and all flaws in my nails. I really wanted to like this polish, but I was disappointed. My search for the perfect blood red continues!

-Alyssa

estee+lauder+enchanted+garnet Polished: Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Enchanted Garnet

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

Posted on by daneen in Fashion Week, Nail Polish, Nails | Leave a comment
nordstrom+catalog+1 Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

You know those tabs that come in Lucky Magazine? You know, the ones so you can bookmark the pages so you can flag the items that you want to buy? Well, those stickers would be completely useless with the latest Nordstrom catalog. Seriously, whoever put that look book together has a window into the retail-obsessed part of my soul.  I want every single thing in that catalog to leap off of the pages and hang itself in my closet.

But what I’m particularly coveting is the gray nail lacquer that some of the models are wearing.

nordstrom+catalog+2 Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

nordstrom+catalog+3 Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

nordstrom+catalog+4 Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

The polish isn’t advertised, so I hit Nordstrom up on Twitter to inquire about who makes it. They quickly responded with an answer (big props to Nordie’s excellent customer-service). Turns out the shade is Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas, described as a “putty-liscious gray creme.”

deborah+lippmann+waking+up+in+vegas Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

Waking Up In Vegas also recently made an appearance at New York Fashion Week – Spring 2012, at Costello Tagliapietra and Narciso Rodriguez (seen below).

deborah+lippmann+waking+up+in+vegas+at+narciso+rodriguez+1 Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegasdeborah+lippmann+waking+up+in+vegas+at+narciso+rodriguez+4 Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

You can snag a bottle for $16 at your local Nordstrom and nordstrom.com.



pixel Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

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