Fall 2012 Couture influenced nail art

Now that nail art is seen as an acceptable and fashionable form of artistic expression (it seems to have almost completely stripped itself of its formerly tacky connotations: crazy aunts, ghetto mamis, guidettes, white trash vixens, etcetera), it seems as though everything has potential to inspire a 10-finger masterpiece, from sunsets to Disney movies to Andy Warhol's artwork, and there is no shortage of people ready and willing to create tiny works of art, using their hands (and feet) as their tableaus.

From Flickr, to blogs, to YouTube uploads, the internet is a goldmine that showcases the talented individuals that are taking nail art to an elevated platform.
My favorite nail blog is The Daily Nail, as my mind is blown every single time I read a new post. The blogger decided to, in October 2010, dedicate every day to a new manicure. This reminds me of Julie Powell's culinary journey a la "Julie and Julia". The author (and amazing artist) is inspired by a range of interests that translate into some very, very cool manicures. From movies to books, songs, food, characters, culture, etcetera, every bit of pop culture is represented.  My favorites manicures of hers include sixties-inspired  "In the 'Mod'", the Smurfs "Blast from the Past", Dr. Seuss "Dr. Seussical" - plus many more.

Should you now have the itch to do some more nail art exploring, here are a few links to get you started on your search:

1. Hey, Nice Nails!

2. Pretty in Polish

3. Chalkboard Nails

4. Cute Polish 

5. Pixie Polish


Everyone draws inspiration from somewhere for nail art. My inspiration comes from the Fall 2012 couture shows. With hundreds of glorious, custom-made pieces brimming with ornate, one-of-a-kind details, the treasure trove of outfits from couture week would give me more than enough fodder to do a few manicures. Following are some of the looks that are begging to be recreated via nail art. (Gown photos c/o nymag.com)


1. Christian Dior's electric green ballgown

Possibly using Rescue Beauty Lounge's Abi nail polish?

2. Valentino's royal purple Baroque dress

Possibly using Essence's Purple Magic polish?

3. Armani Prive's glittering pastel gradiant gown

Possibly using Essie's shades of Lilacism, Bangle Jangle and Cascade Cool?

4. Zuhair Murad's vibrantly hued, three-dimensional blossoms

Possibly using Nails Inc.'s polishes in St. James, Portobello  and Floral Street?

5. Alexandre Vauthier's metallic hardware

Possibly using Deborah Lippmann's Boom Boom Pow and Like a Virgin polishes?

At the Vanity - Makeup samples and subscription boxes

Ah samples, who doesn't love them?

Why would I buy a full-size product and hope that it lives up to the claims on its packaging when, instead,  I can test out a small-size portion on my own time, away from garish department store lighting and pushy salespeople? Many times, these samples are what draw customers back to in to buy the full-size portions. When I'm working in Sephora, several clients will return to the store days after having sampled a product, asking to buy the full-size product.

With the advent of stores like Sephora and Ulta, whose claims to fame are the accessible testers of each item sold in-store, consumers now want to test out products before buying them. And with good reason. For instance,several people have very sensitive skin that reacts negatively to certain ingredients found in many products. Others simply want to test out a product to wear over the course of a normal day in their life to see if it works with their specific wants and needs (say, a cross-country skier with perennially dry skin will need a different moisturizer than a teenage girl who is looking to cut down on oil and shine). At Sephora, we make sure to ask each client what issues he or she is looking to target and fix. This enables us to create samples of products that are specifically targeted to fix said issue while keeping in mind the unique preferences of the client.

Sephora has a "club" that shoppers can join which allows them to rack up beauty points that can be traded in for large, consistently updated samples of products. At any given time, there will be three different 100-point products, and one or two 500-point products offered in deluxe samples to beauty insiders. These samples usually change on a weekly basis. At my Sephora location, the three 100-point samples for this week are a Tarina Tarantino Fleur de Lash mascara, an Ole Henriksen  Truth Serum Collagen Booster and a Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm. The 500-point gift is a Caudalie 3-piece Beauty Essentials kit.

(photo c/o sephora.com)

These products can be chosen in-store or online, and there is a link on the website where Beauty Insiders can see which products are being offered at any given time. Even if shoppers aren't part of the Beauty Insider program, every online order allows them to choose three samples from a large selection of possible choices.

Aside from free samples, the store has a section called "Beauty To Go" where smaller sized versions of popular products are available so that, as with sampling, clients can try products to see if they like them before throwing down a pretty penny on something that leaves them feeling "meh". These junior versions of products in Beauty To Go can also function as travel size products when one doesn't want to deal with the hassle of redistributing a product into different containers.

It's not just Sephora that's in on the "deluxe sample" action. New Beauty (of the magazine) recently set up a boutique shop in the Los Angeles Fred Segal boutique, where they launched the TestTube, a sampling station inside of the store where customers can pack a capsule with samples that they choose from the 30 available options.

 But it's not just brick-and-mortar stores that offer freebie packs.

Beauty brands such as Julep have started subscriber programs where, for a monthly fee (Julep's is $20 per month) the brand will mail a box of items (some sample-sized, others full-sized) every month for the user to try.

Birchbox, Glossybox, Joliebox and Lust Have It are all companies that were founded on the same premise as above (a subscription to a monthly box of beauty goodies), but instead of sending only a single brand's products, various brands are represented in each package. And though there seems to be a point of contention between these brands (they are essentially built on the same business model), not all are stationed stateside - Glossybox focuses on international brands and is based out of several different countries, Birchbox is also home-based, but focuses both on well-known brands and up-and-comers, Joliebox is made in the United Kingdom and France and Lust Have It is Australia's version.

 (photo c/o birchbox.com)

(photo c/o glossybox.com)

(photo c/o joliebox.co.uk)

(photo c/o lusthaveit.com.au)

 Blogger Pink Sith showed the goods that she received in her June 2012 Birchbox: a full-size Stila bronzer, a Juicy Couture fragrance sample, a Coola mineral sunscreen, a lip stain from The Balm and a colorful ziplock bag that is the perfect size to take on flights. (Did you click on the link for the Stila bronzer? Anything that is sent out in the monthly Birchbox can be purchased from birchbox.com).

If one is a fan of novelty and discovering new products and brands, then these subscription boxes may be just the answer. As was discussed on Pink Sith, the $10/month price for the Birchbox may seem negligible when a $36 bronzer is delivered in the box. However, it's a gamble. What if a subscriber doesn't like anything that was sent in the box for three months? Is that $30 that could have potentially been spent on one full-size product that the subscriber knows that she would have loved? But then again, people pay for magazine subscriptions with the hope that each issue will behold information that is relatable and interesting. That doesn't always happen, either.

So, what are your thoughts on these beauty subscription/sampling services? Would you be willing to pay for one, and if so, which?

Best of Menswear - Spring 2013

(images c/o style.com)

I find that I like watching the progression of menswear shows because they provide me with a different perspective as to which outfits I like and why. With the womens shows, for instance, I look at each piece coming down the runway from a few viewpoints, such as:


A) Is the overall look flattering to the wearer (or rather, would it be flattering to a non-model)?


B) Is there something innately attractive about it and/or is there a particularly well-executed aspect to the outfit, be it print, color, cut, fabric, or all of the above?


 C) Is there a sense of newness to the look that lends a certain novelty to it? Is said newness so interesting that it could potentially spawn a new trend?


D) Do I like the outfit because it looks like a day-to-day outfit I would and could readily wear, an outfit that I would want my alter ego to wear, an outfit that is so luxurious, custom-made and untouchable that it would live only in my daydreams or is it unwearable, but should still be admired and commended like a beautiful piece of art?

There are always quite a few outfits I like for the artistic value they lend rather than for their attractive appeal. This can be good and bad. The bad comes into play when I like an outfit for its well-executed details, but then I forget about the big picture, namely that it may not be appealing to the opposite sex. I get so excited about little details like, for instance, a well-placed bow or pleated leather on an outfit that I forget that said bow is mounted atop a shoulder pad or that the pleated leather is also harboring sharp studs; neither look coinciding with traditional ideas of what men generally find to be attractive attire. For instance, I remember showing this Balmain Resort 2013 number to a guy friend, gushing over how much I liked the outfit, only to be met with resistance on his part. Our conversation went something like this:
Him (looking at the picture): "Wait, so, why do you like what she's [the model] wearing?"
Me: "The pants are perfectly tailored and they hit the ankle at the right point so that the heel isn't overlapped by fabric. The well-defined shoulders of the jacket offset the --"
Him: "Stop. I don't care about where the heels and the jacket meet, or whatever. Those are jester pants and they don't look good. Find a dress. Without that pattern. Seriously, it's weird."

But with the menswear shows, I browse the offerings both as a lover of fashion that takes into account the four types of criteria from above, and also from a woman's viewpoint, deciding whether or not an outfit, though it has interesting details or is artistically sound, would look appealing on a man.

 For instance, though I am in awe of how great this Alexander McQueen outfit looks on this particular model who is languidly standing in a whitewashed studio, if I were to see a guy-next-door wearing this, concerns about his character would most assuredly come up. Suffice to say, the ratio of chest hair exposed versus shirt plus the juxtaposition of interesting prints and then the addition of a pocket square would probably make me slink the other way. Unless this man was lounging casually on a yacht docked somewhere in Lido, then no, we'd not be friends.

But then take a peek at the Canali look underneath. The suit is elegant, yet relaxed, as is the jacket. This look conveys the message of, "I know how to dress and I take pride in my appearance, but clothes don't rule my life." The light jacket and the semi-relaxed fit of the suit, combined with the neutral color palette and malleable fabrics makes this look something I am in complete favor of. I feel as though I could hug this guy without worrying that I'd put a detrimental crease in anything that he's wearing.

That being said, here is a rundown of some looks that I favored from the Spring 2013 menswear shows.

Walter Van Beirendonck - This look would probably fall into the B and D categories from above. I like the crisp cut of the jacket, especially with the brass buttons (surprising) and it looks great when paired with the collarless piqué shirt. The sheer flamboyance of the look earns it a D, and that tophat is so Mad Hatter that I have no choice but to love it.

Neil Barrett - I think I like the idea of this look more than the actual outfit itself. By all means, put a casual douse on that formal jacket, but perhaps the satin lapels are pushing it over the top. But the colors are perfect and I like the "business on the top, party on the bottom" idea.

Hermès - Just as the above look from Neil Barrett suggested a split-down-the-middle ratio of casual to formal wear, then this look by French fashion house Hermès is the less dramatic, more luxurious cousin to it. And if the baseball shirt mentioned in the Style.com review by Tim Blanks is what we're seeing here, then it is made from chiffon crocodile.

Canali - This collection was pure gold. Several "themes" were enmeshed in designer Giorgio Canali's show, enabling people with varying tastes to cherry pick their way through the collection (or perhaps give every piece a thumbs-up). Looks ranged from relaxed, white suits that mimicked styles of Gatsby-esque landed gentry to the dramatic flair of a metallic suit to the bright and formal jackets that Brad Goreski tends to favor. Though there are eccentric additions to the outfits, they overall remain down-to-earth and approachable.

Ermenegildo Zegna - Dapper.

Diesel Black Gold - Somehow this works. Even with the vest. Especially with the bag.

Berluti - Italian-helmed, Paris-based brand Berluti is known for its fine leather mens shoes and bags. According to Tim Blanks' review, the brand used to offer its 'Alessandro' shoe in more than 100 colors, such was its commitment to ensuring that every customer got a pair suited distinctly for him.The brand has seemingly crept into designing clothing as well, and thank goodness for that, as each look in this collection lends a custom elegance that doesn't take attention away from the wearer, instead serving only to enhance him.

Brioni - Brioni's collection gains power from its simplicity. No frills or head-scratching accessories, simply well-hewn pieces cut from (what looks to be) crisp linen. Also, all of the great shoes. Lace-ups to loafers...all great.

Belstaff - This English brand is best known for the waterproof outerwear it created specifically for travelers, most notably its creation of waxed cotton used to repel the elements. The outdoorsy lineage can still be spied in the line's latest offerings, but with a decidedly more "city guy" appeal. But that could be due to the sandals. Can't ride a motorcycle, go spelunking or go hunting in footwear like that. But physically taxing activities aside, I'm a fan of what I see.

Burberry - Oh Christopher Bailey, always keeping us on our toes. The designer does a fabulous job of ensuring that the historic brand stays relevant with the younger generations, not only by introducing a makeup line, but also by employing famous Brits such as starlet Emma Watson and supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to star in ad campaigns. The curve ball that came at us in this collection? Neon metallics. On sandals, on sunglasses, on trousers...and yes, even on the brand's bespoke trenches. Some looks are blindingly bright, while others seem to mimic the brand's age-old appeal to neutrals...until you catch a neon-encompassed foot. Cheeky man, that Mr. Bailey. I like it.

Local Spotlight - Snow & Company ~ Artful Frozen Cocktails

I'm an ice cruncher. I prefer my drinks to be chock-full of crushed (not cubed, please) ice whereby I can simultaneously crunch and sip on...whatever beverage I've chosen to crunch and sip on. I am also a lover of (artfully concocted) cocktails, especially I have the option of ordering a "taster pack" so that I can try the whole kit and caboodle without committing to just one drink. If you like tasty, granulated iced beverages that are made fresh every day in a sleek shop manned by a funny, informative mixologist-cum-juicer-cum-waiter, then head on over to Snow and Company - an orange-exteriored, blue- and green-interiored, modish bistro that sells unique frozen cocktails and light meals.

Located on Wyandotte Street in the Kansas City Crossroads district, Snow and Company - which has been open for less than a year - is known for its unique icy, mixed, smoothie-esque drinks that are made fresh several times per day and that churn in slushie machines that can be seen from the front door.

The interior is very spacious and has a mod element to it. The decor fuses stark industrial elements (high, exposed ceilings and simple, streamlined furniture) with warm, relaxing touches (a wide palette of design colors, comfy chairs and couches) that strike the perfect balance.

When my friend Shannon and I walked in, Adam (the aforementioned mixologist-cum-juicer-cum-waiter) greeted us jovially and told us he'd be with us in a minute after he quickly finished juicing a few fruits. Snow and Company offers happy hour on items like glass wines, Boulevard beer and snacks such as quinoa and hummus and THEN there are more drinks to consider.

This is when Adam showed up. He was juicing all of the fruits that are used in every drink in the store, as the drinks are made fresh as many times as needed per day. There is a full page of drinks offered on the menu, such as Snow Drinks which are chilled and iced, including the Sunshine Boulevard, made with lemonade, a Boulevard Wheat and 360 Vodka from Weston, Missouri or The Rockefeller, which is an iced Manhattan made with Old Overholt Rye Whiskey, cherries, sweet vermouth, bitters and simple syrup. Then there are Hot-Tails, such as the Tres Irish which combines Tres Leche liquer, Jameson and Oddly Correct's Pot Kettle Black coffee. Shots are available, as are beer and wine, as well as non-alcoholic drinks such as the Rieger Hotel Cola, which the local restaurant actually creates itself, as well as Soda Vie's cucumber soda.

This is when we found out that there are tasters options for trying a little bit of some drinks instead of a lot of just one drink. There is a Frozen Flight that offers three different flavors, and then there are two types of tasting trays: one that serves five small tasters, and one that serves 10.
Shan and I opted to each get a Frozen Flight.
Adam let us know about a few drinks that aren't on the regular menu, including:
a) The Fashionista - a mix of strawberry puree, moonshine and whiskey
b) The Pink Slipper - a mix of bitters and grapefruit and ginger liquor infusions
c) The Crossroads Iced Tea - similar to a Long Island Iced Tea, this drink mixes five liquors with root beer. The side note in this description was that this drink is so good that it will sneak up on you.

Shannon chose The Pink Slipper, Elbow's Sexual Chocolate (mixed with spiced Christopher Elbow chocolate, St. Germain, Cointreau and milk), and The Fashionista.
I chose The Fashionista, The Rockefeller, and the Sailor's Gold (Sailor Jerry spiced rum, lemonade, Gran Gala, orange juice and pineapple juice).

(Left to right: The Fashionista, Sailor's Gold, The Rockefeller)

Consensus: 
The Fashionista was the lightest and easiest to drink, which surprised up both considering that it was mostly a whiskey-moonshine drink.
Elbow's Sexual Chocolate was good, though thick, and it started out tasting like a Wendy's chocolate shake and ended with an overt spiciness that tasted like Christmas...if you can try and picture that.
The Pink Slipper I really enjoyed, though the tartness of the grapefruit showed up early to the party and never left.
Sailor's Gold was creamier than The Fashionista due to the orange juice, but was just as refreshing.
The Rockefeller tasted like...well, a Manhattan. It can be a little rough going down in smoothie form, though, as every little ice crystal sticks to your throat, ensuring that your tastebuds really milk out every bit of liquor.

(Co-owner Jerry and Adam kicking it behind the counter)

There are two happy hours every day that include light meals and drinks, the shop is relaxed and spacious, the staff is friendly and helpful, and the drinks are delicious and fresh. Pay Snow and Company a visit when in town and follow the company's musings on Twitter at @SnowAndCompany whenever you aren't in the neighborhood.

Under-the-radar makeup brands

We are all familiar with the behemoths of the makeup industry, whether it be the drugstore brands like Revlon, Almay and L'Oreal, the mid-range brands such as MAC, Urban Decay, Tarte and Smashbox, or the luxury brands such as Dior, Chanel and Shiseido. However, it is the lesser known cosmetics counterparts to these brands that deserve their due face time in the spotlight.

Though some of these smaller, independent brands create and sell quality, high-pigmented products, it is their lack of shelf space in stores such as Sephora and Ulta or in major department and grocery stores like Walgreens and Wal-Mart that alienate them from many shoppers. A large percentage of these brands are sold via online retailers, through their own websites, or in stores abroad, which doesn't allow for potential customers to test out or swatch products. The lack of a tangible, "know for sure that it will work for me" guarantee makes many people pass on buying products that they can try out themselves. Add in the fact that a potential customer would have to not only research these brands to find products being offered, but they would also take a chance on buying makeup based solely on online pictures without being able to smell or touch the product itself. Because let's face it, nobody wants to buy something that looks beautiful in pixels, but may smell like an old shoe once it arrives in your possession.

But with the increasingly high premium placed on newness and finding the "next, new cool thing", consumers are casting their nets wide in order to find untapped reserves (aka new brands and products) that they haven't previously heard of or tried. Then add in how social media has greatly aided communication between makeup junkies and makeup brands because of the utilization of blog forums, review sites and picture-uploading sites such as Instagram, and you'll find that these brands and their products are gaining more exposure through word-of-mouth recommendations and user-generated content with little advertising dollars spent. It's the age of PR, baby.

A few of the brands that have been hard at work behind-the-scenes, so to speak:

1. Sugarpill Cosmetics - An eyeshadow/eyelash brand dedicated to providing vibrant color selections and whimsically named products, Sugarpill also hosts on its website links to video tutorials created by popular YouTube users and bloggers that incorporate the brand's products into their uploads. For example, popular user Nikki Tutorials created a look that used Sugarpill products, and considering she has more than 186,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel, that is a lot of potential customers being targeted (and potential profits being made). And if you are tired of trying to decipher which color of a piece of makeup is based upon the hue dotted at the top of its plastic container (which is always 10 shades off, always), never fear, as Sugapill uploads true-to-color photo swatches of its pigments alongside a photo of its packaged product (though sometimes the photos don't expand even when clicked a few times).
Another plus is Sugarpill's Facebook page, where new photos of people trying out different looks using the brand's products are uploaded everyday for bright and off-the-beaten-path looks.

2. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) - I briefly mentioned OCC when I posted about my birthday beauty wishlist, and there was a reason I mentioned the brand. OCC takes a sparse approach to promoting its products, as its website has a minimalistic design, thereby allowing the photos of said products to take center stage. Not only are the OCC products incredibly pigmented and long-wearing, but the color selection is in a league of its own in the cosmetics industry. You can purchase one of the brand's Lip Tars not just in pretty, typical girly shades, but also in bright tangerines, swamp monster browns, seafoam greens - and more. Plus, you can mix as many shades together to create your own personal color hybrid. The packaging, too, gives off an unfussy approach without bells and whistles to distract from the products. Instead, chemistry lab-esque, translucent bottles emblazoned with simple black text house the goods. Also check out the brand's Facebook page to see photos uploaded from bloggers, TV shows and from upcoming collections.

 

3. Lush Cosmetics - What started out as a low-key, natural brand that gained recognition for the unique way it created and named its bath, hair and body products has now turned into a force to be reckoned as it keeps growing, launching an even more expansive line of products (including a newly minted makeup line) and updating its homemade-esque packaging for brighter duds. I actually wrote a letter to the brand eight years ago, asking them to open a store in Kansas, and provided them with a list of potential locations that they could scout for retail space. (Not that I was one to make or break Lush's decision, but a year after I wrote that letter, the brand set up shop in Oak Park Mall. Just saying.) 

Usually when new concepts and products create buzz, other brands come running to mimic said products in order to gain the success that the trailblazer enjoyed. But honestly, Lush has stayed largely unrivaled. 

Here are some of Lush's interesting and oh-so-fun products that are worth a peek:

*Shower Jellies - These jellies inject a sense of childish fun into the process of getting clean. Because face it, tried-and-true washing with shower gels never made anyone crack a smile. 

*Bath Bombs - Solid shower salts that break down once in a bathtub aren't a a new idea, but the crazy colors, names and interesting ingredient additions do make Lush stand out more than anything else on the market. 

How about Sex Bomb? It's a ylang-ylang-scented bath bomb made with swirling rosy hues replete with a tiny, creamy pink rose embedded in the middle.

Take a look at Phoenix Rising, a bright purple mound with pieces of electric-colored ingredients molded together with gold dust and spicy apple scents that is topped off with a cinnamon stick placed in the center. 

I used to own a bath bomb that was baby pink and was jam-packed with hot pink glitter so that when it was dropped into a bath and luxuriated in, I'd be able to come out glimmering and glitzy. And oh, did I. Loved it the first day, but a week later when I would find the odd piece of glitter on my nose or stuck to a kneecap, I decided to forego overtly glitter-filled bombs. 

*Solid Shampoos - Sure, Lush has liquid shampoos, but can you recall having ever seen - much less used - a solid shampoo? Much like the Bath Bombs, the solid shampoos are hard to the touch until run under water, thereby becoming more malleable. And these macaron-shaped hair revver-uppers come in trouble shooting formats, such as the olive green Squeaky Clean, an oily scalp remedy that uses rosemary as a main ingredient, or Soft, a volumizing shampoo that incorporates Irish moss seawood to invigorate and enliven dull hair. 

There are many more fun, intriguing and never-before-seen products in the online store, so jump in and take a peek around.

4. Medusa's Makeup - If Urban Decay, MAC and Sugar Pill had a love child (just roll with me here),  it would be Medusa's Makeup. The price points are low ($8 pressed eyeshadows), the product names are cheeky (Xanadu, Pegasus, Wasabe), there are pressed powders AND loose pigments and the colors are loud.

Similar to Lush's unique product offerings, I find that Medusa's Makeup has a few one-of-a-kind products that stand out from the rapidly expanding cosmetics market. The first, Eyeliner Seal, is an inexpensive liquid that turns loose or pressed powder eyeshadows and/or pigments into liquid eyeliner or paint with a simple mix. Though this type of product isn't completely unknown (Too Faced has a similar, yet smaller product), for the price and ability to mix with other brands, it is in a league of its own. The second product is a hot pink artist's palette that holds up to 12 eyeshadows at the same time. Once more, an inexpensive product that fulfills a market need, and in this case, looks really, really cool. And the third product that I haven't been able to get out of my head since I discovered Medusa's Makeup a few years ago is the brand's signature electric pink-tipped kabuki makeup brush. I generally like black brushes as I can see the powder on the bristles and decide whether to apply or tap, but the neon pink of this brush just.keeps.calling.me.back.

 

5. Models Own - Though this London-based company isn't necessarily "indie", it hasn't received a ton of press stateside, and that should change STAT. Aside from its brilliant website, Twitter and Facebook accounts that feature colorful and eye-catching pics along with information on new product launches, Models Own has done a marvelous job at positioning itself as the cool, hip brand that can back up its "let the good times roll" USP with products that are as high-quality as they are fun to look at. It should be obvious by now that bright colors and glitter stop me in my tracks similar to a hound hot on the trail, so it makes complete sense that I managed to scroll around the Models Own site for the better part of an hour to eventually buy the Beetlejuice Mini Set for nails. 

So by all means, explore outside the realms of the known and discover some of the amazing international or up-and-coming brands that aren't found in every shopping mall or drugstore.