Thursday, November 26, 2009

COME ON, VOGUE....


Sanity and good taste prevail at Vogue - dope accessories and styling.


Very nice - reminds me of chocolate. Mmmm...chocolate.
Is that a turkey burger?? ....Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
(UPDATE - march 2010... I'm willing to bet my polish collection this is PARTICULIERE by Chanel...)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

PRO(FESSIO) NAILS


Kanye's Kid Sister.... . cute.
Hit the link.

SHAPE WARS







For the longest, things had been decidedly low-key, even snoozy in the world of fashion toward the humble fingernail and all it's accompanying styles, trends, disciplines and 'enhancements'. All models had the shortest, sometimes manicured, natural nails and if there was time and space (and the spare pair of hands to do the work) in the high heir of hair and make-up, some lick of polish that worked with the collection possibly made it to some nails. Acrylic (looking) nails were sneered and scoffed at as being impossibly unstylish, uncouth and just down-right tacky.
But with fashion and music closely following and constantly borrowing back and forth from each other, it was probably only a matter of time before Gwen Stefani and Fergie's trailblazing ironic talons were actually being incorporated into serious runway trends.

So then I blinked, and now it's ALL I'm seeing - EVERYWHERE. I feel like I've been sucked straight back into a SWV video!
Mad colours, length, nail art, embellishments, foil wraps, permanent french (someone please pass the smelling salts...) and shape - oh my gosh, shape!

Tom Ford reintroduced the almond shape in the ad campaign of his 2006 debut eyewear collection and i wasn't really sure then. I was hoping it'd be novelty and nostalgia, and fade to black - but this look has been slowly gaining momentum ever since, with Rihanna championing the cause for, easily at least, the last 6 months and the likes of Kim Kardashian (etc, etc) jumpin on just now. Very recent pics of Rih, show she's taking it to the absolute extreme, with no curve up to the tips at all - straight 'V' shape (New Moon/vampire fever hittin everyone??...)

Fast-forward to the last 3 months, and I'm now seeing serious commitment to early 90's throwback with Blake Lively pushing looong, SQUARE, nude acrylic jobs and my girl, Amber Rose reppin the long and square with her pink+white (see early posts - gag...)
The more I'm seeing of all this extravaganza, i could be possibly (mis)led (dragged backwards, kicking, screaming) down this path.
Could it be my shorties ain't cuttin it anymore?? You don't even know how it hurts me to think this...

DAUL KIM 1989-2009


Models are a dime a dozen. Beauty doesn't even necessarily set some apart from the rest.


Daul Kim did happen to be beautiful, and also had that other elusive thing (that most realised superstars have) that separated her from the pack...


Shocking and very sad.


Her blogspot....


Friday, November 20, 2009

THEM EBAY HUSTLERS...


Soooooo, re: my previous post regarding current insanity around coveted CHANEL jade nail varnish, what did i stumble across perusing my weekly scroll of sites (in search of edutainment and general obnoxious know-all...) but a sneaky pale green polish in the iconic square bottle with the white labelling and black lid - under an Ebay banner.

You cannot get a bottle of JADE (through the usual channels, r.r.p.) for love, money or influence right now. A client that just returned from Hong Kong (where you can't throw a rock without hitting a purveyor of Chanel and the ilk...) reported the Chanel saleswoman fiendishly and cruelly cackled when she inquried about purchasing one (just one...) tiny bottle.

"You no able to get for MONTHS! Sold out, sold out" came the callous reply.
....which brings us back to Ebay. Not that I personally want a bottle of this stuff - I'm still floggin O.P.I.'s 'hey, get in lime' - but I seriously happen to be one of the precious few. Have a small stab at what the current bids for a bottle of (insipid) JADE are...

For a single bottle, with over 6 hours still left on the bidding, it's already rolling in at u.s.$113.o2.
For a bottle of JADE green and JADE rose, you can buy the pair now for just u.s.$169.00!
W.O.W......
I reiterate - Chanel nail varnish will NOT stay on your nails chip-free for more than 3 days REGARDLESS of even the most superduper base, topcoat and skills you could employ to help your cause. I also reiterate, HOW do you know what brand it is once it's out the bottle and on your nails??? ...Well, you could always have a couple of linked 'C' decals stuck over the top to seal the deal? Those suckas ran me about $3.95 for a pack of 50....
Wonder what Alain de Botton would make of all this....

Monday, November 9, 2009

MCQUEEN HEARTS MINX



I would not, by any stretch of the imagination, call myself a fashionista (nor would anyone else - yet, possibly an affectionado...) but I love beautiful things and have a solid appreciation for creativity, creative courage, beauty, artistic expression, strength and intellect - and by way of this, have always had a soft spot for Alexander McQueen.
Minx were doin it big for McQueen this Paris Fashion Week (a month or so ago - I'm a lil' late...). Respect to Philippe Ardouin for amazing pics captured at the McQueen show (not shown here) - hit up the link below to see their handiwork close up.
Minx really is spanning the whole fashion stretch at the moment from haute couture to rockstar celebrity to hot girls on the street...

http://famespy.com/2009/11/06/minx-nails-it-at-paris-fashion-week-alexander-mcqueen-gareth-pugh-models-sport-minxed-nails/

LUNDZAY...

Here's our lovable Lundzay (serial tanning f#!%-up) once again (...) showing us what NOT to do with your spray tan.

Man, this chick is killing my business - the amount of work i've gotta do to undo what she does for the reputation of spraytanning...

Still, it makes for fun posting! Enjoy...

PERRY NAILS IT.

Katy Perry tweeted this pic of her Disco Nails.

With soooo much nail art flying around right now, there is much (MUCH!) room for serious error, but I'm applauding these ones.

It helps that Katy has beautiful nails to start with, but the truly dazzling aspect of these nails is the precision in the work - this nail chick is worth her weight in diamonds.

Well executed. 10's all round....

EH??....

....this pic is making the rounds at the moment, so let me join in the fun to state my bizness...

I'm a big fan of short. I'm a big fan squared off. And believe it or not, I'm actually a fan of this particular artwork... But! Why (why?!) ANY client would want their hands to resemble elephants feet is truly beyond me.

These go straight to the 'Engorged and Disfigured' beauty category, right next to Trout Pout and Monster (let's-schedule-for-back-surgery-next) Tits.

'Bubble Nails' - ladies... are we really THAT bored??

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

TAN ON, TAN OFF...

If you are a spraytan... devotee (addict, junkie and psycho are such strong words...) then you will know that getting that old tan off at the end of the spray week ranks right up there next to root canal, visits to the gynie, doing taxes. Even when it's looking like old Uncle Marvin's disturbing skin disorder, that 'ish stays stuck harder than V.Becks to a Hermes Birkin.

This beauty rigmarole is so reviled because it usually looks (and feels) like, for some creative reason, you went forth with a cheese grater to get the stuff off your epidermis.
It's only the memory (...and the angels singing and dancing around the promise) of the new, fresh spraytan that pushes you forward to bother week to week.

Enter Nutrimetics Nutri-Rich Shower Oil.
This is one of those cases where a product does an entirely other thing to what was intended - and we should all bow down to that. This right here... is magic (no, really).

Not only does it melt (yes, melt!) your existing tan off, it leaves your skin feeling hydrated (not lying...) AND it smells yummy!

So, hunt down that local Nutrimetics lady and get you some (then make her your b.f.f.). It should retail between $20 and $30 a bottle.

*Pro tip - you can use it on a loofah mitt/body glove in the shower, but if you have the time to soak in a bath, you will use waay less product (2 tablespoons max), less water and the results are even better!

Mr Miyagi would be proud.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

SEXY LITTLE MINX....

Wonder when Oz will see these? You would think you're only doin it if you got these big numbers RihRih is so fond of at the momento, but they do actually look kinda cute on my preference (much shorter). hit up the link below...

These could easily be extremely wrong, but i think with the right colour/pattern combination, most of us could team up at least one set of these with our fav little rockstar ensemble.

Might see if my connects up North can hook me up before this look ends up in the dumpster (trendsters can be SO fickle...).


Monday, November 2, 2009

ON THE JOB




Thank GOODNESS for mac and kit...
MAC's A/W '09/'10 range and the new kit cosmetics Dulux range.
MAC's COOL RESERVE (nails around the eye) and kit's
DULUX KISS (3rd in)

TOUCH OF MAUVE....



So we're doin it up for Colour of the Week right now (drum roll, please...)

Well, it's not green, that's for sure!

With most of the world's fashion authorities firmly placed in A/W '09/'10 mode, we here in the sub-tropical climates are about to be looking for more spring/summer inspired colours. With our trends all washed out in pastels, nails aren't far behind...

This divine slick of a varnish is not pink and it's not purple - it's somewhere in between -a lilac, if you will (so ridiculous with an accompanying tan...), and it's called GRAPEADE (well, it used to be called GRAPEADE - Creative have discontinued it (so shortsighted - once again, heartbroken).

BUT!... seeing as here in Oz, Creative (cnd) is a salon-only product and therefore not readily retail-available, I'm proud to announce that the good people at MAC and kit cosmetics have both come up with their sterling versions of this colour. (p.s. thanks for the endorsement, Agy ...I'll co-sign the 'nana yellow toenails too).

MAC's COOL RESERVE is already sold out online, but kit cosmetics have just released DULUX KISS (slightly more pink than lilac), in a series of Dulux paints-inspired pastels that i need to get every colour of (see post above...)

Don't you just love Spring??