Deborah Lippmann Celebration Nail Lacquer Trio Swatches and Review

Deborah Lippmann has been a busy gal this holiday season! There are lots of great mini lacquer sets available from the brand right now, and one of them is the Celebration Nail Lacquer Trio, made for Deb's 15th anniversary. The three polishes come in a nice gift box with an artistic marbled background featuring the shades in the set.

Big Spender is a yellow gold metallic foil. I used three coats for the coverage you see here. Unfortunately, I don't think this shade is very flattering, but others may enjoy this kind of vibrant gold.

It's My Party is a blue, peach, gold, and red glitter topper in a clear base. The mix of colors is so cute! I chose to layer one coat over Deborah Lippmann Don't Stop Believin' (not included in the set) to show the glitter more clearly. I want to try this one layered over black.

New York State of Mind is a glowy cherry red shimmer. People that aren't normally into reds may be swayed by this beauty. It covered perfectly at two coats. Totally gorgeous.

This set retails for $29 and includes three mini lacquers (.27 oz). Lippmann mini bottles are my favorite -- they are just like her full size square, heavy bottom bottles, except cuter! It's not an inexpensive brand, but the mini sets are a great way to dip your toes in if you've been curious about Deb's polishes.

The Celebration trio is available now from retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales and is also available from DeborahLippmann.com.

Read More

CND VINYLUX Gilded Dreams for Holiday 2014

CND's newest release is their Gilded Dreams collection, a trio of three holiday-appropriate shades that are described as "Marie Antoinette meets Cinderella." My swatches show the VINYLUX shades, a gel-lacquer hybrid system (including topcoat) that claims week-long chip free wear. The holiday release also includes matching Shellac shades, as well as Additives and new holiday Scentsations lotions.

Chiffon Twirl is easily my favorite of the trio! This rose gold foil is so holiday. I used two coats, and though it went on with some brushstrokes, they all but disappeared as the polish dried down. Finished with the VINYLUX top coat.

Dazzling Dance is a blue-tinted sheer base with pink shimmer and small silver sparkles. In my first swatch, I layered it over CND Vinylux Svelte Suede, which created this really nice "subtle with a kick" mani that actually really grew on me. Karen at Beauty Geeks also tried layering it over black, which looks gorgeous, too.

Here it is at three coats alone. Not so appealing.

Grand Gala is a gold with a bit of a pink shift. It's still somewhat sheer at three coats, and alone, it has an older feel to it. I'd love to try this one with some nail art over it. Like Dazzling Dance, it goes on with a few brushstrokes but they fade away as the polish dries down.

A couple of notes about the VINYLUX topcoat: though it dries fairly quickly, it is not as fast as a quick dry topcoat. If you are used to those, be sure to give this manicure a bit of extra time to dry before you go about your day. Once it dries, this topcoat gives a hard, protective finish that only improves with exposure to natural light. For the week long chip free wear, you need to use the system.

I also tried out the Scentsations Gilded Dreams lotion trio! I am OB.SESSED. with the CND Scentsations lotion in Birch & Mint so I was eager to see how I liked these.

• Gilded Blossom is my favorite of the scents. It is scented with green apple, lemon, bergamot, and musk. It has a soft gold shimmer in it.
• Crushed Amber is scented with grapefruit, lemon, jasmine, vanilla, and praline. It was probably my least favorite of the scents. In my notes, I wrote "sharp yet warm, wintry." I didn't notice any visible shimmer in this one.
• Vanilla Shimmer is a CND classic, scented like vanilla (you guessed it)! It has a silver/pearlescent sparkle to it. It is not subtle. You'll be blinging all day! 

This collection also includes four new Additives and Shellac counterparts to the VINYLUX polishes. If you are a Shellac kind of gal, be sure to ask for these shades at your local salon!

CND VINYLUX is sold in salons and professional beauty supply stores. Recently, it was also announced that some of the CND line will be sold online through Loxa Beauty! VINYLUX polishes retail for $9.90 and the Scentsations trio retails for $13.90.

Read More