DIY Strap + Essie Spring 2018

Mar 30, 2018

I’ve been having a lot of fun customizing my camera straps with nail polish. In my latest DIY I used my new Nikki silver strap and drizzled the Essie Spring 2018, hook, line and sinker! collection featuring some nautically chic shades including:

Anchor Down – pretty blue washed with pewter gray undertones
Stripes and Sail – intense teal green
Bon Boy-age – a nautical mint green
Pass-port to Sail – soft sandy beige lightly splashed in ivory shimmer
Perfect Mate – coral pink
At the Helm – a fire orange tinged with salmon red

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Essie Ballet Couture Gel Collection

Feb 3, 2017

This month, Essie launched an extension of its Gel Couture range with six new delicate and delightful shades as part of their Ballet Couture collection. If you’ve tried their Gel Couture line (it’s the one in the cool twist bottle), you know it’s probably one of the most long-lasting at home polishes on the market and can last up to two weeks. It’s applied like regular polish (it’s not like the in-salon gel manicures that involves a curing machine) and the other perk is it requires no base coat. Simply apply 2 coats, let it dry, then seal with the special Gel Couture Top Coat and you’re good to go. Shade swatches of the new range below!

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Essie Launches New Treat Love & Color Strengthening Collection

Jan 30, 2017

Essie recently introduced a brand new collection that is a hybrid line between nail color AND nail care called Treat Love & Color. We’ve seen a rise in brands creating more good-for-you nail color to address all the damage we do to our nails with non-stop nail polish application and gel manicures — Sally Hansen launched Color Therapy at the end of last year — and now Essie has launched the “BB cream of nails,” with the new Treat Love & Color collection. While Sally Hansen has gone the oil route (Argan oil to be exact), Essie’s new formula is composed of collagen, camellia leaf extracts, and brightening pigments, to strengthen and improve overall nail health over time with continuous use. They also require no bottom or top coat, which is pretty cool. See swatches and review below!

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Sparkle into the New Year!

Dec 31, 2015

Happy almost New Years everyone! Starting a new year always excited me. Whether or not I keep my resolutions it’s so great taking the time to make them and think about what I want for the new year. New Years eve, it’s my favorite time to break out the sparkles and sequins and shimmer my way into the new year.

Photoed above are some of my top picks and what I’m using tonight to get ready for the parties I’m going to tonight. Admittedly for the Christian Louboutin lipstick, I want to wear it as a necklace more so then wear the nude shade I purchased. It’s also a perfect time to use my new Kate Spade Cedar Street Dot Card Holder. It’s a clutch friendly wallet alternative (it holds 3 cards and has a pocket for money). It’s originally $48 but on sale right now for $38 plus 25% off (which brings it to $28.50), major score!

Body glitter is not my thing but I do believe in glowing from within and nothing makes that happen for me more then a killer fragrance that makes me feel like a million bucks. I’m currently having a love affair with Kilian’s Love & Tears, Surrender fragrance. It’s a blend of Jasmine with orange blossom undertones and is so incredibly sexy! I recently met Kilian himself earlier this month at Bergdorfs where I was introduced to fragrance and have been carrying around my travel sample ever since.

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Classic and Modern Holiday Makeup Inspiration

Dec 8, 2015

Thank you to Target for sponsoring this post!

Nothing excites me like the holidays; it’s the best time of the year to indulge in some serious shimmer and break out the festive reds! To celebrate the season, I’m partnering with Target to create a modern and classic beauty look that’s easy to recreate.

There isn’t anything more classic then a red lip for the holidays. Add in some beach waves for that perfect tousled hair and a winged black liner, and you have a timeless look.

To recreate the look, I started by applying e.l.f. Hydrating Face Primer, followed by Covergirl Outlast Stay Luminous natural glow foundation to even out my skin tone. From there, I used the bronzers from the Pixi Contour Kit (bottom row; I mixed the two shades, but you can use one or the other depending on your skin tone) on my cheekbones, followed by the W3LL People Bio Brightener Stick for an added glow above the contour. I then applied the brightening powder from the Pixi Contour Kit (top row) to set the brightener and blend it with the bronzer. For a more intense highlight, stop after the Bio Brightener.

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Stay Cool This Summer with These Easy Nail Tutorials

Jun 25, 2015

{Disclaimer: Compensation was provided by Target via Mode Media. The products and tips selected from Target are original}

Hi loves, I’m partnering with Target to share all kinds of easy, cool nail looks for summer! While New York’s unofficial color may be black, once summer hits I’m all about the vibrant hues the streets of NYC has to offer. From the flowers at the farmers markets to the great street art around every corner, it’s the beautiful arrays of bright shades that inspire me. And what easier way to incorporate some color into your look than with nail polish?

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Essie Launches Bridal Collection and Gel Setter

May 7, 2015

It’s been a polish-filled spring for Essie! In addition to recently launching six new shades as part of their colorful spring 2015 collection, they launched a Bridal 2015 collection ($8.50 each). Just in time for wedding season, the six piece collection includes a range of light neutrals to pinks and reds.

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NYFW Backstage Beauty: Naeem Khan F/W 2015 Look

Feb 19, 2015

Backstage at Naeem Khan various teams worked to get the models runway ready for what would be a big showing as the brand celebrates their 10th anniversary collection at New York Fashion Week. Julie Kandalec and the Essie team created a brand new color mixture to accent Khan’s glamorous gowns. It’s a mix of gold and silver that results in a warm, champagne tone. “The idea is to bridge the gap between warm and cool and still get that shine,” said Kandalec. To get the look yourself layer two coats of shifting power with a thin coat of jiggle hi, jiggle lo and polish it off with their glossy good to go topcoat.

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NYFW: Rebecca Minkoff F/W 2015 Backstage Report

Feb 17, 2015

Whatever the edgy, rocker beauty moment that was happening backstage at Rebecca Minkoff I’m completely so into it! From the textured bangs created by Orlando Pita for Tresemme, and intensely hot blacked out, “wide eye wanderlust” eyes by Sarah Lucero for Stila Cosmetics to the edgy negative space chevron manicure by Michelle Saunders for Essie. The entire look was edgy and cool and yet still very natural when it went down the runway.

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NYFW: A Parisian Dream at Alice + Olivia SS2015 Presentation

Oct 1, 2014

Alice + Olivia is one of those shows I look forward to attending every season — and it never disappoints! Stacey Bendet’s attention to detail and captivating creating a world around her collection is just further testament to her designer eye. For this year the inspiration was the beauty of Versailles represented by royally waking up from a dream in Paris. And we see this parisian princess come to life in a modern way with a chic braided silk chignon created by Michael Duenas for Schwarzkopf Professional (see how to tutorial HERE) and makeup created by Sara Lucero, Stila’s Global Director of Creative Artistry.

For this dream Lucero wanted etherial glowy skin, doll-like cheeks, dreamy eyes and kiss-stained lips (see product references above).

Nails, created by Rita Remart for Essie included one of the shades: a custom lilac, soft peach and a vibrant coral depending on the models outfit.

Flowy skirts, vintage prints, stunning bead work and incredible accessories reigned on at the beautifully crafted presentation. Take a look: