Fingers Crossed — Jezebel's Cherry Blossom Nails

My gals at Jezebel posted one of their favorite nail polish colors for Spring, and I couldn't agree more.

Here's a great swatch of Essie Go Ginza. I really encourage you to check out Beauty Junkies Unite; they've got swatches of the entire Essie Spring 2013 collection. I'm loving Bond With Whomever, too...

Oh, Essie. I have a soft spot for Essie mainly because:

1. When I got my first professional manicure at the tender age of 14, my glamorous stepmother took me to a posh salon — in Darien, Connecticut, no less. Bouge to the bouge. It was at this salon that I encountered bottles of Essie for the first time. I liked the square bottles, I loved the logo embossed in glass along the side and...
2. My childhood nickname was Chessie. Never Fran, and certainly not Frannie. Oftentimes Chess. So I liked to pretend that it was (Ch)essie nail polish. Still do.

But despite these legitimate and heartwarming reasons, I hate painting with Essie. Love the colors, love the logo, love the name... hate the brush. I absolutely hate it. So tiny, barely spreads... It's enough of a disappointment to steer me in the direction of a dupe whenever I can.

So if there are any readers who also hate the Essie brush, may I suggest OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender? You'll get a very similar color (albeit not exactly a dupe) that will go on much more smoothly.

xxo, Francesca

Giveaway — Lone Wolf Accents: Black Crystal Clover Hand Chain

If you loved the jewelry I modeled for Lone Wolf Accents, now's your chance to score a hand chain for yourself! One of my favorite hand chains from the shoot was the Black Crystal Clover. This statement piece, handmade in Los Angeles with precious metals and sparkling crystals, can be found on Lone Wolf Accents for $67.

But I have a Black Crystal Clover Hand Chain to giveaway to one lucky reader.

Entering for your chance to win is easy — just leave a comment on this post! No duplicate entries, please.

Wanna score an extra entry? Become a follower of the blog for your name to be entered twice. (Already a follower? You'll definitely get an extra entry after you comment on the post.)

The cutoff for entries is 11:59pm Pacific time on Sunday, December 9th. The winner will be randomly selected through Random.org and announced on Monday, December 10th. For this giveaway, only winners with U.S. shipping addresses are eligible. (Sorry for the inconvenience, worldwide readers!) For the nitty gritty details, click here.

bestofluck, Francesca

Lone Wolf Accents ... and Me!

A few weeks ago, I received an email with some incredibly exciting news. :-D

Lone Wolf Accents, a jewelry company based here in Los Angeles, had been looking at some local nail bloggers to model their latest collection of hand chains. You guys know I have some fantastic hand modeling experience on my resume, so was it really a surprise that they picked me? (Yes, it was.)

Needless to say, I was thrilled! It was so much fun being a hand model for real this time. Without further ado, I'd love to share some photos from the shoot with you!

First, the manicures. Lone Wolf Accents requested a nice & clean mani with a twist. Something to complement the goods, not vie for attention. I did a sort of Black Swan / White Swan approach and had my hands painted differently so we could have double the options at the shoot.

My left hand was butter LONDON Tea with The Queen with French manicure tips using Revlon Golden. My right hand was Nails Inc. Black Taxi with matching dots.

And now, the hardware!

The entire Fall / Winter Collection that Lone Wolf Accents has got going on is just beautiful. I haven't worn many hand chains in my life, and I was really impressed by the range Lone Wolf Accents offers. There were delicate, ladylike chains, on-trend Swarovski statement pieces, and darker, more mysterious "I may be a vampire... or vamp slayer" options. I enjoyed wearing them all!

As a special treat for my readers, the brains behind the operation, Molly Pearson and Sarah Macfarlane, gave me a hand chain to feature as a giveaway! What better time than the holiday season?! The chain I picked is as pretty as can be and will make an awesome gift for the trendsetter in your life... but will be quite tempting to keep for yourself, too. ;-)

Come back tomorrow to see which bracelet is up for grabs, and enter for a chance to win.

And be sure to check out Lone Wolf Accents because there's much more to discover than just hand chains.

xxo, Francesca

MOAR Catticures!

Well, you know I love a good cat lady mani. This one's short and sweet because I have to run off to pick up my foster kittens! Yes, fostering. It begins again! And so, in honor of my (soon-to-be) charges, I'd like to direct you to a cute slideshow on Catster, featuring some heartwarming meow-nicures.

If you're not skilled enough to paint an actual cat on your nails (c'mon now, it's an art) then steal a page from Transient Expression.

prrrr, Francesca

Fingers Crossed — MSB Chic & Bottega Veneta Nailz

Hallo, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. When I left you, it was August... I return, and September is here. My favorite month. Yes, I'm particularly partial because it's my birthday month, but I also just love fall. The colors, the clothes, the smells, the food! Ahhhhhhh. To get you in the mood for fall fashion, I wanted to share a link to my pal Margot's blog, MSB Chic. My fashion-forward friend was inspired by Bottega Veneta's Fall / Winter lineup and created an on-trend manicure in homage.

xxo, Francesca