Revlon Nail Art — Moon Candy (Cosmic 3D Effects)

Let’s chat drugstore brands.

I strongly prefer L’Oreal; the packaging’s better and the colors are little higher-end. CoverGirl’s longtime partnership with ANTM leaves me feeling a special fondness, but the brand still reminds me of high school. Maybelline’s got Great(Lash) mascara but that’s about it.

And then there’s Revlon. Not the most exciting of the drugstore brands to me. And yet… check this out. I spied these in my fave CVS recently.

[Warning: Longest product name in the history of the planet. Revlon Nail Art Moon Candy Cosmic 3D Effects.]

I have a bunch of flakies in my Stash, and Revlon’s color pairings gave me some new ideas for layering. To that point, if I hadn’t already invested in a slew of flakies, I probably would have bought one or two of these magic wands.

Have any of you guys tried these out? I’m intrigued…

rev-lontimenosee, Chess

P.S. I'm wearing OPI's Mermaid Tears here. I never swatched it, so get a good look! :)

Fingers Crossed — The Nailasaurus and Nailed It!

And now some cross-posting. I have two great ideas to share with you from the talented bloggers behind "The Nailasaurus" and "Nailed it!" With an extended weekend here to enjoy, what better time to relax and do a lil' nail art?

These are two blogs that I love to visit because a) the writing is great, you feel like these gals are old friends after reading just one post and b) their ideas and designs are so unique. I hope that you enjoy chilling in their corners of the Internet just as much as I do.

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! It's my birthday tomorrow, so I'm headed out of town for some wine tasting. Fancy, huh?

xx, Francesca

Fingers Crossed — Jezebel on "Nail Art, the Last Bastion of Female-Centric Beauty"

Jezebel's posted another great opinion piece on nail art. Allow me to cross-post.

Tracie eloquently describes one of the top reasons I love nail polish:

[Nail polish] might just be the only form of primping and grooming that isn't rooted in making oneself more appealing to men or exploiting women's insecurities. It transcends skin color and hair texture and face symmetry and body type. (Nobody ever says, "I look fat in these nails.") It's an aspect of beautification that circumvents any conspiracy theories of the patriarchy's hegemony because the patriarchy simply does not give a shit.

Agreed!

I tend to feel more comfortable about the relationship between women and makeup versus women and fashion. Makeup is an easy way for a woman to feel good about herself and celebrate her own face. Fashion can veer off into territories that can bring down self-esteem; certain fashions just aren't for every body type, or for every budget, or for every weight.

But makeup isn't without its shadowside, either. For example, too much makeup can send a negative message... and yet the concept of what is and isn't "too much" is, generally speaking, very subjective. And then there's the fact that society expects women, particularly professional women, to wear at least some — and if you don't, that sends a message too. I think we've all had days where we head off to work, or out and about, and opt to skip makeup for once, and co-workers/friends say, "Oh ____! Are you feeling okay? You look a little sick."

Nope! This is just my face sans war paint! Mmm, awkward...

Nail polish is an element of beauty and grooming that, like Tracie said, transcends body type, and it's free from the Cosmo-esque "how to look sexy tonight" directive.

Nail polish can be cheap and easy, or it can be indulgent and detailed. You wear it, not the other way around. It can be whatever you want it to be — so you can do whatever you want to do.

xx, Francesca

Fingers Crossed — Jezebel's Olympic Nail Art Roundup

Happy Friday, Polishment pals! You know I have such a soft spot for Jezebel. They've got a great compendium of all things NAILZ from the Olympics thus far. Click the pic to check it out!

Have a great weekend!

xx, Francesca

P.S. These are my favorites! What about you?

Polishment Polish Party — The Sequel

With summer in full swing and a cool pool at my disposal, the decision to have a small polish get-together practically made itself. The first one was such a blast!

I invited a few gals over for an afternoon of sunbathing, cocktail sipping and, of course, fingernail painting.

A you can see, my little fete was filled with fun. Can't wait for the next one!

kittenkisses, Francesca

P.S. To the chagrin of a few at the party but to the delight of MANY, I shook things up with my new cocktail: Kitten Kiss.

A Kitten Kiss is made of the following ingredients:

To make your engine really purr, add 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder (may I recommend Medaglia d'Oro). Mix well. I added the espresso directly to the vodka, stirred aggressively with a small spoon and then, when the espresso and vodka were completely blended, I added the chocolate milk. I sprinkled a light dusting of espresso powder on top and speared some fresh chocolate-dipped raspberries for a garnish.

Saucers of milk are for cats, but milk plus some sauce is the cat's MEOW.