Nail Tech Secrets

Cuccio has been in the nail business as long as I have.  I have seen the company grow from one little Star Nail line to having their foot in all kinds of brands.  I always thought Tony Cuccio reminded me of a beauty lovin’ mobster, but I guess its just the name. 

Back to the subject at hand.  I have gotten my little paws into a really nice line from Cuccio Naturale, a spa manicure line based on the yummy smells of milk and honey.  And they really do smell amazing.  The products I have tried in this line (and my thoughts about each) are below:

Milk and Honey Sea Salts:  This is a really nice hand and body treatment along the line of the 5 Minute Manicure products.  Lots of rich oils, lots of salt (to do the scrubbing), and a magnificent scent.  All for a much more reasonable cost than the 5 Min Manicure - $15 at Amazon.com

Milk and Honey Cuticle Conditioning Butter Stick:  I believe this is a brand spanking new product, as I cannot find it for sale anywhere.  This is a roll up stick with a rich blend of jojoba, olive oil, shea butter and vitamins A and E, in a beeswax base.  Keep your eye out for it - it is a really convenient way to keep some cuticle conditioners with you without the risk of a bottle of oil coming open in your bag.  Eek.

Milk and Honey Cuticle Revitalizer Complex Oil:  This is a nice oil - so great that my mother snatched it as soon as she tried it.  *Sigh*  The milk and honey scent is really nice - it is one of the food scents that doesn’t bother me at all. Retail size is a 1/2 oz bottle with a glass curved dropper that doles out just the right amount.   $12 at Amazon.com.

Lyte Ultra-Sheer Body Butter in Honey & Soy Milk:  This is my favorite product in the milk and honey line.  It is one of the most non greasy lotions I have used.  It is pretty heavily scented, but the scent smells quite nice and dissipates in a reasonable amount of time - it won’t interfere with your other fragrances for long.  If you are one who needs lotion and hates greasy, this is absolutely your lotion.  I don’t mind greasy for a little while, but I love this lotion too.  It is perfect to sit around the house and grab a pump or two while you are going about your business - it won’t leave you greasy for long at all.  I’m having a tough time finding this one online too, but keep an eye out at Shopping.com and you will find it popping up soon.

This Cuccio Naturale line can likely be found in your local salons as well, so take a little time and call around or visit your local salon to find these great Cuccio products.  This is going to be a tough year for salons, do what you can to give them your support if you want them to still be around next year. 

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Watch at your salon for a special deal that they may pass on to you - all 4 new colors, plus a Stickey base coat for free!

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This is an interesting new product for anyone who might not have time to get a toe-job (ha), or for those of you who have troublesome toenails.  Express On is from Kiss, who has a great line of manicure/pedicure supplies - and these are press-on toenails in a beautiful French Manicure (or pedicure!) color.  I have seen many a troubled toenail in my days - the worst problems had by tennis players.  Man, is tennis hard on your toes!  Bruised, lost, mangled - all these problems can be covered up temporarily with these Express On nails.  They come in two colors - one for warm and one for cool skin tones.

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I love these colors in the Dashing Diva Italian Ice collection - this might be a blue polish that is wearable for me. I don’t do orange, though (saw those horns off!). They are:

Paparazzi Pink – A sheer, luminescent hot pink shade

View from Anacapri – a sheer, shimmery sun-dappled, light turquoise shade
Fellini Bellini – A sheer, luminescent peach-fuzz shade

Have you tried these?

Dashing Diva makes killer polish, and its a great price ($8). Get them at DashingDiva.com, or if you are lucky enough to have a Dashing Diva near you, stop in! (/me thinks this is the down side of living in the country)

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I had a question today from a beauty-loving friend about yellowing nails. She has just really gotten in to all the groovy new nail colors, and had been polishing without basecoat - and guess what happened? Yep, she wound up with yellow nails. This will happen to you too, if you don’t heed my advice and wear a basecoat! So, what is a girl to do if she finds herself yellowed? You have a few options:

1. Buff your nails - with a 4 way buffer and some oil (Solar Oil is great, but open your cabinets - olive oil is really my favorite). This will take off the top layer of your nails though, so if your nails are weak, this isn’t a great option.
2. Bleach your nails - use a lemon cut in half, and squoosh your nails around in it and leave it to dry for a few minutes. Another alternative is to soak them for a bit in some hydrogen peroxide. These are a little harsh, so if your nails are peely and dry, this is not a good option.
3. Paint them until the yellow grows out - and be sure and use basecoat!!

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I always look forward to the newest collections from OPI - they are really my all time favorite polish. From the colors, to the durability to the ergonomic design, OPI is the master. This season, here is what they are offering:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Here is the ultra fab Beth Ditto from The Gossip sporting some turquoise nails as she parties with Perez on his birthday at Moon in Vegas last night - whatcha think? Is the blue nail thing good or bad? It is sort of growing on me…

Happy Birthday, Perez!!!

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This is Creative Nail Design’s Spring 2007 collection, Optix. Whatcha think about that blue? Might be do-able. Green is out - Orange is ALWAYS out (for me, anyway…lol), pretty pinks and white. Along with the blue (which I don’t think is going to last long) solid white nails are very in fashion for spring, as are all white outfits as well. I like the white myself - I am sort of a drama queen (in style, anyway), and white is dramatic like black, but….. sweet. Just like me.

/me…never mind.

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Here we are again with the best in Beauty & Fashion from the last week - I hope you enjoy reading all my friends work, they work so hard every day!

LA STORY: Be “Under the Influence” of a musician “Undiscovered”–James Morrison. ( podcast)

Bag Snob interviews one of the most powerful figures in the fashion industry, Julie Gilhart of Barney’s New York

Blogdorf Goodman
40 Days and $0 Nights of Beauty Brand Reviews: Day 21, Lancome.

Coquette loves the sleek look of dressed up bermuda shorts and gives her favorite picks.

eBelle5 the designer handbag blog recommends hitting the courts in style this spring with the designer Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Badminton Set and Pouch.

The wonder of the $42,000 Louis Vuitton Frankenbag…which has Fashiontribes wondering if it was inspired by other handbags of horror?

Girlawhirl loves the sugar scrubs from Diana b

Lacey Bruno Frisoni Shoes: Wrapped in peach-pink satin and midnight-black lace, KRiSTOPHER’s sure these shoes are pure you.

My Fashion Life tests out Condé Nast’s new online baby, Stylefinder

eBeautyDaily talks microdermabrasion to get you skin ready for spring.

Papierblog: Eva wonders whether fashion is getting too violent especially after the debut of Stella McCartney’s line at Target in Australia

Second City Style’s Annual Beauty Olympics Week 2: Lips/Eyes. We tested 100’s of products so you don’t have to.

SheFinds: Once you go Brazilian – you never go back — Funny Video!

StyleBakery.com finds the hottest handbags of the season, from $13 cheap chic finds to $1300 splurges (and everything in between)

Styleaholics
Check out the first ever hip-hop throw pillows for your home.

Read Stylehive’s interview with Jennifer Sarkilahti for Odette NY jewelry who handcrafts elegant and pretty jewelry with an artisan feel from wax carving and casting.

The Jewelry Weblog talks about the trend of jewelry as part of clothing. For example, this platinum and diamond jacket.

Ageless in Los Angeles Gray Hair- No Longer Something to Hide?

Beautiful Makeup Search wonders about Smashbox’s new O-Glow.

As spring approaches, Beauty Hatchery offers tips to tackle perspiration frustration

Beauty and Fashion Tech: Product Review: DHC Skin Care: Part I

Canadian Beauty: Day 1 of L’Oreal Fashion Week

Let’s talk about beauty and health: Drink soup and kose weight

Lipstick, Powder ‘n Paint: Recapture Youthful Radiance with Olay’s Latest Body Wash

Makeup Bag: Chanel Summer Exclusive Colour Collection

Pretty by Nature: Pretty by Nature helps you practice a healthy nail ritual.

Spa Blah Blah: Boy Tested and Spa Girl Approved: LUSH Fresh Face Masks

The Beauty Newsletter: Elke attends the Max Factor Fashion Show!

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Join the *always hot* celebrity bandwagon as they ditch the dark reds of winter and pick up on the dark blues for spring. Catch Eva Mendez sporting her blue nails all over town in Life & Style Magazine this week. I really love blue in just about everything, but blue nails really aren’t one of my favorite looks. Black yes, but not blue. Go figure. Maybe I will get crazy and go find a pretty blue and give it a whirl, and maybe not.

If you are going to sport this look, just like if you are sporting the red/blacks of the last year, be sure your nails are kept pretty short and always manicured - no chips. We are going for cute and trendy here, not scary, which is where you will be headed with long blue or black chipped talons.

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