Lacquered Lover Backstage at Creatures of the Wind with NARS and CND!

This past Thursday I was lucky enough to go backstage at the Creatures of the Wind show to see the makeup look that NARS created for the show.  James Boehmer, Director of NARS Global Artistry, told me that they were using "nudes and geometric patterns in a strong way by creating a triangle on the eye" as the basis of the look for the show.

Above:  James Boehmer creating the look on a model

Above:  The triangle shape on the eye

According to Mr. Boehmer "It's like a cat eye in an unexpected color.  At first glance the girls look like they don't have a lot of makeup on.  Making the skin very matte, not a lot of skin care in this look.  Rose gold eyeshadow on top of the eyes to layer and make the texture stand out.  The shoes are an amazing patent leather rose gold pearl which was the color that I wanted to mimic on the makeup.  This eyeshadow looks good on every skin tone.  To get the shape, take an angle brush and carve out the shape on the top and bottom.  When the girl looks straight ahead it's a straight line and then just powder around so the skin isn't reflective to make the eye color stand out.  Just a bit of lengthening mascara on the top and bottom helps to make the eyes really defined.  A new product for fall, brow gel, helps to make the brows look a little more sprouty and gives a tiny bit of a sheen to the brow.  I want the skin to look totally clean and the lips just have a little nourishing eye cream to finish the look."

Here are a few photographs courtesy of NARS of the finished look:

The following products were used to create this look:

FACE

·        Sheer Matte Foundation

·        Loose Powder

·        Radiant Creamy Concealer (New for Spring 2013)

Available: US - February 15 2013 / Global - March 1 2013

For a similar effect, try Sheer Glow Foundation

EYES

·        Maldives Multiple

·        Copacabana Multiple

·        Nepal Single Eyeshadow

·        Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow

·        Loose Powder

·        Larger Than Life Lengthening Mascara

BROWS

·        Brow Gel

Available: US / Global - August 1 2013

For a similar effect, try Sheer Glow Foundation

·        Belle de Jour Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

·        Madère Pure Matte Lipstick

The nail look for this show was created by CND using pre-made shellac nails.  According to CND "The designers conveyed to us the woman who wears the clothes are young and wanted to convey the youthfulness.  We wanted to keep the shape round and sporty.  For the colors, we chose color blocking which I love because it sets the base for the electric squiggles.  Just 4 different colors, orange, teal, blue and brown but when you layer them over different colors it gives more color options.  This is done with a detailing brush that this can be achieved which an ultra fine tip sharpie marker.  This style conveys energy, static energy, that is movement and is a very deliberate style with the squiggles going vertical to add length to the shorter nail style."

Here is a final look from the show in the amazing Creatures of the Wind clothing with full makeup and nails, image courtesy of NARS:

What did you think of this look?  Wearable?  Would you try it?

Lacquered Lover's Divine Caroline Neon Leopard Print Tutorial!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday all!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead!  Today, I have something really fun in store for Fun Friday!  As many of you know, every week I write a freelance nail art tutorial for the awesome website Divine Caroline.  I decided to challenge myself last week with something I have never done which was freehand animal print!  I loved it so much I kept it on for several days!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

I loved it so much I kept it on for several days!  If you want to see the step by step guide on how to do this, check out my tutorial HERE.  Honestly if I can do it, anyone can!  Just takes a bit of patience!

What did you think of this manicure?  Have you tried out leopard print nails before?

CND Night Factory Duo Featuring Urban Oasis and Teal Sparkle Swatches and Review

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you are all having a wonderful day.  It's rainy and dreary and gross in New York today, so to cheer up, I decided to post about some of my favorite new polishes!  I was lucky enough to receive the CND Night Factory Duo from my awesome friend Wendy.  The Teal Sparkle Effect was the last CND Effect that I was wanting but I figured I'd never own it since it was a limited edition!  Well thanks to Wendy and Ebay, it's mine!  So now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  2 coats of Urban Oasis

First up is Urban Oasis on its own.  It's a gorgeous teal creme that's just perfect.  I find it to be a bit more blue than green leaning and it's just so beautiful!  It was almost a one coater but I put on a second coat for good measure.  If you're a teal girl like I am, try to find this polish!  It easily became my new favorite teal creme!

Above:  1 coat of Teal Sparkles over 2 coats of Urban Oasis

Oh man, why can't all the CND Sparkle Effects look like this?  I'm in love!  Teal Sparkles has tiny teal microglitter in a milky base that makes the glitter look like tiny little glass fleck flakes!  it's amazing!  Look at how three dimensional that looks!  I absolutely adore this CND effect and really hope that they will come out with more like it!  It's just so unlike any other specialty top coat that I own, I absolutely am obsessed with it!  I can't wait to try it over other colors!

All in all, I love this duo!  I'm so happy to be the proud owner of it!  Urban Oasis is just a stunning creme and Teal Sparkle is by far my favorite CND Effect to date.  More effects like these please!  They are fabulous!  If you happen to come upon this set or want to splurge a bit, definitely buy it because it's just so great!

What do you think of these polishes?  Do you have them?  What colors would you like to see teal sparkle layered over?

Layering Day 3 - CND Mood Ring Manicure

Good morning Lacquered Lovers!  In keeping with the theme of layering this week, I decided to try something out I saw a few months ago that looked amazing!  One of the bloggers who got me interested in starting my blog, All Lacquered Up, did this awesome Mood Ring manicure using all different CND Effects layered over black.  I decided to put my own spin on it by using a different base and different effects and I have to say, I love how it came out! 

Here is a quick sneak peek at the finished product!  I'm obsessed with it!  So now, without further ado, on to the polish!

I began the manicure with one coat of CND Asphalt.  I love that this polish is a one coater!  This is definitely one of my favorite grey polishes as it's super pigmented and opaque in 1 coat!  Now, on to the fun stuff.

So here is what you are looking at above.  There are 3 stripes of CND effects on each nail, Emerald Shimmer, Ice Blue Shimmer and Scarlet Shimmer.  I overlapped them slightly to blend the effect a bit better.  You can really see the different shades in the macro shot but depending on how I'm holding my hand, you either get more of a blue, green or red/purple effect.  I love it!  But of course, I couldn't leave it just at this!

So I decided to add Amethyst Sparkle on top!  I love the little purple glittery look this gives to the manicure and I think it helps blend in the stripes of shimmer effects as well!  But wait!  I still wasn't done with this layering adventure!

Last, I added my favorite of all the CND Colour Effects, Sapphire Sparkling!  Sapphire Sparkling is packed full of tiny little bright blue sparkles and I just love it!  This manicure is by far one of my favorites I've ever done!  I love how in every picture, it looks completely different!  It almost looks like a multichrome on the nail because depending how the light hits it, the dominant color changes!

What do you think of this layering effect?  Would you like to see a tutorial on it?  Have you tried this?

Day 6 Featuring CND Plum Truffle Duo

Good morning Lacquered Lovers! I'm sorry that this post is finding you a day late! I will have another post later today for Day 7, but I wanted to give you guys my review of a new set by one of my favorite brands! So now, without further ado, on to the polish!





CND released the Plum Truffle Duo as part of their holiday collection for 2011. Recently they have been releasing two colors at a time, a cream with a matching color effect. Now I LOVE the color effects. I own at least 10 of them and they are so awesome for adding a little extra something to a polish!




Above: 2 coats of Plum Truffle

CND Plum Truffle is the cream of this collection. Plum Truffle is a really pretty cool toned berry color. I love that this isn't too red and therefore turns into a "pink" but really stays in that berry and wine family. The formula was perfect, virtually opaque in one coat but I put on a second coat just to get full opacity and make sure there were no bald spots. I really love how pigmented this color is and how rich it looks on the nails!






So to top off the lovely Plum Truffle, I used one coat of CND Plum Truffle Sparkle. I actually really like that the sparkle color effect is much lighter than the cream it comes with! Plum Truffle Sparkles is a light pink, micro sparkle in a sheer pinkish base. I'll have to try to layer it over white to see how much of the sheer base comes through but as it stands, it's a perfect compliment to Plum Truffle. Maybe it's just me but this seems a bit more scattered of a sparkle than some of the other color effects, but this polish will be great for those who don't like reds during the holiday season.

All in all, CND never disappoints me with their formula. Their polishes are top quality and I love the idea of the color effects that help to enhance a cream color. I look forward to seeing more duos from them in the future!

What do you all think of this duo? Are you a fan of the colors and effects?


This product was sent to me for review. For more information, read my disclosure policy above.