Essie

Valentine's Day Look

For those of you in the Valentines Day spirit, this simple nail look has you covered. So ready, set, let’s deconstruct…

  1. Choose your favorite base coat and paint over clean dry nails.  We used “First Base Base Coat” by Essie ($8.50).
  2. Next, we painted all nails (except for the ring fingers) with the pastel pink color “Fiji” by Essie ($8.50).   Then continued painting the ring fingers in the crisp white color “Private Weekend” by Essie ($8.50).  Allow nails to dry completely.
  3. Now it’s time for the heart that will be placed on the ring fingers as accent nails.  Take any small bobby pin, unless you have a dotter tool, and open it up for easier handling.  Now dip the bobby pin into your chosen nail polishes and begin dotting in a heart formation.  For this look we used the following Essie nail colors:  Jump in My Jumpsuit (vibrant red), Sittin’ Pretty (lavender), and Good as Gold.   However, feel free to use any brands and/or colors.
  4. Finish off painting your nails with your favorite top coat.  We topped them off with  “Gel Setter” by Essie ($10.00).
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Accent Glitter Nails

I will be the first to admit that I’m a glitter junkie.  My eyes simply gravitate to all things that are pretty and sparkly — just like 99% of the female population.  So for those who are just as obsessed with glitter nails as I am, enjoy this quick and easy tutorial.

  1.  Apply a base coat onto clean dry nails.  For this look, we used Orly’s “Top 2 Bottom” ($11).
  2. Working on a nail at a time, apply 2 to 3 coats of Essie polish in “Tuck it in my tux” ($8.50).  Allow the nails to dry in between coats.
  3. Use a sheer glitter nail lacquer, like Orly’s “Halo” ($8.50) and apply one coat to your ring finger.
  4. Finish off painting your nails with your favorite top coat. We topped them off with “Gel Setter” by Essie ($10.00).

 

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Ever walk into a nail salon and wonder why some of the manicurists wear face masks? I’m no expert when it comes to the ingredients. However, three components in particular have been in the news for their direct link to a number of serious health issues. The “toxic three”, as they are known as, include: dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, and formaldehyde – a known carcinogen.

Now there are some brands who have tackled the issue head on and have rid themselves and have rid their nail lacquers of such components and thus are “3 Free” (like Butter London, Essie, OPI, and Deborah Lippmann polishes just to name a few).

For an in depth look at the unfortunate consequences of prolong exposure that these and other strong chemicals are having on manicurists, I urge you to read the NY Times expose Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers.  While long-term data is limited on this issue, there are some precautions I take to lessen my exposure such as:

  1. Only using “3 Free” nail polishes and avoid getting acrylic nails.
  2. Make sure your applying nail polish in a properly ventilated space.
  3. If desired, wear a face mask when applying polish on nails.
  4. Secure all nail polish lids and store in a safe environment.
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