I’ve been seeing these really cute springtime manicures on Pinterest, where the girls paint their nails in various pastel shades, each nail in a different color. SO CUTE. I’m not here for all pastels (I’m not a baby pink kind of girl), but there are some really really cute new pastel nail polishes out the season that I am loving more than I thought I would! Allow me to share them with you in this week’s Monday manicure!

This past weekend I had a speaking engagement in Austin Texas, at the first ever Black Social Media Summit. I needed to have a cute manicure in a hurry because I was going to be out in public shaking hands getting hugs and meeting new people couldn’t go out with my nails raggedy, could I?

Inspired by Pinterest and the new spring manicure trend I decided to play with some of the new colors of been sent by brands, for review. Here’s what I used!

- L’Oreal nail polish in Pistachio Cream

- L’Oreal nail polish in Royally Yours

- NARS Pierre Hardy collection. Can I just get into this for a second? This collection is so awesome. There are SO many incredible nail polish sets and vibrant on trend colors! The Sharks set is as springtime as it gets. Sharks Right is a beautiful lilac that’s distinctive yet feminine. Sharks Left is a butter yellow that I’m really excited to try. But me being me, I went for the purple. Duh. It’s who I am.

After painting my nails like little Easter eggs, I decided to layer on a little sparkle with CND’s Sapphire Sparkle. It adds a subtle iridescence to everything it goes over.

So you’ll notice some chips in my manicure, and I want to vent really quickly about it. I’ve been totally spoiled by gel manicures and no chips. The procedure turned me out. And now, when I do my own nails, I get really frustrated by how easily they can get damaged. HOWEVER, I’m really scared of the potential negative side effects of gel manicures from what I’ve been reading online. Yikes.

With minimal chipping, my pretty spring miniature lasted through the weekend. I did get some more significant chips towards the end and I will have to do it over but hey. It is what it is. Maybe I need to use a sturdier top coat. Any recommendations?

What do you think of the colors I chose for my spring manicure, bellas? Would you try any of the colors I chose?

The post Monday Manicure. Spring! Pastel! Nails! appeared first on Afrobella.

You know, I’m not an artist. I was that kid in kindergarten who took just a little longer than the others to figure out that you should stay perfectly within the lines. And when I minored in art in college, my focus was ceramics. Handbuilding, to be specific. Precision and detail work has never been my strong suit. So when I was given the beauty challenge, thanks to Glam and Target, to create a spring floral manicure, I knew it couldn’t be a traditional floral look because honestly, I lack the precision required to pull that off myself. Also, I’m not a girly girl. I don’t really like pink or things that are typically floral. So I decided to look for lofty artistic inspiration. I may not be able to literally and accurately paint flowers on my nails, but I sure can give you an impressionist version of the look! My Monet nails were inspired by the beautiful waterlily art he created, and also by Clueless. My nails are a mess up close, but look great from far away!

LOL

Let me tell you how I did my Monet impressionist floral manicure!

First things first, I went to Target in search of nail art supplies. They’ve got SO many great new colors, finishes and nail looks – I was so inspired by the L’Oreal display and these new glitters I saw…but I had to stay focused on the task! I knew I wanted to create a look on a dark background, and I wanted to use cool, water-inspired, Pisces colors. So I was immediately drawn to Revlon’s Moon Candy 2 in 1 nail enamel, (I chose Milky Way), and I was SO happy to discover Sonia Kashuk’s limited edition State of the Art Nail Art set, which comes with beautiful colors and miniature brushes to get the look you want!

I started my manicure with my beloved Sally Hansen nail hardener, and two coats of the dark half of Revlon’s Moon Candy in Milky Way.

Then I got to work with the Sonia Kashuk nail art set!

The point wasn’t to precisely paint little perfect flowers – just to give the impression, the shape, the feel. And after painting my flowers, on the most problematic nails I added a thin coat of the glitter half of Moon Candy, to cover up the flaws and increase the impressionist effect I was trying to capture.

Like so. Did that work?

Kinda, sorta, maybe? This manicure looks even better with a watercolor effect on it. There’s an app for that!

Et voila! Not too bad, right? I don’t think Monet would approve, but I actually am proud of my impressionist efforts.

What do you think? It’s time for Springtime! These nails are my version of a spring look. Are you into the floral manicure craze? Would you rock a look like this (or something neater and better executed)?

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Target via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Target.

The post Manicure Monday – A Monet Impressionist Floral Manicure appeared first on Afrobella.

I keep hearing this word all over the place… “spring.” Apparently it’s a time of year when the sun shines and new flowers and plants shoot out of the ground. Apparently it’s supposed to happen in Chicago soon – like this week — but from looking at the bleak sky and the snow billowing past my window, there’s no indication of spring anywhere to be found in Chicago. MEH.

Behold, my half moon manicure!

It’s not outside where I can see it, but my spirit is ready for Spring. I’m ready for a change of wardrobe and a change of look from my face to my fingertips. There are some super sweet Spring looks for nails out on store shelves right now, so even if the weather doesn’t reflect what the season’s supposed to be, my style can do the job! Here are the nail colors, trends, and brands I’m most excited about for the season I hope gets here soon! Some of these I’ve been sent for review and plan to try soon. Others, I’m just intrigued by!

L’Oreal Colour Riche® Nail Lingerie.

I love nail art, but I don’t have the skills to apply it myself. It’s OK. I’ve come to terms with my shortcomings. And now I don’t need to worry about it – thanks to L’Oreal’s Nail Lingerie, I can jazz up my plain DIY manicure with the mere application of a sticker. AWESOMENESS. I love the subtleness of the look. These would be hot over a pastel color (like L’Oreal Color Riche in Royalty Reinvented), or an eyecatcher like New Money.

Textured Creams Specialty Nail Lacquer by Milani.

I’ve been calling my manicures “textured” for years – just because I’m always good for catching air bubbles all under the polish, or dinging my nails on some surface that leads to visible imperfection. It never occurred to me that this would someday, somehow be a thing, but thanks to Milani, it is! I gather that their textured creams look like a stucco wall (see Lacquerologist to get an idea). I like the look in some colors more than others. Purple Streak and Shady Gray are intriguing!

Racing Stripes and Half Moon Manicures.

Collage via Beautylish.com

The kind of nail art I can successfully DIY usually involves the careful use of tape, or stickers – and so I’m drawn to the racing stripe craze fresh from the 2013 fashion week runways, and the half moon manicure trend which has been around since the flapper era (see my post about them here on Glam.com). My mani at the top of this post was done at the amazing Umberto Beverly Hills salon – more to come on that this week! There are many awesome tutorials for half moon manis, and now you can play with finishes to come up with a fly alternative. Love the matte vs. shiny half moon manicures I’ve beeen seeing on Pinterest! So elegant and unexpected! (Image above of Joan Crawford via Beautylish).

Endless Color Custom Nail trios by Physician’s Formula.

As someone who travels often and loves switching up her look, I think these new stackable custom nail trios by Physician’s Formula are genius! Each trio comes with three complimentary colors that can be used separately or layered together as you like. So perfect for my travel makeup bag! I went to an awesome Physician’s Formula event in Los Angeles – if you follow me on Instagram, you already know. If you don’t, stay tuned for some upcoming reviews. I’ve totally been sleeping on this legacy brand and they’ve got some incredible spring makeup launches you need to know about!

Robin’s egg speckled nails, ala Illamasqua.

What’s more springtime than the chirping of baby birds? When this thing called Spring finally gets here, the trees will be festooned with tiny bird’s nests, studded with beautifully delicate, speckled eggs. And that image seems to have inspired the folks at Illamasqua. Their new Spring 2013 Collection, I’mperfection, is all about the speckled look. The collection is matte black glitter contrasted against five gorgeous pastel shades – freckle, speckle, mottle, fragile, and scarce. I absolutely love speckle, mottle and fragile is my fave, a beautiful robin’s egg blue.

See anything you like? What’s next on your list to try?

The post Spring Nail Trends to Try appeared first on Afrobella.

Every time I go to Brooklyn, I have the BEST time. I know so many amazingly talented and cool people who live there. So many talented folks who make New York the one of a kind city that it is, represent Brooklyn. And on my last visit, I got to go to Polish Bar of Brooklyn and have an awesome manicure party courtesy of EDEN BodyWorks, with a few special blogger friends who made the time and took the effort to come out and show love. I appreciate you!!

The Polish Bar of Brooklyn is a super fly, cute, clean and awesome nail spa with two locations in Brooklyn, owned by phenomenal and beautiful entrepreneur Tricialee. (That’s her in the black and white sweater and topknot in the collage above). Tricialee is a FORCE to be reckoned with and even in our fun filled evening together I could tell she has life lessons to share and is genuine to the core. This is a lady I want to spend more time with, and a visit to Polish Bar will infect you with her energy. It’s SO AWESOME. Everyone who works there is super cool and incredibly talented.

My manicure was done by Mimi – she’s @NailsByMimi on Instagram and Tumblr. She is DOPE. And I know you know how much I love hand painted, freestyle nail art. Mimi dazzled me with her skills and her professionalism.

Mimi painted some nails with this OPI oxblood color (this might have been Lincoln Park After Dark, but don’t quote me). She painted others with this gorgeous gold Essie color (Good as Gold, to be specific). Then she got funky on every single nail, culminating with my left thumb which got a custom Afrobella mani!

SO CUTE.

That’s Mimi! She’s adorable and awesome!

I know there’s a bajillion events happening in NYC on any given night, so I gotta say I really appreciate my friends who came out! Tia Williams of Shake Your Beauty, Yoli of Yoli’s Green Living, Anu Prestonia of Khamit Kinks, Christina of Love Brown Sugar, Danielle of Style And Beauty Doctor, Ty of Gorgeous in Grey, Renae of In Her Shoes and the amazing Ylorie AKA BrownGirlMktg – I love you guys! Thanks for making my visit to Brooklyn so great!

Thank you EDEN BodyWorks and Polish Bar for the FUN!

The post Monday Manicure. I LOVE Polish Bar of BK! appeared first on Afrobella.

It’s been so long since I’ve done a Monday Manicure post, I’ve seriously been contemplating renaming these posts Nail du Jour and just calling it a day (whatever day that happens to be). But YAY! It’s Monday and I’ve got my life and my nails together enough to share. Behold, my current manicure!

Got my nails done at one of my favorite little lowkey nail spots last week, and I chose a combination of Essie Mesmerize and OPI Save Me from the Nicki Minaj collection.

Lately I’ve been obsessed with nails that look like nebulae and these colors gave me the look I was looking for. That Nicki Minaj Save Me is a fun silvery glitter with different shapes and textures of glitter, but it needs to be layered over a dark opaque color to truly pop. I love the cobalt/silver combo. Makes a great transition shade from summer bright to fall glam!

August is drawing to a close, my inbox is filling with back to school press releases, and there’s a distinctive chill in the air. Fall is drawing near and already some of the sweetest fall nail colors and collections are beginning to emerge! Let  me tell you what I’m most excited about in upcoming nail stuff!

China Glaze’s Bohemian Luster Chrome Collection

I am HERE for this collection. It’s all mystical crystal ball color shifting chrome finish everything and I want EVERY last COLOR. Especially No Plain Jane, Want My Bawdy and Deviantly Daring.

· Unpredictable – Multidimensional gorgeous green

· Rare & Radiant – Extraordinarily rich gold

· Swanky Silk – Brilliant beige with peach undertones

· No Plain Jane – Lavish lavender-pink

· Want My Bawdy – Sexy sapphire blue

· Deviantly Daring – Adventurously bold peacock teal

Lancome Fall 2012 Midnight Roses collection

You know I’m a FOOL for purple and the Midnight Roses fall collection – which is out at counters now – does NOT disappoint! Lancome has ALL the hot purple lip colors and the nailpolish is a stunner.

Vernis in Love in Infusion de Prune will run you $15, and their new Vernis In Love Top Coat Mat in Givre Magique  is a $15 top coat for a matte finish on any nail polish.

Orly Fired Up Fall 2012 collection

The Orly collection will be out in September and it’s very traditionally autumn. If you’re into wine, gold, rust and red, this is gonna be calling your name. I also ADORE their Flash Glam FX glitter collection. SO HOT.

Glow: Taupe Crème

Flare: Pale Gold Shimmer 

Flicker: Rust Duo Chrome Shimmer

Ignite: Red Crème

Smolder: Deep Wine Shimmer

Rapture: Chocolate Brown Crème 

Zoya NYFW 2012 Designer, Diva and Gloss Collections

Zoya has the NYFW 2012 nail collection thang on LOCK with three different collections out in time for New York Fashion Week! This here is the Diva collection. My personal fave – Daul – is CALLING MY NAME. “An enchanting red-toned purple with heavy purple and gold iridescent metallic sparkle that gives a dream-like effect.” I need you NOW, Daul.

Elisa (ZP632) – Crimson red metallic

Suri (ZP633) – Royal purple metallic

Song (ZP634) – Egyptian blue metallic with a subtle sparkle

Ray (ZP635) – Pine green metallic

FeiFei (ZP636) – Magic blue foil sparkle metallic

Daul (ZP637) – Magic violet foil sparkle metallic

QVC

Y’know, there’s a LOT more on QVC to shop for besides my fashion picks – QVC is NO slouch in the nail department! You can get brands like butter LONDON, Sephora by OPI, and Pro Strong. I’m personally most obsessed  with Mally Beauty’s at home gel manicure sets – I’ve been all the way turned out by no-chip manicures and the prospect of doing my own at home is TEMPTING. It’s $165 on Mally’s official site.

What are your fall nail favorites? See anything you want, need and gotta try above, bellas?

The post Monday Manicure and Hooray for Fall Nail Collections appeared first on Afrobella.

Once you experience a no-chip manicure, it’s SO hard to go back. Once you’ve discovered the freedom of perfectly dry, manicured nails within a second of having finished painting them, once you’re able to get your money out of your wallet post-mani without destroying your nails….you’re HOOKED. And it lasts for two weeks which makes no-chips SO PERFECT for the summer when you’re out running the streets.

I’ve tried quite a few no-chip manicures ever since my first foray in 2011. I keep coming back to CND’s Shellac. And especially NOW that the color range has expanded and new techniques are possible, I’m LOVING it. Forget the old subdued Shellac of yore. The new Shellac allows for brighter colors, foil, and GLITTER. Behold, my Purple POW manicure, as created by Lauri Allore of Michigan!

The last time I met Lauri, she gave me something sexy and subtle that we dubbed the French Midnight manicure. This time, there were so many more colors and finishes that we were able to craft the kind of manicure I go GAGA for, using glitter and foil, and two layers of purple polishes by CND.

Here’s what we used to create this look!

First Lauri buffed and shaped my nails to perfection, and used the ever popular CND Solar Oil to get my cuticles in tip top shape. Then she layered on CND colors Purple Purple and Rock Royalty. Then she used two colors of foil – one purple, one fuschia. And then she added a little white iridescent glitter amongst the foil for the POW.

Here I am with Lauri and Jan Arnold, co-creator of CND!

Bellas, this is my DREAM manicure. Purple nails that will last for two weeks, with this kind of bling factor? HEAVEN.

In November CND will release six new shades of Shellac polish, including sexy shimmers and metallics in colors like emerald and purple. LOVE.

And guess what, Chicago bellas? You can get your OWN Shellac manicure at the Taste of Chicago this week!

CND will have an exclusive, pop up-salon offering complimentary CND Shellac™ Power Polish™ manicures at the TASTE from July 11 – 15. If you get a manicure, you also will receive a gift of SolarOil™, and you could win a CND Shellac manicure at a participating local CND Certified Salon through daily drawings at the pop-up salon.

To find out more about the CND Shellac pop-up salon, visit cnd.com/stcchicago/taste, or on Facebook.

Do you love these nails as much as I do? Are you a no-chip fan? Talk to me!

The post Get Shellac Manicures at the Taste of Chicago! appeared first on Afrobella.

Trips to Los Angeles always throw off my sleep schedule. When I got home from LA I said “yay! I’m going to write all these blog posts and get stuff done!” And then I took an epic five hour nap. It was almost 2 am when I started this post and I’m so sluggish today. But it’s ALL WORTH IT. I’m here to tell you all about BET Awards weekend! I had so much fun with the folks from Cadillac, and I learned so much about this historic luxury car brand. I’m gonna do a FULL recap of the festivities in an upcoming post.

Two of the designers I featured in my What Should I Wear to the BET Awards post very generously reached out to me with the outfits I chose! And I am planning to work with the third designer soon as well. Now let me break down what I wore, since you beautiful bellas so kindly shared your opinions on what I should be rocking! Thank you for your guidance!

This is what I wore to the BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday.

While I was there I worked with two of my FAVORITE people in Los Angeles. My glam squad, if you will! This work of art hair is by Felicia M. Leatherwood, celebrity hairstylist, educator and creator of the Loving Your Hair With Natural Care Workshop. My makeup is by the incredible Nicole Evans – if you need your makeup done in Los Angeles, look for her on Facebook or make an appointment, she works at the MAC counter in The Grove and is a BEAST with the brushes! And her presence is so calming. I LOVE working with these fabulous ladies!

I’m rocking the Hilary jumpsuit by Monif C and I absolutely LOVE it. I felt glamorous, sexy, confident, and comfortable! The ONLY downside is that which all jumpsuits have – the bathroom factor. Wearing a jumpsuit that zips up all the way in the back during a live televised program where one can’t leave whenever one would like was a challenge, but it was worth it. Cause I felt so FLY.

I accessorized with long chain Blu Bijoux earrings (they’re only $14!) and a Kanupriya necklace from Max & Chloe, big bangin statement necklace by Camille Peace of Peace Images,  and I got the bag on Etsy.

My nails are the new Ruffian Manicure nails by MAC. This was one of my first experiences with adhesive nails, and I think it was pretty good! I had excellent help from Nicole (she’s a GENIUS,  I tell you) and she buffed my nails to readiness and then used extra glue to reinforce the nails for the whole occasion. I got nothing but compliments ALL NIGHT LONG.

I wore the Nakimuli Sunlight to Water dress to the exclusive BET Awards PRE dinner, put on annually by Debra Lee. Who I met! She’s a lovely lady and she mentioned she’s interested in going natural. I’m here to help if you need me, Ms. Lee!

The BET pre awards dinner was held at Union Station, an unusual but amazingly lovely venue for such a star studded event.. I need to do a full recap of the event, and tell you all the behind the scenes awesomeness. For now, let me tell you about this DRESS. I LOVED wearing it.. So easy. So flowy. So classy. So appropriate. I stood out and looked different, but I fit in perfectly. I felt like an island mermaid princess. When I saw my friend, amazing actress Yvette Nicole Brown, she totally did the Wayne’s World “we’re not worthy” move to this dress. I was like yasssss!

I have a few more looks to share, but I’m saving one of the dresses for my next lookbook. So be patient with me!

So that’s the Nakimuli Sunlight to Water dress, and jewelry by Max and Chloe. These are the Andara peacock druzy earrings, and the Priveliged sliced purple agate necklace. My clutch was loaned to me by Felicia Leatherwood who always has my back with hair and more! And my shoes are from Endless.com and they’re cute gold sandals with chain detail but the zipper broke when I was putting them on and like Sweet Brown said, ain’t nobody got time for that.

You can follow all of these generous folks on Facebook and Twitter. Here’s the official list of awesome:

Cadillac, their Facebook and their Twitter.

Felicia Leatherwood, Loving Your Hair With Natural Care, her Facebook and her Twitter.

Nicole Evans, Facebook and Twitter.

Monif C Plus Sizes, Facebook and Twitter.

Peace images, Facebook and Twitter.

Max and Chloe, Facebook and Twitter.

Mac Cosmetics, Facebook and Twitter.

Nakimuli Inc, Facebook and Twitter.

So what do you think? Did I do the BET Awards justice?

The post What I Wore During BET Awards Weekend in Los Angeles! appeared first on Afrobella.

Greetings, bellas!

It’s the first day of SPRING! How appropriate that today’s post is all about SPRING beauty trends! Let’s talk about nail polishes I’ve reviewed, and a technique I’ve finally mastered. It took me a minute but I think I’ve finally got ombre nails down pat. The trend has been around for a while, but just like jeggings…it’s not going anywhere just yet. BEHOLD, my first ever successful DIY ombre manicure!

What do you think? How did I achieve this look? Not so fast! First things first.

Yours truly is one of Q-Tips Tipsters, so every season I’m going to show you how Q-Tips Precision Tips swabs make my beauty regimen better. This season — nails!

These are the materials I used to achieve my ombre manicure.

From left to right

– Beauty Secrets Pure Acetone. I bought this at Sally Beauty Supply because I needed a product to remove glitter nail polish. And it works!

– Dior Topcoat, to seal the deal and pump up the shine factor

– Alcone Makeup Sponge with which to apply the ombre awesomeness

– Milani One Coat Glitter in Lavender Fizz

– Milani One Coat Glitter in Twinkle (deep blue and purple! LOVE)

– NARS nail polish in Diamond Life

– Hot Ticket nail polish in Don’t Metal In My Business

– and of course Q-Tips Precision Tips to keep the edges of my nails perfectly clean post polishing! I tend to be a bit sloppy, so I need clean up afterwards. The slender point of Precision Tips makes cleaning the cuticles and other super-close-to-the-nail areas that much easier to reach without ruining your hard work. Click here to get a dollar off your purchase of Q-Tips Precision Tips!

How did I learn my ombre nail technique? I read a few online tutorials, but watching VIDEOS really helped. Beauty Chameleon did a glittery purple ombre nail video that inspired me to use this particular color range. And then Chescaleigh made a SUPER CUTE video, please watch. And listen to her SONG about NAILS!

She’s so talented!

I may be setting myself up for failure having posted Chescaleigh’s awesome video, but HEY. I worked hard on my video. And in this video I answer some important questions. Like, what are my top five favorite Spring nail trends? And how many times did I fail at the ombre nail? See for yourself!

Let me tell you exactly which polishes are featured in the video, in case you saw something you liked and wanted to buy it!

Spring Trend #1 – Orange polishes -

OK...so not all of them are orange

– Milani Nail Art in Yellow Design
– Hot Ticket Hella Yella
– Avon Nailwear Pro Orange Creamsicle
– Hot Ticket Orange You Glad You Aren’t Blue
– Milani Nail Art in Orange Graph

Spring Trend #2 – Cool Mint and Other Soothing Ocean Colors

– Avon Nailwear Pro Aqua Fantasy
– Hot Ticket Jade in the USA
– Avon Nailwear Pro Sweet Mint
– butter LONDON in Slapper (love their names!)
– butter LONDON in Bossy Boots

Spring Trend #3 – Unusual Shades of Purple and Lilac

– Hot Ticket Lilac Any Sense
–Hot Ticket Sugar Coat It
– Avon Nailwear Pro Loving Lavender
– NARS Diamond Life
– Hot Ticket Don’t Metal In My Business
– Milani in Lavender Fizz (again!)

Spring Trend #4 – Spring into Summer Brights

– Avon Nailwear Pro Blue Escape
– Hot Ticket Hella Yella
– Dior Paradise (SO HOT)
– Hot Ticket A Fuschia Too Many
– Hot Ticket Lilac Any Sense
– Avon Nailwear Pro Orange Creamsicle

Spring Trend #5 – All Glitter Everything

– Hot Ticket Candy Apple A Day (it’s red with gold glitter. LOVE)
– Milani Twinkle
– Milani Lilac Fizz
– Hot Ticket You’re So Hot and Gold
– Hot Ticket Call Me Iridescent.

The Hot Ticket nail polishes are sold by The Balm — Click here to get yours, the color selection is gorgeous!! NARS and Dior you’ll find at the department store, Avon is online or from your local rep, and of course Milani is at the drugstore or supermarket.

The key to the ombre nail is to use a makeup sponge, and to wait till your first coat is dry. I lightly dabbed on additional colors and I feel like it’s only gonna get better from here.

YAY!! finally a nail art trend I can do myself, at home!

What are your FAVORITE nail colors and trends for Spring? Are you a fan of the ombre nail? Tell me!

I’m an official Q-Tips Tipster, and this post was sponsored by Q-Tips. But the opinions are all my own! You can visit the Q-Tips Facebook page for tips on how to use their swabs for beauty, crafting, cleaning, whatever!

The post Spring Nail Trends and Mastering The Ombre Nail appeared first on Afrobella.

If Chicago were a color, apparently it would be blue (although judging from the sky today, gray might be more apropos).

Within recent months not one, but two different popular establishments here have created very different shades of nail polish to pay homage to the Windy City. And both nailpolishes are blue. And as fashionable luck would have it, this is right on time – because shades of blue are super hot nail trends for fall!

Chicago blue at Topshop

The Chicago shade that’s exclusively at Topshop on Michigan Avenue is light blue with a greyish pallor — like the sky on a sunny autumn day or in early spring. Very pretty color that I bet would look gorgeous on deeper skintones, regardless of season.

Chicago Cerulean Trump SpaRitual Nailpolish

The Chicago Cerulean SpaRitual color custom designed by Ivanka Trump and exclusively for sale at The Spa at Trump is glamorous, sexy, and sparkling. It’s a rich and opaque polish that has great staying power. Very appropriate for the Trump, and on point for the upcoming holiday season!

My mani from the Trump Spa

I recently experienced the ultra luxe manicure and pedicure at The Spa at Trump, located within the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago. The space is airy and posh, the relaxation room is dimly lit and well appointed with teas of various flavors. The service is top notch. If you’re looking for an ideal spot to indulge yourself, or to have a sweet spa date with your mom, sister, or best friend — it’s everything you could dream of and more. Click here for a price list. A manicure there begins at $35, but you can also buy a bottle of the Trump SpaFinder nail polish for less than $15.

I just gushed over Essie’s Midnight Cami — truly the perfect navy canvas for nail art. Deep, dark, opaque, perfect.

Love & Beauty by Forever 21 nail polish

The ever enlightening Bellasugar featured a post titled November’s 10 Nicest New Nail Polishes and included two blues I GOTTA have. This iridescent glitter Love & Beauty nailpolish is just $2.80 at Forever 21!!! I NEED it! And Snow-Man of my Dreams from Nicole by OPI is fabulous and twinkly. Love a good glitter manicure for holiday party season — which will be beginning soon, right?

Do you love any of the above, bellas? What’s your favorite blue nailpolish?

The post Manicure Trend Du Jour — Chicago Blues appeared first on Afrobella.

For Glam.com.

You can put on makeup, slather on expensive creams and gels, get injectables, or get plastic surgery. There are any number of things you can do to slow the signs of aging for your face and certain parts of your body. But there are certain body parts that inevitably will reveal what a dermatologist might refer to as your “true age,” and those include your neck, your hands, and your feet. Thin skinned areas which get just as much exposure to the sun and the elements as your face does.

Whenever people begin a skincare regimen involving night creams or serums, they’re encouraged to use the product on their face and carry it down to their neck and décolletage. Far less often are we encouraged to pay equal attention to hands and feet, or to make an concerted effort to protect them againt the elements. But they’re the workhorses of the body! Hands and feet deserve love and pampering too. Your hands and feet should look just age just as beautifully as the rest of you, right?

Enter Revitalight, with their innovative LED technology devices.

Via The Gloss: “The HandSpa is designed exclusively to plump up hands and diminish fine lines and the appearance of veins on the backs of hands. It looks like a nail dryer and emits red and amber lights to combat aging skin and uses Revitalight’s world-renowned intense LED photopulsation. Used by itself or in conjunction with creams or serums, it helps reduce wrinkles and smoothes skin, producing more youthful hands after only a few 10 minute sessions.”

You can go to a professional spa to get a Revitalight hand or foot treatment click here to search by location using zip code. Via the official Revitalight site, “The Handspa session takes only 10 minutes and spas are charging $10 to $30 per session.”

The other option that many women who are dedicated to staving off age are going for, is buying their own Revitalight machine for home use. At plastic surgery, beauty enhancement, and anti-aging megasite MakeMeHeal.com, the Footspa and the Handspa are retailing for $1995 a piece. (Question — can the Footspa be used as a Handspa, or vice versa? Cause if so…)

The phenomenon of at-home beauty gadgets is fascinating. At one time instruments that would only have been available at pricey spas, are now directly available for home use, or have an affordable variant for those who prefer to DIY. Anything is possible if you’ve got deep enough pockets.

So I’m asking the question –

would you spend $4000 to make your hands and feet look younger?

What are your thoughts on the trend of at home spa grade beauty devices?

For those of you who can’t invest 4 G’s on a device but want to keep your hands as gorgeous as possible, here are a few of my recommended creams and treatments!

More Nivea…

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