I feel bad for the trees in NYC. They've barely started turning and they already got thier little leave butts kicked by a rediculous, unseasonable snow this past weekend. In their honor I painted my nails the colors the leaves SHOULD be.

I started with 2 coats of The Face Shop, YL 201 (a golden yellow) then I used a small makeup sponge to add on 2 layers of Barry M, 301 Block Orange then a layer CND, Poppyfield. Then at the very tips I sponged on a sheer layer of OPI, You Don't Know Jacques. After that I used a striping brush to add leaf veins with more OPI, You Don't Know Jacques.

Enjoy!

This mani monday is brought to you from jolly old England. I'm currently in London on holiday but before I left I got my very first CND Shellac manicure. I took me quite along time to decide on a color. I finally settled on a base color of Tropix topped with a little sparkle from Mother of Pearl. The sparkle doesn't really show up in pictures but looks great in person.

See how it's holding up 1 week later.

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Sadly my day job kept me away from fashion week this September. However thanks to the blogosphere, my PR contacts and all the streaming channels I was able to keep up from the comfort of my dual-monitored desk. (Multi-tasking FTW!) I noticed a few beauty trends that you don't have to wait until spring summer to rock. I also noticed one TERRIBLE trend that I urge you NEVER to try. (black sheep after the jump)

BEAUTY LOOK TO TRY 1: Nude eye with gold liner
Spotted: Jen Kao

I already wrote about the amazing manicures at Jen Kao, but equally gorge is the nude eye with gold liner. To achieve this look, start with a nude eye. Use a skin-tone long-wearing cream shadow with minimal shimmer. Set with nude powder. Then add the gold liner by either using a liner pencil such as Revlon HIP Gold Charge, or using a slightly damp liner brush, foil a gold eyeshadow or pigment and apply as if it was a liner. MAC Gold Pigment works well. Top with a coat of black mascara.

Photo courtousy of CND

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BEAUTY LOOK TO TRY 2: Neon Coral nails & flushed cheeks 
Spotted at: Wes Gordon

Coral is still going strong and thank the beauty gods because I LOVE IT! It's universally flattering and easily spans seasons. To achieve this look use a cream blush or cheek stain, like Stila Convertible color in Petunia 07. The nail color is beauty industry favorite CND, Poppyfield.

Photo coutosy of CND

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BEAUTY LOOK TO TRY 3:  Freckles 
Spotted at: Jeremy Scott
Ok so this one might be a little costume-y for most of you out there. However, as a freckled lady I love it! I think the big lesson here is not to cover or hide freckles and beauty marks that you may have. Own it!

To rock the mock-freckles, use a medium brown eye or lip liner pencil randomly place dots on your cheeks and nose where the sun would naturally hit your face. Think the same areas that you apply bronzer. Then dust with a little powder to diffuse and make them blends as if they were your own. Don't use an HD powder or a heavy-coverage mineral powder but something in the middle like a tinted powder or common translucent powder.

Photo via Racked by Anna Fischer for Racked.com

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BEAUTY LOOK TO TRY 4: Big Brows
Spotted at: Altuzarra

Thick, lush, brows Brooke Shields would be proud of made a huge comeback a few years ago and they're staying strong at least through next season. Put down those tweezers and go for a thicker, more youthful brow right now! If you're like me and suffer from weak-ass brow syndrome go ahead and load those babies out with some brow powder. I like NYX Hollywood Brows Brow Cake. Unlike the picture below, I suggest you go for a natural color that is a shade and is close or one shade lighter than your natural hair color. BLONDES LISTEN UP, your natural color was made for your skin tone, so embrace it on your face!

Photo cortousy of CND

Want to know the NEVER TRY beauty look?

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Ombre nails were in full effect for Jen Kao Spring 2012. Wanda Ruiz for CND created the most AMAZING nails which she dubbed "Lethal Love" inspired by poisonous frogs. All four varieties were created using an airbrush machine. CND is encouraging everyone to try them at home using Midnight Sapphire, Anchor Blue, Rouge Red and Green Scene on the tips of a base coat of Inkwell, a deep blackened blue/green. Top with Air Dry Top Coat while wet for the ombre finish.

Photo courtesy of CND

Photo courtesy of CND

I am definitely trying these color combos soon. Will you?

DING DING DING! It's time for a beauty smackdown! Today's contendors are 2 very similar nail polish colors of the top coat variety. These sheer bases contain shimmery particles that magically transform flat colors to beautiful, glittering, eye-catching nails.

For swatches, pictures and color discriptions..

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This week's summer beauty picks installment is all about coral! This awesome comes in so many forms from peach and orange tones but for this post I am focusing on the pink-toned corals. This varietly is one of my favorites since it's super girly and looks great on everyone.

MAC Creamsheen Glass in Richer, Lusher This sheer gloss add a subtle pop of color while leaving your lips super moisturized. Richer, lushers is a peach coral with no shimmer or glitter. All shine! This is by far my favorite of all the MAC lip products.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush, Pink Coral Adding a bit of blush on top of bronzer adds dimension to cheeks. This unversally-flattering color adds color and shimmer to give a great glow. Bobbi Brown blushes are packed with pigments and a little goes a long way. Buff it out with a big fluffy brush for even application.

CND Poppyfield Poppyfield is the PERFECT sizzling hot coral. It looks fantastic on both toes and fingernails and is a universally flattering color so it looks amazing on all skintones. This particular polish formula only needs one coat to look opaque so it's great on the go. A few strokes and you're good to go!

Another week, another nail design. This week I started with 2 coats of Zoya, Erika which is a GORGE pink with gold shimmer. Then using a striping brush I added thing stripes using CND, Anchor Blue. The formula of CND's opaque polishes is perfect for designs like this since it is so opaque. Only one coat is needed. I then topped it with Sinful Colors, Green Ocean which is a clear base with multi-sized flakes and glitters that reflect blue, green and gold. To be honest, I actually liked the whole thing better before the glitter coat since it's a little chunky. (BOO!) Sigh, there's always next week.

Two manis in a week? YES! Here's my St. Patrick's Day manicure for you all! My background color is two coats of CND, Green Scene. I then then it topped with a coat of INGLOT, 203 which is a green-tone flakie in a clear base. Sally Girl, Chunky Gold Glitter finished off the look. I applied a coat of Seche Vite, Fast Dry Top Coat between the flakies and the gold glitter and two more on top. I included a close up picture to show the depth. Its a little on the blurry part, I should have lit it better and maybe used a tripod. oh well.

The inspiration was green for obvious reasons, the flakies add an essence of magic and the gold represents the pot of gold. Horray... now lets drink a green beer and call it a day. Cheers!

There is no doubt in the world that The Blonds don't put on a spectacular show at fashion week every season. There is no detail overlooked especially when it comes to the nails. Last season they CND created nailgasms in the form of intricately bedazzled/glittered nails. Each model got a completely different nail deisgn. (see picture at the very bottom) This season CND kicked nail ass again and created beautiful glittery nails again. Kristina Estabrooks handmade 22 sets of theatrical designs inspired by eastern culture meets ultra glam. From glittery red chinesse characters that translated to "Blonds Love Diamonds" and fortune cookies that read "You don't have to be blonde to be a Blond" and even googly-eyed nails that matched one of the clothing looks perfectly. We must not overlook the amazing "tranny-cures" created with all sorts of materials including Swarovski crystals, crushed glass and combres. There was even some extra special nails that featured dragons that curled from thumb to pinkie.

Image via CND

Image via CND

Image via CND

Image via CND

Image via CND

Image via CND

Some of last season's nails I shot backstage:

CND always kicks butt with fashion week nail designs. Kristina Estabrooks created an awesome watery nail design for Jen Kao. She started with a long, almond shaped nail with a background color of Gold Chome and Midnight Sapphire. She then accented it with drops of Gold Pearl, Iced Blue Shimmer and Midnight Sapphire. The end result resembled a psycadelic stained glass effect. This design is definetly someone I am interested in trying to recreate myself. And check out the amazing brozed brows.

Image via CND

Would you try this out? How about the brows?