Cancer Warning on American Apparel Neon Nail Polish

Yesterday I went into an American Apparel Store to have a look at their neon nail polishes.

I was looking for the yellow one to do a similar look like PShiiit.com did it (see pic below).

Beside that the yellow one was sold out, I was shocked to see the warning on the package:

WARNING
THIS PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN A CHEMICAL KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER, OR BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM

Can someone please explain me this? Why would AA sell stuff that makes cancer? And why is this only in California known?

And which chemical is this?
And why they don't tell about the risk on their homepage? There it only says:
All sales of this item are final. No returns or exchanges.
These unique shades of of high-quality neon color are quick drying and long lasting. Manufactured in the USA. Cruelty free, DBP and toluene free.

They say it's DBP (Dibuthyl Phtalate) and toluene free. Those ingredients are known to cause cancer and might make infertile. That's why the EU banned them from toys and cosmetic products. But if they are not in the nail polish, why they put the warning on the package? This feels like buying cigarettes...

I will write AA and ask them what this is all about... I'll keep you posted.

Ombre Nails

Recently seen in the German Petra... Ombre Nails in pink and red tones. So lovely and perfect for summer.

Since my nail polish treasure has not so many different pink and red tones, I did a slightly different version with stone-rose-grey shades.

All OPI:
Moon Over Mumbai
Tickle My France-y
Over the Taupe
I Brake for Manicures
Siberian Nights

Happy week!

Essie Lilacism

I had just a perfect Sunday yesterday. Early in the morning I went to the kiosk to get some relaxing reading stuff and I got this 2-in-1 surprise:
The SI-Style with an Essie nail polish!
In German you pronounce the magazine SI like Essie the brand, so the cooperation was in fact obvious ;-) (Thanks M. for the tipp!)

They have it in 2 colors: Lilacism and Mint Candy Apple which I already got, so I took the one with Lilacism.

I wish more magazines could do such cooperations!

Ombre Nails with Sheer Nail Polish by American Apparel

American Apparel brought out a new limited edition just for summer: Sheer Nail Polish

Because of the sheer color you can receive an ombre look on your nails.

Unfortunately it's already sold out on the European site but you might have luck in one of their shops. Price is EUR 6.-

I really like the green-blue combination and the red-purple one. (Although there is no purple nail polish, so it might be Moonlight Beach mixed with Manhattan Beach, red + blue = purple)

What's your favorite?

Summerland Beach

Manhattan Beach

Zuma Beach

Moonlight Beach

Redondo Beach

Pacific Beach

all pics via American Apparel

Caviar Manicure

Nail polish reaches a new dimension now. With Caviar Manicure from Ciaté nail polish is now 3D.

Mini-beads are spread and pressed into the not yet dried under polish. The beads are made of glass.

I'd love to test this, since I really like black nail polish with a little extra. (e.g. see here my black french manicure)

It's also available in other colors: Red/Wine/Blue and Mother of Pearl (white).

The colored mix reminds me of sugar beads, but with washing your hands it won't last long. Otherwise putting glass beads around your lips, might not be healthy.
I guess those are only pics for ads and it's only meant for the nails. For lips I would recommend to use colored sugar.

glass beads

vs. sugar beads
(pic via shop.edna.at)

Review: Essie Nourish Me

As promised more than 2 weeks ago when I got my new base nail polish, here's the review for Essie Nourish Me.

I had to fight with very dry nails the last few months that's why I bought it. Especially the nails of the forefinger was weak and was breaking in layers.

Price: about EUR 9.- so it's still cheaper than OPI and a little goes a long way. With 13.5 ml you can use it for a year or so.

It's an intense hydration base coat with vitamin A, C and E and 10 natural oils that should nourish and care your nails.

It dries very fast and smells not intense.

But the best: it really works. My nails are stronger, no breaking in the last 14 days! I wasn't expecting such a fast improvement.

And also the nail polish above stays better. I did my manicure last week and now I have to do it again just because the color grows out, not because of splitting nails or shivered color.

The only thing, I don't understand is why they had to use a small brush. I already mentioned it, when I bought it (see here). All the colors have a wide brush which is so much more convenient. So this is one pencil less.

But still 4 of 5 pencils!

YSL Bleu Majorelle Nail Polish

This is the brightest blue ever... do you know Yves Klein? Go, google it! M., this is for you <3

It's a very opaque nail polish and with almost just one layer it's done. I applied it twice, but I'm sure one can do it with one layer. I'm too impatient for this.

The brush is amazingly good, soft, wide... best brush ever.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Essie Mint Candy Apple - Essie Nourish Me

Still in love with pastel green tones. After OPI's Thanks A Windmillion, Stranger Tides and Mermaid Tears (see all here) I found another gorgeous color: Essie Mint Candy Apple.

It's more turquoise than the others (yes, yes there is a difference) and it way more opaque. It reminds me of an interior of a diner or an old-timer car of the sixties.

The brush is a new one - it's way more wider and the lacquer needs only two time applying.

Cause my nails constantly brake since a few weeks, I got a new base lacquer: Essie Nourish Me, which is an intense hydration base coat that should prevent splitting. I'll let you know in a few weeks if it works. Unfortunately the brush is not a wide one, just an ordinary small one.

Nail Rings

I love rings! The more the better.
I already fell in love with the unaffordable Maison Martin Margiela ring set.

But have a look at those nail rings. Aren't they terrific?(shop via GWAAN)




all pics via gwaan.bigcartel.com

Rainbow Nails

Originally invented by my lovely friend T., she's wearing this style at least since a year, you see more and more many different colors on the nails on just one hand. T., you're a trend-setter! :-)

Some combine the look to the rings they are wearing or some just stay in one color family and try e.g. different blues or greens or pastels, or they do color-blocking... go girls, be creative!

Find more inspiration here. But don't forget to keep your nails short!

Pic above and on the left are from the Australian Vogue (Thanks A. for this wonderful souvenir! It's like a little short-term holiday reading a far-far-away magazine)

Did you know that nail polish is the new lip stick? Years ago we spoke about the lipstick-index, now it's the lacquer-index. Instead of e.g. buying a new dress in the color of the season, women buy nail polish in the color of the season to spend less, but still be stylish, up-to-date and spoil themselves a little. Read more about it here.

pic via http://www.tokyobanhbao.com

pic via http://www.tokyobanhbao.com

Polka Dots - Sephora Nail Patch Review

I'm not a big fan of nail art, so this one is gonna be a rare posting.

But I love stripes and I like dots on clothes, so when I saw those Nail Patches at Sephora in "My Favorite Skirt", I thought I could give them a try.

First, it looks easy to apply them, but let's face it: it's not!

In the package there are 16 patches in 5 sizes, which seems a lot. But for my nails no one of those didn't really fit. Either they were to large or to small. Especially for the middle fingers. Thumb and the little one were ok.

The patch itself is very thin and has two "skins" for protection. One clear and one silver, both you have to remove.

Unfortunately the patches got cracked a few times by removing the silver protection skin.

One of the damaged patches.

I really needed all of the 16 patches.

Done, but not satisfying.

As you can see on the close-up the patches have an uneven surface. It got little crinkles and the foil had from the beginning on a little pattern perforated. Probably for a better applying on the round nails, to actually avoid crinkles.

And they were not shiny at all.

So I applied two layers of clear top coat nail polish for more shine and a better wear.

I used Essence Studio Nails Better Than Gel Nails Top Sealer. I think this is the best top coat I've ever had. Yes, better than OPI and way more cheaper - a tenth of OPI!

It dries in seconds and is really shiny and strong and it survives applying most suncreams which OPI doesn't. (I found it out the hard way after a manicure)

Conclusion:
The patches are funny, but hard to apply. And the result is not satisfying. It looks already worn for a few days, although it's new done.

And since the patches are not that cheap, I would recommend to invest in a real nail polish you can use way more often. If you are into nail art and like patches, I would rather recommend to try those.

Only one pencil out of five... one for the nice dots-pattern.

Don't Mess With OPI!

Do you remember that gorgeous green in the Elle Beauty Book?

I found it!

It's OPI's Don't Mess With OPI from the last spring/summer 2011 Texas Collection.



T.G.I.F and a happy weekend!!

OPI new collection: Holland

New in at the OPI stores: the Holland collection with 12 new colors: (from left to right)


Did You'ear About Van Gogh?
Pedal Faster Suzi
Kiss Me on My Tulips
Red Lights Ahead... Where?
A Roll in The Hague
Gouda Gouda Two Shoes
I Have a Herring Problem
Thanks a WindMillion
I Don't Give a Rotterdam
Dutch?Ya Just Love OPI?
Vampsterdam
Wooden Shoe bike to Know?

 

On my hand: I Have a Herring Problem

another pic via opi.com to see the colors better

My favorite color is Thanks a WindMillion, a light turquoise, Caribbean-sea-green without any shimmer. But it seems very similar to the sea-turquoise ones from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection, or more a mixture between On Stranger Tides and Mermaids Tears. Here are the three in an overview:

Thanks a WindMillion (pic via Obsessive Cosmetic Horders Unite)

Mermaids Tears (pic via Polish and Pearls)

Stranger Tides (pic via Beauty Junkies Unite) 

And here the bottles for a better overview: