CND

September 13, 2012

Rachel Antonoff Spring 2013 Backstage Beauty

The Theme: Inspired by the 1977 film “Powers of Ten,” Rachel Antonoff’s latest collection features an aerial view, a garden party, with landscapes, and the idea of a country club girl gone bad!
The Keys: Keri Blair for MAC Cosmetics, Jenny Balding for Cutler Salon, Candice Manacchio of CND.
The Color Palette: Clear, greys and whites, vibrant red, blues.
The Execution: For makeup, Blair used cream blush to create a flush, while shearing out a blackened lip hue to manipulate it into more of a stain then a matte full-on color. With hair, Balding swept the left side under and back for a sleek, angular, shaved illusion, blow drying the hair to straighten it along with flat ironing the ends, while holding the look in place with Redken Fashion Works Hairspray.

For nails, Manacchio created three different looks, which took a team of six artists a total of 65 hours to make about 600 nails for the show! Secured with sticky tape or glue dots, the three styles of the nails mimicked the inspiration and actual pieces; a favorite was the white opaque nails with clear tips (to match her spring 2013 Bass brand collaboration jelly shoes), that had names of Antonoff’s friends and family written on them in Sharpie marker.

[All nail images courtesy of CND]

[The set for the Rachel Antonoff Spring 2013 show]

–Julia DiNardo

February 8, 2012

CND’s Shellac Salon Certification Program: 4 Ways to Guarantee the Shellac Seal of Approval

by fashion pulse contributor

Shellac has become a hot topic in the manicure world, and why shouldn’t it? A manicure that promises to last two weeks, won’t chip, and dries smudge-free instantly… sounds like an extraordinary wish come true!

However, manicurists and consumers have confirmed that not all of the Shellac manicures are created equal, and the reason? Some customers in salons are being told they are receiving CND Shellac polish, but in actuality they are experiencing “gel-polish” fraud with services that can ruin nails upon removal. CND is taking a stand to crack down against these fakers and ensure ultimate quality with their new CND Shellac Salon Certification Program.

Official, yes, but certainly worth it, the program will deploy CND Education Ambassadors to visit locations across the country registered on CND.com as Shellac Salons, provide training, and guarantee each salon meets the criteria to be granted the seal of approval.

Keep your eye out for the “Certified” window cling in the salon entrance and the icon found on CND.com’s Salon Locator.

Most importantly, stay an educated consumer. Do your research and follow these four easy pointers to make sure you’re receiving the real deal: CND SHELLAC:

1. First, look for that CND seal of approval on the window of your salon.

2. Speak up! Ask if your salon uses CND Shellac products.

3. Look at the products being used during your service – if you don’t see CND Shellac on the bottle, guess what? It’s NOT.

4. Upon removal, never soak your nails in a bowl of acetone. Instead, request CND Shellac Remover Wraps or the cotton and tin foil removal method.

-Alana Quagliariello

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November 22, 2011

Custom Blend Your Own Nail Polish, with Tips from Expert Wanda Ruiz of CND

by Julia DiNardo

[Backstage Beauty from the Karen Walker Spring 2012 show; Image courtesy of CND]

One of the best things about beauty is that playing around with color is strong encouraged, if not highly recommended. After hearing about how CND nail expert Wanda Ruiz mixed two CND colors, Bicycle Yellow and Blackjack together to get this stunning nail color, it definitely inspired some curiosity as to how to best DIY a new shade of nail color, adding in a new spin on the current colors in our collections.

FPD: Please tell us about how you made the Karen Walker nail color.

WR: The nail color was custom blended…I took a bottle of Bicycle Yellow and added 7 drops of Blackjack to it, shook it up, and that was the final shade. It’s all mixed together.

FPD: To do seven drops of polish against a base, what other color combos, besides black on yellow, should work? Is it always better to pair a darker color on top with a lighter on the bottom, or what would you say is the key to mixing and matching so that it looks distinct and not like you had a ‘nail accident’?

WR: Adding a few drops of black to any color will tone it down. We did this to create ombre nails at Jen Kao’s Spring 2012 shows as well. If you want to take a nearly neon color and make it a little less bright, add between 5 – 10 drops of black polish directly into the bottle and shake.
Thanks for the tips Wanda, and we can’t wait to start shaking up our current nail polish assortment with some new custom-mixed hues!

-Julia DiNardo

October 15, 2010

New York Fashion Week Nails

by Julia DiNardo

There were so many nail colors to love this New York Fashion Week, I had to share a handful of my favorites with you. From shades of mushroom, muck, and mud to hybrid metallic, glitter, and nude, the looks really did run the gamut. The good thing is this: there are plenty of options to match your mood, as well as the proper level of appropriate for work and play. Here are some great looks from Dashing Diva and CND.