Great Lashing: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Nail of the Week: Rainbow Brite

Nail art polishes are plentiful and inexpensive at dollar and discount stores, and I took advantage of that for this pattern. I used a combination of Color Club, L.A. Colors and Kiss brands. The blue base is Color Club Take Me to Your Chateau.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

More Nail Art: Foiled

I picked up a silver metallic nail polish at CVS this week (Sally Hansen Celeb City) and I'm loving it—this is the second pattern I used it for. I call this one “Foiled”; it definitely has a “Christmas in July” feel to it which is why I added the purple. The other shades I used are:

Red: Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps in Heartbeat Crème
Purple: Art Club Nail Art Lacquer in Orchistra
Ivory: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Platinum

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Sephora Giveaway Contest Winner

Congratulations to Dee Gol, the winner of the Sephora Gift Card and Eye Pencil giveaway! Thanks for your participation Dee!!

Anime Nail Art

Blame it on the heat—I did these colorful nails during 90+ degree weather last week. I was inspired by the intricate patterns of Sanrio and Tokidoki purses and handbags.

Nail of the Week: Water Marbled

I watched several tutorials on YouTube before attempting this myself. As instructed, I stuck with opaque shades and did a few test runs before coming up with a presentable result. I used 3 Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear shades for this pattern which I call Silver Fountain. The shades are Pacific Blue, The Real Teal and Celeb City.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Nail Art: Pucci-Inspired Nails

This week I'm doing a series of nail designs inspired by the designer Emilio Pucci. I'm a big fan of his colorful prints. I'm using nail art polishes, mostly L.A. Colors brand, to create the intricate patterns.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Nail of the Week: Golden Sunset

Sally Hansen's Antiqued Gold Crackle is gorgeous! I created this look by using it over a striped nail. Here are the shades I used from the bottom up:

L.A. Colors Art Deco Nail Art Lacquer in Yellow
Wet N Wild Wild Shine Nail Color in Sunny Side Up
NYC In a New York Minute Nail Color in Uptown
Wet N Wild Fast Dry Nail Color in FuschiaRama
Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Violet

Golden Eye with MAC Pigments

I wanted to create a truly metallic looking golden eye for my Gold Rush Weekend. I tried a lot of different shadows and MAC pigments seemed to be the best product for an intense metallic. I used Visine as a mixing medium. Aryana is wearing a combination of Tan and Pink Bronze, with Teal used as a liner on her top lid.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Nail Art: Gold Crown

I created these appliques using wrapping tissue and a Martha Stewart edge punch. The shades I used are Sally Hansen Raspberry Race and Revlon Gold Coin. This is my first attempt at DIY appliques and I'm still perfecting my technique—comments and suggestions welcome!!

Enter to win a Sephora Eye Pencil and Gift Card

To kick off my Gold Rush Weekend, I'm offering a giveaway of a Sephora Mini Eyeliner in the shade Golden Sand, plus a $20 gift card for Sephora.

To enter you must complete one of the following:

Follow Great Lashing via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment on 2 separate blog posts. If you are already following, simply leave 2 comments.
Send Jen Monopoli (jenmonopoli@gmail.com) a friend request on Facebook and, once you've been accepted, share 2 Great Lashing blog posts to your wall. If you're already my friend on FB, simply share 2 posts to your wall.

Once you have completed your entry please notify me via Facebook Message or Gmail.

Terms and Conditions:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Only legal residents of the US age eighteen (18) or older are eligible to win. No family members or personal friends (you know who you are!) of Jen Monopoli are eligible.
Deadline to enter is Monday, July 25, 2011 at 11:59 EST.
A maximum of two (2) entries per person is allowed—one by each method of entry. Comments made to blog posts must be deemed relevant and appropriate by Jen Monopoli.
Winner will be chosen at random within 48 hours of the close of the contest. Winner will be announced at greatlashing.blogspot.com and notified by Jen Monopoli via Gmail or Facebook message.
Prize is non-transferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions. Other conditions and restrictions apply.

Gold Rush Weekend

I'm going for the gold on my blog this weekend with gold nail and makeup looks. I'll be kicking it off shortly with a golden giveaway from Sephora!

Birthday Nail Kit for My 7-Year-Old Niece

I put together this nail kit for my niece who's turning seven this week. She's been doing her nails for years and she's quite the expert, so no toy sets for her—I bought her the real thing including three shades of Crackle which is her current passion. The organizer is the Caboodles Objects of Desire Tray and it's perfect for nail products. I can't wait to surprise her with this!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

MAC Lipstick Contest Winner

Congratulations to Stephanie Gale of beaumondeorganics.com—she's the winner of the MAC lipstick giveaway! Thanks for your participation Stephanie!!

Stay tuned for my next giveaway contest which will be announced shortly....

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Come visit my Facebook page!

Please visit my Facebook page, where I post additional pics and comments about makeup and other beauty products. Just do a search for Jen Monopoli, I'm currently the only one on FB. If you send me a friend request I'll accept!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Shattered and Crackled

I created two manicures for OPI's Facebook “Day of Shatter”, which is tomorrow (Wednesday).

For this shimmery blue manicure below I used Sally Hansen Fractured Foil Crackle over Sally Hansen Pacific Blue.

This Brand is History: Tony & Tina

Tony & Tina was founded in 1997 by a couple named Tony Gill and Cristina Bornstein. The line was partially inspired by Urban Decay and Hard Candy, but Tony and Tina's concept went beyond simply makeup. They described their products as “vibrational remedies” with herbal and color-based mood and health enhancing properties.

I sold this line back when I was a Sephora employee and I remember that its fanbase was drawn in not so much by the “therapeutic” properties as by the fun collection of glittery products. Among the bestsellers were an eye-safe loose glitter with an extensive selection of shades, glitter eye pencils, body shimmers and nail polish. My favorite product was Lash Dew, a bright blue gel-like gloss for eyelashes.

At the height of its popularity Tony & Tina did $10 million in annual sales. It sold in a number of luxury stores in the US, UK and Japan. Wella purchased a majority stake in 2002 then unceremoniously discontinued the brand in 2005.

Here are a few pics of the line. If you were a fan, I'd love to hear your memories of Tony & Tina and what your favorite products were! Your photos are welcome as well.

Pencil Case Collection

All Star Gift Set

All Star Collection

Spring Nymph Eye Palette

Countertop Display

Cosmic Lights Gift Set

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Nail of the Week: Flower Girl

My nail model Aryana will be a flower girl in a family wedding today. To celebrate I created this summery floral design.

The shade is Sally Hansen Hi-Definition in 04 Hi-Def. The flower decals are from a Nailene set I bought at CVS. I sealed it with one coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Nail Bling

I was in Sally Beauty Supply today and couldn't resist these fun nail decals. I especially liked this print and its strobe-like look. The product is made by Nail Bliss.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Nail of the Week 2: Star Spangled

Here's my second entry for Nail of the Week.

For this crackled patriotic look I used:

Sinful Colors in 101 Snow Me White
Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in 05 Distressed Denim
Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in 07 Cherry Smash
Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps Topcoat

Nail of the Week 1: Stars and Stripes

I missed my Nail of the Week post last week because my hand model Aryana was away on a camping trip! Happily, she's back, and to make up for lost time I created two different entries for this week's Nail of the Week. Here's the first: