Lack Luster Finish for Nails
By Melanie Parker

Bucking last year's trend of high gloss patent leather, is this Fall's matte nail lacquers. OPI, Zoya, and Essie have all jumped on the matte nail trend originally reserved for men's manicures.

The leader of the pack in terms of color stories for their matte line is Zoya. The limited edition Matte Velvet trio includes Loredana, Dovima, and Posh. The polishes appear to be shimmers when wet and are in a unique frosted glass bottle. The lightest of the set is Loredana, which is a metallic pewter polish.


Dovima, is a deeper, more saturated charcoal gray. I originally thought this one would look like black velvet on the nails. A better name for it might have been Char or Smoke, as it is not a true black. However, I do like the unique, smoky look of this color. But on someone with square-shaped nails, you might run the risk of looking like you have mini charcoal briquettes on your tips.


My favorite of the trio is Posh. This pinkish red polish reminds me of flushed cheeks and velvet. I would have named this one Iron Maiden. The frosty finish held up well. This picture was taken on day 3 of the trial and there is no chipping and minimal tip wear. Despite the instructions, which say no base or top coat, I wore NailTek Xtra as a base treatment with it. Should you choose to wear a top coat, the polish will be shimmery, just like it is when it goes on your nails wet. Although the dry polish looks like it might have a fabric feel, the polish is smooth. It feels more like a polished stone than velvet. I liked the feeling. It made me feel like my nail were extra strong.

If these darker colors don't appeal to you, you are in luck. Essie has launched a Matte About You finisher product that will turn any of your polishes into a matte polish. This would replace a clear top coat during the manicure process.

I'm not ready to turn in my glossy top coats yet, but this is an interesting trend for Fall. Zoya Matte Velvets are available at http://www.artofbeauty.com/scrpt/scr.dll/ShowLine?cat=4&line=622&brand=2.

You may also want to check out ManGlaze polishes for black or grey shades at http://www.manglaze.com/buy.html.

And just because I love it so much, here is a swatch of Dashing Diva Northern Light. This polish appears to be peacock blue with a gold shimmer in the bottle, but it dries a darker teal with lime green shimmer that makes it look like a metallic jade. Love, love, love it! I cannot give up the shimmer and shine or a polish like this for more than three days.

Getting Nailed at Dashing Diva

One of the many highlights of my NYC trip is when the Total Beauty gang took us to the nail salon Dashing Diva. This salon is known for their fabulous nail lacquers,high end service and Girls Night Out promotion. Every Thursday and Friday evening customers are treated to free cosmos with any service.

The Total Beauty girls were treated to manicures and delicious cosmos. The manicure included many perks such as massages, scrubs, and hot towels. There is something about your hands being encased in a hot towel that makes your toes curl. The manicure was highly relaxing and made my tired, overworked hands feel like a million bucks.

Dashing Diva is very well known for their line of nail polishes. They have a healthy range of reds, pinks and corals along with some truly unique shades like celery green to a gray pink. I explored the stock with Michelle from All Lacquered Up, Kristen from Beauty Addict, Erika from Makeup Bag, Sara from Bitten by the Beauty Bug and Connie & Carolyn from the The Daily Obsession. We dished on color choices and fussed over their shimmery navy shade. I chose a blue toned pink that reminded me of OPI Japanese Rose Garden. It was wildly inappropriate for the season but I could not resist its charms.

Dashing Diva has locations in the US(NYC, California and North Carolina), Japan, Singapore, Australia, Philippines and Kuwait.
Visit http://www.dashingdiva.com/

to peek at the nail polishes and to learn more about their services.

Also read Michelle's fabulous review at All Lacquered Up.

http://www.alllacqueredup.com/

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman

Disclosure: This experience was made possible by Dashing Diva and Total Beauty

“I’ll Drink To That!”
Dashing Diva “Uncorks” New “Wine Pedicure” for Fall

As the leaves begin to turn, it finally hits us that summer is definitely over. It’s time to start getting all cozy and snuggle our toes into something warm, while sipping a glass of Chardonnay or Merlot. Dashing Diva’s new Fall Harvest “Wine Pedicure” is the perfect way to celebrate the change of seasons.

What’s So Special About This Pedicure?
This “intoxicating” pedicure begins with a red wine & clay cleansing milk foot massage, followed by a calming soak in a Merlot fizzing wine bath (a unique concoction of grape seed oil, baking soda, and Vitamins A and E, to which we add 2 scoops of real California Merlot). Nails are then meticulously trimmed before feet are scrubbed with a delicious Chardonnay sugar scrub, followed by a mineral-rich, seasonally-appropriate, pumpkin foot masque. After a soothing 10-minute foot and lower leg massage with a grape seed oil “elixir,” feet are slathered in a delightful Lavender Chardonnay body butter before toes are polished to perfection. Best yet, it comes with a complimentary glass of Chardonnay or Merlot!

For fall, Dashing Diva recommends one of the new “Fall Harvest” inspired polishes in the following colors:

Black Raspberry – A deep, raspberry-red burgundy shade
Champagne Nude – A soft, shimmery beige hue
Bronze Bombshell – A chic, metallic bronze color

Price: $75.00
Length: One hour
Launch Date: October 8 2007, at all Dashing Diva locations in New York (plus CA and NC)

Dashing Diva nail spas are located in New York at:

41 East 8th Street – Tel: 212 673 9000
1341 2nd Avenue - Tel: 212 570 0770 590 Columbus Avenue – Tel: 212 877 9052
129 Smith Street in Brooklyn – Tel: 718 875 1210

Credits: Dashing Diva Press Release and Wikipedia