My Current Beauty Product Favorites

So I try a LOT of beauty products. And it's tough sometimes to stick to the same ones, even if I love them ... because there are just so many more where those came from! But every once in awhile, there's a product so good that I just can't help but go back to it again and again. Right now, these are the products I'm loving.

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The Best Cuticle Treatment: CND SolarOil

So I have a confession to make. No matter how many manicurists tell me I need to take better care of my cuticles, I just don't listen. Now, I'm not a nail biter and I don't sit around picking apart my nails and cuticles ... but they do tend to become pretty ravaged by changing climates, excessive travel and lots of stress. Enter CND SolarOil.

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12 Days of Beauty Giveaways: CND Scentsations The Berry Collection

I may be Jewish, but that doesn't stop me from loving everything having to do with Christmas! I love decorating my friends' Christmas trees, I love caroling, I create awesome iTunes and Spotify Christmas music playlists, I love looking at Christmas decorations ... and the 12 days of Christmas just amplifies my excitement! This year, I'm counting down the 12 days of Christmas with 12 very fabulous beauty giveaways from some of my very favorite beauty brands!

Well, it's the last day of 12 Days of Beauty Giveaways. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I have! And to finish up the fabulous prizes is one just as amazing ... CND Scentsations The Berry Collection! This beautiful collection contains the following lotions guaranteed to make your skin smell fantastic and feel just as wonderful:

Cranberry
Black Cherry & Nutmeg
Winterberry

And one lucky winner will receive the collection, with a retail value of $12! To enter, leave your name and email address in the box below.



THE RULES:
This giveaway ends on Sunday, December 25 at midnight. One winner will be chosen AT RANDOM on Monday, December 26. One entry per person and email address. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Mani of the Weekend: CND Plum Truffle Collection

I'm going to my very first gay wedding this weekend! My roommate from college is marrying his longtime sweetheart and I am so excited to share in their special day. And, since I'm going to be surrounded by some of the most fabulous gay people in the whole entire world, I felt the need to put a little sparkle on my tips. Luckily, I just received the CND Plum Truffle Collection -- a duo with a creamy rich plum lacquer and a sparkly plum effect.

You'll notice that, even though I really tried to clean it up, the color seeped onto the cuticles a bit more than I could control! But I'm really loving the richness and glamorousness of this duo -- the end result is just so perfect for a fall wedding. I also love that the colors work just as well on their own as they do in tandem.

What's on your nails this weekend? Let me know in the comments!

Direct from the Runway: Jen Kao Spring 2012

"Lethal love" was on the docket today at Jen Kao. Wanda Ruiz for CND created four bold manicures for the show with a base of CND Inkwell, each with a different shade of diffused gradation. Each of the manicures was topped with CND Air Dry Top Coat while wet to create an ombre finish.

"They're very cloudy like sunset and airbrushed," Wanda told me of the nails. And of the girl, Wanda said, "You wanna get close but you're not sure, 'cause she might be dangerous!"

Check out the four combinations below!


CND Rouge Red


CND Midnight Sapphire


CND Green Scene


CND Anchor Blue

Mani of the Week: Zoya Tobey with CND Effects Amethyst Sparkle

It was kind of grey out today, so I decided to brighten things up with a crazy pink hue! I went for Zoya Tobey (confusingly referred to as both Tobey and Tobi on their website, though my bottle very distinctly says the former) -- a gorgeously bright fuchsia that I'm fairly certain can be seen from a mile away!

To spice things up a bit, I painted one coat of CND Effects Amethyst Sparkle on top. The effect, as it were? So much sparkle and shimmer, I feel like a disco ball in the best possible way!


A closeup version of my nails so you can see the sparkle!

What's on your nails this week? Let me know in the comments!

Mani of the Week: CND's Jason Wu Collection Brigitte and Anna Effect

Since I usually paint my nails with super crazy colors, I decided to go a little subdued this week. That's where the new Jason Wu Collection from CND came in handy. The limited-edition collection honors iconic women through wearable, timeless shades. Each is rich, warm and beautiful.

So I went with two coats of Brigitte, a gorgeous warm pink that evokes the voluptuous feel of Brigitte Bardot. I layered one coat of Anna Effect over the top, which is supposed to create a tweed-like effect, but I found it to make my nails super glossy. (I did, of course, then add a layer of Seche Vite so the color will lock in and stay for the whole week!)

CND Brigitte and Anna Effect, no flash

What's on your nails this week? Let me know in the comments!

Mani of the Week: CND Putty with OPI Don't Mess with OPI

I decided to do another accent mani this week! This time I used CND Putty -- one of the brand’s most popular colors, and always seen all over the runways at Fashion Week -- with an accent nail in OPI Don’t Mess with OPI. I’ve been doing a lot of green nails lately, and while I’m definitely still on the green kick, I wanted it to just be the cherry on top of an otherwise fairly safe manicure.

What’s on your nails this week? Let me know in the comments!

Direct from the Runway: Behnaz Sarafpour Fall 2011

"We want her to be a little bit coquette, a little bit playful," M.A.C Vice President of Makeup Artistry Gordon Espinet told me backstage at Behnaz Sarafpour Fall 2011. Behnaz gave Espinet a Kate Moss photograph as reference, and then he interpreted it as Brigitte Bardot in the film When God Created Woman. Along with Laurent Philippon of Bumble and bumble and Wanda Ruiz of CND, the look was beautiful, radiant and youthful.

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Mani of the Week: CND Shellac (Finally!)

I've been dying to try CND Shellac for quite some time now. I've tried other gel manicures, like Dashing Diva Gelife and Sakura Calgel, but as I'm a huge fan of everything CND, this was definitely at the top of my list!

So last night, while enjoying some cocktails and chitchat with my fellow bloggers at Cocktails and Couture, I decided to try it out. My fab CND nail technician, Heather Reynosa Davis, took my nails in a totally fab direction with a unique layered look. We did one coat of Rock Royalty and one coat of Iced Coral ... and then Heather did something totally awesome by giving me one nail inspired by the Fall 2011 Ruffian Tuxedo Nail!

I am totally in love with this manicure, and I can't wait to see how perfect and glossy it still looks in two weeks when it's finally time to remove it. I. AM. IN. LOVE!

What's on your nails this week? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks to the fab Keri Blair for taking the photos!

Bring on the Bubbly: CND Scentsations Sparkling Champagne Gift Set

I love champagne, so it's no wonder that I've totally gravitated toward the new CND Scentsations Sparkling Champagne Gift Set. This duo of hand wash and lotion totally perks up my day -- and makes it okay to have champagne before noon!

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Into the Night: CND Night Factory

I love when intriguing packages come my way. Yesterday was one such day ... because CND sent over Night Factory, one of their new limited-edition duos for Fall/Winter 2010. Night Factory leaves "a bit of permanent midnight on your fingertips ... a blue-green lightning bolt of pure pigment across an iron sky," according to the packaging. The duo is meant to complement the season's haunting and deconstructed pieces.

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My New Nails Best Friend: CND Stickey Base Coat

For a long time, I've been on the quest to find the perfect base coat. No matter how hard I tried, how far I searched, I just couldn't seem to find the one that made my polish last. That is, until I came across CND Stickey Base Coat.

My best friend had been singing Stickey's praises for years -- not to mention it's used backstage at almost every fashion show during New York Fashion Week -- but for some reason, I never tried it. Finally, though, the curiosity became too great and I simply had to have my own bottle ... so I traversed to Ricky's (not so hard, since I live across the street) and picked one up.

Oh. My. God. My life has been changed forever. My nail polish literally lasts for weeks now without chipping -- we're talking at least 10 days of chip-free, smooth, long-lasting polish. Not to mention that no matter how dark the polish is, my nails are never stained orange or yellow.

My verdict? I'm never polishing my nails without this base coat again.

CND Stickey Base Coat retails for $8.50 at ulta.com.

First Look Fridays: Manicurist Lulu Cooper

About two years ago, I had the delight of meeting manicurist Lulu Cooper at an event. As she did my nails, we gabbed about all things beauty, fashion, celebrity and otherwise! Lulu is charming, witty, hilarious and whipsmart. It's my extreme pleasure to feature her this week on First Look Fridays. Read on to discover her favorite nail polish, the pedicure bowl she takes everywhere, the top coat she can't live without and so much more.

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Direct from the Runway: L.A.M.B. Fall 2010

So imagine my surprise and delight when I walked into the backstage area of the L.A.M.B. Fall 2010 Fashion Show and immediately spotted Gwen Stefani herself. There was a kind of quiet hush surrounding her ... all you could hear from anyone in the vicinity was, "That's Gwen Stefani!!" It was pretty unbelievable. But once I tore my eyes away from her -- and wow, did she look fantastic with her white-blond Marilyn Monroe-esque hairdo and signature red lips -- I was blown away by the hair, makeup and nails.

Charlotte Tilbury for M.A.C, Danilo for Moroccanoil and Roxanne Valinotti for Creative Nail Design really hit the ground running and came up with a fantastically beautiful look that was, as Charlotte so eloquently put it, "Young, naughty, wild, slightly 1930's prostitutes." Intrigued? Read more after the jump.

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Beauty Giveaway: CND SpaManicure Almond Gift Set

It's time for another giveaway here at The Beauty of Life! And this one is sure to help those ravaged winter hands become touchably soft and gloriously smooth in no time ... because this week, I'm giving away a set of CND SpaManicure Almond products! One lucky winner will win a set of the following products, which retail at a whopping $65!

 
CND Almond Soothing Creme ($15): An intense, moisturizing hand cream with jojoba oil, Vitamin E and shea butter.

 
CND Almond Hydrating Lotion ($35): A silky hand and body lotion with a lush, whipped blend of jojoba oil and Vitamin E.

 
CND Almond Moisture Scrub ($15): A gentle polishing scrub with fine mineral salts, refined sugar, jojoba beads and sweet almond oil.

Entering is easy. Simply enter your name and email address in the box below. The two winners will be selected on Saturday, December 19 and notified by email. It's that simple!



This giveaway is open to US residents only. Giveaway runs until Friday, December 18 at midnight. One entry per person, email address and IP address. Multiple entries will be disqualified.

Direct from the Runway: Baby Phat Spring 2010

When I get the opportunity to go backstage at Baby Phat, I take it. The combination of James Kaliardos for M.A.C, hairstylist Odile Gilbert and Creative Nail Design on nails is what we'd call a beauty home run! And, as usual, they knocked it right out of the park. The look was inspired by "Marisa Berenson and trips to Morocco in 1972," Kaliardos told me, so you can imagine that it was unbelievably wild. Get all the details and see many more photos after the jump.

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Direct from the Runway: Herve Leger Spring 2010

Going backstage at Herve Leger is always a treat. I really enjoy seeing hair and makeup that doesn't look too "done" -- as Lisa Buter for M.A.C told me, "We decided that we didn't want to go for anything too obvious." Find out how she, Bob Recine for Phyto and Creative Nail Design accomplished it after the jump.

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Direct from the Runway: BCBGMAXAZRIA Spring 2010

There's always something really lovely about BCBGMAXAZRIA. The hair, makeup and nails are never over the top -- they're usually kept quite simple so as not to distract from the clothes. And this time was no exception. Headed by Bob Recine for Phyto (hair), Lisa Butler for M.A.C (makeup) and Creative Nail Design (nails), the look was polished, effortless and just a little bit sexy. Butler told me backstage, "If they'd given them the mascara and said come in with their hair brushed, we could have stayed in bed!" (Joking, of course.) Get all the details after the jump.

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An Insider's Look: Jan Arnold of Creative Nail Design

How thrilled was I when I had the chance to interview Jan Arnold, the Co-Founder of Creative Nail Design, backstage at the Barbie show during Fall 2009 Fashion Week? Let's just say I was so excited, I almost screamed with glee. Jan founded CND in 1979 with her brother and father and has since taken the company to soaring heights. Seen backstage at over 70 shows during the current New York Fashion Week alone, the company is responsible for creating some of the most innovative nail designs and colors seen anywhere. And when I saw Jan at Barbie, you'd better believe her nails were rockin'! She was sporting a gorgeous manicure with custom-blended midnight blue tips accented by an incredible silver foiled design. Read on to discover more about the fabulous Jan Arnold of Creative Nail Design.

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