Nails, Cocktails, and the Gang at Hester Street

Annie and Christina at the Cirque and Shelter booth at the Hester Street Fair

I've spent the last two bright beautiful Saturdays hanging out with Annie, Christina, Sofia, and Riza while they worked at their new booth at Hester Street Fair.  After months of laboriously mixing colors, experimenting with glitters, and probably breathing in tons of fumes, Annie has finally launched her brand of nailpolishes, Cirque.  Her first collection, Dark Horse, features a dozen shimmer, glitter, and sparkle based colors in shades that you won't find in any drugstore beauty isle.  She gave me a few of her favorite colors to take home, and I've been playing around and mixing them with my own nailpolishes all week.  It's hard deciding a favorite, but Epoch, a holographic bluish-green that's the shade of a beetle wing, is what I'm wearing right now, and I never want to take it off.  I also love how well all of the colors work so well together, and seem to look the best when layered or paired with one another.

Christina has also been hard at work with Shelter, a line of candles she's been making Sofia and Riza.  In addition to their line of beeswax candles shaped like bottles and twigs, they've moved on to making scented candles now (finally!), and are planning on coming up with new scents every season.  My personal favorite is Pink Moon, which has a lovely scent of lavender, citrus, sandalwood and berries.

On both of my visits to Hester Street, I only meant to stop by to say hi, but ended up staying to hang out with my favorite lady friends, taste a sampling of the delectable selection of food from local vendors, sip on secretly spiked drinks, and of course, paint my nails with Cirque.  I even switched my energy from corporate windpower to cheaper, non-corporate windpower.  So productive!  Anyway, both Cirque and Shelter will be at Hester Street Market every other Saturday this summer, so make sure to pay the girls a visit if you're in the city.

All the different shades of Cirque polish, which range cost $12-$16

Today's Cirque manicure: Debris layered over Epoch

Shelter bottle shaped candles

New Shelter mini scented tea lights, $4 each, or $14 for a pack of four

Cirque polishes

Beautiful packaging to take my Cirque nailpolish kit home in!

French manicure using Dark Horse (tips) and Potosi (overcoat), by Cirque, and Nude (base coat) by Urban Outfitters

Tibetan Nights (base coat), Fascination Street (tips), and Potosi (overcoat), all by Cirque

-Tiffany

Nail Envy

I have to admit, I am not the biggest Lady Gaga fan. While I can enjoy a round of Bad Romance on the dancefloor, the Lady has definitely reached media oversaturation, giving out a fair amount of inane quotable quotes along the way.  Having seen her perform in her early days at one of my parties at Marquee, I can also say that stylewise, she is very much indebted to Nicola Formichetti.  Trash talking aside, I do appreciate Formichetti's hand in Stefani Germanotta's remarkable transformation, and while there have definitely been highs and lows, one element that's remained consistently good are Gaga's manicures.

Gaga's nails are the work of New York based nail artist Naomi Yasuda, who has a long list of celebrity fans, but still makes time to do house visits. While Yasuda's rates aren't above the average ones you'll find for a Japanese 3-D manicure, blinging out your nails with bejeweled tips on a weekly basis is financially impossible for most of the ladies I know, myself included.  Thankfully, Yasuda has come up with several ways to make her one-of-a-kind nails more accessible to the public with several collaborations.  First, she created a series of stone, gem, and chain encrusted press-on nails with artificial nail manufacturer Kiss, selling for $45 a set.  Second, Yasuda collaborated with Minx to create 2-D gold and silver graphic nail stickers, which are $35 for a pack.  Lastly, for the hardcore nail fanatics, Yasuda created a limited edition of hand-cut and crafted nail sets, which were filed into crazy shapes and loaded with nail charms and stones.  Only 30 pairs were made, and each pair costs $225.  Of course, all of the nail sets will be available exclusively at the Barney's x Gaga workshop.

-Tiffany

My Nail Polish is Poppin

Gel nails and 3-D Nail Art courtesy of Spa Martier 

In the middle fashion week, the kids at Fashion Indie set up a Blogger Breakroom full of plenty of fun stuff, including a full on beauty salon with eyebrow waxing, massages, and manicures provided by Spa Martier.  There were a lot of manicure stations installed around fashion week this season, but how many of them were offering Japanese nail art and gels?  Novelty manicures have had a recent spike in popularity, and while airbrushed acrylic dragon talons have always been popular amongst a certain beauty-school dropout set, they've only recently evolved into something more widely acceptable.  Not to say that they've broken from their tacky roots, but rather than being ghetto fabulous, the designs are more fun, silly, and smile inducing.  You probably won't be winning any "chic points" for having 3D donuts popping off every fingernail (see example below), but having a ridiculous manicure will bring untold amounts of personal joy, as well as the cooing attention of some very strange strangers.

I went for a multicolored reverse-french manicure using gels, with a few 3D flowers and rhinestones.  I have been hearing about gels for the last few months, and was thrilled to finally try them. They've held out miraculously well, and after a week and a half, have shown no signs of wear or chipping. They're supposed to last three to six weeks, and I expect to have some nice long nails when I remove them. Best yet, the incredible nail technicians were ridiculously fast, detail-oriented, and dedicated.  If it didn't cost around $100, I would probably get it done every week. I'll just have to wait for a special occasion to go back to Spa Martier. I'm planning on getting some donuts, cupcakes, and pizza slices next.

Some of the different designs you can choose from. Check out the donuts in the bottom left corner.
 

The hundreds of gel colors available to choose from.

-Tiffany

Futuregems

Ideeen dress, necklace courtesy of Briel, blue cuff courtesy of Joomi Lim, spike earrings courtesy of Joshua Hall, Triskaidekaphobia multicolored gear cuff, Cara Croninger clear cuff, Acne Sandals, Peter Pilotto x Kipling backpack, Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses.

I've been really into futuristic accessories lately. As a jewelry designer, I tend to gravitate towards designs that interest me from a technical standpoint--pieces that intrigue me with their unique construction, and things that I only have a vague understanding of how to make. Jewelry is an immense field with many different areas of specialty, and people seem surprised when they find out that most jewelry designers don't know how to set their own stones, or cast their own metal. I'll be the first to admit that there are a lot of techniques that I do not know, and there are a lot of areas that I could learn more about. I recently took a course in 3-D CAD for Jewelry Designers, and still I feel like it's only the beginning of all the emerging technical possibilities for designers.

I've been obsessed with the design of two particular pieces that I recently was given. The first is a necklace made by watch company Breil, which recently launched a jewelry line. All their pieces are meant to be worn multiple ways, with various built in tricks that allow for conversions from necklaces to bracelets, and complete changes in design. While all of their jewelry has a bit of a sleek techie sheen that hints at their watch-making roots, I really loved the stainless steel ball necklace that has rubber stoppers inside each of the bead, allowing you to adjust them into whatever positions you feel like. I personally like wearing them will the balls all bunched in the front like a silver amoeba, or the swinging balls of a Newton's cradle. I also really like the fact that you can adjust it to whatever length you like in the back with yet another rubber-filled bead.

After expressing my love for my friend Joomi Lim's titanium plated stainless steel cuff, Joomi was incredibly generous, and gave me one for my birthday. I was immediately fascinated by the vivid blue color, which is pretty uncommon in jewelry, and usually reserved for furniture or industrial design. I love how it makes me feel like Wonder Woman, even though most of the wondering I'm doing is thinking about what other crazy colors it could possibly be plated in.

Breil Necklace, Joshua Hall Earrings, Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses

Joomi Lim cuff + DIY French manicure

-Tiffany

The problem of leisure...What to do for pleasure?

Pleasure Doing Business dress, Topshop fringe jacket, origami wrap top courtesy of Lilla P, Jameson leggings, headband courtesy of Mike Gonzales, Triskaidekaphobia necklace.

A little while back, I wrote about Pleasure Doing Business, and at the Blue Stripe PR event last month, I got a chance to take a good look at the pieces in person. They're even more tempting up close, and the skin-tight elastic skirts and dresses come in dozens of smart color-combinations. I wasn't sure how they would fit, but the lovely ladies at Blue Stripe let me borrow a couple of pieces to wear during fashion week, so I got to give them a little test run. I was initially a little scared to try such form-fitting dresses, as some bodyshaping attire can have the undesirable result of redistributing your fat to create unsightly bulges, but the Pleasure Doing Business dresses and skirts do have the wonderful effect of sucking everything in, in an ever so discreet manner. I mean, you don't want to announce to the whole world that you're wearing control-top underwear, and the magical elastic dresses essentially do the same job without the embarrassing grandma-panties feeling. They're actually so much chicer that they don't really deserve the comparison, and I loved the pink and gray dress I borrowed so much, I ended up painting my nails to match. Here are some of my other favorite pieces from the spring collection.

DIY French manicure using a kit a bought at Urban Outfitters, Triskaidekaphobia buckle ring

-Tiffany

We Didn't Start the Fire

Peter Pilotto x Kipling backpack, Foley and Corinna dress, Acne motorcycle jacket, Alexander Wang shoes, scarf courtesy of Gina Tricot, Triskaidekaphobia ring.

Last night I had a busy evening that had me running all over town, starting with a visit to Charley 5.0 to view their spring collection, a pitstop at Creatures of Comfort for their book release party, and finally ending the night at my friend Allegra's gallery for a dinner party for artist Brian Montuori. The dinner started with a bang when my place setting caught on fire, which could have been a disaster if it hadn't been put out so quickly. I swear I was nowhere near it when it went up in flames, so I have no idea what happened, but the resulting mess of melted plastic plate and smoky fumes actually matched the macabre exhibition quite well.

The show, titled "Cold Sweat" depicts an alternative reality where humanity is absent, and the remnants of nature slowly reveal themselves to be part of a greater machine. We had dinner surrounded by paintings of exploding coyotes, and my companions regaled me with appropriate nature-fright stories, which were just as unappetizing as they were fascinating. For example, apparently there's a video of hundreds of displaced rats swimming in unison through the flooded streets of Bushwick following the recent tornado. The image, which sounds like something out of a horror movie, was described as being quite beautiful, and sadly, I haven't been able to find the footage online, as much as a try to Google search "rats swimming in Bushwick." Please let me know if you find it!

I took out my new Peter Pilotto x Kipling backpack, which fits everything, including my super-heavy camera. After shopping around different sites for the past month, I ended up ordering it from the Kipling website, since they're offering 20% off with the discount code, "WELCOMEKIP"

My home attempt at the half-moon manicure. Triskaidekaphobia buckle ring.

My scorched table setting, which actually matched the artwork in the gallery pretty well.

My dinner companions for the evening.

Brian Montuori's installation

-Tiffany

Nail Nonsense

Tiny monster nails inspired by Sophy Robson's nail art, which I found on Is Mental.

Ever since I got my 3-D acrylic nail extensions done at The Valley, my nails have been in pretty messed up shape, and I've had to wear nail polish to cover up all the unsightly damage. Of course, after my Japanese style manicure, I couldn't go back to a simple coat of polish, so I've been trying my hand at doing my own 2-D nail art at home. There are hundreds of websites, blogs, and You Tube videos devoted to nail art, so it's pretty easy to find inspiration. I'm still working on painting with my left hand, but I bought a Sally Hansen Nail Art pen in black, and they're super easy to use--I definitely want to buy a few more colors. Here are a few of the manicure's I've tried this past month.

Tiger stripes. I used the Sally Hansen nail art pen to draw the stripes on top of a coat of lilac American Apparel nail polish.

Strawberry nails for the Forth of July! I didn't actually paint these--they're kid's press-on nails by Lip Smackers that I picked up for a couple of bucks at Target. There's also a watermelon set in the kit, that I haven't worn yet. The only problem is that they fall off pretty quickly, and won't last more than a day unless you put a more serious adhesive on the back.

-Tiffany

Valley Girl

My K.O. matte manicure with 3-D ribbons from Valley

As I mentioned last week, one of my best friends, Ashley, gave me a birthday gift certificate to Valley, a Nolita vintage-store and nail salon that specializes in Japanese nail art. The prices for nail extensions and custom manicures are rather steep, and I definitely wouldn't ever allow myself such an indulgence, even if I've been very curious for quite some time now. Thus I was extremely excited to be given the gift of this ephemeral luxury (which will probably be extra short-lived considering that I work with my hands, in addition to being notoriously klutzy and accident-prone).

I stopped by this Sunday, so I could have them in time for my cousin's wedding (pictures to come). When I arrived, they had a tray displaying various nail-art options, ranging from 3-D ice-cream cones to rhinestoned Chanel logos. I took a peek, but I already had ideas of my own, inspired by my friend Aimee Philip's set of extensions. I saw her right before she left for tour (she manages our friends The Drums, as well as The Scissor Sisters), and she was boasting a perfect multi-colored glittery set, with each nail adorned with a tiny 3-D black bow. Aimee is a total glamourpuss, and apparently has a lady who comes to her house to do them. Anyway, rather than going glittery, I picked out K.O.'s matte nail polish in array of powdery hues that were meant to compliment the Chloe dress I wore to the wedding. I love matte nail polish, especially how the pastel colors look kinda like toothpaste!

Still, when I sat down with Maki, the manicurist, I started having second thoughts on the entire proceedings. I've never gotten nail extensions before,and when she started snapping them on at their full length (about twice as long as they are in the picture) I have to admit I almost freaked out and didn't go through with it. I suddenly remembered my childhood aversion to nail extensions, and flashed back to memories of my babysitter's hooked set of lacquered red talons which always made me squirm. Maki must have noticed the look on my face cause she immediately assured me she would trim them down. She had to keep on trimming them though, and I'm sure most nail enthusiasts would laugh--they ended up only about 1/4" longer than my real nails. Still they're plenty long for me, and I'm very happy with the results, even if it means I have to relearn how to type, in addition to performing other basic finger-functions...

Another shot that the lovely ladies at Valley took...

The selection of K.O. matte nail polish. I ended up choosing pale pink, magenta and turquoise.

Some samples of all the crazy nail art that they can produce!

The store also has a well-edited selection of vintage clothing and shoes

A true rainbow of nail-polish colors to choose from!

-Tiffany

Somewhere Between Gross and Amazing

Bunny and strawberry nail set. All nails available at Full Moon.

I've always been a fan of Japanese nail art, but for the most part find it absurdly out of my price range. In New York, a specially designed manicure with 3-D and acrylic art on every finger will run you around $100 or more. If I were married to a professional basketball player, I would probably have it done every week, but alas, I'm married to a Swedish teacher, and don't even think I can justify dropping that much cash on nail polish for a special occasion. Lucky for me, one of my best friends, Ashley, gave me a gift certificate to The Valley, a legendary nail salon in New York, and I'll finally let myself indulge.

While I was poking around the internet looking for design inspiration, I came across a number of DIY nail art sites, tutorials and videos, which got me thinking about giving it a try. Even though I love a good DIY, I'm actually not so great at home manicures, and a wavering left hand would probably ruin any home nail art attempts. Then I found Full Moon, a site which might be based out of Japan, or might be based out of Korea town for all I can tell. While they carry a wack-tastic selection of oddities ranging from macaroon decorating kits, rhinestone cell phone cases, and teddy bear adorned headphones, they also sell all the tools and adornments for at home manicures and nail art. Of particular interest: pre-decorated nail extensions that you can easily apply at home, averaging around $25 a set. Totally gross, yet simultaneously amazing. And more importantly, really funny. I think if I was wearing these, I would be cracking up at myself all day long. Less silly/tacky alternatives are available at the salon, but if I find myself addicted, don't be surprised if you see me around town wearing one of these ridiculous looking sets...

This pastel rainbow set reminds me of my childhood My Little Ponies playhouse

My favorite set of the bunch: cupcakes and ice cream cones! I wish I had these to wear with the Ashish ice cream cone dress!

A more classic girly set

For some reason this is called the "British" set, I guess because it mimics a tartan plaid?

-Tiffany