A Nail Polish That Reads Your Mood
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Support Breast Cancer Awareness with These Pink Product Picks
The original shattering nail polish has gone pink! OPI has introduced Pink Shatter: Pink of Hearts Nail Lacquer, $8.50. Proceeds support Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
A personal favorite for putting broken blood vessels to rest: Darphin Redness Relief Soothing Serum, $85. For eachserum purchased, $15 will go toward the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Stila Positive and Pretty Palette, $14. It’s a limited-edition palette with four eye shadows, cheek color and a highlighter.
Way to save a pretty penny! A total of 10% of proceeds will go to a variety of BCA charities, including the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
There’s nothing more comfy-cozy-yummy than Alternative Apparel. The clothing line has partnered with all Urban Outfitters stores and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to introduce the Pink Ribbon Collection, 
which features the brand’s best-selling tees, tanks, dresses and hoodies all in pink. Urban Outfitters stores and the Alternative Apparel website will sell the line through the remainder of 2011. Urban Outifitters has already made a $60,000 donation to Komen and Alternative will donate 10% of the retail price from online sales to Komen.
A few months ago, we decked out our pouts with Violent Lips temporary lip tattoos. Now you can mouth off wearing The Pink Ribbon Collection. A set of three tattoos is $9.99 and $2 from every sale will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
Charles Albert Pink Jasper Ring, $170. The jewelry designer will be donating 25% of sales of the ring to Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization
Pureology hair products rarely go on sale so here’s one deal to take advantage of. In support of breast cancer awareness, you can get a set of PureVolume Shampoo and PureVolume HairCondition for $39. Even better, Pureology will make a $20,000 donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Estee Lauder is always thinkin’ pink. The Limited Edition Evelyn Lauder Pink Ribbon Collection, $24, is a chic lipstick/clutch combo. They will donate 20% of the suggested retail price to The Breast Cancer Research 
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Nail Polish Colors I’m Loving
As you can see from the above photo I took, I have more nail polishes than there are days of the year! With so many options, my craving for a color can change as quickly as the weather. But there are some standout shades I just can’t shake. Right now, I’m loving these pinks (for summer), greens (for fall) and the anticipated limited-edition Chanel collection of blues inspired by the most classic wardrobe staple — denim.
OPI in Teenage Dream (Yes, it’s part of the Katy Perry collection for OPI). The polish is all bubblegum and sparkles like the pop star but surprisingly not cheesy at all on nails. The combo of tiny flecks of glitter with a few bigger bits creates incredible dimension, and you won’t look like every other girl in this soft pink.
Nicole by OPI’s Miss Independant is a stunning rose gold polish. It’s the perfect balance of gold and petal pink, and the finish gives nails a beautfiul shimmer. I’ve gotten so many compliments on this shade, the bottle has been passed around to my sisters and mom, who’s been wearing the color on her toes.
Butter London Nail Lacquer in Thames is an unexpected burst of evergreen with a hint of sheen. Green nails were big on fall runways, and this polish stands out for me as one of the most wearable yet high fashion out there.
I introduced you to Nars Vintage Nail Polish back in October, and true to its name, the collection really does stand the test of time. The gold/army green shade I’m wearing in the above photo is Mash. It’s still one of my favorites from the line, and I’ll be wearing it throughout the fall season. And, get a load of this gorgeous Chanel polish in Peridot (shown below), part of the brand’s new Fall collection. This green/cold combo takes on a different personality in every light.
Speaking of Chanel, there’s a small window to get your hands on Les Jeans De Chanel, three gorgeous blue hues inspired by a different shade of denim. The polish collection debuts Sept. 8 and will only be available through the end of the month at Chanel boutiques and the website.
P.S. I can’t talk about nails without mentioning this year’s trend de jour — nail stickers. Check out some of my favorites from Sally Hansen, Inque and Broadway Nails.
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The Beauty Girl Featured on VitalJuice.com
Vital Juice — a Daily Candy-esque newsletter dedicated to healthy living, recently picked my brain to find out my fave Chicago spots. If you’re curious, here’s where I frequent to stay on top of my game.
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Trend to Try: Broadway Nail Stickers
I’m in sticker shock. I’ve never gotten more compliments on my hands than when I dress them in the hottest nail trend — nail stickers. From boutique brands like Inque to major players including Sally Hansen and OPI, nail companies are launching wraps that you simply stick on nails. As I’ve displayed in previous posts, they come in all kinds of fun patterns and colors that could take hours to create with a regular lacquer. The latest ones I applied (shown right) are the new celebrity-inspired leopard print designs from Broadway Nails.
Pros: Like most on the market, the Broadway Nail set comes with nail strips in a variety of sizes as well as a double-edged file that has a soft end to help the wraps adhere wrinkle-free and a rough end to file away excess material. They were easy to apply and even easier to remove. Just peel them off! If you’re wondering, they didn’t damage my nails.
Cons: Here’s my beef. The material of these stickers is a bit flimsier than other brands I’ve tried so it was trickier to get them on my nail completely crinkle-free. I also noticed that they started to look worn just after a couple of days.
Overall report: I’d wear them again. They’re chic, convenient and a magnet for compliments.
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NBC 5 TV Segment: The Beauty Girl’s Top 5 Beauty Tips & Trends for Spring
View more videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com.
Once you get past this closeup shot of my baby bump and press play, you’ll find a list below of the products I featured. Happy Spring! Bright Eyes: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils. These look amazing as eyeliners. $4.50, Ulta or www.nyxcosmetics.com Fresh Skin: If you need more help than a tinted moisturizer can offer, Bobbi Brown’s new Extra Repair Foundation SPF 25 offers medium to full coverage. $55, www.bobbibrown.com Note: To give your skin a dewy finish, mix your foundation with a touch of Make Up For Ever Uplight or apply it alone to your cheekbones as a highlighter. $29, Sephora.com Textured Hair: Spritzing your mane with Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray is like hitting it with an ocean mist. $5.99, Walmart. Vibrant Lips: Hot pink and coral are this season’s “it” colors. I wore NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Addis Ababa ($6) during the segment. Others to try: Wet n Wild Glassy Gloss Lip Gel in Glass-t Off! CoverGirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm SPF 15 in coral Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstain in bitten berry NYC Liquid Lipshine in fashion ave fuchsia Easter Egg Polish Colors on Nails: I wore the shade Blue Hydrangea in Nubar’s Spring Garden Collection. www.bynubar.com The other nail colors featured: Perfect Formula Nail Color in sunrise Essie nail polish in borrowed and blue and french affair elf nail polish in mint cream OPI nail lacquer in planks a lot Note: I also included a sneak peek of some of the OPI Shatters such as Silver Shatter and Turquoise Shatter launching May 1st.
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Trend To Try: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips
The nail design trend continues, and my favorite new manicure comes courtesy of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nails Polish Strips I’m wearing in this picture. Time didn’t allow for a mani, so I decided to give these new sparkly strips in Blue Ice a go. In a nutshell, they’re stickers for your nails. They come in a slew of eye-catching colors and designs (I’m going to try the lace motif pictured below far left next!). The box contains short, easy-to-follow directions and tools including a nail file and cuticle stick, which were handy for prepping my nails and applying the stickers. The whole process took about 25 minutes. The stickers come in a variety of sizes and must be put on clean nails. You just peel off the sticker and carefully apply it to each nail, using the flat end of the cuticle stick to seal down the edges. The strips do have some stretch in them, and I could easily tear away the extra material I didn’t need. So far, I’m loving the finished result. Their glittery effect far exceeds any laquer. The box says the manicure will last up to 10 days. I’ll admit, I wasn’t obsessive when applying these strips and didn’t exactly cover the excess strip over the edges of each nail as suggested. Whether or not that matters, parts of the stickers did flake off just a couple of days in (note: the strips come off with nail polish remover). Regardless, I am into the finished look of the mani and think these are definitely worth a try.
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Nicole Pearl, The Beauty Girl, has written for national publications including Allure, Cosmo, Marie Claire, Self, In Style, Seventeen, and more. She appears as a beauty and style expert on TV for shows like TODAY, Windy City LIVE, and more. She's covered NYC and LA Fashion Weeks, has been a guest speaker for corporations, hosts events and offers services. The Beauty Girl blog is Nicole's exclusive insider notebook, sharing her V.I.P. access to the latest in beauty. Welcome! Still curious about Nicole? Click here.
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