Mischo Beauty Extra: Zoya's Intimate Collection Spring 2011

Remember how much I loved Zoya's "Robyn" last summer? Well, I'm on the hunt for what will be my "can't live without" nail shade for spring. I just received Zoya's Intimate Collection (Dannii, Caitlin, Marley, Dove, Gemma & Jules) and the colors are so pretty! Right now I'm in love with "Marley", "Dove" and "Caitlin". Your picks?

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty Covers Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week: CND & Joanna Mastroianni Fall 2011

The Spectator manicure, created by CND's Angi Wingle, was the star of the show at Joanna Mastroianni. Using CND's Blackjack as a base, moons were created on each nail using Brilliant White, bordered with Silver Chrome. The nails completed the 60's influenced beauty look of sky-high French twists and fiery orange lips in a runway tribute to photographer Lillian Bassman. To see more backstage beauty and full looks from the show please visit wwd.com.

photo: Robert Mitra

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Mischo Beauty Extra: Milani Cosmetics One Coat Glitter Nail Polish

I am sure you can find great deals with a Milani Cosmetics’ promo code at Target and save on nail polishes. These were just too cute not to mention - I'm sure you all know by now how much I love anything glittery, shimmery, sparkly and covered in sequins! Milani Cosmetics' One Coat Glitter nail polish collection is seriously a steal! And on another note, I'll have a full review of last week's CND Shellac manicure coming soon. After 7 days, this is what it looks like - I'm pressed!

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty Extra: CND Shellac Manicure

While visiting Bliss Spa yesterday, I decided to give the CND Shellac manicure a try, again - this time in Tropix. I'll be back in about 2 weeks to tell you all about my visit and let you know how long the manicure lasted. Please stay tuned!

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty Pick: SolarOil by CND

And since we're on the subject of nails, don't you just love having a go-to product that never lets you down? Well CND's SolarOil is just that for me, especially with the weather we've had lately. As you can see, I've hunted down every bottle I have because I'm pretty sure I'll need it all for this year's winter season.

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Mischo Beauty Loves The Emerald Door

I had sparkly nails for Christmas (Zoya's Diana, layered with Delilah), compliments of The Emerald Door, and guess what? I loved them! My visit to the new eco-chic natural nail spa included a manicure and pedicure I'll never forget. Not only were the services thoroughly performed (remember I'm a licensed cosmetologist, so I'm super picky!), but all products are toxin-free, and sanitation/disinfection and overall cleanliness were excellent. The decor of this cozy nail spa is GORGEOUS, and because my appointment was on a Sunday, I was treated to a mimosa. I enjoyed my visit and can't wait to go back!

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Ask Mischo Beauty...

This week's question comes from Habibah, who asked the following:

"What tips/advice would you give to stop nail biting?"

I really wish I had the perfect answer for you! Nail biting is a hard habit to break. You should try to first determine the reason for the nail biting - which might mean seeing a dermatologist. Also, keep in mind the germs/bacteria you're passing back and forth between your nails/fingers and your mouth and the potential of infection!

I asked my friend Shalon, who is a licensed esthetician and manicurist, to share her best tips for preventing nail biting:

- Try to get weekly manicures. Keeping your nails neat and groomed may prevent you from trying to "groom" them yourself.

- If weekly manicures aren't in your budget, keep your nails polished. Knowing that you will mess up your polish may keep you from biting your nails.

- Keep a cuticle cream or oil (Kiehl's Cuticle Cream or OPI's Cuticle Oil) in your purse. This will help with nail growth. Once you see growth, hopefully this will discourage you from biting your nails.

I hope this helps. Please stop back by and let us know how you choose to move forward, as well as what works for you. Love your nails.

If you have beauty questions you'd like answered, please send them to mischobeauty@gmail.com. Read More......

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Mischo Beauty Alert: The Emerald Door Natural Nail Spa Grand Opening

For those of you in the DC/MD/VA area - or coming this way soon, The Emerald Door is a new eco-chic natural nail spa which will celebrate their grand opening weekend by hosting "Mimosa and Manicures" this Sunday, December 12th from 11am - 5pm. They're giving guests a free express manicure with the purchase of a pedicure treatment- or, an upgrade to a full Cream Manicure for only $10. A portion of the sales will benefit Charity Water.

You're invited to book an appointment by calling 301.587.5800 or by sending an email to booknow@emeralddoorsalon.com. Unfortunately I'll miss this grand opening event, but I'll be there the following Sunday for a manicure and pedicure. Can't wait!

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Mischo Beauty's Top Holiday Nail Color Picks featured on Hot-Coco.com!

I was given the opportunity to share my top holiday nail color picks over on the fabulous Hot-Coco.com. Check them out and be sure to let me know what you think. I hope you love them as much as I do! Happy Holidays.

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Mischo Beauty Review: CND Shellac Manicure (ISPA 2010)

While attending the ISPA expo last Wednesday, I was happy - no actually too excited to learn that CND (Creative Nail Design) had nail stylists in attendance giving complimentary CND Shellac manicures! Now I know I'm late with this- the buzz around this new technology started months ago. But, better late than never, right? So the big deal is that the "Shellac" technology combines that of a regular manicure with that of a gel manicure to produce a Shellac manicure which lasts 14 days. So it's not actually a gel manicure, but wears like a gel manicure.

During the application (I choose the color "Fedora"), each layer of polish is set under a UV lamp, so there's no drying time. Did the manicure last for me? No. I received the manicure last Wednesday (November 17th) and by yesterday (November 21st), two fingers on each hand had lifted and started peeling (see photo above). It was a 5 day manicure for me. And I won't begin to speculate on why it didn't last - was it the application? or maybe a lotion I used that caused it to lift and peel? I'm not sure. But, I'd love to know if you've tried it and how long it lasted for you...

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty School: Nail Shape 101

I'll be the first to admit that while I loved the bright, neon and pastel nail colors for the spring/summer, I couldn't wait to start wearing chocolate, burgundy and deep blue & green nail shades for the fall/winter. With that said, let's discuss how to choose a nail shape before your manicure appointment.

Here are a few things to consider:

1. The shape of your hands
2. The length of your fingers
3. The shape of your cuticles
4. The type of work you do

I was always taught (well I learned this in cosmetology school, during the nail curriculum!) that the shape of your nail should mirror the shape of your cuticles. This will ensure the most natural look, which in turn compliments your hands. And believe it or not- here are the most requested shapes:

1. Square Nail
2. Round Nail
3. Oval Nail
4. Squoval Nail
5. Pointed Nail

Keep in mind that an unusual shape will definitely draw attention to your nails and hands. And, if you work with your hands, you should definitely choose a shape that will allow for a shorter nail length in order to avoid breakage.

Questions? What's your nail shape and why? Love your nails.

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Mischo Beauty Extra: Sally Hansen's Fall 2010 Complete Salon Manicure Collection

I'll be the first to admit that while I do like Sally Hansen nail polish, I normally won't bother with trying to hunt down the newest collections. The reason being is that the displays (at least in the CVS stores near where I live) are always a mess! Yes, I said it. But, in the same breath, I will tell you that the new fall Complete Salon Manicure collection is definitely worth the hunt. The shades (left to right: Starry Starry Flight, Sequin Scandal, Golden Ticket, Downtown Rubies, Perfect Match, Feeling Saucy, Rockstar Candy & Trouble Maker) are all highly pigmented- and two coats will get the job done! My favorite - hands down- is Sequin Scandal which is a dark forest/army green mixed with gold. I tweeted this photo earlier today, and here are a few more.

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty Review: Bliss Spa at the W Hotel (Washington D.C.)

A few weeks ago, as a pre-birthday celebration, my friend and I decided to visit the new Bliss Spa at the W Hotel (Washington, DC). As most of you know, I love to spa (remember this review), and so we were actually overdue with this visit after considering the fact that it's been open for a year now. Because we'd planned to do lunch at POV, which is the W Hotel's rooftop restaurant, we decided to keep our spa treatments simple and booked ourselves for a manicure, pedicure and brazilian bikini wax.

What's important to know is that this Bliss location, in my opinion, is for treatment maintenance only. It's small - the relaxation area only seats four comfortably, the changing area is tiny, and there's only one shower and one restroom (for women). There are four treatment rooms, two stations for manicures, and two stations for pedicures. It lacks of ambiance, but I do think it's a great place to go for your monthly maintenance treatments such as- waxing, facials, etc. - especially if you find a spa therapist there you love!

Well, that happened to be the case with me. You see, I had the most amazing brazilian bikini wax (brazilian bikini - the fully monty) here, and the spa therapist responsible for it was Shae Jackson. Shae's waxing technique is like none other I've experienced, which made the service quick and almost painless (no brazilian bikini wax is completely pain free!). My disclosure to you is that I'm naturally biased (because I'm an esthetician, I naturally have very high expectations) when it comes to spa services. She used hard wax, never double-dipped, and sanitation/disinfection was taken very seriously! I was beyond pleased with the results.

I also had a manicure (Bliss hot cream manicure) and pedicure (Bliss basic pedicure) which unfortunately were "nothing to write home about". The services were just average, which doesn't quite justify the $80 price and 20% gratuity. But, I guess you win some and lose some, and I definitely "won" with the waxing service!

If you've visited this Bliss location, I'd love to hear about your experience. So, please share it in the comments section.

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Mischo Beauty Extra: Deborah Lippmann's Fall 2010 Nail Polish Collection

During my birthday weekend, I headed over to Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa (Chevy Chase) for a manicure. I was really looking forward to the Red Door Signature manicure, but instead received the Warm Cream manicure due to the lack of available appointments. Well, I wish I would've waited, because I wasn't happy with my service- at all. Not only was the manicure rushed, but I came in wearing Chanel's "Dragon" and for some reason left with red stains around my cuticles. So what saved the day? Well it was Deborah Lippmann's "Bad Romance" nail polish (center in photo above). It's part of the fall collection which also includes "Across the Universe" (right in photo above) - and I love it! Here's another photo...

Manicure service was not complimentary. Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty Covers Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week: Dashing Diva & Naeem Khan Spring 2011

After reviewing the runway show for Naeem Khan's Spring 2011 collection- I'm convinced that the entire collection is to die for! And, I'm happy to report that a nail polish favorite of mine, Dashing Diva, was the nail sponsor.

The collection was complemented by a custom mixed nail polish by Pattie Yankee for Dashing Diva. A beautiful nude shade (shown below) was achieved by using 50% "Live Nude Girls" and 50% "East Hampton Estate".

The custom nail shade is definitely a winner! Don't you agree? Do you custom mix your own shades?

photos: style.com & Ann Lawlor

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Mischo Beauty Covers Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week: Sally Hansen & Tracy Reese Spring 2011

Last season (Fall 2010) I gave the best nail award to Sally Hansen for Tracy Reese. And I'm happy to say that they did not disappoint with their most recent collaboration. This time around the models' nails were covered with Sally Hansen's Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips (which officially launches in March 2011) , which are nail color adhesives.

The color used was "Wicked Bamboo", which is a creamy beige shade with tan stripes. They're easily removed using nail polish remover, but the best part of all is the fact that they require no drying time!

I think they're worth a try- do you agree?

photos: style.com & wwd.com

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Mischo Beauty Extra: Milani Neon Nail Lacquers

I LIVE for bright summer nail colors- neons included. And so I can't believe that I'm just now sharing Milani's Neon Nail Lacquer collection and it's August! The colors are beautiful and the color payoff is worth the price. What I love most about the Milani brand is that the store displays are always neat and stocked (not sure if the drugstore or a Milani representative is responsible for that?) - which makes them easy to shop!

At any rate, the neon collection includes the following (from left to right):

- Pink Hottie
- Pink Rocks!
- Techno Red
- Awesome Orange
- Totally 80's
- Fresh Teal
- Dude Blue

My favorite- Pink Hottie! The collection is available and in stores now. Don't miss out!

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty Loves YSL Beauty's Rock & Baroque Couture Manicures

Thanks to a recent tweet on Twitter from Vogue.fr (VogueParisLive), I fell in love with their latest beauty obsession- the amazing manicures above which were created by YSL Beauty's 2010 fall collection of nail colors. When I saw the photos, my first thought was "Beauty Is Art"! Wouldn't you agree?

photos: vogue.fr

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Mischo Beauty's Dove Spa Day

As part of Dove's new campaign for it's newly launched Dove Ultimate Deodorant formula, which I mentioned here, I was given the amazing opportunity to invite ten friends to join me at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa for manicure, pedicure and piticure treatments.

We started the day by showing each guest how to perform a piticure treatment which consisted of a gentle exfoliation of the underarms, shaving and then the application of Dove Ultimate. Dove provided each guest with a set of gentle cleansing wipes, a razor and Dove Ultimate which was all that was needed for the treatment.

We all then received the most amazing and relaxing manicures and pedicures. If you were following my tweets that day, then you know I selected YSL's #42 Ultra Orange for my manicure and YSL's #42 Ultra Orange layered with Sephora by OPI's "Only Gold for Me" for my pedicure.

I loved my nails and my guests love all of their services. I just wish I had more photos to share. Unfortunately, having to keep the appointments organized, along with the fact that our services weren't performed in a private room, kept me from taking photos as I did not want to be a distraction to other guests of the spa. But, an AMAZING spa day was had by all!

Thank you, Dove!

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.

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Mischo Beauty Loves YSL Beauty's "#142 Ultra Orange" Nail Polish

While I can't say that YSL Beauty's La Laque #142 Ultra Orange is the "color of the summer", I will tell you all that I am in love with it! So much so, that it was my nail color of choice at my Dove sponsored spa dayI tweeted about a few weeks ago (more on that later today!). The color is creamy and bright, and reminds me of a fruity popsicle. It's definitely a must-have shade for the summer!

What's on your nails this week?

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