Category Archives: CND

August 12, 2011 · 8:11 am

CND: Blackjack

Hey guys. It’s Friday, thank god. This week hasn’t been the best for me. I’m glad it’s over.

I’m going to keep this post on the short side since I do realize there isn’t much to say about a black creme nail polish. But I do know every girl has their favorite. What I really love about this black creme (aside from the name) is that it has no green tones in the base, which I feel like a lot of black cremes do. It’s jet black and full of pigmentation.

Jet black with a perfect formula

Another awesome thing about this polish, is the formula. As I mentioned in my other recent CND posts (The Jason Wu Collection), the formula is outstanding. It literally applies itself in such a smooth, dreamy way. CND has one of the best formulas on the market for a great price. You barely need two coats of this polish, but I did just in case. It has a shiny finish, and dries quickly. This is definitely a holy grail black polish.

Where to Buy: Transdesign.com / Meijer (Or so I’ve heard) / $ 9ish

What’s your favorite black nail polish? Do you own many CND polishes? If not, you seriously need to give them a try. If you do, what’s your favorite? I’m very interested in building my collection from this brand and would love good suggestions.

- Liz

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June 17, 2011 · 12:00 am

Jason Wu for CND: Brigitte

This is the last polish I had yet to wear from Jason Wu’s CND collection. And, well, since I chose it last it may be obvious to say that it was my least favorite. This polish didn’t look great on me. To be honest, I’m not sure it would look great on anyone. It’s a little drab.

Almost dusty pink nude

Jason Wu described Brigitte as ” a healthy, natural nude in a fresh, flushed-cheek tone.” Which, I guess is pretty true. Though my cheeks don’t ever look this color. For me, there is something that is off about the hue of this color. It looks almost muddy and dull in a not cool way. Also on my skintone, I lost a lot of the pink in the color so it ended up looking like a bizarre fleshy color. The frumptastic factor on this color was pretty high.

Perfect application

Even if I didn’t love the color of Brigitte, I did love the application. It went on smooth, creamy, and pigmented. I used two coats with no problems. As all of this collection, the formula and application was perfect.

Where to Buy: Transdesign.com / CND.com / $23 to $47 for the complete set

What do you guys think of these dusty pinky flesh colors? A little old lady? I think that you have to find the right one for your skin, but I’d rather just opt for a beige-y nude instead. Those are much prettier and sexier to me.

- Liz

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June 11, 2011 · 12:00 am

Jason Wu for CND: Sophia

It may come to no surprise to regular readers that I also love this Jason Wu for CND polish. As I have mentioned, the formula on every polish in this collection is, basically wonderful. The colors are just standard neutrals, but for some reason, I’ve really taken to them. They are so sleek and clean.

Sophia - Medium chocolate-y creme

Jason Wu describes Sophia as “perfectly warm, smooth, milk chocolate nail.” This polish does remind me of milk chocolate, however, the color is more interesting than that. It has this grey tone to it that makes it look really earthy and reminiscent of a beautiful, natural stone. It’s somewhat like a twist on taupe. Very professional, sexy, and elegant. I don’t own another polish like this one. I loved this manicure.

Dreamy smooth application and finish

Like all of this collection, the formula and application was one of the best I’ve ever used. It went on completely effortlessly with almost fully opacity in one coat. The formula was so smooth and velvety. I used two coats to finish the manicure. I also noticed that this manicure wore pretty well considering what I put my polish (and hands) through daily.

Where to buy: CND.com / Transdesign.com / $47 on CND or $23 on Transdesign

Come on, I know I can’t be the only one loving these polishes. Anyone else give these a try? Or have you been thinking about picking them up?

- Liz

PS – Enter our 1 Year Giveaway if you haven’t yet! You can win over 15 polishes! It ends tomorrow, June 12th!

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May 30, 2011 · 5:30 pm

Jason Wu for CND: Miss Wu

 I can’t recall the last time I felt overly satisfied with the purchase of an entire set of nail polishes. This Jason Wu for CND collection is great. Although tame in its color palette, the colors are wonderful and a solid group of wearable, neutrals. From the way the colors flow, to the packaging, to the polishes is a home run.

Light, barely metallic grey

Miss Wu is a sexy, modern grey. Jason Wu describes it as a warm grey, but it doesn’t particularly read that way on me. It’s almost more neutral in tone. However, it’s definitely not reading as cool, or blue toned. But there’s something about it that makes it very appealing and lovely. It’s a nice, crisp, light color that’s super fresh for any season. It also has a bit of subtle, hidden metallic sheen that comes to life in the sun.

Perfect, smooth application

Most importantly regarding Miss Wu, is its completely outstanding application and formula. I may just go out there and say this is one of the best formulas I’ve ever used in a polish. It was SO pigmented, saturated, and smooth it took me by surprised. There wasn’t a hint of streaks or unevenness. It was beyond perfect in two coats. This polish dries matte, which is a little surprising, but it looks great matte or with top coat. I couldn’t ask for anything more in a polish. Even if the color isn’t the most unique the application would beat any other similar color by a mile. It’s excellent!

CND Jason Wu packaging

Jason Wu book about polishes and his inspiration

The packaging is a nice, sturdy case that houses all 5 polishes. It pulls in and out very easily and is well made. A little pamphlet comes inside with details and explanations of the collection’s colors and where they were drawn from. I think this is nicely put together and it’s interesting to see where the fashion designer pulled from in his own collections to come up with the polishes.

Where to buy: CND.com / Transdesign.com / $23 from Transdesign and $47 at CND

I love everything about this collection. The polishes perform better than I imaged. If you’re interested, neutrals or not, go for it.

I hope everyone had a nice, long weekend. I like to be a busy bee, so I’m happy to go back to work tomorrow. I’ll leave you with this HUGE beauty:

Hot pink tree peonies!

- Liz

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May 27, 2011 · 6:54 am

CND Jason Wu: Veronica

This nail polish makes me think of comics. Why? Because I loved Archie comics and the two female characters were Betty and Veronica. I used to collection them and have hundreds. I obviously loved Veronica because she looked like me. So, Veronica will forever draw that connection. Nerd!

I haven’t seen many swatches of this CND Jason Wu collection yet. I have really been appreciating neutrals lately and wanted to beef up my CND collection. So, this collabo fit the bill nicely. The set comes with 4 full sized polishes and 1 CND Effects polish.

Closest to actual color. Gorgeous, deep red.

I need to start off by saying, I LOVE this polish. I don’t like reds and this has me wrapped around its finger. Jason Wu describes Veronica as “a pomegranate seed tone.” It is deep and richly red like a pomegranate. It has a certain darkness to it that is stunning. It also has both blue and brown undertones in it, so it’s pretty much perfect! This photo is most color accurate; it captures its deep hue. It’s almost oxblood red but with duo cool / warm undertones. Just gorgeous.

Glossy, saturated and perfectly pigmented

The formula on this was absolute perfection. It was SO smooth and buttery, it almost didn’t need my help to apply itself to my nails. It was so rich and pigmented on the first coat, I barely needed a second. It was a touch runny, but it was easily spreadable. The finish on this polish was full of high shine, and it’s slightly squishy. It’s among the half jelly / half creme hybrid taking over.

Where to Buy: CND.com / $47 (PSST! – I got mine off of Transdesign.com for $23!!)

Are you interested in this collabo? Did the neutral collection turn you off or on?  Have you heard about how WEIRD the effect top coat is? It’s suppose to be “tweed” inspired (cool idea) but looks like hair in your manicure! No thanks.

I wanted to mention that the packaging of this collection is really nice. It also comes with a cool little flipbook about Jason Wu’s inspiration for the polishes and some other info. I’ll post some pictures of it with the next polish I wear from the set. Sorry I forgot!

- Liz

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