Favorite hand, foot and nail care products

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Favorite hand, foot and nail care products

Argania 1640 100% pure argan oil

Argan oil is all the rage now. Think Moroccan Oil and Josie Maran’s argan-oil infused cosmetics line. Moroccan Oil, in actuality, is mostly silicones.

Argan oil is an organic oil pressed from the seeds of the Argan tree (Argania Spinosa), which grows only in southwestern Morocco. Argania 1640 works directly with Cooperative Agricole Argan Mogador in Had Draa, Morocco to support female artisans who grind the seeds and press the oil by hand.

The argan nuts are cracked to release the seeds

Argan oil is pressed from the seeds

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I was delighted to receive a 15-ml bottle of Argania 1640 100% pure argan oil from the company. With my package, I received a note that the argan oil was hand-pressed only weeks earlier. The bottle is made of brown glass with a dropper in the cap.

Argania 1640 100% pure argan oil

I use Argania 1640 100% pure argan oil to smoothe and add shine to my hair, treat dry patches, and moisturize my dry, ratty cuticles. In my experience, plant oils are the best for moisturizing cuticles. Argania 1640’s web site describes other ways to use argan oil. I want to try the recipe for strengthening nails.

Patriotic nails - Isadora, OPI for Merle Norman, Le Métier de Beauté - Updated for July 4

Isadora, which is from Sweden, posted this picture of patriotic nails on Facebook:

Patriotic Nail art from Sweden's Isadora

Isadora Wonder Nail polish shades:

• no 603 Tip White
• no 702 Blue Jeans
• no 653 Chelsea Red

And don't ask me about the red hands! :-)

Merle Norman likes to trumpet its "Made in the USA" credentials. OPI created its Americana nail set to celebrate Merle Norman’s heritage. It features red, white and blue mini OPI Nail Lacquers. The Americana nail set features:

• Hussy - a ravishing red polish. No, it's not named for a brazen woman who's got her mitts on your man (and believe me, I've had to deal with one), it's named for a classic car. 
• Alpine Snow
• Yoga-ta Get this Blue! 
• RapiDry Top Coat

OPI for Merle Norman Americana nail set

And once again, my apologies for the lousy picture quality, but it's the best I could find. :-(

See set from Le Métier de Beauté:

Cosmetics Executive Women name most innovative beauty products

Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) recognized the most innovative beauty products of the year at the 18th Annual CEW Beauty Insiders’ Choice Awards. The award-winning products ranged across 29 categories including cosmetics, hair care, skin care, nails, and more.

CEW's most innovative beauty products of the year

Visit the CEW web site to see the winners, finalists, and entries.

Backstage Beauty Tips

Learn the 26 tricks we picked up from top hair, makeup and nail pros

We asked hair, makeup and nail artists backstage at Fashion Week for their best kept secrets. Read on to find tips that will help add a little runway glamour to your signature style. See tips

No more spills

Tonight I removed the toe nail polish from my summer pedi. I spent more for the Cutex® Twist & Lock Pump nail polish remover than I would have for Cutex® in the usual bottle, but who knows? This might be a better value, as a measured amount is dispensed with each press and, best of all, no spills! In addition, the squat shape prevents it from being tipped over.

I found this at Bed Bath & Beyond. Note: not all BB&Bs have expanded health & beauty care sections. To find a BB&B with an expanded health and beauty care section, go to the store locator and enter your zip code or city/town and state: if there is an HBC logo for a store in the search results, that store has an expanded health and beauty care section. As I've written before, you can find products that you probably won't find elsewhere.

butter LONDON pedi

Every summer, I promise myself that I'll get a pedicure, but the summer goes by and no pedicure. Until this summer. I was in Seattle, boarding the Monorail at Westlake Center, where I noticed a butter LONDON salon. Sensing a beauty story, I decided to go in and get that pedicure while I was in Seattle.

The butter London pedi doesn't involve soaking the feet. Instead, the technician wiped my feet clean with a spray and disposable cloth. More hygienic, she said. She then applied Rock Off callous remover on my heels, and then wrapped my heels in Saran wrap. No shaving of calloused skin. She also applied Melt Away Cuticle Eliminator to my toes. After those treatments were complete, she removed the Saran wrap and wiped my feet clean.


butter LONDON 3 Free Lacquer in The Full Monty

I was now ready to have my toenails painted. First, the technician applied the beige-y Nail Foundation Base Coat. I eschewed the faddish blue nail polishes and instead went for a shimmery opaque antique-y gold shade (it goes beautifully with my bronze leather NAOT sandals). Finally, the technician applied Hardwear P.D. Quick Topcoat.

I was so smitten, I bought Rock Off, Melt Away, Stiletto Stick, and Lemongrass Sage Hand & Nail Cream. butter London has nail salons in the U.S., including at SeaTac airport in Seattle and Dulles Airport near Washington, DC. You may also shop butter London at Beauty.com.

New nail product introductions

Nail lacquer by Borghese

Those of you who prowl the cosmetics aisles of your local Walgreen's, CVS, or Rite-Aid might have been surprised to discover a countertop display of nail polishes (with unusual dual brush heads) by Borghese, which had been known as a prestige brand. The beyond 40 beauty blog (found through my BlogRush widget) has done a little research to discover that Borghese has partnered with Del Labs, the parent company for Sally Hansen, to market this line. Similarly, Borghese has a line sold exclusively through Costco called Kirkland Signature™ by Borghese Collection.

On a related subject, Wal-Mart will introduce a line of nail polishes from Italy's Deborah Group.

Buzz on the OPI India Collection

While I thought it was ignorant on the part of OPI to use an ad showing a model holding a huge turkey sandwich for its India Collection, I have to agree that the shades are very pretty:



OPI India Collection

It's also worthwhile to note the buzz that this collection has been getting:

Beauty Anonymous (found through my BlogRush widget) writes:

Lunch at the Delhi looks quite rosy-pink red in the bottle. It delivers a glossy red finish on the nails with pink and coral undertones. Surprisingly, I found the color reflects a warm tone of red shade under natural lights or indoor lights. Unlike the sexy, dominant power of deep reds, bold reds or true reds, Lunch at the Delhi is a soft, sweet tone of red with a girly woman characteristic. I have tried many kinds of red nail colors before from different brands. Lunch at the Delhi is one of the few that suits my complexion nicely, and is appealing to me.

Edwina Ing-Chambers, beauty columnist for FT (which, like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, has discovered the value of lifestyle reporting) writes:

Besides, it turns out that this stuff [blue nail polish] is flying off the shelves. When O.P.I. launched its “Russian Navy” shade of varnish in November, one Manhattan boutique sold 1,800 pots of it in 24 hours and since it launched in the UK it has sold out three times. Plus its new “Yoga-ta Get this Blue” shade – more indigo-ish for spring – is already trotting out of the door.

Ing-Chambers then waxes rhapsodic about Chanel's Blue Satin, the "it" shade of nail polish for the season. Another blue she likes is Essie's Aruba Blue (which is unfortunately named, in view of Aruba's mismanagement of the Natalee Halloway disappearance case):

She describes this as "lighter, brighter, kind of Renaissance tone; Botticelli would probably have loved it."

Cultural insensitivity?

Insenstive

I always enjoy visiting the i♥make-up blog for her posts on beauty secrets of Bollywood stars. On Monday, she posted an article on OPI's India Collection nail polishes, in keeping with her India theme. As usual, OPI has come up with punny names for its nail polishes.

I scanned the above image from the March 2008 issue of Lucky (and if someone could tell me how I can prevent the reverse side from showing through, I'd be grateful). I found this picture of the model holding the turkey sandwich insensitive and lacking in cultural awareness, as a majority of Indians are vegetarians. Some Hindus eschew onions, garlic, and mushrooms as tamasic, that is, tending to sluggishness. Some abstain from certain foods on fast days. Observant Jains do not eat vegetables that grow underground, such as carrots and potatoes.

I do agree with i♥make-up, however, that this ad was probably not intentional. What do you think?