This week saw me running around like a crazy person, and having no time for a proper manicure…I can’t very well go to events looking like I dig ditches though!
I was able to bring my nails back to life, though, with Duri’s Rejuvacote.
This is a great nail strengthening formula that you can use to mend your nails if they are split, peeling or cracked…not only that, but weirdly, my nails seem to break less in the first place since using it!
Image: Duri.com

Essie is hands down, one of the finest lines of nail polish on the market. The price is very reasonable, and the fact that most professionals use Essie should speak highly of its quality. Essie’s Winter 07 collection is in salons now, and is a beautiful collection of silvers, plums and festive reds!
From now until December 16th, you can get 10% off your purchases (of $40 or more) at essie.com by using the discount code BLG8, so pick up some stocking stuffers, or some beautiful holiday colors for yourself!

One of my very favorite polish brands, Dashing Diva, has the Think Pink collection out now – and they will donate 50% of profits from the sales of these polishes throughout October!

Dashing Diva is really wonderful nail polish – the colors are beautiful and the polish is great quality – and at $8 a pop, its very reasonably priced. The downside is that you can’t find the colors in the promotion online, they are only in their salons. Hopefully you are lucky enough to have a Dashing Diva salon somewhere near you! Sadly, I am not lucky like …read more

In an ideal world, the sun wouldn’t give me skin cancer, and I would be tan and skinny and roam along the beach all day long with the sand keeping my feet soft and smooth. Aaaah, doesn’t that sound delightful?

Alas, thats not my reality – what’s a girl to do when the summer is rapidly approaching and she has “winter feet?” Well, there are all sort of great products out there to moisturize, but nothing works better to get your feet in “summer shape” than a physical method of dry skin removal.
There are plenty of different paddles, scrapers and blades …read more

I had a nice chat today with Fiona Costello, proprietress of the UK’s BeautySwapShop, a fairly new place where you can meet new friends, chit chat about your favorite beauty products and maybe even swap around a few goodies. In the short time they have been online they have been fortunate enough to get a good start with active members, so stop by and say hello if you are in the UK, and if not, keep your eyes open, I hear she is thinking about starting a U.S. based forum as well. Have you done a swap …read more

Hurry over to Gloss – You have two more hours to save at Gloss.com – from noon-3pm Eastern time you can get 4 samples plus a makeup bag plus free standard shipping with a $35 order. They have Barbie Loves Mac if youre looking for it….
Samples are: • one (1) Chanel Mini Hydrabase in Lola Sample • one (1) Clarins Radiance-Plus Body Lotion Sample • one (1) Clarins Body Lift Sample • one (1) Michael Kors Eau de Parfum Spray Sample • one (1) Gloss Makeup Bag

Although I am so sad to say that my good friend Kim has recently had to stop writing with us, I am very happy to say that my friend Teri has started at Pretty by Nature with a vengeance! A natural and organic vengeance, of course. You hopefully know Teri from her blog at Beautiful Makeup Search, where she talks about all kinds of great cosmetics and beauty products. She is reeling herself in here at Pretty by Nature to talk about organic skin care and cosmetics – which is a huge market. I hope that …read more

I use cotton pads for everything – from applying topical medicines, cleaning wounds, and removing cosmetics and nail polish. I get sooooooo frustrated sometimes when buying cotton – I will wind up with the balls that are teensy, or the pads that are sharp on the edges and disintegrate into nothing when you put polish remover on them. Yuck.
Enter Satin Clouds. These are thick cotton pads with no rough edges and enough bulk to them that they hold up under red polish removal and waterproof mascara and long lasting lipstick removal. Yeah, they are a bit …read more

 
Honey, I’m running out to the grocery for a bit…
That’s what I am going to say next time I am in Dallas, but will be heading to the Whole Foods grocery on Preston, which has opened up combined with ReFresh Spa (reach them at 214-363-9760). Wow! So, I drop off my grocery list downstairs, let them deal with that, and head upstairs for an afternoon of beauty. Whoop!

The 4,500-square-foot spa dominates the store’s turret-style mezzanine and features seven private treatment rooms kitted out with bamboo cabinetry, organic linens and an appropriately soothing cream-to-taupe palette. The manicure-pedicure area boasts hygienic pipeless …read more

Esthetic Plus (the tweezer folks) have some really great tools for pedicures – the one I have tried lately, and liked, is their Stainless Steel Pedicure File ($20).
This is not your best choice if you have really bad callouses, but is a great choice if your feet are not too bad, or if you get regular pedicures and just need some in between maintenance. This tool is double sided, with a medium-coarse file on one side and a much smoother, “finishing” file on the other side. The handle is exceptionally strong (one of my pet peeves …read more