NOTD: Smokin' Hot Mani On Fire!

Happy Friday! Are you getting ready for the weekend? Any plans? I only have one - to stay low key! I'm heading up to NorCal next weekend, so am going to try and lay low this weekend, catch-up on reading, chores, laundry, etc. Really, can you believe life in LA is this exciting?!?!

Today's Nail of the Day (NOTD) was a complete surprise to me. Last night I was updating my spreadsheet with recent purchases, and also doing some swatching on a nail wheel just to get an idea about the new colors I'd bought and possible future manis. After an hour or so, as I was heading to bed I got one last idea for a mani - essie Smokin' Hot, which I had been lemming since another blog reviewed it a few months ago, and CND Ice Blue Shimmer, which you just heard me rave about on Wednesday. Not quite sure why I thought the 2 would go together, but decided to give it a try.

Smokin' Hot is a purple-gray creme polish. It applied okay in 2 coats (really, essie should be a 3-coat mani, but I was in a rush to get to work!) with minimal streaking.

(Today's mani was unplanned an in a hurry this morning, so I apologize for the less-than-stellar application and photos.)

Then, I layered on the Ice Blue Shimmer and got this:


This is a less flattering shot of my hands, but shows what the mani looks like in indirect lighting (not quite as electric blue as the previous pic):


AAACK! I don't know why, maybe it's the blue polish lover in me, but this mani is an instant favorite. I love how the blue shimmer catches the light, and takes a winter/cool color and makes it warmer and hip for a a great summer mani. It almost reminds me of dry ice, or the cool air that you can sometimes see rolling off a block of ice when first exposed to warmer air. You know what I mean, right? I will say that Smokin' Hot was kind of a PITA to apply - the more I use essie, the more I know it's not very pigmented, requiring 3 coats always and going on super streaky. Since I didn't have the time this morning to really work with the polish like I normally do, the mani was not my best work.


Smokin' Hot was released as a part of the essie 2010 winter collection and I thought was limited edition - but a new batch has recently showed up at salons and possibly retailers, so you may want to call around and hunt down your own bottle. Ice Blue Shimmer is currently available and can be purchased at salons or online at transdesign.com.


What do you think? Is this mani as great as I think it is, or am I just overly excited by anything shiny? What CND effects do you love (I need to build my wishlist!)?