What It Is: Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Stance (from the new Human Fundamentalism collection)

Why This Should Be in Your Bag:

Illamasqua is a super funky brand that stands out with amazing quality products. I’ve never encountered an Illamasqua product that I didn’t love, so I was really excited to try out their new shade of nail varnish. Stance is a bright fuschia-violet with a glossy finish.

How To Use It:

Illamasqua nail varnishes come in square-shaped bottles with a sleek, black cap. I find that the large cap makes application slightly cumbersome; it doesn’t allow for much precision. However, the brush is standard-size.

CC Rating: A

Illamasqua is a wonderful brand; the products are always of stellar quality, featuring unique and fun shades. I love Illasmaqua not only for basics, but for bright, crazy products and colors. Their nail varnish in Stance is no different – it’s an almost neon magenta!

As I mentioned above, I really don’t like the cap of the Illamasqua nail varnishes. Application is a lot more difficult with the large, square cap, and I have to take my time. However, the varnish itself is fabulous and applies opaque with 2 coats. It goes on very smoothly and doesn’t streak at all. The wear-time was about average, and I noticed tip wear within 2-3 days.

Overall, I like the Illasmasqua nail varnishes, but I’m not blown away. If the price point was closer to $10, I think I’d be more likely to add these to my collection. Illamasqua nail varnishes, including Stance, are available on Sephora’s website for $14.

[Need some new makeup but not sure what to buy? Check out Alex's other beauty reviews here.]

Nails are one of the easiest fashion accessories to change. Last week, I introduced you all to Custom Nail Solutions, which are custom acrylic nails. Well, if acrylics aren’t your thing, then a good polish should be! My ever-growing nail polish collection just gained some new favorites: Ciate nail polish.

Ciate is one of the UK’s hottest nail polish brands, and it has made its way across the pond to Sephora. I tested them out for you guys, and I was not disappointed…

Read More »

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and we all know it’s the one night of the year when you can’t over-glitter and over-sparkle your outfit. In fact, if you haven’t already dipped your heels in glue and glitter, then you’re behind schedule. If you have already done that, you’re ready for the next step: finding the perfect glitter topcoat for the last night of 2011.

Thankfully CollegeFashion is on the ball (as always) and they’ve selected the top 5 glitter topcoats you should use. Check them out right here!

What It Is:
Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game Nailpolish

Why This Should Be in Your Bag:

Deborah Lippmann is the Hollywood queen of nails. She’s done the nails of every starlet you can think of and makes many of her custom-mixed colors available for adoring fans through her namesake line. I’m a nail polish junkie and was super excited to finally try out Wicked Game, a swirling lavender gray iridescent.

How To Use It:
Nailpolish application is kind of a personal thing. Everyone has their own method. I prefer to start by painting my non-dominant hand and moving onto my dominant, using vertical strokes and a thick coat. Deborah Lippmann polish comes with the usual brush applicator and applies very easily, so it’s fairly idiot-proof. Read More »

It’s the moooost wonderful tiiiime of the yeeeear. Halfway to it, anyway. In a ‘Christmas in June’ inspired feeling, we can all celebrate because today is exactly six months away from Christmas. And, that being my all-time favorite gift-giving holiday, I rounded up a few presents I want now.

Oh manicures, we love you.  But why do you smudge when I’m reaching for my keys in my bag?  Or chip after I clean my dishes in the sink?  I think we need to talk.

Manicures are great!  Who doesn’t love getting their hands massaged and painted by a stranger?  I personally prefer to do my own nails, but that’s because my roommate turned me into a nail polish hoarder (hey Kel!).  While I can do my nails in about 10 minutes, I know a lot of people struggle.  Especially when painting your dominant hand with your non-dominant one.  Fortunately there are products like Sally Hansen’s Salon Effects nail strips that might be able to save you some trouble. Read More »

When you’re little you always hear “Wait till you’re older” from piercing your ears to getting your first pair of heels to sending your very first sext. However, once you hit adolescence, it seems like you’re constantly told to “act your age” or that you’re “too old for” something. Just because you’re in college doesn’t mean you can’t bask in things from the past, K?

Here are ten things you are definitely never too old for:

1. Glitter: Although you got away with wearing glittery lip gloss and questionable glittery eye shadows as a preteen, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a little glitz and glam now. Seriously, if Lady Gaga and Katy Perry can rock glitter on a daily basis, so can you. Not sure how to pull off glitter without looking like a five-year-old that got a little too crazy at the arts and crafts table? Add a glittery top coat to your nail polish or go for a subtle glitzy shimmer in your eyeshadow. Want to be a little over the top? Go for the gold in a metallic glittery shirt. Worst case scenario is that you look like a Claire’s employee. Best case: you look hot.

2. Pigtails: Preschoolers aren’t the only ones that can rock this look. While you probably don’t want to be known as “pigtail girl” around campus, going out with pigtails could be a fun and flirty alternative to your everyday hair. You probably had your pig tails pulled up high, so for a more-adult approach to this look that you’re never too old for — sport them lower. Also, pigtails work incredibly well when you’re working out.

3. Licking the bowl of batter: You know you did it when you were younger. Your mom baked a cake and you couldn’t keep your little hands out of the chocolately goodness. Go ahead — dip your finger in the mix. Or, just dig in with a spoon. Or don’t even cook the batter and just go after the cookie dough. You’re definitely not too old to enjoy any kind of sweets — baked or not. Go ahead, no one’s looking!

Read More »

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A nice little Saturday

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I remember the days when I would go to the nail salon with my mom and she’d pay for our mani-pedis. Yeah, now that I’m in college, those days are long (and I mean LONG) gone. For the first few months of my freshman year I would save my money to splurge on my poor hands and feet. However I quickly learned that I’d rather spend money on important things, like food. And happy hour.

Lucky for me, I moved in with a girl (Hey Kelly!) who has a habit of painting her nails multiple times a day if she’s bored. So I developed a new appreciation for nail polish and nail care, leading to a perfected at-home manicure. In this video, I’m taking you step by step and giving you some of my tips to make your nail polish last!

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really rad singer? A wicked new book? A super product that makes your face glow? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com or tweet me and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

Remember the old saying “make new friends but keep the old”? Well, what if you could get a new friend for free just by getting rid of the old one? If this was real people we were talking about, it would be rude to say “peace out” to your pals since the 6th grade. But I’m not talking about people. I’m talking about nail polish. Old nail polish that’s been sitting in your medicine cabinet for years and somehow gets moved from house to dorm, dorm to house, house to off-campus apartment, year in and year out. And you still never use it.

You know, the bottles and bottles from 1997? The sparkly Wet and Wilds or neon Hard Candy’s (with those plastic rings that came on the bottle but barely fit your pinky finger)?! Read More »