CND Almond Soothing Creme

It is not often that I write a post about something other than nail polish, so when I do, you know it must be good. Like holy grail good. 

CND has just introduced a new line of products called Almond SpaManicure. This line consists of five products that are meant to be used both in the salon and at home: Almond Milk Bath, Almond Moisture Scrub, Almond Illuminating Masque, Almond Hydrating Lotion and Almond Soothing Creme. 

I had the pleasure of trying out their new Almond Soothing Creme. And it was just that, a pleasure. For all of you Solar Oil addicts out there (myself included), imagine a rich and hydrating creme that has the same amazing scent as Solar Oil. Finally, my dream has come true! 

I have been using this amazing creme religiously before bed on both my elbows and hands, and the results have been nothing short of amazing. Now admittedly, I use a ton of hand cremes through out the day, so my hands are pretty soft to begin with. Where I really saw (felt) the results was on my elbows! They are so dry (year round) and I have finally found a product that keeps them soft. CND Almond Soothing Creme is my new holy grail. 

CND Almond Soothing Creme Key Ingredients:

• Shea Butter - powerfully conditions with vitamins E and A. 
• Jojoba Seed Oil - moisturizes and conditions
• Vitamin E - moisturizes and softens/improves skin elasticity
• Rice Bran Oil - softens and conditions
• Sweet Almond Oil - softens and conditions - and responsible for the amazing Solar Oil scent!

Even if this stuff didn't work wonders on my dry elbows, I'd still buy it just for the smell. I wish blogs had a smell function so that all of you could smell it right now. I cannot say enough about the sweet almond oil scent. Amazing. Now I am also dying to try the Almond Hydrating Lotion. I am giddy over the thought of a daily body lotion with the same scent as Solar Oil.

CND Almond Soothing Creme, along with the rest of the Almond SpaManicure line, is available in salons and spas and at one of my favorite e-tailers, Transdesign.

CND Spring/Summer 2009 Nail Polish News and Swatches

Good day, dear readers!

The new year is officially in full swing and so are the 2009 Spring nail polish collections! The first one I have to share with you is from Creative Nail Design aka CND.

CND is currently in the process of a major color relaunch. They have paired down their current nail color offerings to their top 40 polishes and will begin to create seasonal color collections outside of their top 40 colors starting spring 2010. In the meantime, CND will select colors from their core collection that they feel best represent the seasonal trends from Fashion Week.

For Spring/Summer 2009, CND has selected the following shades:

CND Bisou De Lulu:

CND Bisou De Lulu is a sheer white that is build-able to almost opaque. This swatch is three coats, two coats was a little too sheer for me. This is one of the few whites that is not a streaky mess to apply. When my nails were longer I would never wear colors like this because I thought they made my nails look like acrylics. Now with shorter nails, I think a white nail color like this looks very chic and gorgeous for spring. My boyfriend rarely notices or comments on my nail polish, unless it is a green or something else he hates. But he really liked Bisou De Lulu.

CND Moonlight & Roses:

CND Moonlight & Roses is a sheer color that has a white base and tons of pink and violet toned iridescent shimmer. This swatch is two coats. This is a very pretty color, I think I'll try this one on my toes for my next pedicure.

CND Fedora:

CND Fedora is a gorgeous, red toned brown creme. Inside it looks like dark coffee and outdoors in the sun it almost has a bit of a plum tone to it. If your collection is missing a nice dark brown, pick this one up! 

CND Cocoa:

CND's Cocoa was seen on the runway at spring 09 shows for Giambattista Valli, Nina Ricci, Max Azria, Halston, Thakoon, & Peter Som... to list a few. This is a super chic, fleshy nude creme. This was the #1 requested nail color requested at fashion week by designers. 

CND Wildfire:

CND's Wildfire, a red-violet, raged on both tips and toes at Tibi's spring 09 show. Red is one of those nail polish colors that is very difficult to photograph. This picture does not do this gorgeous red justice. This is a super blue toned red, it is SO HOT in person! I do not normally wear reds, but this color is so sexy, I'll definitely wear it as a mani soon. If you are a red lover, Wildfire is a must.

CND Iced Cappuccino:

CND Iced Cappuccino is a light brown metallic. It is a very pretty color but I am not big into metallic polishes. Application was flawless though, no brush stroke issues here.

CND Decadence:

CND Decadence is a dark red that I might also classify as a jelly. Again, another photographic problem child. This red is much deeper in person. 

Application of all of these polishes was flawless, with a capital F! The lacquer flowed onto my nails perfectly. The finish of all of the cremes in this collection was super glossy. These did dry slower than average for me though. At first I used Orly Bonder and Seche Vite when I did a mani with one of these, and it seemed like they would never dry. But then I did another mani with CND's Stickey base coat and CND's Speedey top coat and they dried much faster. So if you don't have luck with your normal base/top coat combo, give CND's a try.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the shades that CND has selected for Spring/Summer 2009. I get tired of seeing the same old boring pinks and pastels. Here we have gorgeous nudes, a vampy brown and two fabulous reds. I think all of these colors are versatile, wearable, and in my opinion, much more chic than easter egg colored polishes (just my opinion!).

CND products are available at Head2Toe Beauty and 8ty8 Beauty - links are under the "where to haul" section of my blog.

That is all for now, dear readers. Stay tuned for more Spring 2009 nail polish swatches coming soon!

xoxo,

Katee

CND Scentsations Winterberry Lotion & Scrub

It is no secret that I love everything CND, I mean hello Cuticle Eraser & Solar Oil! These two products alone have pretty much guaranteed that I will never have to reach for another *evil* cuticle nipper again. If any readers reading this now still do not have these products in their arsenal, get them, now. Your cuticles and nails will thank you.

Moisture is a very important part of my hand and nail care routine. Another product I have been really loving lately is CND Scentsations Black Cherry & Nutmeg Lotion. It smells absolutely divine, sinks into my skin quickly, and is very non-greasy. It just feels silky and wonderful! 

Since I have been loving everything CND lately, I decided to try their Winterberry scent that is new for Holiday 2008. The Winterberry scent is available in both the Scentsations Lotion and Scentsations Scrub.

OK, let me just say that CND Scentsations Winterberry Lotion + Winterberry Scrub = hands that are as smooth as a baby's bottom! I am loving my hands right now, they have never felt smoother. 

Let's talk about the scrub first. The scent is both sweet and a bit tart at the same time. I prefer sweet fragrances so this is perfect for me! The particles in the scrub are fairly large and coarse, which I love, because the finer scrubs just don't work as well for me. The particles in the scrub are suspended in this luscious and superbly moisturizing jelly like formula that is loaded with Sunflower Seed Oil, Shea Butter and Jojoba. Hello moisture! 

I attempted to photograph the scrub for you in the jar and on my hand so you can see the size of the scrubbing particles. Not sure if I've succeeded:

And here is my hand modeling shot of the jar (LOL):

Now on to the lotion. Again, just like my beloved CND Scentsations Black Cherry & Nutmeg Lotion, the Winterberry scent did not disappoint. Infused with Aloe Vera and Vitamins A & E, it has the same fabulous non-greasy formula that sinks in quickly and leaves my skin super soft. I also use this as a body lotion too FYI.  The Winterberry scent is both sweet and tart, but without being too sweet, just like the coordinating scrub.

Here is a picture of the lotion - I could have used the press images from CND  but it is so much more fun to pretend to be a hand model:

In short, using both of these products together will help stave off dry-weathered winter skin. These products are both being added to my "must have" list. 

The lotion retails for $11.50 and the scrub retails for $15.90 are are available online at Go Indulge.  You can also find my favorite CND products, including these, at my favorite e-tailers (links under "where to haul"). Both of these make great gifts!!

That is all for now (typing with ridiclously soft hands). See you soon!

xoxo,

Katee