Archive - Nails

Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From Skyfall, Sévérine

Published in: Face of the Day (FOTD), Hourglass, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Nails, NARS, OPI, Too Faced

bond girls severine skyfall look

A Sévérine Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in Skyfall

“Bond, I’m going to need you to be on your toes for this next assignment. This group is very dangerous.”

“Whatever you say, M.”

“I’m serious, Bond. Cat ladies are the real deal. They’ve been known to actually persuade spies to abandon their missions and join the cat crusade. They will not stop until the world goes full-on feline!”

“So…does that mean I have to keep my paws to myself?”

. . .

Yeah, so if the curmudgeonly cat lady thing doesn’t pan out for me over the next couple of years, I might just become a full-time, self-employed Bond girl. Seriously! I’d have no problem slinking around the house by myself all day long looking all mysterious and sultry like Sévérine, the Bond girl from Skyfall, the latest installment in the series.

I’d be totally fine with that.

In the movie, which opens this Friday across North America, Sévérine is played by French actress Bérénice Marlohe. I’ve forbidden myself from reading any spoilers, even though I desperately want to (just two more days!), but movie stills are okay, especially when the makeup, hair and nails are to die for, like they are in these pics of Sévérine.

bond girls severine

Ooh, I love that gray eye look… It’s kinda smokey, and I dig the cat eye shape.

bond girls severine

See how the shadow slightly wings out at the ends? I feel like it elongates the eye. Oh, and peep the inner corners, and how her eyeshadow tracks her tear duct, ending in a slightly pointed tip. Makes it look even more feline, meow! :)

I was really inspired today by Sévérine’s look, so I thought I’d give it a try this afternoon and wear it with OPI’s dark plummy red Skyfall nail polish.

The eyes: step by step

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Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From The World Is Not Enough, Elektra King

Published in: Eyes, Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Nails, OPI

An Elektra King Bond Girl makeup look

An Elektra King Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in The World Is Not Enough

“James?”

“Yes, M?”

“Be…careful.”

“Always.”

“No, James, I mean it. This Tabs character is…dangerous. This whole playboy tabby supermodel persona of his is just a cover. We know he’s up to something… We just don’t know what it is yet.”

“What do we know about his current location?”

“We know you’re close. He was spotted last night at a Petco in Novato, and we expect him to return there tonight. He appears to have a penchant for gravy…”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“I want you to be there when he arrives at the Petco tonight.”

“And?”

“Bring him in, James. I want you to stop that cat.”

. . .

T-minus four days till the new Bond movie unleashes suave justice on American movie goers and I. CAN’T. WAIT.

I grew up on a steady diet of James Bond. :) Both of my parents loved the movies, and when I was a kid, whenever a new one would come out, my folks would pack us all up in the car, and take us to the local drive-in.

Yep, I said drive-in. We used to have an actual drive-in movie theater in our town (some years ago the lot was turned into a strip mall).

Skyfall, the latest film in the Bond franchise, opens this Friday nationwide, and OPI recently released a new 12-piece Bond movie-inspired nail polish collection of the same name.

I was taking a shower the other day when I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to do a series of makeup looks inspired by Bond girls and the colors in the new OPI Skyfall collection?

Yes, yes, I think it would. :)

Elektra KingAnd for the first one, how about Elektra King? She plays cat and mouse with Bond in 1999′s The World Is Not Enough.

It’s not one of my favorite Bond films — I cracked up laughing at the pained expression Pierce Brosnan makes in the unintentionally funny seduction/torture scene below — but I love, LOVE the nail polish based on the movie in the Skyfall collection!

OPI The World Is Not Enough

OPI The World Is Not Enough from the Skyfall collection

It’s a shimmery purplish taupe with tiny flecks of glitter, and it looks almost like a silvery khaki sometimes, depending on the light.

So beautiful…

opi the world is not enough swatch

Wearing three coats of OPI’s The World Is Not Enough (but you could probably get away with two)

In the 1999 movie, Elektra King is played by the gorgeous Sophie Marceau. There’s a scene during which she puts JB through hell while wearing a sultry smokey eye and a full-length purple, taupe and black gown — you know, because when you’re inflicting pain upon an international super spy, why settle for sweats?


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It’s a Giant Halloween! Here’s My Hodgepodge Mani Mix of Glittery Copper, Black and Orange Shades With Zoya, OCC, Deborah Lippmann and Sonia Kashuk

Published in: Nails

Happy Halloween!

I did a couple of different things last night. One, I painted my nails orange and black, both for Halloween and to cheer the Giants winning the World Series, and two, I (kinda) watched The Last Exorcism on Netflix.

On that last one…good grief! What was I thinking firing up a movie about a teenager possessed by a demon 30 minutes before bed?!

Come on, Karen, wake up!

I actually didn’t make it through the whole thing on account of a terrible scene involving a little barn kitty…

I couldn’t take it! But thankfully my nails were dry by then, so I just ran away from the TV screaming “No! No! No!” and went upstairs to bed.

For my nails, I knew I wanted something more complicated than a single color but easier than a fancy work of nail art, so after digging through my drawer of polishes, I settled on a hodgepodge mani mix of glittery copper, black and orange shades…

Clockwise from the black polish in the lower left: Sonia Kashuk Starry Night, Deborah Lippmann I Love the Nightlife, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Copperhead and Zoya Penny

There’s a big rally/parade down in San Francisco today for the Giants, and I’m heading down, but please don’t tell Tabs. I know he’d want to go, but he’s such a cat diva. With the time it takes him to get ready, we’d never make it on time.

My plan is to distract him by mixing a handful of Greenies in with his gravy. Then I’ll quietly sneak out the door. :)

In candy news, do you ever crave chocolate in the morning?

I don’t know if it’s hormonal (probably), or just because there’s a big bag of Fun Size Snickers on the kitchen counter, but every day lately I wake up ravenous for chocolate.

What’s up with that?


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Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas: Disco Queen

Published in: Beauty Tips, Face of the Day (FOTD), Just For Fun, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Nails

last minute halloween ideas: disco queen

When that brief moment of pause hits as you’re about to push the “order” button on that sequined, sleeveless black jumpsuit, and you think to yourself, “Really, will I ever have a reason to wear this crazy contraption?!” — IGNORE IT.

You just never know when you’ll get the urge to look like Blanche Marie Elizabeth Hollingsworth Devereaux. Or when you’ll need something to wear with your last-minute Disco Queen Halloween costume.

last minute halloween ideas: disco queen

Keep on dancin’!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love disco? Yes, my fellow Dancing Queen, I like to Let It Whip to Brick House!! You could’ve done The Hustle to half the songs played at my wedding, fo’ reals!

So when I found this plastic “Disco” necklace at Party City last week (just a few feet from the Sexy Clown costume), it beckoned me to bring it home.

zoya ziv

I’m wearing two coats of Zoya Ziv on my nails, but you could easily get away with just one

#catlady moment: I kindasorta wish I had a kitty-size one to put on Tabs, so we could match. Oh, wait…

disco tabby

He’s mighty, mighty…just lettin’ it all hang out!


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Paint Job: Pixi Nail Colour in Classy Cocoa

Published in: Nails, Pixi

pixi classy cocoa

A few snapshots of my morning. :)

I’m trying to get out of a funk, so I started off the day by cooking a good old-fashioned Filipino-style breakfast, OM NOM NOM! An egg over easy, garlic fried rice and fried shrimp — it’s comfort food my mom makes on Sunday mornings.

filipino style breakfast

A typical Filipino breakfast involves 1) eggs (or meat or seafood), 2) tons of garlic and 2) frying anything (AND EVERYTHING) in copious amounts of oil, LOL! I tried to make it a little healthier by using a non-stick pan and an olive oil mist spray from Trader Joe’s to cut calories and lighten things up, but it was still very hearty. I haven’t been eating a lot (just not hungry), and it certainly filled me up.

After breakfast I took some pics of leaves in the rain…

…and then spent way too much time trying to learn the dance from Jordan Knight’s magnum opus, 1999′s Give It To You.

Note to self: Not a good idea to attempt body rolls before 9 in the morning without stretching first. You’re way too old for that sh*z.

But what really cheered me up was the mani I did with Pixi’s new Nail Colour, Classy Cocoa ($8; available now at Target stores and target.com).

It flashes from a deep chocolate to a purply taupe, and from certain angles, a golden shimmer peeks through. Really super cool, and I think it looks like something you’d find over at Chanel or Dior. I can’t believe it’s only $8!

I used three coats, but you could probably get away with two. I just like how the polish looks that much richer with the third coat.

pixi classy cocoa

pixi classy cocoa
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