Can I Get a WAH WAH?

This little invention called the internets makes me feel like London is just down the street, so forgive me if you can't make immediate use of WAH Nails, but I think you should still know about them. Why? Because WAH is the new cool.

WAH is in fact more than a nail salon. It's a movement. There was a zine, there is now a blog with a TV tab and beuty tips. The WAH team is dope. I don't usually use that word, but there is no other word that would be useful here. The girls get it. They love all things empowered and feminine and they are big fans of '90s R&B. (Think TLC and SWV.) The nail salon they opened seems to be getting them a big amount of press. Today the director of the operation, 25 year old Ms. Sharmadean Reid, was photographed for SHOWstudio's 100 Portraits series, snapped by Nick Knight. She rocked it of course. Her tribe of employees are cool girls too, wanna see their work? Of course you do!

Mondrian.


Meow.






Haring.


Sprinkles.


Sparkles.


Monsters.


A deck.


Matte black.


Double Cs.


Cookie Monster.

How cool is WAH? Very.

All pics from the WAH blog.

Matte Attack!

KO for KO.

I took me and my red lips (see below! loved it!) on a stroll through Henri Bendel yesterday. I don't usually frequent such tawny shopping spots, but every once in a while I like to look with my eyes and not my wallet-- it gives me great ideas for stuff I can sleuth for less cash in less fancy digs. Yesterday the product that sparked my interest was an exciting nail polish, a matte top coat from Knock Out Cosmetics. First of all, I've always wanted a matte top coat for my shiny nail polish colors. I had no idea that it was such a rare and highly sought after item. Apparently the matte top coat has yet to be done right and is just now emerging on the market as a coveted, effective, product. So, it's special because it's newly done right. Also, KO's (short for Knock Out) campaign star is Karen O (KO)! The Yeah Yeah Yeah's frontwoman who I love a little more that life itself. How hot does she look in their ad above?

The bottle on the Bendel shelf was $19 and even though that's pretty much a tenth of what most of their inventory goes for, I'm such a cheapy and a twenty spot for a nail polish is a lot more than I would feel comfortable paying. But, it was surprisingly hard to put it down. I loved it. I mean loved it. My friend Jenny astutely observed that it made my red nails look like they belonged to the fingertips of an old timey doll. And it's a top coat so the uses are endless. I was immediately picturing all of my glossy polish colors suddenly dimmed. It was really hard to put it down.

Me showing my KO Flatte matte top coat to my geisha lamp. She liked it!

I stuck to my guns though, and followed my tried and true shopping rule: Unless there is some ridiculous one day sales event, limited (super limited, one of a kind) stock, a less than $10 price tag, or any other extremely compelling reason for an immediate purchase...leave it for 24 hours. You can go back. So, I left the KO with the Bendel's staff and went on an internet search for what possible alternatives there are out there.

Essie's Matte About You (l) and V For Men Matte Finish Top Coat by Nubar (r).

It's slim pickin's! Essie has come out with a bottle of matte topper for a ten spot. It doesn't come with the cool factor of a Karen O endorsement, but it's nearly half of what that added cool costs. And it's called Matte About You, which conjures fond memories of Helen Hunt. The only other matte finish top coat I could find is one for...men! This makes it infinitely more cool than any of the others. It's V For Men Matte Finish Top Coat from Nubar. It clocks in at $8.99. I love the idea of the gender bending; the male element dulling out the shiny feminine glisten of my girlie red nails! It's all so theoretically exciting! But, both the Essie and V For Men are, as far as I can tell, only available for order online at this point. The Essie matte can be purchased through Amazon.com and the V For Men through the Nubar site. So the decision becomes instant gratification vs. penny pinching with an added element of cool factor tipping the scales just a bit. Or! Or! I could just make more frequent visits to Henri Bendel's and use the tester until I'm over the matte anyways...hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

Fashion At Her Fingertips

Yuna Park is the only Nail Technician on the prestigious creative management agency Streeters New York roster. A few years ago manicurists began gaining credit for their work in magazines and at fashion shows, listed in editorial features right alongside the photographers, models, makeup artists, and hairstylists. Even among the limited number of name-brand nail painters in the fashion industry, Yuna's portfolio is a clear standout. She works with the top photogrpahers for all the top publications and while perusing her pics, I realized that any of the shots I've admired in the last few years simply for their manicures have been done by Park.

Christina Ricci's yellow paint job for Another Magazine? The black tips on Guinevere van Seenus in that Mert & Marcus shoot for W? Julianne Moore's inches-long red talons? It's all Park's work and it all adds something vital to the final product.

Head on over the the Streeters website to view the images above and Park's full portfolio.

Knockout

In her New York Times profile, female Korean boxer Choi Hyun-mi says, "I want to be a pretty girl who does pretty boxing."

Nothing says pretty boxing like fists full of pink fingernail polish. Let's just hope she wins more than she loses and gets to keep her pretty face.

I want to nail it.

The New York Times did a ridiculous article on the intentionally chipped nails of socialites a little while ago. While this is exactly the type of journalism that makes me wonder what's wrong with humanity, I have to admit that I have been obsessing over the nail color in the below photo ever since.

I know, I know. There is barely any color there to go in search of, but it's been weeks and I'm still combing the aisles of Duane Reade hoping it will pop up. Something about the baby-coral-pink-oranginess of it makes me flutter. And the giant ring makes me happy too.

On another Times note, check out the red hot nerd porn they published today:

His suspenders are down around his elbows. Hhhhhhhot!