International Beauty Show with Roxy Cottontail and Mama Kitten

Guest Contributors: Roxy Cottontail & Mama Kitten

ROXY COTTONTAIL’S REVIEW:

This week in NYC the Jacob Javits Center hosted the International Beauty Show. Kat & I were fortunate to attend on behalf of M.I.S.S. and uncover some of the future beauty trends you may see at a salon near you sometime this year. It was a blast! We received a crazy detoxification that I’m still not 100% sure was legit. My dad says it’s a farce. I kinda believe him, it was just too weird and disgusting to be true. The upside was we saw new hair techniques, amazing nails that lit up, stylists dancing while cutting hair (scary), new nail techniques, new spa treatments and it seems everyone wants soy in their products right now.

Upon arrival we found a bunch of un-noteworthy crap and Kat stumbled upon grown men & women sitting with their feet in what looked like tubs of mud at the Detox for Life booth. She thought we should try this new technique, which she hears is pretty popular in Asia. As we sat down and put our feet into the freezing cold water, I was thinking the treatment was free, she hands over her credit card and tells me we are actually paying $40 each for this detoxification. “Oh joy” Is what I’m thinking, still grossed out. We uncovered the entire process live via youtube. It’s pretty entertaining and I realize if this whole music thing doesn’t work out I’ll have a great career in journalism or the newsroom.

After we got the “toxins” out of our system I found the Migi Nail Art booth. This is pretty cool, but seems expensive although they do offer “free refills for life.”  It’s a new nail art pen anyone can use. It works like a pen of nail polish, only you squeeze the pen harder and more nail polish comes out. The “Art” aspect is easy, using the pen for only thin lines & dots.

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M.I.S.S. May 09 Calendar

The cream of the crop, the beautiful people, the créme de la créme, the haute monde, the high society, the elite class, the in crowd, the high life, the upper crest…the upper echelon. No matter how you say it, Upper Echelon Shoes strives to be all that and then some. And might we say, they are doing it very, very well. Not your average sneaker, UES has added a new level to the sneaker game - they’ve combined kicks and jewelry to give us “shoellery”  with 18 carat gold plated chains designed by Gabriel Urist.  Craftsmanship and quality, style and grace, this footwear for the grown and sexy gets a manicure to match. Selvage denim dipped nails, encrusted with gold studs, and polish from the Mlle. Coco Chanel, once again we bring your kicks to your tips.

For more on Upper Echelon Shoes, check-out our recent visit to the USE showroom .

Upper Echelon Shoes ‘Nise’ in denim, Chanel Blue Satin Le Vernis Nail Colour and Chanel Noir Ceramic Le Vernis Nail Colour.

Download the M.I.S.S. May 2009 Calendar and the Desktop M.I.S.S. May 2009 Desktop.

M.I.S.S. May 09 Calendar

You can download the M.I.S.S. April 2009 Calendar here and the Desktop here.

You can download the M.I.S.S. March 2009 Calender here and the Desktop here.

You can download the M.I.S.S. February 2009 Calender here and the Desktop here.

You can download the M.I.S.S. January 2009 Calendar here and the Desktop here.

Having your manicure game on lock is almost as important as your outfit. The ladies on the scene at SLATE at Magic had the nails going on! From the above fav spotted at the Mishka booth to Mama keeping it classy with a gray and black french mani. The ladies for the most part kept the nail lengths on the shorter side but made up for the length in design!

Continue reading to see more Magic nail trends! Read the full story

“Partner let me upgrade you,” yeah Beyonce said it best. 2009 ladies, it’s all about the UPGRADE! Whatever it may be: your job, your bank account, your kit, your man . . . you’re worth the best, so think big, go hard and trade-up! To inspire you on your journey for success we are starting the year on top . . . and what brand wouldn’t be more goal worthy than Chanel? Yeah, we thought you might agree. Presenting M.I.S.S. January 2009, lovingly nicknamed, “Chanails,” we bring you a mani inspired by all things Chanel: interlocking CC’s, the cap-toe, tweed, chain-link, quilting . . . luxluxlux!!!

Your mantra for the new year: “Two Thousand and MINE!” We here at M.I.S.S. wish you a year of love, health, wealth and the real deal . . . no Canal Street specials here ya’ll! This is the Fo’ Real not the Faux Real and yes those boxes are full.

You can download the M.I.S.S. January 2009 Calendar here and the Desktop here.

Three finger pearl ring by Chanel (2001), Chanel Sneakers (year unknown), Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colours: Black Satin, Gold Fiction and Blanc Ceramic.

2008 brought in the first-ever annual M.I.S.S. Playmate calendar where we featured our favorite sneaks with matching manicures. Every month was an adventure and it was fun living the year through nails did and kicks. Check out 2008 in review and let us know your favorite!
M.I.S.S. January

M.I.S.S. February

M.I.S.S. March

M.I.S.S. April

M.I.S.S. May

M.I.S.S. June

M.I.S.S. July

M.I.S.S. August

M.I.S.S. September

M.I.S.S. October

M.I.S.S. November

M.I.S.S. December

Vote and let us know which you liked best!

Back in April, I discovered Butter London, a line that specializes in nail lacquer that is toxin-free and nail salons in airports.  Staying true to their “do good” roots, Butter London is donating 100% of the proceeds for two of their products:  Pink Ribbon Nail Lacquer and Mango Peach Hand and Nail Cream (hmmm, sounds like it smells delicous!).  Their generous offer lasts for the entire month of October and you can purchase these products online here.

This week’s tip is how to give a fast and easy manicure and pedicure. In between nail salon visits, I give myself a manicure and pedicure every week and a half or so, and the whole process, which includes last week’s tip, Two Minute Cuticle Prep, and drying time, takes about one hour.
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butter LONDON is a new concept in natural nail care offering full service manicures and pedicures with guaranteed hygiene, speed, and stunning results. They have several spa kiosks popping up at airports which is the perfect spot for a quickie manicure. The best part about butter LONDON is their ground breaking line of non-toxic lacquers and nail treatments featuring the butter LONDON name. The use of toxic chemicals in nail products has long been the standard in the USA. Many beauty companies have built successful businesses on this unmonitored practice. The cost of using Formaldehyde, Toluene, and DBP is cheap. The cost to your health might not be. The three chemicals Fomaldehyde, Toluene and DBP can cause cancer, birth defects, respiratory problems, neurological damage, the list goes on. It’s refreshing to find nail color that is non-toxic. Who knew we were poisoning ourselves? Not only is butter London nail lacquer non-toxic but the colors are some of the best I’ve seen in a long time.

In honor of Earth Day, through May 15th go into your favorite participating fashion or beauty boutique and trade in three old, toxic, nail lacquers, fill out a customer profile, and in exchange, receive a coupon to redeem your free butter LONDON, 3 Free Lacquer online at www.butterlondon.com. Participating boutiques can be found here. Ooma in San Francisco is participating and as a thank you for going nontoxic, they will sweeten the deal with 15% off your entire purchase!

Holidaaaaay! Celebrate! Oh, the Holiday sneaker…Christmas, Halloween, 4th of July, St. Patty’s, Easter, Valentines Day, Thanksgiving?? Yeah, even Thanksgiving. Now a days we look forward to a new sneaker release around each Holiday, perhaps more so than presents under the Christmas tree. They come “quick”, are gone even faster (usually), and often times fetch a premium on the resale market. There was a time when not all Holidays had a sneaker. This particular Valentines edition of the Nike Air Max 90 is from 2001 and is from the beginnings of the Holiday sneaker craze. It was love at first site. Don’t know about you but here at M.I.S.S. we’d take these over a box of chocolates any day. Oh, we still want the red roses and romantic dinner but the only box of something we want this Valentines Day best have kicks inside!

Download the Desktop image here.

Download the Calendar here.

Art Direction & Photography: Smoke & Mirrors Creative
Nail Art: Liz Baca/The Goods!
Model: Myra
Post Production: Alex Valdez
Nike Valentines Day Air Max 90’s from the private collection of Liz Baca/The Goods!

If you missed out on January’s “Playmate”, never fear! You can download it here!