Whether you’re an occasional polisher or an experienced lacquerista, there’s no denying that nails are back in the spotlight, with the subtle French manicure making way for a new trend of bright colours and innovative nail art designed to catch the eye and complement any outfit. In light of Pantone naming emerald green their colour of the year – already the polish world’s favourite choice; we know how to spot a trend when we see one! – we’ve put together some ideas to give you a little inspiration.

The humble gloss coat

The easiest kind, and by far the quickest, yet it’s still something first-timers get wrong, so here’s a refresher. Wipe the nail with conditioning nail polish remover, followed by a good-quality clear base coat, preferably one with a strengthening solution – you’ll find that Debenhams has their own brand in their make-up section called Nails Inc. with some great nail care products. Let it dry, then apply two nice, thin, even layers of your chosen colour by starting in the middle, pushing up to the cuticle (without touching it) and sweeping around each side of your nail, followed by one across the top to “wrap” the polish over the nail tip. Let that dry, and then apply a final clear top coat. Simple and beautiful!

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Wearing:

Senna’s Barely Base tinted moisturizer is better than BS BB creams: loaded with anti-oxidants, 5% zinc, and free of chemical sunscreens, it gives great glow with Senna’s signature subtle shimmer…

Hating:

I’ve always wondered why and how BB (“beauty balm”) creams aren’t just tinted moisturizers with SPF.

MM (“maybe marketing”)?

And since “BB cream” has been slapped on American drugstore products, more glam companies are doing BB (“better branding”) by creating CC creams. CC (“color and care” or “color and correct”) creams supposedly offer stronger coverage, and more skin-nurturing ingredients than BB’s.

Chanel’s CC (“complete correction”) cream offers all of that, but it must be better since you  know what trademarked double Cs stand for, and that you can’t get it in the States yet, unless you eBay it.

BS (“but seriously” or “bull…”)?

Wearing:

When a two-hour morning meeting turned into an all-day marathon, I didn’t have time to go home and refresh my face for a movie premier I was hitting.  Instead, I ducked into a downtown drugstore, picked out eyeshadows recommended by Beautypedia.com‘s cosmetic cop.

I’ve since played with Physicians Formula’s matte collection “Canyon Classics” quad eye shadow, which can create a soft, smoky eye, and REVLON Colorstay 16-Hour “Moonlit” eyeshadow quad, which is creaseproof for at least four of the hours advertised — but nothing comes close to the super fine pigments that Senna Cosmetics creates. I just tried Senna Cosmetics Glow Eye Shadow in “Arabesque,” and any other eyeshadow feels like a gritty glitter compared to the soft shimmers Senna offers…

Using:

You could buy a 2.5 ounces of easy-to-use, mess-free squeezable tube of Vaseline for $2, but –

Why would you, when you could pay twice as much for less than half the amount of petroleum jelly, packaged in a slightly inconvenient, incredibly beguiling, miniature Vaseline jar?

Note: White gold pinkie “K” ring and yellow gold President watch are for size comparison and vacuous aspirational marketing purposes only; while these items may easily be confused with props in a pre-The Blueprint 3 Jay-Z music video, they are not included with purchase of miniature Vaseline jar, even though said Vaseline jar may be mentioned in lyrics that may referencing a person being a “CE ho, not CEO” and may or may not be perceived as sexually demeaning in audio of said music video.

Wanting:

Even though I’ve gone borderline granola, shampooing with an ultra gentle baby wash, conditioning my hair and taming frizz with virgin coconut oil, and playing up the natural wave of my hair, part of caring for my bed-head burgundy bob requires blow drying my side-swept bangs straight, drenching them with old school, ozone-depleting hairspray, blow drying my bangs straight again, and repeating this process until the air is lightly scented with scorched hair.

Works every time, with results repelling Honolulu’s humidity.

Still, I’m curious about this John Frieda Frizz-Ease 3-Day Straight Semi-Permanent Styling Spray — it could be a healthier alternative for my hair, and our Mother Earth.  Perhaps I’ll pick some up at the local drugstore.  It’s only five minutes away, and has got a great parking lot for doing donuts in my Porsche C4S…

Using:

Since replacing Moroccanoil with virgin coconut oil as a frizz tamer, I’ve used whatever hair conditioner is convenient, figuring they’re all about the same. Apparently I was wrong — John Frieda Full Repair conditioner lives up to its hype.

All the sudden I’m feeling less cynical about brand-washing.

I even started wearing a John Frieda T-shirt to bed now — it really does make my hair softer…

Hating:

Read the reviews — this John Frieda Hot Air Brush is awesome.

Goddammit.

I’d rather not know, considering the painstaking research I invested before buying the Bio-Ionic BlueWave Nano-Ionic Conditioning Brush and Hot Tools Ionic travel hair dryer. Does there always have to be something better?

No.

Not if you squeeze your eyes shut, put your hands over your ears, and sing, “Lalala…”

Using:

My perfect skincare kit on the go…

All that other ish you’ve been slopping on your face is a waste of time and money. I’ve tried skincare products designed by doctors in 90210, age-old Japanese brands, and Frenchies — they don’t work.

I’ve figured out the most effective way to get perfect skin in 14 days, for less than 10 minutes a day, with products totaling less than $105…

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Wanting:

I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekday night than by peeling off a layer of my face with a lab-level chemical I scored for less than $20 off Amazon.

Can you?

Liar…