Cosmoprof North America 2014: INM (International Nail Manufacturers)

A new month, another new installment of Cosmoprof North America 2014 and what the industry attendants had to show off this past summer. The rest of those posts, if you're looking for them, can be found with the CPNA 2014 tag.

Today - INM is featured, which stands for "International Nail Manufacturers", but is more commonly known for its abbreviation. Still not ringing a bell? They're the producers of everyone's favorite microglitter top coat, Northern Lights! Now you're definitely interested!

INM at Cosmoprof 2014

At CPNA 2014, I happened upon the INM booth, and was met by a lot of products I didn't know about. Like many of you, it didn't jump out to me as an obvious nail product line, but I'm glad I stumbled by. The ladies of INM filled me in on some pretty exciting things about the company.

Firstly, I was introduced to the INM polish line, which recently underwent a nice makeover from their previous bottle design, which was a tad more chubby looking. Shockingly, there were a lot of great colors, and I grabbed a few to take home and try (which you'll catch at the end of this post along with some sunny nail art you won't want to miss). At the show, they were launching their new fall line.

Cosmoprof North America 2014: Jessica Cosmetics

Another great installment of what I got to see at Cosmoprof North America 2014 for you tonight. Unlike other bloggers, I purposely decided to split up the Cosmoprof 2014 posts so you can continually be excited by them. To see them all, browse the CPNA2014 tag.

Jessica Cosmetics at Cosmoprof 2014

The time I was able to spend with the Jessica Cosmetics rep was very brief, and they had appointment after appoinment, so I couldn't spend a ton of time getting all the details. Here's what I was able to gather from the rep though. All in all, it's exciting, and my favorite collection (Autumn in New York) I'll review for you at the bottom of this post, so don't miss it!

Here's a sneak peak at the nail art, to entice you to read on...

Cosmoprof North America 2014: LVX

Tonight I've got another post from Cosmoprof 2014, this time from LVX. Remember, you can see all of them by browsing the CPNA2014 tag.

LVX at Cosmoprof 2014 

I've reviewed LVX polish before (here). What sets LVX apart is its deep integration with the world of high fashion. Each year, there are 4 seasonal collections released, each with 6 colors and right in line with the seasons of fashion. What's more, the colors are carefully selected after closely studying thousands of runway presentations from renowned designers, including one big designer that provided plenty of influence in past collections, Alexander Wang.

The founders (who I had the pleasure to meet) are Branka and Rade Tomic. (Who doesn't love a family polish? The duo are siblings!) They take their dedication to fashion and luxury very seriously, and have sponsored several shows with LVX. While they say they haven't been to international shows yet, they've been to New York and Miami, where they adorned around 20 models' nails with LVX lacquer.

The fashionable lady doesn't need to worry when she reaches for a bottle of LVX. It's "fashion with a conscience". Their formulation's are 5-free, vegan and cruelty-free, which means it's never tested on animals. This is great news for our Boulder salon, as clients request vegan and cruelty-free polishes more and more.

Fashion extends to the packaging and display of LVX polishes as well. Take a look at the upcoming Fall collection, announced for the first time at Cosmoprof (and available soon). Very sleek!

So what's new with LVX? I sat down with Branka and Rade, and they shared that LVX has a full manicure system in the works. That would include things like oils, base coats, top coats, removers, etc. With this, they hope to offer healthier alternatives to what's already on the market. And while no gel systems (or gel hybrids) are in the making, they were happy to offer me a sample of their top coat, which is touted as gel-like, just as their polishes are.

Additionally, LVX is partnering with the National Breast Cancer Foundation in October and donating 100% of all profits from their signature pink, Lolli. 100% is huge, and really makes LVX a standout and standup brand in my mind!

LVX Polish Review & Nail Art

With that in mind, here's a look at two colors I picked up at the show, combined to recreate a nail-friendly designer's pattern. Here, I used Lemondrop and Porcelain to mimic the Kate Spade lemon pattern. 

I loved the colors, especially Lemondrop. I had trouble with application myself, finding it a bit streaky, but I liked them for nail art.

Added a slight filter to give it a more vintage look, similar to the lemons.

LVX - Lemondrop

LVX - Porcelain

In both swatches, I used their top coat and liked it. I tried it over my nail art as well, and unfortunately, it didn't even out the bumps that inevitably show up when working with polish for nail art. Seche Vite's still better for that in my opinion. The top coat does dry quickly though, which is always a great bonus.

I look forward to seeing the official release of the Fall line, but in the meantime, their Winter Resort collection is live! It's full of deep colors, several with shimmer. I really enjoyed sitting down with and grilling the Tomics about LVX, and I'm eager to see what the manicure system looks like!

The products in this post were given for review purposes. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Cosmoprof North America 2014: Zoya + Naturel Deux Collection Swatches

As you know, I had the pleasure of attending Cosmoprof North America this year to learn about some of my favorite nail brands and about some I had never heard of. The overall experience was wonderful, especially as a licensed nail tech and blogger. I'll be sharing some of my favorite experiences from the show with you here at Nailed It. You'll hear about some of the upcoming collections from your favorite brands, new products on the market, and improvements to the ways you work with your own nails, so look for the CPNA2014 tag. 

Zoya at Cosmoprof 2014

The first is a well-known brand I'm sure you all know - Zoya.

I didn't have an appointment to visit with the booth, so my visit was brief but beneficial!

First and foremost, I was able to meet and have a quick Q&A session with Zoya Reyzis...the Zoya! As I didn't have an appointment, I felt bad eating up too much of her time, so I kept my questions focused on her, rather than upcoming collections or the company as a whole.

One thing I was dying to find out was what her favorite Zoya shade was. She told me that her favorite pedicure polishes right now are the Pixie shades, but for her manicures, pure reds (like Diana and Carmen) have a special place in her heart. 

Pure reds signify warmness, richness, and to her, importance. She believes in the psychology of colors, and how they can really resonate with people. For Zoya, a pure red reminds her of home. It reminds her of her mom's velvet curtains when she was a young girl. She reminisced about playing under her mother's dining room table, where a warm red fringe tablecloth dangled off the edges. These memories signify warmth, signify being safe and cozy.

I loved being able to share that small piece of her history, and was also pleased to take a picture with her.

Zoya Reyzis (right) and Me (left)

 
Besides the picture of us above, I don't have many pictures to share with you from the visit because of the upcoming products I got a sneak peek at, a few aren't ready to be shared with the public. You'll see them soon though!

 New Zoya Collection - Naturel Deux (2)

One collection has been released and is available now - Zoya Naturel Deux (2). This collection is being advertised as a "transitional" collection, meaning it's a late Summer/early Fall collection that's not a full-fledged release. The collection consists of 6 creme neutral shades - 3 plum and 3 brown shades.

The transitional collection follows a previous release of Naturel (1). Zoya designers wanted to expand the original family of Naturel shades to fit even more skin tones, so Naturel Deux (2) is warmer.