American Apparel Neons Could Light Up Times Square

Back in April, I read on Refinery that American Apparel would be releasing six new neon shades to kick off the summer season! As the original article said "in stores today", I went straight to American Apparel after work but was super disappointed there were no neon polishes to be found. A lemming was created on day 1.

Week after week, I stopped in American Apparel but there was no word about the new neons. I had given up on these colors when low and behold, I came home to an email from April at Concrete & Nail Polish congratulating me on winning THREE American Apparel Neons - Neon Red, Neon Coral, and Neon Yellow! It was meant to be... thank you, April!!!

These are the kinds of neons that look like they are glowing in twilight. The texture is thick for these three (surprisingly thick, actually) - American Apparel describes them as being   "one coat" neons. While I used two coats, you probably could get away with one... regardless, these neons are nothing like the other neons I have, which are thin and difficult to hide the nail line.

Preface: Why so many swatches? I initially photographed each color in the light box. However, I then wore American Apparel Neon Red for day 4 days without any signs of tip wear and simply HAD to take a picture to prove this to you! I quickly went to my window and snapped a picture. This quick shot turned out to capture the neon the best, so I reswatched everything again for you! Phew!

Neon Red is an orangy-red color that reminds me of a color in a Boondoggle lanyard. With topcoat, it looks like shiny plastic. As noted above, I wore Neon Red for (4) days without any signs of tip wear, which for me is remarkable because I'm not very careful to protect my nails and they are usually worn by the next morning.

Neon Coral is a bright peachy-orange. I love that this shade isn't quite red, isn't quite orange, and isn't quite pink! This is a unique neon that I'm so happy to have in my collection.

Neon Yellow: Highlighter yellow in all it's glory. Pictured in the light box it looks innocent, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to wear this one out in public (I'm kidding, I totally will)! Right now this is on my toes and I look tan already :)

Thank you, April for this wonderful prize! I adore each color and will be wearing them all summer. If you aren't familiar with April's blog, head over to Concrete & Nail Polish - you're in for a treat!

See Neon Coral next to China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy and all three with OPI Black Shatter after the break!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day, US readers!!! It's Fleet Week here in New York City. During Fleet Week, members of the US Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps come to town and enjoy the city. Active duty ships (which you can tour!) dock on the Hudson River along side the USS Intrepid, a World War II aircraft carrier. The Intrepid is open year round as part of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. I took this picture last year, and wow is it an amazing sight to see these huge vessels! Visit the USS Intrepid at Pier 86: West 46th Street and 12 Ave.

I created my Memorial Day/Fleet Week mani with Savina Ruby (a cherry red polish with speckle-y glitter) and China Glaze First Mate (the navy-est of navy blues). The stars over First Mate are from a very old Old Navy polish. Does anyone remember the days when they sold nail polish?

Once the ships arrive and men & women in uniform are spotted around the city (and the temperature always seems to creep near 90 degrees), you know it's time to awaken your hibernating shorts and flip flops because summer has arrived :)

A Sweet Mani at Dylan's Candy Bar

Dylan's Candy Bar is an Upper East Side landmark right across the street from Bloomingdale's and around the corner from Serendipity. You could say it's one "sweet" neighborhood! Dylan's carries all kinds of candy (it's one of the few places I can buy those yummy sour Warheads) and one of the neatest features is the candy stairs.

I was inspired to do this mani by Cilucia some time ago when she posted a pic of Gems under Essie Marshmallow. And recently, I saw this great cupcake mani by Liz at Liquid Jelly which is a similar effect! The "glitter under" mani reminded me of the candy stairs in Dylan's :)

Base color: Color Club Factory Girl, Glitter: Milani Gems, Top polish: OPI Step Right Up!

Layering glitter under a sheer polish is a new way to wear your glitter polishes. The base color still shows through, opening the door for many possible combinations. It's a VERY easy way to create a unique manicure. Post a link to your picture in the comments if you give this a try - I would love to see your creations!

Visit Dylan's Candy Bar at 1011 Third Ave (at 60th St).

NYX Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Reader bigiyedfish from over at MUA tipped me off about a store on Madison Ave I never would have thought to explore for nail polish, because it's called Fragrance Warehouse Outlet! But sure enough, inside is a HUGE stock of NYX products (the most NYX products I've seen in one place in New York City).

I picked up two colors from the NYX Girls line, because not only did they look fun, they were $1.50 :)

Dreamy Glitter is a goopy polish with hexagonal iridescent pieces, tiny glitters, and *sparse* stars. I was not lucky enough to grab any of the stars. Trying to get one of those stars was like finding Waldo in the magic glitter wand (please tell me someone had this). Stars or no stars, this is a pretty awesome glitter polish.

Swatched over Color Club Who Are You Wearing?

NYX Maven is a turquoise glitter. While there aren't any hidden shapes in this polish, I love the color and welcome Maven to the polish party :)

Swatched over Essence Let's Get Lost

My only criticism about these two NYX Girls polishes (aside from the lack of glitter stars) was the smell and consistency. Each polish had a rubbery texture similar to rubber cement and smelled comparably as foul.

Do you have any NYX Girls polishes?

Visit the Fragrance Warehouse Outlet at 301 Madison Ave (between 41st and 42nd Street).

Is Finger Paints "It's an Original" an original?

Whether you seek a life-like portrait or a goofy caricature, portrait artists can be found all over New York City and are never in short supply. Sitting today (and "drawing" a crowd) is Finger Paints It's An Original. But with "blurple" being the new... purple... how original is "It's an Original"?

Finger Paints It's An Original is a deep purpley-blue shade with a lively complementary shimmer. This hue reminds me of the color of an exploded pen :)

Let's investigate this "original" claim a little more :) Two colors in my collection come to mind. The first is OPI Russian Navy, another "blurply" shade (side note: this color is always is blue-er than I remember). Next to It's an Original, Russian Navy is similar in darkness but blue-er in hue. No dupe.

Index to pinky: It's an Original, Russian Navy, It's an Original, Russian Navy

Next up is Sephora by OPI Just a Little Dangerous. Another deep purple with shimmer, Just a Little Dangerous goes the other way on the color wheel and is a warmer purple than It's an Original. Again, no dupe!

Index to pinky: It's an Original, Just a Little Dangerous, It's an Original, Just a Little Dangerous

You can buy Finger Paints polishes at Sally Beauty, and there are (2) in New York City:

Brooklyn: 2129 Ralph Ave
Queens: 7417 Grand Ave #3

Does anyone else wish to challenge the "original-ness" of It's an Original? Leave your dupe contenders in the comments, and links to swatches if you have them!

PS - first post with the new lighting set up... still tweaking, but what do you think? Thumbs up or down?

A Romantic Polish in the Shakespeare Garden

The Shakespeare Garden is yet another magical spot in Central Park. Adorned with romantic twisty fences and flowers, what makes it Shakespearian is that the beautiful plants and trees in the garden are mentioned in Shakespeare's works. The garden is not far from the Delacorte Theater where Shakespeare in the Park is held each summer. There are many Shakespeare Gardens around the world, but you can visit this one at Central Park by West 79th St.

Revlon Lilac Pastelle is a perfectly romantic spring shade fitting for the Shakespeare Garden! This pinky-purple is a subtle but noticeable splash of color. The consistency was thin and milky, next time I might layer it over a white base.

PS: Calling all nail polish companies - who will make a Shakespeare collection first?

Click through for more romantic Shakespeare Garden pictures!

Let me take you down to Strawberry Fields

Strawberry Fields is a memorial in Central Park for Beatle John Lennon. The "Imagine" mosaic is a famous image - each time I've visited, the memorial is decorated differently. On this particular day, there were strawberries, a yellow submarine, a walrus, and... wait... is that a bottle of "Strawberry Fields" China Glaze polish?

Strawberry Fields is one of China Glaze's greatest hits. This melony pink is speckled with gold flecks and dazzles in the light. I'd say this is a must have in every polish lover's collection!

What Beatles song would make a great nail polish color? How about a Yellow Submarine, or Maxwell's Silver Hammer! China Glaze, take note! :)

Visit Strawberry Fields in Central Park West at 72nd Street.

Liebster Blog Love, and a BIG thank you!

Gotham Polish was tagged with Liebster Blog <3 by Amanda from Ha Bisky! Nails. If you're not familiar with Ha Bisky! Nails, don't miss out and head on over to Amanda and Fiona's blog for polish, nail art, puppies, kittehs, etc. Gotham Polish was also tagged with the Kreativ Blogger award by Une Ruxi à Paris, a lovely nail blog from Paris, Fiona from Ha Bisky! Nails, *UPDATE* and Diava from Diava's Lacquer Box. Thank you for thinking of me!

The Liebster Blog tag is to be passed along to (3) bloggers with fewer than 300 followers, although to me, there's nothing 'liebster' when it comes to number of followers! Having a handful of folks who come to see what you share is a great thing. When you're blogging for enjoyment, success is not measured in followers but instead is measured in what you're learning and how you're growing. Just a personal note :)

Here are three blogs I recommend checking out that I'd like to tag with Liebster Blog <3!
Liquid Jelly
NickNack'sNails
Smaltoitaliano

Thank you for reading Gotham Polish and for your sweet, funny, and encouraging comments. With each post, I'm becoming a better writer/photographer/artist and it wouldn't be possible without you. Thank you, thank you, thank you :)

New Zoyas Visit Central Park

After visiting the Polished Beauty Bar, I walked over to Central Park (proudly toting my new Zoyas, of course!) Briefly: Polished Beauty Bar is a salon on 78th off Broadway that sells Zoya! I purchased Jules, Gemma, and Zara. Yesterday, I shared the wonderful and unique Jules.

Zoya Gemma is a mossy green with a subtle blue shimmer. I feel my color vocabulary failing me here: I can tell you what this green isn't - it isn't pastel, it isn't truly khaki, and it isn't neon. Gemma is edgy and sophisticated, and is guaranteed to elicit second glances.

Zoya Zara is a color deserving of every rave review on the interwebs. This beauty is a vibrant lilac filled with glowing gold shimmer. This color needed a few extra coats for maximum opacity, and I'm curious as to how it looks layered.

We've had some great spring weekends here - I hope the weather is getting nice by you, too. Happy Weekend :)

Finding Zoya at Polished Beauty Bar

Little known fact: Zoya can be purchased in New York City :)

I read that the ladies over at PolishSis had recently been to New York City and came home with Zoya. In the comments, someone had asked where the Zoya was found, and using the assistance of Google translate, I learned of the Polished Beauty Bar on the Upper West Side!

Polished Beauty Bar is a neat salon that does manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, and waxing. Like most NYC businesses, it's not super big inside - the minute I entered, every employee and patron stared right at me. To be perfectly honest, pre-blog Amy would have walked in and walked right out, it was that awkward. But no! I was determined to find the Zoya!

Toward the back of the salon is a great display and selection of Zoyas for sale. There were colors from the new summer collections, and older staples. If you go, I would suggest asking an employee to show you where the Zoya is. I picked up three colors: Jules, Gemma, and Zara.

Jules is a very unique gold polish with a foil like finish. What makes this unique is the pewter tones, which I absolutely love. The brush and application was perfect, aka "standard" for Zoya :)

I had to try OPI Silver Shatter over Jules. The result was an interesting yet subtle metallic mani.

Polished Beauty Bar is located on 250 West 78th Street (off Broadway). Zoya can also be purchased online.

China Glaze, Welcome to New York City!!!

*Please note that as of March 2012, Beauty 35 no longer carries China Glaze*

The wait is over... I just came back from Beauty 35 to confirm that China Glaze is on their shelves!!!

*UPDATE: I'm sorry it seems blogger ate half of this post...*

My eyes were so happy to see this VERY colorful selection of China Glaze polishes! No Island Escape or Crackles with this initial shipment... but there was a great assortment of colors from many collections, including: Towel Boy Toy, Up All Night, Adore, Hot Lava Love (?), Out of Bounds, Shower Together, Custom Kicks, Solar Power, Dorothy Who, Atlantis, Treasure Chest, Tree Hugger, Rainbow, Sunshine, Wagon Trail (<3), Rodeo Fanatic, Lemon Fizz, Shocking Pink, Purple Panic, How Street it Is, Tantalize Me, and Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. The price? $5.99.

Beauty 35 is located at 505 8th Ave (on the corner of 35th St).

Soho... We Have a Purple

The five boroughs of New York City are broken down into hundreds of neighborhoods (seriously) like Red Hook, the Upper East/West Sides, and Greenwich Village. Some neighborhoods are cleverly named pertaining to their locations such as Tribeca (Triangle Below Canal St), Nolita (North of Little Italy), and Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

Some neighborhood nicknames haven't quite caught on. Recently, there has been a push for "FiDi" - AKA, the Financial District, and "SpaHa"... Spanish Harlem. There's even MiMa... which is Midtown Manhattan, of course ;)

Soho is short for "South of Houston", but unofficially, Soho means fashion and shopping! Stores such as Uniqlo, Madewell, Lush, and new addition Aritzia take up residence in the old cast iron buildings. Is there nail polish to be found in Soho? You bet! Shop department store lines at Bloomingdales, check out what Forever 21 has to offer, and stop by MAC to see their latest collection. Topshop also released a line of makeup, including many vibrant nail polish shades.

OPI Soho Houston We Have a Purple is a redish-purple polish from OPI's recent Texas collection. The new "sorbet" finish was intriguing and I have to say I am pleased - this polish is so shiny and chic! I used three coats and could barely see my nail line, although there is the appearance of tip wear (I took this picture shortly after application so it isn't actual tip wear). Next time I might opt for a neutral "underwear" color.

For more about the neighborhoods of NYC, check out New York Magazine's handy dandy neighborhood guide. But like everything in New York City, the neighborhoods are ever-evolving :)

Found: Fairy Dust at Nordstrom Rack

Nordstrom Rack is a fantastic bargain version of Nordstrom. In New York City, we're lucky to have one right in Union Square on 14th Street! Unlike other stores that carry discount designer and department store brands, Nordstrom Rack is clean, orderly, and pleasant to visit. The Rack carries clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry and makeup... yes, including nail polish :)

Check out the nail polish tower! Nordstrom Rack carries OPI and house brand Savina.

Below is the OPI selection. I am always impressed to see older colors (ex: "Up the Amazon Without a Paddle", "Señorita Rosalita", "Japanese Rose Garden") as well as new - they had almost the entire Swiss collection. The price for OPI is $7.97... I guess since OPI is now $8.50, this is a discount.

The Union Square Nordstrom Rack has a vast selection of Savina polishes. While I didn't see any colors that were super unique, Savina does make a lot of bright and neon colors! I believe you can only purchase Savina at the Rack (or on eBay).

I picked out a color called Fairy Dust, a glitter holo polish that I could not resist. For swatches, I'm sharing two pics each - one in focus and one deliberately blurred to show holo-goodness.

Here is Fairy Dust over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City.

I started using TwitPic over on Twitter and posted a picture of Fairy Dust yesterday. Emily from Emily's Nail Files thought hot pink would be a great base color, so here is Fairy Dust over China Glaze Shocking Pink. Now, it's SUPER hot pink!

Here is Fairy Dust over Mattese Elite Pucci-licious (the purple) and an unnamed teal Color Club (seriously, there's no label but I think it's Edie).

*phew*

In case anyone heads over to eBay to look for this color, please note that there are (2) versions. The one I got was the last of the "big glitter" version, and the others had smaller glitter.

Nordstrom Rack is located at 60 East 14th Street in Union Square on the corner of 4th Ave. Check out the store locator to see if there is a Nordstrom Rack by you!

OPI Silver Shatter Loves Your Polish So Much It Will Marry It

"If you love it so much, why don't you marry it" - any middle schooler

If it's a nice spring day, chances are you will see at least one couple taking their wedding photos in Central Park! Last weekend, we saw probably four or five brides and grooms with photographer in tow trekking around the park. Some of the brides were wearing sneakers under their wedding dresses :) On Sunday, we came across a real live wedding in progress. I bet they have some amazing pictures.

I was so happy to find OPI Silver Shatter recently at Ricky's. While I love how Silver Shatter looks over the pastel shades in OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean collection, I wanted to try it out over a brighter shade. Here is Silver Shatter over China Glaze Sugar High, which is a vivid watermelon-y pink.

Compared to Black Shatter, I found that Silver Shatter shatters in bigger chunks. I love the irregular and random patterns!

Speaking of weddings, I thought you'd enjoy seeing this ad that is still on many cabs :)

Photo Love for Inglot Nail Polish

I actually was feeling serious guilt about the poor quality pictures I posted earlier of the Inglot store. You (and Inglot) deserve better photos :) Also realizing how few stores there are out there, I simply had to go back with the real camera to capture these beauties for you. Enjoy!

Here are my swatches of Inglot flakies 202 and 204!

Consequently, this "strictly for photos" trip resulted in the purchase of the Inglot Freedom System palette. More about that soon.