Even though it’s the summer and we’re supposed to be more relaxed and “chill”, things just never seem to work out that way in real life.

So to help my fellow Bionic Beauties get their well-deserved R and R this summer, I’m sharing these tips from Total Beauty. Then… post your favorite way to sneak some relaxation into your busy schedule in the comments section below!

I’ll kick things off with a few of my own tips:

1. Take time for a weekly face mask. Whether you prefer a ready-made variety or my fave Green Clay mask- slather some on and zone out with a book for thirty minutes.
2. Even a small tub can become a relaxing soaking spot (trust me… mine is TINY!) when you fill the water with some Epsom Salts (great for drawing toxins out of your body) and a few drops of essential oils (I like Lavender for de-stressing; or Eucalyptus when I feel a cold coming on.).

Neon nail polishes are a HUGE trend for this spring and summer – just check out Milani’s new drugstore versions! OPI, China Glaze and Sinful Colors have also released bright, 80s inspired colors.

While some of them are opaque, others tend to be a bit on the translucent side. To get the brightest result from your neons, start with a coat of plain white polish underneath your neon polish.

The white acts as a primer to even the base color of your nail bed and really makes the neon color pop!

Last week I showed you Milani’s new Neon nail polish collection, now I’ve got the swatches and reviews of their other Spring 2010 nail polish collection: 3D Holographic.

All of these polishes applied like a dream and wore incredibly well. Milani has a real competitor this year to the pricey “bigger” named polish collections. Smooth application, no cuticle drag, no tip buildup, and the glimmer is small enough that there’s no streaking. And the finish is such a high-gloss!! In these photos, I promise I am not wearing a top coat- absolutely incredible!

Milani Cosmetic's new 3D Holographic nail polish collection (Click image for a larger version!)

I can see these polishes becoming some of my favorites!

Hi-Tech - A translucent citrusy green with gold holo shimmer when light hits it. You can build the color with 2-3 coats (I’m wearing two coats in these photos). It even works for gals with cool-toned skin like me! And yes, I’m a sucker for green nail polish!

Milani's Holographic nail polish in Hi-Tech

3D - A classic bright gold. I was leery of this looking good on my nails since I typically shy away from gold (warms don’t look so great on me), but this one was fabulous! 3D would be perfect for a glamorous evening date; and it looked great layered over the Neon “Totally 80s” polish.

Milani's Holographic nail polish in 3D

HD - Bright, true silver. In the sun there are pink, blue and an entire rainbow of shimmer! One coat gives a great translucent bling; two to three coats are full coverage. This polish looks awesome with jeans or dark dresses!

Milani's Holographic nail polish in HD

Digital - A medium bubblegum pink. Again, this polish is just gorgeous in the sun! Blue, pink, lavender shimmer really catch the eye.

Milani's Holographic nail polish in Digital

Cyperspace - It’s kind of a denim blue mixed with silver and turquoise.  I can see it being great on top of dark, vampy colors; or as-is on my toes for summer. This is my favorite of the bunch… Even besides the name being cool, Cyberspace just makes me smile when I wear it!

Milani's Holographic nail polish in Cyberspace

Hi-Res - Another of my favorites, Hi-Res is a beautiful “slightly-darker-than-pastel” purple with rainbow shimmer. This is my second favorite… I can’t stop staring at my fingers!

Milani's Holographic nail polish in Hi-Res

HD, Digital, Hi-Res, and Cyberspace are my favorites. I had a hard time just picking one as the front-runner. These will all have a special place in my mani/pedi rotation for a long-time to come!

The 3D Holographic nail polishes are priced affordably (around $5); and you can pick them up at most local drugstores or at MilaniCosmetics.com!

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

This Spring, Milani has two new nail polish collections: Neon and 3D Holographic. Since I’ve spotted the Neons already hitting store shelves, I am swatching those first. After a long winter, these bright polishes are sure to wake up your manicure or pedicure!

The new Neon polish collection from Milani Cosmetics

Techno Red – I had good coverage after two coats. Techno Red is a warm-based tomato red with a tiny hint of orange. It dried to a semi-matte finish (very similar to the effect you’d get if you used Orly’s Nails for Males as a top coat). I think it looks very cool, but you might not like it; however most people use top coats anyhow. For comparison, my ring finger is left without a top coat to show the semi-matte nature of this polish.

Milani's Techno Red nail polish

Pink Hottie – A bright Bubble Yum™ pink!! The coverage was a bit inconsistent for the first two coats so you’ll definitely want three if you want an opaque, even coverage. Semi-gloss finish (i.e. glossier than Techno Red, but not quite the standard gloss finish of most polishes). One of my favorites in this collection and most people could definitely wear this to work… it will make a fabulous pedi polish as well!

Milani's Pink Hottie nail polish

Totally 80′s – A lime-based yellow. I had some difficulty applying this color- it was blotchy, had lots of drag, and definitely requires three coats. For creativity, I topped my ring finger with Milani’s 3D holographic polish in 3D (a glittery gold). I can’t take credit for this combination- it was actually the exact look used at the Nary Manivong runway show at NY Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion Week.

Milani's Totally 80s nail polish

Pink Rocks – A really pretty magenta-based pink. Inside (or in diffuse lighting) it looks almost red; in the sun it’s a flaming deep, hot pink. It has a bit of a jelly texture and finish to it and dried to a semi-gloss. This would be really cool with a stripe of white at the tips or base of your nails, then use two coats of Pink Rocks.
Three coats will give you opaque coverage but it’s not necessarily even- my nails had more of an ombre-faded fire look (darker towards the tips and lighter towards the nail base)… I actually loved the effect!

Milani's Pink Rocks nail polish

Awesome Orange – Just like the name implies, it’s a citrusy orange; but a deep orange-red… closer to a Blood Orange, than a glass of OJ. I can see this color working overtime on my toes this summer after I faux-tan a bit! It’s a semi-translucent polish that had even coverage with three coats. It dries to a semi-gloss finish.

Milani's Awesome Orange nail polish

Rad Purple – My absolute favorite color from this collection by far!! Rad Purple didn’t turn out so much neon, as a wine-stain. It’s a red-based purple that reminds me of what my childhood hands looked like after picking blackberries all day. Quite possibly the best purple colored polish I’ve got in all of my totes! (And yes, I nicked my pinky nail… it wasn’t the nail polishes’ fault, I was just being a klutz.)

Bionic's fave: Milani's Rad Purple nail polish!

Fresh Teal – Fancy a swim in the pool? Fresh Teal was a fully opaque color at two coats and has a high gloss finish. See my notes below under Dude Blue.

Milani's Fresh Teal nail polish

Dude Blue – Another color that had full opaque results at just two coats with a high gloss finish. In my photos of Dude Blue and Fresh Teal, I am not wearing a gloss top-coat. Both Milani’s Teal and Blue nail polishes remind me of those clear blue waters you see in island-getaway advertisements. Very summery!!

These two colors are the most pigmented from this collection… and because of that, be sure you use a good base coat. The blue coloring can give your fingertips a smurfish tinge when you go to remove it- avoid this by using a good base coat, and also coating your hands with lotion before removing the polish.

Milani's Dude Blue nail polish

My overall thoughts on this collection… I’m not a huge fan of the opaque bottles, since you can’t tell how much is left. These polishes perform well, dry quickly, have unique colors, and are priced perfectly (around $5); plus you can pick them up at most local drugstores or at MilaniCosmetics.com!

Stay tuned next week for my swatches of Milani’s 3D Holographic nail polishes!

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

I know black lipstick isn’t for everyone, but if you are interested in trying out the trend… here are some tips and looks to play around with. And you don’t have to be a Film Noir star or a goth chick to pull them off!

Face – Purely Cosmetics mineral makeup in California Blonde mixed with PRIIA Cosmetic’s Complexion Enhancer in Angelic (basically my normal makeup). Topped with Purely Cosmetics’ Diamond Perfect Finish powder (I love, love, love this product!).
Cheeks – Light rose pink blush (Koh Gen Do in Coral Pink) topped with silver dust GlitterAll in Snow by Shiny Mama.
Lids – Silver eyeliner by PencilMeInCosmetics.com, smudged out a bit, topped with Clinique’s Long Last lipgloss in Clearly Pink.
Lashes – Clinique’s new High Lengths mascara in black on top lashes (Full review soon, but in short it’s okay. Not as wonderful as Blinc, but average), silver/black glitter mascara (found on clearance at my local Sally Beauty store!) on bottom lashes.

And now, onto the makeup looks!

Trying out the Black Lip trend in real life!

The Full-On Drama Lips – Prescriptives Longwear Kohl eyeliner in black (but any longwear or waterproof black eyeliner would work fine!), Purely Cosmetics’ Diamond powder dabbed on very lightly to set the liner. Topped with Lancome’s Piha Black lipgloss (here’s a link to my previous article with loads of tips and looks using Piha Black lipgloss).

Lots of Drama! Black eyeliner topped with Lancome's Piha Black gloss

The Budget Version! – Wet n Wild’s lipstick in Black Orchid ($1.29 at drugstore.com), topped with Sally Hansen lipgloss (or any clear or sparkly lipgloss you have laying around). As you can see this black lipstick tends to settle into any lip lines you may have. It can be a bit of a pain, but for the two bucks or so it costs, it’s a great lipstick and not drying at all!

Budget friendly black... Wet n' Wild black lipstick with gloss over top.

Sheer and Wearable – If you’re looking for something a bit less “Jami, you’re crazy!” then, Three Custom Color’s Noir lipstick and Noir lip gloss are gonna be right up your alley!
Another recommendation, if I may, is Three Custom’s Doubles lipgloss. It’s my absolute favorite

Sheer Noir - Three Custom Color's Noir lipstick with Noir lip gloss on top

My Tips…

• For all the lip looks, I highly recommend starting with a very moisturizing lip balm to prep lips (I used YBF’s Quench lip balm). Put it on before you start the rest of your makeup and it’ll have soaked in by the time you’re ready to start lips.
• Surround lip line with concealer, or I use Anastasia’s Eye Lights Matte pencil in Camille. The goal here is to really set your lips off and make sure the lip line is exact and very clean since the colors are so dark.
• Clothing – Pair this look with something that is silver, maroon, blue, navy to keep things bright… unless you want to embrace your inner goth, then by all means go for the black, strips, deep gray, or reds!
• Same thing goes for jewelry. KISS – Keep it simple silver. *wink*
• Whichever makeup you choose, keep your lids, cheeks and face subtle, however you want *something* on those other features so you don’t look too washed out.

This look is instant glam when you’re at home feeling a bit low or down… Even if you just wear it around the house!

If you’re going out on the town with a strong black lip, ROCK IT. You can’t be shy and meek. Embrace that inner-gal-power and let it show. Shoulders back, walk proudly! Pretend you’re Mina Harker (actress Peta Wilson) from The League of Extraordinary Gentleman; or Abby from NCIS!

Personally, I love the dark lip look… but I’m fully aware it’s not for everyone. What are your thoughts are the varieties I’ve shown?

I don’t often post about celebs, mostly because they are covered in every itty bitty aspect of their lives on twenty-gazillion other websites. But this caught my eye… you see, Pauley Perrette is one of my favorite actresses. For those of you unfamiliar with her, she plays Abby, the techie-genius-perky-goth-forensic scientist on NCIS. Plus she can sing!

NCIS actress Pauley Perrette wearing Dashing Diva's The Big Apple nail polish.

Anyhow, at New York fashion week this month, Pauley sported bright candy apple red nails courtesy of Dashing Diva’s nail polish in The Big Apple.

The Big Apple - a classic red nail polish

The Big Apple is described by Dashing Diva as “a true opaque red”. It’s a cream with no shimmer or glitter.

Dashing Diva nail polishes are available in their NY salon’s but also on DashingDiva.com for $8.

I swatched four of the other Dashing Diva Manhattan collection nail polishes back in May 2009. Mulberry Street and Wall Street were definitely my favorite colors.

Any other fans of Pauley out there? Or NCIS fans in general? How about those red nails?

I was cruising through my local Kmart and Target this week and noticed new Maybelline Cosmetics displays being assembled. So I snapped off some pictures of the upcoming goodies we can expect to start seeing. I am guessing these items are for their new Spring 2010 “collection”.

New Maybelline makeup products coming soon!

There’s a new line of gel eyeliners called “Lasting Drama”- but they look quite a bit more jelly-ish and more like a soft lip balm than brands we already know (like Jane, Purely Cosmetics, and L’Oreal HiP). Since the formula looks SO different, it will definitely be interesting to see how they apply.

Other new items in the displays included “Color Pearls” - a collection of baked eyeshadows that were full of tiny shimmer. Each compact had a solid color and a mixed color that had several flecks and shades of colors in the same family. For instance, the solid color may be a light olive, and the multi-side would have shades of khaki, gold, tan, brown, dark olive. The idea is to be able to create a full blended eye makeup look with just one pan of shadow.

There were also a few new eyeshadow palettes. The colors look nice, but nothing was a stand out. The packaging is a unique and “fresh” with arrow shaped pans for the shadows.

I didn’t get anything since there weren’t even prices marked yet… and the selection was awful. However, there were two HUGE boxes at each store that employees were unpacking on the shelves. So maybe I’ll head back next week to see if they’re set up yet.

Have you spotted any of the new Maybelline products or displays at your local stores?