Olivia Frescura

los angeles beauty & lifestyle blog

Essie Fiji & XpresSpa Airport Manicure Review

XpresSpa Review SFO San Francisco Internation Airport Manicure Essie Fiji Swatch (2)
Essie Fiji swatch

Recently I’ve been craving light pink almost-white nails, but, surprisingly, I don’t have a polish like it! I know everyone raves about Essie’s Fiji on YouTube, so I decided I’d either buy it or get it during my next manicure at Greentoes North Day Spa Salon. Recently when I was on a trip I discovered XpresSpa, which has spa services inside airports…how amazing is that? I found one in my terminal at San Francisco International (SFO) & just couldn’t pass a manicure up. Out of all the pleasantries one could get at their convenience, an integral part of it remains to be waxing which forms a vital part in the services offered by spa’s.

XpresSpa Review SFO San Francisco Internation Airport Manicure
Essie nail polishes at XpresSpa

Come to find out, they use Essie! They have all the basic nail polish colors that one could wish for…Anyways, I got their Mani-Xpress, which is a $30 basic manicure that is very rushed…about 20-25 minutes from start to finish. That includes removing polish, filing, cleaning, cuticles, and nail polish application.

XpresSpa Review SFO San Francisco Internation Airport Manicure (2)
Relaxing at XpresSpa

I will say that their chairs are quite comfy- reclining massage chairs that elevate your feet (yes please!). Also, my burgundy “doc marten” style boots are from H&M! I love them. Anyways, back on topic. I was glad I tried this service out, but I’m not completely sold on it yet. I think I would have rather lugged all of my nail polish supplies and do my own manicure at my gate. I appreciate that they used all one brand, essie, from base coat, top coat, polish, and drying drops.

XpresSpa Review SFO San Francisco Internation Airport Manicure Essie Fiji Swatch
My XpresSpa nails (Essie Fiji) right after getting them done

I just feel that the service was really rushed & could have been better. My nails didn’t feel smooth from filing, they were a bit rough around the edges. I didn’t feel like she removed my polish all the way. I thought it was strange that instead of painting Fiji on one hand at a time, the technician painted 1 coat after the other on the same hand, without waiting for it to try. Luckily, it didn’t cause any bubbling like it usually does.

Overall, I have mixed feelings. I LOVED this manicure though, so I’ll definitely be picking up Essie Fiji sometime soon, but I’m not sure if I’d return to XpresSpa. Maybe at a different airport.

Have you ever gotten a manicure at an airport? What did you think?

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NOTD: Essie Full Steam Ahead

Essie Full Steam Ahead Nail Polish Swatch Review
Essie Full Steam Ahead

Lately I’ve been into super light nails. I’m not sure why, because we’re in the lovely season of fall where black and burgundy come out to play…Anyways, I chose to polish my tips with Essie’s Full Steam ahead that I got in my Blackbox by CULT Cosmetics a few months ago. Full Steam Ahead is a gorgeous lavender with some silver shimmer. It has a sheer and semi-streaky first coat, but the second coat evens it out nicely.

Essie Full Steam Ahead Nail Polish Swatch Review (2)
Essie Full Steam Ahead swatch

I’m very happy with the formula of this color as well. I have quite a few Essie polishes, but I feel like no one talks about their polishes having a good formula. It is all relative to what base/top coat you use…I may have to do a blog post on that! Also…pardon my cuticles. I got a manicure and feel like they haven’t looked good since!

What’s on your nails right now?

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**This post contains products that I have received for free– for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**

NOTD: Essie DJ Play That Song

Essie DJ Play That Song Review Swatch
DJ Play That Song

This week’s manicure was from Essie‘s summer neon collection. I picked this gorgeous purple, DJ Play That Song. I don’t have any purples like this so I knew I had to have it! It is almost a jelly finish, because after 2 coats it was still pretty sheer. It dries matte, but after a top coat it is ultra-glossy…I love it! I can’t wait to wear this on my toes, because neon polishes have quickly become my summer must-have. Let me know what you think of this neon purple…and what is on your nails right now?

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ISSE 2013: Nails (Azature, China Glaze, OPI, Orly, and More!)

All of the nail inspiration was probably my favorite part about ISSE. I loved checking out all of the spring collections and learning about products I haven’t heard of before! I’m a huge nail  junkie (who isn’t?)…so I was in hog heaven. Have fun browsing my photos, and click on them to make them larger! Click here to see my haul!

I just had to share all of AZATURE‘s diamond nail polishes, including the 6 new colors that have just been released. Their original $250,000 nail polish was there, being protected by a guard! Kelly Osbourne and Jennifer Lopez have worn this nail polish before, and you can get the 1-carat version for only $25.

I’m definitely most excited for ORLY‘s collection for spring, called Hope & Freedom Fest. I can’t wait to share more from this collection, as I got the mini set to test them out! I love the name “Coachella Dweller” and think that these are so fun for spring…and loving the promo image. I want flowers in my hair! FYI the mini sets include Elation Generation, High On Hope, Melodious Utopia, and Coachella Dweller.

Nail art is so fun to me. I loved browsing all of the fun glitters and other things that can be put on the nail such as gold/silver foil, velvet powder, etc.

ISSE 2013 Bulk Nail Art Glitter
Glitter Galore

Who doesn’t love China Glaze? Their nail polishes are affordable but work amazingly. They were on a super sale at the show (6 for $15), so I couldn’t resist picking up a few…including some from the Hunger Games collection!

ISSE 2013 China Glaze Hunger Games Collection
The Hunger Games Collection by China Glaze

I also got Rare & Radiant from the Bohemian collection, because it’s a dupe of Chanel’s Peridot…which I regret never getting because Peridot is my birthstone!

ISSE 2013 Hunger Games and Bohemian Collection
Hunger Games and Bohemian Collection by China Glaze

I’m a big fan of CND’s Shellac after getting it a few times in the past. Their spring 2013 collection is called “Sweet Dreams” and features adorable pastel shades with a twist. I love the cake pop photo! One of the shades is even named Cake Pop! These were a hit and all of the colors except for the green, Limeade, were sold out by Sunday!

ISSE 2013 CND Spring Sweet Dreams Shellac Collection
CND Spring Sweet Dreams Shellac Collection

There were gel polishes galore for the manicurists to purchase. I loved all of the shiny bright shades!

Jessica Nails had a fun booth with a holographic floor. I learned about their new system that is a self-curing gel which will cut time for a lot of professionals. Their nail polishes are gorgeous…hope to try them one day!

Other brands you might recognize: Essie, Seche, and OPI were all there as well! I got a pamphlet for OPI’s spring Euro Centrale collection that I will do a new post on soon. I was bummed they weren’t showing it!

Something I thought was fun were these Q-Tickles cuticle oils that had tons of different scents and had little flowers in them.

ISSE 2013 Q Tickles Cuticle Oil
Q-Tickles Cuticle Oils

That’s all that I could possibly capture at ISSE regarding nails…it was such a huge area I couldn’t possibly cover every booth! Stay tuned for my hair, skincare & makeup posts to follow in the next two days!

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Essie Stylenomics Nail Polish

Essie Stylenomics Nail Polish Swatch

I was so excited to receive Essie Stylenomics as a part of my Klout perks, and I was hoping for this color as I’ve wanted to add more deep teals to my collection. However, this one applied a lot darker than I was hoping, so, honestly I don’t really like it. It’s not that it looks bad, it just looks so close to black that I’d might as well be wearing black. Oh well, it’s nice to apply and all of that, and lasts well. I guess I just feel duped because I had seen some blogger swatch this and it was a much lighter teal than this…but I guess that is due to some crazy lighting or editing! Don’t worry Essie, I still love ya! You take good care of us Klout-ers.

Must. Not. Buy. More. Polish.

**This post contains products that I have received for free– for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**