May 20, 2013

3 Reasons to Love Local Nail Lacquer by Floss Gloss

Nail color is as much a part of fashion these days as any accessory, so you can imagine we were thrilled to find a new line of professional grade lacquers from a local source. And while the vintage-inspired bottles and memorable name were enough to hook us from the start, Floss Gloss has impressed in a below-the-surface way more than a few times since our first encounter a few weeks back. Here are three reasons to love this new local brand:

1. Beyond-average color. Way. Without skating into zany-ville, the colors in the nail brand’s debut collection are far from the usual suspects you’ll find on most nail displays. Taking their hue cues from 1970′s Miami, the assortment roves from a milky tan to neon orange to powdery blue. At the same time, the colors remain wearable and all manage to go together, in case you’d like to create designs and layer hues for original looks. The emphasis on color makes all the more sense when you learn that founders Aretha Sack and Janine Lee are California College of the Arts alums with backgrounds in painting and fashion.

2. Long-lasting polish. Really. During two separate trials with different colors, a layer of polish finished off with the clear top coat stayed on for five days without chipping. And that was without any clear polish touch ups in between. Sack and Lee tell us they were really focused on creating a formula that was nearly opaque in one coat and resisted chipping, and from what we’ve seen, they’ve succeeded.

3. No nasty chemicals. Fab. The polish is professional grade, but still manages to be cruelty-free and free from scary chemicals such as DBP, toluene or formaldehyde.

Add to that the fact that the polishes are produced right across the Bay in Richmond, Calif., and you can see why we’re in love.

For more on Floss Gloss and the creative ladies behind the company, check out the recent coverage by SF Indie Fashion founder Lorraine Sanders on the San Francisco Chronicle’s SF Unzipped blog.

Want more? Get in on the gloss by visiting the online shop, where you can also share your latest nail pics in the burgeoning Floss Gloss image gallery.

More San Francisco beauty

Runway Recap: CCA Fashion Show 2011

Convertible bike purse by Haley Toelle

At last week’s California College of the Arts 2011 annual fashion show, students’ design creativity was on display as graduating seniors presented looks ranging from the functional to the feminine, with sheer fabrics and asymmetrical one-shoulder pieces appearing in more than one collection.

Fashion show sponsor Surface magazine presented two awards at the end of the evening. Surface Designer of the Year went to Patricia Lucia Arroyo, who stole quite a bit of the audience’s attention with a sexy dress draped in chains. Johnny Paul Vera, with his bold and sheer feminine suits, took Surface’s second award, a New York City internship with Nicole Miller.

An opening segment, titled ‘Fashion Functional Gear’, came started the show with a wow-inducing its first piece, a slick convertible bike purse by Haley Toelle. The segment showed pieces from a class devoted to blending fashion and industrial design. Sustainability was another demonstrated theme, thanks to the use of natural and organic fabrics in many student pieces.

Check out these photos for other CCA fashion show highlights:

Hooded wrap coat by Jacky Safer

Graphic print slip dress and coat by Jacky Safer

Silk chiffon dress by Anna Huang

Suit by Johnny Paul Vera, recipient of Surface Magazine's Nicole Miller Internship in New York City

Second suit by Johnny Paul Vera

Third suit by Johnny Paul Vera

Zipper-seamed dress by Patricia Lucia Arroyo, Surface Magazine's Designer of the Year

Chain dress by Patricia Lucia Arroyo

Photography by Christophe Tomatis