Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to a blogger dinner with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, the First Lady of Nails. Her name should sound familiar – she’s the genius behind your favourite OPI nail polishes (do You Don’t Know Jacques!, Big Apple Red, I’m Not Really A Waitress or Bubble Bath ring any bells?), and chances are you’re wearing one of her creations right now. The Queen of the Nail was in Toronto last night to dish on everything to do with OPI. We met at Ciao Wine Bar for some delicious food and awesome conversation.
Some highlights from the night:
– The biggest trend for this year’s holiday season? Anything glittery! I love that this is going to be big – I’m a huge fan of anything that sparkles, and it so perfect for everything that comes along with the holidays. Suzi also mentioned an accent nail will be perfect. How about combining the two? A sparkly accent nail that matches up perfectly with a gorgeous colour is amazing.
– “When fashion began to embrace nail art… it really took it to the next nevel” – Suzi mentioned how big of an impact the fashion world has had on nails. While models used to walk the runway with naked nails, designers are now using nail polish and art as an extension of their fashions, which can definitely be seen looking at the fashion week runway shows.
– What will be big for spring? Pastel colours will definitely be making a comeback
– Next year’s big colour? Be on the lookout for gorgeous blues and yellows – yellow can be a little tough to wear, but be on the lookout for the gorgeous shade in the new Selena Gomez line
– The best part of Suzi’s job – creating new shades. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like fun. In a recent magazine interview, she was asked to describe her perfect day, to which she responded “Getting a massage and going to work.” She loves what she does, and I’m guessing that I’m not the only one who hopes she continues to!
– She loved working with the Kardashians on their Nicole by OPI lines – Khloe and Kourtney were the first in and got to choose their shades before anyone else – Momager Kris had to do some damage control when the other girls went in!
– How do they choose which celebrities they want to collaborate with? Suzi says it comes down to choosing celebs who really embrace and love nail colour – with recent collabs including Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj, you can definitely see that it works out!
– What are Suzi’s manicure must haves? Axoplex Cuticle Oil, Drip Dry and Top Coat
– OPI Polishes have such great names – think I’m Not Really A Waitress and Friar, Friar, Pants on Fire! Who comes up with them? Suzi and a group of 5 others get together for a brain storming session that usually lasts from 6-8 hours, where they choose brilliant names to match the new collections. For the collections based around countries, they even have lots of food from said country to help inspire them! For the celebrity collabs, names are usually inspired by the celeb’s life or song titles!
Suzi pleaded the fifth on her upcoming collections and innovations (we’ve already had shatter and magnetic polishes – what’s next?), but promises there will be lots to write about next year.
We were sent home with an amazing gift bag containing the Selena Gomez for Nicole by OPI collection! It’s not in stores until January 2013, but I’ll be posting all the shades + swatches so that you can take a look and fall in love!
Big thanks to Langton PR and Nicole by OPI for having me!
