Don’t Try This At Home : UV Gel Manicures

There’s nothing worse than returning home from the nail salon only to notice that you’ve already chipped a nail and dented another. If you’re a hands-on gal like us, manicures seem like a futile venture. That was, until we discovered the UV Gel Manicure. This special formula requires UV light to harden the polish and bond the color to the nail – and promises to last, chip-free, for up to two weeks. Twice the price of a regular manicure we wondered if the results lived up to the hype. So, for you dear Modern Renaissance ladies, we tried both CND’s Brisa Gel manicure and OPI’s Axxium Gel manicure.

So, did either live up to the hype?

Noted : Center Part

Thus far, there is a very clear beauty "look" dominating all of the runways of NY Fashion Week:
the center part.

What do you guys think? Is it too reminiscent of the 90's grunge when coupled with all of the layering we're seeing on the runways or are you going to dig your Chi iron out of the closet?

Don't Try This At Home : Cover Girl Lipstain

We tend to be creatures of habit around these parts. When it comes to makeup, we're pretty loyal to Aveda. Not only are the colors sheer and easy to apply but also the formulas are all natural and environmentally friendly.

Still, we ladies are no sticks in the mud.  Every once in a while we like to mix things up a bit. This time we branched out with CoverGirl’s Outlast Lipstain.

Don’t Try This At Home : Laser Hair Removal

We here at The Modern Renaissance are skeptics when it comes to the promises made by new health and beauty products. While we loved the idea of never having to shave again, the premise that a laser could nearly painlessly render our body hairless for life seemed too good to be true.

However, when Groupon offered a 70% discount on a package of six laser hair removal sessions, we jumped at the chance to test the treatment without maxing out our credit cards. 

So, what’s our verdict?