We are so proud to announce that New Leaf won TWO awards at the Rhode Island Monthly's Best of RI party Wednesday night....

-Readers' Poll Best Salon East Bay (THREE years and counting...Thank you faithful New-Leafers...You rock!)

AND

-Best Salon for Brides

We were all so excited to attend the party. Here's how it went down... Amy received a letter saying that New Leaf has won something. RI Monthly keeps everything else a big secret. Working in a salon, we are very good secret keepers. We hold the key to lots of 'stuff', if you know what I mean. But we still hate secrets, especially when we are on the other end of things. So we closed the salon early, dressed to impress,  and all headed in to the Providence Performing Arts Center (Rhode Islanders...PPAC:)

After some cocktails and apps, we headed in for the presentation of the magazine and for some special awards...

Stacy & Ashley...

Pam & Danielle

Allie, Michelle, Nicole & Amy G

The unveiling of the 2010 cover...

They announce a few featured winners like Frank Coletta (Best TV News Anchor), Siena (Best Restaurant and Best Italian Restaurant) and good ol' Buddy Cianci (toupee-less & winner of Best Radio Personality, emphasis on personality).

Then they send everyone off  for some dancing, drinking and eating and hand out the magazines as we leave the theater.

Here are the girls rifling through the magazine to see what we've won...

Imagine Amy's delight to see the photo and the Bridal Lounge feature on the Best Salon for Brides category. Woo Hoo!

A sneak peek until the magazine hits the shelves...

Readers' Poll....

New Leaf's Bridal Lounge feature...

The stage was packed...the complimentary martinis were luring everyone up on stage. The Love Machine was a New Leaf fav!

The girls...

Courtney & Nicole

Danielle & Allie

Pam and Courtney Anderson, from RI Monthly Magazine who helped with the photo shoot in the issue...

Filming for the Fox's The Rhode Show...to see the full video of the night, click HERE

Pretty neat view from the stage...can you imagine performing in front of all these seats?!? Nerve wraking stuff!

Courtney, New Leaf's Bridal Coordinator & Amy, the proud owner and the brain behind the business;-)

The girls...from left: Michelle, Jennifer, Stacy, Courtney, Amy Silva, Nicole, Amy Gonyea, Ashley, Nikki, Jamie, Jenn, Allie

A few were missing (tear drop sound effect)...Melanie, Stephanie, Mary, Yadira and Cynthia were at the party in spirit. Danielle and Pam were present, but we think were hiding in the martini line;)

A BIG HUGE THANKS to our amazing clients for their loyalty, their support and  for just being the best clientele a salon could ask for. We always say it so special to win the Readers' Poll category (it's the 4th year:) because it means the 'people have spoken' and we love that. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We literally could not do it without you.

Now for the sappy part ...A big thanks to Amy Silva, our fabulous owner and truly, the brains behind the business. We love working for you, you provide us with a fantastic clientele, a great space, a fun environment, and you are always keeping things fresh. It's a great thing to walk into work feeling so proud. We know it's not easy but you take it all in stride and we thank you because you can't ever hear that you are appreciated enough. If she were blogging right now, she'd  be thanking us but we have the keyboard now:o)

If you've been to New Leaf recently, you know of all the exciting visual changes/renovations that are taking place...New Leaf is turning over a New Leaf so stop in anytime to say hello!

Rhode Island Monthly Magazine's 2010 "Best of RI'" coming to newstands soon...Check it out to see even more East Bay favorite spots!

What is the new 'it' accessory of the summer? A shiny manicure! Pick your color...from natural neutrals to bold and bright.

At New Leaf, we hear that the number one reason for NOT getting a manicure is : "I ruin them too fast!" Say no more....

SHELLAC has come to your unsightly naked nails' rescue!

SO what is it? Shellac  is a hybrid of traditional nail polish and UV gel polish. Unlike soak-off gels it comes in a polish bottle and unlike traditional polish it cures/dries under a UV lamp. What we really like is there is NO BUFFING. There is no damage to the natural nail in the process. So how does it work?

Shellac paints on like polish - base coat, color, top coat - and is cured in a UV light so there is zero dry time. The colors are hypo-allergenic, and "3-Free" - no formaldehyde, toluene or DBP. Shellac comes in a range of 12 varieties of shades, from pretty French pinks and whites, to siren red and rich darks. The colors are CND's top 12, and more are to be added.

The formula is thin and flexible like polish, so it not only looks natural, it provides strong natural nail protection with a resilient mirror finish that resists dullness and chipping, even during the most rigorous activities.

Ok, so for all you manicure groupies we have out there, this polish begs the question: How in the world do you remove it?

Just a quick 5 minute soak and you are ready to change the polish color...Hip-hip-HOOray!

We have been testing it in the salon, and we mean, TESTING it. Our nail technicians go insane with the stylists here at New Leaf. It's  unintentional, we swear, but we pretty much sabotage their craft of nail artistry after our manicures. As stylists, we are the worst 'business cards' for beautiful manicures because we manage to destroy them in record time--Let's just say we are pretty rough.

We are proud to now be the BEST 'business cards' for this amazing SHELLAC service! Our Shellac manicure is still beautiful after 14 days of shampooing, typing, texting, gardening, you name it, we have done it.

SHELLAC...

cost: $28 (seen $40-45 elsewhere...)

time: 45 minutes

removal: 5 minutes

 perfect polish: pricless!

 Click to book online with Nicole, Mary or Cynthia today...See you soon!

Straight from the streets of L.A., the trendiest nails in Hollywood are Kim Kardashian's....she is rocking the 'matte manicure' and in the words of her BFF, Paris Hilton...it's hot.

If you look down at your hands and evaluate your nail 'situation', hopefully you are not in utter dismay .

Winter hands are often dry, chapped, and cracked. Cuticles are peeling, and sometimes even bleeding. Ouch!

Guilty as charged. Currently, my cuticles are nothing to be proud of which is why I am hiding my hands from Nicole, Cynthia and Mary, our lovely nail technicians.

It's just so hard to keep them looking great this time of year. That's where our nail technicians come in...Here are some thoughts from Nicole, who has been a manicurist for almost 10 years.

Hi there, it's Nicole! Glamour magazine's January issue featured Kim Kardashian, star of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Whether you love or hate her, know who she is or not (try Googling her, but not at work because you could get in trouble:o), she is a fashionista.

So here is the 'matte manicure'...

This mani features OPI's Midnight in Moscow (or any Essie, OPI, or butter London dark polish that you love) as your first coat. Then top that with Essie's Matte About You.

Secret alert: The trick is to finish the manicure with OPI's Top Coat on just the tips!

Now it's time for me to recommend one of the best hand creams in the biz...
butter London's Hand & Nail Creme-Green Tea

It is incredible--the power of this Green Tea Hand & Nail Creme is its natural antioxidamts to help stimulate blood flow and promote the growth of new skin cells.

Butter London hand and nail cremes contain high levels of Vitamins A, E & D for ultimate hydration and free radical defense.

"Brilliantly butter. Totally London."

Love it. Thanks Nicole! I will not hide my hands anymore...they are all yours!

Are you a Facebook fan of New Leaf? If not, become one.

If you are, you can book a manicure and pedicure for $40 (saving you $18!) ONLINE for the month of January. Just enter the word FACEBOOK when you book online.

To become a Facebook fan...click here.

To book any New Leaf appointments online, click here.

You must be a fan to receive this promo...and a different one each week:o)