August 29, 2008
Back by Popular Demand: Work Appropriate Polishes – Rescue Beauty Lounge Edition
I’m so happy that you guys actually enjoy these work appropriate posts. The work appropriate theme is going to comprise a huge portion of a my posts for a while since I mostly write about the colors I’m currently wearing. : )
In any case, close to 1/4 of my collection are ‘work appropriate’ colors. You’d be surprised at how much variation there are in the classic professional looking colors. Nudes, taupes, pinks, and soft shades don’t have to be boring. I’m going to start a series of articles showcasing 3 of my favorite work appropriate colors from all my favorite brands. First up, Rescue Beauty Lounge.
I’m sure that no one will be shocked that Scrangie was the source of my lemmings for the following 3 colors.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Om is a strangely calming color, making the name very appropriate. Even so, it’s probably the most ‘serious’ muted pink in my collection. This swatch is 3 coats of Om, 1 coat of Seche Vite.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge is my stick-it-to-the-man color (Ohh hoo hoo I’m sitting in your meeting wearing a color called Grunge, ha!). It’s a serious business appropriate color but at the same time it’s very moody and edgy. This color came out a while ago but it fits perfectly into the current mushroomy grayed-out color trend. Grunge looks creme 99.9% of the time but it actually has a whitish shimmer throughout. The shimmer is not highly light refractive which is why no one will ever see it. The danger of Grunge (and all similar mushroomy grayed-out colors like it) is that it may be a tough color to pull of successfully. Mushroomies seem to not flatter very pale skin tones and are seemingly more suitable to skin tones like my own. This swatch is 3 coats, 1 coat of Seche Vite.
Finally, Rescue Beauty Lounge Opaque Nude. Scrangie’s swatch (linked above) is a more accurate depiction of Opaque Nude’s bottle color. My swatch is darker due to lighting and my skin tone which brings out the ‘nudeness’ of this color. In my opinion, Opaque Nude is border-line business appropriate, perfectly okay for a less conservative office. I say this only because it might be too obvious. I feel like business appropriate colors have to be subtle, pretty but not necessarily noticeable and for most people this color will be very noticeable.
August 27, 2008
The Last Hurrah: Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral
I’m starting a new clinical internship this week. This past weekend, I longingly looked through my collection which is sorted into two groups, professional-looking colors and unprofessional/out of the ordinary colors. As my ‘last hurrah’ I wanted a color that was summery, bright, and cheery. I chose Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral.
I know what everyone is thinking, “don’t sweat having to wear professional-looking colors during the week, you have the weekends!” The bittersweet aspect of nail polish blogging is that I spend my weekends swatching so I can’t do fun weekend manicures. Boo.
Now let’s talk color.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral is g o r g e o u s. I began lemming this one because of the bottle image on the Rescue Beauty Lounge site. I don’t know why but I was immediately drawn to it.
It’s very chameleon-like in the sense that color varies in different lighting. It can be described as a bright pink, sometimes coral, sometimes orange-y. Tink over at Casual Lavish also swatched Coral; her skin tone is different than mine so it will give you an idea of how the look of this color can vary.
It’s not the same shade as Color Club Sexsea but the transient quality of Coral was reminiscent of the same quality in Sexsea. Tough to describe but really, really hot. I suppose it’s telling that the last time I wore Sexsea was after a long spat of compulsory professional color manicures. It was liberating wearing such a bright strange sexy color. That’s the feeling I was trying to duplicate by choosing Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral and that’s exactly how it made me feel. Sadly, I removed this color on Sunday after only 3 days of wear. As expected from Rescue Beauty Lounge’s voodoo wear, it still looked amazing. I chose OPI Tickle My France-y for my first day of work. *sobs quietly*
As a side note: I recently started experimenting with different base coats. For this manicure, I used the Rescue Beauty Lounge base coat, 3 coats of Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral (3 was necessary to cover VPL), and 1 coat of Seche Vite. I don’t have a final opinion yet but I can share some purely qualitative observations. The RBL base coat isn’t billed as a ridge filler but that’s actually what it is. It’s milky but not as thick as a ridge filler like Barielle Camouflage. Like all ridge fillers, it makes applying some colors really easy but can make other colors more difficult to apply. So far, I like it.
July 24, 2008
Rescue Beauty Lounge Spongebob Pre-Fall Collection Swatches
Ji Baek did it again. I am not a fan of creme sheers and I am completely and totally taken with this collection. Of course, I expected nothing less than perfection from Rescue Beauty Lounge – Ji and company consistently design colors that are in a league all of their own. Ji conjured up the Spongebob Squarepants Collection after hearing that Marc Jacobs drew inspiration for his collections from the popular children’s TV show. I love that these delicate sophisticated colors were designed based on a TV show, the silliness of which is rivaled only by Ren & Stimpy.
If delicate isn’t your thing, Ji says these colors look positively amazing layered over Rescue Beauty Lounge Underwear, the brightest white on the market. The brightness of Underwear gives these sheer colors a back-lit effect. As soon as I get my hands on Underwear, I’ll hook you guys up with swatches. Until then, enjoy these polishes in their unadulterated form.
These swatches are 4 coats each, taken in artificial light. I prefer sunlight images but I got home too late from work and I just had to show these to the world tonight. Despite having been taken in artificial light, these swatches are true and accurate depictions of these colors. It goes without saying at this point that the application of these polishes was perfect, not a streak insight.
If my addiction to nail polish could be expressed in one color, Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom would be that color. At first glance this blue looks dupish to Color Club Blue Light and China Glaze For Audrey, both of which I also love. Sorry guys, no such luck. Bikini Bottom is a very light watery blue, almost jelly like in its delicate finish. For Audrey is a greener blue creme, not jelly at all. Blue Light is a brighter light blue, also creme, no jelly. The only downside to this color is that I don’t think it can be pulled off at 2 coats – that and, this color should have been named Squidward. : P
Most people think that yellow is a difficult color to wear, Rescue Beauty Lounge Square Pants will prove those people wrong. I think there is a commonly accepted notion that yellow tends to run the risk of looking a bit garish, but Square Pants is soft and delicate. It’s visibly yellow, not pastel, but it’s not shocking on the nail. This color was put on earth for people who want to try yellow but fear it might be ‘too much’. Perfect.
Spongebob may be the star of the TV show, but for most people, Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick is the star of this collection. Described as “wispy peach coral”, it’s definitely the most accessible of the 3 colors. Bikini Bottom is my personal favorite, but my NOTD right now is Starfish Patrick, primarily because it’s subtle enough for work.
I did take some swatches of Square Pants and Starfish Patrick at 2 coats for those of you who are not sheer polish adverse.
As you can see, these colors are wearable and streak-free even at 2 coats.
Special thanks to Ji Baek and Rescue Beauty Lounge.
July 17, 2008
Rescue Beauty Lounge Fall Preview
The Rescue Beauty Lounge Pre-Fall collection is Sponge Bob themed!! How adorable is that!!! And I LOVE these colors, I don’t think I can resist taking the plunge for long!! Bye bye dollars. *sobs*
I hope I don’t get in trouble for posting this but here’s the fall preview link. (eeep!) But I highly recommend that every one join their VIP mailing list legitimately. They always send these awesome previews to us.
July 9, 2008
Hard-to-Find Week Pre-Party: Alternatives to (the evil) NARS Zulu
A while back I wrote an article complaining about NARS Zulu and the insistence of the nail polish industry of discontinuing highly sought after colors. I understand that creating ‘limited edition’ nail polish inflates demand and creates profits for nail polish companies, but discontinuing really highly sought after colors doesn’t make any sense from a business stand point. NARS Zulu, for example, has been off the market for over a year and still consistently sells for $70+ on ebay. That’s profit that is going to scalpers when it could be going to the polish companies. It just seems like bad business sense to not re-release those colors.
In any case, I still don’t own Zulu. Whenever I’m near a balcony, I run out on to it à la A Streetcar Named Desire and scream , ” Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuluuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!! Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!” A long time ago I bought all the supplies to attempt to franken Zulu. I never did it because frankening Zulu was akin to accepting I would never own it. I’m starting to accept that, so I gave the franken a shot.
Here are some of the greens in my collection.
Unfortunately none of these are exact dupes of Zulu. Check out Blogdorf Goodman for swatches of Anna Sui #915 and Chelsea Psycho Green which are traditionally thought of as Zulu dupes and are, unfortunately, as difficult to find as Zulu. Chelsea Psycho Green, also pictured above, is very close but Zulu is a creme with a jelly finish and Psycho Green has very subtle shimmer visible only in the light, no jelly finish.
I bought Icing Envy and New York Summer Amaranth specifically for the purpose of trying to duplicate Zulu. I’ve seen an Amaranth based Zulu franken before, it was dead on. Amaranth has a jelly quality that is similar to Zulu so it’s a perfect base green for Zulu frankens, just add black. The only problem was that I loved Amaranth so much I didn’t want to use it for a franken. I decided to try it out only with Icing’s Envy (which I also love but happen to have two bottles). I’ll order a second bottle of Amaranth to franken with and post my results later, I promise.
I mixed roughly half a mini bottle of Icing Envy with the rest being 1/4 OPI Black Onyx and 1/4 OPI Top Coat. This is what I ended up with:
And this is Ponchy’s picture of Zulu:
As you can see, I failed, while I like the color I ended up with, my franken looks nothing like Zulu.
Zulu escapes me again.
*sobs quietly*
Special thanks to my love Ponchy for allowing me to use her image in this post. : )
July 2, 2008
America, %*@& Yeah!
This is my attempt at a patriotic mani for the 4th of July. I used the following: OPI The Thrill of Brazil (and believe me, the irony is not lost on me), Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm, Art Club by Color Club White and Silver Glitter, both of which are available individually or in the Art Club Bridal Kit.
I was torn over whether to use Silver Glitter or the tiny little silver crystals that come in the Bridal Kit. I ultimately decided to just wing it with the glitter. I’m a major newb at nail art so I have to say – for a first attempt, I’m really pleased with the results.
First let me say, I am so sorry about the sub-par application and lighting, again. I’ll be back to my usual application and lighting soon, I promise I’ll get it together. Second, OPI The Thrill of Brazil is one of my favorite reds, EVER. It applies like butter. Opaque in one coat, perfect in two – this red shines like there is no tomorrow. Simply, gorgeous. For the blue, I used Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm. It was great for this mani because it, too, is opaque in one coat. I was able to use just one brush stroke for the blue behind the stars. Click here for a swatch of Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm.
Finally, Art Club by Color Club – amazing. I’ve had the Bridal Kit and the Carnaval Kit for a while now but I’ve been stuck in professional-mani purgatory since the beginning of the summer so I haven’t been able to try them out until today. And WOW, I love these nail art polishes. The super long ultra fine brush is incredibly easy to use. The kits in general are pretty great. They come with 4 or so nail art polishes in assorted colors or glitters, decals, beads, stones, and other cute little accents.
To celebrate my nail freedom in exactly one month, I’m planning on breaking out all my accumulated nail art products. Seriously, I’ve been stock piling nail art supplies for a few months now in anticipation of a ridiculously elaborate nail art week on The Polish Addict, so if you’re secretly into the kitsch, like me, stay tuned.
June 2, 2008
Win 44 Bottles of Rescue Beauty Lounge Nail Polish
Yup, you read that right, check it out at allure.com
This is serious. 44 bottles of Rescue Beauty Lounge is pretty much all I’ve ever wanted out of life. I’m thinking I might have to resort to some of the ol’ folk magic from the mother country so as to increase my chances of winning this giveaway. My mom told me something once about breaking a double yolked egg over an upside down straw broom… or something. Ok maybe not, but Animal sacrifice would help for sure, right? Geez, I can’t hurt animals… a giant can of chicken breast from Costco that my mom bought for me when I first left home 6 years ago and has been sitting in my cupboard since then… would that be ok? Maybe sacrifice goat cheese instead of a whole living goat? Ugh, where’s a first-born when you need one.
Ok – I know what I have to do.
Hand Turkey.
You have served me well throughout elementary school as my Thanksgiving Day art project. Yes, indeed, many gold stars have resulted from your efforts on my behalf. Remember that year when I drew you and your entire turkey family? Hours of staring down at my hands to create that masterpiece, perhaps, was the genesis of my current love, nail polish. But now, it is time for you to fulfill a greater destiny. You will be sacrificed to the nail polish gods so that the evil Ji Baek, arbiter of expensive polishes, may bestow upon me a most amazing bounty. Hand turkey, you will be missed.
Hand Turkey
RIP
1990 – 2008
April 29, 2008
Blue Comparison Swatches (OPI – Dating a Royal Mod Brights Collection)
It’s no surprise that OPI is late to the party yet again. Blues were the thing last season, but for those of us who don’t care about strictly following seasonal trends, OPI Dating a Royal from the new Mod Brights Collection is pretty amazing.
Originally, I was going to compare all of these colors but once I got the bottles together it was pretty clear that the only real contenders for comparison were Lippmann Collection – Rehab and Rescue Beauty Lounge – Dead Calm. China Glaze – Shower Together (twin of China Glaze – Aqua Baby), L.A. Girl Flare – Twinkling, and OPI Just Groovy don’t look anything like Dating a Royal, or each other for that matter. There was some concern arising on the nail board that all these colors might be too similar to justify owning all of them, but as you can see from the bottle picture, that’s not the case.
2 Coats Rescue Beauty Lounge – Dead Clam, 3 Coats OPI – Dating a Royal, and a whopping 4 coats for Lippmann Collection – Rehab
I apologize for the quality of this image. For some reason I just could not get these colors to photograph well. This was the clearest image of the bunch, but even with the lack of focus, this image is an accurate depiction of what these colors look like in person. The online teaser images of Dating a Royal made it seem like it would be more dupish to the aqua blues. As it turns out, it’s a much darker blue, but not as dark as the blues that were popular last season. Its comparative lightness makes it more relevant to the trends of this spring and summer but since it’s not technically a light blue it will be wearable in the fall. I’ll give everyone the skinny on the application and wear when I do the full swatches.
If there are any colors you guys want compared drop me an email or comment with your request. : )
In other news, I am now a member of Alltop.com. Yeay! Alltop condenses the best blogs on the net by category so you can read about your favorite topics all in one place. Their beauty section is pretty comprehensive, you guys should check them out if you haven’t already.
April 28, 2008
Rescue Beauty Lounge Pic Spam… I Mean Swatches
I hate to say this because I think the idea of an 18 dollar nail polish is absolutely ridiculous, but I’m a fan of Rescue Beauty Lounge. Their application and wear is amazing but more importantly, at least to me, they have really unique colors. I’m not a shimmer girl. In a world where most unique colors have shimmer, finding unique cremes is an almost impossible task… then I found Rescue Beauty Lounge and to this day my wallet and bank account quietly sob in unison.
First, the *MOST* prized of the Rescue Beauty Bunch:
Rescue Beauty Lounge – Recycle
Ooooh, I obsessed over whether to buy this one or not for weeks. I was still recovering from the psychological trauma of having neglected to buy Zulu, so I said to hell with being frugal and took the plunge. I felt really guilty about it for a while because it was so expensive ($18 + Ridiculous Shipping Charges = Guilt). I got over it, I just loved the color so much. It’s the perfect true green. Recycle was the gateway that facilitated my future RBL purchases.
My second Rescue Beauty Lounge splurge was for Dead Calm:
I wanted a true blue creme so badly. My first brush with blue cremes was Lippmann Rehab. It’s a great polish, the only problem is that it has a jelly finish and requires 4 coats to achieve a pretty navy color. It also took forever to dry, sometimes it didn’t dry at all. I would end up with horrendous sheet marks (back then I had yet to discover the gloriousness that is Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat). Dead Calm is opaque in one coat, amazing wear and application. It’s also really unique, not quite like anything else on the market. So at least for me, Dead Calm was definitely worth the money. As a side note, ‘Dead Calm’ is an awesome name for a polish.
I got Purple Haze, Stormy, and Concrete Jungle all in one haul – the day I lost my mind.
Purple Haze is a beautiful color but I didn’t love it on myself. Again, it is undoubtedly a unique color. As you can see from my purple comparison swatches there is nothing else quite like it in my collection.
I mauled over getting Stormy and Concrete Jungle for a long time.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy is probably not worth the money unless you really really *really* want it. I developed my obsession for this polish back when no other company had a gray polish on the market. That’s not the case anymore, every brand has their own version of a chic gray. If you want to go gray without denting your funds try OPI Moon Over Mumbai, Essie Body Language, Carolyn New York Handball Courts or Hangin’ on the Stoop, China Glaze Recycle or frankening your own gray instead. If, in the end, you are so inclined to spend the money, rest assured it’s an excellent polish.
Finally, Rescue Beauty Lounge Concrete Jungle:
This is my current NOTD. It’s a great color. I had a little trouble with the application when I used Barielle Nail Camouflage. For some reason, it made the polish really thick and difficult to apply. I switched to a non-ridge filling base coat and the application problems disappeared. Like with Stormy, Concrete Jungle, color-wise, is probably not worth the cold hard cash.
My nail polish philosophy is that expensive brands are only worth it if either a.) the color is really unique and there is nothing else anywhere that is like it, or b.) you just can’t help yourself and splurging will make you happy. You won’t see me buying a pink or a red from Chanel or RBL. Do you guys feel the same way? What’s your philosophy on expensive polish?
*Disclaimer* The Polish Addict is in not liable for any lemmings this post may have created.
April 25, 2008
Purple and Lilac Comparison Swatches
Purple and lilac have been pretty popular this spring. I made these swatches originally to help the girls at MUA find a cheaper alternative to the ever prohibitively expensive but wildly popular Rescue Beauty Lounge – Purple Haze. We were all pretty sad to find that there really isn’t a cheaper alternative to that particular color. No other brand has a shade of purple that even comes close. That is not to say these other colors aren’t worth it, all these purples and lilacs are beautiful in their own right. The only one missing that I really feel should have been included for comparison is Essie – Looking for Love. In the bottle, it’s a really beautiful vivid lilac – but – I had to decide against purchasing it because of its notorious and irreparable streakiness.
3 Coats China Glaze – Spontaneous (The Flirt Collection), 2 coats Rescue Beauty Lounge – Purple Haze (The Spring ’08 Collection), 3 Coats OPI – Do You Lilac It? (The Original Brights Collection)
4 coats each for these: Zoya Miley (4 coats required for bottle color with a Zoya? No…… you don’t say? – This one is from the Blissful Collection), Orly Bon Bon (Sugar Coated Collection), Essie St. Lucia Lilac (Permanent Collection).
Purple Haze is the fan favorite. I can’t say I was really impressed with the color on myself. The application and wear-time were flawless as always but I just didn’t LOVE it. I’m going to give it one more go, and perhaps let it go if I still don’t love it.
The Polish Addict 