Dior Electric Blue

 Happy Thursday!  How’s everyone’s week going?  Good?  Or are you just ready for the weekend?  My week has been great so far – I started the P90X program on Monday, and wow, my body is SORE!! But it’s an awesome sore, as I know how hard I worked out, so I’m happy.  Have any of you tried it?  Let me know what you think!

Today I have a quick swatch for you, Dior Electric Blue.  Electric Blue is a bright, almost-neon blue polish with a crème finish.  You know that find silver shimmer you can sometimes see in Dior polishes?  Well it definitely shows up in Electric Blue!!! I was driving a few times with this mani and was distracted by its small blingy awesomeness.  This is 2 coats of Electric Blue, and it went on like a dream!

  

Electric Blue is ready for its closeup.

 

Dior Electric Blue is amazing!  I had originally passed on this one when I picked up the other polishes from the Anselm Reyle for Dior collection, and now I’m glad I went back and bought this!!! It’s a totally bold color for summer, and I can’t wait to rock it.

I checked my collection of bold blue polishes and only had one polish that was close (oh, the perils of slimming down one’s collection) – Rescue Beauty Lounge IKB:2012.  IKB:2012 was recently released as a part of the RBL Fan Collection, 4 polishes inspired by RBL fans.  I was going to swatch it for you here, but since IKB:2012 is sold out, I won't because I don’t want you to fall in love and go looking for it, as it’s selling for ridiculous prices on eBay!!  Instead, I swatched IKB:2012 next to Electric Blue so you could see how similar the two polishes are.

pinky and middle finger: Dior Electric Blue; index and ring finger: RBL IKB:2012

As you can see in the photo above, IKB:2012 and Electric Blue are very similar in color.  IKB:2012 is a slight shade darker than Electric Blue.  While their colors are discernible to the naked eye, I don’t think there’s any reason to own both, unless you a blue fanatic.  Of the two, I would recommend going with Electric Blue – the formula on IKB:2012 was ghastly to work with, while Electric Blue applied like butter.  I may not be Paula Deen, but even I know butter wins every time!


Dior Electric Blue was released as a part of the Anselm Reyle for Dior collection this past spring.  It retails for $23 for a 0.33 fl oz bottle; you can pick one up at Dior boutiques and at Dior counters at Saks Fifth Avenue only (unfortunately, it was not made available to all Dior counters).

Pink Wednesdays: RBL Poco a Poco

 Happy Wednesday!  I’m blogging today from San Francisco!  I had to fly up for a work conference, and since I have my laptop with me, I figured what better opportunity to squeeze in some writing! 


Before I get to today’s post, I want to quickly mention that this Sunday I will be participating in AIDS Walk LA, a 10k charity walk/run to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and help support the amazing organizations in the Los Angeles area who provided much needed food, medical care, and services to people living with HIV/AIDS as well as educational and prevention programs to the community to reduce the number of new HIV/AIDS cases reported.  This walk is important to me, as African-Americans and women are disproportionately impacted by the HIV/AIDS virus, and this is one way I help support HIV/AIDS awareness every year.  If you have a minute, please drop a comment below to encourage and support me in this effort, or stop by my donation page and help me meet my personal goal to raise $500. $5 would be a big help!

On to today’s mani!  The recent RAOK I received from a lovely friend included a polish from Rescue Beauty Lounge’s 2011 fall collection, Poco a Poco.  Poco a Poco is a dusty pink polish with a gold shimmer.  The color really reminds me of a more grey version of OPI Sparrow Me The Drama from this past spring’s Pirates of the Caribbean collection; memo to self to do a comparison post of the two later this week!  Either way, Poco a Poco continues the tradition of the RBL exceptional formula, as this was very easy to apply.  Below is 2 coats for full opacity.  Take a look!

Of course I love Poco a Poco, and am happy to have it join my RBL collection.  This was a great work-friendly polish and the subtle gold shimmer is stunning!  Absolute love.

Poco a Poco is currently in stock and only available online at rescuebeauty.com  I’ll be picking up one or two of her friends from the fall collection later this week at the RBL pre-order for the Bring-It-Back polishes.  This pre-order will include the re-launch of past RBL faves (Mismas, Orbis, Anne, Scrangie, 360, and Locavore).  The pre-order is a private event, so if you’re interested, please be sure to head over to rescuebeauty.com to sign up to on their VIP mailing list!  You’ll receive instructions Friday morning via email on how to participate in the pre-order.

Make it a great day!

The Kindness of Strangers

I have a nail swatch to share with you later today, but first I wanted to take a moment and talk about something special that happened to me earlier this week.  I personally think I hang out at the best nail forum on the entire interwebz, and the women I meet with over there to discuss all things nail polish are fun, hilarious, and extremely kind.  We aren't allowed to swap or sell polish to each other there, just share in enjoying our addiction. 

When I first started hanging out over there I heard of these things called RAOKs - Random Acts Of Kindness.  Think of RAOKs as care packages from one nail polish lover to another.  I have sent a few RAOKs to some folks who helped me out at one point or another (like when I was planning for my London trip, and needed help figuring out what to bring back) or just because someone was really desiring a polish I had but knew I would never use.  Well, I’m sure you can see where this is going – last week a member contacted me to let me know she had an extra polish on my wishlist and wanted to send it to me as a RAOK.  She sent me that polish – and a lot more! – and the RAOK has floored me. I swear, I even cried a little as I opened the package.  I can’t even say this was like Christmas in September, because my family doesn’t really celebrate Christmas anymore, so this was even better! 

Here’s my RAOK package:

L-to-R: Le Metier de Beaute Silk Road Collection, Rock 'N Romance Collection

L-to-R: OPI Creme de Menthe, Mad As A Hatter, Damone Roberts 1968, Julep Whitney

Clockwise from top: Rococo Gold Leaf, Illamasqua Hectic, RBL Black Russian, Poco a Poco, Chanel Quartz

I am so grateful to the amazing angel who sent these to me!  I’m cherishing them all, and expect to see swatches soon!

Nails Inc. Week/Pink Wednesday: Brook Street

Happy Hump Day! It's Wednesday, which means I'm officially allowed to start day-dreaming about my weekend and all it holds in store for me. Then I remember the only thing I need to be doing this weekend is packing my crap up, and I instantly wake from my daydream and am quite happy to be back in the cold harsh reality that is my office!

In celebration of Nails Inc. Week @ Polish & Tonic, and Pink Wednesday, I bring to you today Nails Inc. Brook Street. Brook Street is described as a "pure coral" but I see it much more as a bright pink creme with a coral tint. This was another 3-coat manicure as I had another unsteady hand; I'm thinking I may need to lay off the coffee for awhile. Right?



I am an instant fan of Brook Street! She was a bit bright for work, but a lot of fun to show off in the summer sun. However, when I was applying her, I had the sneaky feeling that maybe there was a dupe in my collection already, so I went to the Helmer to look for similar colors. I came up with Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral and Julep Natalie.

(RBL Coral; Nails Inc. Brook Street; Julep Natalie)

Here's a look at Coral, Brook Street, and Natalie on the nail wheel:

(RBL Coral; Nails Inc. Brook Street; Julep Natalie)

The verdict: RBL Coral and Brook Street are not exact dupes, but they are really really close. Coral had a little more red than Brook Street, but it's not really noticeable - I only saw it when I held the nail wheel swatch over my own painted nail. Given that Coral is more sheer and required a minimum of 3 coats on the nail wheel - which is a lot - I would recommend picking up Brook Street for your own personal collection. Julep Natalie was also close, but noticeably more orange than Brook Street. A casual polish fan probably doesn't need both Brook Street and Natalie in their collection, but for this addict, I'm keeping them both!

Brook Street was released as a part of the Spring/Summer '11 Collection and is available at select Sephora locations and online at sephora.com. Julep Natalie retails for $14 for a 0.27 fl oz bottle, and you can find it online at julep.com.

What do you think? Do you have any of these polishes, or anything else in the pinkish coral family? Can you even see the difference between these polishes, or have I just been sniffing too many polish fumes and need to get my head cleared?

Comparison Swatches: Battle of the Blurples

Hi Everyone! It's Tuesday, Tuesday! Why am I so happy for a Tuesday, you ask? Well, in my mind, it's actually my Thursday - tomorrow is my last day of work, then I'm headed back east for a long weekend at Virginia Beach with the family. I'm super excited as I haven't seen a lot of my family since last fall (I rarely go home for the holidays - it's too cold!), but am a little leery of the heat wave that's been blasting the east coast. Must remember to pack a LOT of natural fibers and skirts!

Today I have for you a few comparisons - what I call the battle of the blurples. If you didn't know, I hang out a lot over at The Purse Forum talking nails with the awesome ladies on the board, and recently we've discussed known nail polish dupes. I had for a long time heard that the colors in today's review maybe/maybe not were dupes of each other, and so I decided to finally swatch them out. Up for battle are OPI Funky Dunkey, Rescue Beauty Lounge Mismas, and Butter LONDON Marrow. All of these polishes are purple with a blue undertone (hence, blurple), which is pretty much my favorite color of all time - I love purples because they're work safe but still have personality; the blue undertone goes well with my cool skin-tone; and they work in all seasons - spring, summer, winter, and fall. As a matter of fact, Funky Dunkey was released in Spring 2010 as a part as OPI's Shrek Collection, while Mismas was a part of the fall 2009 Bloggers Collection from RBL, and Marrow released in the Butter LONDON Fall/Winter 2010 Collection. It's a timeless color that never goes out of style or season.


I swatched all three polishes on a nail wheel (2 coats each, no top coat) and then proceeded to take dozens of photos to try to capture any differences. Take a look at a few shots:

(Funkey Dunkey, Mismas, Marrow; indoor artificial lighting, no flash)

(Funky Dunkey, Mismas, Marrow; outdoors, direct sunlight, no flash)

To my eye, Marrow is noticeably darker than the other two with more gray in it's color, making it almost an 'ashy' blurple. It's so dark that while I think you could pull this off for a summer mani, the color feels much more cool fall/winter than the other two. It's definitely not a dupe, and a keeper.

Funky Dunkey and Mismas, though, are really really close. I will say there are definitely formula differences - Mismas went on beautifully, in true RBL fashion, and didn't need a 2nd coat (although I did apply one). Compared to Mismas, Funky Dunkey was noticeably less pigmented per coat and felt a little more watery, but was fully opaque in the typical OPI-required 2 coats. It's definitely the same color of blurple; they even separated the same in the bottle. Mismas may be a hair darker than Funky Dunkey, but I also question if that isn't just pigmentation; with a 3rd coat, I think Funky Dunkey would be even more close to Mismas.

The verdict - their dupes. If I had to keep on or the other, it would be Funky Dunkey - same color for half the price, leaving me a spare $9 or $10 to go pick up another polish!

Funky Dunkey was a limited edition release. You can find it at various online retailers (retail price $8.50/bottle), and it was recently placed on clearance at ULTA for $4.99 (along with the rest of the fantastic Shrek collection). Mismas is currently sold out at rescuebeauty.com, but fans rallied for the recent Bring It Back vote, so it should be making another appearance some time in 2012. Marrow is currently available at ULTA, Nordstrom, and other places where Butter LONDON is sold; retails for $14/polish.

What do you think? Could you spot a difference between Funky Dunkey and Mismas? Do you agree this is an anywhere, anytime kind of polish? Do you have any other blurples in this color family? Sound off in the comments!

My European Vacation: Part II

Good Morning! Did everyone have a great weekend? I definitely did. Sarah McLachlan at the Hollywood Bowl led to some unplanned partying late Friday night, which then turned into a killer hangover on Saturday. I managed to pull it together for Sunday though, and got an an insane amount of cleaning, laundry, and other chores done - including picking up my first IKEA Helmer! Oh yea, the polish collection is officially out of control, so I bought myself a Helmer as a birthday treat. Can't wait to put it together tonight!

Continuing in my Euro vacation series, I have for your today Rescue Beauty Lounge Decorous, which was my manicure to kick off the euro festivities. (I know, I've been reviewing the RBL polishes a lot lately, but this is it for a while, I promise!) Since I had a ll kinds of purple fun going on with my pedicure, and because of the varied styles and colors of my clothes, I really wanted to go for a neutral color on my fingers, as I didn't want to have to worry about colors clashing. Enter RBL Decorous. From the RBL site, Decorous is described as '...imagine if a cup of chai latte had a baby with a malted milkshake. A shimmery cocoa to add a chic suede finish to any outfit.' The color description is spot on, and Decorous had the same great formula I've come to love from RBL. Two coats and I was ready to go!


There wasn't any really great sunlight yesterday in LA, so here's another shot of the mani, just to give you an idea of the polish's color:


I love Decorous, and should probably add that this was at least the second or third time I had worn this mani - it's becoming a staple in my collection, for sure. If I have one complaint, it's that the light blue shimmer in the bottle and in photographs does not translate well on the nail. Disappointing, but it's still such a great light coffee color that I'm of course keeping it in the collection!

If you're interested, Decorous is still available from rescuebeauty.com. Like most of their polishes though, it is limited edition, so you may want to pick it up while you can! Ji Baek, the owner of RBL, has hinted that the Fall 2011 pre-sale will be coming up soon on July 29th, so you may want to hold off and do one big order (shipping does add up after awhile!); I know I likely will be picking up a few in stock items with the fall collection at the same time.


What do you think? Do you have any other RBL polishes where the pretty shimmer just doesn't translate well in a manicure? What's your favorite neutral - but not too neutral - polish? And are you also scrambling to get through all the summer polishes you picked up before the fall colors roll in next month?

Last Night's Nails: Rescue Beauty Lounge Drifter

Last Night's Mani: Rescue Beauty Lounge Drifter
Last Night's Drink: Challis Lane Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Saturday! #Carmageddon is officially on here in Los Angeles! I was out early this morning with no traffic woes. From what I've heard so far carmageddon may have been severely over-hyped, but will see how the rest of it goes. Either way, I'm happily bunkering down in my little neck of the woods - pool parties, shopping, and DVD marathons are all on the agenda in my hood this weekend!

Last night was an impromptu night out on the town - I scored tickets to see one of my favorite artists, Sarah McLachlan, perform at my favorite venue, the Hollywood Bowl. Seriously, if you live in LA or come to visit, the Bowl is hands-down my favorite experience/thing to do in LA. There's nothing like picnic-ing with good wine, cheese, sweets, great friends, and amazing music as the soundtrack to a fantastic night. Sarah did not disappoint - I cried when she sang Angel, so beautiful!

Anyway, I had been sporting bare nails for the past few days - shock! - but decided to throw on an appropriate polish for the occasion, Rescue Beauty Lounge Drifter. Drifter is a dark plum-ish burgundy creme, the perfect color of red wine, so of course I had to wear it to my favorite wine drinking occasion! Drifter continues in the famous RBL formula - it applied like a dream. I know RBLs normally give full coverage in 1 coat, but to my eye it should always be a 2-coat mani; the second coat is needed to really bring out the richness and depth to any RBL polish. Take a look (in sunlight):

And here's another look with natural lighting in shade:


This polish is an absolute keeper. It's the perfect dark for me, because I love that while it's dark and vampy, it still has a discernible color and doesn't fall flat and just appear to be black (as many dark colors do on my skintone). Drifter feels more like a fall color, but I had to bring it out for the Hollywood Bowl, just for it's wine-like coloring. Expect to see more mani's with this puppy in the fall!

Unfortunately, Drifter is sold out on the RBL website, and won't be coming back any time soon as all of RBL's polishes are limited edition. If you're in CA, you may have some luck hunting for it at Planet Beauty shops - it's where I found mine - or head over to evil Bay to see if a rare bottle pops up.


BONUS: Last night's drink was the Challis Lane Cabernet Sauvignon. I love this vineyard - all of their whites and reds are great, especially when you consider they retail for about $9/bottle. If you're in CA or AZ, get thee to BevMo this weekend for the final days of the 5 cent sale! Pick up Challis Lane Cab Sauv and a few others while you're there. Sale ends Monday - I'm heading out this weekend to pick up a few bottles - er, cases!

Happy Birthday Mani!

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

I am BACK! And I missed you all sooooo much! I had the most fantastic vacation in London and Paris, filled with lots of sights, laughter, beer, wine, and most important - FROMMAGE. Oh, the Frenchies love some wine, cheese, and bread. Gosh, I could totally move there. I did a few mani's while I was away, and also did a lot of shopping and came home with a bounty of international nail polish! Oh, the haul was fantastic. This week I'll be focusing my blog on all things vacation, but first...

yesterday was my BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday to me! I'll probably start lying about my age Hollywood-style in the next year or so, so I can't tell you how old I am. But, I spent the day being thankful and grateful for all the blessings I have received, including an amazing family, friends who are family, and a wonderful job that I love and lets me travel to London and Paris for vacation.

For my birthday, I wanted to throw on some nail bling. Normally I don't wear the glitters to work - but I also normally don't work on my birthday - so for this day I decided to make an exception. For the mani, I started with one of my most favorite colors ever, OPI Dim Sum Plum. Dim Sum Plum was released last year as a part of the Hong Kong Collection (I believe this was S/S '10) and is still available. It's this perfect pink-purple creme that is highly pigmented. The polish applied easily and some people can get away with 1 coat, but I did 2 just to eliminate any VNL. To bling out the mani, I did an accent nail on my ring finger with Rescue Beauty Lounge Frugalista. Frugalista is a silver and purple glitter packed into a clear jelly base. I used 4 coats just to get full coverage on the nail. Take a look!


And an up close look at all the glitter in its glory:


Oh. Em. GEE! How cute is this mani? I'm actually still wearing it for the second day - I just can't bring myself to take it off. While Dim Sum Plum is still available, unfortunately Frugalista is sold out on the RBL website. I found my bottle at Planet Beauty a few weeks ago, so if you're in CA, you may want to call around to your closest PB and see if they have any in stock!

What do you think? Are you feeling the metallic/glitter accent nail trend? Do you have any colors from the OPI Hong Kong Collection that you j'adore? And what vacation plans do you have for the summer? Sound off!

Rescue Beauty Lounge: No More War

Today I have for you one of my most favorite polishes that I purchased recently. I haven't gotten this excited for a polish in so long! Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War is the color that got me interested enough to buy RBL for the first time, and the perfect example as to why RBL is an amazing boutique brand. I wore this as a pedi a few weeks ago on my trip to Northern Cal, and I got so many comments on it!

If you talk to any polish addict, she's likely heard of RBL. When asked what makes RBL unique, one of the Family Feud-style top five answers will always be "the colors are so unique!" Only a handful of RBL polishes have ever been duped by another brand. RBL No More War is no different. It is the Hilary Swank of nail polish. (If you know me, you know that I joke that Hilary Swank is my favorite ugly pretty Hollywood actress - she's got some less-than-perfect features that make her absolutely pretty and interesting to look at. Cruel, but true.) No More War is like that - at first glance, you're going to love it or hate it; there is no in between, and likely there's no changing your mind. Check it out:

And I was doing a little drinky-drinky when swatching this polish, and thought it would be fun to snap a shot of the polish with my buttery chardonnay:


I am so surprised by how much I like this. No More War is a warm-toned color, which I normally stay away from. The first coat shows a lot of the yellow undertone, and 2 coats would have sufficed, but I used 3 coats for this mani just to really bring out the true beauty of this color. It's a conversation starter, definitely the most unique polish I own, and an absolute favorite!

What do you think? Is No More War ugly, pretty, or ugly-pretty? Do you have any out-there colors that no one has duped, but you polish on and stare at for days? What brand do you think makes the most unique colors? Sound off in the comments!

Chip Prevention Wear Test: The Verdict Is In!

Happy Monday!

If you remember, last Wednesday I started a wear test to determine which treatment is better at preventing chips, a sticky base coat or a chip skip top coat. I managed to wear Rescue Beauty Lounge for a full 5 day wear test - I was itching to change the color by Friday! - and the verdict is in. Read on!

If you remember, I had Nubar Foundation base coat on my middle and pinky fingers, with a generic top coat on top. I wore essie No Chips Ahead top coat on my pointer and ring fingers, with a generic base coat underneath. Take a look at the mani after 5 days:


As you can see, there is normal tipwear on all 4 nails (expected, as I do work at a computer all day) with a little more-than-expected tip wear on the pointer finger and ring fingers, and a huge chip on the pinky finger. The pinky is misleading - up until 3 minutes before I took this photo my pinky looked just like my middle finger. But then I walked into a wall (yes, I have blond moments, too). I naturally have soft nails, and this is less a chip and more just a piece of my nail peeled off from the impact.

The Winner: Nubar Foundation Base Coat

Here's the thing - I actually thought both treatments were pretty fairly equal until the last day, when the essie protected nails started showing excessive wear, compared to the Nubar nails. If you keep your mani's for a long time, as in over 5 days, go with a sticky base coat like Nubar (or Orly Bonder, another fave). If you're like me and change your polishes frequently, though, I would say either one adequately will prevent chips.

All things being equal, then, I had to go with the Nubar as the winner. Essie NCA felt very thin when applied, and didn't bring a lot of shine to the mani. I'd rather stick with a sticky base coat like Nubar which would allow me to use a high glossy top coat, like CND Super Shiney, which really makes a mani sparkle.


What do you think? Were you expecting both to give similar results? Or are you passionate about one versus the other? And am I the only one who finds it painful to wear the same mani for 5 days in a row?!?!

Chip Prevention Wear Test: Part Deux

A few weeks ago I attempted to do my first wear test to determine the best way to extend a manicure and minimize chips - either using a sticky base coat, or a chip preventing top coat. The wear test was interrupted by my office move, and I promised you all I'd re-visit the topic in the future.

The future has arrived.

THE CHALLENGE:

Wear a manicure for 5 days (that alone is a challenge for me!) in order to find the best weapon in my current collection of top coats, base coats, and treatments to prevent chipping and extend the life of the mani.

THE CONTENDERS:

Representing sticky base coats, weighing in at 0.5 fl oz, we have Nubar Foundation Base Coat. I realize that Nubar is a less well-known brand, but I'm hoping to inspire you to go out and find them. Really, they make fantastic colors and have a great formula - every polish lover should have a few in their collection!

Representing chip preventing top coats, from a well-known salon brand, weighing in at 0.5 fl oz, we have Essie No Chips Ahead Top Coat. Essie is an easily accessible brand, available at both salons and major retailers like CVS, Target, and Wal-Mart.

THE MANICURE:

If I have to stare at the same manicure for 5 days, you better believe it is going to be a polish I love. I have hunted online and the streets of LA high and low to snag up a bottle of the sold-out Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine, from the fall 2010 The Real Housewives of the Tudors Dynasty Collection (yea, that's a mouthful). Rescue Beauty Lounge is a small, boutique nail polish brand based out of NYC with a passionate group of followers who call themselves ReBeLs.

Catherine is a dark, smokey, blue-tinted purple with a fuschia and teal sparkle. The polish applied flawlessly in 2 coats, however, RBL polishes are special for their colors, and Catherine is no different. Seriously, RBL gives you the most unique colors that you haven't seen anywhere before, and the uniqueness alone makes the price (retails for $18 for a 0.4 fl oz bottle) worth it. Take a look:


Unfortunately, we're in June gloom season in LA, and I don't have any direct sunlight to show you the fuschia/teal sparkle - so sad! However, I do have some close-up shots to show a hint of the sparkle on the nails and in the bottle. Here's a close-up in natural lighting:


And under artificial lighting (sorry for the blurriness, but look at her sparkle!):


So there you have it! The only rules are that I'm not allowed to touch up the manicure (aah!) except to re-apply top coat for shine. I'll be re-applying regular top coat on the Nubar nails, and the Essie NCA to the nails that already have it.

Let the battle royale begin! Check back Monday morning for results!

What do you think? Do you rely on a sticky base coat or hardening top coat to protect your nails from keyboards, dish soap, and all elements that would do them harm? Have you tried any Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes yet? What are you fave colors? Sound off in the comments!