Rescue Beauty Lounge Spring/Summer 09 Preview

Prepare for glitter bombing. That’s right, Ji Baek has put her spin on glitter polishes for her Spring/Summer 09 collection. Inspired by the sparkling, heavily embellished looks from the Spring 2009 runway shows, Ji wanted to make that luxe look affordable. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a metallic cocktail dress, you can bling your tips for a fraction of the price.

According to Ji, “I was the one who’d actually call up for those ‘price upon request’ items.” “Now I’m taking the subway, cooking at home, taking more yoga classes – with this economy, we’re all sifting our priorities.”

While the September shows of the Spring/Summer 09 lines preceded the economic meltdown in October 2008, Baek nonetheless was surprised at the excess of embellishment seen in the many collections.

“I’ve never seen so many sequins, embroideries, shimmering metallics and jewels sewn into fabrics. And price points seemed to reach all time highs, with a spangled Balenciaga dress going for $42,000 and jeweled Lanvin sandals for $2,200.”

This need for an affordable way to sparkle led Baek to create three “super-shiny glitter” nail polishes for Spring. “We have brights, bold prints and florals from past seasons. All we need to update our look is a bit of opulence on our fingers and toes.”

The polishes have much more glitter than polishes you’ve seen in the past – they sparkle like diamonds,” adds Baek, “It makes me giddy.”

These beauties make me giddy as well. You know my issue with glitter, the rough, bumpy finish. I did a quick swatch of each polish and while they are not what you’d call smooth, the glitter lays flat so all you feel is a bit of texture. I added a coat of Seche Vite and voila, texture gone.

Frugalista is gunmetal shot through with purple glitter.

In the spirit of our J.Crew to Jimmy Choo-loving First Lady, there’s Look Rich, Be Cheap – a mix of gold and purple glitter.

And for sifting through locally grown produce at the Farmer’s Market, there’s Locavore, a dazzling combination of gold, green, blue and silver glitter.

The RBL Spring/Summer 09 colors go on sale in early March. RBL mailing list subscribers will get first dibs so sign up now at RescueBeauty.com. Of course, full swatches and reviews will be posted after my trip.