Big 3 Free
China Glaze Summer Days
OK kids, I know I’m totally jumping the gun here but I couldn’t help myself. Summer is a million miles away but when I saw the China Glaze Summer Days collection, I hollered (that’s right hollered), “SHUT IT DOWN!” There was shrieking, giddiness and all sorts of crazy celebration involved. In all seriousness, I’m calling it now… Summer Days is THE collection of 2009. I challenge any brand to top it.
Girls, you don’t even know how I pestered China Glaze to bring back the glass-flecked formula. When I heard that the tradition of Babes In Toeland glass-flecked collections had come to an end and that Summer 2008 wouldn’t include that formula, I straight up begged for a return. And even though I’ve known for over a year of its comeback, seeing is believing friends.
If you haven’t experienced the glass flecked phenomenon, you are truly missing out. We’re talking jelly-like polish filled with shimmer and micro-glitter that are suspended like an insect encased in amber. It all adds up to an amazing foil-like glassy effect that is truly astounding. Can you tell I’m just a wee bit enamored?
Summer Days certainly lives up to my expectations and does not disappoint. I’m beyond smitten with these fruity concoctions. Of course, the formula is perfect and the pigmentation is top notch. I really don’t have a single complaint. All swatches are shown with NO top coat and two layers of lacquer.
Grape Juice has got to be the most unique of the bunch. It falls somewhere between violet and amethyst depending on the light. It looks totally drinkable in the bottle. Yet again, I’m faced with a purple that has no ALU Stash twins. Always a good thing in my book!
Watermelon Rind is a blue-green/teal. More blue than Outta Bounds, more vibrant that CND Jaded, its hue is very similar to Zoya Akyra. The finish gives it a juiciness that keeps it from having a cool wintery feel.
Orange Marmalade has officially usurped Orange-Pacific’s reign as my favorite orange. Talk about peeling an orange and turning it into polish. So fab!
Here’s a little side by side with its predecessor, Orange-Pacific. Still beautiful but not as true an orange as Orange Marmalade.
Strawberry Fields is hard color to peg down. The gold shimmer and base color that falls somewhere between magenta and rose makes this one stand out in a sea of summer-friendly pinks.
None of my other glass flecked shades are anything like SF, the only polish I own that comes close is NYX Jillian but the shimmer is much finer and more dispersed.
Cherry Pie has this orange cast that causes me to consider it slightly coral, yet the hot pink shimmer draws it back to the cool toned side. It’s as if you dipped your fingers in maraschino cherry juice.
Next to Tequila Toes and Tarnished & Varnished, you can see that Cherry Pie is much more red and glassy, less foil-like.
Raspberry Festival is a vibrant berry toned red that really does resemble just picked raspberries. China Glaze was right on the money in naming this one.
Amongst all my glass-flecked babies, Raspberry Festival falls somewhere between Sass In A Glass and Wicked Step Sisters yet nothing truly compares.
The China Glaze Summer Days collection is scheduled to launch in March but as we’ve seen in the past, our fave e-tailers 8ty8beauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com tend to put them on sale a little early. You can also find China Glaze on shelves at Sally Beauty Supply and ULTA but the seasonal collections tend to sell-out fast so check back often.
MAC Hello Kitty Nail Lacquers
Who’s ready for an early peek at the MAC Hello Kitty nail polishes? You know, I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of you were unaware of the MAC/Hello Kitty collaboration when I previewed it a couple weeks ago. The last thing I want is to inundate you with info you’ve seen a million times before. So I’m really excited to be able to give you an advanced look at the nail lacquers before they hit shelves on February 12th.
For this collection, MAC is debuting two new creme polishes and bringing back Vestral White (creme) from last holiday’s Antiquitease collection. Unfortunately, I gifted Vestral White away so I don’t have it to show you but it’s a true, opaque white. And how utterly cute are those bottles? I’m beyond happy that MAC FINALLY adorned the nail lacquer bottles to match a collection.
What impressed me most about the two new shades is their opacity. They’re both highly pigmented which is fantastic though that raised the viscosity. I ended up needing three coats only to even out the surface because the formula doesn’t do so on its own.
Note: I received sample bottles without the Hello Kitty logo.
On The Prowl has got to be the truest gray I’ve found. Not too cool, not too warm. There’s no blue or brown in its base. If you’re looking for the perfect gray creme, this is it. And before you ask, NO, I don’t think the gray trend is over. I’m still loving it and will be wearing On The Prowl in the coming months.
As you can see, On The Prowl falls somewhere between Rescue Beauty Lounge Concrete Jungle and China Glaze Recycle on the gray scale. Though the RBL’s base is more blue while Recycle’s is brown.
Something About Pink is the perfect complement to the Hello Kitty collection’s girlish side. It’s exactly what I would expect to counter the grittier feel of On The Prowl. Something About Pink is a cool toned hot pink that looks even more vibrant in person. The finish is uber-glossy and would make an excellent pedicure shade for summer.
Going through my stash, I discovered that I own way more hot pinks that I thought. That was unexpected. Though I don’t have anything that matches Something About Pink dead on but I did find some close calls. OPI I’m Indi-a Mood For Love and NARS Schiap are both a tinge darker but tonally very similar.
The MAC Hello Kitty collection will be available online at MACCosmetics.com on February 10th and hits MAC Counters on February 12th. I know I’ll be online to get a HK adorned On The Prowl and some other goodies. What will you be buying? In case you haven’t seen the rest of the collection, my buddy Jamie was at the preview last November and has additional product images on The Beauty Life.
images: iswii.net and All Lacquered Up
Lippmann Collection Purple Rain for Spring 2009
 Spring 2009 for Lippmann Collection is a total 80s flashback. Deborah created shades named for songs from two of the biggest artists of the decade, Michael Jackson and Prince. P.Y.T., a sheer peachy-pink creme, and Purple Rain, a metallic lilac, are the latest additions to the Lippmann lineup.
I had the pleasure to test out Purple Rain before it launches to the public and when I first looked at the bottle, I could see the metallic finish staring at me. Taunting me. Saying, you’ll never apply me smooth and even. |
 You know the drill with metallics. They look amazing in the bottle, come in fantastic colors but become brushstroke city on the nail. What’s a girl to do? Well, as I told Andrea in Glamour’s September issue, I have a little trick to make application better. Not perfect but better.
Application Tip: Apply a tacky base coat (CND Stickey or Orly Bonder). Put a glossy top coat on next (I used CND Air Dry). Then apply your metallic polish and finish with another layer of top coat. The glossy finish of the top coat will give a smoother surface than a traditional base coat, allowing the polish to glide on the nail. See the finished results, after the jump! |
Purple Rain made its first appearance at New York Fashion Week last September on the Zac Posen runway. Deborah custom blended the lavender shade, which was at the time unnamed, to accent the bold purple lips on the models. That shade and a layering combo of Whatever Lola Wants over holiday’s Icing On The Cake added a frosty touch to the overall look.
Purple Rain
So what do you think girlies? You know light purples don’t play well with my skintone but I’ve been getting compliments on my mani with this shade. My mom, who loves anything frosty, will be expecting this bottle to be hers. I know it already.
The Spring Lippmann Collection polishes will launch next month and retail for $15/ea. You can purchase online at LippmannCollection.com and Beauty.com and in person at Nordstrom department stores.
MAC Dame Enda Nail Polishes – Varicose Violet & Asiatique
Good morning kids! Or should I say possums? After all, we are discussing Dame Edna Everage (aka Barry Humphries). Famed Australian performer Dame Edna teamed up with MAC to create a signature line of makeup based on her campy, big ball of fabulous persona.
Does anyone else remember Dame Edna’s guest spot on Ally McBeal? She played a defendant, Claire Otoms, who ended up becoming a secretary at the firm. I was a big Ally McBeal fan back in the day and Dame Edna’s larger than life personality fit right in with that quirky, dancing baby show.
I love that for her MAC collection, they chose fun, cheeky names like Possum Nose Pink, Kanga Rouge and Varicose Violet to accompany the girly pink, purple and blue shades. And while MAC’s polish formula doesn’t always impress me, they certainly got it right this time.
Varicose Violet is a pink-lilac shimmer that has a blue tinged flash. It was opaque in three coats and glided on the nail. I’ll be honest, this color family just doesn’t work for me. It never has. As much as I love almost any purple shade I come across, these lighter lavendars and lilacs are too hard for me to pull off. It’s pretty, just not on me.
Asiatique is about as classic as red cremes can get. And you know what? It’s WAY pigmented. Like one coat was almost all I needed. I’ve said this before but I’ve always thought MAC’s strong suit in polish was shimmers and glitters in bright or vampy shades but Asiatique has definitely changed my mind. Bravo!
Seriously, how cute is the packaging? And that it matches the nail polish makes it even better. I wish the eye glass detail wasn’t a sticker but c’est la vie.
The Dame Edna polishes are Big 3 Free, retail for $11 and are available now at freestanding MAC stores, department store MAC counters and online at MACCosmetics.com
Lippmann Collection for the Holidays
Deborah Lippmann was definitely in the party mood when she created her Holiday polish collection. For this holiday season, she’s got all your special occasion needs covered. Elegant and vampy, check! Blinged out, yep! Red and sparkly, got it! Light and frosty, done!
Following the Lippmann tradition of naming her nail polish creations after songs, she certainly made some interesting choices this go round. Though I’m not quite sure which version of “Maneater” she’s referencing: Nelly Furtado or Hall & Oates (did I totally date myself?).
Superstar consists of a milk chocolate brown creme packed with copper glitter. Very unique. It’s opaque with two coats but unfortunately, when you apply it, the glitter rests on top making the surface really rough. Two coats of Seche Vite made it smooth, which looks Ah-mazingly fun but, that’s a lot of bother unless you are a glitter fanatic.
Icing On The Cake is a frosty, light pink; a perfect compliment for the icy winter. It’s not something I’d wear but it’s a great evening option for women who normally wear neutrals and pinks. Now because this is a frost, application is tricky. You have to be real careful with your brush strokes.
Maneater is a deep dark chocolate creme. It’s definitely what you would call an “almost black.” My issue was that it required three coats. It was just too streaky to get it even in two. It could just be my application but due to that, it’s a pass for me.
Holiday is my hands down winner of the four. Though I’m not usually into reds, I do get drawn to them around holiday time. It’s all red and green for me and the glitzier, the better. So this color is right up my alley. The base has a jelly quality, similar to I Want Candy from last fall, only more pigmented. Add to that a boatload of magenta micro-glitter and you have a hit on your hands deserving of the Madonna song it’s named after.
Speaking of “Holiday”… I can’t hear that song without thinking about Truth Or Dare. I’m kind of a harmony geek when it comes to music. I can’t sing to save my life but I love hearing people harmonize. It’s the one talent I wish I possessed. And I loved watching the backstage moments when Madonna and her backup singers would practice the harmonies from “Holiday” before going on. There’s a brief moment of it in the clip below.
The Lippmann Holiday collection is on sale now. It’s currently out of stock on the Lippmann Website but you can also find the brand online at Beauty.com and in stores at Bath & Body Works flagship locations, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Nordstroms.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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