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Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Fall 2008
Last February I gave you a peek at the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Salon Collection for Fall 2008 and a backstage look at the Tracy Reese show. Well now I can finally show the rest of the collection which will roll into stores in September.
Drawing inspiration from nature and weather, this collection is filled with soft dusty neutrals, dark earthy vamps, rich floral cremes with one FANTASTIC smokey blue thrown in for good measure. Overall, I’m pretty smitten with all the colors and more than pleased with how they apply and wear.
Moonstone is the perfect name for this pearly silver metallic. I found it to be slightly streaky but not so much that it’s unwearable.
Divinity is what the MUA nail board might call a BABB (Band-Aid but better) shade. A warm nude shimmer, I think cool toned girls would have problems pulling it off.
However, that’s where Quartz Chameleon steps in. This pinkish neutral shimmer will flatter most skin tones. And while I’m not the biggest fan of nudes/neutrals, if I were looking for one to wear, this is what I’d reach for. Very work friendly.
Torrid Bloom was the shade used for the Veiled Nail look on all the Tracy Reese models. It’s a glorious deep magenta creme. I can’t even begin to tell you how impressed I was with the application and pigmentation. I totally fell in love while putting it on.
Night Lily is a purple tinged deep berry red creme and it flows on the nail as fantabulously as Torrid Bloom. Like seriously, I normally dread applying cremes unless my nail beds are flawless because they pick up every flaw. But the two in this collection are like magic. Just perfect!
Cruel Heart is a blood red shimmer. Pretty but not a standout.
Alchemy is unique in that it’s a plum with subtle bronzey shimmer. The shimmer isn’t super apparent but it brings warmth to the overall shade.
Imagine melting a Hershey’s Special Dark and adding ribbons of shimmer and you have The Good Earth. This almost-black chocolate shade has more sparkle than Alchemy but isn’t glitzy. In brighter indoor lighting and sunlight, it’s a stunner.
I’ve shown you Stormy Blue before but I just can’t get enough of this steely smoked out blue. I even told you about my male friend loving it on his toes, making it a unisex shade.
Raven’s Wing is even more jet black in person but the micro-glitter makes it appear lighter to my camera. It’s actually an inky shade with floating silver and tarnished gold glitter that dries smooth to the touch.
Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer is available at most drug stores and retails for $6 US.
My personal picks for “must haves” from the collection are Quartz Chameleon, Torrid Bloom, Alchemy, Stormy Blue and The Good Earth. Which ones will make your shopping list?
SEPHORA by OPI Autumn and Eve Collection
A few weeks back I introduced you to the SEPHORA by OPI collection with some bottle pics and product photos. Well, I’ve had a chance to give the polishes a trial run and am very pleased to share the deets with you all.
I was sent the first seasonal collection from the product line, Autumn and Eve, to test out. A great mix of funky and vampy shades, the lineup is very on trend for Fall. Which makes me wonder if OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director Suzi Weiss-Fischmann held out and saved the best colors for SEPHORA.
The formula is Big 3 Free and on the medium-thick side yet it goes on smoothly. The brushes are firm and dense, allowing the polish to flow nicely on the nail without streaking or dragging. And since the OPI Pro Wide Brush is almost too big for my pinky and index nails, I’m liking the SEPHORA polish better.
Run With It! – So are you sick of hearing how much I’m in love with light gray? Well, I’m not gonna stop and Run With It! is another swoon-worthy winner. Only this one includes silver and gold shimmer that instead of adding sparkle, it gives the overall shade a slightly rubberized look. It’s one of the coolest colors I’ve come across.
Don’t Go There is a pretty midtone reddish-grape creme. Like if Barney had been rolled and kicked down a dusty road (how fun would that be?). Knowing that you’d want to see it next to Parlez Vous OPI? I included a comparison below. Obviously PVO is more muted, smokey and violet based.
Metro Chic is the shade I was most intrigued by. As much as I love me a unique polish, when I first spotted Metro Chic on the Sephora Blog I thought it was hideous and had no chance of being flattering. Color me wrong. I can see why the other editors/bloggers are giving it raves. This oddball, brown, gray, khaki, purple, Heinz 57 of a shade is pretty damn chic. And nothing like Parlez Vous OPI? or You Don’t Know Jacques! (see below).
Meet For Drinks is a deep burgundy/cranberry shimmer that will pair nicely with the berry lip look that will be popular this Fall. It’s not blowing my skirt up but I don’t hate it.
I’m With Brad is a black based lacquer with red shimmer. Very much in the same vein as Midnight in Moscow and China Glaze X. Super vampy, highly pigmented and very glossy.
Never Enough Shoes is not your average black polish. It has these specs of gold & silver micro-glitter running throughout. What I love is that the glitter is way more visible than the shimmer in say, Chanel Black Satin or Zoya Raven, yet it dries perfectly smooth. Everyone can say what they want about black polish being passe or “so two years ago” but it’s not dying out any time soon.
Finally, a little sunlight action for you. The gold shimmer in Run With It! really pops in direct sun.
The SEPHORA by OPI nail polish retails for $9 is available now on Sephora.com and starting to roll out into retail locations. Call your local store for availability.
Anyone seen the new line at your local Sephora? What do you think? I’ve been testing some of the treatment products as well and will be sharing my thoughts on those soon. Stay tuned for a peek at the core collection colors.
MAC Fall 2007
I wish I had been able to share these shades with you before they sold out on MAC‘s website. All this moving stuff is slowing me down. I didn’t expect nail lacquers to be the only products from the Smoke Signals and Blue Storm collections to sell out (with the exception of one lipglass). Though considering how gorgeous they are, it’s not overly surprising.
Being the bargain hunter that I am I generally don’t look to MAC for my polish at $10/bottle but, I can’t resist a pretty color. Which is why I covet my bottles of Vin Goth, Blue Sprinkles, Rose Topping and Tiger Tiger. And why I have a drawer filled with blue, green and purple MAC shadows even though I rarely wear makeup other than my everyday neutral look.
I have to thank the lovely and generous Julia from All About The Pretty for offering to send her samples of these four new lacquers to me.
First up, the Blue Storm shades.
Whirlwind is glorious. Even more so in person. There is no way to capture this incredible shade and do it justice. If you can still find this at your local MAC counter, buy it!! Even if you don’t wear blues or greens, BUY IT!! It applies like a dream, has amazing shimmer and fire and is completely swoon-worthy.
Rainy Day is what I’d call a “great concept, poor execution”. A beautiful stormy blue-gray is right up my alley. But making it a metallic chrome instead of a shimmer like Whirlwind was a mistake in my opinion. The application and it’s finish filled with brush strokes disappointed me. This is a case where layering could save this beautious shade. I’ll have to play with some combos.
Now on to Smoke Signals.
When I first read that MAC was coming out with a black with red shimmer I thought here we go, they’re jumping on the Lubu Heels, RBL Revamp bandwagon. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong. Why Wildfire is described as having red shimmer, I’ll never know. It’s actually a plum shimmer that turns this black based polish into a sexy deep purple on the nail.
Nocturnelle is a repromote that originally debuted with the Nocturnelle collection in October 2006, right in the middle of the black polish craze. For a black creme, Nocturnelle represents well. It’s highly pigmented, glossy and smooth. But, I couldn’t in good conscience tell you to go buy Nocturnelle when there are plenty of similar black cremes in your local drugstore that look just as nice. Unless you specifically want MAC’s formula, I say skip it.
Were any of you lucky enough to snag these beauties? Which ones are your favorites?
The Black Polish Trend
I wouldn’t be a true polish fanatic if I didn’t pay homage to the biggest trend to hit the polish world since Uma Thurman donned Chanel Vamp in Pulp Fiction. Chanel’s introduction of Black Satin caused a frenzy like I have never seen. The insane eBay prices, the story about Sarah Michelle Gellar stealing one from a party, the waiting lists at Chanel counters for a re-release, it’s madness. Pure madness. And with the release of Chanel’s new black for spring, Noir Ceramic, the craze continues.
(l-to-r) Misa Stiletto, Milani Black Cherry, Zoya Yasmeen, OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight, OPI Black Tie Optional (DC’d)
(l-to-r) Revlon Dark Pleasures Talk Dirty, Creative NFS, Creative Blue Blood (DC’d), Misa Blueberry Glaze, China Glaze Up All Night, Revlon Dark Pleasures Midnight Affair
(l-to-r) OPI Espresso Your Style, Orly Talk Dirty, Creative Fedora, Sinful Colors Black on Black, Zoya Raven, Orly Goth, Misa Wishing On A StarA better shot
I think I’ll be changing my polish today so I wanted to get a quick shot in some daylight. At almost 4 days, I see very little tip wear and one tiny chip but that’s my fault. I’m going to continue with the Stickey Sandwich for now. Seems to be working. Now I just need to decide on what color to wear next. I’ve been on such a dark vampy kick, like everyone else but, I think my brights are calling me.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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