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Jin Soon for MAC Nail Trend FW09
The launch date is upon us Fanatics. The MAC Nail Trend collection created by Jin Soon is launching next week! When I first wrote about the polishes in July, August 27th seemed like forever and a day away. Seriously, where did the summer go? Well, if you’re mourning the end of the season you can rejoice in the coming of Nail Trend. I’ve got the entire collection swatched for you after the jump and in case you missed it, click here for more details on the collection.
We’ve discussed MAC’s formula in the past but here’s a quick recap. MAC polishes are 3 Free and tend to be somewhat thick. Their cremes are generally streaky but the darker shades are workable and the glitters are phenom (Hello Vin Goth I’m talking to you!). I tend to use three coats with the majority of their polishes to avoid streaks and my preferred method is two very thin coats followed by a third thicker coat.
What I noted this time that I’ve meant to mention in the past is my love for the MAC polish brush. There’s something about the density and size of their brush that makes controlling the polish practically goof proof. I rarely can create that perfect rounded line of color at my cuticle but it’s always pretty darn close with MAC’s brush. Now onto the colors.
In my previous Nail Trend post I mentioned our (Jin & I) mutual love of green so seeing Beyond Jealous backstage at Doo.Ri wasn’t a huge surprise, more an utter joy! There are not enough greens for this fanatic and while there may be some close dupes to this blackened teal, I still got giddy applying it. As I told my pal Heather from MAC, Beyond Jealous is Beyond Stunning!
Cool Reserve is a shade the piqued my interest based on description alone. Dirty, grey lavender… you’re talking my language. It’s a lighter more greyed version of my fave from last fall, OPI Parlez Vous OPI?
Rich, Dark, Delicious reminds me of an old Special Dark bar. Random I know but you get what I mean, right? When you find an old candy bar and there’s a layer of dusty whiteness on top. This rich brown has an undertone of charcoal to give a hint of that effect. And even though you can see a bit of silvery shimmer in the bottle, it dries creamy on the nail. You’d have to be looking in some pretty bright light to see it.
I reviewed the next three colors previously but I’m re-posting my thoughts for you here.
Dry Martini is a deep olive that leans towards brown, like a dark army camouflage green. It’s edgy and funky and a nice change from the more emerald/forest shades we’ve seen in seasons past. In case you’re wondering, and I’m sure you are, it’s much darker and more browned than last fall’s RBL No More War.
For Fun is just that, a spunky, bright red-grape. It’s a bit more red based looking in person but I just couldn’t capture it dead on.
Dance All Night’s brick red hue reminds me of one of my all time fave OPI reds, That’s An “EL” Of A Color, minus the golden shimmer. It’s rich, warm and very fall.
The MAC Nail Trend collection by Jin Soon launches in stores on August 27th. It should be online at MACCosmetics.com on Tuesday the 25th as they tend to launch online a couple days early. The polishes retail for $12/ea.
So spill… who’s buying? Which colors? What do you think of MAC polishes? Do you have any LE shades you wish they’d bring back? Inquiring minds want to know.
Orly Once Upon A Time Collection
 As a child I was very much enamored with the world of fairy tales. I used to collect Madame Alexander dolls in my favorite characters like Cinderella and Snow White.
And even though our beyond ancient Encyclopedia Britannica set didn’t know man had landed on the moon yet it did come with an amazing set of children’s books that included the works of the Brothers Grimm. Now I don’t know if any of you remember the Fractured Fairy Tales from The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show but I was SUCH a fan! Knowing all this you can only imagine my delight in hearing that Orly was taking the fairy tale theme and running with it for Fall. Their chic, grown up version not only includes a gorgeous GREEN but a fantabulous grey. Take a look at Once Upon A Time after the jump! |
For some reason the polishes in this collection all apply a little differently so I’m going to address them individually rather than as a group.
Enchanted Forest – Hello LUVAH! Words don’t even begin to describe this gem. This rich forest green creme is deep, dreamy and utterly perfect. I applied it in two flawless coats and fell head over hells in love. Need I say more?
Now I wish could proclaim that Prince Charming swept me off my feet but alas he left me feeling a little flat. This muddy brown is too yellow for my skin tone and just isn’t working for me. The pigmentation and application were decent, nothing newsworthy. It’s a bit jellyish in texture but with two coats you’re done!
Can you have a fairy tale themed collection without a luscious red? I think not. Poison Apple not only represents that evil fruit but it makes me think of the cherry red lips our fair maidens are described as having. I will say I was impressed with the pigmentation on this. It looks true to bottle in two even coats.
Pixie Dust is my other stand out, must have, don’t think about not buying shade. This blue tinged dove grey sparkler is the work of magic. Once it’s on your fingers you won’t be able to stop staring. It’s an uber pigmented two coater though a little tricky to apply. I actually used top coat here to even it out.
You know how I love a grey and Mirror Mirror’s light cement hue is right up my alley. Unfortunately the formula didn’t wow. It was streaky and lumpy and even after three coats it looked imperfect. I want to love you Mirror Mirror but your competitors did it better.
Finally Happily Ever After is quite a unique berry. It looks all simple and creamy but there’s this hidden undercurrent of sparkle peeking out. It’s not easy to detect but in sunlight it pops out to surprise you. 
A little Fractured Fairy Tale for your enjoyment!
The Orly Once Upon A Time colleciton launches in September and will retail for $7.50/ea. You can buy Orly at OrlyBeauty.com in stores at Sally Beauty Supply and ULTA and online at our fave e-tailers (see sidebar).
What do you think Fanatics? Who’s feeling the mystical, magical love?
The All Lacquered Up Collection from Barielle – Part 1
 The wait is over Fanatics. I can finally show you the All Lacquered Up collection from Barielle. In case you missed the original announcement, this collection is a collaboration between myself and Celebrity Manicurist Elle, Creative Director for the Shades by Barielle line.
We pooled our color inspirations straight from the runway and came up with a palette of shades that are fashion forward yet accessible. They are all very chic and wearable. Check out the first half of the collection after the jump! |
Collaborating with a nail trendsetter like Elle was such a thrill. With her years of experience working in editorial and alongside more celebrities than you can count, she really has her finger on the pulse of the beauty and fashion world. One trend we noticed was lot of muted, neutral tones with random pops of color, like Falling Star (below). Based on many phone convos about shades and perusing runway images, Elle custom mixed samples of our collection for the chemists to reproduce.
Now I know some of you commented that you were expecting all kinds of craziness from me and though this is the All Lacquered Up collection it’s not like I had license to do whatever I wanted. Shades by Barielle is about bringing fashionable shades to the masses so while there is a lot of me in this collection, it’s as much about being on trend and incorporating Elle’s color concepts. It’s a collection I am proud to attach the ALU name to and I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
Slate of Affairs – when I was backstage at Reem Acra with Jamie from The Beauty of Life, I just about drooled at the site of her luxe designs. I wanted to dive in to the rack of dresses head first. It was her sandwashed steel blue gown that inspired this shade. A stunning slate blue grey, the polish has a subtle hint of pearl that adds a bit of light blue flash depending on the light. The formula on this one is somewhat jellyish and thick so I used three coats to get it perfect.
Get Mauve-ing is based on another Reem Acra dress. While I’m not typically one for mauve hues, I was so drawn to the gown’s shade that I felt it just needed to be in this collection. This one is a richly pigmented creme and applies evenly in two coats.
Grey tones like U-Concrete-Me were popping up on just about every runway. Undoubtedly a sign of our somber economic times, grey is still very much “in” for nails come fall. U-Concrete-Me is a two-coat, dolphin grey creme.
Putt-E On Me fits in with the neutral/grey concept only this warmer, muddier shade will please those of you that feel that grey washes them out. This mid-tone mushroom-y hue is another two-coat creme.
Out-Grey-Geous is the answer to what comes between $OPI Run With It and OPI Brand New Skates. A grey with gold fleck is just what I’ve been looking for but the $OPI was too putty-ish and BNS was too charcoal. Out-Grey-Geous is just perfect; a medium grey shimmer with gold micro-glitter.
They say you save the best for last and Falling Star definitely fits the bill. Remember that bright pop of color I mentioned? It’s like the primary colored dresses at Chris Benz but with a twist. I had thought of adding gold micro-glitter but it was Elle who felt copper particles would make it truly unique and she was dead on. They look like fiery stars falling from the sky. Application with this one is a bit tricky. The thick jelly like consistency makes this one a three coater for me.
The All Lacquered Up collection from Shades by Barielle will launch in August on Barielle.com. The polishes retail for $8/ea and, as always, Buy Two get One Free.
So what do you think Fanatics? How’d we do? Make sure you check out Part 2 where you’ll get to see, can you guess, a GREEN!
Zoya Matte Velvet Review and Swatches
 I doubt you can take any more buildup over the new Matte Velvet collection from Zoya so I’m happy to be able to FINALLY share the goods with you. As I’ve previously stated, Matte Velvet is Zoya’s entry in the emerging matte nail polish trend. The lineup includes three shimmering shades in a unique matte finish formula. Check them out after the jump! |
Right off the bat, I was already loving these polishes WAY more than the OPI Mattes (La Paz being the lone exception) due to the shimmer. It keeps the polish from looking like flat wall paint which for me is a good thing. And unlike slapping a layer of matte top coat on a shimmery polish (see below) this polish is truly matte and non-reflective.
We need to discuss for the formula for a sec before jumping into the swatches. Like the OPI Mattes these polish dry SUPER FAST so make haste when applying. They’re also pretty thick and can EASILY go on uneven. In fact, I had to redo a couple nails because I wasn’t quick or accurate enough. Though the bonus of them drying so fast is the lack of wait time. You can be out the door in 5 minutes with these polishes.
Again, we’re faced with the no base coat rule which I really don’t understand. As you remember from my experiment with the OPI Mattes the only decent wear was while using a base coat. If anyone with chemistry knowledge can riddle me why this is the recommendation, I know we’d ALL appreciate it. (CHECK UPDATE BELOW)
Posh is a deep burgundy shimmer. It looks very berry-ish when wet but dries more red wine.
Loredana is a chalky charcoal shimmer matte (sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it?) that reminds me of cement. It was the thickest and most difficult to apply of the three and also my least fave. Not like a thumbs down least favorite but more like non-essential to my life.
When I first slapped it on last Friday I was all, “Rut-roh! Me thinks I see a Man Glaze dupe. Drama!!” but it’s clearly not. Fuggen Ugly is more gray with a subtle satin sheen while Loredana has a cooler, blue undertone that is completely flat. If I’m being honest, even though I hate the brand name (Man Glaze, really? Double entendre much?), I prefer the formula.
Dovima is a black shimmer that reminds me of honed black granite. It’s another shade that leans a little cool instead of being a true black. I imagine due to the silver shimmer.
To give you an idea of how these compare to a traditional polish with a matte top coat, I paired Dovima with CND Hyde In The Dark topped with Nubar V for Men Matte Finish Nail Protector (that’s a mouthful!). The matte top coat not only lightened the look of Hyde but it also left a satin finish instead of a true matte.
In regards to the wear, I threw on Loredana last Friday and after taking a shower on Saturday it was so badly chipped I had to take it off before being seen in public. It wasn’t like cool chipping (not that I really think that exists). It was more like you’re-too-lazy-go-home-and-make-love-to-your-polish-remover chipping! Since I could give two figs about going to work with a broke down mani, I’ll be testing the formula with & without base coat this week and reporting the results on Saturday.
EDITED TO UPDATE – Answer regarding base coat usage courtesy of Zoya’s Leo Reyzis:
The film properties of matte formulas are not consistent with the properties of regular polish therefore when one gets applied over the other there is a different rate of drying which causes distortions in the surface tensions of both films, best seen as ridges and valleys that will form on the polish surface (as well infinitely endless drying time). If a basecoat is still desired you must wait for base to dry completely for matte formulas to be applied on top. This may help extend wear however the surface must be completely dry and residue free prior to applying matte formula.
That totally makes sense since I did report poor OPI Matte application when using a basecoat. Thanks for the answer Leo!
The Matte Velvet nail polishes retail for $6/ea and can be pre-ordered now on Zoya.com with a July 1st ship date.
So all you matte haters? What do you say now? Matte lovers… are you like totally dying or what?
China Glaze Retro Diva Review & Swatches
 It’s like the every-other-decade theory, you know? The ’50s were boring, the ’60s rocked, and the ’70s– Oh, my god, they obviously suck. Come on. Maybe the ’80s will be radical. You know? I figure we’ll be in our 20s and, hey, it can’t get any worse. – Cynthia in Dazed & Confused.
Now I love me some Dazed & Confused but I can NOT get behind Cynthia’s claim that the 70s suck. Granted I can barely remember the decade and yes, the clothing wasn’t the best but, it wasn’t all bad. Apparently China Glaze agrees since their fall collection, Retro Diva, is a 70s themed throwback. Check out the first half of the collection, after the jump! |
As I lined up all the bottles, my first impression of the colors was that they’re pretty but not jump and down outrageous. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by collections like Bahama Blues and Summer Days but I always hope for WOW when it’s China Glaze. Though I am in summer mode and this palette is definitely fall so it’s hard to tell how I’ll feel once the leaves start to change. I will say that as I started testing them, there was a bit of WOW factor to some of shades which goes to show how deceptive bottles can be.
All the polishes in the Retro Diva collection are shimmers and I’d categorize them as metallic shimmers. They have a bit of a brush stroke thing going on. They’re all well pigmented requiring only two coats but a few got a little draggy on me and needed a third to cover bare patches.
Cords was not at all what I expected. I wasn’t sure what “rustic gray shimmer” meant but now I know that translates to taupe with shimmer that gives it a metallic look. It’s definitely unique and I’m always on board for something unexpected.
Because the finish reminded me of the spring Romantique shades I pitted it against Awaken to see how much they differ. Awaken is clearly charcoal gray compared to Cords.
The second I put on Stroll I was stunned. Gold glitter floating in a a berry red jelly… SIGN ME UP! This is the one polish that got me excited even in the bottle. I could just feel it’s deliciousness coming and I was right. A must have!
Though as soon as I put Stroll on my brain started turning, thinking that I’d seen something similar before. Something that was LE and beloved. That’s when it hit me… Finger Paints Festive Claret! This LE holiday shade was a nail board fave when it released and while Stroll is a bit more berry, this would make any girl that curses never finding F.C. very, very happy.
Stella is a deep magenta, shimmer. You could call it berry it just has a blackened magenta feel to me because of the hint of pink the light picks up. 
Skate Night is a deep crimson. It’s got a sultry feel to it due to the depth the shimmer adds. Though the name doesn’t quite fit for me. Skate Night brings back memories of school parties at this horribly small and dingy rink that had no element of sexy to it. 
Short & Sassy is a slightly browned, deep garnet hue. Though in the bottle it looked so much lighter. In fact, next to Skate Night I didn’t see the difference. So just to prove to myself that they’re not one in the same, I swatched them side by side for us.
Um yeah, obviously different. But it never hurts to compare. In fact Skate Night even looks a little berryish next to Short & Sassy even though on its own it’s obviously not.
When I saw Let’s Groove I was all set to see another “almost black” like Midnight Ride from Rodeo Diva but I really should stop putting expectations on polish before applying it because HELLO GORGEOUS! It’s rich, warm and luscious but not so warm that it ventures into red grape territory. It’s just perfect. In fact it may be an Essie Viva La Vespa dupe but if not it has no twins in my collection. Love it! 
The Retro Diva collection will hit shelves in July and can be found at Sally Beauty Supply and online at 8ty8beauty.com, Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com.
I’ll have the rest of the collection to show you soon so stay tuned! What do we think so far?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
