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The ALU Archives – Chanel Vert Sacrilege
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
My Chanel Jade nail polish frenzy is growing. I am seriously dying to get my hands on the shade. I heard from a reader that it was on sale at Chanel.com for like a minute but I’m hoping that isn’t the last we’ll see of it (i.e. Tokyo Happening). UPDATE: I was misinformed. I am told that Jade will not be publicly released until September 10th. To quell my fever I had to pull out one of my all time fave Chanels, Vert Sacrilege, for this week’s Archives. Check it out! |
I was lucky enough to score a bottle of Vert Sacrilege through a swap on MUA and even though it’s a tester and the formula is a little thin, I LURVE it! I mean, it’s a GREEN Chanel. A bottle of shimmery forest gorgeousness , what’s not to love? It’s like it was made for me. The shimmer is a bit metallic so there are tiny brush strokes but I can deal. I can more than deal, I’m just plain blind to them. I seriously wanted to hug the bottle when I got it. 
Since we’re on such a matte kick and the new Zoya MatteVelvet green hasn’t yet arrived, I thought adding a layer of Nubar’s matte top coat would give me an idea of what’s to come. I almost prefer it mattified. What do you think?
Unfortunately, this is one of those really hard to find colors. Testers were still around on ebay a few years ago but it seems the well has run dry. If you find a hidden treasure trove somewhere, give us the heads up (after you buy yours of course).
So are there any other fanatics out there hoarding a bottle of Vert Sacrilege? Should we petition Chanel Creative Director Peter Philips to give us a dark green? Let’s here it!
OPI Spain (aka Coleccion de España) – Primera Parte
Doesn’t “primera parte” sound much more interesting than “part one”? Ah the beauty of the Spanish language. OPI is transporting us to Spain for their fall color story and after reading your numerous pleas and comments, I have swatches of the collection for you.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t been chomping at the bit to review OPI Spain. It’s not that the colors aren’t pretty or well made, it’s just that, with a few notable exceptions, they don’t give me a thrill. Normally I pass on a collection if I’m not “in like” with a majority of the shades but I couldn’t ignore the overwhelming number of you wanting to see these colors. Check them out!
With six polishes in the berry family I chose to start with the more diverse and unique shades from the collection. Now while I’ve applauded OPI’s formula over the past year I noticed that the pigmentation with most of these are off. Even a polish as dark as Here Today… Aragon Tomorrow required three coats.
Here Today… Aragon Tomorrow is a blackened forest green. This is the season of dark green and I’m sure this color will be an instant hit. Consider this the green LPAD. I’m sure it will have that same kind of fan base. What I found odd was the grainy texture of the formula. It’s visible in the first and second coats but disappeared by coat three. If I had to compare it, Zoya Envy would be its closest relative though Envy has a brighter, less blackened base.
Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees really surprised me. I was expecting it to look black when dried but it’s actually a stunning bluish charcoal creme. I tried to find something similar in my collection but came up short. If you’re looking for “the new black” try this!
Give Me Moor! is a rich aubergine creme. It looks like there is shimmer in the bottle but it dries creamy on the nail. It’s pretty and vampy but feels recycled. Like Black Cherry Chutney redux.
Can You Tapas This? is best described by OPI as “raisin” and I won’t try to top that. This is another one that surprised me. It looks very understated in the bottle but pretty scrumptious on the nail. This color is so outside of my wheelhouse but I’m diggin it.
Bullish On OPI has a slightly browned appearance in person but it just didn’t translate in pictures. It’s definitely better than your typical cherry red creme. It feels a bit vintage a la Dita Von Teese. If you’re into reds I suggest checking this one out in person.
Barefoot in Barcelona is deeper than your typical nude. It’s darker and more pink than last fall’s Tickle My France-y? Think of it as the cool toned version of CND Cocoa which is very yellow based. Deep nudes and mushroom hues have been popping up on celebrity toes and this shade would fit right in with the trend.
The OPI Coleccion de España is on shelves now and retails for $8.50/ea. Look for OPI at fine salons nationwide including chains like ULTA, Beauty First, Beauty Brands, Trade Secret and JCPenney.
What are we feeling about OPI Spain so far? Have you picked any of them up yet? Which ones are going on your shopping list? Sound off Fanatics!
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.
OPI Damone Roberts 1968 – Get This NOW!
 Fanatics, you are going to FA-LIP over the latest OPI collaboration. They’ve teamed up with Damone Roberts, “The Eyebrow King”, to create a signature shade based on the wall color in his salons. If you’ve ever seen some of his transformations on TV you know why everyone who’s anyone in Hollywood trusts this man with their eyebrows.I’ve been following Damone on Twitter so I could make sure I didn’t miss out on this fab shade and it paid off. Not only did he alert his fans about the on sale date but he shared TwitPics from the promo shoot for the polish. I placed my order last Thursday and the little beauty arrived yesterday. Check it out! |
My affinity for green polish can never truly be quelled but I’m pleasantly satisfied at the moment. Damone Roberts 1968 is THE minty green hue I’ve been looking for. While other polishes I’ve tried in this realm have been too blue, too pale or too sheer, this one is perfectly pigmented. Damone describes the shade; “It is not your typical mint green. It has a little touch of gray in it and a little touch of brown.†I applied three thin coats that dried smooth, glossy and a shade darker than the bottle color. Color me in LOVE!
AND it makes a stellar matte. I used Nubar’s V For Men Matte Finish Nail Protector to create this gorgeous bisque-like finish.
I knew comparison questions would be the first ones out the gate so I’ve shown DR1968 next to the closest shades in my stash. As you can see, Hey Get In Lime and MAC Peppermint Patti look extremely blue next to DR1968. If anything, I’d say it’s a 2nd cousin to Illamasqua Milf with DR1968 being a deeper, more intense version.
OPI Damone Roberts 1968 is limited edition and available for order NOW so I’d jump on it if I were you. You can purchase it directly from one of Damone’s salons over the phone. The polish retails for $9 plus shipping ($3.95).
Call the NYC salon at 212.764.4755 or the Beverly Hills salon at 310.271.2100. It is supposed be listed online in the Damone Roberts Amazon Store
So what do we think Fanatics? Are you drooling over the fabulosity or what??
Rescue Beauty Lounge Fall 2009 Blogger Created Collection
 If the amazing Ji Baek, founder of Rescue Beauty Lounge, asked you to create your dream polish what would you do? After picking yourself up off the floor of course. All fainting aside, that was the honor/privilege/challenge bestowed upon myself and fellow nail bloggers Polish Addict and Scrangie. If I do say so myself, we rose to the occasion contributing to one knockout of a Fall collection.We didn’t set out to create a matched set but my purple, Steph’s green and Scrangie’s sparkling mix of the two is a green & purple lovers delight. Check them out along with Rescue’s new Matte Top Coat after the jump! |
Now that Steph is back to posting and has had a chance to reveal her creation, I can show you my swatches of the set. As per usual, the consistency and pigmentation of all three shades live up to Rescue’s amazing reputation. I know of no other cremes that are so spot on in application, coverage and finish. It’s unreal!
You’ve seen Mismas before but a reader commented that my original image didn’t do the color any favors so here is take two. Seriously you guys I NEVER wear polishes more than once. With as many as I have it doesn’t make sense. But I have had Mismas on my toes or fingers for pretty much the entire summer, I love it that much. I wanted the perfect purple creme and now I have it. Ji, I love you for creating her. She’s simply spectacular!
Here’s my girl with Ji’s new Matte Top Coat. The formula is milky in appearance and is one of the most mattifying top coats I’ve tried. It gives a frosted glass look and the milkiness lightens the hue ever so slightly.
When I heard Steph from Polish Addict was creating a grayed green creme, I knew without even seeing it that Orbis Non Sufficit and I would be lifelong friends. It’s just dusty enough to stand out among every other green I own.
I think I like it even better as a Matte. What about you? One word of caution with matte top coats. They are very unforgiving in regards to imperfections so use just a few quick, even strokes for a smooth finish.
Images really don’t do Scrangie justice. You have to see the blue-green shimmer in person to truly appreciate it. According to Scrangie, the inspiration was a beetle wing. The bluish-purple base is filled with iridescent shimmer and glitter to create one blingtastic polish.
Of all three polishes in this collection I think Scrangie makes the best Matte. Maybe it’s just me but I prefer to mattify shimmer/glitter polishes. It’s like you’re freezing the sparkle in time or something.
The Blogger created Fall 2009 collection from Rescue Beauty Lounge is available for Pre-Order NOW and will ship very, very soon. The polishes and Matte Top Coat retail for $18/ea. If you don’t want to miss out on any of these colors, I suggest you order as soon as possible as the polishes are limited edition.
So what do you think Fanatics?? How did we do? Which polishes do you plan to order? Will these be your first RBLs or just additions to your growing stash?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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