Metallic
The ALU Archives – OPI Cozu-Melted In The Sun
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
So I’m leaving for Vegas on Saturday. If you’re my Facebook friend or follow me on Twitter you know already that I’m going for the CosmoProf show. It’s this huge convention where tons of salon brands come together to introduce their lines and new products. Needless to say I’m uber-excited. Preparing for the trip got me daydreaming of our next vacation. The Boyfriend and I decided that we’re over cruises so we talked about heading to Mexico with some friends come Winter. I know that’s a long way off but it got me thinking our last trip to Mexico and how I wore one of the OPI Mexico collection polishes, Cozu-Melted In The Sun, so I pulled it out for this week’s Archives. Take a look! |
Cozu-Melted In The Sun is one of the few polishes in my stash that The ALU Mom and I both agree on. A lover of all things metallic (bronze, silver, gold, copper, etc), she borrowed it from me and undoubtedly wanted to keep it but I’m not giving this beauty up! Cozu-Melted is a light pinky, peachy, coppery glitz bomb.
The base color is filled with silver micro-glitter that catches the light even indoors. The formula is pre-3Free so it spreads like a dream but is on the semi-sheer side. Even after three coats over a ridgefiller I can still see my tips but I love the shade enough that I can live with it.
OPI Cozu-Melted In The Sun is discontinued but TransDesign.com has it listed for sale and I saw some bottles on Amazon.com and Ebay.com as well. As always check out any seller before buying and consider emailing first to confirm availability. Some smaller sites are slow at updating inventory.
Who else has a forgotten bottle of Cozu-Melted in their stash? Or maybe not-so-forgotten? Thoughts?
Butter London Fashionista’s Favourites
 Happy Friday Fanatics! I hope you’re gearing up for a fun weekend and 4th of July celebration (for US readers). Today I have the butter London Spring/Summer Fashionista’s Favourites to show you. It’s a lineup of five new colors, four cremes and one metallic, created by high fashion manicurist and Creative Director Nonie Creme. Take a peek after the jump! |
As I’ve come to expect from bL’s 3 Free formula, the consistency is on the medium-to-thick side yet the polishes apply very smooth and even, with one noted exception (Muggins). The lacquer dries fast and glossy and even though pulling off the outer square cap can be a struggle, it does make application much easier using just the round inner cap.
You saw Artful Dodger on me when I discussed Miley Cyrus’ nails. It’s my favorite shade in the collection and it’s been sitting on my desk for a few weeks now so I can stare at it while I work. It’s just such a happy color, a shade I’d LOVE to see in the sky if these darn rainclouds would ever vacate the CLE. So I’ll continue to stare at Artful Dodger and wait for some much needed sun.
The Old Bill is a warm old gold metallic. You know how I feel about the issues metallics bring to the party but guess what?? The Old Bill isn’t plagued by them. There’s no streaking, no monster brush strokes, no weird pooling or anything. It applies like a freakin’ dream in two thin coats. LOVE IT!!
Muggins is my problem child of the bunch. I’m already leery of pale purples but this one applied terribly. After three streaky coats I gave up. I tried with this one but for a color I know won’t work with my skin tone, it wasn’t worth it. I even added top coat to try and even it out and it STILL looked lumpy. PASS!
Cheeky Chops is perfect for the whole yellow trend that’s happening. It’s a vibrant banana pudding type shade. Bright but not neon, buttery but not pastel. Pretty dead on perfect if you ask me.
Blowing Raspberries doesn’t really blow my hair back, no pun intended. It’s a rich berry red creme not overly unusual. Though what did impress me was the application and pigmentation. It’s almost a one coater and so damn smooth. I’d call it a goof-proof red.
The butter London Fashionista’s Favourites are currently on sale through butterLondon.com or Beauty.com. Individual polishes retail for $14 or you can buy the entire set for $45 (bl) or $50 (Beauty.com).
So what do we think fanatics? Who’s got big plans for the 4th? Or just fun plans in general?
AND DON’T FORGET TO ENTER MY CHANEL GIVEAWAY THAT ENDS TONIGHT!
Finger Paints Week – Day Two
 Yesterday I launched Finger Paints Week to share with you the 16 permanent polishes being added to the FP lineup. Today we’re looking at shades geared for the warm toned fanatics. Overall FP did a great job of including a little something for everyone in this release.
These three feel very fall and would make an excellent Browns themed manicure when football season launches. I was pleasantly surprised to find that while both the bronze and brown lacquers are metallic in nature, they aren’t bogged down with brush stroke madness. Take a peek after the jump! |
While Tangerine Tint‘s red-orange hue is probably best suited for autumn, it’s bright enough to make it an excellent summer pedicure shade as well. Its richly pigmented creamy formula glides on in two even coats leaving a mirror like finish.
I look at Figure of Art at think it’s a total “mom” shade. Not moms in general but my mom. Last fall she kept asking me to bring her bronze-y polishes and since she loves a metallic (what she calls “frosty”) finish, I’m sure she’ll be asking to borrow this beauty come October. As you can see, there is a bit of a brush stroke showing on my ring finger but it’s because I had a bit too much polish on my brush and not enough time for a do-over.
Artist’s Inspiration is a totally drinkable chocolate brown. No, I’m not suggesting you drink polish. The last thing I need is a lawsuit. It’s just so luscious that I’m totally jonesing for a cup of cocoa on a warm spring day. I was pleased with how even the finish is in spite of the metallic shimmer and that even with a reddish base it’s a relatively true brown hue. Since so many great chocolates of the past have been LE, I’m happy to find one that’s perm.
You’ll find these and the rest of the Finger Paints line exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. Don’t forget to visit the website to snag your B2G1 Free coupon.
Stay tuned for more Finger Paints goodness as FP Week continues. And check out Day One if you haven’t already.
For My UK Fanatics – Illamasqua Nail Varnish
 What is one of the major complaints of UK nail fanatics?? Lack of access to all the amazing colors we get here in the states. Yes, you can order from some US sellers and pay for overseas shipping but wouldn’t you prefer to find some more cool local brands. Well have I got one for you… Illamasqua.
Illamasqua is a new UK makeup brand, influenced by the risque club scene of the 1920s and the expressive makeup of alternative cultures. The line’s products come in a rainbow of colors including the 37 nail varnishes, some with naughty names like Poke, Milf and Phallic. I tested a few varnishes in very “me” hues, see how they look after the jump! |
Being that Illamasqua is a UK based brand all their nail varnishes are Big 3 Free, natch, though they do contain formaldehyde resin (for those of you who check ingredients). The formula is on the thicker side and extremely pigmented. I’m not gonna lie, the metallic and shimmer shades applied better than the creme. The creme was a bit streaky and needed evening out with Seche Vite to appear completely smooth. Also I noticed that, like wall paint, the creme and metallic dried a little darker with a semi-matte finish.
I gave each shade my five day trial run with a base of CND Sticky and Seche Vite top coat, to test its wearability and I was very pleased with the results. Minimal tip wear and no chipping.
DWS is a mid-tone gray creme. It’s got a bit of green to its base, similar to Rescue Beauty’s Stormy, only DWS is lighter. It falls somewhere between Stormy and RBL Concrete Jungle. I’d say it’s more along the lines of MAC On The Prowl from the Hello Kitty collection. Like I said above, the application was a bit tricky but not so much so that it ruined the overall result. You just have to play with it. I’ve shown it with top coat.
Snap is a gunmetal metallic. It’s not super dark so it definitely looks gray in all lighting. It’s a true metal in that respect. I’ve shown it without a top coat so you can see that it dries somewhat matte, not glossy.
And as a random factoid, while removing the polish I noticed that instead of coming off in one fell swoop, the first layer came off to reveal this lighter metallic shade, similar to Chanel Kaleidoscope without the chameleon effect. Kind of cool, no?
Baptiste is the out and out winner of the three. It’s a STUNNING purple shimmer. Similar to Essie Sexy Divide, Baptiste is much richer and vibrant in person. Don’t worry about “almost black” syndrome affecting this one. Even under the odd fluorescent lighting in my office, Baptiste looks purple. What you see is without top coat. Talk about glossy!
These are a few of the Illamasqua shades that I’m longing to try next. I say yay to any brand that carries mulitple greens in their core collection. Ding, ding, ding we “greenies” have a winner.
Fun fact: Nicole Scherzinger wore Fern, a bold robin’s egg shimmer, in an upcoming Pussycat Dolls video for the Oscar winning hit “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire. The video isn’t out yet but I found a “making of” video on MTV.com
Illamasqua Nail Varnish retails for £12.50 and can be purchased directly from Illamasqua.com. I’m also really intrigued by the create your own eyeshadow palettes so if anyone tries or has tried them, let me know what you think.
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.
Lisa N.
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