Pink
The ALU Archives – Essie Ball-Timore
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I’m not a pink kinda girl. I realize that means Elle Woods and I could never be BFF because I DO think orange is the new pink and I don’t consider myself “seriously disturbed” though you all may beg to differ. Now I will admit that from time to time, when the moon is full, I get a craving for a pink nail. And I don’t mean hot pink. I’m talking the bubblegum, ponytails-tied-with-ribbons, giggly girl kind of pink and when I do, I reach for my tried and true fave, Essie Ball-timore.
Check it out after the jump along with a promo image of Essie’s Summer Collection, if you haven’t seen it yet. |
The pinks I love best have shimmer and are on the warmer side which is why Ball-timore suits me so well. It brings out any faint semblance of summer color I have in my skintone and just perks up my hands. Plus it totally reminds me of Hubba Bubba gum, which is only the best bubblegum EVER! I feel so young and girly when I wear it. Who can’t use a little bit of that in their day?
Also in case you haven’t heard, Essie recently released their summer collection of six romantic, creamy shades.
Lovie Dovie – True flamingo pink
Chubby Cheeks – Sunset coral
Luscious Lips – Sultry pink
Not Just A Pretty Face – Naturally nude
Cute As A Button – Juicy persimmon delight
Funny Face – Provocative fuchsia
Ball-timore can be found online at Head2ToeBeauty.com and the new Summer collection is available now at Essie.com.
OPI Bright Pair with Paige Premium Demin
 This spring and summer, color meets fashion as OPI’s brightest new shades for nails “pair up†with Paige Premium Denim. Bright Pair by OPI includes six trend-setting new Brights by OPI Lacquers, which perfectly match the bright new hues of Paige’s Roxbury Ankle Skinny and Canyon Shorts.When I first previewed the Bright Pair collection I was unsure of how this latest addition to the Brights by OPI summer collections would stack up against seasons past. Especially considering how much I loved the Mod Brights from last year.
This year OPI added a twist by teaming up with Paige Premium Demin to create a line of six shades to match the bright hues of Paige creator Paige Adams-Geller‘s summer palette. Read on to check out the polishes and pics from the launch party hosted by the Ron Herman boutique in West Hollywood. |
Finger Paints Week – Day Three
 We’re continuing Finger Paints Week with the new pinks in the FP perm collection.
Now no one I know would accuse me of owning or wearing too much pink. Not in my clothes, makeup or anywhere else in my lifestyle. It’s not like I don’t have a few pink accessories but I’m just not a pink kind of gal. Even as a little girl, my room was decorated purple, not pink. So if I don’t scream and shout over these new shades, you understand why. It’s not that they aren’t pretty, they’re just not me. Like opera I can appreciate it but not LOVE it. |
All three shades are well pigmented, that always impresses me. Only Rose Patina required three coats and they all applied smooth and even drying with a high gloss shine.
Rose Patina has this lovely gold shimmer that reminds me a bit of OPI Love Me Tender only R.P. is obviously not peachy based.
In the bottle Pink Crayon and Palette Pink look like twinsies. They’re both bold pink cremes that apply with a jelly-like feel. On the nail they’re not much different either. Pink Crayon is a tad lighter and more hot pink whereas I’d call Palette Pink a magenta.
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 and Day Two if you haven’t already.
Zoya Ooh-La-La for Summer 2009
 As I’m sure you know by now, metallic polishes and I aren’t friends. Why? Because for the most part, metallic = brush stroke madness. So you can imagine my disappointment when I heard that one of Zoya‘s two collections for summer, Ohh-La-La, consisted entirely of metallics.
I decided to reserve judgment until I got my mitts on them and I’m so glad I did. With the exception on one or two problem children, brush strokes are nowhere to be found. Overall, the colors are fun and bright, I just wish they were more pigmented. The majority required three coats though I’ll take that over a thick gloppy polish. Check them out after the jump! |
Midori is the shade I was most excited to see. This green lover can never get enough. A lovely grassy hue packed with golden metallic shimmer, Midori reminds me of a perfect green apple. Though it’s not entirely unique. It’s actually a dead on dupe for last summer’s Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine Glow. In person, you can’t tell the difference.
Katy is a stunning hot pink shade with just a subtle hint of shimmer. Unlike the rest of the shades in this collection, Katy looks like a creme away from the bright sun. What I love is that is has a touch of rosy-ness that keeps it from being neon. I think this will be a knockout pedi shade.
Goldie was one of my problem children due to brush strokes but it wasn’t horrifyingly bad. It has to be the most gold bar-like shade I’ve ever seen. It’s very vibrant. I predict that this one will be a shade you either LOVE or HATE. There’s no middle of the road here.
When I saw the promo pic of Ginessa I was hoping for a sparkly white instead of a foil-like light silver. I’m all over whites for summer. Though the lightness of Ginessa keeps it from being disco ball silver. I just wish it applied better. It went on streaky, pulling at my cuticles, requiring three coats. And when I removed it, it left little sparkles all over my cuticles that were such a bitch to get rid of.
Emme was my other problem child. Think of her as Bender from The Breakfast Club. Rebellious and a royal pain in the arse. Emme’s warm pink hue is very bubblegum, which I love however, the brush strokes were unbearable, which I DON’T love. I know some people can deal but my perfectionist side can’t. My mom, on the other hand, loves this type of finish and will give Emme a great home.
Tallulah is my “must have” of the collection. It has this gorgeous cornflower base that is electrified with bright blue shimmer. It’s yet another unqiue blue to add to my stash. What really pleased me was that it applies a bit darker than how it looks in the bottle because side by side, it looked like an identical twin to yet another Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine shade, Flash. But as you can see below, Flash doesn’t even come close.
The Zoya Ooh-La-La collection retails for $6/ea and is on sale now at Zoya.com and in salons across the country.
What do we think? Who’s already hauled from Ooh-La-La? What did you get?
Swatch Request Saturday – Search for Chanel Dupes
 Every time I post new nail polish pictures, I try to search through my stash for comparable shades but sometimes time just doesn’t permit that. And then the requests for comparisons start coming in. So to remedy the situation, I’m introducing Swatch Request Weekends. Every weekend that I have free, I’ll be addressing as many swatch requests as I can.
The unveiling of the Chanel Celestial Lights collection and my new Barry M shades brought up a lot of great dupe questions so I hope I answered them for you after the jump. Enjoy! |
MariahGem wanted to know how Finger Paints Turquoise Tile from the Sunburst Summer collection compares to Sally Hansen’s Honeydew. As you can see, Honeydew leans more green.
After seeing Chanel’s new Mica Rose and hearing how it compares to fan favorite Flamingo, Denette requested a Flamingo dupe. Unfortunately I don’t have any polishes with Flamingo’s exact sparkle factor but Nubar Je t’aime comes pretty close. OPI Dancing In The Isles is just too metallic.
Of course people always want a low cost version of Chanel’s stunning shades and Cosmic Violine is no exception. The closest I could come is with OPI Kris Kringle Makes Me Tingle, a holiday Trade Secret exclusive. Kris Kringle’s shimmer is more garish and the base is more brown without the same depth as Cosmic Violine. I threw in Tulipe Noire just for funsies.
Reader Crotchfairy wanted to see Barry M’s Grey next to MAC On The Prowl and Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy. The Barry M is much deeper.
The only shade I have that is remotely close is a custom blended CND shade. Get the recipe here.
That’s it for this week kids. If you have a request, leave a comment or email me at [editor] at [alllacqueredup] dot [com]. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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