Purple
The ALU Archives – China Glaze C-C-Courage
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
You asked for HTF’s well you’re gonna get them. Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll last week. An overwhelming majority of you want to see some of my favorite discontinued polishes pop up in the Archives. For those of you that weren’t a fan of the idea, not to worry, you’ll still get plenty of available shades to ogle.
I decided to kick off the DC’d Archives with China Glaze C-C-Courage. Check it out after the jump! |
My WOOA shades (pictured above): C-c-courage, Cowardly Lyin’ and Dorothy Who? It’s the multi-sized glitter in these polishes that make them special. C-C-Courage has tonal shimmer and silvery light purple glitter trapped in a semi-sheer grape hued base. Though don’t let semi-sheer scare you off. This one is totally opaque in 2-3 coats. It does dry a bit flat and satiny so I am showing it with a glossy top coat. Have any of you run across the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection? Do you own any of the shades? What do you think of C-C-Courage.
C-C-Courage was released as part of the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection. With Wizard of Oz themed names and colors the collection also included Cowardly Lyin’, Dorothy Who?, Good Witch?, The Ten Man and the lone core collection survivor Ruby Pumps. I owned Good Witch? at one point thanks to a special MUA friend but I decided she belonged with the queen of all things pink, NikkNack.
Now because this collection was released prior to AII Beauty acquiring the brand, the formulas were lost. But I have it on good authority that China Glaze has been working on re-creating the colors so if you would like to see these beauties make a triumphant return, let them know. Leave a comment here or email them directly through the contact form on the China Glaze site.
Best of Orly Spring & Summer 2009
 For Spring and Summer 2009, Orly hit us with three, count ‘em THREE, colorful new collections; Prepster, Carnivale and Tiki Time.
While all three have some fun colors, none of them wowed me as a whole so I chose my favorites to show to you. Check out my Top 5 of the season after the jump! |
One thing I noticed is that most of the bold creme shades are jelly-like in texture. They’re semi-sheer but buildable and have that glossy, rubberized look that makes jellies so cool. I know the sheers in the Prepster collection are great for layering but they just weren’t doing it for me.
Cashmere Cardigan is a stunning periwinkle blue creme. It’s well pigmented but looks best with three coats. To me this shade looks a lot like Essie Huckle Buckle, minus the shimmer.
I knew I would love Mint Mojito before I even saw it. I’m all over this bright spring green. It also needs three coats but who cares. It’s lovely. It’s actually more vibrant in person but it’s really hard to capture. Actually you should check out the manicure Brittany (aka Clumps of Mascara) did with Cashmere Cardigan and Mint Mojito. She did it herself and it’s way gorg!
Festival Lights is a beautious melon tinged orange. Like a perfectly ripe canteloupe, it’s vivid but not BRIGHT.
Country Club Khaki is the shade celebrity manicurist Jenna Hipp raved about when I interviewed her for WOYN? and it’s no wonder. This is a great neutral mushroom hue. It’s like the spring version of You Don’t Know Jacques.
Finally the shade that made my heart skip, Calypso Breeze. I can’t think of a blue in my stash that looks quite like this and I don’t even know how to describe it. It makes me think of lake water, the sky before a storm and denim all mixed together.
All these polishes are limited edition but still available online at Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com. Orly is also carried at Sally Beauty Supply but seasonal collections tend to sell out fast so availability will vary by location.
So what did you think of the Orly Spring/Summer collections? Which colors did you pick up?
Introducing Rescue Beauty Lounge Mismas
 Fanatics, I am beyond thrilled that I can finally reveal MISMAS, my signature nail polish from Rescue Beauty Lounge. Releasing as part of RBL’s Fall 2009 collection, Mismas (pronounced miss-mass) is one of three shades that are part of Ji’s “blogger dream nail polish color” concept.
For the upcoming Fall season, Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Ji Baek takes customization to a whole new level, with a limited collection of colors designed by nail polish bloggers and a transforming true matte topcoat. The beauty rebels behind nail polish blogs are serious about their polish. They’re the ones who not only embrace the trends, but inspire them. So how do you reach them with something truly avant-garde? If you’re Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Ji Baek, you let them share with you their very own dream nail polish color. “These women have literally hundreds of colors in their polish wardrobes,†said Baek. “I was interested in finding out exactly what color they are still searching for—what color are they missing?’ Ji really did create my missing color and I hope you’ll love it as much as I do. Check it out after the jump! |
When Ji approached me with her idea of creating my ultimate fantasy color I was shocked with disbelief. I mean what an opportunity. How did I get so lucky? Even now, looking at the bottle, it seems surreal.
Of course a million ideas ran through my head and it felt like such a daunting task to come up with one shade. One color that would represent me and fulfill a dream. Now I’m sure most of you expected a green from me but I wanted do go a different route. The way I see it, over the past couple years so many amazing greens, including RBL Recycle, have come out that I couldn’t imagine competing.
So I looked at my polish stash and the RBL lineup and came up with a shade I felt was missing from both; a deep purple creme. Ji does cremes like no other so I knew I was playing into her strength. And while I have many purple shades I love, they’re mostly shimmers/glitters. All of my cremes are either too sheer, too red, too blue, too bright or too “almost black” and so with that in mind, Mismas was born.
All I can say is Ji nailed it. Like seriously nailed it. I sent her a few pics as ideas for the color and she got the shade on the first try. It was just a little too pigmented. On round two we had perfection. It’s utterly gorgeous and I am PROUD to put my name on it. 
Ji also created a Matte Top Coat to accompany this collection.
Completing the collection is a Matte Topcoat. “The sea of neon brights and ‘80’s styles on the runways left me baffled. Then there was Lanvin, with its gorgeous play of textures in black-on-black.â€
Baek set out to create a truly matte topcoat that not only protected your polish color, but would leave your nails with a rich flat finish, like bisque china. Of course it’s without Touluene, Formaldehyde, or DBP.
The collection launches in September. The polishes retail for $18 and can be purchased online at RescueBeauty.com.
Now head on over to Scrangie.com to check out her creation. A shade she describes as “sparkly, fascinating, beautiful and a bit unusual.”
Steph from PolishAddict.com will hopefully be posting her color for us to see soon as I know she’s been busy and on a blogging break. I hope to have the other blogger creations to show you soon.
What do you think? Will you be picking up a bottle of Mismas?
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!
MAC Nail Trend FW09 by Jin Soon
 BACKSTAGE AND FRONT ROW, NAIL TREND HAS ARRIVED! More than a colour statement, an of-the-moment approach that dazzles with innovation and style.
I’m sure by now you’ve heard the rumors that MAC is releasing a collection of six creme nail lacquers created by renowned nail artist Jin Soon. I met Jin last fall at her UES spa and she hinted at a future brand collaboration but wasn’t able to release details since it was still in the planning stages. Well, all I can say is BRAVO Jin! As a leading nail artist in the fashion and beauty industry, Jin has worked with top fashion designers like Oscar de la Renta, Derek Lam and Doo.Ri, as well as famed photographers Steven Meisel, Irving Penn and Annie Leibovitz. She is a master at nail art (see March’s Teen Vogue) and a lover of editorial nail colors. When we met we discussed our mutual love of green and wow did she bring it to this collection. There are two, count them TWO, gorgeous greens in Nail Trend. Check them out! |
The deep green was chosen by the designer to work with the romantic, gothic look that makeup artist Tom Pecheux created using a palette of white, black and gray MAC products. When asked about the inspiration for the colors Jin said, “My husband is an architect, and I am constantly drawing inspiration and colour ideas from his creations. I also have tons of exposure to fashion trends through my work at the fashion shows and on magazine shoots. I wanted to create colours that were not only incredibly fashion-forward and edgy, with an editorial feel to them but also were totally wearable for the everyday women. I love all of the colours but am especially excited about the green hues: Dry Martini and Beyond Jealous. I think come Fall ‘09, green is going to be THE colour.” We are so on the same wavelength because I couldn’t agree more! I had the opportunity to test a few of the colors prior to launch and while some MAC colors give me application issues, the three I tried were fab. I’ve always said that MAC does dark and shimmery shades best and these are no exception. All three are well pigmented and applied with no streaking. Only Dry Martini required three coats. 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. The MAC Nail Trend collection by Jin Soon launches on August 27th and the polishes retail for $12/ea. You can buy them online at MACCosmetics.com and at MAC counters nationwide. You know I’ll be first in line to pick up bottles of the rest of these colors. I can’t even think about Beyond Jealous and Cool Reserve not being in my life. Which ones will you be adding to your collection?
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.
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.
The entire Nail Trend lineup includes:
Cool Reserve – DIRTY GREY LAVENDER
For Fun – RICH CLEAN PURPLE
Dance All Night – BRICK RED
Dry Martini - KHAKI OLIVE GREEN
Rich, Dark, Delicious – RICH BLACKENED BROWN
Beyond Jealous – BLACKENED BLUE GREEN
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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