Creme
China Glaze Immaterial Gurl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
A material, a material, a material, a material world
Material Girl lyrics by Peter Brown & Robert Rans
Even though Madonna’s song was about materialism and not fabric, it’s hard for me not to look at the imMaterial Gurl collection from China Glaze without hearing those lyrics in my head. I can’t sing to save my life but in the comfort of my polish room, I was belting it out like a champ while testing these shades.
A collection of six textile themed cremes, the imMaterial Gurl nail polishes are a girly change of pace compared to their bolder Spring/Summer offerings, Ink and Ecollection. With a diverse range of hues to flatter most skin tones, rich pigmentation and a high gloss shine, these are not what I’d call “must have” colors but they’re definitely good staple shades to round out your collection.
For the most part the formula was spot on. Two coats for perfect, even coverage. The only notable exceptions are Second-hand Silk and Heirloom Organza. The consistency was a bit thicker and not as flowy so, I had to use three coats. All shades are shown without a top coat, just their natural glossiness.
The imMaterial Colleciton is available now and can be purchased online from 8ty8Beauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com. China Glaze is also carried in ULTA and Sally Beauty Supply stores but call for seasonal collection availability.
It’s A Neon, Neon World With Essie & Orly
As my favorite nail color queen, Rihanna, has already shown us, bright, bold, in-your-face shades are what’s hot right now. She’s been spotted wearing orange, teal, purple, etc. and even though she’s driving the bandwagon other young celebs are jumping on board. Take Lindsay Lohan for example. She wore a hot pink to match her prom-tastic dress at her 22nd birthday party and was caught lighting up (don’t do it!) with glowing orange tips.
To feed your need for neon, Essie and Orly have hit us with a one-two punch of bright, four color collections for Summer.
The Essie Neons are quite a departure for the usually subdued brand. They tend to target the conservative, classic nail fanatic. I give Essie two thumbs up for addressing the trend. Unfortunately I have to give a thumbs up/thumbs down to the formula. While half the shades (Mini Shorts & Short Shorts) were OK, the others (Bermuda Shorts & Shorty Pants) were pretty nightmarish. As expected, the neon pigments cause these polishes to dry matte but for some reason they don’t smooth out easily. You have to put in some work to avoid an uneven texture. But the colors, love them! Mini Shorts is definitely my favorite.
Orly High Voltage is a mixture of saucy shimmers and punchy cremes. The gold shimmer in Heat Wave is captivating. As soon as I picked up the bottle, I had to have it on my tips. It’s really a stand out lacquer for me. Charged Up is a nice grape but it’s also the only polish I had application issues with. I needed three coats to get even, full coverage. And if I were picking a hot reddish pink, Hot Shot would be my choice. It’s way more vibrant in person, somewhat shocking.
The polishes pictured are shown with a top coat since the majority dry matte. I chose images for each lacquer that best represented the color so they aren’t all shown in sunlight.
The Essie Neons and Orly High Voltage collections are available now online and in stores including hair and nail salons, Trade Secret, ULTA, Sally Beauty Supply and Regis. Contact your local retailer to check availability.
Zoya Fall 2008 Preview
I know Summer has barely begun but it’s already time to start looking ahead at what’s to come for Fall and Zoya is next to preview its lineup. Two collections are coming our way and they look pretty vamp-tacular if you ask me.
In the same vein as Chit Chat & Gossip, Pulse is a set of six metallics while Vibe is all cremes. I’ve been told that Nina & Sam are both brown which totally made my day. While I adore my rich brown shimmers, like OPI Espresso Your Style and Misa Chocolate Icing, I have yet to find a truly fab glossy brown creme. Fingers crossed that these are winners!
The Pulse and Vibe collections will be available for pre-order near the end of July and begin shipping in early August. Zoya polishes retail for $6 and can be purchased at professional salons and spas or directly through the Zoya.com website.
Notice: Images are provided by Art of Beauty for the exclusive use of All Lacquered Up. Please do not republish without expressed written permission.
Chanel Robertson Boulevard Nail Colour Collection
When I was in LA last month, I desperately wanted to stop by the new Chanel boutique on Robertson Boulevard but time wasn’t on my side. The reason for my desperation… the Robertson Boulevard limited edition Nail Colour Collection. Sold exclusively at the Robertson boutique from now until the online launch in July, this collection was created by Peter Philips, the new Global Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup.
Based on the bold pop art imagery, I wasn’t expecting the slight softness I saw in the shades I tested. It’s this quality that makes them very wearable, even for Chanel’s more conservative clientele. As expected, the lacquers applied flawlessly and with excellent pigmentation, I barely needed two coats to reach bottle color. At $25 a bottle, they better.
Rodeo Drive is a warm grapey purple with subtle silver shimmer. In the sun it reminds me of the cartoon character Grape Ape. Of all the polishes in this collection, Rodeo Drive was the one I most looked forward to seeing so I’m glad it lived up to my expectations.
L.A. Sunset is a creamy melon orange with a high gloss factor. I wouldn’t classify it as a bright per se but it’s definitely bold and summery. A perfect pedicure shade.
With the popularity of yellow polish this season it’s no surprise to see one included in this collection. However, I was surprised at how sweet and sexy L.A. Sunrise looked on Selma Blair’s tips in InStyle‘s June edition. No mustard or neon here, just a gorgeous lemon sorbet. I plan to order it the day of the online release.
Melrose, L.A. Sunrise, L.A. Sunset and Rodeo Drive will be available for purchase exclusively on Chanel.com in July. You can sign up on the CHANEL site to be notified of their release.
MAC Summer 2008 – Naughty Nauticals
As someone that grew up spending every weekend on a sailboat, I have an inherent love for all things sea-lated. So when I read that MAC was releasing a nautical themed collection, I was overjoyed. I realize Naughty Nauticals has been on the shelves for a bit now but I hope you can still snag some goodies if you haven’t had the chance.
Navy is one of my favorite shades to wear in both clothing and makeup. I collect navy eyeliners and own more navy polishes than I’ll ever need. And pairing navy with crisp white pants is a yacht club classic. Now I realize that red, white and blue can be over the top patriotic or super Tommy Hilfiger but if you inject the red subtly, like on your nails, it can be so very chic.
Let me take a moment to intro you to “the floating condo”, my nickname for my parents’ sailboat. She (boats are always ladies, even those noisy Cigarette racers) is 12 years young and gives the folks some much deserved weekend R&R all summer long. The boyfriend and I will be spending a long weekend on Her in a couple weeks to celebrate my birthday and enjoy the insanity that is Put-In-Bay; an island with the world’s longest bar.
Normally I fret about what nail colors I should wear for my annual b-day trek. In fact I’m usually painting my nails down in the cabin living room as we sail over to the island, much to my dad’s chagrin. I still claim it wasn’t me that got remover on the teak floors, it was Mom! Anywho, this year I don’t have to contemplate, I’ll be rockin’ the Naughty Nauticals shades. Oh so apropos, no?
For my toes… Naughty Nautical. A slightly purple based navy shimmer, this shade applies smoothly and only requires two coats. It’s luscious and rich, like it came right from Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
And for my tips… Shirelle. Shirelle is a permanent lacquer but this classic red shade pairs perfectly with Naughty Nautical. It’s retro yet the creme finish gives it a fresh feel. And even though I’ve had application issues with some MAC cremes in the past, Shirelle slid right on the nail. You do need two coats because of the slight berry-ness that appears in the first layer.
So the bad news is that Naughty Nautical is sold out online but the good news is that I’m still seeing it at some MAC counters. Just give your local counter a ring and put a bottle on hold if you can’t live without it.
What did you scoop up from this collection? Or did you pass because you’re lusting after the Neo Sci-Fi shades?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
