The ALU Archives
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!
The ALU Archives – Pop Beauty Ocean and Mandarin
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
First of all, thank you to everyone who messaged, commented, tweeted me about my overly obvious absence. You’re so sweet to worry about me. I’ve been out the past three days due to a pinched nerve. It’s a recurring issue I’ve been dealing with for the past twelve years or so and when it flares up I just have to rest the pain away. I’m not 100% but I’m well enough to sit up for short periods of time. So while I’m feeling up to it, I thought I’d share a couple polishes from the Archives.
A while back I told you that Beauty.com is now carrying Pop Beauty Nail Glams and I ordered a few but never posted them. Check out Ocean and Mandarin after the jump!
Pop Beauty Nail Glams are 3 Free (including Formaldehyde Resin) though it seems that at some point the formula and packaging changed a bit as one bottle lists Camphor as an ingredient and the other doesn’t. So if Camphor is an issue for you, make sure you check the bottle. The formula on these were spot on; well pigmented, smooth and fairly thin in spite of its 3 Free status. Normally I show polishes with no top coat but because Mandarin is a neon, which dries matte, I threw on a glossy top coat.
Ocean is a vibrant ultramarine hue. The metallic shimmer does leave minor brush strokes but they’re not overly distracting. I ended up applying three thin coats but you could get away with two medium coats.
Mandarin is like a greased pig, VERY hard to capture. Imagine a radioactive slightly underripe orange and you get close to what this neon orange-yellow creme looks like in person. There are a lot of neons on the market and I HATE most of them for two very good reasons. 1. They are eye searingly painful to look at. 2. They apply terribly; thick, streaky nonsense. Mandarin is in its own class. If you’ve yet to find the perfect neon, try this!
Pop Beauty Nail Glams retail for $14 on Beauty.com.
Which of you have Nail Glams in your stash? What are your favorite colors? Do your bottles list Camphor as an ingredient and when did you buy it? Did I inspire any of you to snag some bottles for yourself? Share!
The ALU Archives – Icing by Claire’s Money Talks & I Married Blue
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
I can’t believe that in the two and a half years I’ve been writing ALU that I’ve NEVER mentioned Icing polishes! If you’re unfamiliar, Icing is a chain of accessory stores owned by Claire’s. I honestly never shopped there until some MUA nail board girls discovered their line of nail polish. They have a wide range of colors and come out with limited edition seasonal collections quite often. AND they’re pretty cheap. You can usually find them on some kind of sale.
Unfortunately, since we moved a couple years ago I haven’t had immediate access to an Icing so it’s been a while since I added to my stash. Obviously I’m not up on the latest colors but I have a couple of my faves to show you. Check them out!
According to my bottles Icing polishes are 3-Free (including Formaldehyde Resin) but I would check the labels before buying, just to be sure. The formula is on the thinner side so even dark colors usually take three coats for even coverage but it flows smoothly on the nail and dries glossy.
Money Talks is a blackened forest green shimmer with silver micro-glitter floating throughout. It was packaged in a set a couple holidays back so I’m not sure if it’s still able to be found.
I Married Blue was an open stock color I picked up during one of their sales. It’s definitely in the burple family more than navy. It has a pearl/shimmer that looks a bit magenta in the bottle that I attribute to its slight purple leaning.
I realize the bottles look VERY similar to China Glaze and I know people have wondered if they’re by the same company but I think the similarities stop at the bottle shape. Icing polishes are produced in Illinois while China Glaze is based in California.
You can only find Icing polishes at their stores and this bottle size retails for $3.50 but there’s usually some kind of deal going on. You find an Icing near you using their store locator.
Where are my Icing lovers? What are your favorite shades? Seen anything new and fun that I should make the trip out east for?
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! |
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.
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.