The ALU Archives
The ALU Archives – Zoya Yasmeen
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
Whenever I’m asked for a purple recommendation, Zoya Yasmeen is always at the top of my list. In a lot of ways, it’s the perfect purple shimmer. Usually when you add gold or reddish sparkle to a cool toned shade, the result is overly warm. Yasmeen avoids that pitfall. The base shade is a deep blackened plum that falls so far on the cool side of purple that the overall shade doesn’t end up too red-grape. If you love purple, this is not one to miss. It’s extremely unique, beyond gorgeous and definitely a “must have.” |
What do you think of Yasmeen? Do you own it? Will you be adding it to your stash soon?
The ALU Archives – Misa Wishing On A Star
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
I hate Valentine’s Day! Hate, hate, hate it. To those of you that love it, enjoy it, celebrate it, don your best pink & red… that’s great. Me, not so much. I’m not a big holiday person to begin with but one that puts so much pressure on couples to make grand romantic gestures and singles to not be alone just doesn’t do it for me. In fact, when I first started dating the boyfriend I told him that a. I never want him to buy me flowers (waste of money & they die) and b. that I NEVER want to celebrate V-day. Call me an unromantic cynic, that’s fine. So instead of being all sweet and girly with a pink or crimson nail, I decided to pull out one of my fave black/gunmetal polishes, Misa Wishing On A Star. |
Note: I bought Wishing On A Star when the Dance Fever collection was first released so my bottle contains the old Misa formula. They have since gone Big 3 Free but not all of the shades have been transitioned. Be sure to check your bottle or ask the retailer before purchasing if you are concerned about the chemicals.
What I love most about Wishing On A Star is the micro-shimmer. Instead of just pumping a lot of silver glitter in a black base, there are randomly dispersed burgundy and green specks to add character. The finish is actually very similar to Dior Black Diamonds, it’s just not as inky black.
What’s your favorite black polish? Are you planning to wear red or pink for V-day? Anyone else on the anti-Valentine’s Day bus with me?
The ALU Archives – OPI Skinny Dip’n In Lake Michg’n
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
Nude polishes were all over the runways for Spring, making opaque flesh toned lacquers one of the big trends of the season. Of course that didn’t make me jump for joy but in an attempt to adapt, I’ve been testing out different nudes to see if I can hop on that bandwagon.
In my research I came across a loved but forgotten shade, OPI Skinny Dip’n In Lake Michg’n. Originally released in the uber-popular Chicago collection along with vampy staple Lincoln Park After Dark, Skinny Dip’n has joined LPAD in becoming OPI Classics perm shades.
The MUA nail board girls would call Skinny Dip’n a BABB (Band Aid But Better). BABB came from the idea that opaque nude polish looks like flesh-toned band aids, only better. Skinny Dip’n’s neutral beige hue definitely lands it in that category.
What really makes this one a winner for me is the sparkle. Peppered with smooth, silver micro-shimmer, Skinny Dip’n isn’t your everyday boring nude. It’s office appropriate with a kicky spirit! My bottle is of the old OPI formula so I can’t speak for the new version but mine applies semi-sheer needing three coats to achieve opacity.
Who else loves Skinny Dip’n? Do you have a favorite opaque nude? I’d love to hear your recommendations.
The ALU Archives – Lippmann Nefertiti
The ALU Archives is a new series focusing on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
After my experiment with Minx during the holidays, I’ve been really feeling the whole gold nails thing. Of course, the shiny chrome look of Minx is a bit much for everyday so I pulled out my fave from the stash, Lippmann Nefertiti.
It’s funny, I was talking with a couple of my fellow beauty bloggers about the emerging gold trend for Spring and both times I had to recommend Nefertiti as my go-to gold. Why, you ask? Because it’s one of the few metallics I’ve found that doesn’t show brush strokes. There’s something about its frosty shimmer that creates this matte, gold-leafing effect on the nail, instead of streaky stroke marks. And because the shimmer is gold and silver, the hue isn’t too warm or too yellow. It’s pretty perfect if you ask me.
What you see here is two layers with no top coat. Actually Nefertiti is so densely pigmented that you barely need the second coat but it’s just habit that I apply two.
Nefertiti retails for $15 and can be purchased online at LippmannCollection.com or on counters at Nordstrom.
What’s your favorite gold?
ALU Archives – China Glaze White Kwik Silvr
The ALU Archives is a new series focusing on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
A few weeks back, we hosted a party for some of my girlfriends from high school and their hubbies. It was great getting so see the girls and have a night to catch up. One of them is a doctor on the west coast and she doesn’t make it home often so getting to see her is a treat.
Of course, I took the gathering as an opportunity to unload some of my excess polish and beauty stash which overjoyed the boyfriend to no end. The less beauty booty overtaking the house, the better. It was then that one of the girls asked me for a recommendation. She’s looking for the perfect white polish. Something that isn’t overly pearly and “grandma-ish” or chalky and white-out white-ish. I’m sure you can guess where my mind immediately went. China Glaze White-Kwik-Silvr. Possibly the best white polish EVER created.
White-Kwik-Silvr comes in the amazingly unique glass flecked formula that China Glaze is famous for. It’s sparkly without being a glitter bomb and opaque with three coats. I wish I could say two but you can’t have it all. So here you go Steph. I know I linked you to my old review but here’s a full manicure look at this stunning beauty. Is it any wonder I chose it as my favorite white in the Fanatic Favorites?
Even though White-Kwik-Silvr was released with the Surf collection almost two years ago, you can still find it online at my favorite e-tailers, 8ty8Beauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com
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