Quickie Post: Rescue Beauty Lounge Oh Slap! swatches

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I’m trying to clean up any lingering photos I have kicking around that I haven’t yet posted, start the year off fresh. I actually am feeling a bit more inspired lately so hopefully that translates into some interesting stuff for you guys to read/see! But I gotta do a little housekeeping first 🙂 Last year there were some pretty good promos coming from Rescue Beauty Lounge – free shipping being one of them. Almost every time Ji offered free shipping (I think it happened at least 3 times), I ended up picking up a shade or two; I just couldn’t resist. Truth be told, I’m actually not a HUGE fan of some of her shades – they’re a little too ‘out there’ for me at times (guess I’m boring like that) – but her formula has always been spot on, if nothing else. Over the course of the year I picked up 3 shades: Stormy, a moody grey creme; Mismas, a bold purple creme; and most recently, Oh Slap!, a girlish pink crelly. I have yet to wear any of these shades as full manicure yet (shame on me), but I hope to rectify that very soon. However, I already have a favorite – Oh Snap is such a feminine, pretty pink that I can’t resist it’s charm. This is 3 coats, and though you can still see VNL, I don’t mind it at all. It flows on the nail so nice and evenly that the sheerness doesn’t seem to detract from the polish itself (in my humble opinion). It’s just so darn gorgeous! As always, I checked for dupes in my existing collection, and was nervous at first because another RBL polish I own, Poco a Poco, seemed mighty close to Oh Slap! in the bottle. However, when applied, the two are definitely different. While they run in the same color vein, Poco a Poco is completely opaque, and leans a bit greyish. Additionally, Poco a Poco has very fine reddish shimmer, whereas Oh Slap! is just one creamy tone. Below you can see the differences clearly; Oh Slap! is on my index and ring fingers, Poco a Poco is worn on my middle and pinky.

Direct sunlight.

Shade.

Artificial light.

I think Oh Slap! is going to be THE perfect shade to wear come spring (though it’s suitable for any season, really), and I can’t wait to pull it out again and again. It’s a great shade that would go with a lot of looks but isn’t too neutral or boring in the least. Now all I need to do is just WEAR it already!!

Do you own any RBL polishes? What are your thoughts on the shades in general?

Technical Difficulties…

So, our wireless internet is frigged – but not on my bf’s computer, just mine!  Super annoying.  Currently I’m sitting on the floor near the modem with my computer actually plugged IN, as it’s the only way to get online.  But DAMN this hallway is chilly so I won’t be hanging out here for long!  In the interim, here’s some polish spam for you to keep to busy until I get this whole thing straightened out:China Glaze 2030.  I also swatched Hi-Tek at the same time, but stupidly forgot to take photos, so that’ll be for another time.  This one is actually up for swap – its flattering on me but I’m not really into this kind of look.  Plus it’s a little annoying to apply as it dries fast and can get patchy easily.  Pass!

Yuk.  This is an LA Girl polish that I got in a swag bag, but the name is missing (sorry).  Anyway, I hate colors like this – SUPER not my style.  Though, this polish had one kickass formula – perfectly thin, but opaque in two coats, and with an awesome glossy finish.  Too bad about the icky shade (though I’m sure it’d look great on someone!).

I should have titled this post: ‘Polishes I Hate’ because here’s another one that I’m not a fan of (maybe hate’s a strong word…but there is NO love lost).  This is Deb Lippmann’s Satin Doll, one created for Mariah Carey.  In theory, its quite pretty – its very complimentary to my skin tone, but I am not liking the old Granny shimmer at all.  It makes this look really dated, which it very well could be – when did this come out?  One of the awesome gals at Mills Brothers gave it to me because I spent an hour arranging the Lippmann polishes just so, one night while I was working at Clinique (hello, OCD!).  This’ll go up for swap too like the others I suspect…so sad.

Rescue Beauty’s Piu Mosso.  Bah!  I’ve had this swatches for ages but just COULD not get the pretty fire-red shimmer to come out and play.  And in all truthfulness, it really made this shade kinda disappointing to me.  I know ‘secret shimmers’ are all the rage, and I loved me some Chanel Paradoxal, but for some reason this one didn’t translate the same.  Maybe because its similar to Zoya’s Cynthia, which has my heart completely, that this seemed to be a dud in comparison.  Which is weird because of the awesome shimmer…that you can only see in perfect sunny light.  Meh.  I’ll likely hang on to it for a while, then move on.

That’s all for now, I’ve caught up on almost all my backlogged polish swatches now 🙂  I hope this gives you a lil something until I can get this ridiculous internet problem solved!  My computer must be faulty 😦  (*Guess it’s time for a new one* heehee)

I hope everyone is well, be back soon!!

Girl’s Night: Mani/Pedi Fun!

Being a beauty junkie is ridiculously fun.  Every day we get to revel and delight in every new shade, formulation, and skincare discovery we come across, and some of us even blog about it.  However, as we all know, often a really good thing comes at a cost.  While we frolic and play in the beauty world, we’re also painfully aware that all of these products we amass over time will RARELY be entirely used.  It’s just not possible.  To even conceive of completely using a whole blush, or finishing a bottle of nail polish, is a crazy notion that would only happen in (some of) our dreams.  In my case, thinking about this fact gives me a li’l anxiety, I gotta tell ya.  I deal with it – because OBVIOUSLY I’m gonna buy more stuff! – but sometimes I wish it weren’t so.  Thankfully, my wonderful boyfriend had a terrifically simple idea that only boy brains can come up with.

“Why don’t you start painting all of your friends nails?”

Heck yes!

So, this past Thursday, I brought my shoe box full of nail polish (I haven’t got enough yet to buy a specific storage system for them yet, but there are far too many to display on my dresser top any longer) over to my friends’ place with the announcement that I was going to do manicures on everyone.  The idea was well-received:

OPI DS Extravagance

My cute li’l preggers friend who’s due in less than two weeks!  Might as well have her look as spiffy as possible before the big day 🙂  I showed you this shade before here.

OPI Not Like the Movies

OPI Not Like the Movies

Another friend has beautiful long, strong nails – I don’t know how they don’t break!  And this shade looks MUCH better on her paler skin than mine.

American Apparel Neon Violet

American Apparel Neon Violet

One of my close friends is going as Mrs. PacMan for Halloween, and wanted something that looked kinda 80’s to go with her outfit.  Neon is always a great choice!  I finally managed to photograph this shade more accurately (the first photo) with its more violet tones, rather than hot pink (second photo), which it looked more like when I swatched it previously here.

Chanel Peridot

Chanel Peridot

I wore this out recently and my friend loved it, so she finally got a chance to wear it herself!  I think it looks positively smashing (but of course!  This IS the polish of the season, in my opinion).

Rescue Beauty Lounge Poco a Poco

Rescue Beauty Lounge Poco a Poco

I really love this shade too, and it was nice for me to see how it would look on a different skin tone than mine.  I am very much enjoying how it looks very neutral on her skin but not at all boring – so pretty and feminine!  She paired it with Zoya’s Neeka on her toes and I think that was a great color combo!

This li’l experiment was super fun for me, for two reasons: 1) I was able to use up a little more polish than I would have before – making this a somewhat regular occurrence will be an infinite help in reducing my stash over time; and 2) I love all things beauty!  Any chance I get to incorporate cosmetics in any capacity into my life is a great day to me 🙂

Now I’m off to get ready for some Halloween shenanigans!!!  And I will be posting a bunch of fun Halloween stuff in the next couple of days that I hope you enjoy 🙂  ‘Till then – have a great weekend!

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Poco a Poco

*EDIT: Wow, this was such a quickie post that I forgot to put a title! ‘Scuze ME!

This is gonna be a quickie post (yea, how many times have I said that, and then rambled on and on :P) – I’m mega-exhausted and don’t have the brain capacity to write much of anything.

And so, I present to you, RBL‘s Poco a Poco from the L’Oiseau de Feu ($18CDN):Very pretty medium mauve-pink with golden-hot pink shimmer throughout.  It’s not as noticeable on the nail unless in direct sunlight (as witnessed in the photos below), as these ‘hidden shimmers’ tend to do lately.  Nonetheless, I really like it!This is actually in natural light but not direct sunlight, so while I find you can tell the polish isn’t just a cream, the fire-y pink shimmer is unfortunately absent. What results is the polish looking quite cool and the mauve tones are more present.These last two photos were taken under light from a lamp, and you can see a bit more of the warmness in the polish due to the shimmer.  The polish looks much more pink in this light.

I was surprized that I took to this polish, as I don’t own many shades like this and most variations of pink – unless extreme – don’t entice me at all.  However, there was something so feminine about this polish, and the golden shimmer really grabbed my attention.  The formulation wasn’t as nice as I would have liked – it was thicker and slightly goopy – but overall it wasn’t too much of a hassle to apply, and it leveled out itself out fairly well.

I’ve worn this shade on my toes for a full pedi (these photos were just for swatching purposes), and it looks equally as nice on toes.  I hope to get a lot of wear out of this polish, there’s just something about it I love, application issues be damned.

Thoughts on this shade?  If a polish has a less than stellar formula, do you steer clear or will a color win you over no matter what?

That’s all for now!   Thanks for reading 🙂

Fall Polish Haul Preview

I’m headed away today with my mother for a five-day surprise getaway (surprise as in, I have no idea where we’re going – she won’t tell me!), and it’s unlikely I’ll be posting again till Wednesday, so I’m leaving you with a little teaser of swatches of all the Fall polish shades I’ve picked up (but have yet to wear!).  The last of my haul, four shades from Zoya and two from RBL, came in on Thursday, so I’m super-stoked.  BTW: I made my Nail Polish Canada order on Friday, August 26th, they were mailed the same day, and I received them 4 business days later.  Color me impressed!!

I’ve made a few quick comparisons for those shades that are similar to colors I already own and for the most part have swatched on the blog, for your reference.  I hope you enjoy!!My new Fall polishes in all their glory 🙂

Poco a Poco – A bit darker than Essie Muchi Muchi, with orangey-pink micro-shimmer. Three coats.Piu Mosso – Dupe of Joe Fresh Navy Marine but with firey-orange micro-shimmer. Two coats.Cynthia – Nothing like it! Deep dark indigo creme. Leans teal. Three coats but probably could have two (I wasn’t waiting much for them to dry before painting on the next coat).Neeka – Same base shade as Chanel Paradoxal. Has gold and green shimmer. Two coats.Anja – Nothing like it in my stash. Deep wine creme. Two coats.Yara – Same base shade as OPI’s Uh Oh but slightly darker. Has gold and green shimmer. Two coats.
Uh Oh Roll Down the Window – Nothing like it in my stash. Muted army green. Three coats (again, swatching too quickly before they dried).I Brake for Manicures – Nothing like it in my stash. Dark and dusty eggplant. Two coats.Graphite – Nothing like it. Pewter foil with silver and gold shimmer-glitter. Two coats (but I might like three).Peridot – Somewhat similar to CG’s Peace on Earth, but lighter and duochrome. Green-tinged gold with blue duochrome. Two coats.Trendsetter – Nothing like it. Green-leaning mustard yellow with gold, green and pink microshimmer. Two coats.Midtown Magic – NOTHING LIKE IT!!! Deep purple-brown base with gold, bronze and green shimmer. SUPER lit-from-within glow. Two coats.Pictures did not do any of these polishes justice, so just trust me when I say you need to OWN THEM ALL. Seriously. They are all more than lemming worthy. The only shades I’m not totally sold on are Poco a Poco and Trendsetter, and I’m hoping to chalk that up to being too tanned right now – I’m sure when I’m all washed out again later in the season, I’ll be rocking them out (if not, up for swap they go! Keep your eyes peeled :)).

Did I just hear everyone’s wallets explode?? 😉

Have a fantastic long weekend!!!!!

Presenting Rescue Beauty Lounge: Insouciant

This is kind of a cool post for me because this polish just came out officially last week, but because I pre-ordered I already have it 🙂  So I feel ahead of the curve for once!  I think I will pre-order from RBL whenever the option arises, because I didn’t have to pay ANY shipping fees, woohoo!!  So I paid $18 straight-up (which is the US price, but as our dollar is on par now, it was also the same CDN!).  Gotta love it!

Having said all that good stuff, I am disappointed in this shade on my skin tone.  Yet again, I feel like this just isn’t flattering on me, which is getting to be somewhat annoying.  And this is my very first RBL polish so I was so excited, only to be let down.  Not by the polish on it’s own merit though, I will say.  Perfect coverage in two coats, and for all intents and purposes this is a very pretty color.  Lilac with hints of blue shimmer, which you really only see in sunlight, but nonetheless give the shade added depth overall.  *I did find this to be a fairly close match for OPI’s Parlez-vous OPI? in regular lighting, not a dupe but close enough for me to feel that I only need one or the other (definitely would choose RBL’s). I’ll post comparison pics soon!* I found the polish to be a bit thicker in consistency, and it dries faster than I’m used to so I had to move quickly, but once I got used to the application it wasn’t an issue.  Excellent self-leveling polish – no matter what I did, if I just touched up a small smudge at the tip or whatever, it smoothed itself out without any appearance of a touch up.  That in itself really impressed me.  The wear has been good overall, nothing above and beyond but certainly not problematic in any way. Viola, pics below, in natural/direct sunlight:

I can say with certainty that I will be buying more polish from Rescue Beauty in the future.  They do have a somewhat limited shade range, which is why I didn’t pick up any extra polishes when I pre-ordered because none particularly called out to me, but once my no-buy is over, I plan on give them a second look.  One thing that gets to me about buying more and more expensive polishes is that soon enough you find yourself not even thinking twice about doing it again.  After purchasing my one Chanel polish last Fall for $26, anything less than that seems almost reasonable.  Kinda scary, really :S

Thoughts on this polish?  Am I being too hard on myself re: these types of shades?

Busy Busy Busy…

Good day to you!  Life has been really full lately so I’ve hardly been online at all!  The past couple weeks I’ve been sick, and work has been uber-crappy…so, I soothed my spirit by putting in a pre-order for one of RBL’s new Spring Ironic/Iconic collection, the shade I mentioned previously: Insouciant.  I’m super stoked!  Not only did it look great in swatches, but I happened to watch *cough* American Idol *cough* this weekend and J.Lo. had this amazing pale lilac nail polish on and it brought out the crazy-pants in me and I was determined to find a shade similar.  The pre-order email came out the next day so my lemming was calmed for a moment – but I won’t receive it until late February / early March, which is ages away!  So, yesterday when I went to get a wax and saw that my salon finally had the new Zoya Spring collection, I grabbed the shade Marley, which is a pale, pale lavender cream.  I haven’t tried it yet but plan on doing it this weekend so I’ll post the pics then.  I can’t wait!!

Hope everyone else’s February has been going great so far!  The next two weeks are the Canada Winter 2011 Games, which we’re hosting here in Hali!!  I can’t wait.  They’re putting on a free concert almost every night for the entire two weeks so I imagine my posting won’t be improving any time soon 🙂

Happy Thursday!

Halifax Needs to Get Its Butt in Gear

Its almost Friday!!! 

My list of (mostly polish) lemmings seems to be growing by the day, so I figured it might be useful (and entertaining) for me to keep track of what I’m coveting this season thus far.  As you know, I’ve already got my hands on the Anchors Away collection, but new collections keep trickling in that are tempting me severe and I’m itching for them to land here in Halifax or online.  Yesterday I even had one of the spas here in town open past their closing hours so I could creep their Zoya collection to see if any Intimate polishes had landed there yet (no such luck). 

Without further ado, here’s the list:

Zoya Intimate Collection
Jules* (taupe-pale gold shimmer)
Dannii (orchid purple shimmer)
Caitlin (medium grey creme w/blue leaning)
Marley (pastel purple w/grey tones)

OPI Katy Perry Collection
Not Like the Movies (pale metallic purple/green duochrome)

Orly Precious Collection
Gilded Coral (pale golden peach shimmer)

Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconic/Ironic Collection
Insouciant (pale smoky purple w/blue shimmer flash)*
[excited to get this one!  It will be my first polish purchase from RBL 🙂 I’m taking the plunge!]
*photo courtesy of Scrangie*

I’m trying to think of any others but off the top of my head, nothing comes to mind.  I’m not lured by the new Chanel colors (although I saw a swatch of Pearl Drop on the Laquerista and surprizingly found it quite beautiful!), and though I think the new NARS Desperado looks interesting, I’m fussy when it comes to golden tones on my skin.  

As far as makeup goes, there’s not too much enticing me just yet…as far as the lines we actually have in Hali go.  I’ll be checking out the NARS Spring launch when it arrives for sure…its just that I have SOO many eye shadows (still many more than nail polish) so I try not to buy any more unless they really WOW me.  I’ll keep you posted if something catches my eye!

What are you dying to get your hands on this season??