I was in the mood for stormy blue greys this past week as I was anxiously waiting for NARS Full Metal Jacket to arrive in the mail. As soon as it came I put the NARS on the fingers and Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy on the toes. I rarely ever wear blueish shades on the fingers but both are lovely and I definitely see myself getting regular use out of these colors.
NARS Full Metal Jacket is a recent release from their Vintage Collection of nail colors. I had never paid much attention to NARS nail polishes (except Chinatown and Jungle Red) so I don’t remember this one being released before. NARS Full Metal Jacket is a cool frosty grey-pearl with a blueish tinge. It definitely requires a very steady hand for application. I had my nails professionally done to get a smoother application. When I swatched it on my own it was clearly streaky although it’s not something you can notice easily. This color is more on the sheer side. I have this on with 2 coats. I would have preferred 3 though.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy is a color I have long resisted. I never understood the appeal to grey toned nails, but Chanel Particuliere changed that for me and ever since I have been curious about all types of greys. Smooth finish. Not quite as impressive as Chanel’s recent cream-finish shades, but almost. With 2 coats it gives full coverage that is smooth and glossy.
If I were to do my mani/pedi over again, I would have used RBL Stormy on the hands and NARS Full Metal Jacket on the toes. Neither are exactly office appropriate for a conservative business environment but not too in-your-face that it’s completely inappropriate.
Some of you have requested info, photos and swatches on a few items in the past few weeks. I apologize for the delay, I have not forgotten – here are the swatches and info you have requested. For reference, I am a Chanel Shell 1.5 in Teint Innocence (the liquid version). To see what other foundation shades I am, check out the sidebar – there’s a link to my foundation shades.
1) Can you swatch Edward Bess Bare Rose on your lips alone? Here it is by itself, please excuse the skin I don’t have any foundation or powder on:
2) Please swatch Paul & Joe 06 Nail Polish! I like this better in the bottle. On my fingers, I feel it’s a bit muddy looking. I’ve seen it on my tan friends (who are the equivalent to NC40 and a bit darker) and it looks gorgeous on them though. Here it is (2 coats):
3) How does NARS Love Devotion compare to last year’s Outsider? Love Devotion is brighter and sheerer. Here they are also compared to Beautiful Liar:
4) Can you swatch Shu IR Brown 850 compared to Shu ME 850? Sure, I’ll do one better. Here it is next to the other Shu Uemura taupes that I have. I find it fascinating how the base pulls out different undertones in each taupey color. These are swatched over a moisturized arm:
5) Can you write a post on how you pick out your makeup-of-the-day/look-of-the-day? There’s not much to write about this one. I pick out my clothes first and this is based on my mood. Makeup looks are picked out depending how much time I have and the colors I’m wearing for clothes. Sometimes, I’ll pick one product and create a look around that color. I’d like to say it’s more planned out through a more creative process, but it’s really just based on whatever works.
6) Will you show stash/closet pics? Most likely not. It might seem like I’m organized, but I am far from it. Just ask my husband. Granted, I do keep an organized mess – everything has their own section/pile – but it’s still very chaotic. I will share an old photo of my purse organization (this is an older photo from long before I started blogging, before I started my MBA, back when I was much more organized):
7) Did you purchase the new Chanel Shanghai-Paris Nail Polishes? What are your thoughts? But of course! How could I resist? I wasn’t going to write about these because so many other bloggers did, but since I’ve received several requests, I will. This one will be a bit more comprehensive, so I will do a separate post on this topic in a few days or so.
8) Will you be swatching NARS Versailles? Here’s a swatch, but I plan on this being my next manicure, so stay tuned for more pics! (FYI, I’ve seen this swatched on other blogs and it looked very streaky, I had to apply with a really steady hand to get an unstreaky result on my finger.)
9) Is there a dupe for Rescue Beauty Lounge Pink Shimmer? Yes – I’ve found 2 dupes, Chanel Le Perle (long discontinued) and China Glaze Heaven. They look really different in the bottles, but on the nails, the result is strikingly similar. If you look close you can see the difference in finish and opacity, but’s not really noticable from afar.
I believe every woman needs a good classic red nail polish in their stash. A good classic red is probably one of the favorite color families for toe-nail polish. I normally don’t wear reds on my fingers (more of a neutrals girl for manicures), but I thought today, why not try it on the hands.
Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Killa Red Nail Polish is definitely that perfect classic red shade – it’s not too bright and not too dark, just the right in-between shade for my liking.
The formula is excellent for this color. I’ve been testing out a few of my other RBL nail polishes one by one and I don’t love all of them – but this one is more along the lines of your typical high quality RBL nail polish. Smooth and rich in color.
Here it is swatched with 2 coats.
Swatched with different backgrounds:
Compared to a few other Rescue Beauty Lounge Reds, Killa Red is one of the more darker reds without venturing into the burgandy/wine category. Cherry Love is more blue-based and cooler toned, Glamourpuss is a brighter warmer more attention-grabbing red, Chinoise is an orangey-red color. I’ve used all the shades on my toes in the past and love them. I think RBL has a great selection of reds to choose from.
Purchased from RescueBeauty.com, retails for $18 USD.
The recent Rescue Beauty Lounge VIP 5 Hour Sale was definitely the best deal of the holiday season. I’m thrilled with my new RBLs even though I ended up with a few too many light-neutrals. My latest project is to swatch my entire RBL family for you on a fully manicured hand in different lighting. I’ve already swatched Pink Shimmer, Revamp & Ani on full manis/pedis and my original mini family of 4 Killa Red, Cherry Love, Ani, & Leila on individual fingers.
My latest manicure is with Rescue Beauty Lounge Plie which I’d describe as a perfect ballerina pink. The photos on the RBL website are extremely accurate in my opinion (at least on my screen) which is something I find rare for many companies so I appreciate their accuracy!
Recently, my dear friend Miss L.J. and I were discussing our New Year’s Resolutions and she told me this year she was going to do her own manicures this year to save money from her expensive mani-maintenance habit. She said she was not going to give up no matter what and was determined that she would master the art of painting her own nails by the end of the year even if it killed her.
So in the spirit of DIY and also trying to save $, I tried a DIY manicure at home and ended up with the worst looking manicure – streaks, uneveness, goopy texture. I thought I could do it since my hands are incredibly steady with scissors and knives (for cooking) but alas, when it comes to painting my fingers, it’s another story.
I immediately rushed to my favorite nail salon and am happy to report that the texture and finish is perfect when applied by a professional: opaque, creamy and even. The result is featured below in a few different views. I wasn’t so thrilled with how the color looked on my skin at first, it seemed a bit too mauvey-ballet pink, but I think it’s growing on me the more I look at them.
Anyone else have this shade or tried it? Any dupes to recommend?
Happy New Years Eve to everyone! Ani (left, manicure) & Black Russian (right, pedicure)
WARNING: Don’t scroll down if toe-pictures make you queasy!
Want to know how Ani compares to Pink Shimmer from Christmas Eve? Ani (left) is more beige and Pink Shimmer (right) is whiter and paler. Please excuse the messy looking toes!
Happy Christmas Eve to everyone! I wish everyone a great holiday full of good health and happiness.
I jumped on the bandwagon for the Rescue Beauty Lounge sale and added quite a few new shades to my mini collection of Killa Red, Cherry Love, Ani, and Leila. I got a manicure for tonight’s Christmas Eve dinner with my family with Pink Shimmer from RBL, here are the pictures (3 coats):
Most of the RBL nail polishes I’ve tried are great for their color, pigment and texture. The Pink Shimmer is quite a bit sheerer than most of the other colors, it barely showed up with 2 coats, so I asked the girls to add one more coat at the salon. The color comes out to be a really pale light pink pearl. I like that it’s not frosty and that the shimmer is subtle, but it’s not the most unique color and seems easily dupable.
I like lighter colors for my fingers (darker ones for the toes) so this works great for me. I’m thrilled to have been able to get some at 50% off. I hope they do this sale again soon! There were quite a few shades I didn’t get that I wish I had now.
With flash:
In natural sunlight:
More swatches and photos of the other shades to come in the next week once my manicure wears off.
For those who are looking to try something new and unique here are 6 brands that I absolutely adore and feel that everyone should at least look into!
Accessibility for these non-mainstream brands is often a challenge for those who don’t live in LA or NY or Japan – but thanks to the internet, there are tons of blogs and resources you can use to find out how to purchase these items. Here is a quick rundown of each brand with some useful links and a feature of my favorite item from each line.
1) Paul & Joe Beaute – I *adore* this line for the charming packaging, unique color selection and high quality. What’s not to love? Check their website for locations. I’ve purchased my items from dermstore.com and Bergdorf Goodman in NY.
Two items I’m loving right now are Face Color #18 & Pearl Powder #3:
2) Edward Bess – Exclusive to Edwardbess.com and Bergdorf Goodman in New York, this line was created by a young entrepreneur Edward Bess. More info on his website. His collection seems to contain classic polished colors for the modern woman (think Charlize Theron or Jennifer Aniston) I have more products coming in the mail so stay tuned for more info! I have fallen hard for Intimate Eyeshadow – a gorgeous pigmented taupe eyeshadow.
3) Le Metier de Beaute – Available in the US at select Neiman Marcus Locations, Bergdorf Goodman, a few private salons and Fred Segal Beauty in Santa Monica. The products are fairly expensive, but I believe the eyeshadows and lipglosses are worth every penny (your mileage may vary on the other products).
My favorites right now: (Top to Bottom) Vanilla Rose Lip Creme, Cafe Creme Lip Creme, Dubai Sheer Brilliance Gloss, Jojo Eyeshadow
Gloss swatches: (L to R) Vanilla Rose, Cafe Creme, Dubai
4) Rescue Beauty Lounge – This line is well known to nail fanatics. To others who aren’t so familiar with nail products, Rescue Beauty is based out of NY and makes some of the best nail polishes and boasts a stunning range of colors that will suit just about anyone. I’ve purchased mine from Amazon.com and RescueBeauty.com. I’m currently loving Ani (picture in link below) which is the most beautiful neutral beigey-gold-with-pink shimmer I’ve ever seen.
5) Dolce & Gabbana Makeup – One of the newest brands in the US, the first release was at the Saks Fifth Avenue in New York store this past May and then recently at the Beverly Hills location. I’ve had great experiences with both stores – the reps are very knowledgeable about the product line and excellent in recommending colors based on my preferences.
The line is available for sale online at Saks.com and you can see swatches at DolceGabbanaMakeup.com although you cannot purchase them at D&G.com. The price points are pretty high – and I think most of the products are overpriced but I am still very happy with the colors and quality of products I have. Stay tuned for reviews of lipglosses and the new fall blush.
My current favorite is their Eyeshadow Quad in Contrasts. Close Up with Flash:
6) Becca Cosmetics – This line was founded by Australian makeup artist Rebecca Morrice Williams who is well known for her extensive range of foundation and concealer shades. The line was previously available at select boutiques, Nordstroms, Sephoras and Neiman Marcus locations – but have been pulled out of these big retailers over the past few years. Your best bet to find this line is online or through specialty boutiques listed on beccacosmetics.com. Two standouts are her shimmer powders in Mermaid and Princess and I adore her gorgeous makeup looks.
I don’t have any featured posts on the line yet, but plan to write some in the near future.
Princess (pink) & Mermaid (beige shimmer) – FYI the large containers are no longer sold, they come in smaller containers right now:
These don’t do the products justice and partly why I don’t do swatches:
If you have tried any brands – please share with me your favorite products! Are there any non-mainstream brands you love? Let me know, I’m always looking for more to lust after 🙂
