I intended to get a mani/pedi with one of the shades I featured from my last week’s post, but I never made it to the nail salon. By the time I had a free moment to go, I had completely changed my mind on colors due to the fact I am the most indecisive when it comes to nail colors. They all look so pretty, I can never decide, so always bring 2-3 bottles with me to either:
A) Decide at the last minute, or B) Ask the salon which color they recommend
I brought Rococo Organza and Paul & Joe 02 Heirloom with me and could not decide on a color, so the nail aesthetician said, “why not use both?” I happily agreed. She applied a layer of Rococo Organza on the bottom (which applied like a dream) and then two coats of Paul & Joe 02 Heirloom on top.
The result = a very natural and conservative barely-there nail look that is both interview and work appropriate.
Rococo Organza is a soft nude pink with opal iridescence. However, there was a slight difference from the one I purchased compared to the tester at SpaceNK (which was a nude with gold shimmer much like Essie’s Chips-No-Potatoes). You can see other swatches of Organza linked here.
Paul & Joe Heirloom 02 is a sheer transparent champagne-gold with the most gorgeous microglitters. I don’t know if you can tell from the swatch photos, but if you look really close at the fingers, it just looks magical. I believe Paul & Joe 02 Heirloom is discontinued, but you should still be able to find it. There are similar shades that you can see in my post here on Paul & Joe Nail Enamels.
Together, the colors are very sheer and give that barely-there look. While it may seem too natural to some, it will definitely suit those who aren’t a fan of having noticeable color on their fingers. I know DH approves. He’s not a fan of bright colors on my fingers, but tolerates it, lol.
Dior Love is most similar to OPI’s Lourve Me Lourve Me Not, but applies a lot better. The Dior only needed 2 coats where the OPI needed 3 to get a full application. The remaining colors aren’t necessarily dupes, but just colors in the same color family so you can gauge how purple/burgandy/fuschia/bright Dior Love is compared to other purples.
Same order, just closer shot:
I’m sure there may be other closer dupes out there for Dior Love, I just don’t have any others that compare to it.
I’ve been meaning to swatch my Rococo Nail Polishes but usually feel you can get a better idea of the color on a full mani or pedi. I realized it would take me forever to get a manicure of every single Rococo nail polish I have. I have been meaning to do my RBLs but still haven’t been able to get through many due to a few other distractions along the way from MAC Abalone Shell, Lancome Pop Petrol and Chanel Rose Paradise. So I’ve decided to swatch each shade on each finger.
You can see my Rococo Nail Apparel line up here at this post Rococo Nail Apparel from Space.NK.apothecary and a full manicure of Reissue here. Rococo Nail Apparel can be purchased in the US at various SpaceNK locations. I got mine from the NY store and Bloomingdales SpaceNK. Each color retails for $16.50.
I highly recommend these other amazing resources I’ve found for additional swatches, reviews, photos (these are the ones I know of):
Swatches Part 1 (two coats each, no top coat) No Shrinking Violet, Tokyo Nites, Organza, R2T2, Andromeda
No Shrinking Violet – vibrant rich shimmery purple
Tokyo Nites – pretty fuschia red iridescent
Organza – pretty nude with pink iridescence
R2T2 – note in my previous photo, I thought it was called Molten Lava, someone kindly corrected me, the shade is actually R2T2, the formula is Molten Lava, this has a non-glossy foiled finish
Andromeda – complex black/grey base with holographic sparkles
In natural sunlight:
The formulas are excellent and easy to apply and last a decent amount of time without chipping or peeling. The price is decent in my opinion for the size of the product. Check out my previous Rococo posts for additional info/reviews.
I’m in desperate need of a real mani ASAP, so I’ll probably be swatching the second round of Rococo’s in a week or so.
My most recent manicure is with Rococo Nail Polish in Re-Issue, a gorgeous classic rich plummy wine with a bit of shimmer/pearl. I can’t stop looking at my nails and can say this is the best pick-me-up of the week. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy with a manicure before.
The color is probably very dupe-able, but I love it. It reminds me of colors like OPI’s NYPD Beet, Yankee Pankee Plum, Nars Gimme Shelter – but not quite as vampy since it has a reddish undertone. The shimmer in it has a pearl finish (versus frost/chrome) which I really like. Here it is with multiple views with 3 coats with Seche Vite top coat. It’s photographed with my Louis Small Agenda in the Violette Vernis.
I am trying to post dupe swatches/photos but it’s been cloudy and raining like crazy here, so the lighting is not cooperating with me! I will try and update with another duplicate/comparison post in the next week.
I discovered Rococo Nail Apparel on 2 of my favorite NY-based bloggers Beauty Moogle Zone and New York City Pretty (both possess fashionably great taste and are always in-the-know) and knew I had to check out this brand.
I ordered a few colors from SpaceNK online and this past weekend I had a girls-day-out to Orange County and stopped by the SpaceNK in Bloomingdales at South Coast Plaza to check out the rest of the line.
I first need to RAVE about their customer service. For my online order, one of the colors I received was the wrong shade and SpaceNK online was really great in trying to correct the mishap. Since I was going to be near a SpaceNK that next weekend, she called all the California stores near me to make sure they had the right color in stock and that they were aware I’d be coming for a possible exchange.
My experience at the South Coast Plaza location was also incredible. I’ve been to SCP on several occasions but never even noticed the SpaceNK corner as it was a bit hidden. Those not familiar with Bloomingdales, next time you go, I highly recommend you check it out. If you have trouble finding it, just ask. My friend and I met the most knowledgeable associate we have ever encountered there. We spent about 3o minutes smelling the perfumes and looking at the skincare and we were both amazed at all the information he had about each item. Anything we pointed at, he was able to give us the FULL 411 on. He described each fragrance topnotes and undertones and gave us recommendations based on our likes. For skincare, he was able to tell us the ingredients of any skincare product, explained in detail how to best use it, he even explained how to use that muslin cloth in the Eve Lom Cleanser set. We were both thrilled.
For my Rococo experience, I have slightly mixed feelings. The nail polishes come in a stunning range of colors with great pigment – but there seems to be some inconsistency with some of the batches in the actual color you get. We pulled out 3 different colors: R2T2, Gothic Lolita, and Organza and there were clear differences between the tester and product being sold. For example, the Gothic Lolita tester was a gorgeous blueberry jelly shimmer while the product sold was a shimmery gunmetal. The Organza tester (can see it on the SpaceNK website) was a straight beige with iridescent gold shimmer, while the one I bought has a slight pinkish shimmers and undertone.
There are 2 types of labels which I will picture below. I think the type of label on your bottle will indicate what variation of color you get. Unfortunately you don’t really know which type of label you will get.
So – my frustration with this line is the lack of consistency in colors with the same name. I did however appreciate the honesty from the associates at SpaceNK at Bloomingdales. They mentioned up front that I should know there is a slight difference from some of the colors that they believe was due to a difference in manufacturer or batch production. The sales associates were kind enough to open up several boxes of their stock so I could compare them the testers to make my purchasing decisions.
My descriptions of the colors: (note that Molten Lava, Pop Culture & No Shrinking Violet were part of a 3-piece holiday set)
Boutique – sheer nude glossy cream
Molten Lava – sparkling pale silver (this looked like an exact dupe to R2T2)
Organza – pale cream with pink-opal flashes
Andromeda – holographic silver-grey (this is my favorite)
Vayder – pure black with silver glitter
Pop Culture – iridescent bright coral with silver pearl
Re-Issue – gorgeous plum-grape with reddish tinge and pearl
Baby Punk – bright peachy-pink (brighter version of MAC Coconut Ice)
No Shriking Violet – iridescent violet (I have a feeling this might be similar to the new Nars spring nail polish)
Tokyo Nights – iridescent bright coral-red (similar to Pop Culture minus the silvery pearl, but on the nails, looks almost identical)
The swatches on paper look different from what goes on the nails, but I’m conducting a few nail-related projects so it’s going to take a while for me to swatch them all, so please bear with me. I will get around to swatching them all on my fingers. I just got a mani with Re-Issue (which I am totally in love with) – see that in a post coming soon.
I’ve since seen a few more posts on London Makeup Girl featuring Blu Skywalker & Visionary Beauty featuring Metal Jacket. Have you seen this line in person? What are your thoughts?
My personal rants aside about consistency, I was very pleased with the whole SpaceNK shopping experience. I think this line has great colors with lovely pigment and formulas. There’s nothing like great customer service that makes your shopping experience all the more better and enjoyable – especially for the 2 of us who went completely giddy smelling the unique perfumes and blabbering about the high-end skincare lines. It was nice to find a sales associate who didn’t make us feel awkward about our beauty obsession (which I have to say would have been totally understandable as we were probably acting to the equivalent of teenage girls screeching at a Twilight or New Moon premiere). These nail polishes retail for $16.50 each and the line also carries a gold-flecked nail polish for $32.50 with real gold flakes (which I did not purchase).
