RBL Spring 2011: The Quick and the Dirty

I ordered from RBL on Saturday and to my surprise and delight, my package of new spring colors from the 2011 Iconic/Ironic collection was on my doorstep when I got home from work today. My cuticles are a disaster, but I did quick 2-coat (no base or top coat) swatches to share with you. These are all so lovely. I am the most ambivalent about Recherche because of it's simplicity, but I look forward to doing full manis with all of these interesting colors.
These pictures were taken indoors with artificial lighting.

l to r: Recherche, Iconoclast, Decorous, Insouciant


Recherche
a plummy, brownish, blackened purple super-vampy creme
The closest thing I have in my stash is Hard Candy Normal and a Strange Beautiful brown, but neither is a match.
\ ruh-sher-SHAY \ , adjective;
1.Uncommon; exotic; rare.
2.Exquisite; choice.
3.Excessively refined; affected.
4.Pretentious; overblown.


Iconoclast
black with multicolor flashes of microshimmer
I have nothing like this in my collection.
[ahy-kon-uh-klast]
–noun
1.a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.
2.a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.


Decorous
milk chocolate with a flash of purplish shimmer
The closest thing in my stash to this is Chanel Particulare and that has no shimmer.
[dek-er-uhs, dih-kawr-uhs, -kohr-]
–adjective
characterized by dignified propriety in conduct, manners, appearance, character, etc.


Insouciant
soft lilac with a flash of blue shimmer
I have nothing like this in my stash.
[in-soo-see-uhnt; Fr. an-soo-syahn]
–adjective
free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.

Revlon Street Wear: A Tale of Two Toads

Today's manicures are both discontinued Revlon Street Wear Toad. Obviously, there are at least two versions. One is a golden olive green shimmer, while the other is a bright grass green with golden shimmer.
These manis are one coat SpaRitual Lacquer Lock basecoat, two coats of polish, one coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite topcoat and Seche Vite.




Photos taken indoors with an artificial light source.

NARS Desperado and King Kong

Natural Light and Flash

Desperado is a new Spring color from NARS. It's a gold metallic foil with green microshimmer. Nars describes it as antique brass.
King Kong is a Vintage shade that was recently re-released. It's a warm, almost pinky coppery-brown with metallic shimmer. Nars describes it as brown with gold shimmer.
Both are available from Sephora, Dept Stores, and directly from Nars' site.

These manis are one coat SpaRitual Lacquer Lock basecoat, two coats of polish, and one coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite topcoat topped with one coat of Seche Vite. Please excuse the cuticle frazzle.
These photos were taken indoors using an artificial light source.

VOTE FOR NORA: A Shameless Plug

My friend Nora is #8 in the Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan Collection contest. She wants an electric blue shade. Voting lasts for the next 48 hours.
VOTE HERE

Sonia Rykiel Holiday 2010

I ordered these Sonia Rykiel holiday polishes from yahoo japan, which is essentially eBay there, since Sonia Rykiel cosmetics are exclusive to Japan. They are loaded with iridescent hex glitter and are quite lovely.
The frosty bronze one has green peach iridescent hex glitter. It is 006 Illumination.
The other is a navy blue jelly loaded with red green iridescent hex glitter. It is 004 Neon Midnight.
These are three coats of polish except on the ring finger which is two coats of polish over one coat of Illamasqua Boosh.
The mani is one coat of SpaRitual LacquerLock, polish, one coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite tc, and one coat of Seche Vite topcoat.

Attack of the Clones!

Happy New Year!

MAC Style Clan AKA Magic Poo

Today's manicure is the new MAC Style Clan from their Holiday 2010 A Tartan Tale collection launching this Thursday, October 28. I picked this up from the local PRO Store, which gets collections early. Style Clan is a muddy taupe brown color with subtle copper glitter. This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, two coats polish, and one coat Nubar Diamont topped with Seche Vite. As you can see, these t/c did not play well with the MAC and I ended up with gross bubbling. The formula is typical MAC, thick and still somehow patchy. The copper accent is just too subtle in this polish. It looks nice in bright light, but in anything else it barely shows and the base ends up looking like a creme identical to OPI You Don't Know Jacques.



Comparison:


All photos were taken indoors using an artificial light source.