Archive for May, 2009
Fanatic Feedback – Who Does Your Nails?
With the economy being what it is (in the crapper) I’ve been cutting back my expenses any way I can. I’ve always been an at-home manicurist and I’ll splurge on the occasional salon mani but I absolutely hate doing my toes so I’m pretty religious about getting pedicures. Recently I’ve switched from full spa pedis to express versions to save money since I refuse to give them up.
So my question to all of you is… Where do you get your nails done? At home? In a salon? Did you used to be a salon girl before the market tanked? If you still go to a salon, do you space your appointments out more to fit your budget? Has the economy affected your nail routine?
The ALU Archives – Piggy Polish Sub-lime
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
Last night I trekked out to ULTA for a little retail therapy, to check out what’s new and pick up some staple items. While I was there I happened upon a Piggy Polish summer display with a gorgeous green. Sucker for greens that I am, without even contemplating whether I own a dupe, in my basket it went.
When I got home last night I dug through my stash looking for a twin and thankfully there were none to be found but I did come across my other green Piggy Polish, Sub-lime; perfect for the Archives. So in addition to Sub-lime I’ve also got my latest green treasure to show you, after the jump! |
If you’re not familiar with Piggy Polish, it’s a small boutique brand of polish that I’ve only seen carried in ULTA stores. Their site lists Nordstroms and Chatters (?) as additional retailers but I rely on UTLA to get my PP fix. Anywhoodle, Piggy Polishes are marketed as pedicure polishes since their line is filled with fun, unique shades. But you know I’m not down with that game. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. I’m not restricting anything from my tips.
Sub-Lime is a brilliant kelly green with gold micro-glitter. Looking at it makes me thirsty for a margarita. Granted a margarita that bright would probably be toxic but you know what I mean. The polish lays down with a lot of pigment, opaque with two coats though it doesn’t spread the best. I ended up with a bit of surface unevenness but nothing that a top coat can’t fix.
Now the sticker on the bottom of this next polish reads, The Rose Less Taken, but I fail to believe that’s the correct name. It just makes no sense. I haven’t been able to find any reference to the color online so I guess that’s the name we’re going with but if anyone finds out different, PLEASE let me know!
So The Rose Less Taken is a grass hued jelly polish. It applies sheer and amazingly smooth with buildable coverage. Using CND Ridge Out and three coats, I acheived bottle color with a bit of VNL (visible nail line) was showing. Though considering my detached nail beds and uber-white free edge, your level of opacity will vary.
Piggy Polish retails for $7 and you can buy the core colors online at ULTA.com but for the best selection and seasonal collections visit your local ULTA store.
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Summer Shades
 While I’ve talked about the Sally Hansen Salon line ad nauseam, I’ve never really discussed the Insta-Dri line that was introduced last year. Building off the success of their popular Insta-Dri top coat (a MUA nail board fave), Sally Hansen created a highly pigmented, quick dry polish for those of us with little time for our hands.
With the recent launch of their summer shades, I figured now is the perfect time to discuss the line. Again, I’m seeing a rainbow-esque theme from Sally Hansen, much like the HD line. I’ve got the first four polishes from the collection for you after the jump! |
I call it man sized and I don’t mean that in an offensive way just that it’s really well suited for a man’s wide nail beds. So to my guy nail fanatics, I’m talking to you George, this brush was made for you! Due to its size and densely packed bristles, this brush picks up a TON of polish so make sure you wipe it off well before applying or you’ll end with monster pooling at the cuticles. In spite of its size, the rounded shape does make application pretty simple. Though those of you with thinner nail beds may disagree. Mine are kind of wide and squat so it really is almost a one swipe process. However, while these polishes are well pigmented I wouldn’t call them one coaters, especially the yellow. They get close but you definitely need two coats to avoid streaking and unevenness. They claim you can wear them without a top coat and while they do dry VERY fast with a shine, it’s not the same effect as what you get by adding a layer of Seche Vite. Now on to the colors… Brisk Blue is more unique than I anticipated. I can honestly say that I don’t have a duplicate shade in a drawer filled with 40+ light to mid tone blues. It’s a very brilliant sky blue. Held next to OPI Just Groovy, Just Groovy looks pale and washed out. I’ll be bringing you swatches of the rest of the collection tomorrow but in the meantime, what are your thoughts on these? Have you tried the Insta-Dris? How do you like the formula?
Sally Hansen boasts “One Stroke! One Coat! Done!” but before we discuss that let’s talk about the brush for a sec, shall we? As far as wide brushes go, this one is the most unique. It’s as wide as the bottle neck with a rounded tip.
Lickety Split Lime has a bit too much yellow in it for my taste. You know how I feel about my greens but I’m just not loving this. In the bottle I was all ecstatic, on my nails not so much. It’s like split pea soup on crack, very in your face. While I have some lime greens I adore, this just isn’t one of them.
Lemon Dash reminds me a lot of Essie Shorty Pants from last summer’s neon collection. On the nail they are very, very close. And unfortunately Lemon Dash has the same application issues that plague most yellows. I was able to get it even with work and a layer of top coat but unless you are totally into the shade, it’s not worth it. I’m diggin’ it so I’ll put up with its problem child status.
Orange You Fast! is more of a tomato red to me than a true orange. What I love is that it applies very true to the bottle shade from the first coat. You know how with a lot of reds, the first coat looks NOTHING like the bottle color? You see its berry, pink or orange base color and have to build to bottle color? That’s not happening here. What you see is what you get!
The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri summer collection is on shelves now in limited release so hurry out to your local Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, WalMart, Kmart, etc and snag your favorite shade before it’s gone.
Rescue Beauty Lounge – Gritty & Vampy
 I finally had a chance to play with the rest of my Rescue Beauty Lounge sale order. The first half that I showed you had fun, summery colors but I also picked up some of Ji’s more edgy hues.
Coincidentally, a reader commented this morning on my swatch request post from Sunday asking to see a swatch of Black Russian. Is she psychic? Well, darling reader I’ll do you one better. Check out Black Russian next to its kissing cousins China Glaze Lubu Heels and Piggy Polish Midnight Fireflies after the jump! |
Grunge represents its name well. It has a chic, hipster edge. In spite of the hint of shimmer I see in the bottle, this light mushroom taupe dries creamy. I don’t know that I’m loving it on me though. It needed three coats which is no bueno for a RBL. Plus my skin tone doesn’t seem to agree with it. I think the pale, olive or dark complected would do better with Grunge. What do you think? 
Au Chocolat is pretty close to perfection. Rich and delicious there’s no overbearing undercurrent of redness screwing up the chocolatey vibe. It has warmth without becoming a browned red and it’s light enough to avoid the “almost black” syndrome, like I dipped my fingers in melted Special Dark. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Black Russian, formerly known as Revamp, has been on my wish list for quite some time. I remember back when the MUA nail board was hoping for blacks with colored glitter (red, pink, green, etc.) and Black Russian was discovered. A semi-sheer black creme packed with fine red micro-glitter this shade is pure decadence. It screams mystery. The glitter is fine enough to not be obtrusive or cause major texture when dry. It just peeks out when the light hits it like a surprise. Very sexy.
Of course Black Russian isn’t the only black with red glitter on the block. Here it is next to China Glaze Lubu Heels and Piggy Polish Midnight Fireflies which has unfortunately been discontinued. The glitter in Lubu Heels and Midnight Fireflies is more apparent but the cost is a rougher finish. Plus the base of those two is more sheer than the RBL, requiring three coats to Black Russian’s two. 
Unfortunately the RBL sale was a brief afternoon affair but if there’s a shade you’re just dying to have, you can pick them up at RescueBeauty.com. Grunge is currently out of stock but you can pre-order it to ship when the next batch comes in.
Thoughts on my new RBL treasures? Any you think are must haves? What color glitter would you like to see in a black polish?
“What’s On Your Nails?” with Amanda from Dr. Frankenpolish
 What’s On Your Nails? is a series focusing on my fellow beauty bloggers and industry insiders, their favorite nail polish and other hot nail topics.
This week I’d like to introduce you to a relatively new blogger on the scene, Amanda from Dr. Frankenpolish. I stumbled across Amanda’s blog via a Google search and I was thrilled to find a site dedicated to the art of frankenpolish. What really sets her apart is that she uses accessible products and provides detailed recipes, not just a list of the colors but down the the number of drops type recipes. We’ve talked about frankening (mixing) your own colors in the past so those of you mixologists that are looking for new recipes, Amanda is your girl. She’s mastered the art of jellies, mattes and glitters so feel free to challenge her creativity. She even has an amazingly detailed tutorial for you newbie mixers out there. It’s a must read! Read on to see the amazing creation that brought me to her site (will you be shocked to know it’s a green?) and discover her genius tip for mending a broken nail. |
Lisa N.
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