ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – OPI Done Out In Deco

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. A couple weeks ago I was invited to a blogger event at Legacy Village, an upscale shopping center in my neighborhood. They asked some local fashion and lifestyle bloggers to come check out some summer trends from White House Black Market and Charming Charlie and learn more about the stores in the complex. I was super stoked to go when I found out that some of my blogging friends, including fellow nail blogger Steff from Short ‘n Chic, were going to be there. Steff has a great sense of style and perusing the accessory racks with her was a lot of fun. I ended up coming home with a cute bracelet that I can’t stop wearing and today I decided to polish my nails to match using OPI Done Out In Deco.

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Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconic/Ironic Spring 2011 Collection Swatches & Review

RESCUE BEAUTYʼS Spring/11 POLISHES SUIT FASHION SCHIZOPHRENTICS The variety of moods and personas shown on this Spring//Summerʼs runways was a tribute to the fashion schizophrentic in all of us. This Spring, Rescue Beauty Lounge founder Ji Baek has created a collection that is a hodgepodge of her favorite trends from the Spring fashion collections.  It reflects the multiple fashion personalities seen on the runways and, for the first time, we’re seeing a RBL collection without a cohesive theme. Much like a typical woman’s wardrobe, Iconic/Ironic is a mix & match cornucopia of color reflecting different trends and lifestyle needs.  From the office friendly neutral, Decorous, to the out-all-night, punk rock black, Iconoclast, this collection has something for everyone.

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OPI Shrek Forever After Collection Swatches, Review and Comparisons

You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Fanatics, can you please join me in a standing ovation for OPI and Suzi Weiss-Fischmann for creating a collection with NO REDS OR PINKS!! It took a big, smelly ogre to make this magical moment happen but I’m not complaining.  The Shrek Forever After Collection is OPIs addition to their ongoing Summer Brights series and I’m totally into it. Surely, OPI could have found a reason to include a red or pink in this collection but I applaud them for not playing it safe.  A swampy, ogre green isn’t exactly conservative and I love that.  In fact, looking at the colors it’s like they were designed to be mani/pedi combinations.  The lilac & purple, sky & cyan blue and yellow & green.  They’re just meant to be together.

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Sula Paint and Peel Polish Swatches and Review

A number of you have inquired about Sula Beauty’s Paint & Peel Nail Polish. I must admit I was hesitant because the idea of peeling anything off my nail beds seemed unhealthy but in the name of research I was willing to give it a go. If you haven’t seen this brand at your local ULTA yet, Sula is a water-based nail polish that you can remove by peeling. Being water based, it is safe for pregnant women and ideal for those fanatics who are looking for non-toxic nail color. Check out my swatches and full review after the jump!

I had the opportunity to test Sula’s Modern Mauve nail color and Metallic Base/Top coat. Both are water based and non-toxic so it is recommended that if you do not use Sula’s base/top coat, you wear the polish on naked nails. I wore Modern Mauve for a week to give it a thorough trial run and when my friend Jewels spotted it on me, she of course asked about the brand. I told her it was a peel off polish and her response was, “like that old school Bonne Bell peel off polish?” Let’s just call this is the grown up version of that.

Application: To say the polish applies streaky is an understatement. Without the chemicals that make traditional polish flow, you have to be very careful to keep the finish from being lumpy. Even after three coats, Modern Mauve was a bit uneven regardless of using their base coat. The bottle instructs you to avoid hot water for 3 hours after applying.

Tip: Wait time between coats is essential to avoid severe streaking. The polish dries with a rubberized finish and is completely dry and touchable in minutes.

Modern Mauve looks like a pale lilac in the bottle but on the nail it dries darker and more vivid. It’s very eye catching. For me, it’s dark enough to avoid my light purple “alien hand” syndrome.
The Metallic Base/Top Coat applies milky but dries perfectly clear and doesn’t alter the polish hue in the slightest. It’s not so much a metallic as a micro-glitter top coat. The particles are very small pieces of silver glitter that dry smooth. There’s no gritty texture here.

I did a 5 day wear test with Metallic Base/Top on my index and ring fingers and just the polish on the middle and pinkie fingers. As you can see, my middle finger suffered the worst wear. The rubberized finish is mostly to blame. Similar to how Minx start to lift after a couple days, this polish’s slightly tacky surface snags on things and will start lifting. Otherwise the wear was impressive. I expected it to look much worse after five days.
Removal: According to Sula, you can safely peel the polish off your nails. It takes a bit of picking to get the polish started but tears off in decent sized chunks. I’m sure my fidgety fanatics out there will revel in the removal process.

My experience: I had WAY too many people tell me how easy it was to remove Sula and how it wasn’t AT ALL damaging to their nails. Though after testing Sula myself I wonder if those people wore the polish for any length of time or were just swatching it for fun. Because when I went to remove the polish after 5 days, I saw actual pieces of my nail bed rip off and I was left with severely dehydrated tissue. Halfway through removal I used acetone remover and saw no damage to my remaining nails.
Modern Mauve was one of Sula’s original Paint & Peel shades but now they have 13 additional Trend Collection polishes to choose from.

Final Verdict: Sula is a unique product. It’s not the first paint & peel polish on the market but it’s more accessible than other brands I’ve heard of. It’s great for fanatics who want fun nails but need a non-toxic polish. It’s an ideal diversion for people that tend to pick at their cuticles as long as they don’t leave it on too long. In terms of extended wear, I just HIGHLY recommend removing with a polish remover. I don’t want to see any of you taking off layers of your nail.

Sula Paint and Peel Nail Polish retails for $9/ea and is available online at SulaBeauty.com and Anthropologie.com and in stores at ULTA.

Have any of you tried these polishes yet? What has your experience been? Have you tried other peel off polishes?

Finger Paints Sunburst Summer

Coming soon to a Sally Beauty Supply near you is the Finger Paints Sunburst Summer collection. One look and I immediately think of ice cream. Do you remember as a kid, going to the Baskin Robbins and staring at all the fun colored ice creams like Superman, Pink Bubblegum, Orange Sherbet, etc.? Well, they’re all right here in Sunburst summer. And for those of you that dig Icees, there’s a red that looks just like a cherry slushie. It’s total nostalgia. I’m ready for the ice cream man to come round so I can get a push-up. They were always my fave. Now I’ve mentioned Finger Paints in the past but I really haven’t given them the love they deserve. This brand is the hidden gem in the retail sector. They’re totally accessible, affordable and come in a great range of shades. Check out my swatches, after the jump!

For you ingredient readers, Finger Paints are Big 3 Free though they do contain Formaldehyde Resin. In this collection the formula was very jelly-ish, like Sinful Colors, and thinner than most 3 Free polishes which means more layers. All the shades required three coats over a ridgefilling base (Seche Base).

Yellow Bikini looks soft and creamy, like lemon sorbet, in the bottle but on the nail it’s more vibrant and buttery with a hint of shimmer. My only issue was a bit of streakiness but I find that happens with most yellow polishes. I don’t know if its the nature of that type of pigment or what but it’s frustrating. Though with three coats, I was good to go!
The only polish I have that comes close is Chanel L.A. Sunrise from last summer’s Robertson Boulevard collection. So if you avoided shelling out the $$$ for L.A. Sunrise, here’s a great alternative. I showed it next to Sephora by OPI IM Beauty but they are nothing alike.

Lilac Lagoon looked promising in the bottle because of the flecks of gold micro-glitter floating throughout but I obviously just need to give up hope of any pale purple looking good on me. It’s a gorgeous color, just not with my skintone. This one is the sheerest of the bunch and you may need four coats to achieve opacity.

Turquoise Tile is unlike any polish I own in this color range. Compared to my more blue turquoise shades, it looks green. Next to my green leaning shades, it’s more blue. Based solely on bottle color, it falls between China Glaze Beauty & The Beach and Martini Pedicure in my collection.

Ripe Peach definitely has that sherbet feel and even though it looks slightly shimmer in the bottle, it dries creamy on the nail.

Strawberry Shake really lives up to its name. This shimmery pink looks very drinkable, though I wouldn’t recommend that.

Cherry Ices has subtle gold shimmer that warms up the vibrant maraschino hue. If you’re looking for a summer pedicure red, this could be your winner.
The Sunburst Summer collection will debut in May but as any Finger Paints fanatic knows, it’s best to call your local Sally’s in advance to see when they’ll arrive. You can also purchase Finger Paints online at SallyBeauty.com. Polishes retail for $4.99 ($4.49 with a Sally Card) but be on the lookout for specials like B2GO Free in the monthly flyer.