The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.

A sweet reader, Faye, emailed me quite some time ago about how she visited the L’oreal Company Store and spotted two GREEN Shu Uemura nail polishes that I just had to have. I was floored and flattered that she thought of me and was kind enough to send them my way. The generosity of strangers, I tell you!

One of the polishes is a dark green creme a la NARS Zulu and the other is such a unique hue, words fail me to describe it. Take a peek after the jump!

I tried my first Shu polish (sounds like I’m saying shoe polish) last year when I picked up their gorgeous fall shade during the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. I was instantly sucked in by the formula and pigment packed color. By the time I got my hands on Tanzanite Aquarium from the holiday collection I was hooked. The formula is flawless and they really pile on the glitz and glamour.

So why am I seeing the nail polish listed in the discontinued section of the Shu Uemura website?? Say it isn’t so Shu!!! Just when I found you, you leave me? What the H people?

Here’s hoping that by posting this glorious green shimmer we can generate grassroots support for a revival of the nail polish line. This beauty is named P665, so boring. She deserves a much more creative moniker, no? The silver shimmer and muted, spring green hue make this one a winner in my book. I haven’t come across another polish anything like it.

Flash

Sun (we have sun in the CLE today, yay!)

So where are my fellow Shu polish fans? Do you have any favorite shades you just can’t live without? Anyone else disappointed to hear the line is in the DC’d bin?

What’s On Your Nails? is a new series focusing on my fellow beauty bloggers and industry insiders, their favorite nail polish and other hot nail topics. For this week’s What’s On Your Nails, I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite people, Sara from Bit By The Beauty Bug. I adore Sara because she’s a great friend with an innate sense of style and a quick, witty personality. She doesn’t pull any punches and is one of those people that will tell you if there’s spinach between your teeth. Everyone should have a Sara in their life. I had the pleasure of meeting Sara a little over a year ago during a trip to New York with the brains behind Total Beauty. We connected during an uber-packed, day long beauty tour and have become great pals ever since via numerous IM and phone chats. If you aren’t familiar with Sara’s blog, her blunt, no holds barred attitude bleeds over into her product reviews. She’s not one to wax poetic about the latest beauty goody unless it truly deserves praise. Passionate about mascara, her recent Drugstore Mascara Showdown series has saved me from being sucked in by commercial claims. She’s also a big Shu Uemura fan and shares her latest discoveries from the Boston Shu boutique. Of course, we couldn’t be friends if Sara didn’t have a love and appreciation of polish. See what’s on her nails now and find out what other polishes she considers “must haves” after the jump!

Introduce yourself to the ALU readers. Tell us a little about your blog.
Based in Boston, I’m a beauty blogger who calls it like it is. Known as The Beauty Bug to my readers, I’m always in constant pursuit of the latest and greatest, life-changing beauty product, and will try anything once in the name of beauty. While I haven’t found that “it” product quite yet, I’m enjoying the journey. I founded BitByTheBeautyBug in 2006 using a simple, stock wordpress theme while I was bored at work one day and little by little it has grown to where it is today.

What is your favorite nail polish?
OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark is my absolute favorite. It’s the polish I always go back to. I’ve been wearing dark polish since Chanel, with the help of a Seventeen Reader/contest winner, released Ciel de Nuit back in 1997 and will continue to wear it whether it remains in style or not. I love the contrast of the dark polish against my pale skin. When I’m not wearing Lincoln Park After Dark, my current colors of choice include OPI’s Black Cherry Chutney and You Don’t know Jacques, and Chanel’s Haute Chocolat.

What is on your tips and toes right now?
On my tips, as you can see in the photo, I’m wearing Shu Uemura’s Tanzanite Aquarium. It’s a fun glitter polish that’s somewhere in between a blue and a purple. In the bottle it looks more like a purple, but on my nails it wears more like a midnight blue. I’m embarrassed to say that nothing is on my toes as I type this! [editors note: I forgive you] During the winter months, I slack on pedicures mainly because I don’t have the patience to wait for them to dry. But during the summer months, I tend to be a little more adventurous in terms of colors. My go-to color is OPI’s MalagaWine, but this summer I stepped way outside my polish comfort zone and tried Essie’s Shorty Pants.

Do you consider nail polish a beauty necessity or accessory? Why?
A nice bracelet or scarf is an accessory, but polish is 100% a necessity for any beauty junkie. It’s really no different from the makeup you wear on your face and it’s another way for you to be expressive, look “polished” (no pun intended) and experiment with color.

How many bottles of nail polish do you own?
Not that many – and as you can probably guess – they all pretty much look the same. I would estimate that I own about 15-20 most of which are all OPI, with the exception of a few bottles of Carolyn New York, China Glaze and Chanel.

How often do you change your nail polish?
Every 2 weeks or so. Chances are, even if you aren’t happy with the color or polish for one reason or another, it’s most always wearable.

Do you have a favorite nail treatment you think my readers should know about? Why is it so fab?
I love the Seche Vite top coat so much that I bring my own bottle to the nail salon with me every time I get a manicure. It makes my manicure last much longer, adds great shine, and prevents chipping. You can definitely notice a difference when the product is used.

What do you think will be the big nail trend for spring?
I think the gray polish trend will prove to have staying power, and of course, almost black polishes with traces of colored metallics.

What nail trend do you wish would go away?
Even though I’m guilty of it too occasionally (but not because I think it’s trendy and
stylish), the chipped nail polish “trend” has got to go. No, it’s not a trend, but just a sign of laziness. Instead of letting the polish chip away, possible “offenders” should just take their polish off all together. Lazy slackers should not be confused with trend-setters!

What is the biggest nail faux pas that women make?
Letting their nails grow too long and not keeping them
at a reasonable length. There’s something so unsettling and unclean about long unkempt nails. Don’t even get me started on nails that are so long, they start to curl…

I told you she’s a straight shooter. Thanks to Sara for sharing with us. Check out Bit By The Beauty Bug to read about her latest beauty loves.

After my Givenchy post from last week, I’ve been on a major purple kick. Next to green, it’s my favorite nail color. I know I’ve been all about about grays this fall but it’s a passing fancy. Purple has a perm place in my heart.

So while shopping with a gal pal at my local Nordies a couple weeks ago, I was stopped in my purple lovin’ tracks at the sight of Shu Uemura’s Mika holiday collection. Famed Japanese photographer Mika Ninagawa worked with Shu Uemura to create a vibrant, beautifully packaged collection with an AH-MAZING burple (blue purple) polish.

Tanzanite Aquarium was described as blue by a Shu rep but I think it falls somewhere in between blue and purple, thus the use of burple above. Not only is it a gorgeous shade but it’s packed with holographic micro-glitter as well. It doesn’t create a holographic effect on the nail, just multicolored sparkles in the light. In fact I’d call it a blued version of China Glaze Grape Crush, which is much more red based and warm toned.


The application was smooth and easy. The brush is long, dense and firm yet it splays out nicely to give even coverage. Two coats achieved bottle color but the micro-glitter gives a slightly bumpy finish so I recommend using a thick quick drying top coat like Seche Vite or Poshe. Oh and it wears like a dream. Seriously, this formula is like iron. I went chip free for six days with very little tip wear.

Fun fact: During a recent visit to the Shu Uemura offices, I learned that their polish bottle’s unique shape was designed to fit between your fingers while you polish. No need for a bottle holder here.

The Mika holiday collection is on counters now and available online at ShuUemura-USA.com. The collection’s nail lacquers, Tanzanite Aquarium and Sparkling Garnet Aquarium, retail for $16 US.

So last Friday I met up with Annie and her Cleveland shopping gang to check out the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Beauty Exclusives and gab over dinner. Of course I had no time the night before to do a mani so I arrived bare nailed while they were all perfectly polished. Though having naked tips ended up being ideal for swatching since the first thing out of all of their mouths was about the Fall collection Shu Uemura tester display and the polish I just HAD to see.

I beelined past all the exclusives, straight to our brand new Shu counter to witness the magic. OMG you guys, it’s sooo gorgeous! I immediately did a swatch to the sound of oohs and ahhs. A luscious browned berry vamp with gold flecks of glitter, I’m wondering if this may be a twin to fan favorite, the long discontinued Pomegranate Pom Pom from FingerPaints. When the bottle I pre-ordered arrives, I’ll do a full on dupe search.

Since our Shu counter is so new, details are sketchy at best. The MUA didn’t know the release date or price though I’m assuming it will cost $16 like other Shu polishes. And can you believe I didn’t even write down the name? It’s PA and some number which totally doesn’t help but look for it with a display of four stunning shadow duos, including an amazing blackened green/bronze combo.