The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
I can’t believe that in the two and a half years I’ve been writing ALU that I’ve NEVER mentioned Icing polishes! If you’re unfamiliar, Icing is a chain of accessory stores owned by Claire’s. I honestly never shopped there until some MUA nail board girls discovered their line of nail polish. They have a wide range of colors and come out with limited edition seasonal collections quite often. AND they’re pretty cheap. You can usually find them on some kind of sale.
Unfortunately, since we moved a couple years ago I haven’t had immediate access to an Icing so it’s been a while since I added to my stash. Obviously I’m not up on the latest colors but I have a couple of my faves to show you. Check them out! According to my bottles Icing polishes are 3-Free (including Formaldehyde Resin) but I would check the labels before buying, just to be sure. The formula is on the thinner side so even dark colors usually take three coats for even coverage but it flows smoothly on the nail and dries glossy.
Money Talks is a blackened forest green shimmer with silver micro-glitter floating throughout. It was packaged in a set a couple holidays back so I’m not sure if it’s still able to be found. I Married Blue was an open stock color I picked up during one of their sales. It’s definitely in the burple family more than navy. It has a pearl/shimmer that looks a bit magenta in the bottle that I attribute to its slight purple leaning. I realize the bottles look VERY similar to China Glaze and I know people have wondered if they’re by the same company but I think the similarities stop at the bottle shape. Icing polishes are produced in Illinois while China Glaze is based in California.
You can only find Icing polishes at their stores and this bottle size retails for $3.50 but there’s usually some kind of deal going on. You find an Icing near you using their store locator.
Where are my Icing lovers? What are your favorite shades? Seen anything new and fun that I should make the trip out east for?
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
So I’m leaving for Vegas on Saturday. If you’re my Facebook friend or follow me on Twitteryou know already that I’m going for the CosmoProf show. It’s this huge convention where tons of salon brands come together to introduce their lines and new products. Needless to say I’m uber-excited.
Preparing for the trip got me daydreaming of our next vacation. The Boyfriend and I decided that we’re over cruises so we talked about heading to Mexico with some friends come Winter. I know that’s a long way off but it got me thinking our last trip to Mexico and how I wore one of the OPI Mexico collection polishes, Cozu-Melted In The Sun, so I pulled it out for this week’s Archives. Take a look!
Cozu-Melted In The Sun is one of the few polishes in my stash that The ALU Mom and I both agree on. A lover of all things metallic (bronze, silver, gold, copper, etc), she borrowed it from me and undoubtedly wanted to keep it but I’m not giving this beauty up! Cozu-Melted is a light pinky, peachy, coppery glitz bomb.
The base color is filled with silver micro-glitter that catches the light even indoors. The formula is pre-3Free so it spreads like a dream but is on the semi-sheer side. Even after three coats over a ridgefiller I can still see my tips but I love the shade enough that I can live with it. OPI Cozu-Melted In The Sun is discontinued but TransDesign.com has it listed for sale and I saw some bottles on Amazon.com and Ebay.com as well. As always check out any seller before buying and consider emailing first to confirm availability. Some smaller sites are slow at updating inventory.
Who else has a forgotten bottle of Cozu-Melted in their stash? Or maybe not-so-forgotten? Thoughts?
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
You asked for HTF’s well you’re gonna get them. Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll last week. An overwhelming majority of you want to see some of my favorite discontinued polishes pop up in the Archives. For those of you that weren’t a fan of the idea, not to worry, you’ll still get plenty of available shades to ogle.
I decided to kick off the DC’d Archives with China Glaze C-C-Courage. Check it out after the jump!
C-C-Courage was released as part of the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection. With Wizard of Oz themed names and colors the collection also included Cowardly Lyin’, Dorothy Who?, Good Witch?, The Ten Man and the lone core collection survivor Ruby Pumps. I owned Good Witch? at one point thanks to a special MUA friend but I decided she belonged with the queen of all things pink, NikkNack.
My WOOA shades (pictured above): C-c-courage, Cowardly Lyin’ and Dorothy Who?
It’s the multi-sized glitter in these polishes that make them special. C-C-Courage has tonal shimmer and silvery light purple glitter trapped in a semi-sheer grape hued base. Though don’t let semi-sheer scare you off. This one is totally opaque in 2-3 coats. It does dry a bit flat and satiny so I am showing it with a glossy top coat. Now because this collection was released prior to AII Beauty acquiring the brand, the formulas were lost. But I have it on good authority that China Glaze has been working on re-creating the colors so if you would like to see these beauties make a triumphant return, let them know. Leave a comment here or email them directly through the contact form on the China Glaze site.
Have any of you run across the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection? Do you own any of the shades? What do you think of C-C-Courage.
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
For this week’s Archives I wanted to dig out a polish I’ve never used before. Because I’m an impulsive shopper, I have way too many untried colors in my collection. It’s sad, I know. All those bottles sitting there, wanting to be loved. Well this week NYX Thunder is getting some attention.
I picked up Thunder at the Tulalip outlets north of Seattle when I was visiting friends over TWO years ago. I was so excited to see a NYX polish display in person, I could hardly contain myself. Check out this treasure after the jump! (Oh and make sure you vote in my Archives poll)
Thunder is a slightly muted sky blue shimmer. It’s not bright, not soft but somewhere in the middle. It applied smooth and even and I love the wide flat brush. Their brush is thinner than OPI’s so it makes applicaton easier for those with small nail beds. The only downside is the sheerness as it required three coats. I purchased NYX Thunder at one of the fragrance stores at the Tulalip outlets but it’s available online for $3.50 to $4 at NYXCosmetics.com and CherryCulture.com
OK so here’s the deal. I try to only post available older shades for the Archives so that you can actually go out and purchase them. However, I have so so many discontinued and HTF colors that I’d love to share with you but it almost seems like a tease if they’re not readily available. So my question to you is… do you want to see them anyway or just stick with what I’ve been doing?
I would continue to post available polishes but mix in some DC’d ones as well. I know there are a lot of “dusty hunters” and ebayers out there so if including some HTFs would be of interest to you, speak out!
AND DON’T FORGET TO ENTER MY CHANEL GIVEAWAY THAT ENDS TOMORROW!
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
I find it funny that even though I’m not always jumping on Essie‘s bandwagon, as I sort though my polishes to pick each week’s Archives shade, I keep coming across these great Essies that have been long forgotten. Back before we had access to all these outrageous greens, blues, greys, etc., I was way more into Essie due to the formula. So when I decided that I wanted to post a pretty summery melon, I turned to my old time staple, Essie Cantaloupe. Check it out!
Back when my collection was more manageable and I had time to repeat shades on the regular, I wore the shit out of Cantaloupe. You don’t even know. It was my go-to shade in the summer because it always makes me look more tan. It’s the polish I often recommend to anyone seeking a soft melon. Its creamy finish, flawless consistency and smooth, even coverage make it a winner in my book! Essie Cantaloupe retails for around $4 on our favorite e-tailer sites (see sidebar) and for $8 on Essie.com. You can also find it locally at national salon chains like ULTA, Regis and Trade Secret.
So what’s on your nails this week fanatics? Any Cantaloupe fans? Anyone planning to run out and buy it? Who’s discovered a long lost polish treasure recently?
Oh and look for a fun new giveaway tomorrow. Stay tuned!
The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
I Married Blue was an open stock color I picked up during one of their sales. It’s definitely in the burple family more than navy. It has a pearl/shimmer that looks a bit magenta in the bottle that I attribute to its slight purple leaning.
I realize the bottles look VERY similar to China Glaze and I know people have wondered if they’re by the same company but I think the similarities stop at the bottle shape. Icing polishes are produced in Illinois while China Glaze is based in California.
