Rescue Beauty Lounge Surfer Girl - Spring 2010

360, Bangin', Diddy Mow

Mornin' lovelies! How are we!? Today I am bringing you some yummy swatches of Rescue Beauty Lounge's upcoming Spring Collection. It is called the Surfer Girl Collection and the inspiration for Ji Baek was Proenza Schouler's surfer-influenced Spring 2010 RTW Collection.

Ji Baek: What I loved about the show was the cool, breezy attitude of the models and the clothes. There was a sense that they'd just put down their surfboards and slipped on their runway dresses, with minimal makeup and salt-styled beach hair.

Quotes like that make me love these colors a bit more. They evoke this feeling of the beach and I don't love my hair more than when it is naturally tousled and textured with salt water. I even brought home a big bottle of the Pacific with me from California when I went there in 2006 so I could spray it on my hair!

360 - This is a grayed blue; slate blue, if you will. I am going to call it a creme, but it has a smidgen of silver shimmer in it. It gets its name from a move where the surfer and board spin 360 degrees on the face of a wave. I found this color very flattering against my warm/reddish skin and also very calming and serene. This is very beautiful.

Bangin' - I love the name of this polish. I said in the summer when I posted LA Girl Rockstar colors that "Head Banging" should have been "Head Bangin' ", but what do I know?! Anyway, this is a bright and very bold red creme with a bit of orange/coral tinge to it. I think this color would flatter most and would look incredible with any outfit. At first it reminded me of Sally Hansen - Caribbean Coral, but Bangin' isn't as obnoxiously bright as that one.

Diddy Mow - This is my favorite of the collection. Apparently "diddy mow" is a surf term for a harsh wipe out. Ji Baek describes this as, "the color of sand through sea water, the moment before you eat it!" That is quite the awesome description! This is a greenish-gray and I adore it. I adore it for it's uniqueness and for the way I can't stop looking at it! I am wearing it right now and I keep looking at my nails instead of typing! It has a very slight, hidden shimmer but even less than 360. It actually appears to me, and maybe it's just the topcoat, that it has this all over very slight, shimmery sheen. It's not really like a shimmer, but like my topcoat is cloudy. Maybe that is all it is. HAHA! This color, although having nothing to do with surfing, reminds me of my dad. I think because I am picturing a jacket he has that is the same color. Inspiration can be found in our fathers' closets I guess!

I am not really supposed to comment on the formula since the press release says all press samples are not RBL's formula, only used as color reference. But these were smooth as usual and nearly perfect in one coat. All swatches are two coats.

The Surfer Girl Collection can be found on Rescue Beauty Nail Polish and will be available sometime in March or April 2010.

What do you think? :c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Ride The Khrome Wave

I had a vision for my new China Glaze-Millennium from the Khrome collection. I wanted to use it for metallic tips on a funky french. I was then planning to swirl out the color into a little wave design. I just had to pick something for the base. I was sure I didn't want one solid color. But then what would I use? Two shades? Three? Water marble? Regular marble? Konad? Shimmer? Creme? I didn't know.

I ended up doing a regular marble design. I chose two thick, very opaque cremes to get the job done: Rescue Beauty Lounge - Underwear and Zoya - Pinta. I did a thick stripe of each on half of the nail and while still wet, I took a tooth pick and pulled the colors back and forth between them over the line that separated them. It reminded me of when I used to work in a cake bakery and I swirled yellow and chocolate cake to make marble. That was one of my favorite things to do. It never got old! It was always pretty and amusing. I find joy in simple things I guess!

Anywho, after that I free-handed the tips with China Glaze - Millennium. Then I took a thin paintbrush and carefully made the little wave following the shape of the "smile line", but circling it around. Although I was very pleased, I didn't think the wave had enough emphasis so I outlined it and the tips with a black nail art striper: LA Colors Art Deco in black. And viola! This is my creation!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Swatches

Is everyone ready for the new week?! I stopped by Walgreen's on my way to work and picked up some new Sally Hansen's to get my week off on the right foot! :c)

It looks like Rescue Beauty Lounge has some new shades for us this spring! I am looking forward to them. In the meantime I thought I would quench our RBL thirst with some swatches of shades I picked up during the RBL sale last month.

Concrete Jungle - This is perfect! When my bottles came I thought this looked darker than I had wanted. I wanted a light gray creme. But once I put it on I was happy again! It is just as I expected and the application was a dream. 2 thin, easy coats.

Cherry Love - This is a pink sided red creme. It reminds me of cherry pie filling! I love it, despite being a bit of a red hater. It is hot! Although the formula surprised me. It wasn't as smooth and dreamy as I know RBLs to be.

Dead Calm - I love this color and I love this name. This deep cobalt is perfect. It never looks black. I love the shade but maybe even better is the formula. This swatch is one coat. It is a very calming shade. If I ever have a hectic day and need to chill, I am putting this on. I would expect it to melt away my stress.

Purple Haze - Seeing pictures of this online before I ordered it, I expected it to be different. I pictured it as a light to medium, blue-hued lilac. It is actually a very not blue, medium hued, lilac with a dusty quality. It reminds me a lot of Zoya - Malia, although I didn't compare them. This is gorgeous though, and in true RBL fashion, has a fantastic two coat formula. I love the "dusty" quality of this one.

Have a happy Monday!
-Elaine

Naught-y-cal Funky French

Good evening! It's late but I was in a posting mood! I just have a quick funky french to show you. I like it, but I think it was better in my head than on the nail. I actually think the best thing about this is the title for this post! :c)

For this mani I started with a base of Naughty Nails - The Big "O". Then I free-handed the tips with Rescue Beauty Lounge - Dead Calm. That worked well since it is a very opaque, one-coater polish, so doing tips with it was nice and easy. No streaking, and I didn't have to go back and do a second coat. Then I used LA Colors Art Deco striper in red glitter to go over the "smile line" of my french to sort of hide any wavering in my line.

Have a good night and I will have something new for you in the morning!

-Elaine

No More War Halfmoon Matte Manicure

Hi guys! I am traveling today so this is a scheduled post. I am not actually sitting here posting this! I am on my way to New York state to see my family! YAY! But I have pics of nails for you!

This was a mani I did last week. After a day of wearing Rescue Beauty Lounge - No More War I wanted to do some sort of halfmoon mani to it. I bought circular reinforce stickers for loose-leaf paper, and was ready to go!

I couldn't come up with a complementing color, and then it hit me. Do it matte! So I stuck on the little reinforcers on the lower part of my nail to mimic my natural halfmoon, and painted the rest of my nail with China Glaze - Matte Magic. I love it!

Have a nice holiday!

50% Rescue Beauty Lounge Today - Last Minute Swatches

Good Morning! I hope you all have your clicking fingers ready and credit cards in hand for the 50% Rescue Beauty Lounge 5 hour only sale today!!! The email says to keep it hush hush except for my "BFF and "in the know" sis"... well isn't that all of you?!
:c)

The code for 50% is VIP 5 HOUR and it is good from 12pm to 5pm Eastern Standard Time today. I stayed up late last night to do swatches of all the RBL polishes that I have. It's not very many, but it may just help someone.

Square Pants - 4 coats

Bikini Bottom - 4 coats (I really believe the 4 coats is worth the end result)

Scrangie - 3 coats

Locavore - 3 coats

Frugalista - 3 coats

No More War - Ah my beloved NMW. How I love this color! It is my NOTD. 2 coats

I honestly don't even have my list ready for today. I am for sure getting Underware, Purple Haze and probably Concrete Jungle. And then I'm on the fence for Starfish Patrick, and some reds and Teal and Dead Calm.

What are you going to get?

RBL - Scrangie

My nail of the day today (and yesterday, and probably tomorrow!) is Scrangie by Rescue Beauty Lounge. This is a medium to dark purple creme packed with a green iridescent shimmer. It is quite a beauty! I love it. It came to me much darker that I expected. All the pictures I had seen seemed lighter and so it was not completely what I expected, but not in a bad way! It is beautiful. It was created by fellow blogger Scrangie of Scrangie.com. Not that I have to tell you! If you read polish blogs, you read Scrangie. Her nails and pictures and polishes are incredible and I just love her writing. It is excellent, thoughtful, informative, to the point and funny! I never miss a post and I read them in they're entirety.

Scrangie the polish is part of a collection of blogger inspired colors which also includes Orbis Non Sufficit by Stephanie of The Polish Addict, and Mismas by Michelle of All Lacquered Up. I am so amazed at these beauties and the women behind them. It is so incredible that they had this opportunity and it is inspiring. I often dream of developing my own polishes! Who doesn't?! These polishes are more than just pretty bottles to add to my collection. They truly are an inspiration and it makes me proud to wear them.

Here's a couple bottle shots of Scrangie the polish:

At an angle you can see the base color of this rich purple. Don't let the shimmer fool you, it is on the darker side.


But straight on you can see all the amazing green shimmer!

Scrangie, Orbis Non Sufficit and Mismas can be purchased at Rescue Beauty Lounge and retail for $18.

Nails of the Day for Work

I, long ago, (not that long... say the last year) started thinking about work appropriate nails as I became a "working professional" in January. I figured that I could only wear mauves, pale pinks, off-whites, beige... and so on. That really kept me from looking forward to starting my career! My mind changed a bit about work colors in the fall when I was watching a new episode of The Office when they had Holly as a character and I saw that she had vampy nails. Observe:

That made me think. "I can wear vampy colors to work". Of course I realize this is just a fictional show, however... it made me think. But recently I realized that I don't really have contact with the outside world at work, and as long as I don't have really wild nail art, my bosses don't really seem to care what I do or wear on my nails. They are just nails. Not that they have said anything about it or that I shouldn't have wild nail art, just that I am trying to draw a line myself.

Here are a couple of the manis I wore to work in the past few weeks. What do you think?

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Squarepants over OPI- Alpine Snow

Sally Hansen - Rockstar Pink. I think I have expressed my love for this enough before. That is why it just had to be worn to work.

Sally Hansen - Forsythia

Forsythia with a little Konad.

This one I did for the Konad contest in May. Hence the prop and all. It's KO-Karen (matte finish) stamped with Konad polish in red and using plate M2.

Del Sol - Pretty in Pink with Konad and holo glitter.

Currently I am wearing Del Sol - Heartbreaker, so that will be what I wear at the office Monday morning.

What about you guys? What do you consider work appropriate? If you work with the public or in customer service? If you work in a closed office setting? Do you have a nail dress code at your job?

I have a friend who I like to lend my polishes to and she has to wear neutral colors (boo) but I think it's a bit ridiculous for her position because she serves and bartends on a ship that goes out on the lake and serves lunch and dinner and it's kind of a relaxed party boat. I have been on it... I did the electric slide. So.... ya know.