Scrangie by Rescue Beauty Lounge now available for pre-order!

Hey guys! Just wanted to give you a heads up-

Scrangie by Rescue Beauty Lounge is now available for pre-order on RescueBeauty.com!

Click here to pre-order Scrangie!

(The rest of the Blogger Collection is available for pre-order as well. Click here to order Orbis Non Sufficit, click here for Mismas and last but not least, here for the new Rescue Matte Topcoat)

All three colors in this collection are limited edition, so get them while you can!

I'm so proud of my color. I think you'll love it as much as I do!

I will have swatches and reviews of all three plus the new Matte Topcoat as soon as I possibly can. And, to answer the question I've received a few times about Scrangie by Rescue Beauty Lounge: No, there are no dupes for it, that's why we created it! :)

My Interview with Essie Weingarten of Essie Cosmetics!

Recently I had the privilege of interviewing one of the biggest names in nail polish- Essie Weingarten, creator of the eponymous nail polish line.

I am extremely grateful to Essie for taking time out of her day to allow me to interview her.


Scrangie: I'll get this one out of the way first, but I have to ask... Do you have a favorite nail polish shade or signature color?

Essie: I love all my colors! But I have to admit that I wear Bordeaux on my toes all year round and I always wear a sheer combo, like Ballet Slippers with Mademoiselle, on my hands.


S: How did you get started in creating nail polish? What made you decide to start Essie Cosmetics?

E: As a little girl, getting my nails done was the biggest treat I could imagine. I loved the whole experience of it. Your hands make such a statement about who you want to be and years ago, the polish choices at the salon didn’t reflect that; they were so limiting, so I took a risk and made shades that were new and exciting.

S: Essie is known for its delicate, feminine sheer shades. Any tips or tricks on applying and wearing sheer polish?

E: You should start with a good base coat like Essie’s First Base Base Coat. Then add your first layer of nail polish and wait two minutes before adding the second layer. Waiting two minutes in between layers allows time for the polish to set and prevents it from chipping. Finally, top it off with a great top coat, like Good to Go or Matte About You for a unique matte finish. To clean up any polish left around nail on skin, use our Nail Corrector Pen.

S: Nail polish connoisseurs are always looking for unique polish shades to add to their collection, which brings me to the topic of green nail polish. In particular, Essie's discontinued Dominica Green shade has become a much-coveted cult classic. What are your thoughts on green nail polish? Will we ever see another green from Essie?

E: As you know, we just recently came out with the limited edition North Fork Collection which included Greenport, a dreamy aquamarine hue. Jade green was such a fashion-forward statement on the runways this past year, so you may see green again soon!

S: Where do you get inspiration for creating new shades of polish, and how do the names get chosen? What is the process like for coming up with new colors each season?

E: Every season I personally attend fashion shows in New York, London, Paris, Berlin and Milan. I get my inspiration from the textures and colors on the runway and I also draw inspiration from colors I see all around me every day like interior decorating trends and even automobile design. I come up with each polish name on my own and ask my staff here at essie for their input. Everyone votes on their favorites and that’s how the polish names come to fruition!

S: You're a busy woman- what do you do to relax? Do you have a certain relaxation ritual to unwind after a stressful day?

E: I love to get manicures and pedicures once a week. I’ve been going to the same manicurist, Josephine, for several years. I also enjoy spending time at my house in the Hamptons, cooking and gardening.

S: What is your first memory of nail polish? Do you remember your first nail polish?

E: When I was 12-years-old, my mom began rewarding me for good behavior by taking me to get a manicure. I loved it from the beginning and have been addicted to polish ever since.

S: How do you like your nails- short or long? Sheer or colorful? Do you do them yourself?

E: I keep my nails at a natural length that compliments my long nail beds. I get my manicure once a week and usually stick to sheer color combos.

S: A lot of men are starting to pay attention to the health and appearance of their nails. A lot of men even like to wear nail polish! Do you have any product recommendations and nail care tips specifically for men?

E: Men’s nails and cuticles are just as important as women’s! The essie Cuticle Pen and Apricot Cuticle Oil are both great products for men as well as the Crystal File. Men should keep their nails short and clean. For a semi-gloss finish, essie Man-e-cure is the perfect clear topcoat. Or, our new product, Matte About You which leaves a matte finish on nails. And for the very adventurous man who wears dark polish, try Matte About You on top for a textured, matte finish. Our Naturally Clean line is a big hit with men as well – the Purifying Hand Treatment is a great product to keep on their desks at work to keep hands smooth and refreshed throughout the day.

S: Your name is synonymous with nail polish- everyone knows Essie! But are you into other beauty products as well? Any non-nail beauty item that you can't be without?

E: I love experimenting with all different makeup brands! I always get a kick out of trying all different kinds of beauty products.

There you have it! The answers to some of my most pondered questions about this lovely nail polish maven!

To see what Essie has to offer, check out their website at http://www.essie.com and don't forget to check out the New Releases section to see what's in store for this year!

Misa Fall 2009 I'm Only Human Collection

The long-awaited fall collection from Misa is finally here! You may remember the interesting promo picture for this collection from this post... The colors that go along with it are quite unexpected!

Pictures first, opinions second.


Can't Nobody Take Me Down. Brown creme. This has a lot of red in it, almost appearing purple in certain lights. It's not quite a chocolate brown... It's too red/purple to be pure chocolate.

Forgive, Forget, For Me I Will. Dark orange creme. This looks more red in the picture than it does in real life. It's a very deep burnt orange creme. Very appropriate for fall!


I'm Going To Love Myself. Bright purple/pink creme. Looks like everyone's doing brights for fall! Flattering cool bright pink, in the same vein as OPI Ate Berries In The Canaries / OPI I'm India Mood For Love. Love these pinks on my skintone.



Sorry, Just Can't Help It. Medium red-purple creme. This, as always, look more blue in the picture than it does in real life. I'm a sucker for purple cremes... Sorry, just can't help it. Hahaha, okay, bad joke. But really, I just can't help but love this color!


That's My Little Secret. Berry creme. Cool-toned version of Today is My Birthday!

Today Is My Birthday! Berry creme. Red/warm-toned version of That's My Little Secret.

The shades are slightly truer to life in the bottle picture at the top of the page.


The formula on these is very, very thick. I had a little difficulty applying these because they didn't want to smooth out nicely due to the thickness. Nothing that can't be fixed with a little polish thinner, though. Misas in general are on the thick side so that's normal, but these are thicker than previous Misa polishes I've used. Opacity is very good, you could probably get away with one coat on these but I did two to cover up bald spots. Drying time is long, but they do dry to a shiny finish even without topcoat. One of my brushes was defective, so be sure to check for stray hairs before applying- a quick trim with very sharp scissors should do the trick.

Okay, deep breath. I hate to criticize a polish collection from a company whose collections usually make me jump for joy, but here goes....

I'm not completely in love with it! I really wanted to be. I'm a big Misa fan and I've been dying to see what kind of fun, fascinating and unique colors they had in store for us this year, and, truthfully, I feel a little bit let down....

There's nothing wrong with the colors at all. They're great colors, beautiful colors, colors I like. It's just that... they're not unique. We've seen these already in everyone else's fall collections. Misa usually does such unique and awesome colors, I wasn't expecting these to be so common. For one, they're all cremes, which is okay because I love cremes, but I would have loved to see a little more variety. And second: Berry cremes. Two out of six are berry cremes. I know a lot of people love them, but I personally think I might scream if I see one more berry creme. All of this year's collections have had multiple berry cremes and they're all near-duplicates of each other. Again, I would have loved to see more variety.

I love brown, I love orange, I love purple and I love Misa polish... But I'm just not feeling head-over-heels for this collection like I usually do with Misa. Remember last year's fall collection from Misa? It's still one of the best collections EVER, even a year after its release.... I suppose I was hoping for another one of those.

Also.... I feel the need to address this gem:

I'm not easily offended and I can't say this image actually *offends* me, but it does make me giggle like a twelve-year-old.

Here are the points I'd like to make on this. I'll keep it a clean and mature as possible.

First, it's shockingly raunchy and suggestive for a nail polish ad. I don't think the target audience for nail polish advertisements would really appreciate this type of image. Normally I'm giving China Glaze a hard time about their pseudo-pornographic promotional images, but I'm shocked to see this from Misa! Does this image really appeal to women? Does it really make women want to buy nail polish? I'm not a marketing expert by any means but this really surprises me. "Hey, does that woman have balls in her mouth?" "Yeah, let's go buy nail polish!!"

I understand that this image is supposed to portray Eve's sin (and that's something to celebrate??) and I'm just glad it didn't include the serpent as well.

Second, the theme of this collection is supposed to be a female-empowerment "You go girl!" type of theme. However, the model in the advertisement seems to be simulating a sexual act that is pretty much the opposite of female empowerment. Pardon my language, but there is nothing 'empowering' about being tea-bagged. This image seems to be very contrary to the 'feminist' embrace-your-flaws theme that was intended.

I really hope I'm not being too harsh! I know that I'm entitled to my own opinion, and hey, this is my blog so it's all about my opinion... I have to be honest, and I know you all come to read my honest opinion on things... But Misa never usually lets me down! Hopefully my criticism comes across as constructive, because that's how it's intended.

So... what do YOU all think? I'd love to hear your opinions!

Nubar Fall 2009 Modern Matte Collection

Nubar has given us two matte options for this fall- first, Nubar V For Men (which acts as a matte topcoat) and now a set of four matte polishes. I'm not really one to care about trends, but wow, the matte trend is huge this year.


Avant-Garde. A unique russet. Unique russet is the manufacturer's description and I'd say it fits this shade quite well. It's a reddish, brownish, coppery type of color that just screams fall. It has a ton of shimmer that looks awesome matte as well as glossy.


Contempo. A classic red. This is a bright, glamourous red shimmer. It has kind of a retro-glam Old Hollywood look to it. It's a very noticeable color. The rich shimmer in it is accented by gold particles.


Prevail. A spectacular purple. This is a really gorgeous shade. It's a deep, dark brownish purple. Purple with touches of gold. Very dramatic.


Vital. A deep wine. It's described as wine, but it's really quite purple. I'd say it's a little more reddish in real life. This is also a shimmer like the other shades in this collection.


I mentioned that they looked as good glossy as they do matte... Here's proof!

Avant-Garde.

Contempo.

Prevail.

Vital.

Don't these look fantastic with a glossy topcoat? If you're not crazy about mattes but still like the color, you have options! Take these for example. They dry matte, but if you want glossy, just add a topcoat like Nubar Diamont Shine. If you change your mind and want to go back to matte, just add a coat of Nubar V For Men. Or you can go partially matte, partially glossy by doing a french tip with either matte or shiny topcoat, or using matte or shiny topcoat to Konad a design on top.

The formula on these is great. Smooth, even-textured, easy to control, not too thick. I didn't have a single problem with the formula. These mattes are much more forgiving than the other mattes released so far this year. The reason for this is that they don't dry as fast. With other mattes, they start to dry as you are applying them. These stay wet during application which allows room for error. The drying time is still super fast, totally dry within about five minutes, but you have a little more time to work with them, which is to your advantage.

These mattes aren't quite as matte as some of the others. They are still matte- not a hint of gloss- by they are more smooth and satiny. They don't really have that chalky ultra-matte look. I know not everyone likes the super-matte look, so these would suit your taste if you want matte but not ultra-matte. These are really the entry-level mattes- perfect for someone who wants to try out the matte trend but doesn't have any experience with matte polish.

Overall, I really like these. They're easy to work with and apply yet they still dry quickly. I'm not totally enthusiastic about the shade selection- while I do like them, they are rather tame and traditional- red, copper, dark purple, wine. I suppose that's not really much of an issue because Nubar also offers a matte topcoat so I can mattify any shade I want. You should see Nubar V on top of Nubar Greener... spectacular. I'll post a picture when I do my Nubar V review, you'll love it.

Nubar's Modern Matte collection can be purchased directly from Nubar's website. They're currently sold as a set for $24.95, but I'm sure they'll be available separately in the future. You can always email customer service to find out for sure.

More picture thieves :(

Check this crap out:

Do those nails look familiar to you?

Seriously... is it so hard to just credit me for my own photographs? It's disturbing to see my body parts plastered all over someone else's website with someone else's name on them. Do I have to use a more obnoxious watermark or what?

Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Revlon Runway Collection Studio Artificial Nails

I'm really digging these Revlon Runway Collection press-on nails. They have a bunch of really cool designs that I would actually wear. One of the recent ones I tried were the 'Studio' style nails. Here's how they look on me:


The Studio style nails are a silver metallic french tip with a grid-stripe chevron design of black stripes laid on top of the silver. The base color is a semi-sheer milky neutral pink. Sort of futuristic-modern looking! Very cool.

For more detailed information on applying press-on nails, please see my previous posts:
Revlon Artificial Nails
Revlon Runway Collection 'Stella' Artificial Nails
Fing'rs EDGE Hardcore Nail Addict Pink Houndstooth Artificial Nails


These press-on nails are really easy to apply. All you do is find a nail that matches closely to your natural nail, apply a little glue to your nail, press the fake nail onto the glue and you're done. The glue bonds and dries within seconds. Sometimes I do get glue on my fingers, but it comes off after a little hand lotion.

The Studio style nails are a really nice length. While they are still a little too short to be completely comfortable for me, they're more of a medium length than the super-short length of some of the other nails I've tried. They come up just past my fingertip. I still had to file my natural nails short so that they didn't hang over the edge of the artificial nails, but I was covering a broken nail so it worked out fine for me.

The Studio style in particular is an example of an inexpensive way to get a salon nail art look without paying an arm and a leg at a dirty nail salon. It would be very challenging to get this look at home- my shaky hands would never let me do lines that thin and straight. I don't have the patience to play with those little strips of nail art foils and stickers, either, so the Studio nail takes care of that. What would take at least an hour at a salon takes me five minutes at home.

The manufacturer recommends to replace the set of nails after ten days of wear. Removal is as easy as application- file them down and soak them in 100% acetone. It only takes me a few minutes to remove these, I've got it down to a science now, haha! Once they're off, there is virtually no damage to my natural nail. The only 'damage' to speak of is the dryness I experience after having my fingers in acetone. This is fixed instantly by applying a good cuticle oil like CND Solar Oil. The important thing to remember when removing these nails is not to pull, pry, pick or peel them off. Not even a little. Even if the nail is mostly dissolved in acetone already, any prying of the nail will take parts of your natural nail with it and leave you with rough, uneven nails. Resist the urge to peel. You can do it.

I still have more fun nail art styles of Revlon Runway Collection (and a few other brands I recently tested out) nails to review, plus a few plain french-manicured ones as well.

Barielle Shades Fall 2009 All Lacquered Up Collection

This year's fall collection from Barielle Shades is a collaboration between Elle (Barielle's celebrity manicurist) and fellow blogger Michelle from All Lacquered Up! Blogger power!!! Woohoo!!!

Please ignore the tiny, stubby broken nail. My right hand suffered casualties while cleaning the garage earlier this week but thankfully my left hand was spared.


Blackened Bleu. A black base with strong blue shimmer. Really neat effect! Little sparkling blue particles. I think I'd call this one glass-fleck like China Glaze BLK-BILA-BONG.

Falling Star. Medium blue creme with copper glitter. This is really cool! I'd say it's the most unique in the collection, I don't think I've seen a polish like this before. The combination of blue and orangey-copper glitter is really fascinating. Very unusual and that's a good thing.



Get Mauve-ing. Mauve creme. I'd almost call this purple as well. It's one of those muddy, faded 'fashion' shades like OPI You Don't Know Jacques, but this time it's mauve!


Glammed Out Garnet. Deep red sparkle. This is really pretty- it has that same Ruby Pumps effect of looking like hot coals under water but it does it without glitter. I'd call this one glass-fleck, too. Lots of sparkles but no frustrating glitter removal.


Lava Rock. Deep purple shimmer. Lava Rock is a dark blackened purple with the tiniest hint of gold shimmer. It looks like it *could* be on the verge of duochrome but the effect is only visible in the bottle. It has that same multi-color dark look like Rimmel Hard Edged / Night Before / Art Of Noise.


Make It A Latte. Warm brown shimmer. This one surprised me! I love brown polish, and this one is a medium warm brown with shimmer that shifts from gold to red. It was significantly darker on my nails when the polish dried than it appeared in the bottle.

Out-Grey-Geous. Light grey metallic shimmer. Very pretty shimmery grey with a bit of a twist- instead of just having silvery shimmer particles, this has little golden flecks in it as well. Reminds me a bit of OPI Brand New Skates. It also gives me a Slick Idiot earworm....


Pin Up. Red hot red with golden shimmer. This is a bright, loud red with beautiful gold shimmer. In the sunlight some of the shimer takes on a warm pinkish tone as well, so there might be two colors of shimmer in this. Or it has duochrome shimmer like Make It A Latte.


Polished Princess. Warm golden green shimmer. YAY green!!! I had expected there to be more green in this collection, I was surprised to see only one green. That's okay, one green is better than no green. This is sort of a swampy warm green, it reminds me of aquatic vegetation. It's super shimmery, so shimmery it borders on frosty. There are hints of gold and blue in the shimmer. It reminds me a wee bit of Zoya Irene with that kind of warm, murky-swampy green shimmer look.

Putt-E On Me. Warm taupe-grey creme. This pulls really cool on me, but in the bottle it's definitely more warm and mauve-tinged. My skintone does weird things to these types of colors Another mousy, faded fashion shade of taupe. I like these types of shades and I'm happy we're seeing more of them. I'm not sure I understand the name of this one. I've been repeating it to myself trying to figure out the joke.. All that comes to my mind is, "'Putty' on, Wayne!"

Slate Of Affairs. Slightly greyed-out blue with bright blue shimmer. I love this. So pretty and serene. It's like a less-faded version of Zoya Jo with stronger blue shimmer. Calming and fascinating at the same time.

U-Concrete-Me. Medium grey creme. Not much to describe about this one! Pretty straightforward. Grey creme. It seems darker than Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy and China Glaze Recycle, I'd say it's closer in tone to Obesessive Compulsive Cosmetics Dangerous and possibly Illamasqua DWS, though I haven't done a side-by-side comparison to be sure.


The formula on these is decent. They're very thick and opaque. All of these were two-coaters with the exception of Blackened Bleu which needed three coats. These seem more three-free textured than previous Barielles I've tried. Like I mentioned before, they're very thick but this time they're slightly runny. I had a little difficulty applying some of these evenly due to a combination of runny formula and a brush that didn't quite flare out and flex the way I'm used to them doing. Drying time was good, it seemed shorter than other Barielles I have. The opacity and thickness of the polish is great because it allows you to do fewer coats, which in turn allows the polish to dry faster and wear longer before peeling.

Overall, I really like this collection! I would wear pretty much every color in here. I like them all. Barielle seems unafraid to use color to its full advantage and that makes me happy. They consistently release great collections. I always look forward to hearing about Barielle's new colors because they're always something I like!

The press release states, "This collection boasts unique twists on colors and combinations that are truly firsts in the industry." I can't say I agree with that, as anyone as obsessed with nail polish as all of us are could tell you differently, but there is something I really love about that statement. Unique twists on colors and combinations and firsts in the industry are something to BOAST about! Right on!! They're not something to fear, they're something to flaunt and strive for. I wish more companies would color outside the lines a little more and not keep re-releasing the same shades of red and pink for all eternity.

I don't have a release date for this collection, but based on usual Fall release dates, my best guess would be later this month or possibly early August. I don't know if these are going to be available in CVS like previous collections have, because the press release only mentions the website. If you are planning to order from Barielle.com, I would like to draw your attention to the small Barielle banner in the right sidebar. If you click through that ad to order your Barielles, it helps support me in keeping this blog running. I feel a bit embarassed for even mentioning it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to explain why it's there.

Anyway, getting off topic... Barielle Shades retail for $8.00 and are available directly from Barielle's website or the occasional CVS Pharmacy (I would call for availablity since it seems a little spotty).