Rescue Beauty Dead Calm vs China Glaze First Mate

Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm and China Glaze First Mate (looking less navy in the photo than in person)

I love a good navy blue cream. So peaceful and calm, and honestly appropriate for any time of year. My new favorite had been China Glaze's First Mate from the Anchors Away collection, but then I received Dead Calm in a swap and thought the two looked awfully similar. Did I need both, or would they look different on the nail than in the bottle? Would Rescue Beauty's consistently easy formula sway my love for First Mate? Find out after the jump!

China Glaze Vintage Vixens Collection - Foxy

The Vintage Vixens collection from China Glaze last fall is one of my favorites. In fact, it was one of the first China Glaze Collections I wholeheartedly bought into in quite some time! I just loved the old fashioned feel of the colors, great for not only fall but any season. Foxy is hands down one of my favorite fall colors, however. A burnt red shimmer with a little bit of gold light in it, it just shouts fireplaces and changing leaves to me. It's not quite red, and not all the way coppery-brown either. Somewhere in between, and changing depending on the lights. Want to see more? Keep Reading!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche

Hooray for fall! I have been itching to try out all these fall colors that have been sitting in my untrieds bin for so long. Here's a pretty one from Rescue Beauty that was part of the Iconic/Ironic Collection of 2011. This collection included some awesome colors, but I feel this one may be a little under appreciated so I am here to remind you all how great it is! 

Recherche is described as a "purplish dark brown—a smoky port for when you can't face another glass of pink champagne". I definitely think the description is accurate. In some lights, it's a deep dark brown and in others, it's a smoky dark purple. See for yourself - keep reading to see how this changes in different lights!

China Glaze Little Drummer Boy (Holiday 2010)

Even with new holiday collections coming out already, I felt like I should give a polish from last year some love. Who says we should only break these out once a year, anyway? Especially this shade - with the denim-y blue polishes coming out from Chanel and Nubar, this one still feels so current to me! 

 Little Drummer Boy is from China Glaze's 2010 Holiday Collection, and this one really stood out to me from the others - a dark, shimmery navy. How pretty, and not that traditional for the holidays! It's bold without being in your face at all - it's deep and somewhat muted. Want to see what I am talking about? Keep Reading!

Zoya Yara

When I first saw swatches of this beauty, I knew I had to have it.  Military-style, muted green is perfect this fall but add the gold glitter and I am hooked!  I've been saving this polish for too long, and I tend to do that - the bottles sitting in my untrieds bin are the polishes I most coveted, almost like I don't want to open them without a really good reason.  Well, today that reason is so I can share it with you!


Yara is from Zoya's Fall 2011 Smoke and Mirrors Collection and is described as a medium smoky olive drab with an illuminating splash of bright gold glitter.  Intrigued?  Keep reading!

Zoya Yasmeen, Valerie, Roxy, and Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

If there's one color I feel I own too much of, it's surprisingly pinkish blackened purples. I just can't stay away from them. I think it's because that's the shade I went to when I first started branching away from basic reds and pinks with my polish selections. It was almost purple, but not so much that I didn't feel comfortable with it.

Anyway, I have so many of these, and I love them all! Zoya, especially, really knows how to do this color right. I decided I had to compare them once and for all - in my mind, Zoya's Yasmeen, Roxy, and Valerie were basically the same shade but with different finishes, and I knew Deborah Lippmann's Razzle Dazzle reminded me of Zoya's Roxy. Have you always been curious about how close these polishes may be?

Zoya Harley, Zoya Dove, China Glaze Pelican Gray

I own several gray polishes, and more than any other shade I always find myself thinking I must own a dupe after I've purchased and applied a new one. So, I decided to sit down and compare three of my lighter grays to see how similar they really were. I knew Harley had shimmer, but to be honest I didn't notice it too much when I wore it alone.

Now you can see for yourself!

China Glaze Side Saddle

This one's from a little ways back, but I have yet to try any polishes from this Rodeo Diva collection and have been saving them for fall. Up first is Side Saddle, a plummy brown with gold sparkle. When the sun hits this color, the gold really comes through and the brown lightens up to a more red-based purple. Indoors, it looks like a pretty, warm dark brown. I love this color!

Want to see more?  Keep reading!

Deborah Lippmann Don't Tell Mama, plus comparisons!

It felt as though I had been on a green hiatus, so I had to bust this one out of my untrieds for this warm fall day. Don't Tell Mama is described as a "mood ring blue/green" on Lippmann's website, but in the bottle it really seemed deeper than that - inky, almost. On the nail, it is like a blackened teal - not so black that you don't see the green tone, but definitely "moodier" than your typical jewel tone.

Lippmann polishes tend to be "jellyish" to me, going on light with coat number one and deepening in intensity with each coat thereafter. This polish, however, was fully opaque in ONE coat as you'll see in some later swatches.

Want to see more?  Keep reading!

Deborah Lippmann - Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Described as a "glistening gun metal (shimmer)", this is my first foray into blackish polishes. I felt like this one wouldn't ever look too black, and I was right even though some of these pictures show otherwise. It's jelly-ish in finish, like most Lippmanns are, so it's not that intense and the shimmer really keeps the gunmetal gray from ever showing up as black. The shimmer, to me, comes from what looks like tiny multi-colored shimmer particles - it really does look like that sparkling finish in some car paints or, I suppose, in actual gunmetal (though I wouldn't know!)

Anyway, read on for swatches, a couple with some bad tipwear (apologies!)

Topped with Lippmann's Addicted to Speed topcoat.

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Poco A Poco

This is the third and last polish I purchased from the Firebird Collection by Rescue Beauty Lounge - I am going to try to pick up Fortissimo later, though.

I don't have a lot of pinks, and the ones I do have tend to go on my toes rather than my tips. But this one was intriguing with its hint of orange shimmer. The pink and orange made me think of sunsets and mai tais - what a great combo! According to the website, Poco A Poco is "the stunning, sparkling pink of a fanning cloud when the red and orange rays of the sun are trying to burst through."

As you can see from my indoor swatches, the orange shimmer doesn't really translate inside (even less than in Piu Mosso), and the polish looks like a cool pink cream. You can just barely see any shimmer in it at all, and it doesn't look orange. Still a pretty shade, though.

Outside, in the sunlight, it's a whole different animal. These pics show the orange shimmer a little more, in my opinion. It makes me think of popsicles and summer time! Awesome!

The formula was good, a little streaky at two coats so I did three. I am surprised I like this one as much as I do, but I think Pizzicato is my fave from the collection so far. Enjoy!

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Bruised

I have had this polish sitting in my untrieds bin for a couple of months, waiting for fall before I dug it out. Well, the first day of fall came and went, and even though it doesn't feel like fall yet, I had to bust this polish out this weekend. It's so perfect for fall - a muted, browned, darker red shade. On the nails, it didn't disappoint. I love it from a distance, and up close!

The formula, for me, was good but not great. I probably should have done two coats, rather than three, but didn't have time. I also had some minor chipping after the first day. But it's a shade I really love and I don't have anything like it (I feel like I always say this), so I will definitely be wearing this again soon!

China Glaze Ingrid

I've had this one sitting around waiting to try until fall weather hit. Well, it hasn't hit here quite yet, but leaves are changing and with a Bath and Body Works Apple Spice candle burning this weekend, I was in the mood! I love this color - the taupe color is pretty for fall regardless, but the gold shimmer in this one makes it extra rich.

The formula on this one was pretty easy to work with, and was opaque in two coats. Topped with Deborah Lippmann's Addicted to Speed topcoat.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Firebird Collection - Piu Mosso

This one was a tough one to get good, accurate shots of for me, so bear with the messy arrangement of random pictures.

This was the polish I was most excited for from this collection! It's described as "an inky, blue-black that shoots through a flash of orange, the last glow of sunlight". This definitely comes through in the bottle - the fine, orange shimmer particles really glow. However, on my first application I must not have mixed the bottle enough because the only place I could see that pretty orange flash was in the direct sunlight! So, this morning I mixed the bottle really thoroughly and applied an additional coat, and the orange definitely showed up a bit more in other lights. In brighter lights, it almost mixes with the blue to give it a deep purply cast - truly gorgeous. Indoors, unless the lights are pretty powerful, it comes across as a dark, inky blue and the orange shimmer blends with it more to give it a warmer, brownish cast. I may try this again with all the coats being applied after a good mixing, but I do still like the polish a lot. I definitely don't have another color like it!

Onto the swatches...(excuse the tipwear)...

Essie Da Bush

This one is from Essie's 2011 resort collection. I love it! It's in the same idea as Sew Psyched, just lighter. Kind of muted, but still interesting. LOVE.


Essie's formula gets along well with my nails, so this should stay on a few days if I let it. I used Nubar's foundation base coat and Seche Vite top coat. Enjoy!

Butter London Blagger

I am a sucker for blue polishes, and while Butter London doesn't usually stay on my nails too long, I am trying it with Gelous base coat (and another coat of it under my Seche Vite top coat) to see if it will stay on any longer.

Here it is:



It's a little darker in person that shown here, but it's a fun, bold blue that I just adore. The formula was fabulous - easy to maneuver and just about opaque in one coat, although I used two for good measure.



Please ignore the paint on my thumb in the picture below. I meant to crop it out - didn't have any clean up time today!

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Pizzicato

I received my preorder of the Firebirds collection this week! Here's the first polish I tried - it was raining here today, and this polish seemed to fit with the weather! It looks like raindrops on a pretty white/lavender surface:




This shade, Pizzicato, is a pretty pale lavender shade, semi-sheer, with flakes of silvery glitter. This is three coats.




The formula is good and really easy to work with as always! What do you think?

Butter London British Racing Green

I really, really love Butter London polishes, but they don't seem to love me. They never stay on for me for more than two days. Oh well. I still think this is a super gorgeous green with a lot of depth, and I love the formula - it's easy to apply. It's topped with the Be Natural Seal N' Set top coat.

Deborah Lippmann Call Me Irresponsible

As a purple lover and a big fan of the Lippmann polishes, I knew I had to have this one. Isn't it pretty? It's a shade unlike any others in my collection. A couple are close, but the jelly finish really sets this apart. It's almost watery. I love it!

Three coats, topped with Lippmann's Addicted to Speed top coat.