Unpretty

Rescue Beauty Dead Calm vs China Glaze First Mate

2011-11-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

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!

Here's a second bottle shot. Again, these came out looking brighter than they do in person. Think a little more navy.

Here they are after one coat. Dead Calm on the left, First Mate on the right. Right off the bat, I am reminded how much I love Rescue Beauty's formula - nearly opaque in one coat, and substantially more even coverage than the China Glaze polish. Also, the colors are a little different - First Mate is a little more muted, a little bit lighter while Dead Calm is a deep navy beauty.

One coat again - First Mate on top, Dead Calm on bottom.

One coat, again - different light.

Ok, here we are after two coats (below). Excuse the messy application for First Mate on the right. Dead calm is on the left. Both polishes looking opaque now, and the difference in color is still apparent. First Mate is a little lighter, a little more grayed. Dead Calm is deep dark navy blue.

Two coats again, First Mate on top, Dead Calm on bottom.

I still love First Mate, but Dead Calm is definitely the truer navy polish and it's hard to beat the formula. Luckily, I can justify having both in my collection! The colors really aren't that similar when paired side by side.

China Glaze Vintage Vixens Collection - Foxy

2011-10-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

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!

Here's a more distant shot - looks a little more red here than it does in real life.

Up close. How pretty!

shot shows the more orange, burnt side of the polish.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche

2011-10-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

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!

Here is one in partial sunlight - I like this shot because you get a feel for how the color looks in different lights and angles.

Here's one with more natural light on it. See how the warm brown comes out?

And the one from above - it looks darker, more vampy here. It never looks black, though - it always keeps that brown or purple tint.

China Glaze Little Drummer Boy (Holiday 2010)

2011-10-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

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!

Here's one from farther away - I like to include these because, while macro shots are awesome, I personally like to see swatches from a distance as well since most people won't be checking out my polish up close.

One closer, in natural light indoors. Deep and twisty.

Here's one in direct sunlight - awesome! It looks so alive and awake, and still so fall! Like it's waiting for the sun to peek through the winter clouds before it really shines.

What do you think of this holiday shade? Do you like the pretty, rich blue, or do you prefer to stick to more traditional reds, greens, and golds?

Zoya Yara

2011-10-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

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!

Indoors, not great lighting:

Better lighting - can you see the golden specks? Isn't it beautiful? I used Zoya's Armor Top Coat followed with Lippmann's Addicted To Speed top coat. The glitter was super smooth, and wasn't a total pain to remove when it was time.

This may just be my favorite green so far this season - what do you think?

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

2011-10-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

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?

Here they are, in order, after one coat of each (left to right: Zoya Yasmeen, Zoya Valerie, Zoya Roxy, Lippmann Razzle Dazzle).

I wasn't surprised with the more sheer first coat of Razzle Dazzle - almost all of Lippmann's polishes are buildable jelly shades. Look at Valerie - that girl is making a statement in one coat, isn't she? Already, I can see that my thoughts may have been wrong about the closeness in color of the three Zoya shades.

Here they are again after two coats each:

After another coat, Valerie gets a little more intense but Yasmeen really starts to look like her little sister with a second coat on. The finishes are still different, but Yasmeen starts to pick up that darker purple tone that Valerie carries.

Razzle Dazzle may be a touch more red than Roxy, but not by much!

Take a look at them from another angle (left to right: Razzle Dazzle, Roxy, Valerie, Yasmeen).
Here are some comparison shots of the two groups of "cousins" below.

Roxy and Razzle Dazzle - pretty close, right?

Here's one with Valerie thrown in - Roxy and Razzle Dazzle may be sisters but aren't close at all to the vampier Valerie.

Here are Valerie and Yasmeen together (Val on top, Yas on bottom):

And here they are again, Yasmeen on left, Valerie on right:

And again, below. They aren't sisters, but maybe first cousins. Pretty cousins!

Zoya Harley, Zoya Dove, China Glaze Pelican Gray

2011-10-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

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!

Top to bottom: Zoya Harley, Zoya Dove, China Glaze Pelican Gray

Below, left to right: China Glaze Pelican Gray, Zoya Dove, Zoya Harley

Below, top to bottom: Zoya Harley, Zoya Dove, China Glaze Pelican Gray

The shimmer in Harley sets it apart from the other two, and it's a little cooler in tone as well. Pelican Gray and Dove are pretty similar though - what do you think? Which one do you prefer?

China Glaze Side Saddle

2011-10-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

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!

Both of the above are shots with the sun hitting it. See the pretty gold specks?

The formula on this one was...OK....It was hard to not get a thick glop on the brush, and the consistency was pretty runny so I had to take great care to not make a huge mess. It's something I think I could get used to though, with a bit more practice. Runny, gloppy, or not, I will definitely be using this shade again this fall!

Deborah Lippmann Don't Tell Mama, plus comparisons!

2011-10-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

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!

First, the swatches of this polish alone - isn't it gorgeous?

Now, I thought this one might be somewhat similar to a couple of other polishes I own - China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald, and China Glaze Watermelon Rind. I decided to compare the three. How could I resist pitting three of my favorites against each other?

Here they are after ONE coat each. From left to right: Don't Tell Mama, Emerald Fitzgerald, and Watermelon Rind. The latter is a glass fleck polish from one of China Glaze's past summer collections, so I had a feeling it wouldn't be as intense with one coat, but I was pretty surprised at the difference. I guess it's been a while since I used a glass fleck.

The next photos show these after two coats each. Watermelon rind (far right) is still far less opaque, and although Don't Tell Mama and Emerald Fitzgerald are close in color and tone, the former is just more intense and inky.

Here's a close up of just Don't Tell Mama and Emerald Fitzgerald:

Same here, different angle and more light. Don't Tell Mama just has that blacker base to it. Both are gorgeous though!

Looks like I can justify owning all three, and you can too! If you are looking for a less expensive option, Emerald Fitzgerald is probably the way to go. It's close in the overall concept, and if you put it over a black polish you may get inkier results, closer to the Lippmann shade.

Deborah Lippmann - Hit Me With Your Best Shot

2011-10-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-19T15:24:00.001-07:00

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

2011-09-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-15T15:20:00.001-07:00

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

2011-09-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

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.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal

2011-08-22T07:28:00.001-07:00

This polish was so easy to work with! Inky, dark, and very opaque. Could have gotten by with one coat probably, but this is two coats, topped with Seche Vite. It's a gorgeous, calm feeling dark blue/geen color. Love it!

Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like

2011-08-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some swatches of a great color from Deborah Lippmann's collection from Summer 2011!

The formula was great on this - very easy to work with. I used three coats and topped it with the Addicted to Speed topcoat from Deborah Lippmann's collection. I took this off on Day 3 just because I have nail polish ADD, but I had only minimal tip wear when I did so.

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Bikini Bottom

2011-07-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

This is a very, very sheer watery blue polish from Rescue Beauty Lounge. Since it's so sheer, I layered it over Essie Marshmellow - a polish I don't use much because it frustrates me - to keep the watery look going even with a more opaque background.

Please excuse the chip, my nail broke a little just before this was applied.

China Glaze Starboard

2011-07-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here is China Glaze's Starboard, from the Anchors Away Collection. It's hard to get a good, true swatch of this one so I showed it in different lights. It's a relatively bright (but not super bright) kelly green. Somehow, it's almost muted and bright at the same time. I paired this with Zoya's Ivanka on my toes.

Application was pretty easy. My bottle was a tiny bit runny so I did a thin coat followed by a thicker one and topped it with CND Super Shiney and Seche Vite. My bottle of SV is super crap right now so it kind of mucked up the end product. I am thinning that sucker today!

I really love this color! It's definitely a different toned green than any others I have. Not too blue or yellow, not too grayed out. A true, fun green!

China Glaze Ruby Pumps

2011-07-01T06:55:00.001-07:00

This is one I have had for a while and been meaning to try, so with the 4th of July so close I thought it was time!

Baby was getting fussy so please excuse my sloppy, sloppy work...

Blurry one to show the sparkles better..

Formula on this was pretty good, mine was a tiny bit goopy but nothing too bad. Top coat is CND Shiney and Seche Vite.

Zoya Crystal

2011-06-28T18:23:00.001-07:00

For whatever reason, this is looking more silver than blue in my photos - I will definitely work on this the more I do. Anyway, Zoya crystal is gorgeous - a silvery blue with gold flecks in it. It looks bumpier in the pictures than it actually is on my nails, although without a good top coat it would be a bit bumpy I think. To make my Zoyas last, I use Zoya Armor on top, and after 30 minutes when I realize it will never dry on its own, I use a coat of CND Super Shiney followed by a coat of Seche Vite. This gives it that glassy, quick drying finish without the shrinkage issues or polish peeling.

The formula was great, really easy to apply! One of my new favorites!

Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues

2011-06-26T15:35:00.001-07:00

Forgive my amateur swatches, I am still learning how much worse everything looks magnified on camera. Still trying to get faster and better at the same time, since having a baby with me at all times makes it hard to get perfection by taking my time!

The formula on this polish was great, really easy to use and I didn't have any trouble with glitter moving around to the edge of the nail. In person, it's a dark indigo (almost blue-black) with pretty hexagonal and microglitter. I put two coats of Seche Vite on top (after it was thinned some, mine was pretty gloppy before).

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Purple Haze

2011-06-16T06:04:00.001-07:00

This was my first experience with Rescue Beauty Lounge. So far, I haven't ventured outside of China Glaze often, but I am happy I did! I purchased Stormy, Bruised, Bikini Bottom, and Purple Haze this past week and decided to try Purple Haze first. The formula was really easy to apply and work with on the nail. This is two coats, with a top coat of Poshe.