Saturday, March 24

Rescue Beauty Lounge The Fan Collection

I received this in my inbox 50 minutes ago and was in awe. RBL has launched their "The Fan Collection"  (where RBL fans submitted and voted for their "dream nail polish color") and is ready for preorder from Mar 23, 12pm- Mar 25, 12pm (EST). All four colors are so incredibly unique and beautiful that I want them all. 


Each bottle sells for USD20 each and shipping to Hong Kong would be another USD18.5, so if I were to order all four bottles including shipping it would equal to about HKD765. That is quite a sum for four nail polishes but I am so so so tempted to order. (Maybe I'll secretly forward this email to my bf and see if he's sweetheart enough to maybe gift it to me.)

You can view beautiful swatches via alllaquered up here. At first I was most lured in by halcyon but the swatch of it appears to be more murky and grey than I was hoping it to be. Aqua lily, on the other hand, surprised me with how bright and pretty it looks on the nails. Cuprum seems to be a bit more common, although the copper sparkles really do make it extraordinary. Orly came out with Sweet Peacock in their Birds of a Feather Fall 2011 Collection that is also an electric blue but with a foil finish which makes it not an exact dupe but a little bit similar. And ikb:2012 seems to be so pigmented that I don't think there are any other bright blue with the same quality and formula out in the market.

The collection will be available for purchase at the end of April.

What do you think of the colors? Are you as amazed as I am with them?

Sunday, March 18

MAC Play Day Nail Lacquer

I received this in the mail two days ago and was so excited to try it out. There was some disappointment because the formula is a disaster, but the color is so gorgeous. I was actually searching for a bright coral lipstick but found this nail polish instead.




Play Day is from the MAC Vera Collection for Spring 2012 and it is described as a pale coral milky creme. Usually coral colors don't look very good on yellow based skin tones but this color works because it is has more of a pink base. If you're one of those people that love to look tanned, this color would definitely help you out. The biggest disappointment though, is the formula!!! This is the first MAC nail polish that I've ever owned, and it's scares me how terrible the formula is! I am aware that cream colors are the hardest to apply evenly but I don't think I've ever had so much trouble applying nail polish before (especially applying with my left hand..). Even after three coats, I was still in streakville. The formula isn't goopy or thick, but maybe if it was more opaque it would help with the unevenness. Overall, with a lot of patience and steady hands, you could get a great spring/summer manicure (and I can imagine pedicure too) with this color!

Friday, March 9

my spring polishes!

Left to Right:
Butter London Tart With a Heart
OPI Excuse Moi
Lunasol EX19 Luster Gold
Zoya Kelly
Essie Lady Like
Zoya Anchor Basecoat
Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Tears
Orly Rage
Essie Cocktail Bling
China Glaze Ruby Pumps
China Glaze Atlantis

So unlike Matilda, I can't control the urge of buying new nail polishes... and recently I had a nail polish spree and bought 11 new polishes that I hope to rock for spring/summer. For now, I've only worn Atlantis and Mermaid's Tears, and love them both. Hopefully all the others will turn out well too. If not then I'll auction it off on yahoo, take that money and buy more polish, haha. 
Anyway, for now I can definitely say that the Zoya base coat is surprisingly good! I was contemplating between the Orly Bonder and the Zoya Anchor and chose Zoya only because I hate the Orly bottle. I only buy Orly if I really, really like the color. For example Rage, which has really good reviews and looks so amazing on alllaqueredup. It also reminds me of Deborah Lippmann's Glamorous Life which is also a rose gold but with a metallic finish. 

Breaking the cycle

Every so often, I will go on a streak and update the blog a lot. And then I reach a point where I stop and never update. And of course, I'm back again now. Who knows how long this will last. Nothing that exciting has happened since I last posted. Well, I guess Forever21 has opened, but that was rather disappointing. COS and J Crew will also be entering into Hong Kong. In terms of my personal life, I am now the proud owner of a toffee Alexander Wang Prisma tote and a white Phillip Lim eyelet peplum top.



And also some nail polish.

Deborah Lippmann Stairway to Heaven (source: Revolve Clothing)


Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like (source: Deborah Lipmmann) I love how unique this shade is. It has a hint of purple in it and it's also dusty.

I do have a problem with nail polish though. For some reason, after using it just once, I'm just not excited about them anymore. I'm not saying I'd give up I Know What Boys Like or Peridot, but there are just so many products out there to try. The problem is that it's such a waste to buy so many and not use them up, though I've been quite good about it, I only own 15 bottles!

What's actually interesting is how my willingness to pay for nail polish has gone up so much in the past two and a half years. I still remember in my first year of college, I decided to "splurge" on a bottle of Revlon. Now, I will easily pay $180 for Deborah Lippmann. Actually, in general I've been obsessing over cosmetics rather than clothes, even skincare. After interning at a cosmetics company and really learning how to take care of my skin and the basics of makeup, I'm eager to try out a bunch of products.

Next on my to buy/try list is a nice red lipstick, gel eyeliner and some proper eyeshadow. Been reading Temptalia, which has tempted me to try MAC's Fluidline. I also want to try Bobbi Brown's eyeshadow. Maybe I'll go and shop tomorrow. I'll update on that...the next time I'm not too lazy.