swatch: rescue beauty lounge purple haze

recently, i've gotten a couple of emails from people asking how to follow my blog - i actually didn't have the followers widget added because i personally use google reader instead, but i've just added the followers tool to the top of my sidebar for those of you who have been looking for it. i'm sorry about the confusion! and now, on to the polish:


a fairly vibrant medium purple with only a slight touch of gray, rbl purple haze in my opinion doesn't look its best on darker skin tones (a problem with most light-medium purples, i've found). while it's a pretty color and looks great on others, it doesn't quite pop on me in the same way. instead, it blends into my skin tone (not quite as badly as american apparel dynasty, however) and doesn't provide the contrast and boldness i typically look for in my nail colors.

on the plus side, the application of this polish was good. on the first coat it seems a bit like a jelly and as if it might require three coats for opacity, but it quickly evened out with just a second coat.

bf says: "there's a flaw in your application!"
me: "no, that's a bubble from my top coat. it's a chemical thing; i can't control it."
*long argument about polish application ensues; bf for some reason references marilyn monroe.*

swatch: bb couture impact driver

from the "tools for men" collection (i know, i know):


this polish had great application and pigmentation (this is two coats) - it flowed onto the nail beautifully and was easy to control. while i love the dusty blue color, this polish isn't ultimately for me because it has shimmer and i'm almost exclusively a creme and glitter girl. if you like it, though, it's available at overall beauty.

bf says: "that has a hint of shimmer... no, sparkles. is it sparkles? a hint of glitter?"

swatch: rescue beauty lounge opaque nude

it's strange that i consider rbl opaque nude - a neutral - my comfort polish, considering that normally i gravitate toward vampies, bright pinks and orange-reds, and teals. but for some reason this polish always feels 'right' to me.


opaque nude is now unfortunately discontinued, but i have two bottles stockpiled so hopefully i'll never have to be without it! its application is great for a pale shade… pretty streak-free and opaque (true to its name) in just two coats.

to see how this polish looks on someone with a lighter/cooler skin tone, check out tobywoo's pics here.

bf says: "that's skin tone for a white person... you are not white. who do you think you are?!"

swatch: rescue beauty lounge atame

for a few days after i wore misa dying love i had on opi red hot ayers rock, and now i'm wearing rbl atame:


atame is patchier than most of my other rbl polishes, requiring three coats for opacity. its consistency is very smooth and easy to work with, and it still applies fairly well, but when i use an rbl i hope for the richly pigmented, almost-a-one-coater formula of polishes like teal, orbis non sufficit, and mismas - and atame unfortunately doesn't compare in that regard. still, it's a nice color, and i'm always happy to add to my rbl collection.

bf says: "blluhhh-dh!"