So, without further ado here it is… Orbis Non Sufficit:

I don’t think it’s shocking to anyone that I chose a shade of green. (My love for dark greens is an illness.) When Ji first approached me with the possibility of creating my dream color, my first reaction was – flail – AHHHH…. ZULU. This was during the dark long long ago when I didn’t own it yet and I was still lemming it something fierce. But, it dawned on me that it would be silly to waste this chance by ripping off a color already in existence (no matter how badly I want to stick it to NARS and ebay scalpers) and instead I should use this opportunity to create something that was more reflective of me.

If you’ve spent any time on my site at all, you know that I love dark, moody, mushroomy colors. I wanted to go with something edgy – I had three shades in mind. A muted shade of combat green, a mountbatten pink or a jelly black with black glitter a la China Glaze Ruby Pumps. Jelly black with black glitter is the holy grail – apparently, it’s an impossibility because black glitter has to be so pigmented that it sinks to the bottom of the bottle creating a gooey mess that cannot be applied properly. (I was pretty sad to hear that especially because I already had a name picked out for it, “Quoth the Raven.” I had to throw back to my boy Edgar if I was going with something black.) Mountbatten pink, while freaking awesome, was too run-of-the-mill and I felt like most people would want to punch me in the face for choosing a purply-pink no matter how bad ass.

Obviously, green was my only option.

I’m really pleased with the end product. Orbis Non Sufficit is a dark moody grayed-out combat green creme. Like all Rescue Beauty Lounge cremes, it applied like a dream, perfectly pigmented. It’s a one coater but the swatch pictured is two. As for the name, it’s the Bond family motto. Translation: The World is Insufficient (or rather, The World is Not Enough.) I know, cheesy, but what can I say? I love the cheese like I love the green.

With all that said, I miss you guys!!! I have been reading your emails but I’ve only been responding to the ones that are time sensitive. I promise – in two weeks – you’ll have me back in full force and every single email and comment will get a reply. I’ve been doing my nails all summer (I didn’t give it up to help maintain my sanity) so while I haven’t been swatching, I do have tons of new images, not to mention that I’ll be posting the three million collections that have come out since I’ve been gone. Stick with me! : )

Also, I really appreciate companies that step outside of their image. I associate RBL with chic edgy cremes. I never, ever, ever expected to see a set of chunky glitters donning the Rescue Beauty name. Ji took a risk, an awesomely blingy gorgeous risk, and I, for one, am very pleased.

These polishes consist of very dense multi-sized, multi-shaped brilliant glitter suspended in clear polish. You’ll see extremely tiny flecks of glitter (which help to build opacity and provide depth to bling) along with regular-sized glitter, both round and square shaped. I think these polishes are too dense to be used as a glitter top coat unless a thick coat of glitter is the look you’re trying to achieve.

All these swatches are 3 coats of polish and 2 coats of top coat.

Locavore is gold, teal, and amethyst glitter. The main complaint about these  is that the glitter is too chunky, causing a rough finish. It’s definitely not smooth, but I found that one coat of regular topcoat, topped with one coat of Seche Vite gets rid of the bumpiness satisfactorily.

The light refraction from the glitter created so much bling that my camera had a hard time focusing. Here’s an indirect shot that’s more true to color.

*drool* This is a super close up shot. Absolutely gorgeous.

Frugalista is composed of silver and amethyst glitter. I wore this one as a manicure. It’s sort of like an optical illusion, the shades of the glitter combine to create a platinum flash. This one is definitely a show stopper.

Here’s an indirect side view for more accuracy.

And again, a close up shot. I usually don’t do ultra close ups but I’m trying to display the different sizes and shapes of the glitter.

And finally Look Rich, Be Cheap is gold and purple glitter (slightly deeper than the amethyst shade found in the other two polishes.) Lovacore and Look Rich, Be Cheap really remind me Mardi Gras.

Speaking of which, as a Florida Gator, if I had any kind of school spirit what-so-ever, I would not love this polish as much as I do because gold and purple are LSU colors. haha.

Close up shot for full bling appreciation.

In my humble opinion, this was a really successful foray into the world of bling. I really hope it’s not a one time thing for Ji.

There are a million whites with gold shimmer (just to name a few: Essie Amalfi, Essie Tennis Corset, OPI She’s Golden, OPI Oh So Glam!, Icing’s Goddess, and Orly Meringue). And I love every single one. To me each one is unique in its own way. Rescue Beauty Lounge Moxie is no exception. It’s an off-white with iridescent gold shimmer that occasionally flashes a very subtle goldish-green. The amount of gold shimmer in relation to the off-white is somewhere between that of Essie Amalfi (which is almost completely gold with very little white) and the OPIs from the Beyond Chic Collection (that have a more subtle gold shimmer). When Moxie isn’t glimmering gold, the combination of the white and the gold together creates a sort of white platinum shade, very chic. This color is transitionally work appropriate, meaning no one at the office is going to bat an eye at it but it’s in no way boring.

Moxie’s formula is thin. I needed 4 coats to get full coverage. The first time I wore this color, several months ago, I had a lot of trouble with the application. We’re talking some major issues with bubbling, so bad, that I didn’t take a picture that time. As you can see from the image this time, I didn’t have that problem, so what changed? There are a lot of things that can contribute to bubbling. The usual culprits are drafts (like an overhead ceiling fan), oil on the nail bed (which can be avoided by wiping with a nail prep or vinegar) and applying coats of color too thickly. I think my problem last time might have been my own application shortcomings. The first time I wore this color I was still applying very thick coats of color. Even with very think coats, I do still get bubbling sometimes with some polishes but a coat of Seche Vite usually takes care of it. Seriously, it just makes bubbles disappear. (If you have yet to experience the miracle that is Seche Vite – go buy it now). The other factor that may have contributed to my more successful application this time is Rescue Beauty Lounge’s ridge filling base coat which I used for this manicure but not the previous one.

]]> http://polishaddict.com/2009/03/13/white-with-gold-shimmer-is-love-rescue-beauty-lounge-moxie/feed/ 23 http://polishaddict.com/2008/09/15/rescue-beauty-lounge-fall-collection/ http://polishaddict.com/2008/09/15/rescue-beauty-lounge-fall-collection/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:11:29 +0000 Steph http://polishaddict.com/?p=408

I think I’m just going to stop raving about Rescue Beauty Lounge because I’m starting to sound like a broken record. These colors are just so disgustingly gorgeous – it’s almost overwhelming. I’m starting to suspect that the nail polish gods have bestowed Ji Baek with the logos. This collection is so perfect, I practically started speaking in tongues when the FedEx guy dropped it off. ¹ So now I’m spreading the gospel to you guys – *cue the trumpets* – behold:

Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal is tough to describe. Is it blue, is it green? It does look green in some lights, blue in others. It’s not really teal… is it? I’m not sure. I just know that it’s drop dead gorgeous. As always great application – almost complete coverage in one coat.

I’m wearing Rescue Beauty Lounge Bruise right now. Like Teal, it’s tough to pin down in one color category. It’s a purple-y muted maroon-ish brown. Those colors don’t even seem like they are part of the same spectrum but Bruise looks like all three at same time. On short nails and in non-conservative offices, I’d say this one is work appropriate. Also, great application.

Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War is the controversial color from this collection. People either absolutely LOVE it or absolutely HATE this olive green, there doesn’t seem to be an in between. I’m sure this won’t be shocking to anyone but I’m in the ‘f-r-e-a-k-i-n-g love it’ camp. Plus, the tiny little dirty tree hugging hippie inside me loves the name.

So does this collection have anyone else speaking Glossolalia, or is it just me?

________

In any case, close to 1/4 of my collection are ‘work appropriate’ colors. You’d be surprised at how much variation there are in the classic professional looking colors. Nudes, taupes, pinks, and soft shades don’t have to be boring. I’m going to start a series of articles showcasing 3 of my favorite work appropriate colors from all my favorite brands. First up, Rescue Beauty Lounge.

I’m sure that no one will be shocked that Scrangie was the source of my lemmings for the following 3 colors.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Om is a strangely calming color, making the name very appropriate. Even so, it’s probably the most ’serious’ muted pink in my collection. This swatch is 3 coats of Om, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge is my stick-it-to-the-man color (Ohh hoo hoo I’m sitting in your meeting wearing a color called Grunge, ha!). It’s a serious business appropriate color but at the same time it’s very moody and edgy. This color came out a while ago but it fits perfectly into the current mushroomy grayed-out color trend.  Grunge looks creme 99.9% of the time but it actually has a whitish shimmer throughout. The shimmer is not highly light refractive which is why no one will ever see it. The danger of Grunge (and all similar mushroomy grayed-out colors like it) is that it may be a tough color to pull of successfully. Mushroomies seem to not flatter very pale skin tones and are seemingly more suitable to skin tones like my own. This swatch is 3 coats, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Finally, Rescue Beauty Lounge Opaque Nude. Scrangie’s swatch (linked above) is a more accurate depiction of Opaque Nude’s bottle color. My swatch is darker due to lighting and my skin tone which brings out the ‘nudeness’ of this color. In my opinion, Opaque Nude is border-line business appropriate, perfectly okay for a less conservative office. I say this only because it might be too obvious. I feel like business appropriate colors have to be subtle, pretty but not necessarily noticeable and for most people this color will be very noticeable.

I know what everyone is thinking, “don’t sweat having to wear professional-looking colors during the week, you have the weekends!” The bittersweet aspect of nail polish blogging is that I spend my weekends swatching so I can’t do fun weekend manicures. Boo.

Now let’s talk color.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral is g o r g e o u s. I began lemming this one because of the bottle image on the Rescue Beauty Lounge site. I don’t know why but I was immediately drawn to it.

It’s very chameleon-like in the sense that color varies in different lighting. It can be described as a bright pink, sometimes coral, sometimes orange-y. Tink over at Casual Lavish also swatched Coral; her skin tone is different than mine so it will give you an idea of how the look of this color can vary.

It’s not the same shade as Color Club Sexsea but the transient quality of Coral was reminiscent of the same quality in Sexsea. Tough to describe but really, really hot. I suppose it’s telling that the last time I wore Sexsea was after a long spat of compulsory professional color manicures. It was liberating wearing such a bright strange sexy color. That’s the feeling I was trying to duplicate by choosing Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral and that’s exactly how it made me feel. Sadly, I removed this color on Sunday after only 3 days of wear. As expected from Rescue Beauty Lounge’s voodoo wear, it still looked amazing. I chose OPI Tickle My France-y for my first day of work. *sobs quietly*

As a side note: I recently started experimenting with different base coats. For this manicure, I used the Rescue Beauty Lounge base coat, 3 coats of Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral (3 was necessary to cover VPL), and 1 coat of Seche Vite. I don’t have a final opinion yet but I can share some purely qualitative observations. The RBL base coat isn’t billed as a ridge filler but that’s actually what it is. It’s milky but not as thick as a ridge filler like Barielle Camouflage. Like all ridge fillers, it makes applying some colors really easy but can make other colors more difficult to apply. So far, I like it.

If delicate isn’t your thing, Ji says these colors look positively amazing layered over Rescue Beauty Lounge Underwear, the brightest white on the market. The brightness of Underwear gives these sheer colors a back-lit effect. As soon as I get my hands on Underwear, I’ll hook you guys up with swatches. Until then, enjoy these polishes in their unadulterated form.

These swatches are 4 coats each, taken in artificial light. I prefer sunlight images but I got home too late from work and I just had to show these to the world tonight. Despite having been taken in artificial light, these swatches are true and accurate depictions of these colors. It goes without saying at this point that the application of these polishes was perfect, not a streak insight.

If my addiction to nail polish could be expressed in one color, Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom would be that color. At first glance this blue looks dupish to Color Club Blue Light and China Glaze For Audrey, both of which I also love. Sorry guys, no such luck. Bikini Bottom is a very light watery blue, almost jelly like in its delicate finish. For Audrey is a greener blue creme, not jelly at all. Blue Light is a brighter light blue, also creme, no jelly. The only downside to this color is that I don’t think it can be pulled off at 2 coats – that and, this color should have been named Squidward. : P

Most people think that yellow is a difficult color to wear, Rescue Beauty Lounge Square Pants will prove those people wrong. I think there is a commonly accepted notion that yellow tends to run the risk of looking a bit garish, but Square Pants is soft and delicate. It’s visibly yellow, not pastel, but it’s not shocking on the nail. This color was put on earth for people who want to try yellow but fear it might be ‘too much’. Perfect.

Spongebob may be the star of the TV show, but for most people, Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick is the star of this collection. Described as “wispy peach coral”, it’s definitely the most accessible of the 3 colors. Bikini Bottom is my personal favorite, but my NOTD right now is Starfish Patrick, primarily because it’s subtle enough for work.

I did take some swatches of Square Pants and Starfish Patrick at 2 coats for those of you who are not sheer polish adverse.

As you can see, these colors are wearable and streak-free even at 2 coats.

Special thanks to Ji Baek and Rescue Beauty Lounge.

I hope I don’t get in trouble for posting this but here’s the fall preview link. (eeep!) But I highly recommend that every one join their VIP mailing list legitimately. They always send these awesome previews to us.

In any case, I still don’t own Zulu. Whenever I’m near a balcony, I run out on to it à la A Streetcar Named Desire and scream , ” Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuluuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!! Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!” A long time ago I bought all the supplies to attempt to franken Zulu. I never did it because frankening Zulu was akin to accepting I would never own it. I’m starting to accept that, so I gave the franken a shot.

Here are some of the greens in my collection.

Unfortunately none of these are exact dupes of Zulu. Check out Blogdorf Goodman for swatches of Anna Sui #915 and Chelsea Psycho Green which are traditionally thought of as Zulu dupes and are, unfortunately, as difficult to find as Zulu. Chelsea Psycho Green, also pictured above, is very close but Zulu is a creme with a jelly finish and Psycho Green has very subtle shimmer visible only in the light, no jelly finish.

I bought Icing Envy and New York Summer Amaranth specifically for the purpose of trying to duplicate Zulu. I’ve seen an Amaranth based Zulu franken before, it was dead on. Amaranth has a jelly quality that is similar to Zulu so it’s a perfect base green for Zulu frankens, just add black. The only problem was that I loved Amaranth so much I didn’t want to use it for a franken. I decided to try it out only with Icing’s Envy (which I also love but happen to have two bottles). I’ll order a second bottle of Amaranth to franken with and post my results later, I promise.

I mixed roughly half a mini bottle of Icing Envy with the rest being 1/4 OPI Black Onyx and 1/4 OPI Top Coat. This is what I ended up with:

And this is Ponchy’s picture of Zulu:

As you can see, I failed, while I like the color I ended up with, my franken looks nothing like Zulu.

Zulu escapes me again.

*sobs quietly*

Special thanks to my love Ponchy for allowing me to use her image in this post. : )

I was torn over whether to use Silver Glitter or the tiny little silver crystals that come in the Bridal Kit. I ultimately decided to just wing it with the glitter. I’m a major newb at nail art so I have to say – for a first attempt, I’m really pleased with the results.

First let me say, I am so sorry about the sub-par application and lighting, again. I’ll be back to my usual application and lighting soon, I promise I’ll get it together. Second, OPI The Thrill of Brazil is one of my favorite reds, EVER. It applies like butter. Opaque in one coat, perfect in two – this red shines like there is no tomorrow. Simply, gorgeous. For the blue, I used Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm. It was great for this mani because it, too, is opaque in one coat. I was able to use just one brush stroke for the blue behind the stars. Click here for a swatch of Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm.

Finally, Art Club by Color Club – amazing. I’ve had the Bridal Kit and the Carnaval Kit for a while now but I’ve been stuck in professional-mani purgatory since the beginning of the summer so I haven’t been able to try them out until today. And WOW, I love these nail art polishes. The super long ultra fine brush is incredibly easy to use. The kits in general are pretty great. They come with 4 or so nail art polishes in assorted colors or glitters, decals, beads, stones, and other cute little accents.

To celebrate my nail freedom in exactly one month, I’m planning on breaking out all my accumulated nail art products. Seriously, I’ve been stock piling nail art supplies for a few months now in anticipation of a ridiculously elaborate nail art week on The Polish Addict, so if you’re secretly into the kitsch, like me, stay tuned.

This is serious. 44 bottles of Rescue Beauty Lounge is pretty much all I’ve ever wanted out of life. I’m thinking I might have to resort to some of the ol’ folk magic from the mother country so as to increase my chances of winning this giveaway. My mom told me something once about breaking a double yolked egg over an upside down straw broom… or something. Ok maybe not, but Animal sacrifice would help for sure, right? Geez, I can’t hurt animals… a giant can of chicken breast from Costco that my mom bought for me when I first left home 6 years ago and has been sitting in my cupboard since then… would that be ok? Maybe sacrifice goat cheese instead of a whole living goat? Ugh, where’s a first-born when you need one.

Ok – I know what I have to do.

Hand Turkey.

You have served me well throughout elementary school as my Thanksgiving Day art project. Yes, indeed, many gold stars have resulted from your efforts on my behalf. Remember that year when I drew you and your entire turkey family? Hours of staring down at my hands to create that masterpiece, perhaps, was the genesis of my current love, nail polish. But now, it is time for you to fulfill a greater destiny. You will be sacrificed to the nail polish gods so that the evil Ji Baek, arbiter of expensive polishes, may bestow upon me a most amazing bounty. Hand turkey, you will be missed.

Hand Turkey

RIP

1990 – 2008

Originally, I was going to compare all of these colors but once I got the bottles together it was pretty clear that the only real contenders for comparison were Lippmann Collection – Rehab and Rescue Beauty Lounge – Dead Calm. China Glaze – Shower Together (twin of China Glaze – Aqua Baby), L.A. Girl Flare – Twinkling, and OPI Just Groovy don’t look anything like Dating a Royal, or each other for that matter. There was some concern arising on the nail board that all these colors might be too similar to justify owning all of them, but as you can see from the bottle picture, that’s not the case.

2 Coats Rescue Beauty Lounge – Dead Clam, 3 Coats OPI – Dating a Royal, and a whopping 4 coats for Lippmann Collection – Rehab

I apologize for the quality of this image. For some reason I just could not get these colors to photograph well. This was the clearest image of the bunch, but even with the lack of focus, this image is an accurate depiction of what these colors look like in person. The online teaser images of Dating a Royal made it seem like it would be more dupish to the aqua blues. As it turns out, it’s a much darker blue, but not as dark as the blues that were popular last season. Its comparative lightness makes it more relevant to the trends of this spring and summer but since it’s not technically a light blue it will be wearable in the fall. I’ll give everyone the skinny on the application and wear when I do the full swatches.

If there are any colors you guys want compared drop me an email or comment with your request. : )

In other news, I am now a member of Alltop.com. Yeay! Alltop condenses the best blogs on the net by category so you can read about your favorite topics all in one place. Their beauty section is pretty comprehensive, you guys should check them out if you haven’t already.

First, the *MOST* prized of the Rescue Beauty Bunch:

Rescue Beauty Lounge – Recycle

Ooooh, I obsessed over whether to buy this one or not for weeks. I was still recovering from the psychological trauma of having neglected to buy Zulu, so I said to hell with being frugal and took the plunge. I felt really guilty about it for a while because it was so expensive ($18 + Ridiculous Shipping Charges = Guilt). I got over it, I just loved the color so much. It’s the perfect true green. Recycle was the gateway that facilitated my future RBL purchases.

My second Rescue Beauty Lounge splurge was for Dead Calm:

I wanted a true blue creme so badly. My first brush with blue cremes was Lippmann Rehab. It’s a great polish, the only problem is that it has a jelly finish and requires 4 coats to achieve a pretty navy color. It also took forever to dry, sometimes it didn’t dry at all. I would end up with horrendous sheet marks (back then I had yet to discover the gloriousness that is Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat). Dead Calm is opaque in one coat, amazing wear and application. It’s also really unique, not quite like anything else on the market. So at least for me, Dead Calm was definitely worth the money. As a side note, ‘Dead Calm’ is an awesome name for a polish.

I got Purple Haze, Stormy, and Concrete Jungle all in one haul – the day I lost my mind.

Purple Haze is a beautiful color but I didn’t love it on myself. Again, it is undoubtedly a unique color. As you can see from my purple comparison swatches there is nothing else quite like it in my collection.

I mauled over getting Stormy and Concrete Jungle for a long time.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy is probably not worth the money unless you really really *really* want it. I developed my obsession for this polish back when no other company had a gray polish on the market. That’s not the case anymore, every brand has their own version of a chic gray. If you want to go gray without denting your funds try OPI Moon Over Mumbai, Essie Body Language, Carolyn New York Handball Courts or Hangin’ on the Stoop, China Glaze Recycle or frankening your own gray instead. If, in the end, you are so inclined to spend the money, rest assured it’s an excellent polish.

Finally, Rescue Beauty Lounge Concrete Jungle:

This is my current NOTD. It’s a great color. I had a little trouble with the application when I used Barielle Nail Camouflage. For some reason, it made the polish really thick and difficult to apply. I switched to a non-ridge filling base coat and the application problems disappeared. Like with Stormy, Concrete Jungle, color-wise, is probably not worth the cold hard cash.

My nail polish philosophy is that expensive brands are only worth it if either a.) the color is really unique and there is nothing else anywhere that is like it, or b.) you just can’t help yourself and splurging will make you happy. You won’t see me buying a pink or a red from Chanel or RBL. Do you guys feel the same way? What’s your philosophy on expensive polish?

*Disclaimer* The Polish Addict is in not liable for any lemmings this post may have created.

3 Coats China Glaze – Spontaneous (The Flirt Collection), 2 coats Rescue Beauty Lounge – Purple Haze (The Spring ‘08 Collection), 3 Coats OPI – Do You Lilac It? (The Original Brights Collection)

4 coats each for these: Zoya Miley (4 coats required for bottle color with a Zoya? No…… you don’t say? – This one is from the Blissful Collection), Orly Bon Bon (Sugar Coated Collection), Essie St. Lucia Lilac (Permanent Collection).

Purple Haze is the fan favorite. I can’t say I was really impressed with the color on myself. The application and wear-time were flawless as always but I just didn’t LOVE it. I’m going to give it one more go, and perhaps let it go if I still don’t love it.

I haven’t worn China Glaze – Recycle yet, but the wear can’t possibly be as awesome as the wear time I had with Rescue Beauty Lounge – Stormy. Today was the 6th day wearing it with no chips, hardly any tip wear. It was almost kind of creepy in a weird voodoo undead nail polish kind of way. I just couldn’t take it anymore, I had to change my color. Although, I was tempted to leave it on just to see how long it would take to chip. I know most people would be really thrilled with 6+ days of perfect wear. Normally, I would be too but I’m trying to plow through my untrieds, a daunting task.

This image was taken without top coat. China Glaze – Recycle is glossy. I think the secret to the wear on Rescue Beauty Lounge – Stormy is the non-glossy formula. The application of China Glaze looks like a traditional polish while Rescue Beauty Lounge looks as if you are coating your nail with powder or pigment. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for the voodoo wear exhibited by Stormy. I should add, I have a lot of nail ridges, RBL has a tendency to show nail imperfections when applied without a ridge-filler. However, it’s not too bad with a base coat, two coats, and a top coat.

As far as the color, the picture is very accurate – Stormy and Recycle aren’t exactly the same but really it’s close enough…. well it’s close enough for the 16 dollar price tag difference. The normal, non-nail polish-obsessed eye probably wouldn’t notice the difference in the color anyway. I’m not going to tell anyone not to buy it because I, too, lost all sanity and took the RBL plunge. Fifty-four dollars later, I’m in no position to tell others what to do with their money. However, I think that unless you REALLY have this uncontrollable urge to spend 18 dollars on one bottle of nail polish – skip Rescue Beauty Lounge’s grays, and just get Recycle.

The other option is to franken your own gray. I frankened my own grays before I got these 3 colors. I did it because I saw Concrete Jungle and Stormy before the height of my addiction, back when I thought it was absolutely ridiculous to spend 18 dollars on a bottle of nail polish (that was before Rescue Beauty Lounge set up their Amazon store so in addition to the exorbitant price tag, they gouged you on shipping too.) The great irony was that I loved my frankens, so much so that I thought I would love these manufactured ones more, but I don’t. I actually like my versions a little better.

This franken is about 3/4s OPI – Black Onyx and 1/4 OPI – Apline Snow. (I named it Steel Angel after my other fanatical hobby, anime.) Really easy to make, this method has the additional benefit of allowing you to tweak the color to compliment your skin tone. Gray is a difficult color to wear, it’s definitely not one size fits all. Compare my Franken to the image of Stormy next to it – it’s pretty similar and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Also I should mention, Carolyn New York sells two grays (Handball Courts and Hanin’ on the Stoop) that a lot of girls on MUA believe are dupish to the two RBLs. I don’t have them but it’s definitely worth looking into if you absolutely don’t want to Franken or shell out the mad cash.

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