I’m probably a little late to the party on this one as I know the blogosphere has been buzzing with this for the past week (you can check out the excellent swatches already posted by Nails and Noms and Scrangie). But, as an RBL fangirl, I’m going to hop on the bandwagon too. Both Coral and Grunge are long time favorites of mine, so I’m glad these beauties are available again. As a disclaimer, my swatches of Coral and Grunge are of the original release - so I recommend checking out newer swatches in addition to mine, as it appears that there may be some slight differences worth noting. Originally, I planned to reswatch these for this post – but I’m stuck with very short nails for the time being and I felt like my new stumpy nubbins wouldn’t do these colors any justice. Consequently, I’ve recycled my old swatches. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the lack of photo uniformity in this post.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge - I lemminged this color FOREVER. Back then it was pretty unique, and still is – it’s very refreshing to see “soft shades” with bad a** names. Oh yes, I’m a child of the 90s, flannel, Nirvana and all. For these reasons, Grunge, in all its mushroomy glory, is always going to have a special spot in my collection. To quote myself: “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.” You can read my entire original review here.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral. Ooh, this color brings back memories. The last time I wore it was way back as a final hurrah before a long period of color fasting. I was just beginning my career then, looking at the old photo and post makes me nostalgic because so much has changed. Here is an excerpt from my original review: “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 the color varies in different lighting. It can be described as a bright pink, sometimes coral, sometimes orange-y.” You can read my entire original review here.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Moulin Rouge is a very deep chocolatey, wine toned vampy. I don’t often agree with the brand description of nail polish color, but Ji is right on this one. It really does look like the inside of a cherry bonbon. Although this NOTD is with Seche Vite a top coat, the polish itself is very glossy. If you look closely, you can see my reflection. : D Application was great at two coats, but I used 3.

The universe aligned for me to wear this color. I think I’ve discussed this a few times, I have many forms of neurosis when it comes to this hobby. For example, when my nails are long, I wear a lot of neutrals, soft shades, etc. When my nails are short, I wear a lot of vampies, darker colors, and stranger/unique colors. I was going to hold off on posting this color until I had nubbins again. And since my nails were newly pretty long, it was going to be a while before I filed them down out of my own volition.

In any case, I had a day off from work, so I was planning to sit down and do some serious swatching. I get everything all set up, nails are long and swatch-ready. I’m about to plant myself on the couch for the foreseeable future… when BAM. Our Welsh Corgi, Roy, the most clumsy dog in the world, runs into my mani lamp’s electrical cord, knocking it over, shattering it into a million pieces. Cursing-up a storm, I go to our bedroom to find suitable clothing to go out and buy a new lamp. You see, I was wearing PJs – a.k.a. formal swatching attire. As I’m digging through a pile of clothing to find some jeans (because we’re bad at house-keeping so instead of a closest… we have a pile…) one of my nails chips, diagonally, down to the quick. Oh boy, my wrath knew no end. Husband cowering in fear, dogs hiding under the bed, I stomped around angrily for hours. The break was so bad repairing it was impossible. I expressed my frustrations on twitter, tweeps sent condolences. Once I tuckered myself out from being angry at my misfortune, I took a nap. When I woke up, I cut my losses. haha. That, my friends, is how I ended up with these awful, stumpy nubbins. *sobs* Buying a new lamp took the rest of the night so I wasn’t able to swatch at all. The bright side is that I ended up with a much better mani lamp and I had an excuse to wear Moulin Rouge, so I guess every accident prone Corgi initiated disaster has a silver lining.

Do you all have any nail polish neurosis? Anything goes at all times? Or do you vary the colors you wear by occasion, season, nail length, etc.?

(Also, as an aside, I’m using a different lighting system now than I was back in 2008-2009. Comparing my old swatches to my new swatches, as I’ve done in this post, makes me feel like I need to make an adjustment – the highlights seem to overpower the polish, I don’t like it. I’m going to start trouble-shooting this – please bear with me while I work the kinks out.)

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Disclosure: I’m not really sure how I ended up with Coral and Grunge. I believe Coral was sent to me for review back in 2008. I believe I purchased Grunge. Moulin Rouge was sent to me for review by Rescue Beauty Lounge.

This is my first collection review as of the relaunch! I chose to begin with the Zoya Smoke collection for three reasons: first, this collection pretty much encompasses everything I love about nail polish – very rich, creme, smokey, unique, moody colors presented together thematically. Second, I consider many of the colors in this collection to be consistent with the new theme: work appropriate with an edge. Finally, if you follow Zoya on  Facebook or Twitter (and if you don’t you really, really should) you know that their Account Holder Buy One Get One Free Sale ends tomorrow one minute before midnight, so I figured this post would be timely for anyone still on the fence about making an order.

This collection might be old news for some, but when I decided to start blogging again this collection really popped out to me after scouring Scrangie’s blog for new lemmings. It was released in Fall of 2011 as one half of the Smoke and Mirrors Collection (I’ll be swatching Mirrors soon). I really love the theme here – the concept of smoke, which evokes images of smoldering color and sultriness, was really well executed. Zoya has seriously stepped up their game while I’ve been away, so hats off to them. Part of the reason, it took all week to get these swatches together for this post is that I wore three of the six colors in this collection as NOTDs. The whole collection is worth owning for anyone into moody cremes.

Zoya Petra was my first NOTD from this collection – I LOVED IT. It’s a dark smokey purple creme. The color in the bottle looks more murky and mushroom-y than the color appears once it’s on the nail – which is significantly darker. This mani was 3 coats. Application was average, not the best but not the worst. On the work-apropos scale – I would say this shade is appropriate for all except the most conservative environments. It’s purple, but it’s not “in your face” – it’s very chic and demure. I know colors like this have been very popular in my absence and since my collection is still frozen in time, I didn’t really have anything comparable in my stash – the closest thing was Sephora by OPI Metro Chic but Petra is much more purple.

Zoya Jana, in the same vein as Petra, is a dusty, moody purple tinged putty taupe creme – this color is chic personified. It even elicited compliments from my husband who very rarely comments on polish. Like Petra, Jana was worn as a NOTD. I got really excellent wear out of it – I think it was over 5 days with no chips using Sally Hansen Nail Quencher as a base-cost and Seche Vite as a top-coat.  Also, like Petra, this one dries significantly darker on the nail than it looks in the bottle. Application was great, almost full coverage with one coat. However, the very pigmented formula was not forgiving of nail surface imperfections with less than 3 coats. On the work-apropos scale – in my opinion this one is safe anywhere. The closest color in my collection was Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother, but CYM is much more purple and less muted.

Zoya Anja, another NOTD, is a deep burgundy creme. Vampy goodness all around – I never, ever get tired of vampies. I didn’t spot any exact dupes in my vampy drawer but I don’t own Rescue Beauty Lounge Drifter which Temptalia believes is a very close dupe. This is 2 coats, perfect application. I filed my nails really short, partly to wear this color. I do believe it’s work appropriate on short nails. I’m certainly not telling anyone how to wear their nails, but short is my personal nail length preference for vampies and almost blacks. I often see women around the courthouse wearing darker shades, but always on short nails - accordingly, I believe that’s the social convention for professionals. So, for the time being, I’m labeling this one conditionally work-apropos.

Holy $&$($&^@&*##@#(#&. Zoya Codie – the best way I can describe this is green toned liquid smoke with a creme finish. Definitely in line with the collection theme, smoke. It’s an almost black, but it’s beautiful. Like Petra and Jana, it’s darker on the nail than in the bottle. I wasn’t brave enough to wear this one to work. Sadly, this beauty is probably not work safe for any environment that is even remotely conservative. I’m definitely planning to whip it out on a weekend, when the swatching schedule permits. This swatch is three coats. The formula was a little watery so you have to be careful of pooling during application. Codie is my favorite from this collection.

Zoya Cynthia, my second favorite from this collection, is a smokey teal toned dark navy, almost black. It’s very difficult to see (and my camera totally failed to capture it), but this color has a beautiful ultra fine shimmer that is effectively invisible but gives the polish depth. (It’s shimmer for shimmer-haters like me. Haha.) This swatch is 3 coats, the first coat was very watery. Again, probably not the best choice for most office environments.

And, finally, Zoya Dree, a muted, dusty drab olive green creme. Coverage would have been good at 2 coats, but this swatch is 3 coats. Application on this one was perfect. Like the others in this collection, this one also dried slightly darker on the nail. The first obvious possible dupe would be Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War – but it doesn’t seem close. NMW seems much darker, although it’s tough to judge based on bottle shade alone since Dree appears slightly darker on the nail. I will post comparison pics soon. This one, again, is probably not office appropriate.

In case anyone is looking for more Zoya swatches for the BOGO Sale – check out my Zoya Category for your lemming creation needs. : D Are you planning to get, or have you gotten, anything from the sale? I know some girls hauled big time!

In other news, should you stumble upon the nail art article in the September issue of Allure and you might recognize nails belonging to a certain someone. :  ) You can see the post that that photo came from here: Cover Girl Crackle Lacquer.

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Disclosure: This collection was provided for review by Zoya.

I’m back! Things are going to be a bit slow at first because, frankly, my life (and nails) are still a huge mess. But rest assured, I will respond to all the emails and comments very soon. Posting frequency should pick up shortly thereafter.

In any case, I know you’ve all seen it but here’s Color Club Catwalk Queen Collection. Like Femme Fatale,  this collection is composed of sheers and solids that can be mixed, matched, and layered. I like this collection but it’s a little depressing looking at these pictures. The photos are from a few months ago, my nails were so long back then. Man, the bar exam takes away everything.

Catwalk Queen, the collection namesake, is a vampy tyrian purple with complex amethyst and subtle blue shimmer. This swatch was 3 coats but this polish is pigmented enough that coverage would be fine with just 2 coats. (This image is a little blurry because I was trying to capture the shimmer – I failed. The shimmer is way more obvious in person.)

Fashion Addict is my favorite from this collection. Lilac holographic? Sign me up. The holo is medium grain like the holos in the Femme Fatale collection. Like Worth the Risque and Revvvolution, the holo has a greenish cast. The polish gets darker with each layer so it’s slightly lighter with 2 coats, this picture is 3 coats.

Here’s a shot of the holo flash. I hope Color Club does a few more holos in the future because these were just superb. Personally, I would love to see a dark green holo.

Front Row Diva is an extremely pale gray that leans towards lavender, it has a pearl finish. It’s chic and work appropriate – which is pretty much all I’m wearing now so I’m stocking up on colors like this and you’ll see plenty of them featured here in the months to come.

Runway Muse is one of those sadly deceptive duochromes. In the bottle, it’s a predominately green duochrome that flashes pink. On the nail, it’s a frosty sheer with pink shimmer that only flashes a subtle green rarely. I so wish that the bottle appearance was comparable to the on nail result, nonetheless, it’s pretty amazing over black. Scrangie has all the sheers from both the Femme Fatale collection and the Catwalk Queen collection over black on her site.

Vintage Couture. Scrangie called this a mod lilac pink baby creme and that’s definitely the best description for this color so I’m going to steal it from her. It’s pinker on the nail than I expected but it’s still pretty stark. The application was finicky. I forgot to write down exactly how many coats I used but if I remember correctly, I believe it took 4 to even everything out.

Ready to Wear is my current NOTD and as you can see my nails are little yellow nubbins right now. *More sobs*  Ready to Wear is a frosty opalescent sheer with warm pink shimmer. Usually sheers like this require 4 layers but I actually got good coverage with 2 coats, but since my nails are so yellow, I went ahead and added another layer. Edit: I’ve been wearing this color for a full day now and I want to revise my review. It’s definitely a duochrome, it’s not really noticeable until you see it in sunlight. It flashes a warm light coppery gold tone, almost some what metallic. The mixture of the gold and the pink reminds me of a sunset. I love it when colors present surprises in the sunlight.

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Disclosure: This collection was sent to me for review by Color Club.

I am a *huge* fan of vampies. To avoid having a top 20 list made up almost entirely of them, I decided to pick only one. Surely, that would have been an insurmountable task but Zoya Casey is so incredible that the choice took only seconds. In my original post concerning this color I wrote:

“Holy &*%^. Zoya Casey is by the far the prettiest vampy I’ve ever seen, ever. It’s a deep deep deep deep jelly-like ultra glossy plum with a red base. The color is an ‘almost black’ which normally would irritate me to no end but there is just something alluring about this color, dramatic and intense. My ultimate test for nail polish is whether a color makes me continuously stare down at my nails. Casey definitely caused some major mani rubbernecking. Despite my nail polish ADD, I didn’t want to remove Casey. This is one for the top 20 list for sure.”

And like I predicted then, it did make it on to the list. Love this color.

I have a two-fold apology for everyone. First, I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last update. I had to do a bit of traveling for that interview and my immune system held on just long enough so that I was mildly healthy for it. I started coughing up a storm the minute I walked out of the office. I’ve done nothing but watch Six Feet Under and X-Files for the past 2 days. Second, I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to post the Pulse collection. I know everyone has seen it already but since Zoya is launching a promotion, I figured now would be a great time to play catch up. If you like this collection you can get it for free by entering the code PULSE at check out when you purchase the Zoya Color Lock System on www.zoya.com, or you can enter VIBE for Vibe Fall Winter Collection, or FLOURISH for Flourish Holiday/Winter Collection.

Overall, this collection isn’t for me but I can definitely see why everyone else went ga-ga over it. It’s shimmery goodness, so if you’re into shimmer – this collection is for you.

Zoya Mikka is a deep frosty plum, almost borderline metallic. This is 2 coats with 1 coat of Zoya Armor as a top coat.

Zoya Rihanna is aubergine with magenta shimmer. This is 2 coats with 1 coat of Zoya Armor as a top coat.

Zoya Sloane is dark plum with purple shimmer. This is 2 coats with 1 coat of Zoya Armor as a top coat.

Zoya Blair is a vivid burgundy with red shimmer. This is 2 coats with 1 coat of Zoya Armor as a top coat.

Zoya Colbie is brick red with red shimmer. This is 2 coats with 1 coat of Zoya Armor as a top coat.

And finally, Zoya Jacy which is a reddish medium violet with somewhat subtle purple and magenta shimmer. This is 3 coats with 1 coat of Zoya Armor as a top coat. This color is probably my favorite from this collection.

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Disclosure: This collection was sent to me for review by Zoya.

I *love* Color Club Fast Woman. Normally, I’d classify this color as a straight up vampy but it’s actually a really deep brilliant red. I suppose the distinction is irrelevant because this color is obviously well within the vampy realm. Colors like this can only be described as disgustingly gorgeous, period. For this mani, I used one coat of Color Club Stuck on You, 3 coats of Fast Woman, 1 coat of Seche Vite. It applied well, no complaints. Fast Woman is from the Color Club In the Fast Lane Collection which also includes another great vampy, Color Club Killer Curves. I plan to swatch the entire collection soon, so stay tuned.

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Disclosure: The Fast Lane collection, which contained Fast Woman, was sent to me for review by Color Club.