Dark, edgy, gritty

In anticipation of Rescue Beauty Lounge‘s Firebird collection, I’m devoting the next few posts to the RBLs in my collection.

The Firebirds ,RBL’s pre-fall 2011 collection, was available for pre-order about a month ago. To save on shipping, I joined Digital Traincase‘s batch pre-order. I have no idea how long it will take for my Firebirds to be delivered. Maybe they’ll arrive on my birthday. Maybe they’ll surprise me when I come home from a crappy day at work. I don’t know.

The other day, I was listening to Dir en Grey and their songs made me think of these:

Rescue Beauty Lounge Under The Stars and Black Russian are two of the first three RBLs I bought.

These dark, edgy, gritty sisters have a rich, blackened base set off by glitter. The sides of the bottles are pretty much coated with glitter. But on the nail, the glitter is almost hidden, only winking up at you when it catches the light.

Here’s Black Russian:

Black Russian is described as a black polish with ruby red glitter. It doesn’t look black to me at all, though. It’s a very rich, very deep blood red flecked with ruby glitter.

RBL calls Black Russian a grown-up goth. I call it the nail polish version of the word “visceral.”

Know who it reminds me of?

Dir en Grey guitarist Die, circa 1998. (Image source unknown.)

Die at Maquinaria Festival, Brazil, 2009. Photo from Wikipedia.

Die. Why you so hot?

Ahem. Sorry, I got distracted.

Black Russian is the polish I reach for when I want to go out drinking with friends. It is smoldering hot. If I ever get married and have a gothic wedding, Black Russian would be on my nails.

Here’s its mysterious blue twin, Under The Stars:

The aptly named Under The Stars has an inky, blue-black base shot through with blue glitter. It is the blue of an endless midnight sky. In dim light, it looks black.

Much of the glitter stays hidden under layers of blue-black. Even under sunlight or a bright white lamp, it doesn’t sparkle. And it’s not all blue. There’s silver under all that depth.

Under The Stars reminds of another Dir en Grey member.

Dir en Grey bassist Toshiya, circa 1997. In case you're wondering, that's a guy. (Image source unknown.)

I don’t feel like posting more recent photos because present-day Toshiya looks like an old lady.

Sigh. Remind me never again to swatch polish at 1 am.

I’ve read mixed reviews about this polish. I think, because of the name, many people expected brighter flashes of blue and silver and were disappointed to find the glitter mostly subdued under the blue darkness. I happen to love it. It’s sexy, aloof and unfathomable.

Both Black Russian and Under The Stars applied like a dream. The formula is smooth, not too thick and not too thin. You can probably get away with only one coat of polish because the color is so rich. (I did two.) The finish is a bit textured because of all the glitter.

I had some issues with both polishes the first time I used them, though. You know how, when you apply polish, you tend to do overlapping strokes and use another stroke to even out the overlap? I think that was what caused huge bubbles to form under the surface of the polish. It dried a horrible, lumpy mess.

I think a top coat that dries multiple coats of polish takes care of that issue. I finished off last night’s Under The Stars mani with Seche Vite. When I woke up this morning, the surface was still smooth as glass. No bubbles. Orly Sec ‘n Dry should also work. It doesn’t dry as quickly as Seche Vite, but it doesn’t cause as much polish shrinkage either.

Next week, I think I’ll do another vampy manicure. (Iconoclast, anyone?) Writing this post with Dir en Grey as my inspiration has also set me off on a search to find nail polish colors that remind me of the other band members — Kyo, Shinya and my virtual ex, Kaoru. Stay tuned.

Black Russian and Under The Stars are sold at Rescue Beauty Lounge for USD18 each.

A touch of smoky, a dash of sultry

We have only two seasons in my corner of the cosmos: humid and sweltering, and wet and muddy, with a short pocket of time — usually December to the second week of February — when it’s actually pleasant. In the last few years, there’s been no fixed schedule for these seasons. A single day’s weather can run the gamut from comfortably breezy to hellishly hot to impossibly wet, like it’s constantly PMS-ing.

This month, it’s been mostly hot and rainy. Perfect time for me to wear these:

These three are from Smoke and Mirrors,  Zoya’s Fall 2011 collections. I bought them from Digital Traincase when I was sick, in need of serious retail therapy and in the mood to match my nail color to the weather.

Left to right: Cynthia, Nimue and Neeka

Zoya says the Smoke and Mirrors collection is supposed to bring out “the smokiest, sultriest, sexiest you ever.” Me? Oh, I don’t know about that. They do look gorgeous on my nails, though.

Cynthia is the only shade I have from the Smoke collection. Digital Traincase didn’t have Dree and I was undecided on Anja and Jana. Cynthia is the color that got my attention the first time I saw Scrangie‘s swatches. I love very dark blue, teal and green shades that are almost black.

Zoya Cynthia is a dark, smoky teal. Indoors, it’s almost black. But under sunlight and my white lamp, the blue is very pronounced. The reviews I’ve read say Cynthia has very tiny shimmer that’s all but invisible except under bright light. I’m nearsighted and didn’t see it.

I have to admit, I bought Cynthia just to kill my longing for Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal, a shade that has been on my to-buy-or-not-to-buy list for quite some time but never quite makes it to the shopping cart. I don’t know how Cynthia compares. Teal is probably much, much bluer.

Here’s a shot of Cynthia looking vampy by the window:

It’s a bit darker on the nail than in the bottle. And there’s just enough blue there that you can tell it’s not black.

The formula is nice, smooth and extremely easy to apply. I needed only two coats.

Zoya Nimue (pronounced NIM-oo-ay) is one of three metallics from the Mirrors collection. I almost didn’t buy it because I thought it looked similar (but not identical) to Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game. I’m glad I got it, because Nimue is a beauty.

Nimue is a muted, smoky, mid-toned purple with mauve undertones and silver frost. My camera captures it as grey.

The name sold me as much as the color.  Nimue is the Lady of the Lake who gives  Excalibur to King Arthur. She is also one of the three women of Avalon who bring King Arthur to his final resting place. (In some versions of the Arthurian legend, the Lady of the Lake is called Viviane, Nynaeve, Niniane and other names.) In Marion Zimmer Bradley’s “The Mists of Avalon,” Nimue falls in love with the Merlin but is doomed to kill him. (In this retelling, Merlin is a title, not a name.) Yes, Zoya Nimue brings out the book nerd in me.

This photo I took in indoor light shows Nimue’s color more accurately. It is properly mauvish purple. In some angles, it can look brownish purple or greyish purple. But it is, undoubtedly, purple.

My photos show tip wear because I wore Nimue for a couple of days before taking pictures. I used three coats but you can certainly do with two. Application was a bit difficult. For some reason, the brush is tapered and I had a hard time making an even curve along my cuticles.

Zoya Neeka is also from the Mirrors collection and my favorite of the three. It’s a smoky purple, darker than Nimue, with subtle pink shimmer and gold glitter. Dare I say it, Zoya? I feel sexy when I wear it.

Like some of my other purples, my camera captures Neeka as bluer than it really is under artificial light. I could not capture the pink shimmer, which is too bad because it adds a nice depth and complexity to the color.

The glitter isn’t as dense as some of my other glitter polish. It’s also subtle rather than sparkly. Reminds me of butter LONDON Victoriana. Despite the glitter, Neeka dries smooth.

Here’s a more color-accurate photo.  Neeka is more deeply purple on the nail than in the bottle. I love how lustrous it looks with the gold glitter.

Application was so easy and stress-free. Zoya Neeka’s formula can give butter LONDON a run for its money.

It’s too bad Neeka’s green twin Yara wasn’t available. That little bottle of pretty would look great as a pedicure with a Neeka manicure.

I bought my Zoya Smoke and Mirrors nail polish from Digital Traincase  (Facebook | Multiply) for PHP420 each. Stocks are very limited; I think there’s still a handful of Smoke shades available. You can also find Zoya nail polish at Zoya Manila and, of course, Zoya.com.

Get wild, get wild, get get get wild

I like to paint my nails with bright, happy, eye-popping shades when I’m sick or depressed, or when it rains. It cheers me up. Last Saturday’s manicure served as a great mood lifter when my fever came back. So did this:

This dark purple holographic riot is Color Club Wild at Heart from the Fall 2009 collection of the same name. It is one of two bottles of nail polish I bought at the Glam Camp bazaar in Makati, and my first holo. I applied it Sunday night because I thought it would help get me through Monday when I still felt like crap but had to go to work.

I fell in love with this at first swipe. It is sparkly and purple and beautiful. Yes, purple, even if my camera insists that it is almost blue. Depending on which angle you view it, the polish flashes blue, red, magenta, silver and gold. I took these two photos under a white lamp and could not, for the life of me, capture the purple holo goodness.

Under natural light, Wild at Heart looks just slightly subdued. It’s still really colorful, though.

The silver shimmer is more dominant in the bottle than on the nail. The formula was very easy to work with, a bit thick but smooth, with a nice thin brush that made application easy. I needed only two coats.

Beautiful.

I thought this much sparkly goodness would look best under sunlight and I was right. When I went out in the sun, Wild at Heart just went insane.

Look at that! It’s freaking awesome!

This makes me wish I’d bought more bottles of polish and one backup bottle of Wild at Heart. (There were at least four Color Club collections on display at the Glam Camp booth.) I have a feeling I will be wearing this shade often.

I bought Color Club Wild at Heart from Beauty Lane (website under construction) at Glam Camp for PHP250 (discounted price). Color Club nail polish can be purchased from Color Club Philippines for PHP298.

The title is from Namie Amuro’s song “Wild,” which was used in the Coke Zero commercial that aired in local channels here. I thought the song captured the awesomeness that is Wild at Heart really well.

Maru no hon

All right! Stop the presses!

Maru has a book out.

Take me down to the strawberry fields

I don’t listen to The Beatles. When I hear of something called “Strawberry Fields,” what comes to mind is this:

Devil’s walk in the strawberry fields
しぼりたての涙をどうぞ召しあがれ
「蜜の味がするかい?」

Romaji:
Devil’s walk in the strawberry fields
shiboritate no namida o douzo meshiagare
[mitsu no aji ga suru kai?]

Engrish:
Devil’s walk in the strawberry fields
Go ahead, please help yourself to these freshly squeezed tears
Tastes just like honey, doesn’t it?

- L’Arc en Ciel, “Promised Land.” Kanji lyrics, romaji and translation from Love-en-Ciel

Part of L’Arc en Ciel’s 1998 album Heart, “Promised Land” is an angsty song about love and despair. In their 1998 concert, Hyde sang this song dressed as the Phantom Teddy Bear of Tokyo Dome. I don’t know, don’t ask.

There is nothing angsty about my Strawberry Fields, however.

This happy pink with gold shimmer is my first bottle of China Glaze. I bought it last week at Glam Camp, a tiny, two-day bazaar at Alphaland Southgate Mall in Makati. Applying it cheered me up immensely despite the fever that decided to come back after leaving me alone Thursday night.

Strawberry Fields is a sheer, cool-toned pink. Almost magenta and very summery. It’s also surprisingly wearable. I have a lot of pink shades in my collection that I can’t really wear because they don’t look good against my skin.

I used three coats but I can still see my nail line here. Not complaining, though. This polish is very pretty.

Here it is under sunlight.

I love the way the gold shimmer just comes alive.

It looks so juicy on the nails. It makes me long for a strawberry martini and a plate of sliced watermelon on the side.

I do wish China Glaze were more widely available in the Philippines. I’ve only seen it sold at bazaars and nail salons and online. I also wish I’d bought more shades at Glam Camp. (For Audrey! Urgh!) But I’d just pre-ordered a couple of shades from Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Firebird collection and didn’t want to go on another shopping spree. Strawberry Fields will have to serve for now.

I bought China Glaze Strawberry Fields at a store called Beauty Lane for PHP275 (discounted price). The home page says it’s not yet live but I was able to access inside pages when I Googled the site. I don’t know if they accept online orders already. Digital Traincase carries a limited number of shades. A wider selection is available at China Glaze Philippines for PHP315.