Lippmann Collection Rehab

Good Morning, Dear Reader!



I'm pleased to be able to say that I have mastered my fear of Lippmann Rehab. I've had this little pretty for months, waiting to be used, but I was afraid of it. You see, I've been warned it requires at least four coats, and that there would still be a VNL even at that. Terror! But having recently survived five coats of Lucy in the Sky, I was finally prepared to confront my fear of Rehab. I used five coats and do still have a slight VNL, but the polish is so gorgeous that the line doesn't bother me. So pretty in fact, that I couldn't choose between a few pictures, so I have three for you.

This angle shoes the shine so well.



Here's one for my Number Two Fan.



And finally, the usual pic, which really shows the jelly look it has.



I'm thrilled to have finally conquered my fear of Rehab - it really is everything it's cracked up to be.

I'll have more for you later, Dear Reader, and until then, love and nail polish to you!

Gradation with a Twist: The Call Jacques Mani and Reader Questions

Good morning again, Dear Reader!

I have pictures of today's NOTD for you: The Call Jacques Mani. Since the idea of a gradation mani, using the same color light to dark from one nail to the next, was recently introduced to me I'm stuck on the idea. My twist on this one was to not just change tone, but to change color - the shift from index to middle finger is in color rather than tone, with all five colors being the greyed-out shades I love. Although I'm not a huge fan of the "holding a bottle" pic, I've included one because holding something seems a good way to display the mani and a bottle of polish is more appropriate for the picture than a Bic lighter. Here she is, Call Jacques:





The colors are, from thumb to pink. OPI You Don't Know Jacques, $OPI Metro Chic, $OPI On Stage, OPI Parlez-Vous OPI, and $SOPI Call your Mother - hence the name Call Jacque, which had a better ring to it than Jacques Your Mother.

The other topic for this afternoon is some reader questions we've had on some older posts that I was afriad would get buried and go unanswered. The first I can answer, but am sure that you have additional answers for, and the other two I'm just putting out there hoping for an answer from you, Dear Reader.

First, LuvLngNlz asked about cuticle care. All I did to tidy mine up a bit was use a cuticle clippers to take off any hangnails and then used Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover (blue bottle). Otherwise, I just push them back. In winter I used Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter to keep them from becoming problematic, but don't bother with it when the weather's like it is now. If you have any tips that keep yours in good shape, please throw in your two cents.

Next up, Nail Juice asked about less expensive dupes to Chanel's Robertson Collection. It's true dupes we're looking for, not just kind of close. I've seen the kind of close variety, but have yet to see a true dupe of any of them. Suggestions? I can do comparison pictures if we have any stand-out contenders that I own.

Finally, Rosey from Autralia was interested in dupes for $OPI Meet for Drinks and $OPI I'm with Brad, preferably from OPI. I'm not able to think of any true dupes offhand, and again will be glad to do comparison pics of strong contenders.

That's all for today, Dear Reader. Love and nail polish to you!

Chanel Fall 2008

Good morning, Dear Reader! Since I officially wrapped up my summer colors with Chanel, I figured I'd start the Fall with Chanel's offerings as well.

Of course, these are by no means new news, but I haven't posted them here. They were the first Fall colors I picked up this year, and I bought them after inspecting each closely in the light at Chicago's Michigan Avenue Chanel boutique. On a whim one day, I took the short walk over there the week before they were expected to be online, and much to my pleasure, there they were waiting for me.

Initially, I almost passed on Fantastic because it's one of those colors that at first glance is not remarkable, but when held up to good light its special subtle shimmer appeared and I decided that it was unique enough to have.



Fool for metallics that I am, I could not resist Gold Fiction. I've been told be others that it takes four coats to be opaque, but that has not been my experience. This is two coats.



Kaleidoscope is an obvious winner and caught my eye immediately, being totally unique.



All three were photographed with two coats over a base coat with a top coat (Poshe).

Despite what you'll read on ebay, all three are readily available online from a reputable source, carrying the new $20 price tag for Fantastic and Kaleidoscope and the "special" price of $30 for Gold Fiction. If you're from MUA, just pm me and I'll tell you where. For non-MUA regulars, if you email me at the address linked above I can let you know where too find them. The only reason I don't link it here is that I'd hate for them to get bought up by resellers and have caused the "Sold Out" claim to ring true.

These were the beginning of Fall 2008 nail polish for me, so they seemed the most appropriate way to usher in Fall.

Perhaps I'll have more for you later, Dear Reader. Until then, love and nail polish to you!