Rescue Beauty Lounge Cuprum

Hi friends!  It's another Saturday and I'm doing what I want and reposting a favorite.  Rescue Beauty Lounge Cuprum, from 2012's Fan Collection, impressed me right out of the gate and immediately went on my list of desert island polishes--  the ones you'd choose if you happened to be stranded and got to have three, five, ten of your favorite nail polishes to keep you company, of course.  Cuprum, despite the fact that blue is not my favorite color to wear in general, is top three.  And maybe I'm being a little shameless here, but it's been a pie in the sky dream for me to be one of RBL founder Ji's bloggers since I discovered the brand for myself (note my response to the seventh comment down, lol) and thanks to a contest call for new reviewers via Ji's blog, I get to throw my hat in the ring.  So, you can bet one of these photos is going up on the official contest instagram later today, because the truth of the matter is, #IWant2ReviewRBL ;)

 

Cuprum is an out of this world bright frosty metallic electric blue with a multitude of tiny copper flecks that are readily apparent both in the bottle and on the nail in real life but seem to show up on camera where the light doesn't directly hit.  This is one of the most notoriously hard to photograph polishes ever but that only adds to its intrigue.  The blue, however, is every bit as vivid as my photos suggest (and the color in these is, as always, unaltered; my camera is freaking out a little where the light is reflecting off my nails... seriously, this polish is something else).  I used two coats of polish and one layer of topcoat.  RBLs are spendy and the formula reflects that-- this applies beautifully.

Cuprum ( Latin for copper, if you want to know) was the definite dark horse of the Fan Collection and the only one still available (here).  And to my fellow bloggerettes, if you've got an instagram and feel like entering RBL's contest, click here for details.  Also, since I brought up the whole desert island scenario, what are your top three? 

Thank you for reading and have a terrific weekend!! ♥

Happy Valentine's Day! Rescue Beauty Lounge Piu Mosso

Love is a many splendored thing, and this Valentine's Day, I'm not wearing traditional red and pink, but a color I absolutely LOVE.  My gift to you?  The photos I wish I'd been able to take the first time around, lol. ♥

Here's Rescue Beauty Lounge Piu Mosso, again.

Those ever-so-subtle fiery shimmers, that deep, stormy blue-black...  Good heavens.  **fans self**

Last night C got on the computer with me and helped me shop for a spring handbag and wallet, and this morning I woke up to a beautiful card.  I'm working late today, so on Saturday we'll get up and make breakfast together, and later I'll make him his favorite dinner, eggplant parmesan.  It's been our Valentine's dinner for seven years and counting. ;) 

Sooo, what about you?  What's going on in your world on this day celebrating the greatest of emotions?  More important, what's on your nails? ;)

Thanks for reading, loves ♥♥♥

LLPT's Best of 2012

Hello!!  As the new year approaches, lots of us blogger types are doing Best Of posts or polls.  Here's my offering.  I present to you Liesl Loves Pretty Things' favorites of the past year, in chronological (I think, lol) order.  Enjoy! ;)

Julep's Resort Collection and January Maven box

Julep's collection of shimmering pearls and foils amidst bright, saturated cremes was exciting, surprising, and sheer genius for the coldest and dreariest of months.  When the Maven boxes were announced it was hard to choose among the five.  I kept with my American Beauty box, and these are the two I received-- Anne, the ultraviolet creme, and Maria, the rose gold foil.  I'd later receive Maya as a gift from the lovely Candice at Mommy Does Her Nails... but more on that later.  

Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan Collection 

Cuprum

You don't have to be a scientist to appreciate the coolness behind this creation-- a blue inspired by the reaction that occurs when ammonia meets copper.  This polish is a true work of polish art.  The energy surrounding it is fantastic and though it is notoriously difficult to capture on camera, it is an absolute pleasure and beauty to wear and officially made me a ReBeL.

OPI NYC Ballet Collection

Yes, this one made my short list.  Shocker!  I've not felt it necessary to own a whole collection before or since this one.  The collection contains five absolutely gorgeous pale jellies, each with a distinctly different feel-- from the pristine milky white Don't Touch My Tutu (thumb, top left photo) to the macabre My Pointe Exactly (ring, top and bottom left)-- and one beautiful, subtle, and versatile glitter.  My favorites of my favorite are the ones that exude health-- the natural nude of Barre My Soul (top right) and the tantalizing peachy pink of You Callin' Me A Lyre? (bottom right).  They are completely forgiven their terrible names. 

Butter London Lippies

 Long-lasting, gorgeously pigmented lipglosses that match my favorite polish colors?  Um, yes, please!  I fell in love with the lips and tips idea when these first arrived on the scene this spring, and since then they've helped me become bolder in my makeup choices.  All I need's that clear lipliner to keep them from getting all over my face and I'll be in lippy heaven.


BB Creams

I told you all about L'Oreal's bb cream here sometime this summer and I thought it was the be-all, end all of skincare.  The Garnier is so far superior that I doubt I'll use the L'Oreal again.  Experiment and find what works best for you.  Both are light and moisturizing, provide adequate coverage, even skin tone, and don't look or feel anything like traditional foundation, or mineral makeup, of which I'd been a devotee for years.  These bb creams kind of stormed the scene here in the US and though the word is they're nothing like their Asian counterparts, I hope they're here to stay.


NARS Storm Bird

I've had a small obsession with grey in fashion for the past couple years, and as soon as the first swatches of NARS Storm Bird came out, I knew it must be mine.  The glossy, sophisticated shade of blue tinged dark grey didn't disappoint, and kickstarted my love affair with all things NARS.  More on that later.


The Many Iterations of Chanel Peridot

I mean, come on.
I know some of you are sick and tired of it, but every major polish company who didn't put out a Peridot dupe this year could have and I would have still salivated over each and every swatch.  I picked up China Glaze's dupe, Rare and Radiant; bonus points for being named for a line in The Raven.  Extra bonus points for being part of a collection containing excellent dupes of Deborah Lippmann's Mirrored Chromes.  Thanks, ChG, for keeping my wallet happy and my nails pretty! <3


Zoya FeiFei

Zoya's fall collections were outstanding in my book, all three of them, Diva, Designer, and Gloss.  FeiFei was the standout of the whole lot, though.  All the big gals fawned over this color when it came out, but the fact is, no photo compares to the gorgeousness in real life.  FeiFei became a fast favorite of mine because of its surprising versatility.  With its steely, cadet blue base and shimmers of every color under the sun, it's a neutral while being anything but. 


NARS Andy Warhol Collection

My general knowledge of Andy Warhol doesn't extend too far beyond the soup can painting, the 15 minutes of fame thing, and Jim Morrison and Nico's affair.  Maybe that's part of the reason why I found NARS' holiday Andy Warhol collection so fascinating, because I know virtually nothing about the artist.  The more I saw and the more I read, though, the more I realize the brilliance of the inspiration.  I went conservative with my makeup choices and stuck with the Sephora exclusive Walk On the Wild Side gift set, which includes the inky violet-black polish called It.  In addition, I picked up the most gorgeously saturated, true to NARS form glossy dark teal, Superstar.


...and finally,
You Kids <3

I tried to figure out a way to cut and paste the GFC widget here so that could be my final picture, but either I'm not tech savvy enough or it violates some sort of law, lolol.  Either is very possible. ;)  But the point is, you ALL make this so darn much fun, you truly are the best of the best :)  I love that you take the time to read what I have to say and I absolutely love your comments and our interactions, the relationships I've made, how supportive and honest and real you guys are.  

So, there you have it!  You probably know that I'm one of those who strictly prohibits links in comments, but if you've got a blog and are doing a Best Of post, gimme the link and I'll go check it out.  And, as always, comments on how much you agree with my choices, or how completely and utterly off base you think I am, are most welcome.

Either way... thanks for reading. <3

Editing to add honorable mentions to a couple products.  First is NARS Lhasa eyeshadow, which has easily become my go-to shadow for casual and dressup.  I forgot it was a 2012 release, and besides, if I added it in now, this post might start to look like a NARS shill.
Second is Duri Rejuvacote, the best basecoat in the world which IS amazing and has restored my confidence in my natural nails again.  Not a 2012 release, but it is the year I discovered it. ;)

Rescue Beauty Lounge Piu Mosso

I learned how to make a shark face on facebook last night.  I spent something like 40 minutes posting it in various groups I belong to and discussing it with like-minded folk.  I learned how in my perfume group, and honestly I thought everyone in the word would think it's the coolest thing, but only a select handful appreciated the awesomeness that is fb shark head.  Some of you read this and you know who you are. ;)  I had to bow out of one particularly entertaining conversation (seriously) because it was almost 11pm and my nails weren't just going to paint themselves.

Incidentally, or not, because this is such a terrific color, I'm wearing the same color I'm about to show you.  

I would have to say that Rescue Beauty Lounge is top two of my favorite polish brands, though I've only become familiar with it within the past few months.  The collections are so inspired, and the colors remarkably beautiful, and whenever I wear one I feel like I've got something as close to fine art as you're going to get in this industry on my hands.  This is Piu Mosso, from Fall 2011's L'Oiseau de Feu collection, and a part of this year's BiB4.  I've been lemming after this color almost since I knew it existed, and I jumped on it once the presale alerts were sent out.  

Too many?  Sorry, I'm just completely jazzed about this color.  Piu Mosso is a very dark, murky, saturated midnight blue alit with red, orange, and gold shimmer.  The shimmer is less visible on the nail than in the bottle, but that's how it's meant to be-- inspired by the stages of a hurricane and reminiscent of the last vestiges of the sun peeking through the darkened clouds.  It's gorgeous, and I'm only briefly going to touch on the fact that it's also a terribly sophisticated shade.  And, it's a one coater.  

RBL's BiB4 sale has officially gone live, and Piu Mosso is available here. 

(^^^)

Rescue Beauty Lounge Cuprum

Good morning!  Today I've got on the dark horse of the Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan Collection, the notoriously difficult to photograph Cuprum.  First, a little background.  I totally knocked the RBL upcoming Georgia On My Mind collection in one of her blogger's posts, and kindly got my arse handed back to me, saying basically that I don't know what I'm talking about.  I admitted this, and decided to look into this brand a little further.  When the Fan collection came out, I, like many others, went a little crazy for the super saturated blue jelly on steroids that is IKB:2012, and I was a little disappointed when it sold out so quickly.  But, it gave Cuprum time to really grow on me, and gave me a real appreciation for the brand itself and the concepts and work behind each individual collection and color.  The concept behind Cuprum is particularly cool.  (If you click on the link, scroll down to Compounds.)

Anyway, the whole problem with photographing this particular polish is that it's this amazing electric metallic blue with tiny, tiny copper flecks throughout, but it wants to look like a blue frost, and the wonderful copper flecks reflect light blue themselves or don't show up at all.  Top bloggers know this and the rest of us accept this as one of those "you've got to see it to believe it" colors.  So imagine my surprise when my camera actually picked up the copper.

The above photo is with flash; the copper is still very slightly visible, but this gives a good idea of just how vibrant this blue really is.

And, directly under a lamp.  This one is the best illustration of how saturated with copper this color truly is.

Bottom line?  I'm completely taken with this color.  As my first RBL purchase, the formula is perfect and easy to manipulate, and the whole thing is worth every dollar I spent, even on shipping.  Consider me a freshly minted ReBeL. ;)

Thank you for reading and have a lovely Friday!