Twinsie Tuesday: Rescue Beauty Lounge Santa Fe

This week, we're doing nails inspired by a city. I decided to go with a polish that was not only inspired by a city, but named for one as well: Rescue Beauty Lounge Santa Fe. RBL is one of my all-time favorite brands (RIP) not only because of their gorgeous polishes, but also the artistic inspiration  behind each shade.

Ji always has the best polish descriptions so I'll let her do the talking here, as she really conjures up the imagery behind this polish beautifully: "An aerial view of her imaginary Santa Fe--the baked earth tones of ochre with the shimmery glisteningly ubiquitous dotted greens." Takes you right there, doesn't it?

RBL always delivered fantastic formulas and Santa Fe is no exception. This is two coats.

If my memory is correct, this is the only orange that RBL ever released. But what a beauty she is!

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Alice at Nail Art in Wonderland

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Claire at Kerruticles

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

​Lisa at The Polish Playground

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Marisa at Polish Those Nails

Megan at A Beauty in the Business

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Sara at The Call of Beauty

Sarah at Cloudy with a Chance of Lacquer

Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Sharon at Behind Green Eyes

Steph at Lovestruck Lacquer

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Twinsie Tuesday: Rescue Beauty Lounge Jane

We're re-visiting a past theme for this week's Twinsie Tuesday. I've been wearing a lot of brights and shimmers lately, so since I was in the mood for a palette cleanser shade, I chose to re-visit our minimalistic theme from the end of last year. To me, a nice nude is the perfect minimalistic mani.

I went with Rescue Beauty Lounge Jane, a putty creme from one of my all-time favorite collections, the Tudor Collection.

Jane has a beautiful formula that self-levels exceptionally well. This is three coats.

I am a total sucker for putty-colored polish, and Jane is largely responsible for starting that love affair. Putty has a little more visual interest to it than just a plan nude or sheer pink, yet it's still nice and understated-looking.

Hope you enjoyed this look back today! Be sure to take a look at which themes my Twinsies chose to re-visit!

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Lisa at The Polish Playground

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

Kristine at Pink and Polished Nails

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amanda at Amandalandish

Twinsie Tuesday: Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme challenged us to do a mani inspired by nature. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm "indoors-y." I have ridiculously terrible allergies so it's tough for me to be outside for long periods of time. But I do love being by the water. So for my nature mani, I chose Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily. This vibrant teal with a haze of delicate pink microshimmer makes me think of water gardens and blue tropical waters.

It's easy to see why this polish created such a stir when it first came out. Simply put, it's possibly the most beautiful teal I own. The formula is equally fantastic, reaching opacity in three smooth and easy coats.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at this RBL gem with me today! Be sure to head on over to my Twinsies' sites to see what they did for their nature manis!

​

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amber at Nails Like Lace
Anna at Going to the Showing
Bridget at A Painted Nail

Casey at CaseyLane Loves Polish

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Erin at Paint Those Piggies

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Kelly at Tuxarina

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

​Lisa at The Polish Playground

​Marisa at Polish Obsession

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Stephanie at A Little Polish

Tiffany at Polished To Precision​

Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily

Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily instantly became one of the brand's most sought after polishes and really, it's easy to see why: the pink shimmers swimming in a rich sea of turquoise instantly puts visions of crystal-clear waters and pristine beaches in your head. This polish is like summer in a bottle!

The aqua and pink in Aqua Lily are truly a magical combination. It's been rainy here the past several days, so I didn't have the benefit of natural sunlight, but hopefully these shots under a hot lamp will give you an idea of how pretty the two colors are together. The shimmer is not super bold, but rather it casts a soft haze over the polish, like sunlight across the water. It's absolutely gorgeous and goes on glossy smooth in three coats.

RBL may be on the pricier side, but in my experience, their polishes consistently look and perform like the luxury products they are, which I think makes them worth the splurge, especially when you find a shade as beautifully unique and captivating as Aqua Lily. If money was no object, I'd own the entire line; they are that nice. Aqua Lily has come and gone--two times now, in fact--but hopefully RBL will bring it back once more.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine H

I love everything about RBL's Tudors Collection: the inspiration, the complex colors and the fabulous formulas. Catherine H, named after Henry VIII's fifth wife Catherine Howard, is a regal blue with pink, purple and teal shimmer. She is not to be confused with the equally beautiful Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine, named for Henry VIII's first wife. Catherine H is simply stunning and most definitely fit for a queen!

And then one with flash:

I'm not a big royal watcher, but couldn't you just see another famous royal Catherine, Kate Middleton, rocking this shade? She's becoming quite the fashion plate! Anyways, back to Catherine H! I own many, many blue polishes but I've got to say Catherine H is one of the most beautiful. This is easily one of my all-time favorite blues. The shimmer on this polish is phenomenal and  I love the contrast between the rich blue base and the light, delicate shimmer. It really brings this polish to life and makes it something special.


The formula is excellent, as I've come to expect from RBL. At the RBL pricepoint, a polish needs to give superior application and this one really does ; it practically glides onto the nail. I took these pictures on day 4 of this mani and it was still going strong with zero chips and no real signs of tipwear.


I could never pick a favorite from the RBL Tudors polishes--each queen is beautiful in her own way! But this is one fantastic, utterly gorgeous polish! You can still get Catherine H on RBL's website, so keep this one in mind next time you're looking to splurge.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine

Today I've got another lovely Real Housewives of the Tudor Dynasty polish to show you. This one is named for Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, although he would ultimately marry three Catherines in all! Catherine is a dark purple shimmer with blue and fuchsia. Purple, the color of royalty, is a fitting color for perhaps Henry VIII's most regal wife.

Flash brings out the shimmer a bit more...

It goes without saying that the formula here is excellent. I'd expect nothing else from RBL. Catherine is very pretty but I must admit I don't like her quite as much as Jane and Anne. I wish the purple base were maybe a touch lighter but that's just a matter of personal preference. You really can't go wrong with any of the Tudor polishes though. After I try Catherine H I think I'm going to have a difficult time crowning a winner amongst the four. Each polish is beautiful in its own way but has something different to offer--great news if you, like Henry VII, crave variety haha. :)


Also, fun fact: Did you know that although most dramatizations portray Catherine as having dark hair and eyes, she was actually a blue-eyed redhead?

 

Like many people, I'm fascinated by the lives of Henry's wives. Catherine is the one I admire most, as she was renowned not only for her beauty but also her intelligence, eloquence and strength of character.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Jane

Jane is another royal beauty from the Rescue Beauty Lounge Real Housewives of the Tudor Dynasty Collection. She is named for Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's favorite wife. Jane is a putty grey with subtle gold shimmer. RBL calls it a "grey pearl" color which I would say is dead-on. RBL's description also says there is some pink shimmer in there as well as the gold but I honestly don't think it shows up on the nail.

It's funny, I originally almost passed on Jane but the completionist in me won out by deciding I had to have all the queens. (RBLs are so addicting, what can I say!) Then when they arrived in the mail, Jane was oddly the one I felt compelled to try first. Now that I have Jane, I'm pleased to say I really like her. She's neutral without being boring.

The formula on Jane was utterly fantastic, per usual for RBL polishes. They go on like a dream and wear like iron-so far Jane is no exception. This is two coats. All of the Tudor polishes are unique and intriguing in their own way, like Henry's wives. Just as Jane Seymour herself was reported to have a modest, discrete personality, this polish is appropriately understated but still chic.

Did you pick up any of the Tudor polishes as part of RBL's recent Bring It Back promotion? If so, which queen are you loving the most? I can't wait to try out Catherine and Catherine H as well!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Orbis Non Sufficit

I wanted to start things off today with a little thank you to all of my wonderful readers--I hit 75 followers today! :) I read (and try to respond to) all of your comments and as much as I love writing this blog just for the heck of it, the fact that there are people out there interested in it makes it that much more rewarding and fun for me. I hope that enthusiasm comes across in my posts, because I truly love sharing with you all!

So let's celebrate with some new Rescue Beauty Lounge! Orbis Non Sufficit was on my wishlist for a long time until RBL finally brought it back! Naturally I was overjoyed and bought my only bottle immediately. It's the perfect green creme and the color reminds me a lot of the exact shade of green you see on money. I think this polish has the coolest name; it's Latin for "the world is not enough," as a nod to the ever-sexy women of James Bond. Because really, what suits a Bond girl better than the color of money, am I right?

Sorry again about the bit of rough skin around my nails; the cold, dry air at the department store where I work is really doing a number on my poor hands! Regardless, I think/hope the beauty of this perfect green will be enough to distract you! This was just one coat and I took the photos immediately after I painted my nails--no clean-up necessary! That's how good RBL formulas are. The application is just unreal.

Orbis Non Sufficit has possibly become my favorite green creme. (You really don't want to get me started on my list of various favorite greens though. I could go on forever...) I love everything about this polish-okay, maybe everything except the price haha. Otherwise, Orbis Non Sufficit is perfect!

Since this polish has the whole Bond girl motif to it, do you have a favorite Bond girl? I know she's a more recent entry to the Bond cannon but I'm partial to Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, myself. She not only has more of a storyline than most other Bond girls, but on top of that she lands Daniel Craig as well! Not too shabby, Ms. Lynd. ;)

Rescue Beauty Lounge Anne

I find Tudor era English history extremely fascinating, so I was thrilled when Rescue Beauty Lounge announced they were bringing back their Real Housewives of the Tudor Dynasty Collection, featuring nail polishes named for four of Henry VIII's six wives. (But where is the love for Anne of Cleaves and Catherine Parr? Apparently the upcoming Fan Collection will at least feature a polish named for Anne Boleyn's sister Mary.) Anne, named of course for Henry's second wife, the infamous Anne Boleyn, is a muddy olive green with pink and gold shimmer. It sounds like that combo might not work, but it actually makes for a very unique and surprisingly cohesive look!

I love this polish, both because it's an excellent color with a stellar formula and because it's a great collector's item for the lacquerhead or history buff in your life-or for yourself, of course! I used three coats of Anne here and wore it for three days with no chips and virtually no tipwear! RBL is expensive but definitely a quality polish.

Anne leans a bit more brown on me but I've seen it look more green on others, it all just depends on your skin tone and the base color actually changes quite a bit in different lighting. The pink/gold shimmer is subtle but adds a lot of depth to this polish. This is a pretty unique and complex shade; there's something almost mysterious about it. It's different but still sophisticated.

I'm so glad they brought this one back! You can still pick up Anne at the RBL website as part of their Bring It Back series (but Anne's limited edition so act quickly if you want to make sure you nab her) and the rest of the queens-Jane, Catherine and Catherine H-will be joining her in January!

Comparison Post: Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie Vs. Sally Hansen Grape Going!

You may remember that I originally bought Sally Hansen Grape Going (swatches HERE) because it looks a bit like the legendary Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie (which you can see HERE). Well now that I have the actual Scrangie in my collection thanks to RBL's Bring It Back sale, I thought I'd bust out a comparison post to see just how similar these two really are.

Grape Going! is a purple duochrome that has a blue shift to it. It's part of Sally Hansen's Insta Dry line and you can find it at virtually any drugstore for around $4. Scrangie is purple with iridescent blue-green shimmer. You can only purchase it online for $18 at RBL's website. Here I have Sally Hansen on my index and ring fingers and Scrangie on my middle and pinky fingers.

They don't look as close in person as they do in these photos; you know how cameras are with the color purple. I'd say the first picture is the most color-accurate. Scrangie is much more of a red-based purple while Grape Going! is much more blue-based. Grape Going!'s base is darker than Scrangie's as well. Grape Going! also has a more blue shimmer to it that gives off a duochrome effect, while Scrangie's shimmer is more green and is more of a traditional shimmer look rather than a duochrome, although the shimmer does shift from blue to green.


Formula-wise, Rescue Beauty Lounge is far superior. I normally find the formulas on Sally Hansen polishes to be extremely good, but for some reason Grape Going! just would not cooperate the first two times I did my nails with this polish. It's runny and watery. Since I've learned my lesson, I was extra careful about wiping down the brush every time with Grape Going! so I didn't make a mess this time. I used three coats here. Scrangie, meanwhile, was a worry-free two coats.

So are these dupes? No. The look each polish gives off is quite different in real life, although both are very pretty. I personally prefer Scrangie but Grape Going! is probably the closest you can get to the RBL look without paying the costly RBL price. Do any of you know of some other polishes that might be similar to Scrangie? It seems to be pretty unique!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie

Ah, the mythical Scrangie. For a while, this beauty was discontinued and you could really only get it by paying a very pretty penny for it on Ebay. Thankfully, it is now available again on the Rescue Beauty Lounge website as part of their limited edition Bring It Back series and I finally snagged a bottle for myself!

Scrangie is named for and co-created by the (in my opinion) queen of nail blogging, Scrangie! Her kickass blog was one of my biggest inspirations for starting up a little nail blog of my own. :) Scrangie is a purple polish with the most mesmerizing iridescent shimmer which shifts from blue to green. Her inspiration for this shade was a beetle's wing. Let's take a look!

 

This polish is to die for. The shimmer in this one just looks so vibrant and alive. It really is something else and photos don't do it any justice! It looks so stunning in person. The formula is also perfect; one of the very best I've ever used. It spread smoothly, evenly and precisely across the nail. Everyone always raves about Rescue Beauty Lounge's formulas and now I see why. Even my right hand, which usually looks like a Jackson Pollack painting after I'm done doing a mani, looks pretty tidy!

I did three coats here but you could probably get away with two if you're not super picky about opacity like I am. As you can see though, I did get some shrinkage from my Seche Vite topcoat. I've heard RBL polishes and Seche don't play nicely together, so maybe I'll have to try another topcoat next time.