Deborah Lippmann Spring 2011 Swatches and Review

This year's spring shades from Lippmann are soft and subdued.


Naked. This is a soft, milky neutral beige. You could call it nude, fleshy... Naked, really. It's almost my perfect 'Mannequin Hands' shade, but it's just a touch too tan. It can be worn sheer, but I think it looks best opaque like I'm wearing it here (three coats).

And the star in this spring duo....

Glitter In The Air. What can I even say about this color? I'm totally in love. Yes, I am in love with a sheer polish. It's true. I would have never expected this. Let me describe it. It's a milky, cloudy, gentle baby blue jelly. Very sheer. Sprinkled throughout the blue jelly base are shiny bits of large and small pink and blue glitter. It's not a dense glitter and you won't have full coverage with it, but that's the beauty of it. It reminds me of cotton candy and cupcake sprinkles and magic. It's just so romantic and dreamy looking. I'm wearing three coats and it's really sheer. It looks even better at four thin coats but I didn't get a picture of that. If you prefer a more opaque look (or just hate visible nail line), you can easily layer it over pastel blue or a white creme.

The formula on these was decent. They both start out sheer and can be layered for more coverage. With the texture of the formula on these polishes, it's best to wait a minute or so in between coats so that you don't get that goopiness that some sheer polishes can get when applying. Drying time was a little long, but not horrible.

Naked is nice, but Glitter In The Air is magical. It's a fantasy polish. Sheer polishes, especially sheer glitters, aren't something I usually like, but this one is different. It looks squishy and soft, like candy and marshmallows. And... unicorns!!

(These were sent to me for review.)

Deborah Lippmann Holiday 2010 Shades - Boom Boom Pow and Today Was A Fairy Tale

I know that I'm a little late posting these as it's now a few weeks into the new year, but there's nothing that requires one to love these only during Winter...

Deborah Lippmann has once again created some magnificent glitter shades. I'm loving this. A high end brand who appreciates the glitter.


Boom Boom Pow. This one is said to contain real 24 karat gold. It has large gold hex glitter and some tiny delicate gold sparkles in a clear base. I'm betting that the 24k gold is those little glimmers of gold in the base. While this polish would be great for layering, I personally prefer it when worn alone, like this. Very magical looking.



Today Was A Fairy Tale. Like Boom Boom Pow, this one also contains a fancy ingredient: Virgin Diamond Powder. What is Virgin Diamond Powder? Well, it's an abrasive made of micronized diamonds and it's used for polishing. Is there a benefit to having it in nail polish? Who knows. All I know is it's cool to say, oh, my nail polish has diamonds in it. Anyway, this shade is a sheer grey base with large and small silvery blue glitter. The base tints the glitter a bit and it has a cloudy sky sort of effect. Very pretty. Excellent for layering:


Deborah Lippmann Today Was A Fairytale (one coat) over Zoya Dove. See how the grey base tints the polish a little? It deepens the color and adds a slight blue hue. So pretty.



Deborah Lippmann Today Was A Fairytale (one coat) over Illamasqua Obsess. Over such a bright color like Obsess, it really changes. It deepens and mutes the base polish and it makes the glitter stand out more- more contrast between light and dark.


The formula on these was good. They're sheer glitters so they need at least three coats- I'm wearing three coats in these pictures. They're a little thick so you should wait a few minutes between coats if you can, it will help make a smoother application. Drying time is average and removal isn't too bad for a glitter.

Because of the fancy ingredients like real gold and diamond, these are more expensive than the average Lippmann polish; they're $20 each.

Do you have these? What do you think of them?

(These were sent to me for review.)

Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy versus Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game

I picked up a handful of the new Wet n Wild Fast Dry polishes and this color immediately stood out to me. I think it's a re-release from the summertime, but now it's permanent. The shade is called Gray's Anatomy and it's a sheer silvery purple, grey, green and blue duochrome. Sound familiar? I thought so.


This is Wet N Wild FastDry in Gray's Anatomy all by itself- three coats, no basecoat or topcoat. The duochrome effect shows up best in low light, but you can see the colors in the sides of the bottle. It isn't the strongest duochrome effect like a Sally Hansen Nail Prism would be, but it's still undeniably color-shifting.



And here it is alongside Lippmann's Wicked Game. Can you tell which finger has which polish? No? It's:

Left to right, pinkie to index:
Pinkie: Four coats of Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy
Ring: Four coats of Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game
Middle: Four coats of Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy
Index: Four coats of Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game

They are so very, very close that I feel comfortable calling them dupes. There are some minor differences in formula- the Wet n Wild is a lot thicker and more opaque, requiring only three coats while Lippmann Wicked Game is more sheer and a little more watery and needs at least four coats for opacity. There is ever so slightly more duochrome effect on the Lippmann polish. And, one totally superficial difference: The Deborah Lippmann polish has a way, way prettier looking bottle. I looooove Lippmann's bottles. But, side by side, the polishes are practically identical.

Wet n Wild? Ninety-nine cents on sale at Walgreens. Lippmann? $16.00 plus shipping if you buy online. The Wet n Wild is definitely the most budget-friendly way to get the look but you can't deny the glamour and aesthetic advantages of the Lippmann bottle. But, it's good to know there are options!

I'll post the rest of the Wet n Wild shades I picked up eventually- but let me just say right now that Buffy The Violet Slayer is not to be missed. It's so good.

Deborah Lippmann All That Jazz Trio Fall 2010

I have to get used to calling these "Deborah Lippmann" now instead of Lippmann Collection... Maybe I'll just refer to them as Lippmann from now on. Confusing!

Anyway... Lippmann's been cranking out a ton of glitter shades lately. Maybe after Happy Birthday became their best seller they're starting to realize how much we all adore unique glitters. Across the Universe was nothing short of genius. Very happy to see them experimenting with the rarely-disappointing jelly/glitter combination. This is the latest:

Lady Sings The Blues. This is a deep blue creme base with silver sequins and glitter. It's not quite a jelly... The base is a little sheer but it's also mostly opaque. I actually think this might have looked better if it was more sheer. The base is a little too dense and doesn't allow all the glitter to show through. It's not lumpy or chunky, but some of the glitter does get lost. Other than that detail, this is a very beautiful polish. Takes a page out of the Essie Starry Starry Night Polish Success Manual. Heh.


Razzle Dazzle. Had to get pictures at a couple different angles for this one. It's just too beautiful. In my opinion, this is the best one in the set. It's rich blackened raspberry jelly with magenta and red glitter. It is freaking spectacular. I can't get enough of this. It looks so sparkly and deep and dramatic, it's like pink lava or a river of gemstones on your nails. The only downside? It stains like crazy. I put it on when it arrived and wore it less than an hour (accidentally smushed it while cooking, had to remove) and when it came off, my nails were stained rose pink. They still are on my right hand, actually. I did not expect that. Staining really doesn't bother me because I'm never without polish on my nails, but people who are less accepting of staining might want to take precautions with this one.

Some Enchanted Evening. I feel like I'm always complaining about glitters that are this color... Whenever companies decide to do a pink glitter, 99% of the time it's this exact shade of pink. It's the color of Milani Disco Lights, to give you a reference point. Despite this, I actually love this polish. It has two kinds of glitter- fine and large sequin. It's in a clear base. It's ideal for layering but I actually prefer it alone, as pictured here. The effect it gives is positively magical. The glitter in it is very sparkly and sometimes flashes red and silver instead of just pink (as observed in the indoor picture) and it looks light and delicate all by itself. I am starting to actually enjoy certain sheer colors and this is one of them.

I compared Razzle Dazzle to Good Girl Gone Bad (from the Party Like A Rockstar kit) because they reminded me of each other. Turns out they're not really duplicates but they are somewhat similar:

Index and ring finger: Lippmann Collection Good Girl Gone Bad, four coats
Middle and pinkie finger: Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle, three coats

Razzle Dazzle is redder, more opaque, has larger glitter and the glitter is red-based. Good Girl Gone Bad is quite sheer, is more purple toned and has tiny silvery glitter. They're both worth owning as they're completely awesome.

The formula on them was good. Not too chunky, not too thick. Good opacity and glitter density. I did two coats in these pictures but I'm sure a third coat would be even better. Drying time was longer than usual for Lippmann but still within acceptable range for me. They are not super bumpy but still look best with a coat or two of a thick topcoat like Lippmann Addicted to Speed (or Seche Vite, Diamont, Poshe, Barielle Mani Extender, the thicker the better!) The only flaw I could find with these is the tendency Razzle Dazzle has to stain. I did not experience any staining with Lady Sings The Blues or Some Enchanted Evening.

Currently these are only available as a set, but if the past is any indication of future events, they'll probably be available as individuals eventually. I don't know for sure, though... Just speculating. Though I'm sure that if you emailed them enough asking for them to be sold separately like with the Anniversary set from last year, they'd do it.

(These were sent to me for review.)

Lippmann Collection / Deborah Lippmann Fall 2010: Across the Universe and Bad Romance

Hmm... This is odd... somehow when I wasn't looking Lippmann Collection changed their name to Deborah Lippmann? Sneaky.

It's also my first Lippmann review in about a year... And these polishes deserve the attention!

Ever since we got those little teaser pictures of the new sequin polishes several months ago, I've been dreaming of these. Deborah Lippmann has apparently seen just how much we all love glitter because there will be three more glitter polishes from her this fall. In fact, I was just reading in the newsletter that Happy Birthday is their top selling polish. That's kind of awesome. I would not have expected that- I'd think it would be Bitches Brew or something like that... But no... Happy Birthday is number one!

According to the press release, Bad Romance is supposed to be a new take on Ruby Red Slippers and Across The Universe is supposed to be all of time and space in a bottle. Have a gander:



Across The Universe. A couple different angles and lights to show the depth and glitter. It's a dark navy sheer base with small aqua-blue glitter and larger aqua-blue and green hexagon sequin glitter pieces. A little bit duochromey looking if you tilt the glitter just right. This polish is seriously gorgeous. The glitter doesn't get eaten by the dark base, and it's really prominent in the polish. The texture of the sequins looks fantastic showing through the sheer jelly-like quality of the blue base. I'd say this is pretty unique, I can't readily think of another polish that looks like this straight out of the bottle.



Bad Romance. Unfortunately, my lighting hasn't been ideal this week so I have to settle for some indoor flash pictures to show the glitter. This is a sheer black base with bright shiny purple-fuchsia glitter. There are mostly small particles and a splash of hexagonal sequins. It does remind me of Ruby Red Slippers but there seems to be less glitter in Bad Romance comparatively. The sheer base does help the glitter to show through instead of looking lumpy and it's not so sheer that you need a million coats. It bears a resemblance to Petites Black Amethyst or Wet n Wild Night Prowl, but Bad Romance has sequin-style glitter added.


The formula was good. I had no problems controlling the polish; it was thin but not runny. The only application issue is trying to get the sequins distributed evenly, so I used a few more strokes in application than I normally would. These are somewhat sheer so I did three coats of both and that looks just about perfect to me. The texture of these isn't lumpy or bumpy or gritty, which is a huge bonus, but I still used a very thick topcoat when I wore Bad Romance this weekend. Drying time was average. Removal is not as difficult as I anticipated, either- the big sequins come off pretty easily and the glitter is not very dense.

I think the sheer base of these really helps give these polishes that deep layered look. Sometimes the bases of glitter polishes can be so opaque that it just covers all the glitter and makes a lumpy look instead of letting the glitter show through the layers. So yes, you'll need an extra coat if you hate visible nail line, but I feel the end result is worth that. Three coats isn't bad at all.

I'm sure that some of you franken-geniuses could duplicate these with ease if you had the right shades of glitter, but other than that observation, I'm extremely happy with these. I favor Across The Universe the most of the two shades and I would pay $18 for it. I love big chunky glitter and especially big chunky glitter in dark vampy bases. Hell, I love any kind of glitter... so... naturally a good fit with me.

And just for fun, here's how I was wearing Bad Romance yesterday:





(These were sent to me for review.)

Lippmann Collection 10th Anniversary promotion

Lippmann Collection is celebrating their 10 year anniversary next month! To kick off the celebration, they are giving away a $50 gift certificate to every 10th customer who makes a purchase on www.lippmanncollection.com on September 1, 2009. The promotion only lasts one day so act fast! To commemorate this milestone, fashion manicurist to the stars Deborah Lippmann created a limited-edition collection of glitz and glamour shades available for just $35. Celebs are flocking to the colors; Lady Gaga loves Ruby Red Slippers.

Happy Independence Day!

I was playing around with some of my Art Club striper polishes and did these two designs really quick:

Stars

Stripes

Lippmann Holiday , Art Club Blue Glitter, Art Club Silver Hologram, the silver stars from Love My Nails Glort, INM Out The Door Northern Lights Gold and Orly Prisma Gloss Silver.

I know, they're a little sloppy and uneven, I was just playing around a bit, but I think they turned out pretty cute! I might actually leave this on as my final Fourth of July mani. It's so sparkly, like little fireworks on my nails!

If I don't get a chance to post again, I wish you all a happy and safe fourth of July / Independence Day!

Celebrate: The Lippmann Collection 10th Anniversary Set

I did a sneak preview of this set a while ago, and now it's finally here! It appears to be a Nordstrom exclusive set, but I didn't know that when I first posted. Though, a lot of times "Nordstrom Exclusive" means Nordstrom has it first for a little while (remember the Nordstrom Exclusive Essies?)

Superstar. Golden copper glitter in a brown jelly base. This is my picture of the original-release Superstar. The new one is exactly the same, so I saved time on swatching. This is unique in more ways than one- I've never seen a glitter shade like this one, and also, this polish has square glitter instead of round. It's totally awesome, it was really cool of Lippmann to bring this one back because everyone asked for it!


Ruby Red Slippers. Black creme base with two sizes of ruby red glitter. I adore this. This is one awesome polish. I wore it all weekend and everyone commented on how cool it was! The combination of the large, hexagonal shaped glitter and the small round glitter gives this polish a serious punch. It's flashy and sexy and glamorous all at the same time. It's like China Glaze Lubu Heels but a million times better. The glitter in this polish is very obvious. It looks like little ruby gems on your nails.



Funky Chunky. Black with large black glitter. You guys know I am a Lippmann lover, but this polish makes me sad. I have to be honest with you; This is the polish I was looking forward to most from this set, but it's the one I like the least. I hate to say it because it was such a cool concept, but this polish just doesn't work. It's very difficult to apply evenly because of the thickness of the polish. You can't really see the glitter in this unless you hold your hand up close to your face. This polish just looks chunky and bad. It looks like you don't know how to apply polish, or maybe like you punched a beehive with wet nails. I wanted this one to work so bad... And in my opinion, it would have worked if the black base was sheer and let the glitter particles show through. This black is very opaque (think Lippmann Fade To Black) and the glitter particles all clump together and look chunky and weird. Lumpy. Looks like sludge, but not in a good way. Very sad. (This picture is with two coats of Nubar Diamont topcoat)

I'm going to try adding a lot of thinner or clear polish to my Funky Chunky to see if I can make the base a little more sheer so that the glitter looks like glitter and not like chunky polish.

The formula on these seems average for a glitter polish. Funky Chunky was the thickest and hardest to work with, but Superstar and Ruby Red Slippers seemed thin and even. Opacity on these is really good. They're opaque and dense in two coats. The only downside to this gorgeous glitter polish is that it's insanely hard to remove. I used my jar that I use for removing fake nails, and it couldn't get the glitter off. Felt worked okay but it made a mess. I resorted to extremely wet cotton balls and that got the glitter off with minimal headache.

Overall, I think the set is still worth getting for Ruby Red Slippers alone, and if you don't have Superstar then it's definitely worth having.

All I can do is keep on telling you- I want you, I need you... But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you, Funky Chunky... No don't be sad... Cause two out of three ain't bad...

Lippmann Collection Celebrate is available at Nordstrom.com, but I have a feeling it might show up on Lippmann's website eventually.

Sneak Preview: Lippmann Collection Celebrate: The 10th Anniversary Set

A sneak preview from Lippmann Collection! This will be available in July.

Please click for full size. This picture is huge.

CELEBRATE: THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY SET

FROM LIPPMANN COLLECTION

THINK: Celebrating a decade of nail perfection.

WHAT THEY ARE: Three shimmering shades that let your nails shine. After ten years of pioneering nail trends and developing fashion-forward shades, nail guru Deborah Lippmann is celebrating with an exclusive set of special-edition polishes. Available only in the Celebrate tenth anniversary set, the luxe lacquers come in three glam, glittering shades:

• Ruby Red Slippers—A sparkling red reminiscent of Dorothy’s famous slippers
• Funky Chunky—A sequined, sheer black
• Superstar—A show-stopping, shimmering copper

Created by Deborah Lippmann, the go-to nail guru of the Hollywood set and the fashion elite, Lippmann Collection includes a vast array of nail lacquers and luxury treatment products for hands and feet. This sequin-infused set celebrates Lippmann’s legacy on the runway and the red carpet, bottling her expertise in three essential new shades.

The Celebrate lacquers mirror the over-the-top glam seen on the spring runways: Ruby Red Slippers and Superstar complement the embellished flapper frocks seen at Alberta Ferretti and John Galliano, while Funky Chunky reflects the black, heavy sequins shown by Alexander McQueen.

Lippmann Collection nail lacquers are free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Dibutyl Phthalates. Additionally, all of Lippmann Collection lacquers feature Aucoumea Klaineana extract, a natural resin from West African trees, which is known to strengthen nails and prevent ridges for smoother, healthier nails. The long-lasting formulas of Lippmann Collection nail lacquers contain Green Tea extracts and protein-building Biotin so nails stay healthy and strong.