Rescue Beauty Lounge Spring 2011 Iconic/Ironic Collection Swatches and Review

First off, here's the accompanying press release which explains the inspiration behind the collection:

"RESCUE BEAUTYʼS Spring/11 POLISHES SUIT FASHION SCHIZOPHRENTICS

The variety of moods and personas shown on this Spring//Summerʼs runways was a tribute to the fashion schizophrentic in all of us.

“Iʼve been told there are women who adopt a signature style that they stick to, season after season,” says Rescue Beauty founder Ji Baek, “frankly, Iʼve never met one.”

“Most women I know are like me—one day weʼre wearing “Mad Men”-inspired ladylike sheaths, the next weʼre channeling Patti Smith in black leather and spiky studs.

Itʼs one of the many joys of being a woman. We can be a little psychotic when we reach into our closets, especially this spring.”

Unlike previous seasons where one clear trend carried through collection after collection, this Spring, designers are all over the map. There was Betty Page starring in South Pacific at Dior, new wave meets neoclassical at Chanel, sexy Suzie Wongs at Louis Vuitton pared-down minimalism at Celine and Chloe, and a box of crayons at Prada and Jil Sander. Models appeared as 1920ʼs garden party ladies at Galliano, gauchos at Hermes and street-wise punks at the venerable houses of Balmain and Bottega Venetta.

“I love that our wardrobes can reflect our multi-faceted personalities. This season truly celebrates women—every woman—so Iʼve named my Spring polish collection Iconic/Ironic, hues to juxtaposition against every version of yourself.”

“The ʻironyʼ comes from mixing polishes in an unexpected way. Offset all those brights with a neutral cocoa or a grounding black hue. Make your punk looks more tongue-in-chic with lavender nails. Itʼs about adding that surprising detail that keeps you on your
(well-pedicured) toes.”

Decorous is a perfectly ladylike light cocoa, an unexpected neutral to offset bright tropical hues or to add a chic finish to an all-black ensemble.

Recherché is a purplish dark brown prune, an exotic accent that grounds oversize prints better than an expected summer pink or coral. Stunning with the homage to classic YSL designs shown by Stephen Pilati or the Proenza Schouler boysʼ loose-fitting ladylike tweeds and sheer tank dresses.

Insouciant is the toned-down gray lilac of a pressed corsage. Punked out rather than pastel, it is a counterpoint to Springʼs ladylike florals and Bardot-worthy uber-feminine dresses. Or wear it with Lanvinʼs muddied neutrals.

Finally, thereʼs Iconoclast. “Letʼs face it, black polish has been done to death. I had to reinvent it into something entirely new,” says Baek. This one is a richly pigmented ebony with layers of fine glitter, giving it depth and a metallic, mica-like finish.

Rescue polishes are available at www.rescuebeauty.com or Rescue Beauty Lounge on Gansevoort Street in New Yorkʼs Meatpacking District. The polishes sell for $18 a bottle.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Nail polishes are created with resin and high molecular polymers to improve flexibility, durability and high shine. They contain no harmful or drying Touluene, Formaldehyde, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin and no animal testing."


Now let's take a look at the colors!


Decorous. This is a soft light brown with a hint of iridescent shimmer. It reminds me of suede. It has a really nice milky element to it that makes the base color look super smooth, and then when the light hits it just right you get little glimmers of silver, purple, teal and a little bit of green. The flash photo shows the base color well and it also picks up some of the different colors in the shimmer.


Iconoclast. I think this might be my favorite of the collection. It's amazing. Iconoclast is a deep black base that's brightened by fine multicolored shimmer. Please enlarge the images- look at all the different shimmer colors! The main colors I see are green and purple. It's deep, dark, dramatic but has that subtle hint of color that makes it irresistible to me. How about a little bit of insider trivia? This is pretty similar to what some of the early prototypes of Scrangie by Rescue Beauty Lounge looked like. Black based with iridescent purple and green shimmer. We were going for that iridescent beetle look. Pretty neat, huh? The color transformed quite a bit during development! But now I have the gorgeous Iconoclast shade to remind me of that fun experience.


Insouciant. The first pictures show the purple element of this polish and the flash picks up on the pastel greyed qualities in the base color. This is a new take on the pastel and greyed-purple trends for spring. Instead of being a plain creme finish, it has a flash of blue shimmer. The shimmer is fine and subtle but at the right angles it looks luminous and electric. Look at the color of it in the corners of the bottle. It's a delicate color and the shimmer makes it look so magical.



Recherche. What a surprise for spring! A deep, dark smoky violet! It's not one of those dark purples that look black. This one is a little bit greyed and faded and it looks smoky on the nail. Very dramatic and mysterious. I love the soft vintage look it gives to the nails- makes me think of Film Noir or flapper girls. Elegant but still edgy.


The formula on these is the best polish formula you could ask for. It is absolutely flawless. The texture is smooth and even- not runny, not thick. It goes exactly where you want it with almost no effort. It practically applies itself. The drying time is a little longer, but they're so dense and opaque that you can get away with only one coat. Add a little quick-dry topcoat on top and you'll be good to go.


Love this set for spring. The black and the smoky purple are really the last colors that come to mind when I think of spring and I love that. But, I do usually crave light, faded cloudy type colors at this time of year and Ji satisfied my craving with Insouciant. I don't think that Decorous is the right type of brown for my skin tone, but the other three are definitely winners. Iconoclast and Recherche make me think of black orchids- I bet someone with awesome nail art skills could come up with a great black orchid inspired two-tone gradient.



The pre-order for this limited edition Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polish collection should be happening at the end of January, so make sure you're signed up for email alerts if you want to get in on the pre-order. I don't have an exact date or time, but as long as you're signed up for the newsletter you'll hear about it when it happens!

(These were sent to me for review.)