Rescue Beauty Lounge “The Fan Collection” Swatches & Review

Having had the privilege of working with Rescue Beauty Lounge founder Ji Baek to create my dream nail polish, Mismas, for the Fall 2009 Blogger Collection, I know the thrill the four RBL fans must have felt when their submissions were selected for Rescue Beauty Lounge’s The Fan Collection. In Decemeber 2010, Ji put out a call to action to her beloved ReBeLs, giving them the opportunity to submit their fantasy nail polish color for the chance of seeing it come to life. After narrowing down the submissions to a final eleven, fans voted for the winners who had the opportunity to work closely with Ji as she painstakingly crafted their dream shades. Thirteen months later, Danielle, Kay-Di Kat, Neeta and Nora are seeing their visions come to life as The Fan Collection. Formula & Application: Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polish is 4-Free (includes formaldehyde resin). The square glass bottles are thick enough to feel sturdy but thin enough to properly show off the color. The smooth brushed metal cap is easy to hold and polish with while the brush is round, of average length and on the thicker side. It’s a bit more flexible than most which makes application a breeze. Unfortunately due to a lab error, the samples I received are not in Ji’s stellar formula so it’s hard for me to comment on the application though the pigmentation was definitely up to Ji’s strict standards. Each lacquer applied in two flawless coats with the exception of IKB:2012 which is a jelly and needed three coats to become opaque. Halcyon: Danielle’s dream color is a soft, sage green with a pink glimmer of brilliant reflective shine, just like when the morning dew tenderly kisses a succulent plant. The beauty of succulents keeps her calm and serene. Rescue Beauty Lounge Halcyon is exactly what I imagined it to be. A muted sage green that has a kick of mint in its undertone that feels fresh and Spring-y. The soft pink flecks tend to disappear when you aren’t in direct light making the color somewhat chameleon-esque. Cuprum (Cu): The metamorphic moment when the presence of ammonia meets copper (II) transforms into a radiant blue. Cuprum is Latin for copper, and the dual nature of this element is what Neeta wanted to capture in a bottle. Rescue Beauty Lounge Cuprum is the shade I was most curious to see come to fruition. Naturally when I think of blue with copper flecks, I can’t help but envision the polish I created with Celebrity Manicurist Elle for Barielle’s All Lacquered Up collection, Falling Star. I couldn’t wait to see what Neeta’s version would look like. The electric blue base is a bit frosty but really vibrant, pictures don’t do it justice. The copper flecks are very small and more pink than I would have expected. They don’t make as much of an appearance on the nail as they do in the bottle. You really need direct light to bring them to life. Aqua Lilly: A few years ago, I was lucky enough to visit the Kuda Huraa Island of the Maldives. The turquoise water is a crystal-clear sea green and what really had me spellbound was that it reflected a shimmery-pink hue from the shedding scales of the colorful, vivid, and exotic tropical fish. This color is Kay-Di Kat’s homage to her beloved mom, Lily, an Aquarius who swims like an enchanting mermaid. I imagine Lily swimming in this paradise with its mesmerizing water in the Island of the Maldives Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lilly is the big surprise of this collection. I have what seems like a trillion turquoise nail polishes so I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by Aqua Lilly but it totally caught me off guard. It ended up being my favorite shade of the collection. The base color is a kicked up version of butter LONDON Artful Dodger, vivid and bright with this shock of hot pink shimmer that illuminates the color is a really spectacular way. It’s a stunner that really needs to be seen in person. IKB: 2012: A bright, vibrant, electric blue with blurple (blue-purple) in a jelly finish, hence, the creation of the most densely pigmented jelly-like finish I’ve ever made. Nora’s endless search for that Yves Klein signature blue (International Klein Blue) is finally over. Rescue Beauty Lounge IKB:2012 is BLUE. Just in case that’s not clear… it’s REALLY REALLY BLUE. This is the most pigmented jelly polish I’ve ever seen. It’s like lightning struck RBL Dead Calm. It’s blue on steroids. Now I’ve never heard of Yves Klein before this, I’m just not that hip, but I love blue (almost) as much as green and I’ve never seen a nail color quite like this. Again, this color was really hard to capture in its true intensity. For one, the VNL (visible nail line) is nonexistent in real life. Secondly, it’s darker and even more in-your-face. I did have issues with streaks during application but I’m sure that will be resolved when the lab fixes the formula issues. Bottom Line: It’s hard for me to critique this collection as they are someone’s dream and I know the passion, sweat and tears that must have gone into these colors. They are all lovely and I’m sure all of them will have their own fan base. However, I know budgets are tight so if I had to choose two I would splurge on Aqua Lilly and IKB:2012. Rescue Beauty Lounge “The Fan Collection” will launch in April 2012. Starting with this collection, RBL nail polishes will now retail for $20/ea. and are available exclusively at RescueBeauty.com. Join the RBL VIP email list to be notified of pre-sale dates. Recently Ji announced the unfortunate but necessary price increase for her nail polishes. You can read the full story HERE. While we all hate paying more, this was something Ji has been wrestling with for a long time now. She hasn’t raised her price since founding RBL while other brands have increased every couple years. I respect that Ji hasn’t sacrificed quality in order to keep her costs down and I hope that you will too. So now I’m going to turn the tables on you. Which Fan Collection colors are your must-haves? Did they turn out how you expected based on the original descriptions? Are you loving the blue/green overload as much as I am? Disclosure: Product samples were provided by Rescue Beauty Lounge. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.