“It’s Alive!” – Reviving Rose Baby by Chanel

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We all thought it couldn’t be done… but I have successfully brought Rose Baby (64) back to life.

You have to understand, this polish assumed mythical status when I found it amongst my mom’s beauty items back in middle school. Chanel polish? So fancy!

Unfortunately, we had a problem. Rose Baby was stuck closed… and I mean stuck. No matter how we twisted and pried and prayed it would not open. You can still see the scars from the tools we used in our attempts.

I was stuck looking at the polish trapped inside the bottle like a child looking in the window at a pet store. I held on to Rose Baby in the hopes that one day I’d get it open and be able to use it.

Fast forward to over ten years later… and today was the day.

I’d just opened up my new vortex mixer from Amazon and went in to my polish boxes to find those in need of some TLC. With my OPI polish thinner, nail polish remover, and vortex mixer at the ready I went to work. Mermaid in the Shade got a good refresh and so did Pink Diamond by Essie. Now both wearable again at long last!

Then, I saw it. Rose Baby. I figured I might as well try.

Out came the slip joint pliers from my college toolbox and all of my willpower. As I got to work, I soon started to hear the distinctive cracks of dried polish breaking. It took a while and some wiggling (I like to think my baby muscles from pilates helped), but I got it open!

As you can see, the neck of the bottle was CAKED in dried polish. That explains it. (Looks like my mom didn’t put the bottle away nicely that last time she used it over 20 years ago!)

It needed emergency care to say the least. I carefully removed the brush, getting as much of the gloopy polish to stay in the bottle as I could, and started to clean.

I used nail polish remover to gently wipe up as much dried polish as I could, and then used a mechanical pencil to pick away the more stuck on bits. Thankfully, it worked just fine.

Next step was to revive the viscous polish and hopefully get it wearable again. This was the easy part, but I was nervous nonetheless. I worked in some drops of thinner bit by bit with the vortex mixer and 15-20 drops of thinner later it came back to life.

Borrowed the top cap from another polish so you can get the full effect : )

This 2001 polish was well loved, and now I hope I can get a few more wears out of it over the next 24 years. I’ll save my first manicure with Rose Baby for a special occasion, but you can take a look at the swatch I made (along with my other Chanel polishes) below… can you tell I bought Frisson to fill the Rose Baby shaped hole in my heart?

Want a Rose Baby polish of your own? That’ll set you back $50+ on eBay – I’m glad I got this bottle open!

Thanks for following along,

Katie

NOTD: River Styx (Mooncat)

Katie Jones3 Comments

Before I get to the swatches, allow me to wax poetic for a bit.

I miss going to Sephora in the late 2000s…

Sure, it’s still fun, but there was something magical about going there as a preteen. Laughing at the scandalous Too Faced eyeshadow names, smelling perfumes and dousing yourself with your favorite, and checking out the latest nail polish collection.

The Sephora by OPI line was a collaboration between the two companies that came to an end in 2013. Information online is a bit scarce, but I have fond memories of seeing the polishes in store and picking up a few.

right image from Orange County Register / left image from Women’s Wear Daily

My far and away favorite polish from Sephora by OPI, which (as far as I’ve been able to discern) landed in stores for the Summer 2009 release, is Mermaid to Order. In fact, one of my eyeshadow mainstays at the time was an Urban Decay shade that basically matched… middle school was quite an interesting time in my makeup journey. I still own this polish but it’s a bit gloopy and in need of some TLC at the moment.

All of this to say… I grabbed a few polishes while Mooncat was running their Lunar Sale a few weeks ago and the second I saw River Styx I knew I had to get it. While it’s not an exact dupe, it has the spirit of Mermaid to Order, and in the shade they’re nearly twins!

Here’s a closer look…

Mooncat does special effect polish really well and I love the handful of colors I have from them. I also picked up their Getting Even Nail Primer and it’s worked beautifully so far (this is a two-day old mani!).

River Styx is a glowing turquoise that has already gotten a few compliments out in the wild! It’s going to be a great summer color for my collection.

When the Sephora by OPI Collection was being discontinued and the remaining polishes were on mega-sale I snagged a few more. I vividly remember being on my laptop at 2am, watching Skins and ordering Sephora by OPI polishes – isn’t it funny the things you commit to memory? Maybe I’ll swatch those polishes someday…

Until next time,

Katie

My Latest eBay Finds

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Every once in a while I fall down a rabbit hole and soon find myself searching for elusive discontinued bottles online. I keep a wishlist going in my nail polish spreadsheet that is constantly growing as I discover collection after collection.

Images from Pinterest

While some polishes still exist only in my dreams (thinking of you, Eat’n Eggplant), every once in a while I find a good deal on an older polish that I’ve had my eye on.

I watched Vintage Dusties’ video 80s & 90s Essie Tour + Organization + Cats last week and before I knew it I was searching for essie Chocolate Cakes on eBay. The floodgates had opened. Over the next couple of days, I ended up ordering eight (whoops!) discontinued OPI and essie polishes for my collection. All polishes are swatched with two coats of polish and finished with essie Gel-Setter top coat. I photographed inside with flash and outside in the sun – with slight editing for accuracy on the outdoor photos.

Without further ado, here are swatches and thoughts on each polish going from most recently released to oldest…

OPI Complimentary Wine (Muse of Milan – Fall 2020)
This collection didn’t excite me much when it came out (I think we all had other things on our minds!), but since then I’ve continued to see gorgeous swatch photos of Complimentary Wine. I love dark red polishes and this one is so dark it’s nearly brown in some light. She’ll definitely be on rotation this fall.

OPI Congeniality is my Middle Name (Miss Universe – Fall 2011)
This was a last minute cart addition but I’m glad I grabbed it! Congeniality is my Middle Name is a deep berry magenta with pretty (almost flaky) shimmer. The bottle does require a good shake before use since it settles a teensy bit.

OPI Black Cherry Chutney (India – Spring 2008)
I know I had this one back in the day so I’m happy to add it back to my collection! Polishes like this one definitely come alive in the sun. (Ignore my pink background nails!)

essie Lady Godiva (Luscious – Fall 2004)
This one has been on my list for a few months (I love the name – makes me think of the Collier painting) and it doesn’t disappoint. Lady Godiva is very dark and almost black in some light – similar to 99% cacao dark chocolate.

OPI Purple-opolis (Greek Isles – S/S 2004)
I have Aphrodite’s Pink Nightie from this collection since it’s still in production. I’m 99% sure this is a bottle from 2004 due to the bottom label. Noae Nails has a post that shows the evolution of OPI bottom labels and it’s super handy! This will be a great summer polish. The flash photos reveal glowing shimmer that isn’t totally obvious at first.

OPI Kinky in Helsinki (European Collection – F/W 2002, this bottle is from Colorcopia – Summer 2009)
How fun is this name?? Originally part of the F/W 2002 collection, Kinky in Helsinki was rereleased as part of the Colorcopia line from Summer 2009. A quick look at the label below confirms it’s from 2009 – which explains the good price I got on it! I’m curious to see how this one compares to Pompeii Purple which has become my favorite toenail polish.

OPI Concord Grape (New England – Fall 1998)
If you read my post from May 7th, you know how excited I am to add this one to my collection at a reasonable price. Check out that post for more on this smoky purple shimmer!

essie Chocolate Cakes (Unknown – 1994 or 1995)
So, this one is a bit of a mystery release year. As far as I’ve learned, Chocolate Cakes was released sometime in 1994 or 1995 as part of a food related collection. Based on the colors, I’m guessing this was a fall release but I’m not certain. Polishes in the mystery collection included Brownie Points, Camel Hair (?!), Chocolate Kisses (later Chocolate Cakes), Lemon Meringue, Raisinuts, and Tiny Wine-y.

Thanks to Vintage Dusties for all of the info on Chocolate Cakes! Seriously – check out her channel if you haven’t!

Do you have a favorite eBay find? Is there a discontinued polish haunting your wishlist? Let me know!

Katie

The Siren Song of OPI’s F/W 1998 New England Collection

Katie Jones1 Comment

When I set about cataloging my collection earlier in the year, I took the time to look at each and every OPI collection on record from 1989 to today. 

As I looked at swatch after swatch (and added more than a few to my dream wishlist), I soon came upon the Fall/Winter 1998 New England Collection. Now, I don’t know what about this collection spoke to me so deeply, but I was drawn in. Maybe it’s the color story, maybe it’s the fantasy of a cozy evening in a small New England town in the late 90s, or maybe it was the fact that I had never seen or heard of any of these polishes ever before.

Big thank you to CarolineSwing for capturing this full collection swatch

A quick eBay search later, I was a bit demoralized (but unsurprised) to see the prices on some of these bottles. Eat’n Eggplant and Yankee Pankee Plum immediately went on my wishlist and I thought it would be really cool to one day manage to own the full set of polishes. Why couldn’t I have just started my collection at 2 years old!?

While I dream of the two mentioned above (and maybe one day I’ll cave and pay the big bucks), I DID manage to snag one polish from this collection for under $15 (!!) on eBay a couple of weeks ago. It’s a start! Without further ado… let’s take a look at Concord Grape all the way from 1998.

The “three cities” bottle (Paris, Los Angeles, Roma listed on the front), thin brush, and bottom label date this polish to the 1997 to mid-2003 range. Thanks to Noae Nails for providing info on dating OPI bottles in this post.

Concord Grape is a gorgeous deep, smoky, plum shimmer. Flash and sunlight illuminate the glitter, but in shade or indoors it looks almost black.

Isn’t she lovely? I can’t wait to give her a grand debut this fall. I’ll post swatches of the other seven wishlist polishes (OPI and essie) I grabbed in my latest eBay haul this Friday!

Until next time,

Katie

An Ode to OPI’s Put it in Neutral

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After 17 years of collecting, I have found my perfect neutral pink. Nothing will ever compare.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, BUT I have to say I am so happy to have added Put it in Neutral from the 2015 Soft Shades collection to my stash this year.

It’s got that jelly, crelly, gel-like formula I love and the shade couldn’t be better. I feel so fancy and so put together wearing this one and my only regret is not finding it sooner. If I had to pick one nail polish to wear for the rest of my life, Put it in Neutral would be IT.

I wore this one to my sister’s wedding this past weekend and painted my mom’s nails to match. I’d been rocking OPI’s Pompeii Purple on my toes for a while but that finally got switched out as well.

So, Put it in Neutral, cheers to you!

Katie

NOTD: Swoon in the Lagoon (essie)

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I’m a sucker for a berry pink and I have more than a few in my collection. For the first part of this week, I decided to pull out Swoon in the Lagoon first released in spring 2022. This one is still available at most retailers that sell essie polish, but I got my bottle on eBay to get a better deal.

I figure by paying less than full price for most polishes through eBay I therefore have more funds for those grail polishes that cost a bit more. That’s some solid girl math, right? : )

Swoon in the Lagoon is opaque in two coats (though you could get away with one in a pinch!) and has decent shine on its own. I love that squishy jelly look though so you won’t catch me without a top coat.

Here’s how essie describes this shade:
love is in the air! trust your heart and make this mid-tone magenta nail polish with blue undertones the new object of your affection.

I almost always start my manicure with OPI’s Natural Nail Base Coat and finish up with essie’s Gel Setter Top Coat. The Tweezerman cuticle clippers and a nail file are on standby as well but I’m still developing my skills when it comes to those two. Also still developing my nail picture taking skills!

I hope you enjoyed this little post!

Katie

Welcome!

Katie JonesLeave a comment

Hi there!

Thanks for stopping by. I’m Katie – a nail polish fanatic and avid collector. I love researching collections, tracking down my dream bottles, and cataloging my own personal archive of polish.

I date the beginning of my love of nail polish to my 12th birthday. That’s when I received my very first bottle of OPI polish as a gift. The shade was Lunch at the Delhi, a bright coral from OPI’s Spring 2008 India Collection. 

I’m sure I owned nail polishes before this one, and surely had gotten a manicure or two, but Lunch at the Delhi introduced me to the world of salon-brand nail polishes. With their fun names and curated collections, I started to look forward to each season’s new release at my local beauty store.

Images from Fetch the Paper on eBay

OPI was my favorite brand to buy in middle and high school and my collection slowly grew over the ensuing years. I love reading through the collection lists (check out this one from the Polish Garden) from those years and remembering all of the fun colors I picked up. OPI and Essie made up the bulk of my collection, but I did have some Nicole by OPI, Sephora by OPI, drugstore brands (anyone remember the scented Revlon polishes?), and the odd Chanel polish as well!

Unfortunately, many of my early collected polishes (including Lunch at the Delhi) are no longer in my possession. I suspect they’re in one of my parents’ storage units and I hope to be reunited with these polishes one day.

Within the last four years, I’ve expanded to more “indie” brands like ILNP, Mooncat, Pahlish, Cirque Colors, Polished for Days, and so on. I keep an eye on new polish releases from these brands and more and I’ve also had a lot of fun tracking down some old OPI and Essie releases on eBay.

More recently, I set about cataloging my current collection and creating a wishlist of polishes I hope to find one day. That led to the idea of this blog and I’ll post more about these topics soon!

With this blog, I hope to keep a record of my collection, offer some color comparisons, and share my love of polish. I’m constantly looking up swatch photos on Google as I shop – so I hope to add my own humble offerings to the mix to help my fellow polish fanatics.

Again, thanks for being here, and I hope you enjoy taking a look through the blog as it grows!

Until next time,

Katie ♡