Thursday, July 22, 2010

RBL Real Housewives of the Tudor Dynasty (press release)

Ji announced this press release on RBL's facebook page.  You can find it here.  Ji sent samples to the Nailphile, Scrangie, and ALU.  Currently, only Scrangie and the Nailphile have their swatches up.  Once ALU gets hers up, I will try to modify my post.

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THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF THE TUDOR DYNASTY INSPIRE A BROCADEHUED NAIL POLISH COLLECTION FROM RESCUE BEAUTY.


The opulent fabrics, quiet luxury and return of ladylike fashions brought to mind the British Royal family to Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Ji Baek. No, not the current resident of Buckingham Palace but the colorful (and often short-lived) wives of Henry the VIII.

“I fell in love with the Tudor dynasty in the novel Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel,” says Baek. “The more I learned of the queens’ wardrobes—the layers of embroidery, embellishments of pearls and fur and rich jewel toned fabrics—the more I saw a parallel with what’s going on in fashion this fall.”

“Givenchy’s intricate brocades, Lanvin’s feather-festooned metallics, and the strong, powerful neutrals at Celine all served as starting points for Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Autumn/Winter color collection. Each color has micro particles of pink, blue, green, gold, and silver to add iridescence similar the tiny colored threaded that give brocade fabrics their depth of color.”

Henry first married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand who launched Christopher Columbus’ New World adventure. She was also Europe’s first female ambassador and a proponent of women’s education. Like this revolutionary free-thinker, Catherine is an intense royal purple with a pewter sheen.

Anne Boleyn was rumored to be a witch, with a tiny mysterious sixth little finger that she hid with long, pointed sleeves that ended above her middle finger. Draw attention to your own regal digits with Anne, a complex gray-green with a jewel-like pink shimmer finish.

Jane Seymour was thought to be Henry’s favorite wife as she was the only wife to give him a son, Edward VI. Sadly, she died soon after. Reputed to have created beautiful and elaborate needlework, her namesake polish Jane is at first glance a simple pale pearl. However a mere royal wave reveals washes of pale pink and lavender.

Catherine Howard was Henry’s teenage trophy wife, nineteen to his near 50. Said to be a “rose without a thorn,” this beguiling beauty unfortunately turned too many heads, resulting in the loss of her own. Her ethereal beauty is captured in Catherine H., a shimmering Wedgewood blue, with just a hint of a darkening sky.

“While their inspiration may be extraordinary women who lived over 500 years ago, this shades are perfectly modern with this season’s fashions—from the armor-like structure at Calvin Klein and Gucci to the sumptuous feminine silhouettes at Prada and Louis Vuitton,” says Baek. “This season marked the return of the ‘woman’ as opposed to the ‘girl/waif.’ Why be a sugar-coated princess when you can rule as a gorgeous Queen?”

Rescue Beauty polishes are available at www.rescuebeauty.com or at Rescue Beauty Lounge on Gansevoort Street in Manhattan’s 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, or DBP.

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Back when I was a junior in HS, I memorized Henry VIII's wives in order.  I became fascinated with the period, and it's something that's stuck with me.  Unfortunately, due to an incident when I was 4, where snuck and watched "A Tale of Two Cities" from behinds my mom's chair, I can't watch any program where people get their heads chopped off.  :S  So I haven't seen "The Tudors" or more than 2/3rds of "The Other Boleyn Girl".  Nonetheless, I'm still in love with the time period, so I give Ji major props for her inspiration for this collection (and I'm seriously planning on reading "Wolf Hall" now). 

I have looked at the available swatches and Scrangie makes anything swoon-worthy.  However, as much as I love the inspiration behind the collection, I'm not so sure I'll be picking any of them up.    Catherine H is very pretty (y'all know me and blues), and I may end up picking it up if it's still available at RBL's fall sale.  However, as for the other 3, I just don't know.  Maybe the shimmer is something that has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.  Don't know.  And while I realize that Zoya Julieanne and Edyta are not dupes for Catherine and Anne, the colors seem close  Becuase of this I don't know if I can justify the $18/bottle price.  Especially, when there are so many other polishes I want this season.  I do think the colors are beautiful, it's just that RBL is much more of a commitment than throwing a couple of bottles of ChG or Orly in my cart at TD.

Ji has mentioned these are LE with the pre-order date TBD.  She will announce via email at on FB when the pre-order goes live and I'll be sure to post it here when it happens.

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