NARS: Old Zulu versus New Zulu

You know... I don't know if I've ever reviewed Zulu all by itself! I suppose that will have to wait until I'm done with this post!

As you all may know by now, NARS has listened to all of us begging them to bring back the beloved green polish and has re-released Zulu along with a few others that were discontinued around the same time (like Mash and Midnight Express).

My first thought when I heard that was "WOOHOO!", but my second thought was "Oh no, I hope it's still the same."

So, I grabbed my original bottle of Zulu and compared:

With flash
Left: Original Zulu, three coats
Right: New Zulu, three coats


Different angle. You can see a bit of a difference in the bottle color.



Left: New Zulu
Right: Old Zulu

Flash shows a slight shade difference.
Left: New Zulu
Right: Old Zulu

The question is, "are they different?" Yes and no. For one, the new version has received a formula update and is more opaque and less streaky than the original. But, color-wise, I detect a small deviation from the original color. It's most apparent on the first coat, but the original is a more saturated color and has a touch more blue. You can see in the bottles that the original looks slightly richer and more jelly-like. The new one isn't quite as jelly-like or as rich of a green.

Is it totally different? No. They're nearly spot on with only minor differences. And, unless you're like me and can see the difference between nail polishes that seem identical to 'normal' people, you probably won't even notice a difference. Especially not at three coats.

And just for fun, here's a really old picture of me wearing the original Zulu, two coats I believe:

You can really see the rich green base color here. At three coats it's near-black, which I love, but at two it's quite green. And yes, a bit streaky, but if you're careful and don't rush (like me, I rush, patience? What's that?) you can get a smooth even coat each time.


Very happy to see one of my favorite colors of all time return. I know everyone's been looking forward to this, myself included. And it still amazes me how almost no company has been able to duplicate this color. I've seen two that are close, but one is already discontinued and very hard to find. I supposed that's irrelevant now that it's actually back!

(The new Zulu was sent to me for review.)

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.)

BB Couture For Nails Butterfly Collection for Spring 2010

Again, super behind on posting these! But I don't think they're limited edition, so I suppose there's no need for rush... Beautiful collection, take a look!

Caterpillar. Another one of BB Couture's amazing greens. This is a lighter shade of green, slightly muted, yellow-toned with tiny gold sparkles. Definitely reminds me of a caterpillar, I'd say that name is right on!


Emperor. The only one in the collection I'm not crazy about. It's a peachy pink with subtle shimmer and it's not quite right on my skintone. Not really exciting, more of a conservative soft and delicate shade.

Horned Devil. Dude. Dude! LOOK AT THIS!! It's freakin' HOT!!!!! I can't really contain my excitement. I feel the same way about BB Couture Sex on the Beach, too (and I'll post that shortly). It's one of the things that I consider to be BB Couture's signature- that teeny tiny green/gold super sparkly glitter. I don't see any other brands use it and BB uses it in a lot of their polishes and it's just so special. It looks especially incredible suspended in this red-orange jelly.


Painted Lady. Is has that same glitter as Horned Devil, but less of it and instead of a jelly it's in an orange creme. Still gorgeous, very striking and fresh and fun, but not quite as sparkly as Horned Devil. More of a subtle glitter look.


Peacock. Peacock? This name doesn't quite seem to go with the color! When I hear peacock I think of the bird, though I'm aware there are a few butterflies referred to as "peacock" (but I always thought those were orange?) Though I was inspired to search for a yellow peacock butterfly due to this polish and apparently sometimes Swallowtail butterflies are called peacock. Anyway, the name doesn't really matter cause the color is beautiful. I don't care what it's called. It's a soft yellow and it screams SPRIIIIIIINNNNNG!!! *covers ears*

Skipper. Funny... Skipper is a great name for this polish. Not because of the butterfly, but because it totally reminds me of the other Skipper- you know, Barbie's little sister? It's that perfect plastic Barbie pink that I remember from my childhood. Has a hint of blue sparkle to it. Very stereotypical 'girly' pink!

The formula on these was great. The only one that gave me trouble was Peacock, but it's yellow and yellows are notoriously bad so I'm not going to fault them for that too much. All the rest were on the thick side but applied evenly. Three coats of everything pictured here. Drying time was a little longer than the BB Couture For Men line (am I imagining this? The Men's ones dry so much faster!)

I love BB Couture. It seems like every collection they do lately has a glitter and a green in it. They're so creative, too, especially with the colors they release for BB Couture for Men. Keep the glitters, duochromes and greens coming and I'll love you forever, BB!

(These were sent to me for review)