Written by Robin
A few of us are meeting at the Rescue Beauty Lounge. Destination: your living room. Robin of Beautyburg has the scoop in today’s guest post.
Rescue Beauty Lounge (or RBL for short) owner and founder Ji Baek opened her first New York City nail salon in 1998 after being dissatisfied with the standards she felt she saw at other salons and spas. Today, RBL isn’t just a salon chain. It’s also a line of bath and body care products and, most notably, a unique brand of nail polish.
Before she opened her first salon, Ji wondered if she really wanted to be the cliché of a Korean nail salon owner, but what Ji saw was an opportunity to elevate nail salons and set a new bar in professional nail care. “You have a great concept,” her husband said, “I’ll be by your side and help you. You can’t go through life with ‘what ifs’.”
Some of my favorite RBL polishes ($18 each)
Chinoise
Scrangie
Coral
Anne
As a self-admitted germophobe, Ji designed her spas to standards of hospital-grade cleanliness, and her philosophy takes overall nail health to heart.
When creating her nail polishes, Ji wanted to set herself apart from other brands by bringing the same philosophy and discipline she brought to her salon to her nail polishes as well. She boasts that several lab technicians almost quit trying to meet her standards, which were for a long-wearing polish made without the the use of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), formaldehyde, toluene or animal testing.
Aside from their great performance, creativity also sets RBL polishes apart. Collections are often inspired by the runway, and their shades are frequently imitated by others. Iconic colors like Black Russian, a black base with red glitter; Stormy, a dark gray creme; and Recycle, a deep hunter green creme, have all been replicated by larger nail lines. RBL is all about saving us from the boring hum-drum of average nail polish brands.
A few more of my favorites…
Under the Stars
Sheer Nude
Concrete Jungle
Bikini Bottom
Rescue Beauty Lounge also pushes forward on the creative front by connecting with their audience at their spas, and I think they realize that there’s a whole world of lacquerheads who are fanatical about nail polish.
Not too long ago, Rescue Beauty Lounge gave the opportunity to three nail bloggers to create the nail polish of their dreams. Scrangie, a purple with iridescent blue and green shimmer, came out of that collaboration, created by the author of the blog of the same name. The color is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before on the market.
If you can’t make it all the way out to New York, you can still set up your own RBL at home. Ji is also the author of Rescue Your Nails, a practical manual for home nail care. After reading it, I felt more confident in my at-home manicures, and now I feel that they’re as good (and definitely more sanitary) as the ones I used to get at my corner salon.
Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polishes are available through RBL’s website for $18 each, and they do ship worldwide. 🙂
Written by Robin
Robin, aka ApplePark, is a lifelong beauty enthusiast who goes gaga for makeup, nails and French Bulldogs. She and her dog Marlowe can be found “beautificating” on Beautyburg.com.
i can see why those colours are your favourites, they’re simply gorgeous! most especially scrangie, i need that in my life.
I am so glad to hear they ship worldwide. I have never heard of this brand before but after seeing your swatches I am totally in love!!
I love RBL polishes, the colors are so pretty! Anne (the whole Tudor collection, actually) is so pretty, and I love Scrangie. Your nails are beautiful, by the way 😀
Scrangie is drop dead gorgeous! I also like Anne and Under the Stars. But Scrangie… jaw drop, seriously.
Scrangie is AMAZING! <3
I just ordered Scrangie and the Catherine H polishes…and they were mailed out to me within 20 minutes of ordering. May not be that way all the time, but I’m impressed.
For those who love Scrangie–I just checked RBL’s Facebook page, and it indicates that color is limited edition and low in stock. If you like it, might want to order it sooner rather than later.
RBL also recently gave the chance to RBL polish fanatics to create their own polishes. Ji posted everything on her blog ( http://blog.rescuebeauty.com/category/rbl/ ) and it was a really cool opportunity for anyone interested in nail polishes to get creative and express what they want to see in nail polish. She picked 3 winners and their polishes will be available for purchase. Really fun!
– Liz
Oops, 4 winners. * I forgot there was a tie!
I love Coral.. I can’t stop wearing it.. I just keep switching it from toes to fingers and back again.
Love RBL, and can’t wait to recieve my new shipment of the new spring polishes!
Thanks for publishing my guest entry Karen! 🙂
You have really great swatches and your nails are awesome!
RBL polishes are so gorgeous, but I have a hard time justifying paying that much per polish when you can buy beautiful China Glazes and such for a few bucks. Maybe I’ll have to pick some up the next time they have their 50% off sale.
Hi Jessi,
Ji said on Facebook that their past 50% in November was going to be the last ever. I kinda hope that isn’t true, but that’s what was announced on FB. She does do right by her fans, so definitely keep up with her on Facebook for the lastest on sales.
Robin
I drool over every new RBL launch. Now that I’ve seen Bikini Bottom, I really want it! But….$18 for nail polish? I’ve never been able to bring myself to drop that much cash on nail polish. $18 is 3/4 of a tank of gas, or groceries for a week. Sigh.
holy…….. I LOVE SCRANGIE AND CORAL! i really want them too but i think i’ll pass and look for dupes. too much money, man!
oops forgot to add stuff
holy…….. I LOVE SCRANGIE, ANNE, AND UNDER THE STARS!! i really want them too but i think i’ll pass and look for dupes. too much money, man!
Wow, those are GORGEOUS!!! How long do they wear, though??? For $18 they’d better stand up to sandpaper!
Hi Fabienne,
The wear is excellent. RBL polishes have a better wear, for me, than Essie or OPI or most polishes for that matter. I am very hard on my nails from typing, housecleaning, and just being a tactile person, and RBL stays with me. When I go on vacation, I will always do a manicure of Sheer Nude or Opaque Pink because I know it will last.
Robin
Honestly, the price justifies the formula. They’re SO creamy and last so long. Better than Chanel! Shipping is so fast too…I ordered 2 polishes yesterday and literally 3 minutes later I got a shipping confirmation.
If you really want to try one, get a staple color like red or nude. Save the trendy colors for China Glaze or OPI!
Oops, I meant the formula justifies the price. 🙂
I totally agree with you. It’s like when you save and splurge on classic items for your wardrobe. But I like some of the unique colors too like No More War, a creamy army green, that you’re not going to find in your average line.
Couldn’t agree more! This lasts way longer on me than Chanel polishes and shipping is pretty speedy. When there was a discrepancy with my address. Ji contacted me – she’s so awesome!
I can see why you liked em. I like them all too!
OMG!! Am I too late 2 enter in your Sephora giveaway?
Also, I’m looking for makeup that is water-resistant (Im doing a TTD photoshoot and need advice. Thank you!!
RBL Grunge is my go-to neutral color. It’s my perfect “mannequin hand” look and so the opposite of you think a color named grunge would be. My other favorite is also Concrete Jungle.
This by far is my favorite luxury polish (a polish over $8) – these last longer on me than Chanel or Dior polishes!