My affair with Rescue Beauty Lounge - very long and emotional post,

... as cheater's chronicles should be.

It would be stupid to deny that I use other brands than Misa - I sure do. Usually, thou, I do not get emotionally attached /God, I'm such a freak - who else can get attached to a polish?/ Well, it was not the case with RBL. After Scrangie's brilliant pictures I got mad. As those pretties are $18 a pop, I've been swapping, swapping and swapping; I even paid retail for a couple of them - and I'm a known Scrooge.

I guess, I cinically cheated on my beloved Misa, as I admit: RBL is better. Yes, sure, RBL is almost 9 times Misa, but still... They apply absolutely flawlessly and have an outstanding color pay-off. With many of them you can achieve a bottle color and an even coverage with one - one - coat:

/Killa Red; middle finger - one coat/

RBL customer service is a second to none, truly. I admit, I'm a sucker for a good CS, that's right. I grew up in an ex-socialist country, which meant zero attention to customer. Too many companies give me flashbacks from the past. Hello, Nubar, do you really needed two month to answer a simple email question? RBL's representative usually emails back in an hour.

The only fly in the ointment (besides the killer price, of course) is a tip wear I've been getting in 2-3 days despite all my efforts. I tried any base coat/top coat combination possible, I wore gloves almost 24/7 - nothing has worked. I was about to write a really bitter post "$18 polish should jump on your nails and stick to them forever", swap away all my RBL and come back to Lippmann for a luxury fix.
/Killa Red, second day/


And then I sent an email to RBL asking about their upcoming Fall collection (addict is an addict is an addict, no matter what). Got a usual prompt respond, but signed by Ji Baek herself! I could not believe my eyes and said it was too bad it was impossible to get her autograph. In a couple of days she sent me a scanned one. It was a very sweet and personal touch and I really appreciated it, for I'm sure she is busy.

Being as ungrateful pig as I am, I wrote her about my issues with polish durability. Yes, I do type a lot; no, I don't use RBL base/coat; no, it doesn't happen with much cheaper polishes. I expected a polite version of "try our base and shut up, everybody raves about my polish" as an answer. Damn, no! First, she seemed to be truly concerned. Second - nothing about to shell out more money for RBL treatments. Ji nicely suggested to try a tip wrap (when you start painting from the tips). What a smart way to win a customer back. Trick did not help, I got a bad tip wear again. But for her being so genuinely concerned about my problem, I'll try to make it work between me and RBL. (Misa, cover your ears, please, I'll be back anyway!)

I understand that I sound like a 13-year-old Hannah Montana fan, but I do think Ji is amazing. I'm sure she is tough, as she built a successful business; yet she is sweet and, according to Scrangie, hot. I wish I could have a boss like her.

To wrap this emotional bubbling up - I look forward to Rescue Beauty Lounge Fall collection (available mid-October). And I still think that $18 is a ridiculous price for a nail polish, even for the best one.