Not Gone

Remember how I whined about the disappearance of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish in the lovely Stony Creme? Last Friday I found it again at my local Target. The bottle was changed into a sleek, more narrow one and the packaging somewhat updated. The color is the same. My toes rejoiceth.


Thanks to Marie-Hélène from The Scented Salamander I no longer fear for the life of Sonia Rykiel Le Parfum. The designer has a new web site dedicated to her fragrances (the home page has a short clip which might not be safe for work). There are only two problems: The site is in French (no English option) and they don't ship overseas. But the fact that the Le Parfum is available both as an EdT and an EdP (my preference) and sold online is promising.

D is for Discontinued (the nail polish edition)

My toes have mostly been painted in light neutral colors since early spring. I alternated between several Lippmans and my tried and true Sally Hansen in Pure Putty. These colors were clean, fun and left the stage free for the real stars, my shoes.

The shoes I was wearing on Saturday night, purple Celine sandals, looked like they could deal with a darker color. I found a bottle I picked about a couple of months ago in my local Target. It was another Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails in Stony Creme. I remember it was the only bottle of this left, which should have clued me in, but I liked the elegant taupe/mauve color and it came home with me.

On my toes it looked even better than in the bottle. There's a hint of cocoa powdered rose and it's pretty both in daylight and for evening. The next day, happy with my feet, I looked online both for research purpose and to stock up on a couple of more bottles, just in case. I was too late. Stony Creme is already a goner.

There are bottles floating around eBay, but seriously, I don't even buy more Tulip Noir over there. There's an endless stream of lovely new polishes from every brand. We can all find something else to work for us, but this color was cute enough to earn a post and a moment of silence among nail color lovers.

(Photo from ConspiciousChicks.com, who no longer have it in stock)

Lost and (almost) Found

I'm not going to try counting the number of nail polish bottles that I have in various drawers and boxes. I buy and wear many of the new colors of each season. I seem to collect Essies, OPIS and Lippmans, limited edition Chanel and the occasional Lauder or Lancome. I used to love the Anna Sui polish when it was sold in Sephora. I'm also prone to purchasing many of the drugstore brands, if a specific color catches my eye.

In such a collection, it is rare that any bottle is used till it's finished, and even less likely that I get to actually repurchase a color.

Except for two.

I 've gone through several bottles of As Time Goes By from the Lippman Collection before it was discontinued. It was simple labeled "true beige" but was more of a cafe au lait color. A perfect nude as far as I was concerned, and I was very disappointed when they stopped making it. A good alternative from this (excellent) line is Fashion, a new taupish color, pretty, sophisticated and neutral.

My other all-time favorite comes from the other end of the price scale. I have no idea how many bottles of Sally Hansen Maximum Growth in Pure Putty I've used in recent years. This is another nude, but on the pink-mauve side of things. I loved it equally on my hands as on my toes, and the quality and lasting power is impressive for a product that costs less than $4.

A while back it vanished from the stores around here. I searched Target and every drugstore and discount store in the area, and was ready to mourn another beloved color that was unjustly retired to the pink and glossy pastures. Suddenly last month I found it again, and it seems to be back in production. However, they changed it a little. Pure Putty is more pink and less mauve now. It's still quite neutral and appropriate, but just a tad sweeter. I can live with the change.