Here’s a fact: Every single YSL polish in my collection was given to me by Jill.
YSL isn’t readily available in the Philippines but she’s done an excellent job tracking these bottles down. She surprised me with YSL’s Beautiful Day Manicure Duo when we were in New York in 2010. It was a late birthday present and she had ordered it from a seller in the UK. Then, when she was on vacation in Europe last year, she found the Noirs Couleurs trio in Greece. She found them before I even knew they existed. Crazy. Then, for my birthday last year, she gave me YSL’s Manicure Duo No. 5 on top of my big dose of Hello Kitty. She bought that set in Greece too but kept it as a surprise for my birthday. Two months later, YSL’s Terriblement Noir Duo was part of her Christmas gift for me. She ordered that duo from Nordstrom and here’s the awesome part – she ordered her own set of Noirs Couleurs from there too.
So yeah, YSL has become a part of our lives. On her birthday, we both wore YSL on our nails – I wore Black Lapis, she wore Black Indigo.
Now here’s the thing – just days after she surprised me with YSL’s Terriblement Noir Duo, I saw photos of the duos from the brand’s Candy Face Collection for Spring 2012.
First, the name. I LOVE IT. Candy Face. How cute is that?
And second, the colors. They’re so pretty.
Manicure Duo No. 7.
Mint Green + Chocolate Brown.
Manicure Duo No. 8.
Tangerine + Bubblegum Pink
How can you resist them? I couldn’t.
I knew I wanted to order them. But I had to tell Jill first. Because yeah, I felt bad about breaking our YSL tradition.
The YSLs were supposed to be part of that Saks order Tatin and I were placing – yes, the very same one that failed because Saks screwed up. Tatin ended up finding the YSLs for me while she was in Taipei (yes, along with Garden Party and the Dior reds – how awesome is Taiwan?). She’d buy them, bring them home and I’d pay her in Manila – that was the plan. But because Tatin went straight to the hospital after landing, the plan changed. She bought the YSLs, she brought them home, she sent them over to our office and because she was still recovering and couldn’t go out, I couldn’t pay her yet.
Days later, Tatin was finally better. And I could finally pay her. But guess what? Guess.
Jill beat me to it.
She had already paid Tatin for the YSLs. Which is crazy. And I’ve tried paying Jill but she refused.
So yes, our YSL tradition continues.
And yes, I know, I’m spoiled. Incredibly spoiled, incredibly lucky and incredibly grateful.
Speaking of changed plans, the plan was for me to show swatches of both duos. But my swatches of Duo No. 7 suck. Seriously. I need to reswatch. So for now, let’s play with Duo No. 8.
I love YSL’s packaging.
And I love what’s inside even more.
This duo reminds me of the Rive Gauche Duo from YSL’s Rock and Baroque Collection which I’m still trying to track down. It’s a darker version of this set.
These colors really do remind me of candy.
This is Tangerine.
I had some issues with the formula of Tangerine.
I had problems with streaking – and I’m not sure if it’s because the polish was thick or because I had a hard time with the brush. This time, I found the multi-use brush much easier to use for creating the tips than for painting the entire nail. I found that weird since I didn’t have the same problem with the Terriblement Noir Duo. It might be my technique though. Like the Dior brush, maybe I just have to figure it out. We’ll see.
Despite the streaking issue, I love this color. Love it.
This is Tangerine with Bubblegum Pink tips.
I like it.
It’s such a bright and happy manicure.
I love how the brush shape makes applying the tips easy.
This is pre-top coat.
And this is Tangerine + Bubblegum Pink with top coat.
Streaking or no streaking, this is a really fun mani.
And now, this is Bubblegum Pink. Same streaking issues but I have a feeling I just need to master that brush. And I will.
This is Bubblegum Pink with Tangerine tips.
Another fun mani.
These next pictures show Bubblegum Pink + Tangerine with top coat.
So pretty.
I couldn’t decide which mani I like more.
I love them both.
Tatin likes this one more but I’m not surprised. She’s a big fan of pink.
Jill likes this one more and I was surprised. She hates pink and loves orange.
But yeah, maybe the pink looks better on me. The orange clashes a little with my skin tone. But that hasn’t stopped me from wearing what I feel like.
So that won’t stop me from wearing this duo both ways.
Sigh, Duo No. 8. If only Duo No. 7 behaved like you did.
I will post swatches of Duo No. 7 soon.
And yes, our YSL tradition lives on. Thank you Jill and Tatin.
