Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

Back in May when I featured Essie Master Plan here on the blog, I lauded it for slaying my Waking Up in Las Vegas lemming based on the look of my swatches and this comparison post by Rachel of stuff I swatched. Well apparently Master Plan didn't actually touch a hair on that lemming's head, because here some three months later I find myself with what else but Waking Up in Las Vegas. I came across it up for auction on ebay and remembered only my desire to possess it and not Rachel's excellent and well-documented advice that if I had one I didn't need the other. Thus are destashable dupes created.

Waking Up in Las Vegas was released by Deborah Lippmann as part of a duo with I'm Not Innocent for Spring 2010. This is a light medium-toned gainsboro grey that lands slightly to the cool side of the greige/putty/grey/cement spectrum. A soft graceful neutral that is clean and chic on the nail, Waking Up in Vegas had a fabulous 15 minutes of fame when Lady Gaga wore it for the cover of the September 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, touching off a grey/griege trend that was only just leveling out when I fledged my polish enthusiast wing feathers late in 2012.

Application was pretty good. The consistency of Waking Up in Vegas is fluid and very creamy with a bit of pull to it. It's not the best self-leveler I've experienced, and my ridges do make an appearance in the photos. The next time I use it I'll double up on the ridge-filling basecoat, because this puppy is extremely well-pigmented for such a light color and it's not at all chalky either. Basically, you can get even opaque coverage in a single coat. Of course I did two to see if I could get it to level out over my ridges and was summarily DENIED but going for three seemed like overkill. Cleanup was easy and straightforward. Waking Up in Las Vegas dries naturally in good time to shade that is cooler and a touch darker than bottle color and a smooth shiny finish. 

Photos show two coats of Waking Up in Vegas over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of HK Girl. 

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

The sleek sophistication of this look is surprisingly fetching after all the rich colors I've been swatching lately. It has a decidedly luxurious simplicity, like the perfect silk cami under a suit jacket, that is refined and feminine and deliciously elegant. I actually prefer the color of Waking Up in Vegas to Master Plan, which is warmer and a just a tad muddy on me. Master Plan had a more self-leveling formula, but it took three coats to get the best performance out of it. If multiple coats are involved they might as well be basecoat, so I'm keeping Waking Up in Vegas for a future swatch following the double basecoat plan. 

love,
Liz