This summer has seen some amazing polishes, along with the wearing of some old favorites. Here are my picks to last my through Labor Day:
The Zoya Birchbox Bloggers Collection, from left to right:
Belle, a coral with copper shimmer
Coraline, a jelly orange
Kate, a jelly hot pink
Belle was the standout of this collection in my mind. You can opaque it with a ton of coats, but I prefer to layer it over one of the accompanying polishes. You could probably get away with wearing them through fall. This set is still available at Birchbox ($22) if you're interested.
From Essie, left to right:
Geranium, Demure Vixen, Brazilliant, and Chubby Cheeks
Demure Vixen, Geranium, and Chubby Cheeks have all won places in my hall-of-fame polishes this year. Demure Vixen and Geranium I wear year round, and Chubby Cheeks is wearable 10 months out of 12. Not to mention, Chubby Cheeks is the closest color I have found to one of my favorite colors, Nantucket Red. Brazilliant is a bright orange with an amazing hot pink shimmer. I did a half-moon manicure with the Brazilliant on the bottom part of my nails with a brown on top and I got millions of compliments on it. Essie can be found at salons, Ulta, Target, and drugstores.
From OPI:
Lucky, Lucky Lavender and Glitzerland
I love the Lucky, Lucky Lavender to when I'm not feeling a super bright color. Glitzerland is one of my all-time favorite polishes. I wear it an awful lot, and I love that it goes with everything. OPI can be found in salons, Trade Secret, Ulta, and Target.
Chanel Distraction, Nars Jungle Red, Chanel June
Chanel Distraction has been on my toes all summer, and is another great go-to color. Chanel June has a hint of orange that makes it pretty close to all-year wear. Peppy enough for spring, but subtle enough for fall's jewel tones.
I received Nars Jungle Red in a gift set I purchased last year. I didn't wear it for a long time because it seemed too dark. However, I played with it one day and fell in love. One coat makes it appear an almost super saturated fushia, but another coat makes it a vampy oxblood burgundy which is one of the hot colors for fall.
The Kate Spade Florence Broadhurst collection:
Watermelon Fingers, Seafoam Swirls, Yellow Cockatoos, and Orange Solar
I bought this set without thinking. Kate Spade + Nail Polish = My credit card coming out of my wallet.
This polish has amazing quality, and Yellw Cockatoos is singlehandly the best yellow polish I have ever worked with. Orange Solar actually became my favorite out of this set. It appears orange, but on the nail it translates as a bright red with a hint of orange. The pink and green would also work in the spring, but I'm not sure about the fall. The yellow is going to be used both WVU football and basketball seasons, and again, I can't say enough good things about the Orange Solar. Unforunatly, this collection sold out pretty quickly, but if you can find it on eBay, don't hestiate to purchase it.
When I discuss neutrals in polish, I usually include most reds and pinks in because they're classic polish colors. I like Head Mistress because while it's a classic red, it's not the usual tomato red. There's a deeper satursation that really makes this color stand out. It's a runny polish and applies sheer but I got opacity in about two coats. Compared to butter LONDON's Knees Up which I reivewed yesterday, Head Mistress is a deeper red. I would be careful when working with this polish because it stains everything. My cuticles and the skin around my fingers is still stained from swatching this polish yesterday.
Skirting the Issue looked super dark in the bottle and I'm not crazy about super dark polishes. When I did a quick swatch it came out a weird shade of fushia and I wasn't sure of what to think. However, with three thin coats this turned out to be a lovely wine color. I avoid wine as a color because it tends to prematurely age people but this has enough red in to keep it looking young. Like Head Mistress this is a thin, runny polish that stains everything that it comse into contact with.
Stylenomics is the sole reason I bought this Essie minis kit. When I first looked at it in the bottle, it looked like a sooty black. It's actually a very dark green which sadly didn't show up in the pictures. I think if you look closely at the picture on the left you can see a hint of the green. I've never seen anything like Stylenomics and that's pretty impressive. It goes on easily and got full opacity in two coats. I also think think polish will stain your nails so make sure to wear a basecoat. This is my favorite out of the entire collection.
Dont' Sweater It was included in the kit. I wouldn't have bought it on its own because I already own several grieges, but if you don't have one already this is a solid choice. This had the best application out of the bunch, and had I applied it in a slightly thicker coat, I probably could have full opacity in one coat. But both you and I have seen this before:
Sally Hansen's Commander in Chic is one of the most popular grieges and has been a TMF favorite for several years. The Sally Hansen is a bit lighter, which you can see better in the picture on the left, with a touch more purple in the base. Other than that, they're identical to my eye. The Sally Hansen is cheaper by about a dollar and I like the brush better than Essie's. Either way you can't go wrong with either of these polishes.
