Pink, Berry, and Coral Red

It's no secret that I love pinks. There's something about that salmon hue that I just adore. Dark pink, neon, corals, berry tints, I don't know, those blush colored lacquers just call to me. Out of my four helmers, my pink drawers carry the most polishes. Here is one of the newest pinks I have, Temptation from Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure line. It's a shade from the Spring Tracy Reese line. I would describe it as salmony coral pink crème. This is two coats.

A variation of pink is berry. This is Torrid Bloom, an older Sally Hansen polish also designed by Tracy Reese. This came out in Fall 2008. I saw a swatch of this on a blog back when I first started blogging, but for the life of me I can't remember which one it was, and I've wanted it ever since. I scored it in a swap a while ago :D This is two coats. The formula is thin and kind of a weird texture, almost like vinyl. Oh well, I freaking love this.

This isn't necessarily a pink shade, it's more in the red family. However, if you asked me my favorite shade of polish EVER? It would be coral. This is Eyeko Coral Polish "For Resort Nails". I love this orangey red crème. It really flatters my skintone and applies like a dream. This is two coats. I know Eyeko doesn't have nail polish on their website for purchase right now, but I hope they get back in the lacquer game one day.

What is your favorite shade of polish? The one (or three haha) colors that you find yourself buying over and over. Le sigh. I hope I get some sunshine here soon for swatching. I have lots of new polishes to show you! Stay tuned for the China Glaze On Safari collection, BB Couture's 6 Shades of Grey collection, and lots of indie glitters :)

Some of the products in this post were provided for review.

Nicole by OPI Target Exclusives for 2012

Hi there and hello! Today I have to show you four new Nicole by OPI nail polish shades for 2012 that are exclusive to Target. I believe they came out around March this year.

First up is Great Minds Pink Alike. This is a sheerish jelly coral tinged pink with violet glass fleck shimmer. I love this one on my fingernails, but wore it as a pedi and it just wasn't as pretty for some reason. This is three coats.

Purple Yourself Together is a medium bright grape purple with gallons of heavy gold shimmer. I believe this to be very similar to Sephora by OPI Hell to the No from the Glee collection, but I think this is more sheer and more of a brighter purple base. This is three coats.

That's Totally Red-ical is a bright raspberry red with super subtle silver shimmer. This one is uber bright and very flattering. I tend to like these more than straight out primary reds I think. Two coats here.

The next shade should be Look at Me, Look at Me, a silver and multicolored glitter polish released for Target with the others, but for some reason I was sent a different one instead haha. Oops ;) This is honestly gorgeous and so I had to show it to you anyway. Di-vine is Divine is a smooth berry purple metallic with red glimmer. Not sure when it was released but I found swatches online from back in 2010 so *shrug* This is two coats.

You can get these at your local Target :) Hope you enjoyed these swatches and we'll talk again real soon.

Products provided for review.

Random Essie Polishes

Today I have a few random Essie polishes that I haven't shown you yet so here they are!

This is Essie Smokin' Hot, released in the Winter collection of 2010, A Winter's Tale. It's a smoky dark purpley gray. I was on the fence about this when it came out and then it took off as the new It color for a while there so I reconsidered. I'm still not 100% in love with it but it is pretty and I'm glad I have it. Three coats.

Armed & Ready is from the Go Overboard collection that came out in early Spring of this year. It's a very unique color, dark brown tinged green grey, with a metallic gold shimmer. Awesome formula and I can't think of any color like it. This is two coats.

This is a surprising love of mine, from the Wedding collection that just came out from Essie. I actually adore all of the colors in this collection! This one is called Who Is The Boss, haha. It's a pale white washed green with a hint of blue. I had trouble with application on this, as it was a bit thick. This is three coats.

And last for today is Like to Be Bad, which is a dumb name, especially for a bridal collection. The color is gorgeous though, a pale peachy pink with the slightest hint of pinky orange shimmer. I wish it was a tad more pronounced, it's basically imperceptible. This one was thick also unfortunately, three coats.

I got all of these from Transdesign for $4.35 each. Any of these calling to you? Armed & Ready is a must have for sure.

BB Couture - Men on Film Collection

Yay new BB Couture polishes! I am so into this brand, they are so innovative and unique! This collection is kin to the Girls on Tape collection I showed you earlier this year. I tend to prefer the men's side of the collections, but I concede both of these groups are excellent, and very different. This one contains one metallic shimmer and six matte shades.

Key Largo is a shimmery pale steel blue metallic. I think this is perfect for the name, reminiscent of the beach on a stormy day. I've never seen the film it's named for, but anything starring Bogart has to be good :) This is two coats.

Commando is a matte dark hunter green. The movie it's named for starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Black Ops Commando, another I've not had the privilege of seeing ;) I could definitely see this green on a military man fighting in the jungle! I love this color and adore it matte. It's almost satin-y rather than straight chalky matte. This is two coats.

Commando with shiny top coat

This is Full Metal Jacket, a satin matte black with speckled silver shimmer. I would almost classify this as a grey. I really love this, it reminds me of China Glaze Stone Cold, but this has more glow. Another military movie, a classic really. I highly recommend it. This is two coats.

Full Metal Jacket with shiny topcoat

Blade Runner is a black with subtle microshimmer, which is more pronounced when it has a shiny topcoat. Full Metal Jacket's darker brother. I've never seen its namesake's movie, but I've heard good things. This is one coat, a very well behaved matte, again with more of a satin finish.

Blade Runner with shiny topcoat

Another polish named for a Humphrey Bogart film, Dark Passage is a satin matte dark chocolate brown with microshimmer. I was surprised when I realized how many brown polishes I have, it's not the first color I think of to covet in polish form, but I obviously seem to like it! This is two coats.

Dark Passage with shiny topcoat

This is the darkest and most matte of the bunch, Road Warrior is a jet black. This is named for Mad Max 2, starring Mel Gibson. Geez, now I have plenty of movies to add to my Netflix queue! This is two coats. I had a little trouble with this one, probably because it is SO matte, it's very thick. This is two coats.

Road Warrior with shiny topcoat

And now for my favorite of the collection, Top Gun is a dark cobalt blue with subtle blue microshimmer. I LOVE THIS!! It reminds me of a fashion forward bold tuxedo color. And if you haven't seen Top Gun the movie, you fail ;) J/K but for real, it's a total 80's classic. Probably my favorite Tom Cruise film.

Top Gun with shiny topcoat

I like this collection a lot, more because it's been a while since we've seen a good grouping of mattes. I think they are equally beautiful with a shiny finish as they are matte. You can get BB Couture polishes at www.bbnailpolish.com and www.overallbeauty.com. Any favorites?

Products provided for review.

Essie - She's Picture Perfect

My only pick from Essie's Resort collection this year is She's Picture Perfect. This is a beautiful greyed lavender with pinky purple shimmer. I love the flash of shimmer, very eye-catching. It dries super shiny too, which is always a plus. This is two coats.

You can buy Essie nail polish at most large retailers and drugstores for around $8, as well as from e-tailers like Transdesign, where I got mine for $4.35. What do you think of this polish? Did any of the other shades from the Resort collection this year tickle your fancy?

Color Club Blossoming Collection

Hey everyone! Today I have Color Club's Blossoming collection to show you. It has five flower inspired spring shades, a glitter polish, and a quick dry topcoat 0-60 Speedy.

First is the inevitable pastel pink, Blushing Rose. Nothing super special about this one, slightly chalky but not too mod. Three coats.

This is Sweet Pea, a purpley mauve. Normally I don't care too much for these pink/purple colors but this one caught my eye. It's feminine and pretty and very spring-y. This is two coats.

Blue-ming is also a pretty yummy polish, chalky and very mod, bright turquoise. I love how this looks against my skin. I can imagine it really accentuating a tan. This is two coats.

Laven-darling is a gag-worthy name but a cute color. Again, I really like this color. It's bright but muted and very flattering. I can see myself wearing this often. This two coats.

I love Hydrangea Kiss, beautiful blue. Super smooth like buttah. Reminds me of wedgewood blue, or wallpaper or something. I didn't think I'd like this as much as I do. This is two coats.

Diamond Drops is a holographic silver shard-like glitter topcoat. Fun in theory but kind of a pain in the butt. It's one of the glitters you have to dab on rather than "polish" like normal. It takes a while to dry also, if you try and put on topcoat before it's dry the flakes move around. The texture reminds me of gum wrapper foil. Three coats here.

Two coats of Diamond Drops over Blushing Rose.

Two coats of DD over Sweet Pea.

Two coats of DD over Blue-ming.

Three coats of DD over Laven-darling.

One coat of DD over Hydrangea Kiss.

You can get this collection on Color Club's website http://www.cosmeticgroup.com/nail-color-collections.html and from e-tailers like Transdesign and Head2Toe Beauty.

Products provided for review.

OPI Holland Collection

OPI's big Spring collection this year is inspired by Holland, "as seen in vivid tulips, windmill-dotted hillsides and bustling canals – the collection’s twelve shades offer a mixture of sophisticated neutrals and highly-pigmented brights." There are quite a few polishes in this collection that I'm sure are going to win the hearts of many polish enthusiasts out there.

First is Did You ’ear About Van Gogh? which is a rather clever name. I am an art buff and actually adore Van Gogh. OPI describes this as a "sandy bisque" which is right on the money. It's a lovely neutral pale beige. It dries a touch darker than it appears in the bottle. This is two coats.

Thanks a WindMillion is a gorgeous pale sea green. I really adore this, it's slightly dusty and subdued. When I first saw this, it reminded me of Mermaid's Tears from the Pirates collection, but it is darker and more muted.

Here is Pedal Faster Suzi! I just did some research and found that Amsterdam might be the most bike-friendly city in the world. So the name makes sense :) This polish is a lavender tinged pink with lots of silvery white glass fleck shimmer. I wasn't too happy with this one's application. It was thin and pooled in my cuticles, which got the shimmer everywhere and was hard to get off my skin. I was surprised by how sheer it was, this is four coats.

I Don’t Give a Rotterdam! is a cool-toned dusty steel blue full of shimmery glass flecks, both silver and pale gold. At certain angles, the flake shimmer bits almost look dark grey. I like this color very much. It's a unique finish for this color in my collection, it kind of reminds me of denim. This is two coats.

I Have a Herring Problem is a similar finish and color as the previous polish, but it is different. It's warmer, almost a tone closer to teal rather than a cornflower. This one has a more prominent gold color to the flecks but I think there's some silver to them too. Two coats.

Gouda Gouda Two Shoes is a brownish rose with sparse pinky gold sparkles. I am not in love with this color but I could see it working on someone with maybe a paler skin tone. This was thin, so I had to work to avoid cuticle pooling. This is two coats.

This is Dutch ’Ya Just Love OPI? a lovely grape purple with reddish gold sparkle. This is very pretty, but not too original these days. Guess if you like OPI's formula then you'll choose this one over the dupes out there. This is two coats.

Kiss Me on My Tulips is a bright hot pink. I might have seen this before, it's not super unique but it is very pretty. Plus the name is adorable. This is two coats.

Red Lights Ahead…Where? is a mega bright coral red. I guess I don't get why they named this color as they did, highlighting a sex working district doesn't sound like a flattering way to advertise the country. *shrug* Oh well, whatddya gonna do? This is a nice crème and is very pigmented, two coats here.

Wooden Shoe Like to Know? is a milk chocolate brown with coppery gold shimmer. It has the slightest purple tone to it which comes out more indoors than out in the sun. This is three coats. Wooden shoes are probably the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear "Holland", the second probably would be windmills :)

This one is called A Roll in The Hague, which I had to look up to understand. (It's a city in South Holland.) This orange is super pigmented, it really stained my cuticles. It dries a little darker than it appears in the bottle. This swatch is two coats.

Vampsterdam was probably my most anticipated polish in the collection when I saw the press release. It is a dark vampy aubergine frost. Very reminiscent of older OPIs like Black Tie Optional. This is two coats. I LOVE THIS!

There are a tons of nail polish bloggers from the Netherlands and it always seems to me that they have the most beautiful nails! I'm super jealous of a lot of them :) I hope you like this review! Let me know what your picks are from the Holland collection, any of these speak to you?

Products provided for review.