Fall 2011 Nail Polish Trend – Military Greens
From olive to hunter, military inspired designs and colors dominated the Fall 2011 runway shows. Those shades came straight off the models and into nail polish bottles in a number of the fall collections.
Over the next couple weeks I’ll be walking you through the big nail polish trends for the season, showing you the newest shades to hit the market and the old school colors you may already own that will get your nail style ready for fall.
The New Class (Fall 2011 Release) – all polishes are shown using two coats
Laying down: MAC Fatigues & Deborah Lippmann Billionaire. Standing: China Glaze Westside Warrior, Color Club Artsy Crafty, Finger Paints Military Green, Butter London Wallis, OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down The Window & Cult Nails In A Trance. Top Row: Zoya Yara & Zoya Dree
Butter London Wallis ($14, butterLondon.com, Beauty.com, ULTA, Nordstrom) is a metallic olive green that leans heavily towards gold. The base is a dark olive but the green-gold flakes floating on the surface give this colors a foil-like finish.
China Glaze Westside Warrior ($3, Head2ToeBeauty, TransDesign. $6, Sally Beauty) reminds me of castelvetrano olives. I only recently discovered these buttery gems through a friend and I’m obsessed. My only complaint with Westside Warrior is that the formula wasn’t up to par. It was pigmented but a little goopy and hard to work with.
Color Club Artsy Crafty ($8, ShopColorClub.com) is a lush forest green with a greyed underbelly that gives it some grit.
Cult Nails In A Trance ($10, CultNails.com) is a browned olive green shimmer. The satiny finish and old world charm hearkens back to medieval tapestries or royal gowns.
Deborah Lippmann Billionaire ($16, DeborahLippmann.com, Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom) is the darkest of the fall green offerings. It’s as if you took a vivid hunter green and drabbed it out with a touch of brown and black. The color was used at the Lela Rose F/W 2011 show and it’s got this great jelly consistency that is packed with pigment.
Finger Paints Military Green ($4.99, SallyBeauty.com) honestly looks terrible in the bottle. It was kind of yellowish, like baby poo or something but on the nail, LOVE! It’s reminiscent of Essie Sew Psyched or Chanel Khaki Vert and applies flawlessly on the nail.
MAC Fatigues ($15, MACCosmetics.com) is part of the MAC Me Over! collection and what I love about it is that it’s not as yellow based as the other colors in this category. It’s more cool tone friendly.
OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down The Window ($8.50,OPI.com for locations) is a vivid olive hue. I know the words feel wrong together but I’ve been calling it a bright drab. The name is the only thing that bothers me. Even though, at my core, I’m a 12 year old boy with a love for potty humor, mixing that with something in the beauty world doesn’t sit right with me.
Zoya Dree ($8, Zoya.com) is the darkened version of OPI Uh-Oh. They definitely live in the same neighborhood, go to the same school and may even share some classes together.
Zoya Yara ($8, Zoya.com) – Okay so I have this sweater that I refuse to get rid of even though it’s so out of style it’s not even funny. The reason I keep it, it looks exactly like Yara! It’s this yellow-based green knit hoodie that has small golden threads woven throughout. Now that I have a polish to match it, why would I donate it?
The OG’s – The “Original (Military) Greens” in my stash
Not all of these shades are still available but if you have them in your nail wardrobe, now is the time to rock ‘em.
Laying down: NARS Mash & Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War Standing: Essie Sew Psyched, Chanel Khaki Vert, American Apparel Hunter, Zoya Gemma, Rescue Beauty Lounge Diddy Mow, Illamasqua Hectic, NARS Platoon
Best colors to pair with Military Greens – Berry, gold, pewter, camel
Thoughts on the Military Green nail color trend? Did your faves make the cut? Which new colors do you plan to pick up? Are there any readily available shades that I missed that we should know about?
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for butter LONDON, China Glaze, Color Club, Cult Nails, Deborah Lippmann, Finger Paints, MAC, OPI and Zoya. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Nail polish color should never be age oriented..if you are a trendy person and dress the part you can wear any color!
Isn’t Chanel Peridot of the same or similar descent? Or is it slightly too crazy for ‘military’?
Also, I adore this trend as I generally adore such colours and will be sure to try out the Deborah Lipmann, looks so rich!
I consider Peridot more of a metallic duochrome that looks more gold than green but that’s just me. I didn’t feel it was a good fit for this category.
I have Chanel Peridot on right now and I couldn’t agree more. It’s gorgeous, but definitely more gold than green.
For $25, it SUCKS. It chipped the next day and is really thin. The color is beautiful, but it does not last. Comes in a tiny bottle too.
I think Wallis is the only one of these that I absolutely need. I love the Deborah Lippman one though, I just don’t know if I need another near black color.
Essie’s POWER CLUTCH is another great grey-green for fall!!
Thank you, TLM! I was just about to add this! It’s a beautiful color that fits right in here.
forever 21 makes an olive nail polish with gold shimmer, kinda foil-y. it’s lovely. http://d1535dk28ea235.cloudfront.net/preset_65/_DSC0048-1.jpg
Thanks for sharing. Very pretty!
This is an awesome post. Not necessarily because I’m in love with this trend (I personally only have four of all the polishes you mention above) but just because it’s awesome to see a huge comparison post like this, considering how pretty much every collection released this fall has a polish that falls into this category.
Second this! That’s why I come here, for the hard core review and, of course, green loving
You’re the first person to make these colors look attractive to me
Couldn’t agree more! I come here to see a swatch before I decide to buy a new polish!
Me too! I LOVE to look at the swatches and decide which colors I want to try.
I know I’ve already left a comment here but– I was wondering if you know a Polish company called Inglot? They produce samoe really great shades; the ones that may fall into this trend are nos 319, 954 and 57 – the last one may be discontinued.
So, if you wanna check out some Polish polish (how cool does this sound?), go here: http://www.inglotcosmetics.com/ You can order them online, they’re 10$ a bottle.
And no, I’m not connected in anyway with the company, I just adore their polishes.
I’ve actually reviewed Inglot in the past. I wasn’t a fan of the O2M line but the regular polishes seem nice. http://www.alllacqueredup.com/category/inglot
I’m really surprised that you included Hunter Green from American Apparel but didn’t include Army Jacket. (I’m assuming you don’t own that colour.) AJ is much better suited for this military green collection.
I’m re-in love with Butter London Wallis.
great post!
You’re right, I don’t own that color. Plus I wanted to show a hunter color from the past that is still accessible.
Cult nails In A Trance and Butter London Wallis are my favorite, because they are something special with all the shimmer and they really stood out from a crowd
Showing us all the trend colors and comparing it to previous ones is a BRILLIANT idea!! I am not a green fan like you are, but I am looking forward to what you show us with other colors. Thank you so much!
I have BL Wallis, but I haven’t tried it yet. Loving Yara and I’m really not big on greens. I usually prefer blues and purples.
Essie Sew Psyched is one of my favorite polishes, its green but yet I feel its very neutral and even work appropriate! I also own Zoya Shawn and Zoya Yara and love love love both. Can this military green trend stay in forever?!
Love this new feature!! (It helps that I love military greens, but it is a great idea to post all the colors together)
Will you be posting FNO plans like you did last year?? I am trying to plan my night and your suggestions last year were the best.
Hi Chloe! I’m finalizing my FNO post right now.
I had 7 of these colors to choose from and opted for “Billionaire,” which I hadn’t worn yet. LOVE it!!!
Awww you must be in the green heaven, Michelle, with all these greens to choose from. Time to whip out my OPI At Your Quebec and Call, remember her?!
I keep calling this “pea soup” trend. I like your label of military better. To be honest, though, I’m tired of it already. Then again, I’ve never been a huge green lover.
I don’t like greens typically, but I am now wearing Borghese Euro Green, and I am in love! I think it somewhere between Butter London Wallis and Cult Nails In a Trance… It has this antique vibe to it.
My favorite color that made the cut was Deborah Lippmann’s Billonaire it is stunning in person. I’ve been looking for a color like it for a year now.
My FAVORITES!!! Awesome post. I might include Borghese Euro Green, Rimmel Rags to Riches and Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Bronze Ablaze among these, but not sure if you’re only doing 3-free and I don’t think these are.
loving Zoya’s Yara! idk if it is still available but i am going to look for it
Oh, God! Green again. Those greens shades remind me army, hospital… Terrible. I hope blue can be replaced them. By the way, I’m going to Chanel store buying my fav blue. Get out of the green!
[...] Recently there has been a trend for everything Military/Olive Green for Fall 2011. In fact Michelle from AllLacqueredUp wrote an AMAZING post (featuring In a Trance) which I encourage you to check out HERE! [...]
I just recently bought a khaki green because I wanted it to go with some clothes. It’s a new brand called LOLA (by Perse) that a shop in Spain called Primor where I went to buy told me had just come out. It’s number 020 Military Khaki. It is very veriy similar to the Chanel in the second picture, actually it’s even very similar in design but I’m pretty sure it is much cheaper LOL. I would reccommend you grab it if you can, it’s quite good, lovely colour, perfect with two passes, creme with a nice gleam finish.
Target has an exclusive shade for this fall in the Nicole by OPI collection called Green Up Your Act. I think it would definitely fall under this military green category.
I agree with you. I live in Brooklyn, so OPI’s Uh-Oh can’t be found right now. I took this list to Target with me & almost bought Essie’s Sew Psyched, until I saw Green Up Your Act. It’s the new “funky” color to fall nail lacquer wardrobe.
It will add a quirk to the red, deep purple, and beige I’ll be wearing.
[...] Fatigued is a medium olive green with subtle micro-shimmer, this is two coats. I constantly forget that this was a Spring 2011 release for Sonia Kashuk because it would fit right in with the military green trend we’re seeing (and I’m loving!!) for this fall season. Michelle from All Lacquered Up did a great post highlighting this trend on her blog, check it out! [...]
[...] In a Trance. This is not a shade I would typically wear but after reading Michelle’s post on military greens, I realized I had this shade already and that I should give it a shot. I’m very glad I did [...]
Really liked Wallis, but it is a bit more than I am willing to pay (although I am seriously considering it for Wallis & Knees Up, unless I can find a lesser expensive substitute!). Went off to Sally’s where I picked up Nina Ultra Pro Mossy Britches, an olivey, goldy, greeny metallic. From your swatches it looks kind of close to Nars Mash, maybe? Not sure, but I kind of like it (not my usual color at all, but the more I read your blog, the more colors I am willing to try!)
Your nails are so perfect. Gah! You make these greens look so beautiful. Especially love Zoya one. Thanks for the amazing work you do. Your website is the best nail site ever.
I must say, after seeing this post, i quickly became OBSESSED with military green polish. Especially “Billionaire”, I just had to have it. So, I went out and spent the pretty penny it cost, and I was actually disappointed with the color (formula is great, as usual.) It looked mostly black (people even commented on my “black” nail polish) and only looked slightly green in the sunlight. Maybe it was just me? It’s looks amazing here, but I’m thinking about returning it. I think I’ll swatch it next to “Here today… Aragon Tomorrow.” I’m curious to see if they are similar on the nail…
On a side note, I also bought “Yara” and “Wallis” and really enjoy those shades! Both are unique and have gotten me many compliments! Also got bL British Racing Green” and look forward to trying it (although it isn’t really military-ish.)
[...] Shots: Sugar Bunny Nails Swatch Credits: http://www.alllacqueredup.com/2011/09/fall-2011-nail-polish-trend-military-greens.html & http://www.thepolishaholic.com/2011/07/deborah-lippmann-billionaire.html Share [...]
[...] Fall 2011 Nail Polish Trend – Military Greens This might be a good article to start with on military nail polish colors. Unfortunately they don't offer a solution to the FDE, but OD Green is well represented. [...]