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.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. Even though Summer doesn’t technically start for a few more weeks, in the US, Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff to the season. It’s one of my favorite times of the year. And not just because my birthday usually falls on that weekend but because it means the start of the boating season, trips to Put-In-Bay, cookouts etc. We spent yesterday touring the local wineries with our neighbors and, outside of a few drops of rain, the weather was absolute perfection. Since orange is looking to be one of the big trends this summer I decided to pull out one of the new Fingerpaints Peace, Love & Color collection nail polishes, Outta Sight Orange.

Formula & Application: Fingerpaints is produced exclusively for Sally Beauty and it is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and does not include camphor. At some point the FP formula changed because they used to be 3-Free but I don’t know when that switch happened. If you are concerned about which formula you are buying, check the ingredient list under the label prior to purchase.

The Fingerpaints bottle is unique in that it’s kind of an oblong shape (remember The Oblongs cartoon?) with a long, slender, slightly taped cap. The brush is long, thin and flexible. It reminds me of the old OPI brush which is probably why so many of us speculated that OPI made Fingerpaints back in the day.

The formula on this one is kind of thick, gloppy and squishy but not in a detrimental way. As long as you aren’t slapping on thick coats it will build up to opaque in three coats without causing any drying issues. As I always say three thin coats are better than two thick ones as the polish will dry faster and wear longer. The same applies to Outta Sight Orange.

Fingerpaints Outta Sight Orange is a warm reddish orange jelly with glass fleck glitter. It’s not uber bright or overly mellow. It doesn’t show up in the picture but the glitter has this amazing duo-chrome effect in that it can look gold or fuchsia depending on the angle. It’s kind of amazing.

When I first saw it I thought it would be everything I hoped for in the too sheer Nicole by OPI Fresh Squeezed. They even have the same fuchsia/gold glitter. However Fresh Squeezed is lighter and much more orange. I also looked to China Glaze Orange Marmalade, a personal favorite, but in comparison OSO looks like is has no red in it at all.

Fingerpaints Peace Love & Color Summer 2011 Collection

Bottom Line: Any glass fleck that can become opaque in three coats or less is a winner in my book. With the subtle reddish undertones and flecks of gold and fuchsia, there’s no way a lover of orange polish won’t be over the moon for it. I highly suggest you scoop up this limited edition shade before it’s gone.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: Oh I’m definitely STASHing it. No doubt!

Fingerpaints Outta Sight Orange and the rest of the Peace, Love & Color collection are available now at Sally Beauty stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. Fingerpaints nail polishes normally retail for $4.99/ea for a .5oz bottle but they are currently on sale for $3.99/ea.

Thoughts on Outta Sight Orange? Are you a Fingerpaints fan? What are your favorite colors from the brand? If you haven’t tried them yet, WHAT are you waiting for? Are you hopping on board the orange polish train this summer? Did you do anything special this holiday weekend (if you celebrate)?

Disclosure: A product sample was provided by Sally Beauty. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

I tweeted over the weekend about finding a display of holiday greens at my local Sally Beauty. Right by the door it was like green heaven; China Glaze Emerald Sparkle, Fingerpaints Evergreen Dream and Orly Enchanted Forest. All.On.Sale!! I picked up a bottle of each to go in a gift pack I made up for a family my friend’s students adopted for the holidays. The little girl of the family had blue & green nail polish at the top of her wish list and I just had to send some goodies her way. She’s going to be the envy of her girlfriends with all the fun colors she’s opening this morning.

When it came time to decide on a holiday manicure for today, I debated my stash of greens and a fun layering combo that reader/tweeter AtlantaJJ came up with; China Glaze Emerald Sparkle over Outta Bounds (looked fab on her).  In the end I went with Finger Paints Evergreen Dream since it’s been sitting in my “to be tested” box just staring at me, begging to be worn. 

As you can see, Evergreen Dream is a vibrant emerald green with light green flecks of micro-glitter.  I thought it was shimmer at first but when compared to the shimmery Nubar Greener it is the crushed glass-like flecks that make Evergreen Dream stand out.  Oh and the pigmentation is superior.  Two coats gets it done.

Evergreen Dream is part of the Finger Paints limited edition holiday collection that is carried exclusively at Sally Beauty.  My store (Severance Town Center) still had a bunch so hopefully you’ll be able to track down a bottle at your local shop if you haven’t picked this beauty up already.

Happy Holidays Fanatics!!! 

Disclosure: A product sample was furnished to me by Sally Beauty.  For further information view my Disclosure Policy.

I know it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve done swatch requests. Not to worry, I have logged all your requests and will try to get to as many as I can. Since there was in influx of emails and comments looking for comparisons in the orange/coral family I knocked out your most requested in one fell swoop. Of course the OPI Bright Pair collection and Sally Hansen HDs brought out some dupe requests as well so you’ll find all that and more after the jump!

Let’s start out with my fave color, green. Sally Hansen HD Hi-Def may look like last summer’s Lacquer Shine Glow but looks can be deceiving. Glow has gorgeous gold shimmer and it’s much more pigmented. I prefer Glow so if you can still find it, GET IT! I saw some dual packs at my local Rite-Aid so I believe it hasn’t reached hard-to-find status yet.
Before I got my hands on Bright Pair a reader requested a comparison of No Room For The Blues, OPI Just Groovy and Misa Right Here Now, No More Later. Now that I have it I can say that RHNNML and Just Groovy are pretty much dead on dupes. NRFTB is a hair deeper in hue but brighter. If you have to choose, get No Room For The Blues. It applies better and is more pigmented.
OPI SUNBelievable‘s I’m His Coral-friend may look like a twin to last summer’s Mod Bright Mod-ern Girl but it’s not. Coral-friend leans towards pink and is more pigmented while Mod-ern Girl leans orange.
A reader wanted to see China Glaze Breakin next to Misa Speed of Life. And while they aren’t dupes due to Breakin’s shimmer the base shades are similar. Breakin is just a touch darker. Though what I did discover is a cousin of Speed of Life(below).
OPI In My Back Pocket from the Bright Pair collection isn’t a twin but it’s definitely in the same family as Speed of Life. For me, they’re close enough to not need both.
A while back I received a request to see China Glaze Kicks shades Style Wars and Oh How Street It Is next to Mod Bright Brights Power. Both the ChG polishes are darker, more pigmented and more red orange than Brights Power.
Finally, after Finger Paints Week a few of you wanted to see how Artist’s Inspiration stacks up against China Glaze Unplugged from the e-collection. I haven’t worn Unplugged in a WHILE so doing this comparison reignited my love for the shade. As you can see, it’s richer than AI and has a different finish. AI has a metallic looking shimmer while Unplugged’s is more of a micro-glitter.
That’s it for today kids. If you have a request, leave a comment or email me at [editor] at [alllacqueredup] dot [com]. The more specific the request, the better. Enjoy what’s left of your holiday weekend.

I meant to wrap up Finger Paints Week on Friday but you know how it is when life gets in the way. Stupid life! Anywho, I have the final set of three Finger Paints polishes in the new 16 color perm shade release to show you. We’re ending on a red note with three fiery lacquers packed with pigment. Of all the new FP nail polishes, this set impressed me the most in terms of opacity, each one getting the job done in only two coats.

Chroma Coral is not the shade I imagine when I think coral. In the bottle it shows its pink undertone and densely packed shimmer but on the nail it’s more of a red orange with a satiny sheen.

Framed In Red is a rich ruby shimmer along the lines of OPI I’m Not Really A Waitress and An Affair In Red Square. It’s a staple, great for rounding our a collection. It’s not too brick, too blue based, too berry. It’s just right.

Magenta Mood is my fave of the three due to its sparkle factor. It has that China Glaze glass flecked look. Reminds me of the summer FPs from a few years back that included cult fave Surf’s Up. The mix of metallic shimmer and micro-glitter in this jelly-like, berry hued base is a total k.o.
You’ll find these and the rest of the Finger Paints line exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. Don’t forget to visit the website to snag your B2G1 Free coupon from the Exclusive Coupons page.

That’s it for Finger Paints Week. What do we think? Which shades are your faves? What are you heading out to buy?

If you missed any of Finger Paints Week be sure to review Day One, Day Two, Day Three and Day Four before you head out shopping.

We’re over the hump and starting to wrap up Finger Paints Week. Today is kind of a mixed bag in terms of color. As I tried to group similar shades, these three ended up being the odd men out but now they’re all BFF so no worries. Part of their new 16 perm color additions, today we’re looking at a sparkling off-white, a silver chrome and a deep creme berry. Check them out after the jump!

Private Collection is a semi-sheer shimmery creamy white with a jelly-like texture. It has a subtle pink hue that makes it very multidimensional. When I saw it in the bottle I wasn’t overly enthused. I thought at most it would be a good layering polish but not something I’d consider wearing on its own. WRONG-O. It doesn’t come across on screen but this baby is stunning. Very much a special occasion, i.e. NYE, type shade.

Silver Sculpture is a one coat wonder. No I didn’t stutter, ONE COAT! A matte foil like chrome, Silver Sculpture has a hint of purple in it’s undertone. The only downside with this type of polish is it shows every, and I mean EVERY, imperfection in your nails. My ridges are atrocious in this. Thanks overzealous manicurist and your evil, evil cuticle pusher!

Pretty As A Portrait is a berry red creme with grape undertones. It’s well pigmented, only requiring two coats. With FP’s thin formula, getting away with two coats is awesome!

You’ll find these and the rest of the Finger Paints line exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. Don’t forget to visit the website to snag your B2G1 Free coupon.

Stay tuned for more Finger Paints goodness as FP Week continues. And check out Day One, Day Two and Day Three if you haven’t already.

We’re continuing Finger Paints Week with the new pinks in the FP perm collection. Now no one I know would accuse me of owning or wearing too much pink. Not in my clothes, makeup or anywhere else in my lifestyle. It’s not like I don’t have a few pink accessories but I’m just not a pink kind of gal. Even as a little girl, my room was decorated purple, not pink. So if I don’t scream and shout over these new shades, you understand why. It’s not that they aren’t pretty, they’re just not me. Like opera I can appreciate it but not LOVE it.

All three shades are well pigmented, that always impresses me. Only Rose Patina required three coats and they all applied smooth and even drying with a high gloss shine.

Rose Patina has this lovely gold shimmer that reminds me a bit of OPI Love Me Tender only R.P. is obviously not peachy based.

In the bottle Pink Crayon and Palette Pink look like twinsies. They’re both bold pink cremes that apply with a jelly-like feel. On the nail they’re not much different either. Pink Crayon is a tad lighter and more hot pink whereas I’d call Palette Pink a magenta.

You’ll find these and the rest of the Finger Paints line exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. Don’t forget to visit the website to snag your B2G1 Free coupon.

Stay tuned for more Finger Paints goodness as FP Week continues. And check out Day One and Day Two if you haven’t already.

Yesterday I launched Finger Paints Week to share with you the 16 permanent polishes being added to the FP lineup. Today we’re looking at shades geared for the warm toned fanatics. Overall FP did a great job of including a little something for everyone in this release. These three feel very fall and would make an excellent Browns themed manicure when football season launches. I was pleasantly surprised to find that while both the bronze and brown lacquers are metallic in nature, they aren’t bogged down with brush stroke madness. Take a peek after the jump!

While Tangerine Tint‘s red-orange hue is probably best suited for autumn, it’s bright enough to make it an excellent summer pedicure shade as well. Its richly pigmented creamy formula glides on in two even coats leaving a mirror like finish.

I look at Figure of Art at think it’s a total “mom” shade. Not moms in general but my mom. Last fall she kept asking me to bring her bronze-y polishes and since she loves a metallic (what she calls “frosty”) finish, I’m sure she’ll be asking to borrow this beauty come October. As you can see, there is a bit of a brush stroke showing on my ring finger but it’s because I had a bit too much polish on my brush and not enough time for a do-over.

Artist’s Inspiration is a totally drinkable chocolate brown. No, I’m not suggesting you drink polish. The last thing I need is a lawsuit. It’s just so luscious that I’m totally jonesing for a cup of cocoa on a warm spring day. I was pleased with how even the finish is in spite of the metallic shimmer and that even with a reddish base it’s a relatively true brown hue. Since so many great chocolates of the past have been LE, I’m happy to find one that’s perm.
You’ll find these and the rest of the Finger Paints line exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. Don’t forget to visit the website to snag your B2G1 Free coupon.

Stay tuned for more Finger Paints goodness as FP Week continues. And check out Day One if you haven’t already.

I am officially declaring this first full week of May Finger Paints Week. Why? Because I can. You see Finger Paints recently introduced 16 new shades to their permanent collection and instead of reviewing them all at once, which would be a LOT of work, I’ll be sharing a few of them with you each day this week. First up, the blues and purples. Check them out after the jump!

I’m on a Finger Paints roll lately, huh? My love affair with Finger Paints has resurfaced and it’s been like reconnecting with an old friend. It’s like no time has passed and you wonder how you ever let this beautiful friendship fade. Well fear not my pal FP, we’re so besties again.

You’ve heard me rave about the smooth silky FP formula, how evenly it applies and these shades are no different. They did require three thin coats to achieve opacity but it’s a small price to pay for color this fab and affordable.

It’s An Original is what I expected (hoped) Chanel Vendetta to look like. A deep rich purple with a hint of shimmer. It leans a bit blue, definitely cool based.

Lavender Highlight is a lavender I can get behind. Most of you know my issues with light lilac and lavender. Love them in the bottle, hate them on me. This color is fills that void in my stash yet it’s dark enough to prevent me from looking alien. LOVE IT!

Art Dealer Teal-er is the greener cousin of FP Sunburst Summer shade, Turquoise Tile. Very similar in finish and feel. It’s as though a few drops of jade fell in a vat of Turquoise Tile and the brains at FP went with it.

Artistic Azure is a shimmery persian blue that has a slight sandwashed feel. Its base is a very vibrant and electric blue that calms to a deeper hue with added layers.
All of these new Finger Paints shades are available now at Sally Beauty Supply and SallyBeauty.com. Though before you head out to the store, make sure you visit the SallyBeauty.com site to print off your Buy 2 Get 1 Free coupon (exp 5/31/09). And stay tuned as Finger Paints week continues.

Coming soon to a Sally Beauty Supply near you is the Finger Paints Sunburst Summer collection. One look and I immediately think of ice cream. Do you remember as a kid, going to the Baskin Robbins and staring at all the fun colored ice creams like Superman, Pink Bubblegum, Orange Sherbet, etc.? Well, they’re all right here in Sunburst summer. And for those of you that dig Icees, there’s a red that looks just like a cherry slushie. It’s total nostalgia. I’m ready for the ice cream man to come round so I can get a push-up. They were always my fave. Now I’ve mentioned Finger Paints in the past but I really haven’t given them the love they deserve. This brand is the hidden gem in the retail sector. They’re totally accessible, affordable and come in a great range of shades. Check out my swatches, after the jump!

For you ingredient readers, Finger Paints are Big 3 Free though they do contain Formaldehyde Resin. In this collection the formula was very jelly-ish, like Sinful Colors, and thinner than most 3 Free polishes which means more layers. All the shades required three coats over a ridgefilling base (Seche Base).

Yellow Bikini looks soft and creamy, like lemon sorbet, in the bottle but on the nail it’s more vibrant and buttery with a hint of shimmer. My only issue was a bit of streakiness but I find that happens with most yellow polishes. I don’t know if its the nature of that type of pigment or what but it’s frustrating. Though with three coats, I was good to go!
The only polish I have that comes close is Chanel L.A. Sunrise from last summer’s Robertson Boulevard collection. So if you avoided shelling out the $$$ for L.A. Sunrise, here’s a great alternative. I showed it next to Sephora by OPI IM Beauty but they are nothing alike.

Lilac Lagoon looked promising in the bottle because of the flecks of gold micro-glitter floating throughout but I obviously just need to give up hope of any pale purple looking good on me. It’s a gorgeous color, just not with my skintone. This one is the sheerest of the bunch and you may need four coats to achieve opacity.

Turquoise Tile is unlike any polish I own in this color range. Compared to my more blue turquoise shades, it looks green. Next to my green leaning shades, it’s more blue. Based solely on bottle color, it falls between China Glaze Beauty & The Beach and Martini Pedicure in my collection.

Ripe Peach definitely has that sherbet feel and even though it looks slightly shimmer in the bottle, it dries creamy on the nail.

Strawberry Shake really lives up to its name. This shimmery pink looks very drinkable, though I wouldn’t recommend that.

Cherry Ices has subtle gold shimmer that warms up the vibrant maraschino hue. If you’re looking for a summer pedicure red, this could be your winner.
The Sunburst Summer collection will debut in May but as any Finger Paints fanatic knows, it’s best to call your local Sally’s in advance to see when they’ll arrive. You can also purchase Finger Paints online at SallyBeauty.com. Polishes retail for $4.99 ($4.49 with a Sally Card) but be on the lookout for specials like B2GO Free in the monthly flyer.