Three years ago, Rihanna stopped traffic on the Grammy red carpet when she paired an electric blue dress with nails adorned in traffic cone orange, kicking off the orange nail polish trend of Summer 2008.  Well orange is back people.  It’s one of the biggest trends for Spring/Summer 2011 though this time around it’s more about brights than neon.

I’ve worn a lot of orange polishes in the past so I wasn’t sure I would find anything that I haven’t at least tested on one nail and then I came across Nicole by OPI Fresh Squeezed.  Fresh Squeezed came out last year when I was all up in my turquoise phase and couldn’t get into it but, its time has come.

It’s common knowledge in the boating community that there is a long standing rivalry between power & sail boaters.  As a kid I would watch Ohio’s version of Jimmy Buffet, Pat Dailey, rile up the power & sail boaters at the Beer Barrel on Put-In-Bay. This was long before it burned to the ground and rose from the ashes to become the world’s longest bar. And yes, I was a kid in a bar.  Let the Sweet Home Alabama analogies begin.

Anyway, Pat would taunt each side with stereotypes.  That sailors are wine sipping fuddy-duddy’s who look at the water as a relaxing escape.  That power boaters are beer chugging, party people who look at the water as a mode of transport, something to rip through.  Granted these are heavy generalizations but in some cases they hold true.

In my eye the Sand & Sea set is a smooth afternoon cruise on a sailboat and the Knotty Nauticals are a wind-whipping, wild ride on a speed boat.  They represent both sides of the boater in me who appreciates the zen of sailing but loves the thrill of zipping across the lake.

Speaking of Fabulous Felines, if you’re like me and totally intimidated by liquid liner I highly suggest you try the Superslick Liquid Eye Liners in this collection.  I swear on my Helmers that they’re so easy to apply, I just may give up my pots of Fluidline and I’ve been using them for YEARS.

On to the reason you’re all here.  I wanted to give you some color comparisons before the Nail Trend colors sold out so thank you to everyone who submitted swatch suggestions.

If you aren’t familiar with the genius that is Jin Soon check out The Nail Files interview I posted last year. She’s major in the editorial world and really on her game with color as evidenced by the nail polishes she created with MAC.

Mistress of the art of the sophisticated nail, Jin Soon was inspired this season by the sensual pleasures of the Forbidden City for Nail Trend F/W ’10 – colours taken from the sculptures, tiles, architecture, fabrics, and decorative papers of Imperial China.

Jin synthesized this vision to arrive at a collection in exotic and ravishing combinations of orange, blue, taupe, green, purple and, of course, lacquer red.

It seems like forever and a day since I previewed the Essie Summer 2010 collection.  Oh that’s right, it has been forever and a day. Based on the pastels and florals spotted on the Spring/Summer runways, Essie has mixed soft hues with punchy brights.