What’s that?  It’s still summer. You’d never know that based on the number of fall collections that we’re being inundated with.  Is it just me or do the fall colors seem to be coming out earlier?  Maybe it’s because I’m really enjoying my summer and while I’m all about some of the Fall collections, I’m not ready for it to start just yet.  The longer I can keep the Cleveland winter at bay, the better. 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.

Formula & Application: Essie is a 3-Free brand.  The brushes are thin, round and shorter than most.  The bristles are very flexible, allowing you to easily fan out the brush to cover your nail width.

The polishes in this collection all have that squishy, jelly-like feel to them.  Normally the word jelly causes my eyes to light up but in this case it’s a negative.  The polishes seem pigmented enough but the texture keeps them from leveling properly and promotes streaking.  I needed three coats with each polish and with some that still left patchiness.  Also for some unknown reason Haute As Hello and Knockout Pout both dried with a satin finish so I photographed them with top coat.

Pretty Edgy is a vivid AstroTurf green. It’s so bright and in your face, it doesn’t look real.  I love everything about this color even in spite of the fact that I needed three coats.  The way the jelly texture gives it a slightly rubberized finish makes it a hit plus it’s a step outside the box for Essie so I say, “BRAVO!!”

I couldn’t help but do a comparison of this one.  I had a feeling it might be close to CND Green Scene and I was right.  The CND dries a bit deeper and has a creamier texture to it but they are close enough that you wouldn’t need both unless you’re a green girl like me.  I knew OPI Jade Is The New Black wouldn’t be close but since so many of you own it, I thought you’d appreciate seeing them side by side.

Haute As Hello is a bright melon, coral.  Like I mentioned above, it dries with a satin finish which makes me think there is some neon pigment in the base.  If you look at the bottle you can see how it looks marbled.  That’s because all the bright pigment separated leaving the polish looking dusty and pastel.  I had to roll the heck out of it to get it mixed.  The same thing happened with Knockout Pout.

Vermillionaire is a cross between tomato red and tangerine.  It definitely looks orange but has a lot of red in it.

My bottle of butter London Chuffed was staring at me when I had this one so I slapped a couple coats on top for funsies.  It doesn’t really change the color much, it just adds sparkle, like a CND Effect.

Knockout Pout is a deceptive hot pink.  Like Haute As Hello, the pigment separated so I was expecting this pale pastel and was shocked to see it dry so bold.  It actually reminds me a lot of CND Sweet.

Miss Matched is supposed to be worn sheer but since I don’t roll that way, I tried to see if it would become opaque with three coats.  Um, no.  It was a giant steak-fest so even worn sheer, it wouldn’t look good.  My nails are in no shape to be rocking sheers so I didn’t even try to show it to you that way.  This nude pink crossover is just a giant fail for me.

I had high hopes for Demure Vixen but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.  The shimmer in this beige mauve mix adds a pale lavender flash but it’s not enough to keep me interested.  It’s fine but not great.

Bottom Line: Pretty Edgy gets a definite thumbs up from me but the rest of the collection gets a pass.  I just can’t get excited by these based on the formula issues.  Vermillionaire certainly surprised me and gets the runner up prize but, the rest just don’t thrill me.  Considering how impressed I was with the Resort collection, I guess I just expected more from Summer.

The Essie Summer 2010 collection is on sale now.  Essie polishes retail for $8/ea for a .5oz bottle.  Shop online at EssieShop.com or buy in person at salons and spas nationwide including chains like Beauty Express, Regis, Trade Secret and ULTA.

What colors in this collection are calling your name?  If you already picked some of these up, which ones?  Am I alone in feeling underwhelmed?

I won’t be doing comparisons for this collection but if you have specific comparison questions, I’m happy to answer them.

Disclosure: Product samples were furnished by Essie.  For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

One of the most anticipated collections of the season, OPI Hong Kong takes us to the far east and I don’t want to come back.  Following what I consider a pretty boring year for OPI (I just didn’t LOVE Spain & South Beach) they’re already off to a great start with Alice in Wonderland and Hong Kong.  I hope the momentum keeps going throughout the year. Of course I’ve been geeked over the idea of a new OPI green so Jade Is The New Black has been on my mind for months and it did NOT disappoint.  I dare say it may take down Rainforest as my all-time fave OPI.  That’s a huge statement people! I’ve got the first half of the collection for you today so check out Jade Is The New Black, Suzi Says Feng Shui, Meet Me On The Star Ferry, Bling Dynasty and Pearl of Wisdom after the jump!

OPI’s formula continues to please me.  The cremes just apply so perfectly smooth and my wide nail beds love the brush.  Though it’s like I forget how good the polish is because when I put these on I was like, “DAMN, why can’t all brand be this good?”  You all know how much I love me some China Glaze but their formula just hasn’t been as great as of late whereas OPI just seems to be getting better.  All the polishes shown below applied flawlessly in two coats.

Jade Is The New Black is an understatement.  Jade is the new JADE and I’m talking about Chanel Jade.  I still love the mint polishes but this is the hotness!  Like a lot of gemstones, Jade comes in a range of hues and Jade Is The New Black is on the opposite side of the spectrum from Chanel Jade.  Slightly muted yet vibrant with a blue undertone, it’s one stellar color and a total MUST HAVE!

I know the color comparison requests will come piling in but I truly do NOT have a polish that dupes JITB so I thought I’d show it next to a bunch of other mid-tone greens so you can see how it stands out.

Suzi Says Feng Shui is bright cobalt creme.  Barry M’s Cobalt looks similar in the bottle but on the nail they couldn’t be more different.  This color is lighter and brighter.  FYI, Cleveland’s weather has caused me to rely on my indoor lighting equipment so the rest of these shots (with one exception) are in artificial light.

Again, I thought a bottle lineup would be useful as I have no exact dupe in my stash.  I pitted SSFS up against, OPI No Room For The Blues, Orly Calypso Breeze, Color Club Gossip Color, Barielle A Bouquet for Ava and Illamasqua Muse.  As you can see, it doesn’t have the teal undertones of the shades on the right and it falls somewhere between the two on the left.

When I saw Meet Me On The Star Ferry, I thought, “what is this color doing here?”  It seemed out of place and not that exciting.  On the nail it wowed!   Packed with golden micro-glitter this rosey mauve is extremely eye-catching.  I really have nothing to compare it to.  I thought perhaps Zoya Flowie (too gold) or Rhea ( too purple/cool) and I pulled my bottle of  OPI My Big Break that doesn’t have this type of sparkle.  It’s a winner!  Oh and I had a few seconds of light so I could show it to you in natural and artificial light.

Bling Dynasty is a burnished old gold with metallic shimmer and micro-glitter.  It’s definitely got an aged feel to it like if you dug up some ancient queen that wore real gold nails, this is how they’d look now.  Morbid but that’s where my mind went.

Bling Dynasty is deeper than the other golds in my collection.  As you can see compared to Duri Golden Nugget, Sally Hansen Salon Tassel, OPI Curry Up Don’t Be Late and Orly Gold Rush, BD is darker and richer.

Pearl of Wisdom is a sheer iridescent white with pink-ish pearlized micro-glitter.  This is not a buildable sheer so I’ve shown it with two coats.  I’m not a sheer girl, for obvious reasons (hello short nail beds!) so this one is a pass for me.

The OPI Hong Kong Collection officially launches in February though I’ve seen it for sale online already. OPI is available in salons nationwide including chains like JCPenney, ULTA, Trade Secret, Beauty Express and Regis.

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

In case you were wondering, the mint green train isn’t stopping anytime soon. I know some of you feel it’s too light for Fall/Winter but I’m so all over it, I can’t stand it! In fact, Essie is introducing her twist on the minty nail trend in her candy-themed Winter 2009 collection. I had the privilege of meeting Essie backstage at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. In fact, I saw her two days in a row. How crazy is that? A friend introduced me in the backstage area and we chatted for a few and then the next day she hosted a press event for the limited edition Capri Blue polish she created for MBFW. That’s when I first laid eyes on the Winter colors and you KNOW I fixated on that green. Get all the details and see the colors, after the jump!

First of all, let me say that Essie is a doll to chat with. I was uber-intimidated to meet such a giant in the polish industry and her statuesque figure only adds to her presence. She’s one tall drink of water. But my butterflies were unwarranted because Essie is very down-to-earth, extremely inviting and so in love with color. When asked what colors she loves to wear, Essie admitted that while she’s normally a Bordeaux girl when it comes to her toes, she wore Lacquered Up all summer. And because she spends a lot of her time in meetings, she prefers to keep her fingernails pretty and safe. She wears combinations of sheers and pales, changing her look each week. Some fave combos include Ballet Slippers with Mademoiselle and Fed Up with Blushing Bride though she’s currently loving Mademoiselle with Blushing Bride.

For Fashion Week she collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to create a polish to match their Capri Blue metallic paint. Essie Capri Blue was available exclusively in the Mercedes-Benz backstage lounge but you can get a similar look wearing Midnight Cami from the Fall Cuddle With Color collection.

For Winter, Essie wanted something whimsical, fun and refreshing. She created these confections with that in mind.

Rock Candy is your typical Essie pink sheer. It’s a bit milky and I ended up using three coats to get it even. You know I’m not one for sheers so it’s not really my style.
Lollipop is unique in that it applied like a glaze. Not jelly-ish and not creamy more like a lip gloss. Though in spite of its texture the color is opaque in two coats. Very unusual and candy-like for such a traditional red hue.
Mint Candy Apple is the pièce de résistance. You know how I’ve swooned over the other mint greens to date and this one is in a class all its own. This really does look like pastel after dinner mints. Oh how I love those. So delicious and melty in your mouth. This beauty is creamy, slightly blue and unfortunately for your wallets, utterly unique. Even though it took three coats for a completely even, opaque finish, I. Don’t. Care. It’s gorgeous!

I swatched it next to every mint green I own and not a one comes close. Lined up against its predecessors it totally stands out.

What do we think Fanatics? Who’s up for mint green-a-palooza this winter?

OPI, you don’t know this but we’ve been broken up for some time now. The fighting began when you revamped your formula last spring. The inconsistencies in every collection since Australia has been frustrating. I understand the pressure to go Big 3 Free but sacrificing quality in order to satisfy the protesters was a bad call if you ask me. Of course our fight occurred entirely in my head but I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that we’ve called a truce.

Why the change of heart? Well, two reasons really.
1. You finally delivered a navy blue shimmer that actually looks navy. No purple undertones. Not just another blue-black. Yoga-ta Get This Blue, it’s like you knew I needed you.
2. You realized that I was not the only unhappy camper in regards to formula and you found a way to deliver pigmented, streak-free, non-goopy cremes.

The OPI India Collection for Spring 2008 made me remember what it was that caused me to fall for OPI in the first place. How compared to all the drugstore brands of polish I had used, there was a line that applied smooth and even with a beautiful range of colors. My first OPI obsession was the classic; I’m Not Really A Waitress. My latest; Yoga-ta Get This Blue.

With a color range pulled from the fashion and culture of India, this collection is filled with vibrant pinks and reds, rich berries and luxurious metallics. Do I think every shade is utterly unique and rave-worthy? No but let’s get real girls. Us hardcore nail fanatics are a finicky group to please. I say formula improvements are a good step. Giving us the next Rainforest would be a fabulous and giant leap.

So this formula I am raving about, is it really that different? I wouldn’t testify in a court of law but, to me, there really is a noticeable improvement. I can’t find the change in the ingredient list but I’m telling you, something happened. With a couple exceptions, every shade applied like a dream. And disregarding the two sheers, these lacquers are highly pigmented requiring no more than two coats. Each image below was taken without a top coat and only two layers of lacquer.

Black Cherry Chutney – a blackened red with subtle shimmer for depth. In most lighting all you see are a few specs of shimmer and otherwise it’s just another almost black berry. The brush on mine has a few bent strands so that affected application. I hope it was just the brush but I can’t promise anything.Charmed by a Snake – a lighter bronze, more appropriate for Spring. The champagne shimmer keeps this shade from being too warm and too Fall. Definitely one of my favorites.Curry Up Don’t Be Late! – I’m not gonna lie, this will be a hard shade to pull off. Brushed yellow gold is too much for my pale skin but, I would think with a faux tan or darker skin tone this shade could really pop. ElePhantastic Pink has been creating a buzz before it even hit shelves. It’s the shade I’ve received the most inquiries about. A bold carnation pink creme, this isn’t for the demure pink wearer.Get Me to the Taj on Time – is a safe opalescent semi-sheer. Yes, it applies well but we’ve seen this before.I’m Indi-a Mood for Love – a hot pink creme that leans towards blue, giving it a slight purple undertone.Keys to My Karma is your basic maraschino cherry red creme. This one has a lot of pink in its base and needs two coats to achieve the bottle shade. It’s a good staple color but not something you need. Still I’m feeling the urge to pull out my reds again.Lunch at the Delhi has been dubbed a “coral” but I’m not seeing it. If anything, I think of it as a dusty, muted red. Yes, it’s warm and orange based but not the pinky peach I typically think of when I hear coral. Sometimes an OPI description is so far off from what I’m seeing, I wonder if I’m colorblind. What shade do you see?MonSooner or Later is a tomato red creme. Orange and red combine to create this glossy confection. I can totally see this on toes at the beach.Moon Over Mumbai – get on the gray train now before it runs you over, leaving you face first in the dust. Of course the uber-chic nail boarders over at Makeup Alley have been frankening their own grays for months now but if you don’t want to make your own, here’s a nice soft version to ease you into the trend.Royal Rajah Ruby is the other vampy berry shade included in India. A rich wine shimmer, this shade would have made me take notice had it been a bit lighter. It just doesn’t stand out in the crowd. The shimmer adds character but no real charm.Yoga-ta Get this Blue! – I saved the best for last. I had to keep you scrolling. From the very second I got my hands on this shade I’ve been talking it up to anyone who would listen. Deeper and richer than Blue My Mind from the 2005 Brights yet lighter than all the 2007 OPI blues, Yoga-ta is everything I’ve been wanting a navy to be. It’s visibly blue in most lighting situations which is something many of the blues that came before it have failed to achieve. In the simplest of terms, it’s perfect.The OPI India collection is available in stores and online now and retails for $8.50 ($9.95 CAN). No that’s not a misprint, there was a price increase.
Now let’s hear from you? What are you loving/hating, buying/passing on?

Comparisons are in the works but before I finish, are there any requests? I already have down Ms. DQ2′s desire for a China Glaze X comp but what else do you want to see? I can’t fulfill all your demands but I’ll do my best to please the majority.

In the mood for all his kissin’
In the mood his crazy lovin’
In the mood what I was missin’
It didn’t take me long to say
I’m in the mood now

When I hear Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood“ I can’t help but picture the scene from Cannery Row in which Debra Winger and Nick Nolte swing dance with competitive ferocity. The same image came to mind when I first saw Essie’s Spring 2008 collection, In The Mood, with it’s cheeky names and sweet girly shades.

For the most part all the polishes applied smoothly with no streaking. Looking For Love being the exception. It was just too difficult to get a fluid sheer look. Even after the three coats I applied it was still semi-sheer and splotchy (see below).

Body Language - Is a pinkish gray nude. A very neutral and wearable creme. I honestly didn’t expect to like this one at all, this is so not a part of my normal color range. But once I had it on, I loved the clean chic look.Great Expectations – An opalescent gray, the shimmer is extremely subtle to add depth. I see light to medium grays becoming more and more popular. In fact this color would have fit right in with the silvery/pearly whites that were seen on the red carpet at the SAG Awards.Hard To Get – A bubblegum pink creme with a hint of lavender in it’s base. It didn’t really mesh with my skin tone but I think it would be a fun pedi shade. With it’s high gloss shine, Hard To Get is the slight deeper sister of one of my favorite patent finish polishes, China Glaze Go Go Pink.Hi Maintenance – You know sheers and I aren’t friends so even though this milky pink makes a great french manicure base, it’s not for me.Looking for Love – This one was the big disappointment for me. Lilac and lavender shades make my hands look alien-esque so even though I love wearing purples, the lighter ones are a no go. Though regardless of the color the formula bit it, big time. Major application issues makes me give Looking for Love a double “thumbs down”.Secret Affair – Is my other favorite from the collection. The shade is hard to describe which is why I find it so intriguing. Is it nude, pink, taupe or a combination of all three? With this one, it really depends on the light which makes a Secret Affair a winner in my book. The In The Mood collection is available for sale now online and is slated to be in stores and salons on February 1st.

Who’s buying what? How many of you are going to clutch your dark polishes, run and hide in a cave vampire-style until all this pale sheer madness goes away? And who is starting to venture towards the light? As much as it pains me to say, I’m kind of loving the freshness of these light colors. Shh, don’t tell! My green and blue polishes may revolt and run away.

The sheers are coming! The sheers are coming! Take cover vampy girls for the sheers are a-coming! This spring will be a sheer lover’s paradise according to the spring collection previews. You all know I’m not a fan of sheers but I’m going to try my hardest to remain objective.

CND‘s collection for Spring, Plexi Pop, is sheer-gasm of pinks, peach and aqua with an opaque white cream. If you followed my coverage of the Spring 2008 New York Fashion Week shows, you know that a lot of these colors popped up on the runways of fashion’s biggest designers. At the time they were still unnamed but here they are in all their glory.

Clearly Pink – a milky pink sheer, it reminds me of my beloved OPI Passion (not the Designer Series version). It applies streak free and adds a slight hint of creamy pinkness to my nails. The only downside for me is that with my whites being slightly yellowed from dark polish use, Clearly Pink’s milkiness didn’t help brighten my whites.
Nail Gloss – Is a straight up pink sheer. No milkiness, just a pink tinged clear. It really is like lip gloss for your nails. It reminds me of one of my favorite lip glosses from my early 20s, Bonne Bell Lip d’Votion in Fresh Melon, super glossy with the slightest hint of color.
Plexi Pink – is a pretty hot pink sheer with subtle bluish-purple shimmer that gives the shade some pop. It’s more pigmented than the other pinks but still not buildable to opaque.
Retro White – This slightly creamy white was a nightmare for me. I’m not gonna lie, I tried three times to get an even application to show you all and it wasn’t happening. The picture below is with three spaced out coats, to allow proper drying, and it was still streaky as all get out. Just look at the massive dragging near my cuticles. I assume that this shade was intended for use in an american manicure but I can’t recommend it.
Translucent Tangerine – A glittery peach sheer, this color didn’t work for my skin tone but it’s really pretty in the bottle. I’m sure warm toned gals would love this. And despite the high glitter content, that polish felt smooth on my nail.
Turquoise Tint – To me, I see this color and immediately think layering. A turquoise sheer just isn’t something I’d think of wearing. It looks so unnatural and alien-esque on me. Though the cellophane finish is pretty cool.

Plexi Pop will be available in salons, spas and professional beauty stores as of March 2008. Each enamel retails for $6.00 US/$9.40 Canada.

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It looks like sheers and soft girlie shades are on their way this spring. And as much as I love my bold and vampy shades I will try my best to embrace the coming trend. You’ll rarely find me sporting a sheer but ever since I discovered my holy grail sheer last spring, Zoya Bailey, I’m definitely more open-minded towards them.

Enjoy the nail color of the moment… Blissful.

The beauty of Spring radiates from Zoya’s latest collection, Blissful. 6 wearable shades selected to enhance natural beauties of every age and skin tone.

Laurie (sheer pink cream), Lulu (sheer peach cream) and Miley (sheer lilac cream)

Felicity (sparkling golden rose), Penelope (apricot rose cream) and Zanna (mauve rose cream)

As always, Blissful features Zoya’s best-selling, professional natural nail lacquer formula. Zoya healthy nail colors are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Find Zoya’s Blissful collection along with over 200 other ultra high-fashion Zoya shades and the exclusive Zoya Color-Lock system (for guaranteed long-lasting color) at fine salons and spas across the country, or online at www.zoya.com.

info and images courtesy of Art Of Beauty

Introducing Plexi Pop – CND Color Collection Spring/Summer 2008

Lip Gloss for the Nails

Rising temperatures call for translucent nail tints in a range of moods from understated soft nudes that are like lip gloss for the nails to vibrant flashes of carefree color. The length and look this season is past the tip of the finger in a soft and tapered shape. The collection includes two healthy pink clears, three opalescent bright sheers in hot pink, coral and turquoise, and a mod crisp white cream.

Retro White – bright white opaque crème
Clearly Pink – translucent light pink sheer
Nail Gloss– translucent medium pink sheer

Plexi Pink – vibrant pink opalescent sheer
Translucent Tangerine – coral shimmer sheer
Turquoise Tint – aqua opalescent sheer

These shades debuted on runways during Spring 2008 Fashion Week in New York and London .
Clearly Pink glowed at Badgley Mischka, Bruce, Chaiken, Luca Luca, Peter Som, Philosophy, Nili Lotan, G-Star, Tory Burch
Nail Gloss was worn by models at BCBG, Behnaz Sarafpour, Jasper Conran, COS, Carmen Marc Valvo, Nary Manivong, PHI, DKNY, Rachel Roy, Reyes, Rosa Cha, TSE and Yigal Azro
Translucent Tangerine premiered at Douglas Hannant
Turquoise Tint glimmered at Ashish N Soni and Chris Han
Retro White was part of the revolutionized black and white French manicure at L.A.M.B. and Jayson Brunsdon

The Plexi Pop Collection will be in salons, spas and professional beauty stores as of March 2008. Each enamel retails for $6.00 US/$9.40 Canada .

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner!! Finally a sheer I not only like but love. Zoya Bailey is a perfect pink sheer with silver micro-glitter and pearly shimmer.

The application was smooth and even. Zoya’s formula is slightly thick but it spreads well with no streaking. I was a bit rushed this morning when I applied it but that didn’t affect the outcome. Even in person, my mani looks as close to flawless as I’ve seen my tips in a while.

With my “Dare Week” coming to a close, I realize that I enjoyed this challenge much more than I expected. Even though my first pick wasn’t a winner, it lead me to here. I now have a color that I can slap on when my nails are bare and I don’t have time to deal with applying my usual bright/dark colors.

Essie Breezy Beach is the shade I chose as my “dare” polish and I am SO not a fan. It looks craptastic on me and anyone that tells me differently, I won’t believe ‘em. Ha ha

I’d like to say that it’s because I’m not used to seeing my nails this way but it’s not. I feel like my nails look dirty or stained. The slight iridescence in Breezy Beach doesn’t make it any prettier in person.

Well, I tried and I can’t wait to get this stuff off. Sheers are obviously NOT my friend.

I’d love to hear your comments. Maybe it was just this particular shade. If you have a suggestion for something better, I’m all ears. I may even wear it.