Essie Tart Deco is a juicy peach crème. In some lights it almost looked orange. I was surprised to see that it applied much darker than the bottle color.

Essie Tart Deco in artificial light

Essie Tart Deco in sunlight

Application was excellent! Two coats with a top coat shown.

Essie Red Nouveau, Essie Tart Deco, Essie Pop Art Pink, Essie Lilacism

My husband and I just got back from a two week trip to Germany, Austria and Italy. We visited friends in Munich, and traveled a bit in the surrounding area. Of course I wanted to buy some nail polish while we were in Europe! I asked my friend if there were any special polish I should look for while we were there.  She told me she would much rather buy polish in the US! Most of what I saw was the same things that are available in the US such as Chanel, OPI and Essie. The only difference I could see was higher prices. However, I did spot a few things I hadn’t seen before. I did grab a couple of those at Müller (drugstore)  and a few more at Karstadt (department store). One interesting thing I noted was that I saw some drugstore type polishes at the department store and vice versa. The product mix was certainly not the same as in the US. We had a lot of fun shopping though, and both Munich and Salzburg had amazing luxury shopping! Salzburg’s old town was especially amazing with all of the old buildings and narrow winding streets.

Catrice Big Spender Wanted!, Nivea Cherry Glacé, Art Deco 275, Mavala Flashy Violet, Mavala Agena, Alessandro Green Green Baby

Old Town Shopping in Salzburg, Austria

Orly Butterflies is a sheer bright pink crème. Sally’s had a ring around the bottle marking it as a new product, but I believe it has been out for several years. This is a bright summery color. Although I did have visible nail lines even after three coats, I still thought it was quite pretty. I really like this one!

Orly Butterflies in artificial light

Orly Butterflies in sunlight

Application was sheer, but otherwise very good.

Orly Butterflies

Three coats and a top coat shown.

Dragon’s Breath is another pretty polish from BB Couture’s Fairy Tale Collection. Dragon’s Breath is a red leaning purple jelly with fine silver, red and blue glitter. It looks more bluish in the bottle, but is redder on the nail.

BB Couture Dragons Breath in artificial light

I got what looks tip wear on this one (visible in the pictures), but I wore this for a night out and I don’t think it had the chance to dry properly. I think it got pushed away from my tips while it was still slightly wet. Otherwise it wore quite well. The glitter was magical in lower light conditions!

BB Couture Dragons Breath in sunlight

Three coats with a top coat shown.

BB Couture Dragons Breath

Nubar Purple Beach is a knockout duochrome shimmer! Yow! The color shifts from purple to charcoal grey, gold and an awesome olive green! When I was taking the purple pictures, the sides of my nails were almost glowing green! This is such a cool effect! Some duochromes look great in the bottle, but are a big letdown on the nail. This is not one of those polishes – it looks awesome on the nails too!

Nubar Purple Beach in artificial light

Nubar Purple Beach in sunlight

Nubar Purple Beach in sunlight showing multiple colors

Application was great! This one really glides right on. I wish every polish applied so well, and was so darn much fun!!!

Nubar Purple Beach

Two coats and a top coat shown.

The recent review I did on Orly’s Green Apple reminded me of a cool picture I took a few years ago. I was walking in Palo Alto with my husband a a couple of friends, when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was a praying mantis sitting on an apple!

Praying Mantis on an Apple

I actually have Shellac on my nails right now, but I since I am about to leave on vacation I have prepared a number of posts for the time that I am away. I will also provide updates on my Shellac manicure, and a few vacation pictures upon my return.

Orly Green Apple is a delicious summery-yellowish green I bought this at Sally Beauty with a tag indicating that it was a new color, but I believe it has been out for a while.

Orly Green Apple in artificial light

The sunlight picture is a more accurate depiction of this color. I was surprised at how closely it matched an apple I had in my refrigerator!

Orly Green Apple in sunlight

Application was good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

Orly Green Apple

Usually I change my nail polish every few days. I love the look of fun (often pretty bright) polishes, and change colors several times a week. My husband and I are going on a long vacation in a few days, so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try CND’s new Shellac product, which is touted as lasting two or more weeks. Since I am hoping I can get this manicure to last 18 days, I picked a sheer color to minimize the look of new growth.

Kristin Craig at DKW did my Shellac. She has been doing nails for 25 years, and Shellac since it first came out on May 1st. Kristin was very friendly and knowledgeable. I enjoy doing my nails myself. Years ago when I first got married I used to get silk wraps. It seemed like it took a while, smelled awful and I always left with sore cuticles. I was a bit leery about going back to have my nails done, but having her work on my nails was very relaxing and a nice treat. When she massaged lotion into my hands, she avoided my rings. Major points in my book since dirty jewelry is a big pet peeve of mine! You can reach Kristin at 831-247-0548. DKW Salon

CND Shellac Strawberry Smoothie in artificial light (posed with Nubar bottle, but no Nubar was used for this manicure)

The Shellac does not feel like I have wraps or enhancements on my nails. It looks and feels like I am just wearing regular polish. As you can see in the pictures taken less than an hour after the manicure, my cuticles are not at all irritated. The process was fairly quick too. I think it took about 45 minutes to apply and cure under the UV light, and I really did walk out of the salon with dry nails!

CND Shellac Strawberry Smoothie in sunlight

Strawberry Smoothie is a sheer shimmery pink with a very glossy finish. Sadly my nails are a bit stained at the moment due to all of the bright polishes I love. I was afraid that would be an issue with the sheer color. This shows-up much more in my pictures, but is hardly an issue in real life. I am quite pleased with the way my nails look right now.

I am excited about the possibilities of Shellac, and look forward to sharing updates and new pictures over the life of my manicure! Hopefully it will last our whole vacation!

Pink Out Loud is a bright pink jelly/shimmer base with glass flecks. My eye sees the color as being a bit more blue shifted than the pics show (this was a very bright color, so it was hard to get accurate pictures). I wrestled with Photoshop, but it did not agree! LOL

Milani Pink Out Loud in artificial light

Milani Pink Out Loud in sunlight

Application was ok. This polish was a bit thick, but still fairly easy to control. It goes on fairly sheer, and even with three coats I had some visible nail lines. I did note that it has a pretty strong smell. Yuck! Still, not bad for only $3.29!

Milani Pink Out Loud

Three coats and a top coat shown.