Green Green Baby is from Alessandro’s Summer of Love collection. This is another gem that I picked-up in Germany.  It is a vibrant olive green with a copper shimmer. Very pretty!!!

Alessandro Green Green Baby in artificial light

Alessandro Green Green Baby in sunlight

Application was excellent. This polish just glides right on It was almost opaque in two coats, but I added a third for maximum opacity.

Three coats and a top coat shown.

Alessandro Green Green Baby

It’s in the high 80′s today in the beautiful Bay Area, so it is difficult for me to get into a fall mood. To be honest my thoughts are drifting more towards lemonade and cranking the A/C. In spite of the heat it is time for all of new the fall collections to come out.

This collection of Essie minis is a Nordstrom Beauty Exclusive.

Sew Psyched

Sew Psyched is a greyish-green with a slight shimmer. The promo pictures made it look like a fall version of a mint green, but it doesn’t really strike me as a mint in person. It’s a bit of a strange color, but I like it.

Essie Sew Psyched in artificial light

Essie Sew Psyched in sunlight

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

Merino Cool

This color is a bit harder to describe, as it seemed to change depending on the lighting. I saw it as being a lavender/grey/beige. It reminds me of Sephora by OPI’s Metro Chic.

Essie Merino Cool in artificial light

Essie Merino Cool in sunlight

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

Little Brown Dress

Dark chocolate crème – sounds yummy doesn’t it? This one was surprise. In the bottle it looked a bit like chocolate syrup. Tasty perhaps, but not a very exciting color. I really liked it on though! Something about it strikes me as sexy and sophisticated like a deep red, but a with a twist. It is probably not a color I would have gravitated towards on the shelf, but I quite like it! It is much more luscious in real life. The pictures don’t do it justice!

Essie Little Brown Dress in artificial light

Essie Little Brown Dress in sunlight

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

Limited Addiction

A sexy cool toned dark red crème. Some reds don’t work for me, but this red looked great on my skin tone!

Essie Limited Addiction in artificial light

Essie Limited Addiction

Application was very good (in spite of a wiggly kitty who insisted on sitting on my lap and “helping” me). Two coats and a top coat shown.

Essie Sew Psyched, Essie Merino Cool, Essie Little Brown Dress and Essie Limited Addiction

Hey, it may not be fall yet but if I close my eyes with the A/C on I can imagine myself on a crisp fall day!  Hopefully fall will wait a little while though, as I still have a few spring and summer collections to swatch and review!

What do you think of Essie’s new fall collection?

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

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

As you probably know by now the Shrek Ever After colors are limited edition addition to OPI’s Brights Collection. These have been sitting on my coffee table for weeks waiting for me to try them. I really like some of the colors, but I kept getting distracted by other polishes! Well the new movie comes out today, so I think it is time for me to post this!

OPI Shrek Ever After

Rumple’s Wiggin’

OPI Rumple's Wiggin'

OPI Rumple's Wiggin' in sunlight

Rumple’s Wiggin’ is a beautiful lavender crème. I really like this one on me! We are visiting some friends this summer, and am planning on giving her a set of nail polishes as a hostess gift. I am going to include this one (well not this actual one, but a new one!)  Application was good. Three coats and a top coat shown.

Funky Dunky

OPI Funky Dunky in artificial light

OPI Funky Dunky in sunlight

Funky Dunky is a crayon purple crème. Application was good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

What’s With the Cattitude?

OPI What's With the Cattitude? in artificial light

OPI What's With the Cattitude? in sunlight

What’s With the Cattitude? is a beautiful sky blue crème. It is actually a bit more pale than the pictures. I love blues, and I think this one looks really nice on! Application was good. Three coats and a top coat shown.

Ogre-the-Top Blue

OPI Ogre-the-Top Blue in artificial light

OPI Ogre-the-Top Blue in sunlight

Ogre-the-Top Blue is a bright blue crème that really pops! Something about this color strikes me as being quite cheerful. I like it! Application was great with opacity at two coats. Two coats and a top coat shown.

Fiercely Fiona

OPI Fiercely Fiona in artificial light

OPI Fiercely Fiona in sunlight

Fiercely Fiona is a slightly greenish yellow crème. Yellow is not generally my thing, but I think this one looks pretty good on me. Application was a bit streaky, but it looked good after three coats. Three coats and a top coat shown.

Who the Shrek Are You?

OPI Who the Shrek Are You? in artificial light

OPI Who the Shrek Are You? in sunlight

Who the Shrek Are You? is a Shrek green colored crème. LOL A friend described it as looking like swamp water! Honestly it is a bit on the putrid side. I was surprised that it looked ok on me. It’s not really my color though, so I don’t anticipate getting much wear out of this one. It is fun though, and I think the right person could totally pull this off! Application was good. Three coats and a top coat shown.

Overall a fun collection! I am not sure if I will see the Shrek movie though. I joke with my friends about having a one movie a year quota. It is not strictly true – some years I see two movies in the theater! This year I got it over early by going to  Sherlock Holmes with my husband. I am more of a Netflix girl. I love being able to sit back and enjoy a glass of wine, and pause the movie if I have to go to the bathroom! Plus I can talk all I want without dirty looks!

Viva is a festive new collection for summer. Since it is “Latin inspired” I was not sure it would work on someone as pale as me. Also, I tend not to like most oranges. Overall I was surprised at how good these colors looked on me. I liked these a lot more than I thought I would! The formula on all four is quite pigmented, but it varied a lot in application.

Orly Olé

Olé  is a bright reddish-orange crème. Application was excellent! This one practically applied itself! Highly pigmented with full coverage in two coats.

Orly Olé in artificial light

Orly Olé in sunlight

Two coats with a top coat shown.

Orly Fiesta

Fiesta  is a  summery bright pink with pink  micro glitter. Application was a bit gritty and thick. Highly pigmented with coverage in two coats. Glitter not as visible on nail as in bottle.

Orly Fiesta in artificial light

Orly Fiesta in sunlight

Two coats a top coat shown.

Orly Bailamos

Bailamos is a bright teal shimmer. Application was excellent with coverage in two coats. I wore this one for two days, and got a ton of compliments from both strangers and friends!

Orly Bailamos in artificial light

Orly Bailamos in sunlight

Two coats and a top coat shown.

Orly La Playa

La Playa is a dark blue crème. Application was a bit tricky on this one. It was thick and covered well, but was a bit hard to control.

Orly La Playa in artificial light

Orly La Playa in sunlight

Two coats and top coat shown.

Orly Bailamos, Orly La Playa, Orly Fiesta, Orly Olé

Reclaim is from Nubar’s Going Green collection. I love holographic polishes, and this one is no exception! This is a truly stunning green!

Nubar Reclaim in artificial light

Nubar Reclaim in sunlight

Application was a breeze and coverage was great.

Nubar Reclaim

Two coats without a top coat shown.

As if their polish was not already tempting enough, Nubar is having a Mother’s Day Sale!

20% Off retail orders of $30 or more through May 6 with code MOM20

FREE SHIPPING on all orders $75.00 or more after other discounts are applied

http://www.bynubar.com/store/pages/Promotions.html

I’m off to select some new shades…

Go on Green! is a duochrome that shifts from light blue to green. It was difficult to capture the color accurately. In real life the green was much more visible.

OPI Go on Green! in artificial light

The formula is very thin and sheer, and went on quite easily. With four coats I had fairly opaque coverage. It was pretty, but I expected it to have a bit more impact. I like it, but don’t love it like I thought I would. To be honest I think I liked it more in the bottle.

OPI Go on Green!

Four coats and a top coat shown.