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

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

I woke-up this morning to pouring rain. I am so ready for the “May flowers” – and bike rides! At breakfast my husband asked me what color I was going to paint my nails today. Then he remarked that a rainy day was a good time to wear a Hawaiian shirt. I was thinking I should do another blue or some other “rainy color,” but what he said got me thinking about doing something brighter. I recently got a yummy red Kate Spade bag from their online sample sale. The bag has garnered a ton of compliments, so I think I will do head turning red.

BB Couture Poison Apple in artificial light

BB Couture Poison Apple is a luscious red jelly from their Fairy Tale collection.  It is a sexy, warm bright true red. In the bottle I see a slight shimmer, but it is not visible on the nail.

BB Couture Poison Apple

The application on this is a dream. In fact it was practically a fairy tale! As usual BB Couture does not disappoint! Poisoned or not, I adore this apple!

BB Couture Poison Apple and my Kate Spade inspiration

Two coats and a top coat shown.

Essie Really Red, Essie Red Nouveau, BB Couture Poison Apple

Here is a comparison to some similar reds in my stash.