Essie news Part 2 — FALL 2013

Hope you enjoyed my preview earlier today of Essie’s summer collection, Naughty Nautical.  I think there are some awesome colors in the bunch.

And now I’ve got tomorrow’s news today (shades of the old TV series “Early Edition”) since I was going to post this tomorrow but want to get it out asap.  Hold on to your beret; I’ve got fall news!  Meet

For the Twill of It

Woo, that’s quite a duochrome!  Let’s meet the colors.

I love the fabric and fiber theme.  The names and descriptions are a little hard to read in the picture, so let’s spell it out:

• For the Twill of It — a purple/green duochrome (the description says “rich maple with reflective olive shimmer”…. MAPLE???)
• After School Boy Blazer — blue-black or navy creme
• Twin Sweater Set — vibrant crimson red creme
• Cashmere Bathrobe — flannel gray shimmer
• The Lace Is On — pearlescent fuchsia
• Vested Interest — cool gray-teal creme

Great mix of rich fall tones and some very attractive neutrals.  Any of them grabbing you?  The shimmery silver and the grayed teal are calling my name, and I need to check my stash of blues to see if I have a shade quite like ASBBlazer.  I don’t yet know the release date.

Hopefully you read the news here first!    But….. maple???

Naughty Nautical — new summer collection from Essie!

Essie is really releasing lots of bright collections this year.  If you’re still catching up on their spring offerings, I previewed three sets back in March which are in stores now.

While these three collections were and are very pretty, I felt like I’d seen most of these colors before and own a fair share, too.  How about a look at their summer collection, though?  Presenting Naughty Nautical:

Hello, sailor. Get ready to embark on a chic color adventure in delicately sparkling lights and ultra soft brights that whisper easy elegance. It’s smooth sailing into summer with a collection of nail colors that’s a casually cool affair — perfect for a stylish night on the town and a dress that feels more caftan on the beach than red carpet-ready gown.

”This collection is for women in a sunshine state of mind”, says Founder and Creative Director Essie Weingarten. ”Inspired by breezy chiffon cover-ups and cashmere pastel evening looks, these six shades make the perfect wardrobe for any journey”. Weingarten reiterated her passion for traveling, ”There’s nothing more calming than a cruise to paradise, it completely rejuvenates mind, body and soul”.  These colors were created to inspire relaxation.  It’s all about discovering a beautiful place to drop anchor and dive in — whether you’re sailing or just going about your daily life, a manicure in blissed-out Essie color is the perfect summer accessory.

“In a sunshine state of mind” — I like that. 

Naughty Nautical – marine blue-green shimmer
The More the Merrier – juicy lime green
Sunday Funday – tangerine coral crush shimmer
Full Steam Ahead – pearlescent punch lilac
The Girls Are Out – fuchsia peony sparkle
Rock the Boat – shimmering french blue

Fun colors and fun names, although I’m starting to think that every Essie collection must have a lilac/lavender in it.  Anyway, several of these sure appeal to me, especially the teal and the fuchsia.  If you don’t have a lime green, this might be one to grab.  I have a lime green from SquareHue and one’s enough for me, but it’s a real interesting and different color, perfect for summer.  The shimmers look beautiful.  Tentative release date is sometime in June.

More bottle shots?  Sure thing!

Stay tuned tomorrow or later today for even MORE news!

A new summer color from Butter London has appeared

Back in late March I posted news of Butter London’s summer collection, Summer Holiday:

They’re available now at Butter London’s web site (SRP $15) and retail stores, and I like that some of the colors such as the chocolate glitter are atypical for a summer collection.

Suddenly, though, there’s a new color in the set, and I believe it’s exclusive to Ulta.  Don’t have a local store to check, but it’s on their web site.  Meet Keks, a bright sky blue!

No news about it on Butter London’s own web site.  I had to look up the meaning of “Keks” and apparently it’s slang for “trousers.”  Um, OK.

Keks would be gorgeous paired with some of the other colors in the set, like the silver or gold.

Simply Irresistible

Disclosure:  This set was sent by Zoya for review.

Took me a while, but I finally have Zoya’s Irresistible Collection to show you!  Through no one’s fault that I can see, the first set that Zoya sent me was lost in transit.  It was entered into FedEx’s system and then… nothing.  But as they say, better late than never.    It was much appreciated for Zoya to send me a replacement.

Irresistible is a set of six bright foils.  I’ve only mentioned about a hundred times how much I love a foil finish, because it’s shimmery and glittery without having either visible brushstrokes or chunky glitter.

The formula of all six was very consistent — not too thin, not too thick.  For each polish, two coats would have been enough for decent coverage but I used three coats because I think the third coat brought out the richness of each color.  All photos are shown in reflected outdoor light and then in direct sunshine, with no top coat.

First — Kerry, a sunny yellow-gold.  It’s not a daffodil color nor a bronzed gold.  If anything, it might have a very faint greenish tint.

Amy is an intense orange with a lot of gold shimmer.  Outdoors in the direct sun (second photo) I think it leans red.

Tinsley is the one I was looking forward to the most, and I’m not disappointed.  It’s the epitome of the term “rose gold” — a pretty rose pink with tons of gold shimmer.  It kind of has a duochrome look going on too, because at different angles (first and second photos), you see either more gold or more rose.

Bobbi is another pink, but is cooler in tone, much more fuchsia, and it has silver shimmer instead of gold.  Love this one too.

I liked Rikki, a cool fern green, a lot more than I expected.  Greens are tough for me to wear and often bring out weird tones in my skin, but I think Rikki looks great.  Must be the silver shimmer it has.  I also saw a few flecks of gold in the direct sun.

Similarly, Hazel has both silver and gold shimmer, and is a light steel blue that looks darker in the sun.  Could be wintery-looking but also great for summer — a nice change from neon blue or turquoise.

I love the Irresistible Collection and it’s perfect for summer.  My favorites are Tinsley, Bobbi, and Rikki.  Hazel’s right up there too but I wonder if I have a near-duplicate.  Kerry and Amy would probably look much better on someone with a different skin tone than mine (I’m such a self-critic).

Here are all twelve of the Irresistible and Stunning polishes together.  As you can see, each one in its set has a somewhat close shade in the other set, but Stunning is all cremes.  From top (12 o’clock position) and moving clockwise:  Kerry, Darcy, Amy, Thandie, Tinsley, Micky, Bobbi, Yana, Rikki, Josie, Hazel, and Rocky.

Disclosure:  These polishes were sent by Zoya for review.

Reva

Ready for the last Sunshine Collection polish from Zoya for me to swatch?  It’s Reva, another red.

Reva differs from yesterday’s Kimmy in that Reva has a dark pink base and has a cool tone.  Overall I’d call it a true red, though.  The gold microflakes warm it up a bit and keep it from being too dark or cool.

Confusingly — to me, at least — Zoya calls Kimmy “candy apple red” and Reva “strawberry red” yet I think it’s the other way around.  Your individual candy apples and strawberries may vary.    Either way, they’re both beautiful.

Excellent coverage was achieved with two coats, and again, the formula was very smooth and streak-free.

Reva, two coats, no top coat, under indirect outdoor light, with a fill flash, and then under direct cloudy sunlight:

Normally I would be more drawn to the cool tone of Reva as opposed to the warm one of Kimmy, but I think for summer I actually prefer Kimmy.  I believe I’d be more likely to wear Reva as a holiday color; it’d be perfect for Christmas.

Kimmy

Hope you’ve gotten your Zoya Earth Day half-price sale polishes picked out!  If not, no rush — you’ve got through the 26th to place your order.

Sometimes it’s hard to choose colors.  For one thing, there are so many.  For another, some of the colors look similar.

Today I have a gorgeous red to show you that I’ve had for a long time but just haven’t swatched.  It’s Kimmy, a fiery red from the Sunshine Collection which was first released for Summer 2011.  All six polishes in this set are chock-full of sparkly gold microflakes, and they’re metallic and glittery without having large chunky glitter.  I’ve swatched Faye, Apple, Tanzy, and Rica from Sunshine previously.

Kimmy should not be confused with Kimber or Kym (Zoya, I beg of you, please stop with the similar-sounding and similarly-spelled names!) although all three are beautiful reds.  Kimmy has a warm, slightly orange tone.  It reminds me of Elke but is more glittery.

Two coats gave good coverage, and the formula was as smooth and as streak-free as possible.  Absolutely no visible brush strokes.  Have I mentioned I hate visible brush strokes?  I hate visible brush strokes.

Here’s Kimmy, two coats, no top coat, under indirect outdoor light and then with a fill flash.

This last photo, under weak direct sunlight, shows a slight pink tinge.  Interesting!

So if you’re looking for a bright summery red that sparkles but doesn’t overwhelm, maybe Kimmy deserves a spot on your wish list.

Zoya’s Stunning Collection — the review

Disclosure:  This set was sent by Zoya for review.

Zoya is rolling out some beautiful polishes for us this spring, as part of their official summer releases.  Today I have the Stunning Collection.

Stunning is a set of six cremes, but Thandie, Micky, and Yana have an extremely subtle shimmer.  It’s so faint I thought at first I was imagining it.

First I tried Darcy, a bright daffodil yellow.  I found the formula a bit thin, and the application streaky and patchy on the first and second coats.  I used three coats.  This photo and all other photos today are under indirect outdoor light and are shown without any kind of top coat.  All other polishes required two coats.

Hmmm, doesn’t wow me.  I love the color yellow in general but don’t think Darcy flatters my skin tone and actually think it makes my skin look grayish.  I swatched Zoya’s Creamy last year, and while I no longer own this color, I don’t think there’s a big difference between the two.  You might have better luck wearing this one; I’ve read at least one blogger who said Darcy was her favorite from the whole set.

Thandie is a bright (not neon) medium orange that has a slight dusty hue.  I rarely find an orange I like, but this is one of them!  Don’t think I have anything like it in my stash.

I was really surprised at how much I like Thandie.

Micky, whose name makes me think of my favorite Monkee from the ’60s — go ahead and laugh, I don’t mind! — is a medium coral pink.  I love pinks but tend to reach for cooler or lavender ones, so the warmth of Micky is a nice change.

Micky’s a fun retro look.

Yana looks only slightly darker than Micky in  the bottle and in these photos but I think they look much different in person.  Yana is a bright geranium pink.  Love it.  Like I don’t wallow in pink already!

Rocky is a medium blue, slightly dusty.  I was reminded of two other cremes from Zoya, Robyn and Yummy, but I like Rocky better because it’s not as bright or neon.

Finally, Josie is a medium grass green, not a lot to say about it.  It’s pretty but for some reason doesn’t grab me the way most of the rest of the set does.

Overall, I think the Stunning Collection is great for summer.  Makes me think of citrus fruit, flowers, grass, and blue sky.  My favorites are Yana, Thandie, Micky, and Rocky.

I also wanted to compare the bottles in Stunning to five of the ones from last year’s Beach Collection.  Beach had no yellow, and Stunning has no light pink like Beach’s Shelby (not shown).  In my opinion, there are no duplicates.

Disclosure:  The Stunning Collection was sent by Zoya for review.

P.S.  I will not be able to review the Irresistible Collection for at least a few more days.  Zoya sent it but it has vanished into the ether. 

Zoya Summer PixieDusts — the review

Disclosure:  This set was sent by Zoya for review.

Have been looking forward to this set of matte, textured, sparkly,  PixieDusts from Zoya ever since they were first announced.

If you’re new to the world of matte textured (MT) polishes, they’re different from regular polishes in that they have a sandy or sugary feel (not sandpaper-rough), and dry to a matte or mostly matte finish.  Different companies have different MT polish looks, as might be expected.  A few have no sparkle at all, a look I don’t personally care for because to me they look like bumpy dried paint.  One company at least has a fair amount of chunky glitter in its MT polish.

I prefer the slightly sparkly look; it’s the Goldilocks of MT polishes — not too dull, not too glittery.  Juuuust right.

Application of these Summer PixieDusts was excellent.  Be sure to use thin coats and let each coat dry thoroughly before you apply the next one for the matte look.  Zoya recommends not using a base or top coat, but a clear shiny top coat gives these polishes a gorgeous different look as well.

There are three warm colors with gold sparkle — yellow-gold, light orange, and medium-dark orange, and three cool ones with silver sparkle — medium pink, lavender, and bright blue.  Each is shown under indirect outdoor light, with the flash, and in direct sunshine.  Some of the sunshine photos look like I added little fake “starburst” sparkles, but I didn’t; that’s really how the polish looks. 

First up, the lightest, yellow-gold Solange.  I like that it’s neither too yellowish or too brassy.  Wouldn’t it look great with, say, a teal shirt?  Three coats.

Beatrix is citrus orange, light and sparkly.  The color seems halfway between Solange and the next color, the darker orange Destiny.  Three coats.

Destiny was a bit of a surprise for me.  Instead of being just orange, its base is a sheer coral-pink.  Only needed two coats of this one.

Miranda was the one I was looking forward to the most and it does not disappoint.  I love trying different colors but pink always calls to me!  Three coats.

Stevie is lighter than I expected from the promo photos but it’s still very pretty.  It’s like the MT version of Zoya’s Julie.  I used two coats.

Liberty is probably the most intense color of the bunch.  Liberty with an accent nail of the previously released red Chyna for the 4th of July?  I just might have to try that.  Two coats.

Oops, this next photo is outdoors but the sun went behind the clouds and refused to come out.  The nerve.

Overall I love this set and it’s so bright and summery.  They seem to have more fine glitter and be less matte than Zoya’s first PixieDust set, but I wonder how much of that impression is due to the much brighter, higher angle sunlight today as compared to a few months ago.

SRP is $9 per 0.5 oz/15 ml bottle.  Available at http://www.zoya.com or at select retailers and salons.

My favorites are Miranda and Liberty, but I hope the warmer colors look better on me when I get a little tan this summer.  Which are your faves?

Tomorrow I’ll post some comparisons between these polishes and matte textured ones from other collections, and also between these and some older Zoya polishes..

Disclosure:  This set was sent by Zoya for review.

In lieu of elevator music while we wait…

…. here’s a quick music video (actually music plus promo stills) that I put together of the three new summer collections from Zoya.  (Disclosure as required by the FCC:  Zoya supplies samples to me for review.  My opinions are my own and unbiased.)

We need music while we wait because FedEx JUST delivered my new PixieDust samples!  I’ll get busy swatching and oohing and aahing and taking photos for my review ASAP.  ‘Til then, turn up your speakers and enjoy!

P.S.  If the video doesn’t appear for you, the direct YouTube link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYvpWqLBUx8&feature=youtu.be

Oh, the weather outside is frightful…

… but the fire is so delightful
Since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Oh so cold and windy here today. Where art thou, spring? OK, you want to make me think of winter? Fine. Be that way. Two can play at that game — here’s the first announcement (unofficial) I’ve seen of HOLIDAY 2013 polishes from China Glaze.

It’s called Happy Holiglaze and I can’t post any pictures because the only place I’ve read about the collection is at blogger Just Ricarda. Check her site here for heavily watermarked pictures.

The twelve new color names and my approximate color descriptions:

• There’s Snow One Like You — white matte texture
• Elfin’ Around — coral red shimmer
• Just Be-Claws — red shimmer
• Santa Red My List — another red shimmer (lighter?)
• Put A Bow On It — pink/purple fine glitter
• Be Merry, Be Bright — pink/purple larger glitter
• All Wrapped Up — purple glitter
• Your Present Required — white/pink/purple glitter
• So Blue Without You — aqua blue fine glitter
• Bells Will Be Blinging — silver/blue glitter
• Mingle With Kringle — gold shimmer
• This Is Tree-mendous — green fine glitter

A lot of these look like fun, and overall the set seems less red-centric than some of China Glaze’s past holiday collections.  I’m all for more pink & purple.

According to Just Ricarda’s post, there will also be a special top coat called “Colour Travel” that will create an iridescent effect.   Not sure what all it will entail — is it just another frosty top coat? Is it slightly holographic?

I wonder if some of the pictures are from a European source, because some of the wording sounds a bit off to my American ears.  I’ve never heard of a polish finish called “aluminum” nor have I heard of a “travel effect.”

When I read more news and also news of possible gift sets, I’ll be sure to let you know!