Late Summer Sunset: nail art with purples and oranges

Today, for some reason, I was drawn to purple and orange. I made some quick nail art by alternating five colors in a slight variation on the Ruffian manicure.

On the very top is China Glaze Peachy Keen. This swatch is three coats with Seche Vite on top to smooth them out. It's a chalky and difficult color to work with, but finishing it with topcoat helps a lot.

Next is Zoya Malia, a medium lavender/lilac creme which also requires three coats and a topcoat to smooth it out. It's easier to apply than Peachy Keen, though.

Then comes OPI Cajun Shrimp. This is a classic, BRIGHT and shiny coral. It leans towards pink, but still contains plenty of orange. It's very easy to apply and only needs two coats. The first picture is most color accurate.

The deep purple is Orly Rio Nights. This is a gorgeous, shiny jelly and requires four coats. I think it's worth it.

Finally, the base color is OPI Hot & Spicy. This is a medium orange creme with a hint of pink and an almost pastel quality, though it's not pale enough to really be pastel. It also needs three coats for opacity.

So there's the purple and orange special of the day. What are some of your favorite color combinations?

Ready for fall: Essie Sew Psyched and Smokin' Hot

Hello everyone!

Today I swatched two Essie polishes from last year.

Sew Psyched is a muted khaki green with very subtle shimmer that's pretty much only visible in direct sunlight. It's easy to apply and only required two coats for even coverage.

Smokin' Hot is a sophisticated greyish plum/purple. It's dark but not exactly vampy. This one was a little more difficult to apply evenly and needed three coats.

Even though these polishes came out last year, they fit right in with all the colors coming out in the new fall collections from Zoya, OPI, China Glaze and others.

Joining the BLUE trend!

In hopes of deterring myself from paying outrageous prices for the new Chanel blues (Les Jeans de Chanel) I have swatched four blue crèmes to satisfy the craving for BLUE!

OPI What's With The Cattitude? is a nice baby blue. Like all pastels, it was a little streaky to apply but it easily evens out in three coats.

OPI Just Groovy is a brighter sky blue. This is two coats.

OPI Dating A Royal is well-loved for a good reason. It has a jelly consistency, which makes it very shiny, and takes three coats to be opaque.

Finally here is China Glaze Calypso Blue. It has a thick, somewhat sticky consistency but it's easy to control during application. This is a great navy blue that is very dark but still obviously blue and not black.

So, still fantasizing about Les Jeans?

I admit I still kind of want Coco Blue. I would love to know how it compares to What's With The Cattitude? and China Glaze Bahamian Escape or China Glaze Caribbean Blue.

Two polishes from Zoya Smoke & Mirrors Fall 2011

Two polishes from this fall's Zoya collection really grabbed me so I had to get them. Both of these are from the "Mirrors" part of the 12 piece collection.

Zoya Jem is a rich plum with a sparkling/flecked quality. It's even more beautiful in person. The golden duochrome only shows up in the bottle, unfortunately, but it's still a very complex color on the nail.

Zoya Neeka is a smokey purple with gold and slightly iridescent flecks. Another complex and interesting color. I think it's a distant cousin to Chanel Paradoxal or Essie Smokin' Hot. It's just a little less grey.

Both polishes have pretty smooth application. Neeka was slightly more difficult and needed three coats for even coverage. A more careful application would probably only require two coats.

I ordered these from their website. I've had very good luck with Zoya polishes in general. My favorite thing about them is that they never discontinue colors.

Drugstore Chanel: Revlon Carbonite

Once again, metallics are in for fall. I know this because Chanel released a trio of them, and wherever Chanel goes we dutifully and happily follow.

Revlon has come out with their version of Graphite, which they call Carbonite. I don't have the original for comparison, but it looks to be a very faithful approximation.

 

 Carbonite applies easily and is perfect in two coats.

 I found my bottle at a local CVS a couple weeks ago. It was in its own seasonal display with enough slots for about eight bottles.