I had a dinner party at my apartment the other night and it’s so funny how heated conversations about nail polishes can get! So many of us have serious loyalties and two of my friends, after eying my polish collection, began a “heated” discussion about the pros and cons of Butter vs. Essie vs. OPI vs. Deborah Lippmann. On a side note, a fun fact I picked up while this was all going down was that Butter London is actually made in Seattle and has no London affiliation whatsoever (I still love them….)! In the end we had to put it to rest because everyone’s nail chemistry is different so a shade that will last a week on your nails may last two days on someone else’s. Plus colors can look completely different depending on your skin tone. Personally I care as much about long-wear as I do color, which explains why essie is one of my fave polish brands. They’re so often ahead of color trends so even though their shades tend to crack quickly on my nails, I’ll often use them for my DIY manicures.
Essie’ Spring 2012 collection includes two shades I’m absolutely obsessed with: Navigate Her
Also new in the world of polish is OPI’s Holland collection, which officially launches tomorrow. The collection includes 12 shades ($8.50 each), inspired by Holland. I’ve never been to Holland so I have no idea how reflective they actually are of the region, but I’m loving that this collection includes equal part shimmer polish and creme polish (it’s a little hard to tell from the image above, but seven of the polishes are shimmery – mostly the ones on the bottom).
For the most part I’m not super into shimmery shades unless there’s very dense glitter involved (these ones in particular have small sparkle flecks), but I LOVE Kiss Me on My Tulips (the hot pink on the top right), Red Lights Ahead…Where? (the orange on the top left), and A Roll in The Hague (coral-red – it’s the second on the top from the left). They’re all high-shine, timeless colors that are super versatile. They’re the perfect kinds of shades for me on weeks where I’m too busy to change my polish color with my outfits because OPI lasts a good week on my nails without chipping. The other shades in the collection are:
Vampsterdam (deep purple)
Thanks a Wind Million (sea green)
Did You ’ear About Van Gogh? (sandy bisque)
Dutch ’Ya Just Love OPI? (shimmery plum)
I Don’t Give a Rotterdam! (steal-blue shimmer)
I Have Herring Problem (shimmery green-blue)
Pedal Faster Suzi! (pink lavender shimmer)
Wooden Shoe Like to Know? (shimmery chocolate-brown)
Gouda Gouda Two Shoes (shimmery rose).
How cool are the names? Gouda Gouda…!