Dearest Friends & Readers,

As many of you know, I’m about to make the transition from academia to real life. Just in the past 5 days, I have graduated, moved all my junk to a new place (still haven’t unpacked, ugh), and started a new a job all while also studying for the bar exam. Unfortunately, because I have to work full time while I’m studying for the bar, I have to stop doing all the things I love. Sadly, nail polish and blogging will have to go on the back burner until after the exam. Regular posting will resume around August 3rd - and I have a toooon of cool stuff to show you guys including all the spring and summer collections from China Glaze, Essie, OPI, Zoya, Barielle Shades and Color Club that I haven’t posted yet and also a ton of polish from Adoree, Orgasm Cosmetics, Eyeko, and many others. I know my blog has been very slow for about a month now and I do apologize, the last semester of law school was surprisingly difficult and this whole transition thing is extremely time consuming. I really hope you guys will stick with me through this tough period. : )

Much Love,

Stephanie

P.S. I wore Chanel Gold Fiction to my graduation as per one of your suggestions. Also, the stash survived the move with no casualties and I absolutely LOVE my new job. I have to say, it’s really weird to have my own office… I’ll even have my own secretary soon. Aaahhhh. I just can’t get used to it. haha. I haven’t had a chance to reply to emails or comments but I will try to get to it as soon as I have some free time. Bear with me!

Overall, this has been an excellent season for nail polish. Even so, of all the Spring collections I’ve been able to get my hands on so far, Misa Living on the Fast Lane is by far my favorite. First and foremost, a collection of all cremes - you guys know how I feel about cremes. Sorry shimmer lovers; creme is forever king on The Polish Addict. Second, although I wouldn’t necessarily call most of these colors unique, as I have some dupish colors in my stash already, I truly, truly love the entire collection. I actually really wanted to wear all these colors as opposed to just swatching or wearing them for the sake of posting. Finally, all the colors were well pigmented and applied exquisitely. Misa is stepping up the game as far as quality goes, that’s for sure.

Misa On the Edge is a very stunning dark royal blue. It’s much darker than Essie Mesmerize, and very similar to OPI Dating a Royal but slightly deeper, darker, and more opaque. My picture is not accurate in terms of the depth and darkness of the blue. It’s definitely a darker blue in person. This is 3 coats, but it looked good with 2 coats.

Misa Dirty Sexy Money is a grayed out aqua… perhaps turquoise? It has the honor of being called my absolute favorite color of the season. I simply do not have the words to describe how much I love this color. Unique, edgy, yet chic. And I think it really suits my skin-tone. It’s perfect in 2 coats. This one is definitely taking a spot in next year’s top 20. (I promise, I will finish this year’s top 20!!)

Misa Push Upon It is a marooned raspberry. It’s a very elegant, sexy shade, with perfect application in two coats. It’s a tad lighter than OPI Miami Beet which I have yet to swatch. Push Upon It is actually pretty similar to Zoya Moxie.

Misa Right Here Now, No More Later is a bright sky blue. Applied well at two coats but this swatch is 3. I haven’t done a side by side swatch but in the bottle, the color is practically identical to Zoya Yummy and OPI Just Groovy. The one difference is that both Yummy and Just Groovy have finicky applications while RHN,NML applied very well.

Misa Speed of Life is a bright tangerine orange. Like all the others it applied well, this is 3 coats. This color was actually pretty surprising. I was expecting a bright but dusty light orange because of the way the color looks in the bottle but it’s actually a very bright orange-y orange… if that makes sense.

Misa Stop Rewinding, Just Fast Forward is a bright mango-y red. Again, great application, this is 3 coats but it looked good at 2 coats. Like Speed of Life, this color looked dusty to me in the bottle but it’s pretty bright on the nail.

I’ve asked you guys to send me any stories of bad customer service, fraud, or other questionable business practices by nail polish companies or e-tailers. One reader, Rachel has been having a huge problem with Footsiesbiz.com since last November. Here’s is the story in her own words:

“Hi there,
I emailed you last November (I remember it was just before the election! BOO Palin) about my ridiculous experience with Footsies (footsiesbiz.com). Last I mentioned, they had taken my money after an order in September or October and gone completely AWOL. Many attempts to contact them were fruitless. I filed a complaint and then a dispute with paypal and nothing came of it.

Well, update:
Paypal settled the dispute in my favor, BUT said they were unable to provide any sort of refund. Stupid, no?
Better yet: many weeks later, I received a haphazardly-shipped package from footsies. You will love this: it was full of a totally random order! I had ordered several Color Club Neons and one China Glaze. What I received: two bottles of the same Color Club, one bottle each of two other colors, and 5 or 6 completely random and totally ugly, never-heard-of-before polishes. Like, some dollar store crap from the 90’s. Do not want! Also, no receipt, nothing. It was like they were saying “here, take this and f%^& off!” complete and utter scam.

So that completes my woeful tale of being scammed by footsies.”

I’ve never heard of Footsies or had any experiences with them but I’d be interested in hearing if any of you had any encounters with them, positive or negative. And I’m pretty shocked to hear that Paypal didn’t refund the money. Shame on them.

I typically don’t flip out over sales but this is a truly extraordinary, once in a life time gift from the nail polish gods. Rescue Beauty Lounge was running a 75% off sale of their bath and body products. Apparently, there was some sort of glitch in the system that allowed some people to get 75% off their entire order, even though the discount was meant for bath and body products only. In response to one would-be buyer’s thoughtful, honest email about how she did not place an order because she knew that the code was only meant for bath and body products and thought it was be dishonest to take advantage of what was obviously a glitch, Ji Baek is offering this one time conciliatory sale.

Tomorrow from 12 to 2 pm EST, you can get 50% off of all Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes if you buy at least one bath and beauty product, using the code Mea Culpa. I know a lot of you guys hesitate to buy RBL because of the hefty price so definitely take advantage of this amazing offer. Here are my swatches of some of Rescue Beauty Lounge colors.

OPI Give Me the Moon was included in the 2007 Summer collection Night Brights. Not a particularly ‘bright’ color per se, but definitely a unique, interesting color. The base shade is like an icey gray but the dense blue iridescent shimmer gives it a bluish over all glow. It’s definitely a sheer-ish color but this swatch is only 3 coats.

Here is a photo taken with flash to exhibit the exquisite shimmer.  I’d be interested in comparing this color with the new OPI Breathe Life (which I have yet to obtain, curses!) The base color looks different but Breathe Life seems to have the same shimmer that makes this color so great.

I am overwhelmed with sorrow whenever I see The Nailphile’s KOTDs. I die a little inside because I know that no matter how hard I try, Konad will always hates me. In this pitiful state I’ve learned to love, and see beauty in, my failed attempts… it’s not an ugly konad failure, no I say, it’s um… art deco. The accident pictured above is just such an example, the stamp is not supposed to look like that, but in this case I actually like the final product. This konadicure is Misa Dirty Sexy Money (one of my favorite new colors for Spring 2009) and China Glaze VIII used with Konad plate 65. VIII is a gorgeous deep purple creme, however, the formula is too thin so it’s not really suitable for Konad. The result is similar to a linoleum stamp print. The look works with this particular pattern, perhaps not with others. I actually don’t own very many Konad special polishes. I don’t know why but I just can’t bring myself to buy them without first exhausting my stash for a normal polish that works well with Konad. I haven’t found a good purple Konad polish substitute so I think I’m finally going to give in and get their purple polishes using The Nailphile’s WowSoCool 20% code. Unless you guys have any suggestions for me?

I haven’t gotten a chance to reply to recent comments yet but I will soon, I promise.

I’m ashamed to say this but I totally forgot about the first anniversary of this blog coming up. If it hadn’t been for my thoughtful friend and reader, Kyosuke, I would have forgotten completely - I’ve just been so swamped with life lately, I apologize.

In any case, I thought for this special post I would reflect a bit on what this blog means to me personally. I started The Polish Addict last year during the final examination period. I’m a notorious productive procrastinator (I procrastinate by doing everything other than the thing I’m supposed to be doing) and this site was just the newest project in a long line of things I invented to absorb my study time. I never expected that this site would become as popular as it has become but I am so glad that I endeavored to write it. This site has enriched my life, truly. I have made so many wonderful friends along the way. I thought the best way to celebrate this anniversary would be to show you guys a polish sent to me by one of the amazing people I had the pleasure of encountering through blogging. My friend and reader Magda sent me this polish all the way from Poland.

This picture just doesn’t do this color any justice at all. Vipera 558 is green micro glitter suspended in black transparent polish. The shimmer is extremely complex and gives the polish a stunning multi-dimensional depth. It flashes different shades of green and copper. Honestly, 558 is one of the most beautiful polishes I have ever seen. The application was flawless. I don’t know much about this brand. I haven’t encountered it in the United States so I’m assuming it’s only available in Central Europe.

The forces of the universe have been conspiring to prevent me from posting this collection. First, a while back, I decided to take a new approach to swatching. Instead of just painting my nails for a quick photo and just writing about my brief opinions, I decided to actually wear all the colors in collections I review. The result was a copious amount of notes on each color, similar to what I usually write for posts on manicures. But then, to my chagrin, the evil google virus did away with all my efforts. As far as nail polish goes, the notes lost, are the equivalent of the Library of Alexandria burning down. Sadly, here are my briefer impressions based on what I remember from wearing this colors.

Color Club had an interesting concept for this spring collection, these colors were intended to be mixed and matched to create various funky frenches. I can totally see where they were going with that idea, these colors (a mixture of shimmery sheers and opaques) do compliment each other well in the french format. However, this collection also lends itself to amazing layering combinations. I would have loved to have shown you guys the sheers from both Catwalk Queen and Femme Fatale over black and white but I’ve been so busy I just haven’t had the time. But, fear not, Scrangie has some great swatches of these shades over black.

Color Club Femme Fatale consists of ultra sparkly pink and yellow toned micro-glitter suspended in a gel like whitish polish that applies clear. This is 4 coats, it’s simply gorgeous over black. (Please excuse the perpetual yellowness of my nails.)

Color Club Oooooo La La is a stunning, wearable white with a pearl finish. I usually don’t like pearl finishes but I absolutely loved this color. This is 3 coats. The application was a bit off - the coats applied unevenly so you have to be careful to be apply as evenly as possible. While I would consider this color a PITA, it’s not impossible to work with and I think the pay off is worth the extra effort. This color is perfect as a base on which to layer the sheer colors in this collection.

Color Club Oui! Oui! Oui! consists of a very fine green shimmer in a sheer whitish base. My picture isn’t very accurate as far the shimmer, the green is way more obvious in real life. This one is also stunning over black. I believe this swatch is 4 coats.

Color Club Revvvolution is just, wow. WOW. I guess I might be biased because I love all holos - but this one is particularly brilliant. It’s a dark charcoal, pretty much black for all purposes, medium grain holo. The holo has a predominately greenish cast to it. Revvvoltion is very well pigmented. For me, it was essentially perfect in one coat but I applied two for good measure. I haven’t done a side by side swatch, but from memory, I can tell you that this is darker and more opaque than OPI My Private Jet. MPJ is one of my favorite polishes of all time, but I actually think that Revvvolution might take it’s place.

I’ve gotten a lot of complaints about the quality of my images of holographics so I’ve been trying to find alternative forms of lighting that are better suited to showing the holographic effect of these polishes. This picture isn’t as vivid as Revvvolution is in real life but I think you get the idea.

Color Club Where’s the Soiree? is a black creme that doesn’t dry glossy. It’s not exactly matte, but closer to a satin finish. It applies well in 2 to 3 coats. I would want to maintain the unique finish so I would probably either use no top coat or a matte top coat. Where’s the Soiree? is also perfect as a base for layering the other colors in this collection.

Color Club Worth the Risque is a medium grain holographic silver with a bluish cast. Like Revvvolution, the holo has a greenish cast to it. It’s a 2 to 3 coater. LOVE it.

Here it is in different lighting… *drool/dies*.

Even though I spend the GNP of a small country on polish, generally, I can’t bring myself to dish the big bucks for Chanel. I’m lucky though, Chanels seem to find their way to me despite my resistance to buying them. Chanel Cosmique 28 came to me by way of the lovely RaspberryBeetle who was also responsible for the best thing that ever happened to me. Aside from the fact that this polish is another example of RB’s other-worldly kindness, I know absolutely nothing about Cosmique and google was no help. The origin of this polish is a complete mystery to me.

The mysterious Cosmique is a very chic blue, actually, it’s an almost black with a deep blue sheen. It’s very fine blue shimmer in a smokey semi-sheer black base. I don’t have Chanel Blue Satin or Sally Hansen After Midnight  for comparison but word on the street is that all these polishes are fairly similar to each other.

The application is a bit streaky but it evens out well by the second and third coat. I love the color but my one  major gripe, like with Gold Fiction, is that the bottle is opaque, making it impossible to know how much of the polish remains. Although, I’m starting to feel like that might not be such a bad thing because I become incredibly distressed when I notice a quantity dip in a bottle of polish. The opaqueness hides the sad truth so I can save the craziness for another day.

Every once in a while I find a polish, so incredible, so… magical, that it rekindles my love affair with this hobby. Nfu Oh 51 is just such a color.

Behold, probably the most amazing nail polish on Earth:

Wow.

I’m not even sure how to begin describing this color. It’s in the same family of colors as Clarins 230. Actually, 51 has been helping quench 230 lemmings for a while now, it’s probably the closest thing you can easily purchase on the market right now. It’s by no means a dupe, not even close (51 is a deeper purple than 230 and has multichromatic flakies which 230 does not), but it will definitely help the pains of a bad lemming.

This swatch is 4 coats, but I could have gotten away with 3. 51 has a reddish purple jelly-like base color, but the polish flashes dark purple, blue, green and magic, yes, magic. It’s like an explosion of color, literally. The shimmer is mostly fiery but in some angles it flashes green or a gorgeous blue sheen. This image is a little off in terms of the base color, it’s more reddish purple, sort of like a tyrian purple. You can see the multichrome flakies in action below.

I’m fairly new to Nfu Oh, but so far I’m impressed. Their color range is nothing short of outstanding. They have every color under the sun in creme (which means the world to me since I’m not a fan of shimmers) and tons of high intensity holographics. My love for their bottle design is seriously unparalleled. I just cannot imagine a cooler bottle design than a corset top ball gown shape.

Right now Nfu Oh is only available from one source: fabuloustreet.com. Fear not, the seller is flexible, reliable, and friendly.

Ji Baek has out done herself yet again. For the past few seasons, Rescue Beauty Lounge has consistently pushed the boundaries by releasing innovative unique collections that have well exceeded my expectations; Spring 2009 is no exception. I have just one word: GLITTER. Because glitter is typically (and erroneously) associated with a younger age group, Ji set out to create a glittery polish that is more accessible to ‘adults’. While I don’t really agree that glitter is age exclusive, I think she accomplished what she set out to do. These polishes are ultra bling, very glimmer-y, but at the same time wearable and not gaudy.

Also, I really appreciate companies that step outside of their image. I associate RBL with chic edgy cremes. I never, ever, ever expected to see a set of chunky glitters donning the Rescue Beauty name. Ji took a risk, an awesomely blingy gorgeous risk, and I, for one, am very pleased.

These polishes consist of very dense multi-sized, multi-shaped brilliant glitter suspended in clear polish. You’ll see extremely tiny flecks of glitter (which help to build opacity and provide depth to bling) along with regular-sized glitter, both round and square shaped. I think these polishes are too dense to be used as a glitter top coat unless a thick coat of glitter is the look you’re trying to achieve.

All these swatches are 3 coats of polish and 2 coats of top coat.

Locavore is gold, teal, and amethyst glitter. The main complaint about these  is that the glitter is too chunky, causing a rough finish. It’s definitely not smooth, but I found that one coat of regular topcoat, topped with one coat of Seche Vite gets rid of the bumpiness satisfactorily.

The light refraction from the glitter created so much bling that my camera had a hard time focusing. Here’s an indirect shot that’s more true to color.

*drool* This is a super close up shot. Absolutely gorgeous.

Frugalista is composed of silver and amethyst glitter. I wore this one as a manicure. It’s sort of like an optical illusion, the shades of the glitter combine to create a platinum flash. This one is definitely a show stopper.

Here’s an indirect side view for more accuracy.

And again, a close up shot. I usually don’t do ultra close ups but I’m trying to display the different sizes and shapes of the glitter.

And finally Look Rich, Be Cheap is gold and purple glitter (slightly deeper than the amethyst shade found in the other two polishes.) Lovacore and Look Rich, Be Cheap really remind me Mardi Gras.

Speaking of which, as a Florida Gator, if I had any kind of school spirit what-so-ever, I would not love this polish as much as I do because gold and purple are LSU colors. haha.

Close up shot for full bling appreciation.

In my humble opinion, this was a really successful foray into the world of bling. I really hope it’s not a one time thing for Ji.

I know I’ve been apologizing a lot lately but I have one more. My computer caught a horrendous virus last week and I haven’t been able to do anything on it since then. My images are okay, but sadly all the notes I’ve taken on all the colors I’ve been swatching were lost. That means I have to go by memory and some of these colors were swatched so long ago I’ll only have a vague recollection of my impressions. Also, if you’ve sent me an email or left a comment, I swear I’m going to get to it soon, I’m just totally disorganized and I’m trying to get everything together.

In any case, to get back into the regular flow of nail polish blogging I’m starting off with the Lancome Pink Irreverence Collection which is in stores now. I have the Lancome Le Magnetiques but this is my first rodeo with their Le Vernis line. These are some pricey polishes but I have to say I’m pretty impressed overall. The formula for both these colors is excellent - smooth, perfect application. The brush size and wand length is absolute perfection. The wand is just long enough to keep the polish flowing consistently without cuticle pooling. The brush is like a toned-down version of OPI’s Pro-wide, making Lancome’s brush shape and size just perfect for the shape of my nails. My one major critizism is that Lancome opted to go with the non-removable square cap. Other companies like Chanel and Butter London make the square cap removable, which is preferrable because square caps can be awkward to hold. With that said, I love the over all style of the bottle - mirrorred cap and a sleek bottle body with a mirrored silver rose stamped in the corner.

(Ahhh, I’m kicking myself right now because I had such elaborate meticulous notes concerning this color.) Piha Black is black (I’m captain obvious) with glass fleck glitter. My picture doesn’t properly exhibit the sparkliness of the glitter - it’s visible but not in an ‘in your face’ kind of way. There are a few blacks with glass fleck glitter that have varying prices and are different degrees of rarity on the market. Just to name a few, there’s Dior Black Sequins, Sally Hansen Salon Raven’s Wing, OPI Baby It’s Coal Outside, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Black Diamond and Pure Ice Electric. You can see comparisons of a few those on Steph’s Closet and if I can ever get it together, I’ll have comparisons of the latter 3. Without having side-by-side swatches for true comparitive value and by only eye balling the bottles, my initial impression is that none of these look exactly alike. There are slight variations in the depth of the black as well as the luster and density of the glitter for each polish, however, if you’re on a recession budget the lower end polishes (that Pure Ice will only set you back $1.50, tops) might be worth your consideration. What makes Piha Black stand out from the others, at least for me, is that it’s completely opaque in one coat. Making it not only perfect for nail art as pictured below, but also saving application and giving you double bang for your buck.

Sassiness is a soft translucent pink, perfect for french manicures. The subtle genius of the Pink Irrevence Collection is the dichotomy between the edgy black and the feminine pink… which together… kick butt. Instead of doing a traditional funky french, I decided to do a chevron and a half moon just for illustration purposes, I absolutely love the way these colors compliment each other. My index and middle fingers are 4 coats of Sassiness. It applies perfectly so one coat looked excellent but I wanted to test buildability. Sadly, it doesn’t build. Sassiness looks pretty much the same at 4 coats as it does at 2 coats, which is pretty much the hallmark of a good french manicure base color. I can only hope that the colection’s designer, Aaron De Mey, is secretly attempting to usher Lancome into the realm of nail art. I hope Lancome takes the plunge.

I’m in the middle of the worst week ever as far as due dates go but I wanted to take a minute to update so as to not neglect you guys too much. I promise at the end of this week I’ll reply to all emails and comments, bear with me.

BB Couture for Nails Electric Avenue is a ghostly watery blue from the 80’s Collection (in case the name didn’t give it away.) I’m not a fan of the 80s but I do love this polish. It’s so light that I almost want to put it in the off-white category but it’s definitely visibly blue. I know a few of you are probably hoping, so I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Electric Avenue is a lot lighter than Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom.

The application was a pain. It was tough to build bottle color. I used 4 coats, which usually wouldn’t bother me but during application it seemed like 4 coats wasn’t going to be enough. If I had had more time, I probably would have done more coats because 4 just didn’t look good. I was really frustrated because I thought the outcome was going to look crappy and I just didn’t have time to do another manicure. But then the strangest thing happened, I honestly have never encountered something like this before. As the polish dried, the color evened itself out. The dried end product is stunning and looks nothing like it’s wet mid-application counterpart. I actually liked it enough that I wore it for 4 days over my mini-vacation last week. It’s practically unheard of for me to wear a polish for more than 2 days. If you decide to get this color, my advice is to not let yourself get discouraged by the difficult and seemingly unattractive application, it strangely works itself out once it dries and the pay off is huge.

You can purchase BB Couture for Nails on Overall Beauty as well as the BB Couture for Nails main page.

There are a million whites with gold shimmer (just to name a few: Essie Amalfi, Essie Tennis Corset, OPI She’s Golden, OPI Oh So Glam!, Icing’s Goddess, and Orly Meringue). And I love every single one. To me each one is unique in its own way. Rescue Beauty Lounge Moxie is no exception. It’s an off-white with iridescent gold shimmer that occasionally flashes a very subtle goldish-green. The amount of gold shimmer in relation to the off-white is somewhere between that of Essie Amalfi (which is almost completely gold with very little white) and the OPIs from the Beyond Chic Collection (that have a more subtle gold shimmer). When Moxie isn’t glimmering gold, the combination of the white and the gold together creates a sort of white platinum shade, very chic. This color is transitionally work appropriate, meaning no one at the office is going to bat an eye at it but it’s in no way boring.

Moxie’s formula is thin. I needed 4 coats to get full coverage. The first time I wore this color, several months ago, I had a lot of trouble with the application. We’re talking some major issues with bubbling, so bad, that I didn’t take a picture that time. As you can see from the image this time, I didn’t have that problem, so what changed? There are a lot of things that can contribute to bubbling. The usual culprits are drafts (like an overhead ceiling fan), oil on the nail bed (which can be avoided by wiping with a nail prep or vinegar) and applying coats of color too thickly. I think my problem last time might have been my own application shortcomings. The first time I wore this color I was still applying very thick coats of color. Even with very think coats, I do still get bubbling sometimes with some polishes but a coat of Seche Vite usually takes care of it. Seriously, it just makes bubbles disappear. (If you have yet to experience the miracle that is Seche Vite - go buy it now). The other factor that may have contributed to my more successful application this time is Rescue Beauty Lounge’s ridge filling base coat which I used for this manicure but not the previous one.

Sorry for my extended absence. I took the MPRE last week and then took a mini-vacation for spring break. I’m back now so normal posting will resume. : )

I like the approach that Barielle took to Spring. Now wait, before you throw stones, let me explain. This Spring collection is not very Spring-like, it’s all work-safe variations of pinks and a sheer taupe, whereas traditional Spring colors tend to be bright. Barielle probably would have gotten fire from me for releasing a collection like this with nothing more. But, Elle and Barielle, knowing best, released the Spring and Summer collections nearly simultaneously.  Together, these collections contain something for everyone and my irrational (irrational because soon I won’t be able to wear them) desire for out of the ordinary colors is well met. (I’ll have swatches of Barielle Summer 2009 soon but Scrangie already has some excellent swatches for your viewing pleasure.)

As an aside, I’m trying a different approach to my swatching. I’m going to be using for left hand for a little while in order to get swatching done a faster. I’m sure you have all noticed that I’m really behind on the Spring collections so I’m playing catch up. The added benefit is that my left hand is no where near as yellowed as my right hand so you’ll get more accurate swatches. Bare with me as I get the kinks worked out, photographing my left hand is still very awkward.

Barielle Nauti Gal is a translucent taupe with tiny flecks of translucent glitter. It’s a great professional/work appropriate shade. I’m a little disappointed in it only because it looks opaque in the bottle. I am a huge fan of taupe so I was really excited for this color only to find that it applied sheer. I love sheers but I just can’t wear them properly anymore, my nails are just too yellow. Nauti Gal applies very well. Not a streak in sight so this would make an excellent french manicure color at 1 or 2 coats. Even though it applies sheer, it is build-able so at 3 to 4 coats you get a semi-translucent nearly opaque shade of taupe. If my nails weren’t so horrifyingly yellow, this color would be stunning. This swatch is 4 coats.

Sailor’s Delight is a somewhat muted although vivid medium pink creme, very flattering. At first glance I thought it was going to be too pink to be considered professional but on my skin-tone the color tones down and the muted-ness of the pink becomes more pronounced. I suspect it might look different on girls with lighter skin. The consistency of the polish is chalky but it applies well, this is 3 coats.

Beaches and Dreams is a very light sandy-ish creamy peach creme (a little tough to describe haha). I think it might be too stark for an ultra-conservative office but it’d be perfect any where else. I really like this color, it’s like a peachier version of Color Club Coastal Creme. It’s my favorite from this set.

Skinny Dip is a delicate muted pink nude sheer. It’s perfect for french manicures at 1 or 2 coats but the color is build-able. This swatch is 4 coats with no top coat.

Sand-al Chic is less muted than Skinny Dip and more pink. It’s also makes an excellent french manicure shade but builds well. This is 4 coats with no top coat.

And finally, Shell Shock is a slightly lighter than a traditional barbie pink. It’s sheer like Skinny Dip and Sand-al Chic but I don’t think it would make a good french manicure color because it’s a little too bright. Also I had trouble with the application. This is 4 coats. The color applies smoothly but the sheerness is such that it takes some effort to build it properly.