Essie’s Spring 2009 Collection is… very Essie-esque. That is, the majority of the collection is composed of neutrals, pinks, and reds. For that reason, the collection didn’t receive the greatest reception from most nail polish enthusiasts. However, a consumer who maybe does not own a lot of nail polish and randomly ventures into a Trade Secret during a trip to the mall might pick up some of these colors on a whim. I can’t help but feel like nail polish companies are targeting that crowd when they release what we consider to be ’safe’ collections.

We have to face it, I don’t think we (I mean ‘we’ as in the people who have a psychotic appreciation for nail color) are the target demographic for most companies. I don’t think anyone would disagree, these are pretty colors but most people who collect nail polish probably feel like they’ve seen it, done it, and done it some more. I’m an exception only because I’m stock-piling work appropriate colors for my legal debut in May and I’ve long accepted that the repetition of red and pink nail polish is just a fact of life (like mosquito bites and chicken pox). But, I can definitely sympathize with everyone’s desire to see Essie step outside of it’s company image.

With all that said, look at the magic that happens when Essie does decide to take a stroll on the wild side and throw collection caution to the wind:

Holy &%$#! Essie Mesmerize, in all her glory, is a  medium blue cream. (I think it’s Super Man blue but my roommates told me I have no idea what I’m talking about.) The color accuracy of the image is a bit off, Mesmerize is a slightly darker blue in real life. Oh man, this is one gorgeous, unique color. Seriously, can we get a slow clap going for this color? Mesmerize is so out of the ordinary for Essie that it almost looks kind of weird in the Essie bottle, like it doesn’t belong. The application was good but a little thicker than the other colors in this collection. It could have worked with 2 coats, but I preferred 3. I got a mega ton of compliments while wearing this polish, a testament to its awesomeness. This is definitely my favorite color of the season so far. I consider it a ‘must own’. But, beware, I suggest wearing a good base coat with this color or you will end up with smurf fingers.

Eternal Optimist is a pink toned nude. This is a great ‘work appropriate’ color. It’s a lighter, less pink version of Rescue Beauty Lounge Om. Eternal Optimist is definitely not a dead on dupe but certainly the closest I’ve seen so far and a good enough substitute. This swatch is 3 coats of color.

Flawless is a muted Barbie pink. Pretty and delicate, but probably not appropriate for ultra conservative work places – A-Okay for every where else. This is 3 coats.

Status Symbol is a mid-toned pink with a semi-jelly consistency. I wore this with Maybelline Clearly in Love layered over it as my pre-Valentine’s Day manicure (I haven’t gotten a chance to post about this manicure yet but I promise I will, even though, I guess it’s a little late now. haha.) This swatch is 3 coats but I feel like it would have looked better with 4th.

One of a Kind is a red/orange/coral cream, similar to my beloved Color Club Sexsea. One of a Kind is slightly less extravagant, more toned down. It applied well in 2 coats, but I used 3 for this photo.

Lacquered Up is a bright, bright, bright true red creme. It exudes sexiness. I wore Lacquered Up to a party and it quickly became a topic of conversation. The application was exceptional, perfect in two coats.

I’m a little late to the party (check out Scrangie’s swatches) but, of course, I have to give you guys my take on one of the biggest collections to hit us this Fall. I wasn’t all that excited for OPI France when I initially saw the promotional images. OPI has a proclivity for releasing several reds and ‘almost blacks’ in just about every collection and, frankly, it gets old. The promos of France made it seem like more of the same. Consequently, I wasn’t expecting to like these. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this collection is actually pretty cool.

Sure, a few of the colors were fairly run of the mill OPI type stuff. I’m not doing back flips for OPI Louvre me Louvre Me Not (ducks to avoid thrown stones, tomatoes, assorted rotting vegetables), but there are several solid gorgeous, unique colors in this collection. There have been a few complaints about colors in the France collection being thick and difficult to apply but I didn’t have any real trouble with them.

As a side note, I really feel like OPI did a good job of designing colors that are representative of French culture and fashion. I say that because I felt like they could have done more with the Indian collection, it’s good to see that they were spot on with France.

*Dies* OPI You Don’t Know Jacques is my absolute favorite color from this collection. Seriously, every once a while an amazing color like this comes out and renews my passion for nail polish. The color is tough to describe, grayish, brownish, dirty, mushroomy? This is my current NOTD, 2 coats, love it. I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again, love these grayed out mushroomy colors. I just can’t get enough.

OPI Yes… I Can-Can! is a shimmery eggplant type color. The base color seems similar to OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. The shimmer seems multi-colored, I see flashes of green, silver, and violet in the bottle. On the nail, it’s silvery and serves to give Yes… I Can-Can! depth. This swatch is 3 coats but with careful application good coverage is possible at 2 coats.

OPI Tickle My France-y is my second favorite color from this collection. It’s a grayed out subtle nude pink – it is chic and sophisticated perfection. Earlier last week, when I went back into the professional nail color purgatory, Tickle My France-y was the first color I chose for the big switch. This color was so beautiful, so flattering that I didn’t even care about being forced to wear professional colors. This mani was 3 coats.

OPI Parlez-vous OPI?, another stand out color, is a grayed-out (or smokey as OPI puts it) plum. The application was slightly troublesome, my bottle was chalky and thick but it’s workable. This is 2 coats.

OPI Louvre Me Lourve Me Not is my least favorite color from this collection. Sorry guys, I know I’m completely alone, everyone else loves this one. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this color but I have a predisposition to disliking shimmers and I’ve just had my fill of shimmery mid-range purples this fall. You can’t really see it in my image but Louvre Me Lourve Me Not has blurple and violet shimmer. This swatch is 3 coats.

OPI I’m Fondue of You is a reddish light chocolaty brown with reddish brown shimmer. I don’t love this one. It’s pretty but not special. This swatch is 2 coats, I think the color would look better with 3.

OPI Eiffel for this Color is an ‘almost black’. OPI says it’s wine but it looks dark purple with violet shimmer to me. It’s similar to Yes… I Can-Can! but they’re different enough to warrant owning both if one is so inclined to do so. Normally, I would say boo to an almost black but I, surprisingly, like this color. This swatch is 2 coats.

Scrangie called OPI Crepes Suzi-ette a ‘mom’ color… it is – but – it’s hot. I think this one ventures into the realm of work appropriate. I’m actually surprised that I like this color too. I probably wouldn’t have batted an eye at this creamy reddish caramel in a store, but it’s actually very flattering on the nail. I would even dare say that it’s unique. This swatch is 2 coats.

There will always be reds in an OPI collection, shockingly there were only two in the France Collection. One of which, OPI Bastille My Heart, is a deep burgandy with violet shimmer throughout. Pretty, but standard.

OPI Baguette Me Not, a creamy salmon, is another shocker. Totally didn’t expect to like this ‘mom’ (haha) color but I love it. Very chic, very work appropriate. This swatch is 2 coats.

OPI A Oui Bit of Red, the other red in the France Collection, is a mid-range bright red. I love reds and I would have loved this one too, but for the shimmer. The saving grace is that the fuschia shimmer is very subtle, hardly noticeable. This swatch is 2 coats.

Finally, OPI We’ll Always Have Paris. Love. It. This is the color that I wanted the annoyingly almost black OPI Lincoln Park After Dark to be. I love LPAD but I always wanted it to be more noticeably purple and vampy. OPI granted my wish with We’ll Always Have Paris. Strangely, OPI says this color is dark coffee… definitely looks dark reddish purple to me.

Special thanks to OPI.

I’m so happy that you guys actually enjoy these work appropriate posts. The work appropriate theme is going to comprise a huge portion of a my posts for a while since I mostly write about the colors I’m currently wearing. : )

In any case, close to 1/4 of my collection are ‘work appropriate’ colors. You’d be surprised at how much variation there are in the classic professional looking colors. Nudes, taupes, pinks, and soft shades don’t have to be boring. I’m going to start a series of articles showcasing 3 of my favorite work appropriate colors from all my favorite brands. First up, Rescue Beauty Lounge.

I’m sure that no one will be shocked that Scrangie was the source of my lemmings for the following 3 colors.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Om is a strangely calming color, making the name very appropriate. Even so, it’s probably the most ’serious’ muted pink in my collection. This swatch is 3 coats of Om, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge is my stick-it-to-the-man color (Ohh hoo hoo I’m sitting in your meeting wearing a color called Grunge, ha!). It’s a serious business appropriate color but at the same time it’s very moody and edgy. This color came out a while ago but it fits perfectly into the current mushroomy grayed-out color trend.  Grunge looks creme 99.9% of the time but it actually has a whitish shimmer throughout. The shimmer is not highly light refractive which is why no one will ever see it. The danger of Grunge (and all similar mushroomy grayed-out colors like it) is that it may be a tough color to pull of successfully. Mushroomies seem to not flatter very pale skin tones and are seemingly more suitable to skin tones like my own. This swatch is 3 coats, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Finally, Rescue Beauty Lounge Opaque Nude. Scrangie’s swatch (linked above) is a more accurate depiction of Opaque Nude’s bottle color. My swatch is darker due to lighting and my skin tone which brings out the ‘nudeness’ of this color. In my opinion, Opaque Nude is border-line business appropriate, perfectly okay for a less conservative office. I say this only because it might be too obvious. I feel like business appropriate colors have to be subtle, pretty but not necessarily noticeable and for most people this color will be very noticeable.