China Glaze Vintage Vixen Part One

When the promo pictures for China Glaze Vintage Vixen came out, I was pretty excited for this collection. I love fall collections and this one contains all of my fall necessities- a purple, a blue, a green, and some interesting neutrals. It also has plenty of reds if that's your thing. I skipped all of the reds and ended up with five polishes from this collection- Classic Camel, Ingrid, Emerald Fitzgerald, Midnight Mission and First Class Ticket. I know you've probably seen these swatches 9,000 times already, but here's my take on this fall collection.

China Glaze Midnight Mission, two coats, no flash

Midnight Mission is seriously gorgeous. It's a deep, super shimmery blue that I will be rocking all fall. It has all the sparkle of a glitter polish, but it is smooth and removes easily like a normal shimmer polish. It does remind me of OPI Russian Navy Suede with a shiny top coat though. I will have to do a real comparison for you. In my pictures, it looks like there is VNL, but to the naked eye, there was absolutely no VNL. This is why I sometimes do unnecessary third coats for pictures. It's really a two-coater though. I'd like to call this a Must Have, but I'll have to wait to see how much it looks like RN Suede.

China Glaze Midnight Mission, two coats, no flash

China Glaze First Class Ticket, two coats, no flash

Again with the VNL that does not exist except in pictures! First Class Ticket is my favorite of this collection. It is the deep purple I've been searching for. I have wanted a super dark purple that NEVER looks black and it's been tough to find. First Class Ticket accomplishes this goal with loads of shimmer along for the ride. It is much prettier than my pictures make it out to be. Purples are so tough to capture. This is definitely a MUST HAVE!!!!

China Glaze First Class Ticket, two coats, with flash

China Glaze Classic Camel, three coats, no flash

Classic Camel is my surprise second favorite of the collection. I say surprise because I'm not usually a neutral lover. However, this tan/khaki polish has lots of really beautiful gold shimmer that makes it more exciting than your standard neutral polish. My mom really loves this one too because it's completely office appropriate, without being a total snooze. You can definitely stare at this one during moments of boredom. I did three coats, but you could probably get away with two. Classic Camel is another Must Have! The first picture is more color accurate, the second is a little washed out. Also, in the pictures, this makes my hands look red. However, when I had it on, I thought it was actually really flattering.

China Glaze Classic Camel, three coats, no flash

I'll have to show you Emerald Fitzgerald and Ingrid tomorrow. When I was swatching these, a huge dark cloud came along and ruined my light.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen is available online at Transdesign.

Also, I'm putting up a poll about the OPI Swiss Collection. I want to know if you care about any of those colors, if you plan to buy them, or if OPI is just too pricey/hard to find for you to care anymore.

Nail of the Day: Essie Pretty Edgy with Sinful Colors Paris

Two coats Essie Pretty Edgy with one coat Sinful Colors Paris, no flash

Check out this hot combo I wore the other day!! It's two coats of Essie Pretty Edgy (read my review here) with one coat of Sinful Colors Paris. Sinful Colors Paris is a gold glitter in a clear base. The glitter is all the same size, kind of small-ish. I think it works best as a top coat over another polish. I did try it alone. After three coats, I still had a lot of nail visible. Plus, I think it just looks amazing over bright colors like Pretty Edgy!!!

Two coats Essie Pretty Edgy with one coat Sinful Colors Paris, no flash

Essie Pretty Edgy is available online at Transdesign. Sinful Colors polishes are available at a Walgreens near you.

In other news, my China Glaze Vintage Vixen polishes finally came, so I'll probably get those up on Friday!

Blog News

I added the Twitter widget to the blog today for fun. If you aren't following me on Twitter already, make sure you do! I am going to have a contest shortly (my 200 Follower Contest!) and being a follower on Twitter will definitely be a way to enter!

Follow me here

I tweet from my cell phone, so I try to update it when I have cool nail news and things like that. Recently, I mentioned having seen pictures of China Glaze's holiday collection. Let me just say- GLITTER PARTY!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait!

Polish of the Week: SinfulColors Dancing Nails

SinfulColors Dancing Nails, three coats, no flash

Just a really quick Polish of the Week post today! The weather has been horrible here. I had some more pictures planned for today, but it's been pouring all day.

Polish of the Week is SinfulColors Dancing Nails. I'm on a SinfulColors kick right now. This one is a metallic rose color, with a really slight duochrome effect. It's a very pretty color. It's probably not completely unique, but it's definitely a good staple in my collection. It's quite elegant looking, without being boring. I did three coats, but two was fine off-camera. The formula was a nice consistency, not too thick, not too thin. The brush was the same as the Timbleberry brush- kind of firm. But I'm growing to appreciate that. It offers a lot of control over polish application.

Plus, as a dancer, this gets polish of the week just for the name Dancing Nails LOL!!!

SinfulColors Dancing Nails, three coats, no flash

SinfulColors polishes are available at your local Walgreens. Plus, the SinfulColors website will have an online store soon, how great is that!!??

Comparison Series: Coral Cremes

Sinful Colors Timbleberry and MAC Scorcher

Sorry for the delay in getting this comparison of coral cremes up! It's my mom's birthday this week, so I've been running around trying to get good presents/delicious cake, etc.!

Left to right: SinfulColors Timbleberry, MAC Scorcher, OPI Mod-ern Girl, OPI on Collins Ave, no flash

So I think that all of these are fairly close. The average person probably wouldn't want all of them. However, SinfulColors Timbleberry is definitely more red than the others. MAC Scorcher is more of a pinky coral and is a softer sort of hue than Timbleberry. Mod-ern Girl is the most different of these four polishes. It's much lighter and softer. It is also the least red/orange of these and has more of a dusty pink quality. OPI on Collins Ave is very orange in comparison to the rest of these. So, for me, I'm glad I own them all, as they do have their differences. There are no dead-on dupes. However, for the average polish user, MAC Scorcher and SC Timbleberry are pretty close. If you missed out on Scorcher/passed because of price, pick up Timbleberry!

Left to right: SinfulColors Timbleberry, MAC Scorcher, OPI Mod-ern Girl, OPI on Collins Ave, no flash

Left to right: SinfulColors Timbleberry, MAC Scorcher, OPI Mod-ern Girl, OPI on Collins Ave, no flash

Polish of the Week: Sinful Colors Timbleberry

Boy, the Polish of the Week feature sure got abandoned in recent weeks!! But I'm bringing it back because I still have loads of forgotten and obscure goodies to show you.

SinfulColors Timbleberry, two coats, no flash

The Polish of the Week this week should also be named "Bargain of the Week". SinfulColors Timbleberry is $1.99, like all other SinfulColors polishes! Now, I don't really know what a Timbleberry is, but this color is gorgeous and screams Summer! It's one of those orange-y/red/coral/little bit pink polishes that I think almost everyone loves during the summer months.

For some reason, I left this beauty sitting on my dresser for a month. I think I thought it was going to be kind of sheer and that I would need like 5 coats to reach bottle color (it did cost $1.99 after all!). But that was NOT the case at all! Shown is just two coats!! The coats coats applied super smoothly and dried in good time. The brush on this polish was kind of stiff, but I actually liked it. It just takes some getting used to. This polish would be fantastic on toes as well! I would call this a Must Have if you're looking for this kind of color. For $1.99, you can't beat it! I only got one picture in before it started to thunderstorm, but I think I'm going to do a coral/red/orange comparison post this week, so I'll post more pics then.

SinfulColors polishes are available at a Walgreens near you.

By the way, did you know that Chanel Particuliere is available on Chanel.com again? If you missed out the first time, you can grab it now, along with Chanel's fall polish, Paradoxal.

China Glaze Fight Like a Woman Preview

Along with Awakening, the Halloween collection, China Glaze will also release a breast cancer awareness collection this fall, named Fight Like a Woman. The collection will include three pink polishes- pink being the color of the breast cancer awareness movement.

Here's what China Glaze had to say about the collection:

"Join China Glaze Nail Lacquer this October in the battle against breast cancer, one nail at a time! The professional line of nail lacquers brings on the fight with three powerful pinks. Inspired by the women who fight everyday and those that support them in their battle, these fabulous shades are sure to help you defeat the toughest opponents with style and class. China Glaze representative Rachel Schafer voiced that “in an industry dominated by women, for women, it is important that we strive to work together towards finding a cure.”

The three colors in “Fight Like A Woman” include:

Encouragement – A baby pink shimmer that brings on the cheer

Endurance – Power through the punches with this raspberry shimmer

Empowerment – Stand up tall with this cotton-candy crème on your nails

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organization dedicated to the science of cancer and promoting international collaboration in cancer research.

The “Fight Like A Woman” Collection will be available at professional beauty supply stores and select salons this September. Availability will be very limited internationally."

Endurance, the raspberry shimmer, sounds pretty to me, and I'm sure my mom will love Empowerment. Are you going to pick up any of these three polishes?

China Glaze Halloween Collection Preview- Awakening

The fall collection news is coming fast and furious these days. Let me tell you though, nothing excites me like GLITTERRRRRRRRR... errr, I mean, the news I just received. China Glaze will be releasing a special Halloween collection featuring three totally unique sounding polishes. Here's what they said about the collection:

"Sink your claws into these three ghoulish glitters from China Glaze, perfect for a night of fright! Uniquely alluring and unlike any other Halloween colors before them, this collection is sure to entice. Colors in the promotion include:

· Zombie Zest: A mossy green shade with gold flecks of micro glitter.

· Ick-A-Body: A dark green base chock full of orange glitter.

· Mummy May I: Vampy, wine colored purple with flecks of hot pink glitter"

I can't even speak right now. I'm so excited. It's three glitters. Zombie Zest is one of the polish names. OMG.

Background info- Halloween has been my favorite holiday for a large portion of my life. In elementary school, my best friend and I would start counting down the days to Halloween as much as 90 days ahead of time. We also would turn my living room into a "haunted house" and dress as witches year round. So obviously, "Zombie Zest"= made for me.

Apparently this release will be pretty limited and will be available at Sally Beauty Supply and some e-tailers. I will basically sleep outside Sally Beauty until I get these. K thx bye.

Zoya Fall 2010 Wonderful Collection Part Two

I finally have the poor last three polishes in the Zoya Wonderful Collection. Let me just say- these may be last, but they're definitely NOT least!!!! I think I like these three Wonderfuls better than the Part One polishes.

Zoya Kelly, three coats, no flash

Let's start off strong with Kelly, the "paynes gray creme". Kelly is GORGEOUS. It's gray, purple, brown and slate blue all rolled into one polish. The pictures all kind of came out differently, but I think that's because there are so many colors in this polish that it does look different depending on the light. This is three coats, again just for the camera, it's opaque in two. I am including the blurry-ish picture below because it's probably the best representation of how the color appears in most lights. The first picture shows off the blue-ishness of the polish, but it doesn't look that blue most of the time. None of my other gray cremes are a match for this one. Kelly is unique and by far my new favorite gray creme.

Zoya Kelly, three coats, no flash

Zoya Kelly, three coats no flash

Zoya Stacy, three coats, no flash

Next up is Stacy. Let's just stare at the picture.
A. I want to eat it.
B. I want to wear it every day.
Stacy is beautiful cranberry lusciousness. I love dark polishes and this one is a total winner. In the second picture, those aren't dents in the polish, that is my reflection!! The Wonderfuls are all EXTREMELY shiny and Stacy was perhaps the shiniest. You could easily get away with no top coat.

Zoya Stacy, three coats, no flash

Zoya Burke, three coats, no flash

Finally, we have Burke, described as a sienna red creme. I think this is really more like a berry kind of color. Definitely a red berry, but "sienna" makes me think more brown than this. Anyway, this is a very flattering, very pretty color. Not the most exciting in the collection, but beautiful and super shiny nonetheless. Again, that is my reflection in my nails LOL.

Zoya Burke, three coats, no flash

The Zoya Wicked and Wonderful Collections kinda make me wish it was fall. Seriously. I love summer and bright/neon polishes, but I am ALLLLLL about the darks come fall. I will be wearing these constantly!!

The Zoya Fall 2010 Wicked and Wonderful Collections are available online at Art of Beauty.

The polishes in this post were sent to me by an Art of Beauty PR rep. For more information, please see our Disclosure Policy.

Sephora By OPI Fall 2010 Preview!!

So I know I still owe you Part Two of the Zoya Wonderful Collection, but the weather didn't cooperate with my schedule, so those will have to wait until tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have a hot looking preview picture of the Sephora by OPI Fall 2010 Rocker Chic Collection (click picture to enlarge)! Here's what Sephora has to say about the upcoming collection:

"Inspired by the iconic attitude that is pure rock, the Sephora by OPI Rocker Chic collection adds a edge to the typical neutral tones seen every fall. Defined by rock music’s empowered, impassioned and addictive sound, Rocker Chic is tough and trendy, leather and lace, offering a shade for all audiences. The collection translates into fall’s must-have “neutrals with a twist” – statement-making browns, from sienna to chocolate-cherry, pops of metallic and deep purples, wines and red."

The collection includes nine polishes-

· Already Famous- silvery bronze
· Club Scene Queen-icy metallic blue
· Dating the Drummer- metallic brown
· Do I Know You? – dramatic mauve
· Fiercely Fabulous-vibrant red
· Go My Own Way-shimmery deep blue
· Just a Little Dangerous- dramatic eggplant purple
· Rock His World – deep, burgundy
· Studs & Stilettos- chocolate brown

I'm most excited for Just a Little Dangerous, Club Scene Queen, and Already Famous. All nine colors sound right up my alley though!! What do you think about these colors?

The Sephora by OPI Fall 2010 Rocker Chic Collection will be available online at Sephora in August 2010.

Edit- these are available now!!! Check them out! Also, that online exclusive glittery blue sounds like it's going to be MINE!

Zoya Fall 2010 Wonderful Collection Part One

Yesterday you saw the Wicked Collection (six sparkling metallics) and today I have the Wonderful collection (all highly pigmented cremes).

The Wonderful Collection consists of:
Kelly- paynes gray cream
Stacy- mahogany red cream
Burke- sienna red cream
Kristi- crimson red cream
Cola- desert sand red cream
Shawn- myrtle green cream

Those are some interesting descriptions, no? Paynes gray? According to a quick internet search, that is a very dark blue-grey used in painting. There's your vocab lesson of the day.

Zoya Shawn, three coats, no flash

Anyway, let's move on and start with the green polish, Shawn. This is what I would probably call an army green polish. It reminds me of camo and the jungle. I love it, it's an unusual shade of green and I don't think I have anything quite like it. I did three coats of this just for the camera and think I would normally just do two. The formula was nice and easy to control. I find Zoya creams to be some of the best creams out there. Other creams can get all goopy and thick, which I HATE, but Zoyas never do. If you're into green polishes, or kind of fugly polishes, this one is a Must Have for you! (The picture below is in direct sunlight, so it looks bit lighter, in most lights, it is more like the first picture)

Zoya Shawn, three coats, no flash

Zoya Kristi, two coats, no flash

Next up is Kristi. Kristi is basically your standard cherry red cream. At first glance, it's not very unique. However, there a few things about it that set it apart from other red creams. First of all, the pigmentation is OUTSTANDING. I did two coats out of habit, but if you wanted, you could most likely do one. One coat and it's bottle color. Seriously. Second, it doesn't do that weird thing that some reds do where you apply it and it turns pink on your nail. I HATE that!!! This is a true true red from the second it hits your nail. It's also not too blue-based, so warmer skin tones can rock it as well. So, if you're still searching for the perfect red cream, Kristi may be the one for you!

Zoya Kristi, two coats, no flash

Zoya Cola, three coats, no flash

Finally we have a really cool polish- Cola. Now, I don't know any girls named "Cola", do you? (Zoya's polishes always have women's names) However, they could not possibly have named this polish any other name, unless they got the rights to call it Dr. Pepper. It looks like Dr. Pepper! I looooooveeeeee it. It's not just a red or just a brown. They call it a "desert sand red", but I call it Dr. Pepper red. Another unusual color that I don't have, good job Zoya!! This is three coats again, but like Shawn, I think I would normally wear two coats if I didn't have to take pictures of it! Things just look different on camera, you know? The first picture is the most color accurate. I included the second to show you how brown it looks in some lights.

Zoya Cola, three coats, no flash

I love these three polishes. Interesting, because you know I'm not normally a big fan of cremes. I just think that Zoya's amazing formula make these easier to handle than other cremes. For example, I think back to China Glaze Up and Away collection. Most of those were so lumpy and streaky, some needed three coats, which made them even more thick and lumpy. They took a long time to dry, etc. etc. These Zoya cremes are so thin and very very pigmented. They dry quickly. They're super shiny even without top coat. I love them even though they are cremes!! Cola is going to get used a LOT this fall/winter, I can already tell. If you're looking for some good fall cremes, definitely check out the Wonderful collection. And stay tuned for Part Two of the Wonderful Collection!

Zoya Wicked Collection Part Two (a.k.a. Part AMAZING!)

Zoya Edyta, three coats, no flash

I'm going to kick off Part Two of the Wicked Collection with the two best polishes of the whole release, possibly of all the fall releases. By the way, I was so excited to post that first post that I forgot to mention- the finish of these polishes is similar to the China Glaze glass fleck finish, super sparkly, but very smooth feeling and easy to remove.

Edyta is an unbelievable green/gold/silver/gunmetal glittering gem that immediately jumped on to my list of Top Ten Favorite Polishes Ever. My pictures don't even show all of it's glory. It's green, but not too green and it really sparkles in all lights. I did three coats just for the camera, I think two would be fine. I'm not waiting til fall to wear this baby!! Must Have. Go order it now. Actually wait until you finish reading this post because you'll want to order Julieanne and Cheryl as well.

Zoya Edyta, three coats, no flash

Zoya Edyta, three coats, no flash

Zoya Julieanne, two coats, no flash

My other favorite of the collection is Julieanne. There are no words for the gorgeousness of Julieanne. It's the perfect shade of deep eggplant purple with serious amounts of smooth glitter. My pictures make this one look too blue. That's one thing about purples, they always turn too blue in pictures. Honestly, this is probably my 2nd favorite polish in the world right now. I will be wearing this all fall and winter. I love dark colors on my toes, so I will basically live with this on my toes for several months. For some weird reason this, like Carrie Ann, appears to have VNL in the picture, but it was not like that in person. This is two coats though, so I guess I could have done three. It looked fantastic in person with just two coats though, so try two first!! This is a Super Must Have. LOL I invented a new category for it.

Zoya Julieanne, two coats, with flash

Zoya Cheryl, two coats, no flash

Cheryl is right up there with Julieanne and Edyta. Cheryl is a chocolate bronze shimmer with the same lovely smooth glitter as the rest of the Wickeds. I can't think of anything like it and it is a really beautiful fall color. It has enough gold/bronze shimmer in it to prevent it from looking like regular chocolate brown. Makes me feel like being all warm and cozy in the winter, even though it's currently 90-something degrees out. This is two coats, Cheryl was nicely pigmented- you might get away with one coat!

Zoya Cheryl, two coats, with flash

Overall, the Wicked Collection is absolutely stunning. There isn't a dud in the whole thing. If you can only get one, get Julieanne. It is the best purple ever. If you can get three, get Julieanne, Edyta and Cheryl. If you can afford all six, I absolutely advise you to go ahead and do that. You won't regret it!!!

The Zoya Wicked Collection is available online at Art of Beauty.

The polishes in this post were sent to me by a PR agent for Art of Beauty. For more information, please see our Disclosure Policy.

Zoya Fall 2010 Wicked Collection Part One

You know when you come home from vacation all bummed out because your vacation is over and you had to leave whatever fun and wonderful place you went to? That was how I was feeling last night. Until I walked in the door and saw a box from Art of Beauty's PR company sitting on my table!! I immediately ripped it open and found 12 gleaming fall treasures sitting in the box- The Wicked and Wonderful Collections. These polishes are SOOOOO gorgeous, they make me wish it was fall already!! I might start wearing them now, even though it's only July!

The Wicked Collection (my obvious favorite) includes:

Edyta- fern green sparkling metallic
Julieanne- byzantium purple sparkling metallic
Cheryl- chocolate bronze sparkling metallic
Karina- garnet red sparkling metallic
Carrie Ann- venetian red sparkling metallic
Kym- cardinal mauve sparkling metallic

Now, if you remember, the polishes in the Zoya Sparkle Collection for Summer 2010 were also described as "sparkling metallics", so if you liked those, you will also LOVE these!! Like all other Zoya polishes, these are all free of toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, and other chemicals we can't pronounce. Most of these are perfect with two coats and the application on all of them was absolutely flawless. And now, on to the good stuff!! I'm doing this in a couple parts just because I just got home and am trying to organize myself as well as swatch these.

Zoya Kym, three coats, no flash

First up is a total sleeper hit for me- Kym! Kym was described as a cardinal mauve, but I would call it "rust". In the bottle, it looks like your ordinary red, but it is very unusual on the nail. It's rust-y, mauve-y, almost pink-brown. I love it and own absolutely nothing like it. I did three coats with this one, but you could definitely get away with two. I will wear this all fall and winter, on nails and toes too! Kym is a Must-Have for me!

Zoya Kym, three coats, with flash

Zoya Kym, three coats, no flash

Zoya Karina, two coats, no flash

Next up is Karina. I would say that "garnet" is a good description here. This is a gorgeous sparkling jewel red. It's super opaque in two coats and I see it being very flattering on all kinds of skin tones. I never mind when companies include beautiful sparkling reds in collections. I get tired of red cremes, but a good glittery red is fabulous year round on nails and toes, so sign me up for Karina! If you don't own a good deep jewel-like red, grab Karina immediately.

Zoya Karina, two coats, with flash

Zoya Carrie Ann, two coats, no flash

The last of the sparkling reds is Carrie Ann. Carrie Ann is a lighter, brighter cherry red. It's a very happy looking color and again will be flattering on many skin colors. This is two coats, and although it looks like there is VNL, it didn't look like that in person. Carrie Ann is not completely unique in my collection, but it's very pretty and I will absolutely wear it several times this fall and winter.

Zoya Carrie Ann, two coats, with flash

Who likes the Dancing with the Stars names?? I do!!! Now, I just need to go eat some food, and I will be back with Part Two of the Wicked Collection (Cheryl, Edyta, and Julieanne). Please believe the best is yet to come. Just wait until you see the three coming up, ohhhhh mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn are they MUST HAVES!!!!!

The Zoya Wicked and Wonderful Collections are available online at Art of Beauty.

The polishes in this post were sent to me by a PR agent for Art of Beauty. For more information, please see our Disclosure Policy.

Preview of Zoya Wicked and Wonderful Collection!!!

Heyyyyyy everyone! I am back from my trip to the North American National Championships in Orlando, FL! Sorry to leave you with no posts while I was away, but I'm about to make up for it. When I arrived home at about midnight last night, I had a package from Zoya containing their new Wicked and Wonderful Collection!!

I'm working on swatching the polishes right now, but I have a quick picture of the nail wheel they sent me just to get you pumped. The Wicked Collection is six "sparkling metallics" and the Wonderful Collection is six very pigmented cremes.

Zoya Wicked and Wonderful Collection

Stay tuned for pictures of all six polishes from the Wicked Collection in hopefully about an hour, and I'll have the Wonderful Collection up tomorrow!

Essie Summer Collection Mini Set

Essie Summer Collection Mini Set

Ek and I went on a really quick Ulta shopping trip the other day. We arrived at the store at 8:40 and they closed at 9, but I still managed to grab $70 worth of stuff in less than 20 minutes LOL. One thing I picked up was the Essie Summer Collection Mini Set. Usually the mini sets kind of stink. They contain one OK color and 3 colors that no one wants. They almost NEVER include the best color in the collection. However, this time, the mini set had all the colors I was interested in! The mini set contains: Demure Vixen, Haute as Hello, Knockout Pout, and Pretty Edgy. The mini polishes are 5 ml each, whereas full-size Essies are 15 ml each. The set of four minis retails for around $17.

Essie Minis: Pretty Edgy, Knockout Pout, Haute as Hello, Demure Vixen

Essie Pretty Edgy, two coats, no flash

Let's start off with my obvious favorite from this collection- Pretty Edgy! It's funny, I was saying to EK when we were in Ulta that I'm kinda overwhelmed with the number of greens I own now and I didn't really even want Pretty Edgy. But that all changed when I put it on!! This is two coats, I did this super fast, so sorry about the mess. This is a unique green, even in my massive green collection. It's not too light, not too dark, just perfect and really bright. The formula on this one was good too, easy application and good drying time.

Essie Pretty Edgy, two coats, no flash

Essie Knockout Pout, three coats, with flash

Next up is a big surprise- Knockout Pout. This looks kind of pale and not exciting in the bottle. When you put it on the nail, it is actually pretty bright and a semi-neon! It's definitely not a true neon, but it dries to this weird plastic-y finish, so it must have some neon pigment in it. Pinks are never my favorite, but this one is very pretty. I did three coats and had a bit of VNL, but I could handle it. Formula was a little streaky, but not horrible, and looked fine with top coat.

Essie Knockout Pout, three coats, with flash

Essie Haute as Hello, three coats, no flash

Haute as Hello is my second favorite of this collection and another surprise. This is like Knockout Pout- boring in the bottle, HOT on the nail! It's another semi-neon that dries to that semi-matte finish. It's actually kind of a cool finish if you wanted to leave it without top coat. This is three coats and again, I had some VNL, but it wasn't hideous. Same formula as Knockout Pout, a little streaky, but fine with top coat. I LOVE this color!! So bright and gorgeous with a tan! (Not that I am ever tan, but I am going spray tanning today LOL). That first picture is probably the most color accurate of the bunch.

Essie Haute as Hello, three coats, no flash

Essie Haute as Hello, three coats, no flash

Essie Demure Vixen, three coats, with flash

Demure Vixen was my least favorite of the bunch. It's a cool concept, it just wasn't working out on my nails. Demure Vixen is a murky mauve jelly, with a kind of duochrome-like shimmer. You can see the shimmer in that first picture, but it's not very obvious the rest of the time. This is three coats, and I felt there was a LOT of VNL. Like an unattractive amount. I'll wear it occasionally, I'm sure, probably more towards the fall. It's not the most summer-y color IMO. But hey, every mini set has to have at least one dud, right? LOL. The formula was OK though, not too streaky.

Essie Demure Vixen, three coats, no flash

Overall, I think this mini set is definitely worth $17. Knockout Pout, Haute as Hello and Pretty Edgy are Must-Haves for any summer bright lover! Demure Vixen, ehhhhhh not so much.

The Essie Summer Collection mini set is available at an Ulta store near you.