color club

let's talk about nail polish for a few minutes. as you know, i found real bright color success this summer with opi's tropical punch.

i do have to tell you, though, i saw a new brand of polish this past week at the nail place (or at least new to me) called "the color club" and my interest was piqued, particularly because the colors were, for the most part, unapologetically bold...even neon. i decided to try a color called "electric coral," which is shown below, but is a poor representation of the color. it is the fieriest, almost glowing coral you could imagine, and there is a tiny hint of shimmer in it, though you can't tell on your nails, only when looking at the bottle in a certain light. and trust me, i am not a fan of shimmer, so i wouldn't like it if there was any visible sign of it on the nail. i can't say if i prefer it to tropical punch...i don't know why, i'm just not ready to pick a favorite, but i will say that my mani from sunday is still unchipped, and the electric coral has no pink in it, while tropical punch does. discuss.

i'm buying a bottle of tropical punch and electric coral to be sure i'm not without at winter vacation time and next summer.

next mani, i'm trying essie carousel coral, which i started looking for at friend and reader kim's suggestion, but couldn't find. luckily, kim has a wonderful mother-in-law who's also a friend and reader who knew of my plight and picked one up for me and sent it to me! thanks joyce! so that's what i'll be trying out next.
but moving ahead, i was a little disappointed to see nothing that really jumped out at me in essie's new fall collection when i checked out the "sneak peek" on their website (and by sneak peek, they apparently mean you just have to click on the link that says "fall collection"). here are the colors.

pink parka:

mink muffs:

midnight cami:

chinchilly:

bright tights:

angora cardi:

eh.

what i am interested in is the special edition judith ripka line of colors, which include a good basic red, a rich dark and a light neutral. i like the simplicity of the line...sometimes a lack of excessive options is a welcome change. it's straightforward and limited, which i find sort of calming.

apparently all three ripka colors are "infused with diamond dust," which explains why they're $15 a bottle. and apparently, in three special bottles, there will be a diamond, sapphire or emerald. WHAT? first of all, WHY? second of all, WHAT? i wish my father owned a nut factory where all his employees could open every bottle of polish in every box in all of england...daddy, i want a golden goose egg NOW...sorry, willy wonka flashback.

i'll warn you -- the names are especially obnoxious:

heart my jr jewels:

queen of hearts:

put a ripka ring on it:

and one of the newest products from essie is matte about you, a top coat which removes the shine from your nails and gives them a matte finish. interesting...their website has a feature that allows you to see what a polished nail looks like at several stages of matte and shine. here is a nail with a high shine red:

and the same red in a matte finish:
what are your thoughts on matte? i'm kind of curious about it, but i think i would try it on the last day of a manicure, right before i'm about to get a new one, so i wouldn't be stuck with it in between manicures. but i kind of feel like the shine is what makes a mani look and feel fresh...tell me your thoughts.

all essie photos from www.essie.com; color club photo from www.nnsupply.com