Essie Smooth Sailing

As you can tell from the photo, I chopped all my nails down this week due to some breakage issues. Well, not so much chopped as clipped, but you get my point. Either way, I was in the mood for some change.

Since I'd been wearing mostly heavy-duty glitters lately, I decided to go for a little more subtle sparkle and picked out Essie Smooth Sailing from the Spring '11 Brazilliant Collection, at the local salon late last week.

Smooth Sailing is a periwinkle blue creme finish with the slightest hint of silver glitter. It's subtle enough for an extra pop, but not in-your-face enough to be overwhelming.



Let me start by saying that I like this color, but I don't LOVE it.

I just don't think it suited my nails when they were on the stubby side. I think it looked a little weird in a way, but I can't put my finger on why. However, if my nails were longer, I think it'd look great. I just don't think it works well on shorter nails. Tomorrow's post will explain it a little better and you'll see why I say that.

Also, the glitter didn't pop enough for me. It kind of looked like I had put some polish over a glitter top coat to try and hide it. I'm all for subtle sparkles, but I think this one just missed the mark. In the light, it has a nice glass-flecked finish, which saved it for me. But in the rainy days of September, it just didn't do it for me.

Don't worry, Essie... I love you anyway. And I hear my grandmother just brought home a new polish from you for me to try. Apparently, it was in the clearance bin at Harmons. Go figure.

Until tomorrow!

- Princess Polish

Essie Smooth Sailing

As you can tell from the photo, I chopped all my nails down this week due to some breakage issues. Well, not so much chopped as clipped, but you get my point. Either way, I was in the mood for some change.

Since I'd been wearing mostly heavy-duty glitters lately, I decided to go for a little more subtle sparkle and picked out Essie Smooth Sailing from the Spring '11 Brazilliant Collection, at the local salon late last week.

Smooth Sailing is a periwinkle blue creme finish with the slightest hint of silver glitter. It's subtle enough for an extra pop, but not in-your-face enough to be overwhelming.



Let me start by saying that I like this color, but I don't LOVE it.

I just don't think it suited my nails when they were on the stubby side. I think it looked a little weird in a way, but I can't put my finger on why. However, if my nails were longer, I think it'd look great. I just don't think it works well on shorter nails. Tomorrow's post will explain it a little better and you'll see why I say that.

Also, the glitter didn't pop enough for me. It kind of looked like I had put some polish over a glitter top coat to try and hide it. I'm all for subtle sparkles, but I think this one just missed the mark. In the light, it has a nice glass-flecked finish, which saved it for me. But in the rainy days of September, it just didn't do it for me.

Don't worry, Essie... I love you anyway. And I hear my grandmother just brought home a new polish from you for me to try. Apparently, it was in the clearance bin at Harmons. Go figure.

Until tomorrow!

- Princess Polish

Wet n Wild Ready to Pounce

Okay, I know what some of you are thinking. You've blogged about Zoya, OPI, and China Glaze… but Wet n Wild is not even in the same category. So why bother?

I'm not going to lie. Prior to this year, I'd always viewed Wet n Wild as nothing more than a bargain brand polish. And listen, I have nothing against these "bargain polishes." To be honest, as a college student, I can't really afford to go out and only buy designer brand polishes, considering brands like Butter London and Deborah Lippmann cost double digits and Zoya/Orly/OPI/China Glaze hover just below the $10 mark. That's why clearance racks are a girl's best friend.

But I have to give Wet n Wild credit where credit is due. Gone are the old formulas in which I'd have to thin out their polishes after a month, causing me to spill nail polish remover all over my desk. Gone are the streaky finishes and gloppy applications.

In fact, today, October 3th, 2011, I will confidently stand on my soapbox and proclaim that Wet n Wild makes solid quality polishes for a fantastic price!

If you need convincing, I suggest you head to your nearest drug store and pick up a polish from their On the Prowl collection. And if you can't find any polishes from that collection… it's because it has become one of the hardest to find beauty products of the season. Not OPI, not Essie, not Illamasqua… Wet n Wild. Seriously, there is a blog that actually has an interactive map where people post locations in which it has been spotted. See?

In fact, I managed to snag the last one of Ready to Pounce, the most highly touted one of them all, from Harmons, if only to see what everyone has been raving about. And guess what I found out?



Shut the front door. It's. Gorgeous.

A beautiful vampy plum, with subtle purple shimmer, it's the perfect fall color. It has lasted for over five days now and has survived my subconscious nail chewing of the LSATs, with the slight ding in my middle finger due to my overzealous chocolate lab. If only she had waited until the chew toy was no longer in my hand…

And if it takes the tooth of a ninety-pound chocolate lab to take this baby down, then you KNOW it'll hold up well to the rest of the elements. You'll have to excuse the lack of a bottle shot… it was being passed around amongst my friends for use at the time this article was written.

Oh and speaking of Deborah Lippmann? The cost of DL Happy Birthday, DL Ruby Slippers, and DL Wicked Game? A wallet-busting $54 at your local Nordstroms.

The cost of their WnW dupes, Party of Five Glitters, Behind Closed Doors, and Gray's Anatomy? $5.97.

Want to join me on my soapbox?

- Princess Polish

Shelby's Dragon Lady Nails

My roommate, Shelby, had a big date last weekend and was super in the mood for red nails. Having only lived together since the beginning of the month, she had no idea the amount of nail polish I possess and asked if my other roommates, Cynthia and Charlotte, or I had any red polish she could borrow.

So I broke out my box of polishes and watched as her eyes widened with excitement.

Having just completed my first gradient (see blue gradient manicure a few posts below), I decided to try a version of a glitter gradient.

Shelby picked out an old school burgundy Rimmel named Shocker, I grabbed my favorite China Glaze of all time, Ruby Pumps, and went to work.

The result was pretty cute and something I might try again for myself, but this time, with a darker red shade that borders on black. OPI Black Cherry Chutney, for example.



And for those of you who were wondering... the date went even better than the manicure looked.