Both Bengale and Amazonia are definate fall/winter colors. Earthy and smokey. Bengale is a chocolate brown creme. Brown is not my favorite shade as I’m much more into color. But still, the shade is appealing.

Amazonia is a dusty moss green. This one I really like and can see wearing more often. I think its muted enough that if there ever was a green that could be worn to work by the faint of heart, this probably would be it.

Both colors were two coats. Formula was good, but I have a lagging faith in the Dior brush. So much so, that I won’t reach for a Dior color unless I have ample time for cleanup. Since I usually do my nails about 15 mintues before I leave for work, it’s become a seldom used every day brand for me.

Although I have to chuckle a little about the names. For as wildly creative as some of the newer polish names are, the length of the names get a bit difficult to add to the swatches because they can be so long. NYX seems to have reverted to the old one to two word names that might not be highly original, but they are appropos and much easier to title swatches with.

Gold is a burnt orange shimmer that was an easy two coats. Although orange has never been my color, this one is “burnt” enough to go with my skin tone. Definately not a worry if orange tones work on you.

Mute is very appropriately named. It’s a subdued beige shimmer. As neutral colors go, I really, really like this one – not my usual response to band-aid but better colors. Again, two coats.

Pastel Yellow (again, appropriately named, no?), is a light yellow creme. This reminds me of the Peeps marshmallows once you bite into them. Pastel Yellow didn’t go on as beautifully as the first two, but pastels rarely do. Three coats, kinda streaky.

Surf is a light blue with subtle shimmer. Subtle enough that I thought it was a creme when I first got it. Like Pastel Yellow, this was a three coater as well. Unlike Pastel Yellow, I think the three coats are well worth the finished product.

You can see previous posts for NYX ASF here.

But I have to say that this color is actually a step up. If you take a good look, you’ll see that this is just a little beyond the standard gold shimmer. There are small gold flakes scattered in the polish that make this a little different. And while this is a pretty sheer color, three coats (shown) will take you to a decent level of opacity.

Crocodile effects was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t expect to like this. And while I’m still not a huge fan of this type of effect, I rather like Dior’s interpretation. It seems a little more delicate than other crackle colors I’ve played with. And I think Dior truly captured the effect of crocodile leather. When I put it on, the effect took longer to appear than OPI. I actually thought it wasn’t working for the first minute. You can tell from the swatch that the coat on the index finger was a bit thinner than the other fingers. I like that more than the thicker coats.

Snowflake was one of the few four coaters that I came across in the NYX ASF line. But I really like the way that it looks. The shimmer keeps it from looking harsh, but it’s a clean, fresh look. Although it took four coats, that many will take you to complete opacity.

Stonewash is an interesting cross between grey and beige. The shimmer isn’t as pronounced as in Snowflake, but still very visible. Shown is two coats.

Tokyo Express was not one of my favorites as it leaned to a frost. It doesn’t look as bad in the normal swatch, but you can see the lines in the mini-swatch above. The beige color which is kissed by olive is gorgeous and two coats will take you to complete opacity, but I prefer not fighting with lines.

Taffeta is also fairly sheer beige color, but this one has a touch of pink. Taffeta borders on glass flecked which gives it alot of reflection. Shown is two coats which will still show a little visible nail line. Another coat will probably help out with this, but I rather liked it as shown.

You can see previous posts for NYX ASF here.

Viper, on the other hand, is a bit more obvious with both shimmer and color. Although it is still quite dark, there’s no mistaking that it’s green and you can see the shimmer under normal lighting. This was my preferred color. And really, how cool is it to reply to a nail color query with the answer, “Viper”?

Both of these are shown at three coats. You probably could get away with two. The application was very good and I do like the Estee Lauder brushes quite a bit. I hope that Estee Lauder continues with interesting colors and doesn’t revert back to boring pinks and reds any time soon.

NYX Formula hasn’t been around for all that long… a little under a year? But the range is extensive. You can find these for a whopping $3.60 at Cherry Culture. Although nothing beats an on-the-nail swatch for internet buying, their color swatches are pretty good compared to other lines online. For the colors I already posted, I was pretty impressed with the line, especially considering the lower price range.

When I first looked at the bottle of Winter, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it. Nude is not my favorite palette. However, once I started putting it on the nails, I changed my mind. It has just enough pink in it to keep it from being a true nude. This is a pretty transparent color. Shown is four coats to get to a level of opacity I was happy with. You can opt for two coats if you prefer visible nail line.

Pink Sugar was the exact opposite of Winter. Loved it in the bottle. But since it turned out to be a frost, the application was not optimal and you can see lines all over the place. Shown is two coats.

While I liked the finish product, Amber was another difficult polish to apply. It was extremely thick and chalky (not due to evaporation, this seemed to be the natural state of the polish). Shown is three coats, not due to opacity but because I needed to get rid of lines and even out the polish.

I think Magenta is the stunner out of this four pack. It has a hot pink base with beautiful pink-purple shimmer. This went on flawlessly in two coats.

Recently Lancome has veered away from the 10ml bottles and have reissued everything to the 6ml bottles for $15. Which means we are now paying $2.50per ml instead of $2.00. Is that a big deal? Ummmm, yes. The 10ml (.33oz) was small enough for $20. But 6ml (.2oz) is infinitesimal for $15. And I’m adamantly against companies repackaging the same product so that you get less product for more money.

I purchased Lancome Noir before I realized that this was a permenant size change that Lancome was making. Now that I’m aware, I will not be buying any more of these itty bitty bottles.

I’m not quite sure I understand Lancome’s demographic. With other lines, there seems to be a clearer focus on what clientelle is being targetted. But Lancome has a reputation for being a cosmetics line that is favored by a more “mature” audience, something that seems to be validated by spokeswomen in thier 40′s (like Julia Roberts – who is still knock down gorgeous). However, in the last year they have been coming out with eye shadow color pallettes that seem to be targtting the 20′s crowd. It seems a bit incongruous.

But let’s get back to the polish. Lancome Noir is a gorgeous color. It’s a black base with the most notable shimmer being gold, but there is less visible multicolor shimmer making it more complex than at first glance. I’ve actually worn this a few times to work. I always get compliments. I just wish I could have gotten this in the old bottle for the old price.

While four coats is not usually a super big deal (although not preferred), it ends up being a royal pain in the ass with CND. Here’s why. CND requires a 5 minute breather between coats otherwise you’ll end up with bald spots and pulling, not to mention getting polish on your topcoat brush. While this is normally fairly inconsequential as their colors tend to be one coaters, with four coats necessary for a even finish, this ends up being a loooooooooong manicure. I wish I could have passed on this.

Pink Wishes Effect, however, is a completely different story. It’s a beautiful and sedate topper. Unfortunately, with Pink Wishes Color being such a light color, it’s hard to see the Pink Wishes effect. For a closer view, look here. I’ve also included two additional swatches which display it on darker colors so you can see how nice this effect is. You can see the originals swatches here and here.

I have yet to swatch Pink Wishes Effect over my standard six colors. But if you want to see the rest of the CND effects line, look here.

While I was happy to see Stephanie pursue her law degree, pass the bar exam and launch her career (not alot going on there, eh?), I was sad when that her site took a backseat (selfish, I know, but can you blame me?).

But! With life settled down, she’s back! Although she professes to she’s going to focus on work appropriate colors, I’m familiar with her lust for green polishes. Don’t be surprised if a few of them slip into her blog!

Welcome back Stephanie!

So the big question here is, “are they worth it?” Hmmmmm. Maybe.

I had been eyeing the Addiction polishes for quite a while – well over a year. Misty Rain is actually from last year’s offerings and along with Jewel Beetle are the two that I’ve been drooling over. Is this one worth getting? Yes! Shown is 4 coats, but really, the last coat was due to me not using thin layers and having to even things up. This color is acheivable in 3 coats. It’s a super light grey-greeen filled with subtle, irridescent, blue shimmer. Here’s a closeup.

Moon Castle can be summed up with the phrase, “Never again!” I had to apply this twice because it shows every speck of dust that might be sitting on your nails. And it bubbles. Nightmare! There are plenty of choices for a beige/grey, olive tinged metallic out there that parting the red sea and parting your wallet of $25 should not be necessary.

I think Nessie is perfectly tongue-in-cheek named. This light greyed-green with subtle shimmer does remind me of where “Nessie” might live. Do I have a dupe for it? Not that I can think of. Is this one worth it? Possibly. It rather depends on what your love affair is with this color range. If this isn’t a love, I’d only recommend it if you’re already purchasing other Addiction colors (like I was). Shown is two coats.

Jewel Beetle is a bright blue base with gold flecks that give it a green cast. Even though this doesn’t transfer as many gold flakes to the nail as the bottle would infer, this one is gorgeous. Well worth a year’s worth of drool and the hunt to acquire. And definately worth every penny, regardless of whether a red sea was involved or not. Shown is two coats.