Orly It's Not Rocket Science - about $8 at Sally Beauty and Ulta

It's Not Rocket Science is the third and final Cosmic FX from my Transdesign order a couple weeks ago. I have previously reviewed Space Cadet and Galaxy Girl, so check those out! This polish is another crazy foil finish duochrome like the other two. The flash of electric turquoise is very faint, though, and only visible in some lights, but it's there. The main draw for this polish for me was the color. True, these types of yellowy green never look good on my skin, but I was willing to overlook that because it's just so pretty. It's got a mucky green jelly base with light golden olive foil and that illusive turquoise flash. You can also see a more golden aspect to this polish in some lights. It's super shiny and metallic and it's just gorgeous, in this girl's opinion. I think it's similar to SpaRitual Optical Illusion, but I haven't got that one. Yet! ;P I think it's also similar to one of the new China Glaze Halloween polishes, but I won't be able to tell you that till Monday, apparently; my order won't be here till then. Overall this is such a cool color and it's available now and in many of your local stores, so it's a great alternative to other similar polishes, of which there are admittedly few. The Orly Cosmic FX collection is a real WIN for me so far, though I don't know if I'll be purchasing the other three. Only time, and other bloggers swatches, will tell!

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China Glaze Awakening Collection - $10 at transdesign.com

When Halloween collections start being released, it's such an exciting time for me. Among other things it means that Autumn is nearly here, and I'm not exaggerating when I say I absolutely LIVE for Fall! Another thing is that the "holiday" itself is just a lot of fun. It's pretty much also guaranteed that there will be awesome nail polishes coming. My first Halloween purchase of this year is China Glaze's Awakening collection. Not to be confused with China Glaze's pink-with-gold-sheen shade of polish, this is a set of three super cool glitter polishes. Last year's Fortune Teller by China Glaze was one of my favorite polishes ever. Spellbound was another that they released for Halloween but sadly I didn't manage to get my hands on that one, and I'm still bruised by that, haha. This year I bought the Halloween set the very day it went online, and I'm pretty happy with it. I've swatched and reviewed each of the three shades below, so click to keep reading!

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Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe - ranging from $3.75 to $6 at Transdesign.com, Ulta, Sally Beauty

Orly's Holiday collection is already up online at transdesign.com, and will soon be available from the other etailers as well as in your local brick-and-mortar stores. This is the no-brainer pick from this collection; a brilliant sparkly emerald with golden flecks. Last year we saw OPI Smitten With Mittens, with it's addition of golden shimmer to the stand-by red glitter polishes of the holidays like China Glaze Ruby Pumps. This year we have a contender to dethrone China Glaze's other powerhouse holiday polish, Emerald Sparkle, again with the addition of a splash of gorgeous gold. I still adore Emerald Sparkle, but this is a tie for the greatest emerald polish EVER! The application and wear are great, and the pigmentation is pretty great for a jelly. The shimmer/glitter flecks are really profuse and while it shimmers like crazy in the sun, in indirect light is where this polish really impresses. The gold really jumps to the forefront then. In this way it really reminds me of the Zoya Sparkle polishes from this summer.

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NUBAR Reclaim and Wildlife, from the Going Green collection, $7.50 each at bynubar.com

Here are the first two swatches from my recent Nubar haul; Reclaim and Wildlife. Both are really cool and interesting, one being a holo and the other a duochrome.

Reclaim: This one is a midtone grass green holo. The finish of this reminds me of the China Glaze OMG collection because the particles are so fine that they're almost undetectable. It just looks like a film of holo awesomeness. It's not quite as strong of an effect as some of the OMGs, but it's pretty impressive. It's also sort of thin while still having awesome two-coat coverage so it doesn't get gunky around the edges like some of the Nfu-Oh holos can when you view them in low light. It dries fast and is absolutely gorgeous, so you really can't go wrong. The only recommendation I have to make this live up to it's potential on the nail is get rid of your ridges before applying by either buffing lightly or applying a ridge filler. This polish applies well with or without topcoat which is the only caveat of the China Glaze OMGs, since those really work best without a base coat. ***** 5 stars for this one.

Wildlife: I didn't want this one necessarily for the color combination. While it's no doubt an interesting combo of colors, it's not really beautiful in the traditional sense. You're more likely to love this is if you like weird colors and/or strong duochromes. The acid green and swampy rose orange are really an acquired taste, I'm afraid, but the duochrome is so strong and awesome that it's just such a cool polish. I happen to adore duochromes and weird colors so I love this polish. In some lights it's really not that flattering on my skintone, but in others it's decent. I'm not sure I really care if it clashes with my skintone, it's such a fun color to look at and it's sort of a statement almost. It reminds me of Shrek's swamp, lol. It's a bit sheer, so I used three coats, but it does dry decently quickly. **** Four stars from me.

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P2 Nail Polish in Glory - www.p2.com

Here's another polish from my swap with Michelle from The Lacquer Files. P2 is a German brand, so I don't know a whole bunch about it, like what stores it's available at or how much it costs. Before this swap I had tried only one of their shades, but since Michelle sent me three, I've been able to form more of an opinion on the brand. P2 bears a bit of resemblance to a long-gone Sally Hansen favorite of mine, Beyond Perfect. This older range from SH was in a similar bottle, and boasted the same claim of a gel-formula that Beyond Perfect did. Those things alone are enough to get my attention. Aside from that, the colors I've tried are quite beautiful and apply and wear wonderfully. These go on in two coats, and are super glossy. This particular color is a antiqued golden, and it's pretty heavy on the green tones. I personally love golden olive shades and since they're tough to come by, this is a gem. Have you guys tried P2? What's your favorite P2 shade?

Essie Summer Collection Color Cube - amazon.com

The Essie Summer Collection might not have a clever name, but it has big appeal to this girl. Every single color interested me this time around, which is a first for Essie and me. I decided Instead of buying full-size bottles of them all I'd buy the set of minis with four of the shades to see what I thought. You can get the set many places online ranging from $10 -$17 or so, but I personally got mine on eBay for $12 shipped which I thought was a really good deal. The colors included are Haute as Hello, Knockout Pout, Demure Vixen and Pretty Edgy and each bottle is .16 fl oz. I really liked all these shades, though I have to say that Demure Vixen looked horrendous on me.

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Index to pinkie (top to bottom): Illamasqua Rampage, Claire's Kelly Green, Sally Hansen Going Green, OPI Jade is the New Black

Illamasqua Rampage: This obviously isn't kelly green, but the application of Claire's Kelly Green reminded me of the jelly deliciousness of Rampage. One coat of Rampage equals two coats of Kelly Green, so if you like that one-coat color but not the streaky look, Kelly Green is a nice choice.

Claire's Kelly Green: This is a true kelly green in my book. It's got a jelly texture that reaches full saturation at about two moderate (three thin) coats. It dries fairly matte, but with a topcoat it's genius.

Sally Hansen Going Green: Before Kelly Green I thought this was the closest thing to kelly green I'd find, but now against the Claire's polish, I see that it's somewhat soft and washed out in comparison. The shimmer is very beautiful, and I liked the polish fine till Claire's Kelly Green came along, now I'm not sure I care.

OPI Jade is the New Black: Another that isn't a Kelly Green, but I threw it in for comparisons sake. It's a muted rich green, and it's gorgeous. I've reviewed it more in detail here.

Index and ring: SinfulColors Innocent, Middle and pinky: OPI Who the Shrek Are You?

SinfulColors Innocent: The difference between the two in the bottle is miniscule, but you can see on the nail that Innocent is a bit brighter, lighter, and yellow. It applies slightly more opaque than Shrek, but the Sinful bottle always leaves something to be desired. It always finds a way to leak polish into the cap, even when stored upright it seems, and it makes it hard to open. It is only $2 at Walgreens, though, which is quite a savings over the $8.50 you'll pay for the OPI.

OPI Who The Shrek Are You? - This is a bit more sheer, and slightly deeper in tone. It's got a bit more green and strikes me as quite a bit warmer than Innocent. This one is my favorite for a Shrek green though, it is a little more "off" and interesting, but Innocent holds it's own as a unique bright.

Avon Nailwear Pro in Jade - $5 at avon.com

Here's the second of the two new greens in Avon's Nailwear Pro line, Jade. I previously reviewed the other, Olive Green, the other day and I like Jade nearly as much as I like Olive Green. I love the formula, it's so smooth and applies gorgeously. Jade is a bit more sheer than OG, but it's still easy to get even coverage. This reminds me of a creme version of Charlotte Russe Jade, and that would therefore make it a creme version of Chanel Jade, I suppose. Either way, it's a gorgeous vibrant light creamy jade green. Right now, you can get two Avon Nailwear Pro polishes for only $5.99, so I recommend checking them out. Avon have got some amazing polishes, that's all I can say, and they seem to always have a great deal going on. What do you think?

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Avon Nailwear Pro Nail Polish in Olive Green - $5 at avon.com

Don't adjust your monitor, and don't curse me for bad photography... This is a gorgeous dusty green that has knocked my socks off. One of Avon's two new green shades, Olive Green, reminds me of the slightly washed out OPI Jade is the New Black. But it if JITNB is a washed out jeweltone, this one is a washed out earth tone. I've not seen another nail polish even close to this shade before. The application is flawless; one thick coat will give you complete buttery-smooth coverage. I used two thin coats and got amazingly even coverage. The color is rich but dusty at the same time. What's better is that right now you can get two Avon Nailwear Pro polishes for $5.99! The other of the two new shades is Jade, which I'll be posting in the next couple days so check that out. As far as Olive Green, buy it! If you like JITNB, greens, dusky shades... you need it! EDIT: Steph from Steph's Closet, just brought this to my attention on twitter: Avon Olive green and Rescue Beauty Lounge Orbis Non Sufficit are twins! Cheap dupe alert!

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