L'Oreal Brit Invasion -limited edition - $6 at most drugstores - 

Last week I showed you pics of another polish from the L'Oreal "London Fall" collection, Tea and Crumpets. This polish, Brit Invasion, is the other that I picked up at that time. I picked up T&C because I'm always searching for The Perfect Nude Polish, and I keep thinking I've found nirvana, but something better always comes along. Or I hope it will... I picked up Brit Invasion simply because it looked sort of unique. Well, that and the name, but I think I've covered that before. 

Brit Invasion is a smoky plum, a la Chanel Paradoxal, China Glaze Jungle Queen and Essie Smokin' Hot, but it's got a little something extra. Namely a generous glaze of bronzey shimmer. The coverage is excellent, you'll only need two moderate coats and wear is pretty good. I think it's the epitome of Fall polishes, and since metallics are big this summer, it'll make a nice polish to wear during the transitional period that comes in August between Summer brights and Fall vamps. 

China Glaze Jungle Queen 

Another one of my favorites from the new China Glaze On Safari collection, Jungle Queen is one you probably should at least take a look at. Besides the fact that it's a reasonably close Chanel Paradoxal dupe, it's just plain pretty. It's slightly darker than Paradoxal but it's still got the gorgeous clay-purple base and the elusive violet shimmer, plus the formula is just better. It's more pigmented than Paradoxal and it has just a bit more staying power... at least it did on me. I still LOVE Paradoxal, but I'll probably hang on to Jungle Queen. Because, you know, I'm nuts like that. 

PS I'm probably going to do another blog sale soon, I am absolutely out of room in all my drawer units and I am absolutely unwilling to buy another one, so I went through my polishes and will probably be putting the sale up this weekend. 

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I finally got it! Don't ask my why it took me so long, because Wallis has been on my wishlist since the very second it came out, but I bought the flipping polish and I am not disappointed. I won't wax poetic about Wallis, you've heard the praise being sung before, but DAMN! It's is gorgeous. Sephora is finally carrying Butter London and so I really didn't have any reason to delay anymore. This is two coats, and the color is a bright golden olive and the finish is just to-die-for. It's unbelievable. It's like a foil/glass fleck/flat microglitter or something. And it almost appears speckled. Also it basically glows in the sun. Wow. 

Zoya Yara - from the Smoke & Mirrors collection - $8 at zoya.com

Here's another Zoya beauty I got in my latest order. I often forget what beautiful polishes Zoya can make. I go a few months without paying much attention to anything but China Glaze and Color Club, sometimes Essie and OPI, but I have to remind myself to check out what's going on at Zoya. I have been missing out because so many gorgeous shades have been released since my last order. Yara is from one of the most recent collections and it's amazing. It's a fatigues green creme with some golden shards of large shimmer floating on the surface. It applies perfectly in two coats and the finish is just unbelievable. I love it!

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La Boheme is a VHTF OPI from the 2003 Holiday on Broadway collection. You can find them on E(vil)bay or you can check out your local salons to see if a bottle is hiding amongst their polishes for sale. Sometimes they'll even sell you one that's been used if you feel the need to buy it. I was super lucky a few years ago to find a couple for retail at a salon near my house. I'm glad I bought them both because I have used up the first one almost completely and will have to crack open the other bottle soon. I try to use it very sparingly, even going as far as layering it over similar color or black, but I broke it out of the vault because I was really in the mood to wear it. It's a gorgeous duochrome berry/rust shimmer with an added layer of floating, glistening red shimmer that turns greenish amber in some lights. I strongly suggest you check out your local salons, and some not so local if you travel, for this. Always target salons that look to be older than the polish you're looking for, and keep in mind that they are usually in little strip malls. I have had amazing luck this way. I've found Black Magic Mountain, Tucamcari Boys n Berry, Jasper Jade and more at these so-called "dusties." So get out and look and good luck!

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NUBAR  Raspberry Truffle - $7.50 at bynubar.com

Oh good heavens, this is gorgeous! Does this color not scream "Autumn!" And also "I want a Godiva Dark Chocolate with Raspberry Bar!" This is a seriously decadent polish. It's one of the polishes from my recent Nubar haul and I'd had my eye on this since it was released forever ago. I'm glad I finally snatched it up, because I love it. It's super pigmented with tons of raspberry flecks of shimmer. It's really well pigmented and applies flawlessly in two coats and just looks amazing. There are a couple more photos after the jump, so check em out!

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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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MAC's newest collection, Alice + Olivia brought us three new polishes, but the best of the bunch in my opinion is Military. This matte black with a profusion of silver microglitter is magnificent. The finish reminds me of the look of the OPI Suede polishes, and I like it. The application is perfect, two thin coats gives absolute coverage, and it's streak-free. Perhaps the best part of the formula here is that it doesn't clump and dry while you're trying to apply it. Like other matte polishes, the wear isn't that great. It looks wonderful until you start doing dishes or swimming, but those things take their toll on the most iron-clad of formulas. Before I started to torture this polish with housecleaning, it stayed impeccable on my nails. I just checked the site to see if it's still available, and unfortunately it's not, but you may still be able to find this at your counter ($12) or try a similar polish; Nubar Midnight ($7.49) is a very similar and easily accessible one, and Orly Iron Butterfly is still floating around for less than retail online.

Overall, I was really psyched about this polish, and I'm glad I got it, but I wonder about the wisdom of doing so with such great and inexpensive dupes. Call me crazy... The application is the best of any matte polish I've tried, but I'm looking forward to trying the Nubar version!

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Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Midnight in NY - $7 at drugstore.com

I had originally heard that Midnight in NY was part of the Tracy Reese Spring 2010 release, but I'm increasingly sure that this isn't so. I see it in every core-line Sally Hansen Complete display, and in the one Tracy Reese display I have seen, there wasn't so much as a slot for it. I could swear that I have read, in more than one place that it's LE, but I don't think this is so at all. Anyway, on to the polish!

Midnight in NY is a glossy sheer black with a profusion of multicolored microglitter shards. It's hard to see them unless your nails are within a foot of your kisser, but it's quite a nice surprise. If you like the glossy black look but want something a little more interesting to look at at close range yourself, this is a gorgeous one. I used three sort of thin coats for this one, but depending on your coat thickness you might be able to get away with two, though I have my doubts. The problem with opaque blacks when they contain shimmer or glitter is that they end up sort of goopy and hide most of the beautiful shimmer that makes them different to begin with, so the sheer factor doesn't really upset me. The only part of it that really bothers me at all is that the Complete Salon Manicure range has fast been becoming a favorite with me, and mostly because of the flawless opaque application, but I am not inflexible and can appreciate this polish for sure!

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Elizabeth Arden Vincenza Raspberry Nail Lacquer - discontinued

Here's an old favorite I haven't worn in a long time. Unfortunately, it's been discontinued, but it's a good one to keep an eye out for on ebay or makeupalley swap boards. It's a medium bright pink jelly with irregularly shaped gold flecks of shimmer. This is three coats but it's worth the effort. It's one of those weird shimmer polishes that really look better in low lighting. When in bright light, the flecks sort of fade into the background and the pink of the base looks even brighter. Inside in indirect light, the gold flecks really stand out and look gorgeous. If you come across this polish, I highly recommend snatching it up.

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