Do you break out the pastels come springtime?  I picked five of my favorite shades for spring, some punchier than others, and nothing too light/pale.  I’d love to hear yours!

• Chanel Emprise — peachy beige
• Zoya Piaf — shimmery, pale yellow
• Butter London Dosh — springy, yellow green
• Essie Cascade Cool — cool-toned pink
• Zoya Marley — pale purple

What’s your favorite polish for spring?

5 Spring 2011 Nail Lacquer Picks

Reader Samantha asked for five picks for spring polishes–here are some of the ones I liked the most out of the recent spring launches!

• Chanel Pearl Drop Nail Lacquer
• China Glaze Sea Spray Nail Lacquer
• Zoya Marley Nail Lacquer
• Nubar Earthen Nail Lacquer
• Essie Coat Azure Nail Lacquer

What’s your favorite spring polish this season?

Zoya Intimate Collection Review, Photos, Swatches

Zoya’s Intimate Collection features six new shades for spring, and it will launch online on January 15th. Each bottle retails for $7 and contains 0.50 fl. oz. The shades include: Caitlin (misty, moody gray violet cream), Dannii (sparkling, enchanted orchid metallic), Dove (delicate, pale gray cream), Gemma (mysterious green/purple duotone metallic, Jules (soft, glimmering gold kiss metallic), and Marley (lavender pink with a whisper of metallic).

• Caitlin is a muted, gray, violet-tinged periwinkle with a cream finish. I used two coats. I’m thinking China Glaze Secret Periwinkle might be similar but brighter/more obvious periwinkle.
• Dannii is a pinked violet with red undertones and gold and ruby shimmer and sparkle. I used two coats. I can’t think of dupes for this one at the moment.
• Dove is a softened, pale gray with an ever-so-slight tinge of green-teal (at least, on me). I used two coats. It seems like a lighter version of Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Concrete Jungle.
• Gemma is a murky spring green with soft yellow undertones and flecks of teal and fuchsia shimmer. It took three coats for me to get this to be opaque (I did just two coats on my pointer figure, for reference). I couldn’t think of a dupe for this one.
• Jules is a pale champagne beige gold with darker gold flecks. This dries down pretty quickly and definitely needs a top coat to retain a high shine finish. I used two coats. It reminded me of MAC Soiree, but Soiree is significantly more copper, though the finishes are similar. Also similar in finish to Dior Timeless Gold but not so much in regards to color (boo!).
• Marley is a pale lavender cream with subtle pink undertones and a dusting of pearly white micro-shimmer. Two coats. Ironically, for as light as this shade was, it was the most pigmented of all six. I thought perhaps China Glaze Light As Air would be similar, but it’s far too cool-toned (more blue-based thank pink-based) and lighter. I think Essie’s Neo Whimsical is the closest I have, but it’s pinker and has no shimmer.

The formula on these was easy to work with–not too thin or too thick–and applied evenly without any fuss.  Gemma was the only shade I found needed three coats to look its best, while the rest were fine in two coats.  I really loved the ease of application on both Dannii and Jules–this is my kind of finish but they’re just so effortless to apply.   I wore Dannii all last week, and after seven days, I only had minor tip wear.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!

• Product: 29/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: My favorites were Dannii, Jules, and Marley.  I actually really loved the subtly of the pearly shimmer in Marley; it looks very much like a cream in natural light, but with just a bit of sunlight, it has this faint glimmer of sparkle.

WHERE TO BUY: Zoya, available on January 15th.

See more photos & swatches!

Zoya Intimate Collection: Caitlin, Dannii, Dove

Zoya Intimate Collection: Caitlin, Dannii, Dove

Zoya Intimate Collection: Caitlin, Dannii, Dove

Zoya Intimate Collection: Gemma, Jules, Marley

Zoya Intimate Collection: Gemma, Jules, Marley

Zoya Intimate Collection: Gemma, Jules, Marley

Zoya Caitlin Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Caitlin Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Caitlin Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Caitlin Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Dannii Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Dannii Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Dannii Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Dannii Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Dove Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Dove Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Dove Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Dove Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Gemma Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Gemma Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Gemma Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Gemma Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Jules Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Jules Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Jules Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Jules Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Marley Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Marley Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Marley Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Marley Nail Lacquer (Flash)