OPI Did It On 'Em

I pulled this out a few weeks ago when the weather started to get more determinedly summery (of course at the moment it's about 40 degrees outside but at the time it seemed like a good move).

I can wear pretty much any polish I want at work, which is fortunate because this is a pretty shocking color. A couple of people remarked upon it...remarks along the lines of "Boy that's...really green." I don't exactly think that was a compliment, but you know, whatever.

This picture is a little misleading, because the polish isn't neon in the truest sense of the word. It is greener than it appears here, but it is very vivid.

Colors like these are very polarizing, and it didn't do much for me as a manicure. I think it would look great as a summer pedicure, though.

Chanel Azuré

I got very excited about the summer Chanel nail lacquers when I heard a vibrant teal duochrome and electric blue shimmer would be part of the collection. The L'Ete Papillon de Chanel collection includes three nail colors: Azure, Bel-Argus and Lilis. I skipped Lilis, the coral, but picked up the other two.

 I'm wearing Azure as a full manicure right now, and to just get this out of the way: Yes, it's beautiful; no, it's not 100% unique. That should be all it takes for the Chanel haters to feel justified in sitting this one out.

But really...there are few polishes that are 100% unique these days, which is why small indie producers are having such a field day at the moment. Nail polish hoarders like myself are always interested in something they haven't seen before, and I'm not sure Azure qualifies.

That said. It is gorgeous. The duochrome blue-to-purple shift isn't as strong as the color shift in, say, Chanel Peridot, but it does show up in certain lights; and regardless of the duochrome the color is super vibrant. In the sun, the color really dazzles. It's a beautiful, summery, oceanic blue. It would be a very fun summer pedicure color.

I used two coats for opacity. The formula is excellent and wore well with Palladio Fuse base coat (RIP) and Seche Vite fast-dry top coat.

Whether it's worth $27 or not is entirely up to you. This is among the more unusual colors Chanel has produced, particularly of late, so people who collect Chanel will definitely want to get this one.

NOTD: Estee Lauder Smashed

When I chose this polish to put on tonight, I couldn't believe I hadn't featured it as an NOTD before. Released as part of the Metal Mania collection in 2012, Smashed is a vibrant red-purple jelly with magenta, purple and blue flecks. They're not fine enough to be a straight shimmer, but they are very small, and irregularly shaped.

I bought Smashed along with Tempestuous—the first full-size Estee Lauder polishes I'd laid my hands on. In recent years, EL's nail color selection has gotten much more interesting as more women get adventurous with nail polish, even EL's traditionally more mature, conservative customer. Smashed still falls on the "safe" side and would be work appropriate in all but the most straitlaced workplaces, but it's still a beautiful polish.

The formula was very good—an easy-to-control jelly. The brush is short, on the stiff side and somewhat flat, but not wide like an OPI ProWide. All in all it was very easy to apply.

Also, it must be said, the Estee Lauder nail lacquer bottles are a thing of beauty. The polish is contained in a spherical void within a glass cube. Yes, you're only getting 0.3 ounces, but the bottle has a nice heft and it certainly connotes luxury as is appropriate for the brand.

The good news is that Smashed is still available. The somewhat less good news is that it's $20.