I’m doubling up on polish combos today because 1) I didn’t post my last combo (deliquent!), and 2) once September 1st arrives, Summer is essentially over for me, so this will be my last Summer Polish Combo for this year ~tear~.  I know, I know, we still have three weeks of official Summer, but I can never shake the old ‘School Year’ mentality and of course, once you’re back to school, your Summer is officially kaput.  And let’s get real, once all the fabulous Fall shades start to crop up everywhere, who can resist dropping the fabulous brights of Summer to get dark and dirty with Fall?  This girl here canNOT.  Fall is my fave season!

So, without further ado, here’s what I have for you today: Earlier in the week I was sporting two shades you’ve already seen, which just have NOT gotten enough play this Summer (due to mass amounts of yet untried polishes I still have to swatch/wear!).  I mean, it’s all well and good to be a polish collector of sorts, but if I never get an opportunity to wear the shades I love more than once, that’s just not on.  So let’s rectify that, shall we?

Presenting (again) Essie’s ‘Meet Me at Sunset’, with American Apparel’s ‘Neon Violet’:Bam!!  That’s how I felt while I was wearing this combo.  Totally in your face and contrasting but in a fun way, not a ‘she did her nails in the dark’ kind of way.  Love it!  Wish I wore this combo more often this Summer.

The second polish combo I have to show you is of two shades you haven’t seen (yay!).  I have been meaning to swatch these two for ages but there were always more pressing (read: newer) shades to show.  I finally realized I’m never going to have the time/ambition to show you all the new shades right off the bat, so I’m just going to go with that and not worry about it anymore.

Particularly in this case, I had to forgo other ‘pressing’ matters to show you this shade before the sunlight starts hiding out on me and I am unable to capture the polish in its full glory.  Of course, I’m talking about a holo – notorious for needing true sunlight in order to really showcase its beauty.  However, this holo stands out from many others in the fact that it’s a true ‘linear’ holo, and not just holo shimmer, so you can see the holographic nature in most lighting.

{Yeah, yeah, Get to the holo already!!!!!}

Ok, jeez, here it is – GOSH’s ‘Holographic’ polish:

I miraculously managed to scoop this up in an MUA swap I did a couple years ago.  In that time, I may have worn this polish three times.  I know, that’s absolutely ridiculous, because I mean – look at it! – but honestly, hear me out on why: 1) it’s HTF and therefore precious and to be used sparingly; 2) it chips very easily so can only really be worn for a specific event before needing re-application/removal; and 3) IT IS AN ABSOLUTE BITCH TO APPLY!!!!!!!

There.  I said it.  My HG (holy grail) of holo polishes is a PITA to apply and it pisses me off.  Just because it’s all pretty and stuff doesn’t mean it gets to act like a jerk and get play all the time.  Nuh-uh.  Its a serious love-hate going on.  I will never give it up, but MAN it is frustrating!  Aside from the super-easy peeling nature of the polish once it’s on, it goes on so bizarrely (because of it’s true holo nature) that it took four coats to reach this opacity without patchiness, bald spots, and pulling.  Yikes!

Now, bear in mind…this is how the polish applies when you use a base coat.  ANY base coat it seems, except Nfu-Oh’s Aqua Base, which I have heard is the way to go but of which I do not own nor am likely to since it’s another online-only-purchase-with-crazy-high-shipping-costs type of item.  So.  What’s a determined girl to do?

Skip the base coat.

Seriously, I applied this polish to one hand with base coat and one without.  While it’s not foolproof without base coat, it applies infinitely better and I only required three coats on that hand, and had minimal pulling/dragging/patchiness.  Still not ideal application, but doesn’t make me want to throw the polish bottle against the wall and have my very own all-the-time rainbow in our flat.  Super.

Moving on…the shade on my toes is the super-girly ‘Muchi Muchi’ by Essie, a name which I totally don’t get but I’m sure it means something valid.  Whatever.  I realized yesterday that as far as toe polish goes, I look good in either brights, really dark vampy colors, or pastel shades.  Anything else – murky, or in-between colors – look too close to my skin tone and make my toes look unattractive.  Anyway, so bearing that in mind, I chose ‘Muchi Muchi’ as its one of my last complimentary pedi shades that I haven’t shown you yet.

The polish itself is sugary sweet, a pale sheer pink (but not too pale) that goes with almost anything.  This is three coats, with base and top coat, and it has that slightly jelly-ish, squishy texture that looks almost pillowy.  Like foot candy!  It’s far more feminie than the shades I normally wear, and I feel a bit strange – but I do love the way it looks.  Totally pretty.  Its just a *touch* streaky and stills shows a bit of VNL (visible nail line) but it’s a sheer so its supposed to I guess.  I don’t mind it much.

And there you have it. Two for the price of one…but looking at how long this post is, I really made you work for it, huh!?  My apologies!  I have SOO many great Fall shades to show in the upcoming weeks, I had to make the last entry in the combo series count!  I hope you enjoyed it

What I’d really like to know is: What are your top three favorite nail polish colors?  And what kind of polish finish do you like the best (eg. shimmer, creme, frost, sheer, jelly)?  Gimme the scoop!

Bye for now!