Last Night's Nails: Nails Inc. Devonshire Row

Last Night's Drink: White wine (house)
Last Night's Nails: Nails Inc. Devonshire Row with Dior Rock Coat

Goooood morning! Welcome to your weekend! Did any of you kick the weekend off in a big way yesterday? A friend of mine won a party at Howl At The Moon in Universal City, so we all headed over there after work for cheap drinks, buffet food, and dueling pianos! If you've never been to a dueling piano bar - you need to go find one near you, STAT. They are so much fun! My hands-down favorite dueling piano bar will always be the Bar at Times Square in New York New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. I have great memories there, but Howl At The Moon is pretty awesome, too!

So for last night's mani, I started with Nails Inc. Devonshire Row. Devonshire Row is described as a "deep glossy lilac" which is pretty accurate. In bright sunlight it reads a lot more pink, but in artificial and low lighting it the lilac shines through. It has a creme finish and the great formula I love from Nails Inc. This is 2 coats of Devonshire Row:


Devonshire Row is very pretty on it's own, if a little delicate for my tastes. However, since we were going out, I needed it to have a little edge, so I whipped out a recent purchase, Dior Rock Coat. I purchased my first Dior polishes a few weeks ago, and one of the items other polish lovers had raved to me about was Rock Coat, a sheer gray layering polish meant to add edge to any mani or pedi. Take a look:

(index and middle finger: NI Devonshire Row; ring and pinky fingers: Dior Rock Coat)

(Nails Inc. Devonshire Row w/ Dior Rock Coat)

I am head-over-heels crazy about Dior Rock Coat! I love what it did for Devonshire Row, taking the polish from a bright summer's day by the pool to edgy with a slight vamp for the night. Expect to see Rock Coat making multiple appearances in the future here at Polish & Tonic!

Nails Inc. Devonshire Row is currently available at select Sephora locations and online at sephora.com (retails for $9.50/bottle). Dior Rock Coat was released this past spring as a part of the Dior Rock Your Nails Collection. It is a limited edition polish, so grab one while you can! If you can't find it in stores, it it's still available online at dior.com (retails for $19.50/bottle).

What do you think? Is Devonshire Row unique enough to keep on its own? Do you like the graying effect of Dior Rock Coat? What are your favorite polish layering combinations?

Nails Inc Week: Hyde Park Gate

Happy Friday, Polish Fanatics! Anyone have exciting plans for the weekend? I'm heading out on the town tonight, but then three words will dictate the rest of my weekend: Must. Start. Packing. My big move is less than 3 weeks away - eek!

Today I have for you a bright polish Nails Inc. Hyde Park Gate. Hyde Park Gate was a limited edition release polish in the UK, so it didn't arrive stateside in the recent US launch. HPG is a bright green creme, so bright it's almost neon. This is not normally my style of color, but in the bottle it looked like it would be a soft minty green, a la Essie Mint Candy Apple. Was I surprised! While bright colors like this typically have streaking issues, I was able to get HPG on my nails with an easy 2 coats.





Just to give you an idea of HPG's near-neon finish, check this out:



It was so bright! I put HPG on before I went to last Saturday's Angels game vs. the Mariners in OC. It was a night game, but I wasn't sure what was illuminating the ballpark more - the overhead lights, or this polish. I already don't love greens on me, and HPG did not help their case. To the Helmer swap/share drawer it goes!


What do you think? It's too bright, right? Or do you like bright, neon finishes? And what polishes have you picked up that looked one color in the bottle, and was completely different on the nails (please, warn me!)?

Nails Inc Week: St. John's Wood

It's Thursday, Thursday! Just a short hop, skip, and a jump away to the weekend!

Continuing with our Nails Inc. series this week, today I have for you Nails Inc. St. John's Wood. This is one of the most popular polishes from Nails Inc.'s line. St. John's Wood is described as a "soft powder lilac." I guess I think of lilacs as a much more paler color, as I see a lot of strong blue notes in this bold color. It reminds me more of a slightly lighter version of the blurples I reviewed a few weeks ago. St. John's Wood was easy to apply and had the same great Nails Inc. formula I've come to expect. My steady hand was back, which means these could have been 1-coat wonders, but I used 2 coats to really show the beauty of the color.




St. John's Wood was a tricky polish to capture on film - I took a lot of photos, but everything showed up much closer to blue than purple. This was the closest I could get to match the color, but it's still a hint too blue. It's a fantastic color - it's reminiscent of the purple color usually associated with all things Easter - bunnies, baskets, and egg hunts. I like St. John's Wood, but it is unique - it's bold, but not bold enough to be full of vamp/attitude/night-on-the-town edginess. It's feminine, but not dainty. It doesn't blend in enough to be safe-for-work, but there's nothing about it that offends the senses either. It is definitely a chameleon - and going back in to the international drawer in my Helmer for safekeeping in my collection!


What do you think? Have you checked out any of the Nails Inc. polishes yet at Sephora? Do you like these blue-purple shades? And do you have a color like St. John's Wood in your collection, one that I would call a 'jack-of-all-trades, but a master at none'?

Nails Inc. Week/Pink Wednesday: Brook Street

Happy Hump Day! It's Wednesday, which means I'm officially allowed to start day-dreaming about my weekend and all it holds in store for me. Then I remember the only thing I need to be doing this weekend is packing my crap up, and I instantly wake from my daydream and am quite happy to be back in the cold harsh reality that is my office!

In celebration of Nails Inc. Week @ Polish & Tonic, and Pink Wednesday, I bring to you today Nails Inc. Brook Street. Brook Street is described as a "pure coral" but I see it much more as a bright pink creme with a coral tint. This was another 3-coat manicure as I had another unsteady hand; I'm thinking I may need to lay off the coffee for awhile. Right?



I am an instant fan of Brook Street! She was a bit bright for work, but a lot of fun to show off in the summer sun. However, when I was applying her, I had the sneaky feeling that maybe there was a dupe in my collection already, so I went to the Helmer to look for similar colors. I came up with Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral and Julep Natalie.

(RBL Coral; Nails Inc. Brook Street; Julep Natalie)

Here's a look at Coral, Brook Street, and Natalie on the nail wheel:

(RBL Coral; Nails Inc. Brook Street; Julep Natalie)

The verdict: RBL Coral and Brook Street are not exact dupes, but they are really really close. Coral had a little more red than Brook Street, but it's not really noticeable - I only saw it when I held the nail wheel swatch over my own painted nail. Given that Coral is more sheer and required a minimum of 3 coats on the nail wheel - which is a lot - I would recommend picking up Brook Street for your own personal collection. Julep Natalie was also close, but noticeably more orange than Brook Street. A casual polish fan probably doesn't need both Brook Street and Natalie in their collection, but for this addict, I'm keeping them both!

Brook Street was released as a part of the Spring/Summer '11 Collection and is available at select Sephora locations and online at sephora.com. Julep Natalie retails for $14 for a 0.27 fl oz bottle, and you can find it online at julep.com.

What do you think? Do you have any of these polishes, or anything else in the pinkish coral family? Can you even see the difference between these polishes, or have I just been sniffing too many polish fumes and need to get my head cleared?

Nails Inc Week: Porchester Square

Happy Tuesday, Polish Fanatics!

As I mentioned in my post late yesterday, Nails Inc. polishes recently launched in the US! I am super excited that you all can now share in this brand, because they make fantastic polishes in great colors with buttery formulas. To celebrate the launch, I'm going to be reviewing Nails Inc. polishes all week to help you guys figure out which polishes you need to buy first!

For today's mani I have Nails Inc. Porchester Square. Porchester Square is a light taupe creme, a perfect nude for the work day. There is a light hint of lavender in the polish, but it's not overstated. Porchester Square is the lighter sister to the deeper mushroom taupes of last season, a la Chanel Paradoxal and Sally Hansen Commander In Chic. I'm not sure what was wrong with me when I did this mani, but I had heavy hands and needed 3 coats to smooth out some of the bumps. I've worn Porchester Square before, and it only required 2 coats then, so I chalk this up to operator error (read: I'm a ditz!).

(Nails Inc. Porchester Square; direct sunlight; no flash)


(Nails Inc. Porchester Square; shade; no flash)

(Nails Inc. Porchester Square; close-up; direct sunlight; no flash)

Is it any surprise to you that I am a fan of Porchester Square? It shouldn't be! This is the perfect shade for work; it's beautiful, fashionable, but not so loud as to draw a lot of attention at work - the perfect trifecta!

Porchester Square is currently available at select Sephora locations and online at sephora.com. If you're in the market for a pretty color for work, definitely check it out!


What do you think? Are you excited about Porchester Square? Have you ran to Sephora yet to pick up a few Nails Inc. polishes? If not, what in the world are you waiting for?!?!

Nails Inc Comes to America!

Hello Everyone!

I heard the best news a few weeks ago, and have been waiting for the perfect time to share it with you all! Remember my recent trip to London and Paris? Well, when I was there, my primary goal (besides drinking like a local and shopping like I couldn't spell r-e-c-e-s-s-i-o-m) was to pick up one of the hottest UK nail polish brands, Nails Inc. I journeyed over to the Nails Inc. flagship store off Bond Street and had the best time with the ladies in the shop. They were impressed that I ventured out specifically to see them and buy some Nails Inc. polishes, and that I had brought packaging on my trip to safely ship my new beauties home with me. My Nails Inc. haul is still one of the highlights of the trip, but I was sometimes sad to sing their praises, knowing you all couldn't easily find the brand in the US.















Well, lo-and-behold, friends, your Nails Inc. deprived days are over! Nails Inc. polishes are now available in the US! How friggin' awesome is this! A few weeks ago Michelle at All Lacquered Up did a fantastic review of the Nails Inc. US launch - definitely check it out. To quickly summarize, Nails Inc. is on sale now at certain Sephora locations across the US and online at sephora.com. This initial launch includes 40 of their most popular colors, crystal cap colours (read: blinged out polishes!), special effects 3D glitters, and the current craze, crackle colors!

Nails Inc. polishes retail at Sephora starting at $9.50 for a 0.5 fl oz bottle. I kinda feel bad for our UK fanatics - Nails Inc. retails there for approximately £11 ($18USD), and I was really surprised by the low price point when the polish launched stateside. (Note to my UK readers: PLEASE venture to the Nails Inc. flagship store on South Molton Street - you can get such great deals there if you buy several polishes, way better than the £11 each pricing in department stores!)

To celebrate the arrival of Nails Inc. in the grand old U-S-of-A, we are going to celebrate Nails Inc. Week at Polish & Tonic! Yes, that's right my friends, all entries this week are going to be reviews of the fabulous colors from Nails Inc. - nudes and greens and blues and pinks, oh my!

I hope you all are as excited - or getting there! - as I am about Nails Inc. coming to the US. If you're not, you will be by the end of Nails Inc. Week! Hang around here for reviews on some of the US and UK exclusive colors, and when you see something you like, hop on over to Sephora to check out a few polishes - I promise you won't be disappointed!

Nails Inc Queensgate Terrace

Happy Sunday!

It's glorious here in LA, and I should be out walking the streets, looking for a new apartment. Instead, I'm online checking out nail polish, working on the blog, and enjoying a fantastic glass of chardonnay. Oops.

Today I'm playing around with some of the many untried polishes I have, and picked out one from my euro haul, Nails Inc. Queensgate Terrace from their Spring/Summer 2011 Collection. I've worn a few of the Nails Inc polishes now, and I am in love with the formula! Queensgate Terrace is a cornflower blue creme that leans a little purple, depending on how you look at it. I used 2 coats for this mani, but I will say this is my least favorite application - the first coat went on very streaky, and you can see on the nail I did have some bubbling problems. I won't completely blame the nail polish yet, though - I did shake the bottle before applying (as opposed to rolling between my hands, the better way to mix polish) and that could cause the bubbling. Take a look:

(natural lighting, in sunlight)

(natural lighting, in shade)

And the close-up:


Overall, I love Queensgate Terrace, I just am not sure I love it on me. Normally I lean towards darker blues, and this one feels a little 'out there' on me; it's constantly catching my eye, and I'm not sure in a good way. Oh well - I'll put it back in my collection for now, but it may hit the swap/share bin in the future.

What do you think? Did you have any of the other blues in this family, like Essie Coat Azure? How do they work on you? And are you still wearing summer polishes, or, like me, are you ready to start ushering in all of the fall colors?

My European Vacation: Part III

Good Morning! It's almost the weekend! Anyone got plans yet? I fear this is one of those weekends when I have to act like an adult and tick off items on my to-do list: cleaning, laundry, car wash, apartment hunting... you know. The boring stuff.

Continuing on my vacation series, I have for you today Nails Inc. Aldwych. Nails Inc. is a London-based brand which has gotten a lot of buzz in the US. The brand is mainly carried in department stores such as House of Fraser, Debenhams, and Selfridges, but I had a chance to visit their flagship store off Bond St. and had a great time picking out polishes with the ladies there! After about 4 days in London I was bored with looking at RBL Decorous, and so decided to spice things up with my color of choice this summer, coral. Aldwych is a bright orange-leaning coral with a gorgeous light blue and pink shimmer. Another blogger once compared Nails Inc. formula to that of Rescue Beauty Lounge, and I have to say - it's equally as awesome as RBL. Nearly opaque in 1 coat, below is a 2 coat mani of Aldwych:

And for the close-up (definitely click on the pictures for larger views!):


Let me tell you, this shimmer had me staring at my nails constantly! I am so happy I indulged myself with this purchase! I didn't actually pick this polish out - it was a free gift with purchase. Given my current infatuation with corals, as soon as I saw it I had to have it, and so bought a few more polishes just to qualify for the gift! (Yea, I'm that crazy shopper). This polish is definitely a keeper!

Sadly, Nails Inc. is currently not available in the US. However, Michelle at All Lacquered Up posted a few weeks ago that Sephora will begin carrying Nails Inc. this fall, so keep an eye out for it!

What do you think? Have you heard of Nails Inc. before? If you've tried it, how do you think it compares to the infamous RBL formula? And seriously - am I the only one obsessed with corals this summer?!?!