The Essie Resort 2012 collection, available now at beauty supply stores and salons.

Lights, Camera, Action…Bazooka?

LOL! Which one of these things is doin’ its own thing? Maybe someday I’ll figure out what Bazooka, one of four bright shades in Essie’s Poppy Razzi release for summer 2012, is doing in this collection, but until then I’ll just try to enjoy the neon-ness of it all.

Lights (an electric pink), Camera (a brilliant coral), Action (a vibrant orange) and Bazooka (a bright orange) — again, Bazooka? What am I missing?? — are darn near picture-perfect summer shades. All four apply smoothly from my cuticles to nail tips, despite having a formula on the thicker side, which is pretty typical, from my experience, of Essie polishes.

All I need is one coat of Camera (my fave!) or two of Bazooka and Lights. Action, however, likes being babied. It goes on a little streaky, so I usually apply a third coat.

With a good base and top coat, I can get a solid seven days (at least) from these before any signs of chipping.

Lights

Camera

Action
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Pairings that unexpectedly work…

Chocolate and chili powder
I had a chocolate and spicy chili gelato once and was surprised by how much I liked it — after the first few bites, which, yeah, were definitely weird.

Karen and Tabs
El Hub and I were actually dog people up until Tabs came along… Talk about unexpected detours down Crazy Cat Lady Lane!

Celebrities and shoes
Dude, I never thought I’d say this, but some of those celebrity shoes are really cute! I practically live in my Fergie boots. And if I had a nickel for every time a pair of Jessica Simpsons at Macy’s stopped me dead in my tracks…

The brights and pastels from the new Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Collection
Seriously, creamy avocado and shimmery hot pink? I know! But don’t these polishes look good together?

I’ve been neglecting my poor paws all winter long, but the six new shades in the Essie Navigate Collection ($8 each) promise to change that. Available in February, the playful pastels and bold brights in both cream and shimmer finishes offer an almost endless supply of unusual color pairings for fingers and toes.

Bottles from the left: Ole Caliente, Orange It’s Obvious and Tour de Finance

From the left: A Crewed Interest, Navigate Her and To Buy or Not to Buy

I never would have thought to pair some of these colors together, but standing side by side, I think they look pretty darned cute.

Swatches clockwise from my thumb: A Crewed Interest, Tour de Finance, Navigate Her, Ole Caliente and Orange It’s Obvious
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