Guerlain’s new Le Vernis Nail Lacquers ($23 each), for when you get over your matte nail polish phase

Maybe it’s the glittering wet rooftops I’ve been gazing at from my office window today, or the dream I had last night (Surfing at daybreak in Waikiki. Between sets I’d plunge my hands into the water and check out how shiny my nails were, haha! I’m a nerd.), or perhaps I’m just tired of the whole matte polish trend.

Lately, all I’ve wanted to wear on my tips and toes are super shiny finishes. Shiny, like Kate Spade spring patent-leather shoes gleaming on a pristine shelf, or shirtless Ryan Gosling’s oiled torso and glistening white teeth.

I want a maraschino cherry-like shine so blasted bright that passersby whisper, “Did you see her nails? Is she wearing three layers of Seche Vite? Who has the time?”

“NO MORE MATTE NAILS!” I yell to the universe, arms wide and head tilted back. “I want shine like I’ve never seen before!”

Of course, I suppose I could patiently wait for a shiny top coat to dry, but my schedule’s pretty packed. I have to budget time for episodes of that dumb-@ss celebrity diving show (Splash) and the slow-slow-quick-quick-slow-ing on Dancing With the Stars. (Who knew Lisa Vanderpump could werk like that?)

No, I’d rather have the polish do all the work — have it harness the high-voltage brightness of the sun — and I’d also like it to dry quickly.

Blasting counters with brightness this April

From the left: 463, 143, 121, 165 and168

Ideally, I’d like something like the 10 new $23 Guerlain Le Vernis nail polishes coming to Guerlain counters (and the permanent line) at select Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores next month.

Part of the Gloss d’Enfer Maxi Shine collection

The polishes are part of Guerlain’s Gloss d’Enfer Maxi Shine collection, a family of 20 glosses and 10 polishes with a wet-look finish inspired by classic ’60 pink-up girls.

Mirror-like shine

The biggest draw for me? The glistening finish, which still looks wet after it dries, gleams so brightly that I could probably wave my hands and flag down a plane (I kid you not).

Quick drying

Guerlain doesn’t market these as quick-dry polishes, but they probably could if they wanted to. Each of the shades I’ve tried dries within 10 minutes (two coats).

Granted, that’s not 30-40 seconds, but still. Not bad. Next time I have a nail polish emergency (you know what I’m talking about), I just might grab one of these.

Guerlain Le Vernis in 165 (two coats)

Guerlain Le Vernis in 143 (two coats)

Wearing Estée Lauder’s Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette in Batik Sun (from the new Bronze Goddess collection) on my eyes

When I was getting ready this morning, I grabbed my eye shadow palette crush o’ the moment, Estée Lauder’s Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette in Batik Sun from the new Bronze Goddess summer (!) collection, and I wondered about how other makeup lovers like to wear eye palettes.

Par exemple, when you grab a palette, do you usually stick to the shadows in that palette, or do you like to mix and match them with other shades?

I’m not really strict about sticking to the colors in a single palette; it’s mostly about proximity, LOL! If something’s close by and will work with the palette I want to wear, then I’ll add it into the mix. But if I’m traveling and only have room in my bag for a single eye palette, then I’ll just stick to those colors.

A few of my favorite spring and summer palettes…

Estée Lauder Pure Color Gelee Powder EyeShadow Palette in Batik Sun ($48)

Too Faced Summer Eyes Summer Sexy Shadow Collection ($36)

Chanel Ombres Matelassées Eyeshadow Palette in Pearl River ($80)

Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs in Coup de Foudre ($59)

What about you? When you wear an eye shadow palette, do you tend to stick to just those colors? Are you an eye shadow palette purist, or do you like to mix it up?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Here I’m wearing Guerlain’s new Écrin 4 Couleurs in Coup de Foudre ($59, new for spring 2013) on my eyes and cheeks

Love at first sight.

This, according to Google Translate, which tells me that Coup de Foudre, also known as the name of Guerlain’s new spring quad, means “love at first sight” in English.

And yes, it was (love at first sight). First time I opened this gorgeous gold compact, I made goo-goo eyes at it and twirled a lock of hair around a finger like I was trying to get it to buy me a drink at the bar.

Haha!

Hey, baby, what’s your sign? I’m a Gemini, in case you were wondering…

Coup de Foudre shocked me in a couple different ways. First, the $59 price is alarming. Second, I think it’s supernatural… I keep expecting to see it on an episode of Lost Girl or Grimm!. Its gray, jade green, khaki and coral powder shadows are so enchanting that I bet even sirens and succubi would struggle to resist them.

Why?

Because this is a damned fine quad, babe! An expensive one, for sure, but I think Guerlain struck near perfection.

I mean, where do I start?

How ’bout here: when you’re 37, sometimes you have to do the math in your head to remember your age (mark my words, it’ll happen). On top of that, shimmery finishes become really challenging.

Most shimmery finishes, that is. Coup de Foudre has magic shimmer — shimmer that glows on my lids without accenting my fine lines.

When I wear these shadows and look in the mirror, I feel like asking, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s that 27-year-old looking back at me!? Hot damn and hallelujah!!”

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Wearing Guerlian’s Météorites Perles du Paradis ($70) all over my face

I like big cats and I cannot lie (those other brothers can’t deny)…

I also like huge hoop earrings, XXL scoops of ice cream (really, if you’re gonna indulge, might as well go all out) and the super-sized shimmery pearls in Guerlain’s $70 spring highlighter, Météorites Perles du Paradis.

Don’t these look almost good enough to eat? You might want to keep them away from young children and, um, inebriated adults, because not only do they look pretty tasty, they also smell like those yummy rose and violet hard candies they sell at the Asian grocery store, om nom nom…

And I like their name, Perles du Paradis, oui, oui! Pearls of paradise, I think. When I swirl a brush in the jar (I prefer a brush, but the product comes with a pink puff), the pearls tinkle like wind chimes.

I think these pearls look, smell and even sound great, but what, exactly, are they designed to do? Guerlain says the six shimmery skin-toned and pastel pearls that come in the jar brighten dull skin by reflecting light and boosting radiance, and they work with all skin tones.

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Here I’m wearing Guerlain’s $35 Rouge Automatique in 600 Ballarde, one of four Automatique Lipsticks from Guerlain for spring 2013

Did I have to try very hard to feel fancy with shimmery pink Rouge Automatique in Ballarde and creamy berry Shine Automatique in Flirt, two of four $35 full-coverage Guerlain Automatique Lipsticks for spring 2013, in my makeup bag last weekend?

Nope, not at all. Actually, it was Automatique.

Good thing, too, because $35 is a lot for a single tube! Heck, for $35, these better be like little lipstick versions of extra tall, diamond-studded tiaras.

So, just how do these elevate your day (and your lipstick game) to make you feel fancy? Let me count the ways…

1. The Transformers-style gold tube

Whenever I slide the little “G” button on side of the tube, and the lipstick emerges from the trapdoor top like a rabbit from a magician’s hat, wow! — that’s makeup magic.

From top to bottom, these are dressed to the nines, and I also love the little details, like the scripty Guerlain font at the top of the cap and the base of the bullet.

2. The tea rose flavor and scent

Light and fresh, like fragrant petals strewn across a satin pillow, the fragrance and flavor are just little touches, but they enhance the whole, “You’re being pampered,” experience.

3. The moisturizing, long-lasting formula

I’m hesitant to use these in a sentence with “stretchy pants,” since Guerlain positions itself several steps above that, but dang if these don’t feel that comfortable to me. My dry winter lips love the moisturizing formula.

And I almost can’t believe that non-matte lipsticks as slick, smooth and lightweight as these can last as long as they do — from 3-5 hours. That’s kind of epic.

4. They make me feel like a straight-up lipstick ninja!

I’ve been sneaking around with two of these Automatiques for days, stealthily slicking my lips on the sly, and no one’s been the wiser.

You know how sometimes when you go out to dinner and want a touch-up after the meal but don’t want to make a big production out of it? I’ll pull one of these from my purse, flick the switch on the side with my thumb to engage the lipstick bullet, slide a single layer on my bottom lip, rub my lips together, and check my reflection in the reflection on the side of the golden tube. Ninja style. Takes all of about five seconds.

Rouge Automatique in 600 Ballarde ($35)

Shine Automatique in 761 Flirt ($35)

Swatches of Rouge Automatique in 600 Ballarde on the left and Shine Automatique in 761 Flirt on the right