The Nail File

The problem with being in the antipodes is that our seasons are flipped and we get seasonal collections six months after they are released elsewhere. I was drooling over this Essie collection when swatches first hit the web almost nine months ago but to be honest they had slipped my mind by the time they landed on my desk. But man they are gorgeous!

These are real autumnal colours – warm tones that are perfect for the current military trend, changing leaves, crisp mornings and general mood-lifting when the weather is grey.

Taken in natural light

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A week later and I’m wrapping up my look at the two new Zoya collections (Wonderful part one here, Wicked part one here, Wicked part two here) – let’s dive right in!

Taken in artificial light

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Last week we were talking about the new Zoya Wicked collection and I split it up into two posts: reds and brown/green/purple. I’m about to do the same for the Wonderful collection – the reds/browns and grey/green/purple. I love that Zoya do this – two collections out at the same time with similar shades but different formulas. Where Wicked is all glitters and shimmers, Wonderful is delightfully rich and creamy. Yum.

Taken in natural light

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Mecca Cosmetica always seem to nail it (oh snap!) with their seasonal collections. Their newest trio for Autumn, Fashion to the Fore, is no exception. Three beautiful cremes that are sophisticated and unassuming. Tres magnifique.

Taken in natural light

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Part two of the Wicked collection and we have moved away from the reds an onto the darker shades. If you missed part one, make sure you check it out here. Let’s just dive right in…

Taken in natural light

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Kit have outdone themselves with four really awesome colours from their new Capture The Moment collection (due to launch on Monday). This whole makeup collection is hot to trot, but you know I will always have a soft spot for polish (this isn’t theblushfile, or thelipfile now, is it?)

Kit do excellent bright pastels, and these are no exception. We’re talking bright, but still feminine. First firework to explode is High Impact…
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Considering that I have been banging on about gold, baby blue and purple being the colours for summer, it was really refreshing to have the Essie summer collection land on my desk with not a drop of any of these colours in sight. Instead, Essie are treating us to varying shades of orange and coral (a summer failsafe), a twist on our old favourite taupe, nude, pink and a green that will blow your mind.

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Venomous Villains was probably one of the most hotly anticipated MAC collections of the last few years. When pictures of the duo-chrome foil nail polishes hit the web, I started drooling.

Having now tried them, I wasn’t disappointed. Bad Fairy was by far my favourite. It’s a raspberry colour with flashes of warm gold and a hint of red. I haven’t seen anything like it before – if you know of a dupe, let me know!

Taken in natural light

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The spring/summer collections just keep rolling in (I need more hands to swatch them all) and the OPI Summer Flutter quartet will set hearts a-flutter (sorry, it was obvious) with the sweet and whimsical summer vibe.

At first it felt to me a little like a hodge-podge of colours and formulas (redish, orange, blue, pink, glitter, shimmer, cream) but each has its merits for being in the limited edition summer range and each suits a different mood.

Taken in natural light

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Zoya have taken the pastels we all love for spring and given them an extra dimension with a shot of liquid metal. There are six hot duo-chromatic shades in the Reverie collection. (every time I think about this collection, the Kings of Leon song Revelry gets stuck in my head)

Taken in artificial light

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