Ulta3 - Tahiti

This is an amazing neon orange, and it makes me happy every time I look at my fingers. It took only 2 coats for full opacity and I photographed on a tissue (in case you were wondering). No top coat.

Direct sun

Shade

Shade

Direct sun

Direct sun

Australis - Flip Flops

The weather has gotten hotter than ever, so I'll be reaching for my brights more often. I picked this up just the other day from Priceline for $7.95, which they released for summer with another polish (a holographic flakie) that I've yet to try.  Application was ok-ish in 2 coats, though the polish was thicker than I typically like so it was a little glumpy (though that could have been partly due to this unbearable heat!). Whilst I still love the colour, I'm just not that comfortable with blues on my nails. I also don't understand the name, since we never call thongs 'flip flops' :/

Cloudy

Cloudy

Shade

Sun (it started to rain, hence the water drops)

Revlon - Midnight Haze

Sometimes in summer you just need to wear a nice, darker polish. This gunmetal polish was my pick because it has a nice blue sheen that stops it from being too dark. I did 2 coats, but I probably should have done 3 since there are thin spots on a few fingernails.

Sun

Sun

Shade

Revlon - Punk

Another slow drier from Revlon, but I don't mind because I love how this colour turned out on my nails, especially the colour it turns in the shade! :) 2 coats.

Sun

Sun

Shade

Shade

BYS - Get Ink Make It Pink

I've had this neon pink jelly polish sitting in my collection, unused, for over a year. Now that I've broken it out, I wish I had just left it there. Whilst it's a pretty pink in the bottle, it paints on a little orangey (all photos are in the shade because the sun made it even more orange), and it took 4 coats for this level of coverage (there is still obvious vnl in the sun, though not so bad in the shade). Definitely a fail-polish for me.

Shade

Shade

Shade

Another odd thing about this polish - it removes as a completely different colour to both how it looks in the bottle and how it looks on the nail :/

MAC - Endless Night

Happy Australia Day to all my fellow Aussies!  I don't own many MAC polishes and I've heard they're pretty hit-or-miss, but for me, this colour is a hit :) I really like how the pink shimmer, whilst not really noticeable, really warms up the base colour. 2 coats.

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Shade

Revlon - Aloof

Aloof is a very light gray with silver shimmer. It took 2 coats, but thankfully it was a little faster drying than the other colours I've tried from this collection.

Direct Sun

Direct sun

Shade

Direct sun

Essie - Braziliant

I own a lot of corals, but not many straight up oranges so for me, Braziliant was a refreshing change. It applied smoothly in 2 coats and although I was a tad disappointed that the pink shimmer didn't pick up very well, I still love this polish for this time of year :)

Direct sun

Direct sun

Shade

Direct sun

Ulta3 - Gold Rush Fever

I feel like I've been wearing too many pinks and purples lately so I decided to go for a metallic gold I picked up a few weeks ago. It was streaky, it didn't dry very fast, but for AU$2.50, my expectations weren't that high. Maybe I'm just being overly negative because I love anything gold (lol, who doesn't?), but I didn't really like the shade on my nails :(

Direct sun

Direct sun

Direct sun

Essie - Long Stem Roses

Long Stem Roses is a bright pinky red with pink and silver shimmer. It was a one coater but I did 2 because I was trying to get as much shimmer as I could (without direct sunlight, this looks like a creme). All photos were taken in direct sunlight because the shaded photos didn't turn out :(

Revlon - Grape Icy

This scented shade came out last summer (2010-11) and smells nice for the first 10 minutes and then rather obnoxious for the rest of the day. Smell aside, this polish was almost too thin and if you enlarge the pictures, you'll notice some gaps even after I used 3 coats. However, I do really like using this colour when I've bitten my nails down to nubs.

Sun

Sun

Shade

Ulta3 - Strawberry Sundae

This is from the newest collection released by Ulta3, and I think it might be called 'Gelato' or something. Anyway, this bright barbie-esque pink is a pretty summer colour. Most of the barbie types of pinks I own are a lot more fuchsia based, so this made a nice change for my polish collection. This is 2 coats, though one would have been enough because the polish is kind of thick.

Direct sun

Shade

Direct sun

Chanel - Particuliere

If you haven't seen a million swatches of this nail polish, you must live under a rock. I'm not normally into any type of brown polish, but Laura's (buynowbloglater) raves convinced me that it was a necessary purchase. I think I'd appreciate it more if my nails were longer, because it just didn't really work for me (especially the colour in the middle picture). Or maybe it's a cold weather only colour...hmmm.

Direct sun

Sun

Shade

Essie - Spaghetti Strap

I don't own a whole lot of Essie's 'classic' sheers, but I really enjoy wearing this one. Whilst it took four coats and it bubbled a little, it is just so subtle that it's noticeable...if that makes any sense! It is also a really great colour if you're a nail biter/have short nails. I will definitely be wearing this again soon.

Shade

Sun

Shade