My Top 3 Summer Nail Polishes

Ha.  So today my MacBook screen cracked for legitimately no reason.  I touched the screen to adjust it and get rid of glare and now there are like 1000 cracks and tiny pieces of glass are falling out.  NOT COOL, APPLE. NOT COOL.  Of course my parents won't believe that story, and I don't blame them because I wouldn't either, and now I need a new MacBook.  I've been in happier moods.  Let's look at some pretty nail polish.  That should make it better.


I've found that I really change my nail polish preferences based on the season.  I occasionally like to do a vampy color in the summer, but it's mostly bright, punchy oranges/corals/pinks/purples/reds/etc, all cremes, no shimmers (shimmery pink is just too much for me).  I actually have a good 15-20 candidates in that category, but here are my top 3 for the moment.


Essie Vermillionaire, Orly Terracotta, Zoya Areej: We've got the whole range of colors here, orange, coral-red, and pink.  Vermillionaire is a straight-up orange creme.  Not a neon, traffic cone orange, but a more reddish-orange that reminds me of the outside of Creamsicles, which just screams summer.  I'm really not an orange person, I don't even own a piece of orange clothing, but this nail polish with a tan is so great.  This polish makes you look tanner no matter what, but with a tan it screams Mediterranean goddess.  It applies like butter and is opaque in 2 coats with a glossy finish and good wear time (about 5 days for me).  Orly Terracotta is my new go-to polish.  It's a semi-matte, neon, medium coral-pink-red.  That sounds like a lot of colors.  But it totally works.  It's bright enough to be fun and punchy and sassy, but the tone is a very typical coral with pinky-red undertones, so it works in a lot of different situations.  Being matte does make it a little annoying to apply, but if you wait long enough between coats it doesn't get streaky.  With a shiny topcoat it loses the matte effect and looks like any other glossy polish.  What I love about this color is that I can wear it to work, because it's really a coral, but the brightness gives it a little edge.  The wear time is decent, about 4 days (mattes always chip faster for me).  Zoya's Areej is my overall favorite.  I'm wearing it on my fingers AND toes right now (and that never happens).  I get compliments on it every time I wear it.  Areej is a light-to-medium pinky-purple.  It really reminds me of Barbie for some reason, it's extremely girly but still professional, and it's totally appropriate for work but it's still a fun color.  I can get away with one coat this, but two is probably better.  It dries glossy and wears well.

Not pictured is my other favorite, OPI Cajun Shrimp, which I mention so much that I figured it was kind of implied.  It's a poppy red--a red with orange undertones--and it's great.

Images via polyvore.com, amazon.com.