Fresh spring colors for fingers and toes
By Catherine Mallette
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
Ready to polish off your spring wardrobe with some new color for your nails? The freshest polishes fall into two categories: lovely light neutrals and pops of hot color.
You’ll see neutrals, ranging from taupes to pinks to peaches in opaques, metallics and sheers. We worked our way through dozens and dozens of test bottles and settled on five that perfectly define spring ’09.
From OPI come two opaques: “Suzi & the Lifeguard,” a delicate but glossy light pink, and “Sand in My Suit,” reminiscent of Nantucket sand dunes. Both are part of the dozen shades in OPI’s new South Beach collection.
For neutral sheers, our favorites, hands and toes down, are from Shades by Barielle. The new Sun Goddess collection includes a trio of barely there, high-shine colors that will get you through any wardrobe challenge: “Nauti-Gal,” a surprisingly soft taupe; “Shell Shock,” a berry pink; and “Sand-al Chic,” a pink/peach.
For those who prefer a bolder statement on your fingertips, you, too, have some great choices. For a visual cue on the palette, think about Henri Matisse’s Open Window, Collioure, a harbor view scene he painted in 1905. The colors are a bright mix of reds, yellows, oranges and blues _ a deliberate attempt to use color not to reflect nature but to capture the feeling and mood of a Mediterranean summer. The painting shocked the art world when it went on display that fall in Paris and launched a new movement called fauvism, from the French word for wild. We found four colors that best reflect the wild side this season. From Chanel comes “Vendetta,” a dark and luscious purple, while “OPI’s On Collins Ave” is a vibrant red-orange. Essie’s Spring 2009 collection includes “Status Symbol,” a hot pink, and “Mesmerize,” a rich, ocean-inspired royal blue perfect for a sunny afternoon. Grab one of these bold colors and enjoy the season _ Mediterranean or not.
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I WANT IT
_ Chanel Spring 2009 Le Vernis Nail Color collection, $23 a bottle, at Chanel counters in department stores and at www.chanel.com.
_ South Beach Collection from OPI, $8.50 a bottle, at Dillard’s, Ulta and other retailers. See www.opi.com for more information.
_ Sun Goddess collection from Shades by Barielle, $8 a bottle, www.barielle.com.
_ Essie Spring 2009 collection, $8 a bottle, at Ulta and other retailers. See www.essie.com for more information.
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(c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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