Shades of coral are everywhere in the fashion world for spring, including nail colors. One of my favorite shades of this vibrant orange hue is Life Preserver by China Glaze, part of the 12-piece Anchors Away collection for Spring/Summer 2011. Life Preserver is a "highly pigmented and luxurious poppy crème." Think of a natural coral branch, the kind most commonly sold at bead stores and art fairs, and you'll have Life Preserver. It's more of a brick-red or rust, rather than a punchy neon orange or pink.
I absolutely love this color because of that ever-so-slight muddiness which gives this color a level of sophistication that many brights lack. The application is amazing as is the staying power. I can see myself wearing Life Preserver throughout the summer on both my hands and toes.
My second favorite bright color from the Anchors Away collection is called First Mate, a "sophisticated and rich navy crème." While I was expecting more of a royal blue, this polish reads more like black on me under most lighting situations. If you want something brighter, you might have to look elsewhere. But if you want a moody deep blue that will still give you some color, First Mate's your match. Once the weather warms up, I'll be wearing this polish with clean neutrals like white for a classy, nautical look. Until then, it's a little too dark for this chilly, overcast spring weather we're having on the east coast.
On the other side of the spectrum, I'm dying to try some of the chic neutrals from the Anchors Away collection, too, like Sea Spray and Below Deck (shown below).
Have you tried any of the polishes from the Anchors Away collection yet? Which ones do you love?
Life Preserver: Highly pigmented and luxurious poppy crème.
Hey Sailor: Vibrant crème red.
Ahoy!: Delightfully intense pink that flashes with reflective glass speck.
First Mate: Sophisticated and rich navy crème.
Starboard: Hip and playful green crème.
Lighthouse: Multi-dimensional, bright yellow glass speck.
White Cap: Whimsical and sparkling multi-dimensional white.
Pelican Gray: High shine, cool toned grey crème.
Sea Spray: Calming pale blue crème.
Below Deck: A flirty mix of taupe and violet.
Sunset Sail: Delightful peachy pink high shine crème.
Knotty: Micro-particle beige shimmer.
Where to buy: China Glaze Anchors Away Polish
can be purchased for $4.60/bottle at Amazon.com. Disclosure: Products reviewed in this post were provided free of charge from China Glaze.