Essie The Girls Are Out and Maximilian Strasse-Her

Found these two beauties in the clearance bin at Rite Aid - The Girls Are Out and Maximilian Strasse-Her, both by Essie.

Note the clearance stickers; Essie polishes usually retail for around $8, but I got these for $3.99 each! :-)

The Girls Are Out is from the Summer 2013 Naughty Nautical collection.  It's a deep fuchsia-berry with  subtle flecks of silver shimmer (say that three times fast).  This is three coats, no topcoat: 

The Girls Are Out tends toward sheer, and you can still see a hint of visible nail line even after three coats.  Application for this one was a bit patchy - I had some trouble with streaking and bald spots on the first coat, but the second coat evened them out and they were gone by the third.  The shimmer is a little more noticeable on the nail than in pictures, but not by much; I've noticed this with several Essie shimmer-fleck polishes (Madison Ave-Hue and most of the Naughty Nautical line comes to mind).  Topcoat might bring the shimmer out a little more, but it would still be mostly invisible in anything but direct sunlight.  Still, it's a pretty shade, one to wear when you want fuchsia but don't want anything too bright and crazy.  I'm still trying to figure out how the name fits into a nautical-themed collection, and the only thing I can think of is a woman going topless on a boat.  O_o

Maximilian-Strasse Her is from the Spring 2013 Madison Ave-Hue collection, and it's an...unusual shade. Shown is three coats, no topcoat:

Maximilian Strasse-Her is a play on the famous street in Munich, Germany, the western end of which is renowned for its luxury shops and hotels.  It's a dusty grayish-green creme without even a hint of shimmer.  This one was a little out of my comfort zone, but it's certainly not bad on my pale hands - I can see myself wearing it in the fall and winter when I want a shade that's a bit more conservative but still out of the ordinary.  It was actually opaque in two coats, but I put on a third to smooth out a couple of dings.  I did notice some very minor streaking, but topcoat would fix that.


All polishes were purchased by me; all opinions are my own.