Fall Displays and then I'm Leaf-ing

As I've mentioned, I've been traveling recently, and of course I've looked for nail polish along the way from Idaho to Michigan and Illinois. Today I'll be clearing my folders of display photos and then taking another, longer hiatus, as Mr. Karen and I embark on a several-week trip to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary (yes, you read that right; I have been married longer than some of you reading this have been alive; crazy, right?). I'll be back to blogging regularly in mid- to late November, depending on how long it takes me to get back into a routine after my longest vacation ever.

I haven't seen much new at Sally Beauty recently, but I did spot these Bella Nails DIY Grafitti Nail Art fake nails, which have black over another color, with the idea being you'll scratch your own design into them. It's a fun idea that reminds me of art I used to do when I was a kid. The base colors offered are pink, rose gold, and red.



Broadway Nails has some fake nails with glow in the dark design elements for Halloween. I don't think these have names; there's spiders, spider webs, monsters, mummies, candy corn, and jack o' lantern motifs. I believe these were at Walgreens.



I was surprised to see the China Glaze Coloured Nail Spray at Rite Aid; they do have China Glaze polishes in the core display, but I've not seen a separate shelf top display before. They had all four shades in this one: Purple Shimmer, Platinum Silver, Magenta Shimmer, and Bright Blue. Strong Adhesion base coat and Fast Forward top coat complete the assortment.



Cover Girl has a Be Scary Gorgeous display I saw at Rite Aid featuring Katy Perry as Katy Scary that has two core nail polish colors, Red-dy and Willing (red creme) and Diva After Dark (charcoal shimmer). Curiously, in the photo on the display, Katy is wearing neither of those polishes but rather black fake nails with red rhinestone insets glued onto red latex gloves. But hey, they made an effort to be seasonal, so get some credit even though the polish colors are neither new nor limited edition.





I don't get to Target often, so by the time I spotted the fall Defy & Inspire display, most of the new shades were sold out. Fortunately they print a rendition of the polish on the display so I could see what I was missing. First six slots are new colors, others are core. Left to right (including empty slots): Sellout, Violet Haze, Midnight Show, Stairway to Style, For Those About to Frock, Roxy Rose, Fantasy Suite, Bridezilla, Dynasty, Ladies Who Lunch, Bachelor, Gauntlet, Over the Top Top Coat.



As of my last display post, I'd only seen the Essie fall collection Kimono-over at Kohls. Since then, it's shown up more places, such as in the display below from Walgreens. Left to right: Maki Me Happy, Kimono-over, Now and Zen, Playing Koi, Udon Know Me, Go Go Geisha.



Fred Meyer had a four-color display, which lacks Udon Know Me and Go Go Geisha.



At Rite Aid, I spotted something from Essie I didn't know was coming: Gel Setter 3D Pop Tints. These are tinted top coats in three shades: pink, blue, and purple. The display has several core colors to be used as bases under the tints. Left to right: Ballet Slippers, 3D Pop Tints 01 (pink), Topless & Barefoot, 3D Pop Tints 01 (pink), 400 Bahama Mama, 3D Pop Tints 02 (blue), Chinchilly, 3D Pop Tints 03 (purple), Bikini So Teeny, 3D Pop Tints 03 (purple) [though it appears a blue 02 is stuck in this slot now that I study the photo up close].



Meijer had an Essie display that combined the fall colors, some core colors (Ballet Slippers, Bahama Mama, Forever Yummy, Topless & Barefoot, Chinchilly, Bikini So Teeny), the Gel Setter Tints, and Gel Setter Top Coat.



Both Rite Aid and Walgreens had Fright Night Claw Polish (alas, not back in the the classic coffin shaped bottles but rather the generic round ones that first appeared a couple years ago). Six shades: Ghouls Night Out (red microglitter), Creepin' It Real (purple creme), Gettin' Witchy With It (black creme), Where My Witches At (neon green creme), Howlin' for You (orange creme), I'm Here for the Boos (glow in the dark).



Fright Night also has some kits with fake nails, false eyelashes, and jeweled tatoos, themed to Mermaid, Spider Woman, and Rave Princess costumes.



I did what I felt was a thorough survery of Five Below stores when I was in Michigan, hitting up five of them, yet I still feel like I didn't get to see all the fall polishes. I always feel like that with Five Below, though, since the stores get stock at different times and not all stores get all polishes or even all colors in a "collection". Regardless, I did see a fair bit of new and new-to-me stuff, so let's take a look.

There was a "collection" of three new mattes from Fresh Paint (I feel like maybe there was one missing, as the previous matte and semi-matte collections from this brand had four colors): Don't Get Matte Get Even, Matte Me Blush, Matte With Love.



There were also two Fresh Paint cremes I hadn't seen before: Blue Jean Baby and Purple Rain. Wonder how many other new music-themed colors might be out there that I didn't seen.



I found three Funky Fingers with labels on the top of the caps declaring they're SHEER. I guess jellies are making a comeback? First the Wet 'n' Wild ones, now these. Left to right: Turn Tint Up, Tint for Tat, Tinted Love.



This year's crop of Funky Fingers glow in the dark shades were conveniently displayed in a single sectioned bin. In front, there's Last Friday Night, which has pastel neon glitter (or maybe it just looks pastel due to the glow in the dark base. Two cremes, the pink California Girls and the blue Teenage Dream, complete the set.



Then there were a couple singletons that I don't recall seeing before. First up is Greta, a rosy pink shimmer. The name doesn't seem to go with any others, so I'm thinking there might be more to this "collection" that I just didn't run into.



The other was Galactic Blue, a royal blue shimmer that based on the name seems like it should have been out with the Use the Force collection last year. The color looks a lot like Set Sails from the summer beach collection. I feel like I've seen this one before but I can't find any record of it in my past photos so I'm puzzled.



Wrapping up the Five Below report, there were three novelty glitters in square bottles without a brand name, all with fun emoticon glitters in the mix: Party Pooper, Kiss & Makeup, Best Day Ever.



Ulta is the only place so far that I've seen the Orly Breathable line. By the time I got there, some colors were sold out. The ones remaining, left to right: The Antidote, Power Packed, Stronger than Ever, Barely There, Give Me a Break, Power Packed, Fresh Start, Pamper Me, TLC, Beauty Essential, Nail Superfood, Feeling Free. When I first saw this, I scoffed—nails don't need to breathe—but I did a little research and found I was ignorant about why someone might want a breathable nail polish. Despite living for years in the Detroit metro area with its large Muslim community, I didn't realize that devout Muslims couldn't wear regular nail polish, but they can wear this breathable kind (this article on Refinery29 explains it well).



Orly Color Blast has another pop culture collection at Walgreens, Gotham Girls, with polishes themed for Catwoman, Batgirl, and Harley Quinn. Single polishes in back: Triumphant Trio, Save the City, Girl Power. Kits in front: Catwoman (Behind the Mask, On the Prowl, 9 Lives, Hear Me Roar), Batgirl (Save the City, Caped Crusader, Gotham Noir, Nocturnal), Harley Quinn (Joke's on You, Mysterious Mayhem, Signal Fires, Roll the Dice).



Just when I was thinking there would be no pumpkin polishes this year, I found two displays at Jewel in Chicagoland, one with glow in the dark colors and one with glitters and other finishes. These were under the Phantom Frights brand name and in the ridged bottles. I kept looking at Meijer and Rite Aid for pumpkins but haven't run into any so far and am now going to be out of their areas so this maybe be it for pumpkins for me this year.





I hadn't seen Piggy Polish anywhere recently until I came across this sidekick display at a Meijer store. They seem to be marketing their remover more than the polish, touting it as gentle and safe and a remover and foaming hand cleaner in one. There were some polishes in the display, though, too, both in kits with remover at the top and individual bottles in the bottom two rows. I couldn't see names of the colors in the kits; one had a lilac microglitter and a teal microglitter and the other had a yellow creme and and orange creme (or maybe those were shimmers; it was hard to see through the package). The shades in the bottom, starting at top left: Poppy Don't Preach, Petunia & Me, Lonely Ghost, Teal Me About It, Far More Than Rubies, Make It Reign, It Started with a Whisper, BLINK (no idea why all caps), Strong Like Jazz, Among the Stars, Pink is the New Heart, Pink-ing of You.



Rite Aid and Meijer are the only two places so far that I've seen the Revlon Electric Passion Fall 2016 Color Collection. This has two new polishes: Magentic and Electric.



The model on the display has a mani with Magnetic at the base of her otherwise Electric nails; it looks like a semi-Ruffian to me rather than a half moon mani. In any case, points for showing a look that uses both polishes.



I was so curious about Magnetic that I had to swatch it on a wheel almost as soon as I brought it home. Left to right, over black, alone, over skintone. It's quite an interesting shade for a mainstream line, with small blue glitter in a purple to blue shifty duochrome shimmer base.



Sally Hansen's contribution to Halloween displays is this Extreme Wear sidekick I saw at Walgreens with all core colors and a photo of a black and red mani on a model holding a witches hat. If you must know what shades are here, zoom in or email me.



SinfulColors' offering for Halloween 2016 is Guise and Ghouls, which I've seen several different displays for, mostly at Walgreens. This wide shelf top display has these shades (left to right): Black on Black, Gogo Girl, Glow in the Dark, Courtney Orange, Where Oh Werewolf (new, grey shimmer, marked as Only at Walgreens), Clear Coat, Let's Talk, Devil's Stare, Glow in the Dark, Got a Bat Attitude (new, glow in the dark, has bat shaped glitter), Black on Black, Rebel Rose, Aubergine, Snow Me White, Feel the Vibe, Nice Guise (new, dark blues shimmer, limited edition, "limited time chameleon color"), Dead On (new, glow in the dark, skull and crossbones glitter), Clear Coat.



There's a small table top display for Guise and Ghouls with just eight shades: Got a Bat Attitude, Glow in the Dark, Dead On, Ruby Ruby, Courtney Orange, Let's Talk, Nice Guise, Black on Black.



Some Walgreens have a big corner display that lights up (the eyes and nails) and talks when you get close to it. Top row: Black on Black, Got a Bat Attitude, Dead On, Nice Guise, Hazel Moon (new, glow in the dark, crescent moon glitter). Second row: Courtney Orange, Let's Talk, Devil's Stare, Glow in the Dark. Third row: Clear Coat, Cloud 9, Aubergine, Gogo Girl, Glow in the Dark. Fourth row: Clear Coat, Berry Charm, Where Oh Werewolf, Glow in the Dark. Fifth row: Clear Coat, Cloak and Swagger (new, "limited time tombstone matte"), Black on Black, Copper Pot, Glow in the Dark. Bottom row: Snow Me White, Feel the Vibe, Play Dead (new), Ruby Ruby, Glow in the Dark.



I saw the above versions of Guise and Ghouls at various Walgreens. At a Jewel grocery store in Chicagoland, I saw yet another variation, a sidekick, which had a somewhat different assortment (possibly created by the store gathering up some random colors from other displays), including a shade I'd not seen anywhere else. These were priced at $2.99, for just regular SinfulColors, so I'm not sure what Jewel was playing at. Top row: Frenzy, Devil's Stare, Snow Me White, Courtney Orange, Glow in the Dark, Got a Bat Attitude, Let's Talk, Dead On, Clear Coat. Second row: Glow in the Dark, Green Ocean, Innocent, Courtney Orange, Aubergine, Navy I Do, Clear Coat, Dead On, Glow in the Dark. Third row: Glow in the Dark, Aubergine, Courtney Orange, Ruby Ruby, All About You, Navy I Do, Black on Black, Glow in the Dark. Fourth row: Glow in the Dark, Ruby Ruby, Cloak and Swagger, Courtney Orange, Nice Guise, Black on Black, Cloak and Swagger, Hush Money, Glow in the Dark. Fifth row: Glow in the Dark, Nice Guise, Play Dead, Hush Money, Berry Charm, Play Dead, Deja Boo (new, glow in the dark, ghost glitter), Copper Pot, Glow in the Dark. Bottom row: Glow in the Dark, Black on Black, Play Dead, Deja Boo, Gogo Girl, Green Ocean, Nirvana, Feel the Vibe, Cloud 9.



I feel like there have to be at least one or two more kinds of Guise and Ghouls displays but alas I cannot stop at every Walgreens; there are too many of them, at least in the places I've been recently. Can't believe I'm admitting to display hunting fatigue but I am. It's temporary, I'm sure.

Still, I'm not quite done with SinfulColors. I shared a shelf top display of the Facted Illusions display last time, so I was tempted to skip the sidekick display I saw at a different Walgreens in my travels, but then I noticed it has an extra shade the shelf top does not: Drop It Like It's Haute, which is apparently a Walgreens exclusive. Top row: Chromatic Fanatic, Liquid Iris, Mars Attracts. Second row: Drop It Like It's Haute, Mars Attracts, Flash Dance. Third row: Flash Dance, Opal Essence, Set the Dua-tone. Fourth row: Set the Dua-tone, Flash Back, Shell Out. Bottom row: Top Shine, Nail Hardener, Base Coat, Quick Dry.



And now I'm all caught up. See you in November!