Mani Monday: Fall/Winter 2013 -- Powerhaus Polishes Part II

Gaze upon the richness and warmth of OPI's Fall/Winter and Essie's Fall 2013 powerhaus polishes. Packed with duochromes and shine, these two collections are the business. And they're part deux of our two-part Fall powerhaus picks (see part I here).

OPI Haven't the Foggiest ($10.95, opi.com for retailers), from the San Francisco collection -- see the full range here: Brilliant, multilayered metallic awesomeness. It's clean, bright, cool, and unbelievably hot.

OPI Muir Muir On The Wall (San Francisco collection; $10.95 each, opi.com for retailers): Oooh. A burgundy plummy-ish coppery duochrome. It's got an almost satiny finish but if you slap a coat of top coat on it (I used my favourite Revlon), it shimmers and shines and screams edgy.

OPI It's All San Andreas's Fault (San Francisco collection; $10.95, opi.com for retailers): Hallo, liquid sand. I love you, liquid sand. Glitter- and sparkle-free, we're looking at a bumped-up sophisticated cappuccino. Perfection achieved in two easy coats.

OPI Alcatraz Rocks (San Francisco collection; $10.95 each, opi.com for retailers): I don't have the words to tell you how much I love this shade of Liquid Sand. From the 15-bottle OPI set of Fall 2013 nail polish, I pick this as most favourite in the world. Winner. Gagnant.

OPI Peace, Love, and OPI (San Francisco collection; $10.95 each, opi.com for retailers): Remember Rimmel London Zeitgeist*? I do. It was one of the very first duochrome polishes ever created and it was groundbreaking. I kept that bottle and used that bottle for more than seven years. About six months ago, I had to let it go -- it got to that part in the bottle where it had nothing left to give. It was my saddest day in polish-hoarding land. I wish I had a picture to show you but I don't. Oh! Wait! I do! Sorta. OPI Peace, Love and OPI is my new Zeitgeist. If you ask me, it's the shade of the season. Yep, I said that. I'm going to keep this forever.

Essie answers the call of the Fall, too. I don't know what they've done to their new formula but it is an absolute pleasure to use. It's thicker, it self-levels, doesn't streak, and coverage is fantastic. It. is. good. And they've released a duochrome too, so you have shopping options.

Essie For The Twill Of It ($9.99, essiecanada.ca for retailers): Lookit that duochrome! Lookit! Purple, green, silver, grey, purple, green, silver. That right there is a what I call a Gimmie-That Colour. How does it compare with OPI Peace, Love, and OPI? Same. You need one or the other.

Essie Vested Interest ($9.99, essiecanada.ca for retailers): Solid and glitter-free. No chrome, no sparkles, no metallic, no flash. Simply the perfect Fall green for your nails. It makes me think of pine trees. And Fall. And winter (although Essie's Winter polish collection is a whole new set of colours).

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe  ($9.99, essiecanada.ca for retailers): Subtly sparkly but in no way glittery, how much do I love a charcoal grey? A lot. It's wintery and moody with an elegant little twinkle.

Essie The Lace Is On ($9.99, essiecanada.ca for retailers): See photo for approximately 1000 words (some of those words should be metallic, bold, magenta, ooooh, and gimmie that). Yes, it's from the Fall 2013 nail polish collection but I don't care. I'm wearing it now. I'll wear it again in Fall, too. And probably again in winter.

Availability: Shop Amazon.com for OPI. Shop Amazon.com for Essie. Shop Ulta.com for all things nail.

Photos and manicures by Karen Falcon (she eats Cheetos for dinner).
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*Definition: Zeitgeist (spirit of the age or spirit of the time) is the intellectual fashion or dominant school of thought that typifies and influences the culture of a particular period in time.