My Favorite Things: OPI Nail Lacquer, Hong Kong Collection

I don't do pastels. I don't do pastels because I'm wicked pale. So wicked pale that my shade is Tupperware. As in so pale that I'm see-through. (Annie Lennox remade Whiter Shade of Pale for me. Seriously.) Pastels do not a damn thing for me. So, typically I do black. Black EVERYTHING. Everything. Black. Right down to my tips and toes. I like the contrast that a black polished nail brings to my pallid, porcelain skin. Okay, so every now and then I'll rock a classic, timeless red, too, but I can't pull off much else unless it's deep and dark. Spring and summer can be a rough time for a girl like me. The rich, velvety dark winter tones that best define me, give way to watered down colors better suited for Easter eggs and those with pigmentation. Yeah. My spring palette usually doesn't switch up much. Black, gray and maybe the occasional brown or olive green. But what about those tips and toes? They tend to stay black. Unless I can stumble across a rare deep, bright summer gem, which I did this year! (Insert heavenly chorus of angels here:______.) OPI has a great new array of nail color for spring and summer 2010, The Hong Kong Collection. Of course there are a few pale plums and pinks in the collection, but there are also deep oranges and aquas. With blue hues and juicy citrus tones being billed as the new trend for spring and summer 2010, OPI has unleashed a collection with that very trend as its core. Last week I purchased my two favorite shades from the collection, Jade Is The New Black (How fitting is that moniker for ME!?), which is an ab fab rich kelly green, and Suzi Says Feng Shui, which is the Smurfiest, Smurftastic blue ever! The cool, pale tones of my skin really make the green and blue OPI colors pop. Factor in my black hair and green eyes and it's a smash hit! And, my friends are both shocked and thrilled that it's NOT black! Right now my fingertips and toes are enjoying a lovely double coating of Jade Is The New Black, in honor of spring and the return of its glorious greeness! If you head over the OPI site, you can take The Hong Kong Collection for a test drive on your virtual fingertips, even allowing for the adjustment of your nail length and skin tone. Simply click on the color that catches your eye, and VOILA! You've got yourself an instant mani! OPI can be found in salons and finer beauty retailers everywhere, including some online, and a bottle typically retails between $6 to $9. OPI Nail Lacquers hold up better than most drug-store nail enamels and they speak the colors of NOW. Your flip-flops will thank you for your well coordinated pedi, too!