It’s been a long, long while since I’ve done straight polish swatches — I really should do them more often (if for no other reason than that it doesn’t take all night to do!). As part of the BlogHer network, I was given some free full-size samples of Sonia Kashuk brand nail polish through Target to test out, and I was happy with the color selections when I opened the mailbox. Instead of a handful of pinks, there were three lovely, bright colors, in shades of gold, orange, and green.

The polish itself is a "3-free" (no Dibutyl Phthalate (BDP), Formaldehyde, or Toluene), and the product said it would be fully opaque in two coats. After the first, I was a little dubious; the first layer went on a bit like the polish-I-will-not-mention that has had me working out four coats before — and y’all know I don’t have the patience to wait for paint to dry like that anymore. But they weren’t kidding: it really did work out just fine after two coats. I was tempted to go a little heavy-handed with the application to ensure itíd be opaque; DON’T do this. It WILL bubble and you’ll have to start over. Just believe in the power of polish, apply it evenly, and you’re golden.

Here are some pics of each of the colors (and try not to get distracted by my middle finger; there’s a patch job going on under there from a split nail below the nail bed, so the shape isn’t quite what it normally is):

Sonia Kashuk Tango Mango

I am a straight-up sucker for these bright oranges, and this one didn’t disappoint. Bright and joyful, I had this one on for a couple of days and definitely got remarks from strangers about how pretty it was. Agreed!

Sonia Kashuk Fairy Princess

At first blush (and in an ill-lit room) it reads like a ‘standard’ seafoam green, but when you get it out in the light youíll see it pick up a lovely blue shimmer undertone. Which, yes, is a little sea-ish, but made me like this one more than I thought I would.

Sonia Kashuk Golden Ticket

Saved my favorite for last. Look. At. That. Gold. I’m a little bummed that the sun wasn’t out in full-force the day I wore this polish, but maybe that’s a good thing: full Southern sunlight might have blown up my camera lens. These were shot on a sunny but slightly overcast day, and the color still shone like mad. And I guess maybe what I like about it most is that it’s not really brassy or yellow; it’s a sort of cool-colored gold shimmer that looked fabulous from any angle. I normally would have gone for a third coat (I’m a little nuts when it comes to a visible nail line), but wanted to keep all of these two-coaters for a fair shake.

Want to try some of these out for yourself? Just leave a comment below and tell me about whatever new nail polish trend you’re interested in and youíll be entered in a sweepstakes for a $100 Target GiftCard from BlogHer! Each comment posted automatically generates an entry into the sweeps, which runs from June 4 to June 30.

Rules:

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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

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d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 6/4 to 6/30.
Be sure to visit the sponsor’s brand page on BlogHer.com, where you can read other bloggersí reviews and find more chances to win!