Hello BBs! I just got back from vacation (yes again, I’m a f*ckin world traveller lately) and I actually have a bit of a tan for once in my life. I know, shocking but to be fair at least half of it is via St. Tropez. Still this has inspired me to pick my top nail colors of summer 2016, mostly because when I have a bit of color I can get away with more things without looking ghastly. You pale ladies know how easy it is to get zombie hands. I know I’m not alone there.

So I picked my top five colors for this season, and as usual not all of them are new releases they are just the colors I am inspired to wear this year. I ain’t here to just sell you that new new, this is about inspiration!

Speaking of inspiration, I need some summer clothing inspiration. Do any of you have fashion blogs that you find inspiring? Help a girl out and let me know which fashion bloggers inspire you.

On to the nail colors!

1. ESSIE - LAPIZ OF LUXURY // Speaking of colors that look good with a tan, this purple is poppin’ when you’re a little bit bronzed. It also looks really great on fair skin though, it definitely doesn’t wash me out at all so It’s an all around flattering shade for sure.
2. BUTTER LONDON - ASTON // I always like to have a good nude or neutral color in the rotation, but I’m not really a fan of full on nudes that give me mannequin hands. Aston is dark enough that it’s still darker than my skin when I have a tan but it isn’t dark enough that it’s an actual brown. On deeper skin tones I think it will still look great but it will definitely give off more or a true nude vibe. It’s a warm nude with a hint of silver shimmer though it, and normally I’m not big on hints of shimmer but the shimmer isn’t really noticeable when it’s applied but it prevents it from looking flat which is nice.
3. ESSIE - TRIBAL TEXT STYLEZ // You know I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t include one summer shade that was the total anti-summer. Apparently essie gets me though because this is part of their summer 2016 collection. At least I’m not the only crazy! I love love love dark colors in the summer. It helps add edge back in to lighter, more flowy outfits but the metallic finish on this shade keeps it from looking super dark and gothic. Also, metallic black is so on trend right now…even though it should be on trend all of the time if you ask me.
4. ESSIE - TURQOISE & CAICOS // In the photos on their site and most of the shopping sites I’ve seen, this color looks almost tiffany blue. As you can see above in this photo (and as I’m seeing on my desk in front of my real life face) it’s more muted and seafoam. What the eff retailers? I literally didn’t buy this for a long time because I didn’t like the color that I saw online. It’s definitely more green and less bright and that’s alright by me because that’s one of my favorite pastel shades. It gives me a very mid century mod vibe. I actually have a mid century couch in this color now that I mention it.
5. ESSIE - PENNY TALK // This one is a classic, but for some reason I didn’t buy it for quite a while. I think it’s because super metallic shades scare me. I don;t want streaky fingers, ya know? I’m afraid people will say “Ahh old streaky fingers Quinn, we thought she was fleeky but she proved us wrong” But I did wind up picking it up and now it’s one of my favorite shades. Ain’t no streaky fingers here. It settles on the nail very nicely for a shade that’s so metallic, especially after the second coat. I do find that it will emphasize some ridges in my nails if I stop at two coats but adding a third makes them smooth and perfect. So keep that in mind if you have some ridges.

And those my friends are my top nail colors of summer 2016. I was thinking of doing a top lip colors post as well but I’m literally having too hard a time narrowing it down. We’ll see though, maybe I’ll just have to make it top ten instead of top five ????