Happy Days is what summer is in a lot of ways. So, I think it’s a good name for a summer collection. On the other hand, happy days are scattered throughout our life pretty randomly sometimes, and who said they should necessarily come in summer? Well, this collection by Deborah Lippmann can help to make us a little happier whatever weather’s like, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s pretty universal. All four shades here are worn and loved around the globe. Two of those – pink and coral – are a classic, while the other two – green and blue – are artsier, still given that fashion and trends keep shifting and getting bolder, these shades aren’t that uncommon in manicure. Also, these shades are put together in a way where they aren’t super crazy, there’s something calm about them, they are softened up, well rounded which gives a very lush and chic twist to them and makes them very wearable. To put it simply, I think all four of these are good solid manicure shades, and if any of them are to your liking, you might want to have them for you to enjoy them on any day of the year.

 

Before we talk shades, let me quickly say a couple of words about the new gel lab pro, even though I’ve already done it once in detail here Deborah Lippmann Afternoon Delight spring 2016 swatched and new Gel Lab Pro worn. Still, quality matters, so to cut a long story short here, I’ve come to like this new gel lab pro formula, it’s easy and it works, and it’s reliable. It’s goes on easily, evenly and smoothly, it lasts long enough, it shines, it’s handy. I got used to it and I’m pretty happy with it now. The only thing that I still haven’t established firmly is whether it works as well with other formulae, not Deborah Lippmann but other brands and, maybe, even, not gel formulae nail colour. It says on the package it would work with anything, I’ve tried it only once with nail colour other than Deborah Lippmann proper, and it felt like it was a little tough to work with. We’ll see though. It’s not final yet. Anyway, back to our Happy Days here 🙂

 

Here’s the most classic nail shade ever. I mean, pink is as classic as it gets, c’mon, you have to agree with me here.

 

The shade is called Beauty School Dropout. That’s me 🙂 Not because I dropped out of beauty school, but because I’m well capable of going against a set of basic beauty rules. Well, before I do I always make sure it works though 🙂

 

So, this shade is all pink and nice. I like it. It’s just so… wholesome. Not too bright, although it’s bright enough. Not too cool, although it’s on the cooler side, but just a little.

 

It’s just nice. It’s a pleasant distraction in a way from all the colours that have been going round and round and on and on in summer.

 

It’s the kind of shade that you can own. You can turn it and twist it the way you want. Go right ahead, you won’t hurt its feelings doing that 🙂 Find and invent your new ways to wear it.

 

You can play it fun and happy, you can play it modern and young, you can play it classic and elegant, you can play it romantic, you can play it artsy – say, if you dye your hair pink 🙂 Anything you like.

 

And this shade being pink, you can also wear it as a basic shade at those times, when you’re majorly fed up with changing your nail colour every day/every second day, and need something to carry you through several looks in a row.

 

It’s the kind of shade where you can just relax a little bit and keep it simple yet put together and classy in a way on your nails.

 

What I love about this shade is that it’s not just a boring pink. Not a repetition of all those pinks we see again and again. It’s fresh, alive and kicking. And you can wear it anywhere you want. I dare you to come up with an occasion where pink manicure will be inappropriate. Ok, Ok, maybe, some high end thing. And even then I can come up with a way to dress you so that this shade will work 🙂

 

And this pink does have this quality to it that some nail shades just do, I couldn’t tell you how or why, but they do. This shade is merry or happy, you could say. There’s something about it that makes me smile a little bit, when I see it on my nails. I hope you’ll have the same experience.

 

Our next shade is – uh, here’s something that makes me personally happy – green. I can’t help but love green nail colour.

 

And when I read its name, my smile that was initially triggered by it being green, gets wider and brighter. Because this pretty green thing is called Splish Splash. And I know for a fact that every time I’ll pull it out this box and see this name, I’ll smile again 🙂

 

So, green is by no means as much of a classic as pink. It’s not a classic at all. It’s more on the artsy side of things. Even though we see green nail colour released all the time now even by luxury brands.

 

This green shade in particular is very softened up though. It’s like they knew – which they did, of course – that not everyone can wear or even picture wearing green on their nails, and they went – hey, it’s Ok, look how calm it is, look how cute it is, it’s nice, c’mon, admit it. Well, I do admit it. It’s nice.

 

Just like that pink, it’s very well balanced, and it’s only up to you to decide how you wear it, where you wear it and why. I’d wear it because it’s pretty, but that’s me talking 🙂

 

This green is leaning to cooler, it’s not too bright, still it’s definitely not a pastel shade. There’s colour in it, and this colour is green, there’s no question about it.

 

When I look at this green nail shade, I imagine it with jeans or, let’s say, denim in general. The way this green is, it seems to me, it will work really well with blue denim colours, not darker indigo denim, but medium blue denim.

 

Another way to put Splish Splash to use is have it help you get into the whole green manicure vibe. If you feel apprehensive about green nail shades, this green here is so inoffensive it can probably soothe you and work for you. And then who knows, maybe, you’ll start painting your nails lime 🙂

 

If you are into pastels, keep in mind that this shade is more than pastel. It’s brighter and bolder and more markedly green. But it’s definitely not over the top. It’s just, well, nice and pretty.

 

In case you’re asking yourself – how green nail colour can even be worn??? Think about white clothes and grey clothes and green clothes, of course. This nail shade will look awesome if you pair it up with them. And yes, this shade too is a happy shade.

 

If green is a no go zone for you in manicure, and you’re more into nail colours like that first pink, you’re probably in for a treat here.

 

 

Look at this. Happy Days. Yes, obviously, the collection is named after this one shade, and you can see why. It is very happy and very warm and very optimistic.

 

When I saw a coral shade… no, not just a coral shade, YET ANOTHER coral shade after myriads of those we’ve seen in summer, I wasn’t quite happy 🙂 But…

 

This coral – just like all those shades, obviously – is so well made. Its colour is so well constructed, so that everything that’s in it is in exactly right proportion. Like, orange but not too orange, bright enough but not too much, coral, yes, but not a pastel, a little more than that.

 

All in all, it produces just the right effect for this collection and its mood, because where we come out with this coral shade is somewhere in the middle. There’s nothing extreme about it. It’s a perfect compromise for all orange and coral nail colour fans. We all can agree here that it’s not too much and not too little, but just right.

 

Orange is one of the hardest nail shades for me to like. Or else, I guess I can like it, but to make me wear it – you’d have to work for that 🙂 But this coral here does remind me of all happy days, it does somehow imply happy days, and it does make me feel joyous. Seriously, that’s rare.

 

Just like that pink and that green, Happy Days is very accommodating in terms of occasions and settings where it can make its appearance. I started with saying how in summer everyone does coral and orange to death, right. Well, on the other hand, by doing that they make it so much of a classic now you can wear it almost anywhere you could wear pink or red nail colour. Yeah, it’s a lot of places and situations, I know 🙂

 

If you come to think of when coral nail shades look their best, you’ll probably say summer first, but how about early fall? Tan is still there, those bronzers are still out, fallen leaves are all red and orange, so this happy coral fits in really well, I think.

 

There’s something about this shade – maybe, it being so happy in its essence – that makes me seriously want to wear this shade with a… red outfit. I know it sounds crazy, I bet you I could pull it though 🙂

 

I’m pretty sure that if, unlike me, you love coral or orange manicure 🙂 , this shade will be a worthy addition to your collection. It’s not unique, but it’s a good one.

 

And then we have blue. But this blue is not just blue – like all the four shades in the collection. It’s something more, something extra, something bigger.

 

Here. It’s called My Boyfriend’s Back. Ok, the name is nice, although it doesn’t excite me as much as the rest of the shade names in this collection.

 

When we hear or say blue nail colour, a lot of people imagine something artsy. Something that’s too artsy for them to wear. Also, this collection being a summer collection, a lot of people probably imagine some version of baby blue or aqua. I have to tell you, none of the presumptions listed above are true.

 

This blue here is a very adult, very mature and kind of fall like blue. It’s neither aqua nor turquoise. No green here. It’s a very clear blue. And then this blue is darker without being too dark. It’s like they mixed a good deal of grey into this blue to mute it. And came up with this medium blue shade that got to be so nicely understated.

 

This shade is very elegant. It’s an elevated kind of blue brought to a whole new level where it can keep company with all those kings and queens of colour world – black, red, white. It’s very chic too. Because it’s not a full on classic blue, it has this new and exciting element to it, it’s kind of brighter than blues usually are when they are a classic.  At the same time this shade is modern. It’s not old fashioned in any way. It’s just calm. Instead of being super bright or doll like in its feel.

 

The biggest advantage of this blue is that it’s not navy blue. If it were navy blue, it would be a classic that’s been done over and over again and became almost boring. Instead it kept its modern edge, even though it doesn’t try to stand out, it keeps its modern and edgy core to itself showing us just a glimpse of it.

 

Just like you could get into green manicure with Splish Splash, if you couldn’t bring yourself to paint your nails blue before, no matter how many times you heard and read that it’s trendy and beautiful and stuff, this shade might introduce you to the whole blue nail colour world out there in the most painless and pleasant kind of way.

 

When I look at this blue, I think white, blue and grey clothes. I think minimalistic. And I think womanly. And something’s telling me, if you put all of the above together in one look, you’ll look gorgeous.

 

Something about this shade, something deep down in it is calling for fall. I can’t name another season that will become this shade as much as fall with its moody in a good way feel and atmosphere. I can’t tell you why exactly, but this shade belongs in fall.

 

This blue shade is the only shade in the collection that doesn’t have this happy and spirits lifting quality about it. That’s fine by me though. Here’s why. Instead what this shade has is a very noble quality. And I’ll tell you what, that is a truly rare thing. You could find some nail colours with this happy feel, but nail colours with a noble feel about them just don’t happen that often. So, be sure to enjoy this one to the full.

 

It’s always a good idea to have some shades in your stash that can make you feel good. Because not everything and not always goes great and the way you hoped, because you can wake up one morning and see that weather is just awful, because you can be going down with a cold and still have to go to work or whatever else it is, and you need those fast track pulling spirits right up tools that are hopefully simple enough where you don’t have to work hard using them.

 

Feeling good is an important and a basic thing in our life. These four nail shades by Deborah Lippmann can give you just that. And that’s more than we can say about a lot of things out there in makeup world and world in general. Just having these shades lined up in front of you – or any of those shades – makes you feel better, a little bit, yes, but better. So, I say, these four colours are nice and happy. And I hope to have a lot of happy days with them. And I hope you’ll have a lot of happy days too – with or without 🙂