Maybelline Downtown Brown & Metal Icon

I'm gonna start with a confession...I buy about seventy-five polishes a month lately.  It sounds a little insane when I call myself "picky" or say I'm "behaving myself," but Maybelline's new Fall 2012 Fashion Week collection is a perfect example.  Five LE Color Show polishes, four LE Color Tattoo eye shadows, and numerous other very tempting LE stuffs...and what did I buy?  Just Downtown Brown and Metal Icon.  Go me!  The other 76-ish polishes don't count here, right?

I couldn't resist Downtown Brown.  I have over 450 polishes now and it's unique!

Downtown Brown is a medium chocolate brown with a stunning green shimmer.  I love the mix of warm brown and cool green!  It feels like it wants to be a duochrome, but can't *quite* manage it.  It's moderately streaky, as you can see, but a good formula otherwise and opaque in two coats.

It's also a great example of the 'magic' of sponging.  It takes everything that was already so great about Downtown Brown and just...well...see for yourself!

The streaks vanish and the sparkle just bursts out!  ...and then all of a sudden, it does this!

 Mmmmmm!

Metal Icon isn't as much of a standout, but it's also not quite like anything else I have.

It's somewhere between gray and brown, but not quite taupe either, and packed with silver shimmer that does a little rainbow trick when it catches the light just right.  The formula's a little thin, but applies wonderfully.  Two coats.

 It mattifies excellently too!  Perfect for fall, it takes on a cool, smoky softness.

The rest of the collection was very similar to three shades from China Glaze's New Bohemian collection.  Of the two, China Glaze has a better formula and is a larger bottle, but Maybelline is more widely available and has a lower price point...plus Maybelline is on BOGO50% at Rite Aid this week!