Skin & Tonics : Skincare Guides & Product Reviews

When I hear “Miami,” a lot of things come to mind. First, I immediately picture these guys:

Then I get this song stuck in my head:

And then I picture these colors:

Yep! That’s June’s SquareHue offering, The SoBe Collection, which pays homage to, you guessed it, Miami! The color selection this month is on point – not only are they great summer colors, but they’re also exactly the colors I imagine when I picture Miami.

First up, we have a crème gray polish called, “Lincoln Road.” I was really excited about this color, because though I have a handful of gray polishes from Julep that are close to this shade, this one has a formula that’s much easier to work with. For some reason, I’m guessing in an effort to prevent streaking, the formula for the Julep grays are incredibly thick and gloppy. As a result, I never wear them, even though I love the color. This SquareHue gray has a much thinner consistency, and covers evenly and opaquely in two, relatively fast drying coats.

Lincoln Road

The next color in The SoBe Collection is called “Collins Avenue.” It’s bright, orangey-pink that somehow manages to be simultaneously neon and pastel. Any other time of the year, this color would be tackier than a yellow, tricked-out, low-rider. But it’s not any other time of year; it’s hot, sunny, summertime – season of beach days, barbecues by the pool, and rooftop parties. During this time of year, bright orangey-pink polish, and in some situations, yellow, tricked-out, low-riders, aren’t just accepted – they’re desired. This polish has a slight shimmer to it, and provides smooth, opaque coverage in two fast-drying coats.

Collins Avenue

Last up is “Ocean Drive,” a beautiful, bright, Miami-sky blue that is just this side of Tiffany Blue. It’s also a crème polish, and like the others, gives a smooth, solid finish in two coats.

Ocean Drive

When it comes to fashion and makeup, I’m a much bigger fan of fall and winter collections, so I tend not to stock up too heavily on summer makeup items. As a result, my polish collection is a little thin on summertime brights, so these were a very welcome addition. I’m now prepared to attend a rooftop party. Let the invites commence.

SquareHue is a nail polish subscription service that mails a limited edition collection of three, full-sized polishes to your door each month for $21. If you’d like to subscribe to SquareHue, you can sign up at their website.

Next month’s collection is called “The Salute Collection.” I feel like red, white, and blue would be too obvious, so I’m curious to see what the colors will be! Fireworks, maybe?

Skin & Tonics Rating:
Performance: 4/5 – Great coverage, beautiful summer colors.

Quality: 4/5 – All three polishes delivered on the formula this month – all three covered easily and beautifully in three coats.

Value: 4/5 – At $21 for three polishes, they are priced similarly to Julep Maven, but the SquareHue polishes are each nearly twice the size.

Overall: 4/5