Nars is once again bringing hot looks from the runway to your nails. The beauty brand is no stranger to designer collaborations, having released successful collections with Thakoon in 2012 and Pierre Hardy in 2013.

This time, NARS teamed up with 3.1 Phillip Lim to create nine limited-edition nail polish shades. The collection, which will hit NARS counters at Rustan’s The Beauty Source this month, features Lim’s “go-to colors.”

“These colors are the essential 3.1 Phillip Lim colors,” said Lim. “These are my colors. The colors that constantly inspire me, they are constantly threaded in everything I do. Every single shade or color has appeared in the collections for the whole history of the company.”

NARS and Lim have had a long-running relationship, collaborating on beauty looks for Lim’s New York Fashion Week shows for 14 seasons.

“I’ve always appreciated the aesthetic of NARS as a whole… I’m attracted to everything about NARS, the packaging, the graphics and the sense of luxury that isn’t too ostentatious. It’s so modern and luxurious, which is very on par with the 3.1 Phillip Lim universe.”

Complex shades

Lim, who is known for creating “beautiful classics with touches of madness,” worked with NARS on bringing his vision to beauty counters. The result is a gorgeous collection of complex

shades inspired by everything from flowers and fabric to metals and cars—“colors that exist in shadows,” according to Lim.

“At first glance, you see one color in the daylight, and at night, you see another color. They are very transitional, very adaptable. I like colors that you can actually discover… They’re actually colors that blend and appear different to different people and different tones and different situations and time and day.”

Crossroads was the nail color Lim used in his Autumn/Winter 2014 fashion show. This beautiful deep purple cream was inspired by the African violet.

“In the daytime it’s really charming, but at night the color is more mysterious, and its vibrancy comes out. It roars actually. This little flower roars at night,” said Lim.

Anarchy, a soft angora that’s one of Lim’s favorites from the collection, is his unusual take on nude polish.

“It’s kind of like a beige, like a more beige concrete. Angora isn’t really a nude, it’s not ivory, it’s something right in between that—it’s reality, but a dirty reality.”

Lim said he also loves Dark Room, a “blue denim” cream.

“This color to me is like raw denim, raw indigo. It’s my favorite shade of denim to wear personally. And now you can wear it on your fingers. There’s nothing more chic than raw denim head to toe.”

Metallic champagne

Gold Viper, a metallic champagne, is 3.1 Phillip Lim’s house metal color.

“It’s everywhere in the studio, on the furniture, door handles, in the stores. It’s not silver and it’s not gold, it’s right in between. If you wear it with silver, then it brings out the silver champagne shade; if you wear it with gold, then the gold will pop. It’s a color that works with you.”

We think this beautiful metallic polish is one of the best shades from the collection.

Lim got the idea for Hell-Bent, a lacquer red, from vintage bento boxes that he collects. Other Side, a bitter chocolate, stemmed from Lim’s obsession with brown this season. Shutter, meanwhile, is a beautiful black sea green.

Wrong Turn, described as “graphite,” is also a standout. Inspired by American hot rods, this beautiful metallic polish transforms from a blue-tinged gray to a deep teal when you add a top coat. We think it’s a must-have.

“They’re not true primary colors, they are actually two steps right before, or two steps right after. And to me, it’s like they’re shades of madness,” said Lim.

A ninth shade, Insidious—a black bronze that’s also inspired by American muscle cars—is exclusively available at NARS boutiques and Narscosmetics.com

All these colors come in NARS’ updated long-lasting and smooth formula (they’re a joy to apply) and with the brand’s new removable square cap and wide brush.

The collection may have been pegged as a fall release, but Lim hopes that his nail polish would become a mainstay in women’s beauty arsenals.

“I want it to be kind of the color palette that they can always rely on because it will work with everything that you have. These colors are for all seasons, all-time, anywhere, anyplace.”

The 3.1 Phillip Lim for NARS will be available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source this month for P1050 each.