OPI New Orleans Spring | Summer 2016 Collection – and something a little different

Well hello to those of you who still stop by my blog! It’s been quite a while, no? It’s true that a lot has gone on in the past month (Elena started at a day home and I returned back to work – eek!) but I’ve had opportunity to post, I just haven’t been feeling like it. I’m pretty much over READING beauty blogs let alone write one! It’s just the same old, you know? I’m so not interested in reading/writing reviews, and as I’m being particularly restrictive with my purchases (as usual, in an effort to reduce/streamline), I’m not too keen on reading about the new NBT (Next Big Thing) because that just creates WANT feelings and that’s not going to help my cause. But there’s always this desire to write, and to connect with people – and I’m still obsessed with beauty, as always – so even though I’m not feeling like doing the usual ‘thang’ I have been thinking a lot about writing *something*, so here I am 🙂

I realized a few weeks ago that I haven’t given you guys any details on our upcoming wedding (which will be in September!). So I thought maybe I’d give you an update on that and maybe add in an update about Elena as well because hey, she’s cute! Since I happen to have the new Spring/Summer collection from OPI, the theme of which is New Orleans, I figured I’d throw in some swatches of the shades for some visual interest and to kill two birds with one stone. Multitasking: it’s the way to go!

*Note: If you have any questions about a particular shade, such as it’s formula or on possible comparisons, let me know! I will gladly accommodate 🙂

OPI Take a Right on Bourbon

Planning a wedding while on maternity leave was quite fortuitous, because I was able to get all my vendors in place without any hassle – phone calls and day meetings were a cinch, so I was able to methodically research (which, admittedly, aside from the photographer, was minimal – I am SO not a bridezilla!) and meet with each service provider to ensure it was a good fit. Also, because I started securing people early (we set the wedding date 15 months in advance from when we got engaged), I had no issues getting each vendor that I wanted, so YAY!

OPI Let Me Bayou a Drink – so pretty!

In August, I went wedding dress shopping with my mom, Elena and 2 of my bridesmaids (the 3rd lives in Ottawa). I though I’d found the dress at a popular shop in the valley called Tatum’s (it seems to be where the majority of my friends have purchased their dresses), but then I truly found THE dress when we spent the better part of the afternoon at Chester & Felicity, a bridal shop here in Halifax. I can’t go into detail – I want it to be a surprise! – but OMG guys. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DRESS EVER!!!! I knew it when I first tried it on, but of course it was the most expensive dress of all of them so I held off. I came back a 2nd time with my mother and aunt to try it on again, and was instantly smitten all over again. My aunt, being like a 2nd mother to me my whole life, was gracious enough to offer to pay, so even though it’s still beyond what I think is reasonable to pay for a dress you’ll only wear once, I just had to have it. Seriously, just WAIT until you see this baby. SO. DAMN. AMAZING.

OPI Suzi Nails New Orleans

Of course, once the dress was picked, it was time to make sure my bridesmaids looked fabulous too! I did a wedding makeup in December, and the bridesmaid dresses were STUNNING and totally unlike your usual bridesmaid offerings. When I asked where they were from, I was told David’s Bridal, so that’s where we decided to look. My maid of honour had twins in October, so of course we waited a bit before going dress shopping, but by January she was (already!) looking great and we wanted to make sure the dresses were ordered in plenty time, so off we went to David’s to look at the selection. While they had a lot of your standard bridesmaid dresses, they also had several that were much more sophisticated and stylish, and we found the perfect choice – a long, Grecian-style one-shoulder dress with a defined waist and a sultry yet tasteful slit up the side. I really wanted the girls to have different color dresses, mimicking the colors of the sunset, and we lucked out – the dress comes in gorgeous shades of fuchsia, berry and plum. SO excited – they are going to look H.O.T.!

OPI Humidi-Tea

One of the last vendors I hired was the florist – we just met at the end of February. The company, Barefoot Blooms, is a florist and flower farm that embraces organic and sustainable farming practices, with flowers and greenery coming from their own garden and greenhouse. I really like the idea of utilizing local flora, being someone who prefers organic and local where possible anyway, so this seemed like the perfect fit. My visual for the bouquets is unstructured and a bit wild, so I think this also works with the kind of arrangements they specialize in. The reliance on local flowers also mean that the bouquets and arrangements won’t be finalized till close to the wedding, because our unpredictable weather means that the season for a certain type of flower may be affected. So, aside from the sole flower I know I want (dahlias), the rest is a bit up to chance! Which I kind of like (because I’m haphazard like that).

OPI Crawfishin’ for a Compliment

So, thus far, stress levels have been very low while planning the wedding. I’ve only recently felt a bit of pressure to get our invites out – with 6 months to go, according to etiquette I actually have plenty of time, but since we didn’t send Save the Dates, I feel like sending the invites earlier is appropriate. We’ve opted to utilize a wedding website to track RSVPs, so I had to put in some effort to get that set up (finding photos of Ryan and me is HARD! Since he’s away 2/3rd of the year, we have hardly any to account for our years together). But finally I think it’s ready to go, so once we get the last of our addresses, we can move forward and send the invites out! THEN I think things will really start to ramp up.

OPI Got Myself into a Jam-balaya – love this shade!

Wait! There is one thing I’ve been dropping the ball on that it’s kind of important – the HONEYMOON! We are planning to go to Iceland for the ‘moon, right after the wedding, but aside from knowing the location I haven’t done much to plan it. This needs to get done! Once I get the invites out this will be at the top of the to do list 🙂

OPI She’s a Bad Muffuletta! Gorg. See it here with matching lips!

On the Elena front: she’s learning new things all the time and it’s just so fun to watch 🙂 She’s not walking yet, but she’s doing a lot of standing up and peering over the coffee table at me or pulling herself up to cling to my legs lol.

I’m in no panic, she already leaves a path of destruction wherever she goes, and I know that’ll only increase tenfold once she’s walking! I didn’t walk till 15 months myself so I can’t judge anyway. Ryan, on the other hand, walked at 9 months (!) – must have been much more motivated that Elena and me haha.

OPI Spare Me a French Quarter? 

As I mentioned, I started back to work, on March 1st. I wasn’t feeling stressed out about the return, but I wasn’t sure what to expect once I got back and how I’d feel. Perhaps because of that, it’s ended up being totally fine! The transition couldn’t have been easier – I started a new (acting) assignment right away, so I’ve been busy learning the ropes, and it’s been really nice to see all the old faces. I really like my colleagues and I know most of the people in our building since, as you know, I’m kind of a social butterfly, so it’s been nice to be back. Ryan happened to be home from work the first week I was back too, so that helped – he drove me to and from work and though I tried to handle the routine with Elena on my own (since I have to do it when he’s away), it was helpful in case I needed just a bit of assistance for those first few days.

I miss Elena and spending our days together, but it just makes the time we DO have that much more precious. She’s adapted to the new routine (she goes to a day home) pretty well too, so that helps. And I think it’s a great opportunity for her to spend time around other babies/toddlers and gain a bit of independence. We have to let them grow up, even if we don’t want to sometimes!

OPI I Manicure for Beads – sorry, I slept on this mani (as I wore it for a few days); the color is actually really pretty!

She’s had a doozy of a cold this week (classic kid who goes to day care), so it’s been a bit of a tiring week (Ryan went back to work Wednesday am), but she’s finally starting to get better and seem like herself again. It wasn’t all bad though – I got to get in some major snuggles, which I miss a lot!

This kind of thing happened all the time when she was much younger, but after about 6-7 months she just always slept better in her crib. While I’m thankful for that overall, I do still wish she napped on me here and there – it’s one of my favourite things to do 🙂

OPI Show Us Your Tips! – beautiful shade, but needs so many coats!

I’m not sure if you can tell in the previous photos or not, but Elena is still small – like, less than 14lbs small. She was truckin’ right along and gaining weight for quite awhile, but in the fall it slowed down to almost nothing, and she’s been hovering between the 13-15lb mark for months now.

That’s Elena with my friend’s 4 month old baby (!!), who is essentially the same size.

I try not to stress about it too much, because she seems like a very happy, healthy baby, and she has a great appetite, but of course as a mom you can’t help but worry a bit. So we’re seeing a paediatrician on April 1st to get her checked out to make sure there isn’t anything going on. Apparently there is a term they use for babies like Elena, called ‘Failure to Thrive’ which just means they aren’t growing as fast as your typical baby. A woman from work said her daughter (who is now 25) was only 18lbs when she was 2 years old, and I think that’ll be Elena – she’s just wee. That’s all (I hope) there is to it. It does make her extra cute!

OPI Rich Girls & Po-Boys – another fave!

I think that’s the update on Elena in a nutshell – I mean she learns a new skill what feels like every day, but overall nothing major has happened lately (like learning to walk or starting to really talk). She’s just a joy, really, and I am just trying to be present with her every day and take it all in because it goes by so fast!

I mean c’mon – how cute is this kid!!?!

OPI I’m Sooo Swamped!

So there you have it – a bit of a life update plus a bit of polish fun! I’ve been pretty impressed with the OPI collections lately, I will say – there’s always a few shades I end up loving, and the formula is often on point, with a lot of cream shades being that creme-jelly hybrid that is such a pleasure to apply and wear. It makes it hard to keep my polish collection in check – though I have to tell you that I managed to get the number down to 50 this week!!! I’m quite impressed with myself, especially considering that every few months I receive another 24+ bottles from OPI that I have to weed through. You should SEE the giveaway pile!

So now – what’s new with everyone else!?

OPI Hello Kitty collection

Ok. It’s 9:01pm and I try to end my screen time at 9, but I am determined to get a post up so I’m going to make this snappy! [Edit: I went to bed before this was finished…what’s a couple more hours?] I received the Hello Kitty collection from OPI last week and it’s quite good! I know absolutely NOTHING about Hello Kitty and it’s popularity (not really into cutesy stuff as a general rule) but almost all of the polishes in this collection have a great formula and the shades are on point for spring. I’m not a fan of the cheap white ‘Hello Kitty’ print labels they’ve stuck over the regular OPI bottle tops, but it’s not a deal breaker either.

I’ve gotten all fancy today and thrown in some quick comparisons for you guys as well as the swatches. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Let’s Be Friends! & Charmmy & Sugar

Let’s Be Friends! is a pale lilac-pink. The first coat was patchy and I worried it would be a typical pastel cream, but by the second coat it evened out beautifully – with a little care you could get away with 2 coats (I used 3 as I slept on it before taking these photos, oops). In the end this is a lovely color with a glossy finish. I wore Charmmy & Sugar (a sheer lilac shimmer with violet, blue and silver glitter and a slight greenish duo chrome) on my index finger alone (3 coats) and over Let’s Be Friends (ring finger), because let’s get real, no one wants to remove more glitter polish than necessary. It’s a great layering shade, though I prefer the ethereal look it gives on it’s own. I kind of wish this had no glitter as I love the shimmering base color but the glitter takes away from it IMO. Fairly smooth glitter and easy to apply.

OPI Beyond the Pale Pink, Let’s Be Friends!, OPI Patience Pays Off

OPI Charmmy & Sugar, Nicole for OPI DC Lover

Small + Cute = ❤

A light pink cream. I love this color, but the formula is a PITA – the first coat was very streaky, the second a bit better, but it really requires 3 coats (or a very steady hand) if you want it to look flawless.  A shame as this was one of my fave shades of the bunch! The formula is also a bit on the thicker side to give yourself time for it to dry (aka not before bed). Due to all the coats required and the thick formula I found this chipped within days.

OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops, Small + Cute = <3, RBL Oh Slap! 

Look at My Bow!

A soft orchid pink cream. This only needed 2 coats to opacity but its not 100% perfect – it’s a touch streaky. Beautiful color but not really for me, I think it’s a bit too saturated or something. I prefer the more muted look of Chanel Sweet Lilac (below).

OPI Look at My Bow!, Chanel Sweet Lilac

Super Cute in Pink & Starry-Eyed for Dear Daniel

Again I paired up to avoid glitter removal. Super Cute in Pink is a medium-deep orchid crelly (creme/jelly formula). Gorgeous! You can see very slight VNL with two coats but I like it this way to preserve it’s squishy-ness. This is a perfect spring shade and was effortless to apply. Starry-Eyed for Dear Daniel is a semi-sheer orchid shimmer with violet, pink, blue and silver micro glitter. It required 3 coats to opacity on the index finger (worn alone) and 2 layered (ring finger). It’s grittier to the touch than ‘Charmmy’ but not terribly so. While I liked ‘Charmmy’ on it’s own, I prefered ‘Starry-Eyed’ layered, as it gives it more depth and punch in color.

Essie Splash of Grenadine, OPI Super Cute in Pink, Mark Cupcake

Zoya Kissy, OPI Starry-Eyed for Dear Daniel

Kitty White

A sheer white shimmer. Sorry for the change in lighting, I found this needed sunlight to show off it’s pearlescent quality. These kind of shades aren’t really my bag, though it is pretty. Not much to say about this one, depending on your nail length you could get away with 2 coats (or if you don’t mind VNL) as I’ve done here. I’d think 3 would still not have it entirely opaque though.

OPI Chiffon My Mind, OPI Go to Grayt Lengths, OPI Kitty White, OPI Make Light of the Situation

Though ‘Grayt Lengths‘ looks a lot more gray than ‘Kitty White’, when held up to the light they’re VERY similar:

OPI Go to Grayt Lengths, OPI Kitty White

Never Have Too Mani Friends

I’m not much of a black nail polish wearer except for layering purposes, but this is a great black nonetheless – another crelly finish, super shiny, super easy to apply (all of the crelly-type shades in this collection are a dream to apply). This is just 2 coats. It would be a great choice for anyone in the market for a black polish (or anyone who loves a good black polish).

a-England Camelot, OPI Never Have Too Mani Friends

My Pal Joey

A saturated cobalt blue. It’s not as in-your-face as some other cobalt shades (think YSL Bleu Majorelle, Nails Inc Baker St.) – it’s a bit lighter and because of the crelly texture it’s not so bold in finish. I really like this – it’s playful and eye-catching, and these textures are seriously out of this world. 2 coats for opacity (no VNL in sight here). LOVE!

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, YSL Bleu Majorelle, OPI My Pal Joey, OPI Wild Blue Yonder

5 Apples Tall

Some of these shade names I don’t get at all…ANYWAY, this is a gorgeous coral red that has a crelly finish but is fairly pigmented – if you were in a serious rush you could damn near get away with 1 coat (though I prefer the density of 2, as usual). Love the look of this! I don’t always like reds on me but this looks really flattering on my skintone (I think). So easy to apply with zero issues. It’s extremely close in color to Essie ‘Come Here!’ and I like the formula better, so I’ll be swapping this in for that!

Essie Come Here!, OPI 5 Apples Tall, OPI Love is In My Cards 

Spoken from the Heart

A lovely saturated warm pink. I love this one as well! Again, it has that crelly texture though it’s not as pigmented as ‘5 Apples’ so I’d suggest 2 coats for sure. Even then it gives a hint of VNL but as mentioned I don’t mind that with formulas like this, the slight translucency is what gives it that squishy finish. Again, super shiny on it’s own and a cinch to apply.

Lippmann Daytripper, OPI Spoken from the Heart, butter London Snog

My Twim Mimmy 

Again, WTF with the names? Anyway, this is a saturated medium yellow, very primary color-stuff (this along with the blue and red are like the most true representations of primary colors I’ve ever seen in a polish collection together). This doesn’t have the crelly texture (which would probably be a feat with yellow anyway since they’re the most annoying polish shades to work with) and is a touch streaky (I think 3 coats probably would be best so it looks flawless, but I was lazy and did 2), but as far as yellows go it’s actually not half bad. I don’t love it on my skintone especially as it’s so dense in color, but it might look better when I’m tanned.

OPI My Twin Mimmy, Bee Mine Forever

Overall, I thought this collection was really well-done and even not knowing a lick about Hello Kitty, I could enjoy all the shades. These are all without base coat as well and the majority are SO SHINY! Pretty, pretty, pretty.

What are your thoughts about this collection / about Hello Kitty? What is the DEAL?

OPI Starlight collection for Holiday 2015, Part III: The reds and the rest

OK! So let’s wrap up this up finally, shall we? Way to drag out a review, huh? At least I’m getting it done before the years’ end 🙂 It only took me almost a month! (which, sadly, I feel kind of proud of lol…goes to show you just how free time I have!) I apologize for not getting the festive reds to you before Christmas – but red is the kind of color you can wear any time of year, really, so I guess it’s not that bad.

Alternately, the other 3 polishes I’m going to show you are…well here, first let me show you what they look like in the bottles:

The look fairly innocuous, no? Sparkling, shimmering, glittering polishes for the holidays – perfect, right? But IRL, they’re just…no. Trust. You are NOT missing out on anything with those three, which is why I saved them for last. Here, lemme show you them first so you can feel reassured:

Is This Star Taken?

Of the three, this one is the least offensive – prismatic bar glitter in a silvery-pewter base. This one *could* be so cool but it still falls flat somehow. Maybe the base color needs to be more sheer? I took the swatch on an angle to show you the prismatic effect but for the most part it’s lost when looking at the nail directly. ~sad face~ It’s easy enough to apply though, 2 coats and you’re done.

Comet Closer

This has a similar pewter-silver base but heavier on the silver, and I don’t like it as much on my skintone. Besides that, it contains gold micro glitter that leaves it just looking rough and bumpy, and again the effect is lost anyway in the opaque base. Overall BLAH.

By the Light of the Moon

This is the worst offender! Silver glitter chunks of varying size floating around in an opaque base – I think OPI is trying to make this a ‘thing’ but honestly, it’s just horrid. Remember Pineapples Have Peelings Too? BLECH. I just can’t with these, they make me angry just looking at them!

Ok, so those3 are a no-go…but the next 3 are quite nice, so this post isn’t a total waste! Let’s check them out:

Love is in My Cards

Though I don’t wear red polish much (despite having like, 10 red polishes…WTF), I really like this one! It’s bold, bright and leans ever so slightly cool, and I find it very flattering on my skintone. I’m tempted to hang on to this and maybe ditch a couple other bright reds I have. Great formula too, super easy to apply and I think this swatch is only 1 coat!

Ro-Man-ce on the Moon

A cool-ish red metallic, standard holiday fare. In my photos this looks almost identical to ‘Love is in My Cards‘ but the metallic effect is more pronounced in person. I like this one too, but I prefer my Misa Red Pumps at the Nordstrom more – I think the depth of color is a bit stronger in that one (also the name of the Misa polish is awesome). Again, this is only 1 coat!

Let Your Love Shine

You don’t need me to tell you that this polish is GORGEOUS! This is the kind of red I gravitate toward (and most of the reds I own are similar to this – more of a deep shimmering red). This is kind of a cross between Lippmann’s Through the Fire (for the color) and Zoya India (for the larger shimmer particles). It did require 2 coats but that ain’t no thang. I love this one – definitely a keeper.

That’s it, we’re done! Hoo-frickin’-ray. Overall I am really digging the collection (see Part I and Part II here if you haven’t seen them already!) save for a couple of weird shades – it’s probably tough to come up with original polish mixes so I’ll forgive OPI for trying something new and failing miserably. I like that there weren’t TOO many reds and that they had a handful of non-traditional holiday shades, so that the collection is still wearable for the whole winter season.

And of course – some outtakes for your viewing pleasure – hope everyone had a great holiday and has a fantastic New Year!!

I tell ya…you gotta move fast with this one! She’s getting more and more mobile every day 🙂

OPI Starlight collection for Holiday 2015, Part II: The silvers & (rose) golds

…Dang it. Getting this post up later than planned (surprise), but at least we’re still before Christmas Day! These next 6 polishes scream ‘New Years Eve’ to me anyway, so you have lots of time to grab ’em and wear ’em 🙂

I wasn’t sure what to call these 6 as one shade only contains rose gold, and there are other silvers in the collection – but to be honest, these are the good ones. The others are…a bit strange. You’re not missing out, trust me. Anyway, on to the swatches!

I Drive a SuperNova

This is a lovely silver foil that shimmers in the right light. As silvers go, I actually like it! Buuuut not as much as OPI’s Centennial Celebration, so I’m keeping that one over this one. CC is more sparkly/blingy and is slightly more pewter-leaning. But this is good! A teeny bit fussy to apply, but if you’ve got a steady hand you could probably get away with one coat (this is two), so it’s not such a big deal.

Super Star Status

Because I hate glitter removal, I just polished one finger in Super Star Status, over my existing ‘SuperNova‘ manicure. However, this is all sorts of amazing and in-your-face glittertastic that I would *almost* be willing to wear this as a full mani for a big occasion. So gorgeous! The base is slightly sheer so I’d suggest putting one coat over top of another polish (I really like it with ‘Super Nova‘ rather than two coats of it on it’s own, because that removal process would be a major PITA!

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Meteorite

This is such a cop-out swatch, I’m sorry! I took shots of this over Press * for Silver (swatch below) and stupidly didn’t check them before removing the polish – they were all blurry and TERRIBLE and I just couldn’t bring myself to do the whole mani again. I suck, I know! If the polish was more fabulous, I would have taken one for the team, but at it is, this glitter is – blah. It didn’t look good over the polish either (actually it probably looks nicer here on a bare nail), the pieces are so weirdly shaped and it just isn’t my thang. The only thing I will say is I loved the color combo of gunmetal and rose gold.

Press * for Silver

This is probably the most subdued polish in the collection, though it’s still quite nice. I liked it when I wore it, but looking at it again in swatches I’m kind of…bored by it? Maybe it’s too complimentary to my skintone…I need a little bit of contrast. Super easy to apply though, a quick two coats and you’re done.

Ce-less-tial is More 

I meant to put Ce-less-tial is More over Press * for Silver but completely forgot, so I had to go back and do a whole new manicure – but this time I wore Dior’s Gris-Or – it’s quite similar to ‘Press *‘ but it has that mild duo chrome flash that makes it stand out more. Obviously I’m keeping the Dior over the OPI! Anyway, I also think ‘Ce-less-tial‘ is all sorts of pretty, and I think I might wear it for my wedding manicure. Since it’s kind of a HUGE moment in my life, I guess I can deal with the glitter removal that one time 😉 ‘Ce-less-tial‘ is more opaque than ‘Super Star Status‘ so you don’t need any other shade underneath unless you want to! Both glitters eat top coat like there is no tomorrow so to get rid of the texture I’d say load it up (like 2-3 coats…seriously).

Infrared-y to Glow

These weird über-chunky glitters! I don’t get it. They’re really pretty in the bottle but on the nail…erm, not so much. Especially this one – at least the colors in ‘Meteorite’ were nice, this is too tone on tone and I’m not feeling it at all. Also, because these glitter pieces are so large, even with top coat they kind of flip up and don’t lay smooth. Ach…not a fan.

So there you have it! Two nice shades, two GREAT shades, and two WTF shades. Definitely don’t miss out on the sparkling goodness that is Super Star Status and Ce-less-tial is More, for a glitter hater like myself I can’t believe how much I loved them both – if you like glitter, you’ll LOVE these! If you’re a silver fan, I’d check out I Drive a SuperNova too, it’s great (just not as good as CC for me).

I’d like to say I’ll get the last six up before Christmas, but truthfully that’s unlikely! I’ll give you a quick spoiler in case you just can’t wait – Let Your Love Shine is a stunning sparkling deep red and is a must-have for the holiday season (or any time, really!). The two other reds are nice but not original, and the three other glitters are kind of bizarre, so I feel you can safely skip all those and not miss out.

OPI Starlight collection for Holiday 2015, Part I: The Moody Hues

Ugh, you GUYZ. I’ve had these swatches done for a few days but Elena is keeping me on my toes, as usual! She’s been waking up at 4am for the past few weeks and is ready to PAR-TAY, she thinks it’s time to get up for the day and I’m DANG tired. Today she also thought resisting nap time was a great idea, so I’m just plain worn out. BUT I did finally get her down (I keep checking the monitor with fingers crossed that she’ll stay asleep for awhile) so what better time than to get these pics & post up?

I am extremely surprised at how much I’m enjoying the Starlight holiday collection from OPI – metallics and glitters are generally NOT my jam, but these are really doing it for me so far! The sparkle on a lot of these really is ‘out of this world’ (cue the cheese) and they look so pretty and festive in the dim light cast by the fire and/or Christmas tree. I keep wanting to change my mani every day to try them all fully (but ain’t nobody in THIS house got time for that, sadly). I’m working my way through the swatches though so I will have them all up before Christmas, I promise! Today I’m bringing you the first 6 which are the more moody, mysterious hues of the 18 shades in the collection (which, if I’m being honest, is INSANE – 18 colors!? When did polish collections get so HUGE?).

All swatches were taken in natural light unless otherwise specified.

Guys & Galaxies – a deep dark brown-red. It looks a touch streaky in the swatch above, but IRL it’s not, though you do need 3 coats to reach full opacity. It’s very glossy on it’s own – the shot above is with no top coat. It’s an easy formula to work with overall, despite needing that extra coat (though it’s a *touch* staining). I think this is a very sexy shade – and it’s NOT near black, which makes me happy.

I’m in the Moon for Love – this is a medium plum shimmer with golden micro-shimmer. Every time OPI comes out with a shade like this (Dutch’ya Love OPI?, Lost My Bikini in Molokini, Purpletual Emotion…), I’m like ‘eh’ – even though they all look flattering on my skintone, I just can’t get into these types of purples. There is a depth and richness to this shade that appeals to me (you can see it better in the 2nd photo, taken under artificial light), but I know it’ll just be another purple that I keep NOT wearing regardless. Good formula though, two coats to opacity, with no application issues at all.

Cosmo With a Twist – a royal blue with lighter blue shimmer that looks purple in some light due to a duo chrome finish. This SHADE, you guys!!! So, so gorgeous – it really looks like Outer Space to me. It needs 3-4 coats to reach full opacity, but it’s totally worth it. I would have never picked up this shade if left to my own devices, but I’m SO happy I got to try it out. Perfect holiday shade that’s not your typical red/silver/gold.

Give Me Space – a bold, medium blue with silver shimmer. This has a VERY slight prismatic effect that’s really only visible in sunlight – so don’t let that be a reason you pick it up! The first coat went on sheer but it managed full opacity in two coats. I found this shade a touch fussy to apply, it can pull in spots if not applied with a relatively quick hand. I suggest loading up the brush and applying coats in one go, versus dipping back into the bottle. This is a beautifully rich shade, but along with the shimmer being a let down it didn’t wow me.

No More Mr. Night Sky – a sparkling gunmetal. This is quite sheer; it requires at least 3 coats and looks best with 4. Despite that: he-LLO, gorgeous! This is another polish I would have never picked up as I don’t gravitate toward shimmers, but holy smokes – this is so pretty!! It’s the most beautifully sparkly, twinkly polish I think I’ve ever seen. It looks particularly amazing in low lighting (the 2nd photo), so it’s PERFECT for the holiday seasons parties and hanging out by the Christmas tree.

Centre of the You-niverse – a charcoal with silver shimmer and black glitter bits. This is 2 coats, though depending on how thickly you apply your coats you may need a 3rd. Even though it’s got minimal glitter, they’re so tiny they’re a pain to remove entirely. For black polish lovers though this is a great shade; top coat makes it really gleam.

Sooo, basically I want to keep 4 of the 6 shades shown…that does NOT help me decrease my polish collection! Dang it. I just think these are so lovely for the holiday season or for any time you want a bit of sparkle that’s a little understated (re: not a full-on glitter) but still fabulous. Well done so far, OPI!

Photo outtakes: Last night when I took the bottle shots Elena hightailed it to where I was and got her grabby hands in there lol…at least I got one good shot (above) before the destruction!

Who, me?

OPI Venice collection for Fall 2015 {swatches & review}

Ok, here’s the post I’ve been promising for weeks, finally! For those who have been waiting, I’m genuinely sorry – what with the move, and the upheaval in Elena’s schedule (due to the move), carving out any time for the blog has been nearly impossible, as she naps for maybe 30 minutes at a time, tops. Nap time = mama’s productive time, therefore: no nap time = nothing accomplished. On top of that, Elena was sick with some kind of virus since Thursday and pretty much slept or snuggled on her mama for 4 days straight. I didn’t really mind – love the chance for extra cuddles! – but it was anxiety-inducing as the first time she’s been sick, and again I got a whole lot of nuthin’ done.

Anywho. She’s currently napping for who knows how long and I just can’t wait any more! May I present to you the OPI Venice collection for fall 2015!

Since time is a tickin’ I’m going to get right to it! Let’s start off with my favorite shade from the collection:

Tiramisu for Two

Yep, it’s a ‘plain’ ‘ol nude (described as a ‘sweet coffee cream’) – but let me assure you, this nude is anything but boring! It is SO creamy and pigmented and the perfect mix of neutral tones that makes it stupidly flattering, at least on my skintone. And the application is great too, just 2 easy coats with no drag or streaks to be found. Probably the current fave nude in my collection!

It looks a lot more pink here in this swatch but it’s just the lighting – it’s more beige in person. However, this photo does serve to show how it compares to another neutral, Dior Incognito. I’ve always found that Incognito is actually almost too pink and deep to be a true nude on me, whereas Tiramisu for Two is several tones lighter and therefore better. That’s right, I said it – an OPI is better than a Dior.

O Suzi Mio

My second favourite in the collection. I absolutely ADORE the plummy tones of this polish and it’s high-shine crelly texture. So perfect for fall! Here I’m wearing it with 2 coats because I like the slight sheerness which helps retain the eggplant tone, but three will make it completely opaque.

Another reason I love this shade is that it doesn’t have that ‘almost black’ feeling about it which I really don’t favour. Here I’ve compared it to Zoya Anja which I always want to love but don’t quite because it’s just too dark. O Suzi Mio as you can see still looks purple, not black (especially when compared to the actual black shade above it).

Purple Palazzo Pants

Another winner here for me, though I don’t exactly feel fall-ish when I look at it. This shade was a gorgeous formula as well – 2 coats and loads of shine all on it’s own. These types of purple-pink shades I find quite flattering on me as well.

The sad part about this shade is that it’s pretty similar to Chanel Sweet Lilac, which means I probably have to let it go (the OPI, not the Chanel {god forbid!}). I haven’t done it yet because I think I might wear it for one full manicure first…it’s clearly not an exact dupe but it’s close enough that in my purging state I can’t justify keeping both!

My Gondola or Yours? 

This was a surprise to me in two ways: 1) it contains shimmer, which you can see in direct sunlight, and 2) I really liked it on me! I’m not a fan of black polish on my nails, it always looks too harsh or something, but I really loved the effect of this shade. I don’t know if it was the shimmer that did it (it’s not very noticeable in the shade or indoors), or the subtle crelly finish, but whatever it is it’s working for me! This does require 3 coats for opacity but they weren’t fussy to apply at all. I don’t have any shades to compare to this as I don’t own black polish!

It’s a Piazza Cake

Another complete surprise was how much I enjoyed this shade, a devout non-orange wearer! Orange has never looked good on me IMO, but the burnt tones of this shade (which you see more in the first photo) make this quite wearable and absolutely the most perfect fall-ish shade! I’m wearing this as a full manicure right now (check it out on my Instagram) and it’s one of those shades I keep staring at, which is how I know it’s a keeper. SO pretty and different. And guys – this is a 1-coater! Here I’m wearing 2, but today I only did 1 (time of the essence, etc. etc. etc.). Fabulous! I also have nothing like this.

A Great Opera-tunity

Yet another shade that I initially thought I wouldn’t like but ended up enjoying! It was a *bit* strange-looking on my hands as it made any redness stand out, but on toes – oh YES. I feel like I should be wandering around a fabulous resort with this shade on. It’s described as a melon and I’d say that’s accurate – it’s actually kind of perfect for the transition between summer and fall. Love this! Note that it is a little on the thick side so be careful in your application to ensure a smooth finish.

Compared to Chanel Inattendu, which is a peach-nude, this has more pink/red in it’s base. I like it’s uniqueness.

Venice the Party?

Ok, now we’ve reached the shades I was more ‘meh’ about. Though this is gorgeous in the bottle and probably lovely on the right skintone (it positively glows!), I didn’t like it on me at all. It also doesn’t make me think of fall very much – maybe if it were a bit deeper in tone. This is 1 of 3 LE shades in the collection so if you love it you need to snap it up sooner rather than later. Application was good, 2 easy coats, but beware that it does stain slightly. I also noticed chipping after 2 days with this one (I wore it as a full mani). I don’t really wear these kinds of colors so I have no comparison swatches for you, sorry!

I paired this with A Great Opera-unity for a mani/pedi combo…I wasn’t that into it, to be honest. Venice the Party? was too shimmery I think to suit it. Oh well!

Gimme a Lido Kiss

I had my fabulous assistant help me with these next two colors – she was getting bored the day I needed to take these shots so I occupied her with some of the bottles lol. She does good work, eh?

Gimme a Lido Kiss is a red shimmer that I found kind of dull, to be honest. The glow on this one isn’t all that fabulous, and it leads more orange than blue so on me I wasn’t wild about how it looks. Great formula though, thin but pigmented; you could almost make this a 1 coater but I’d go with 2 to be safe.

I thought Misa’s Red Pumps at the Nordstrom might be comparable to Gimme a Lido Kiss, but the former leans cooler and has that glow that the latter is lacking. I won’t be replacing that one, that’s for sure!

Up next ladies {and gents!}, we have St. Mark’s the Spot!

A ‘royal blue pearl,’ this shade has a lot of depth to it and is kind of mesmerizing to look at, no? That said, it’s not for me – shimmer polishes in strong colors just turn me off for some reason. This has a good formula as well, 2 easy coats, and it’s another LE shade so snap it up if you want it! Though I have a ton of blue shades, I don’t have any with an intense shimmer/metallic like this one.

I wore it with Gimme a Lido Kiss which I think was a better match than the previous pairing. Feels kind of US Patriotic now that I think about it!

Amore at the Grand Canal

I was eager to wear this shade because I love a deep red, and it is quite nice, though it looks brighter here than in person (and could probably use a top coat to really make it polished). It’s definitely pretty, but not terribly original. Good formula, 2 coats and no fuss.

I knew when I saw ‘Amore’ that it would be similar to other shades in my collection: Tom Ford Bordeaux Lust and Essie Limited Addiction. It’s kind of a hybrid of the two, and while it’s nice I am definitely not keeping it over the other two. I wear red polish so rarely as it is I don’t need to add another to the mix anyway!

Worth a Pretty Penne

When I first laid eyes on this shade I was sure I was going to love it, but turns out it’s just too close to my skintone to be anything stand-out. That being said, this is a great polish with visual interest from the flecks of dark and light copper, and it could be a 1-coater if desired. It also has zero brushstrokes so if you’re a fan of metallic polishes you’ll like this one! I personally don’t love metallics so I have nothing to compare to this.

I paired Amore at the Grand  Canal with Worth a Pretty Penne, and again I was kind of ‘meh’ about it. Looks nice enough and goes well together but it seems kind of ho-hum to me. Maybe I’m just fussy!

Gelato My Mind

This was another shade that did not say ‘fall’ to me in the least, but sometimes I think brands are just trying to do something unexpected so it doesn’t bother me when they include shades like this. This is a beautiful color to be sure, so vibrant – but the formula was not so great. The 1st coat was streaky and consecutive coats can become disastrous if not applied quickly, as this polish is prone to dragging.

Though I have several aqua shades, the only one Gelato My Mind is truly similar to is another OPI, Eternally Turquoise, the latter being a bit more muted and a hint less green. Due to the formula, I won’t even be entertaining the idea of keeping ‘Gelato’ – there’s no room for crappy polish anymore, no matter how pretty it is!

Be There in a Prosecco

This is an opaque cream shade, and while I do love pale tones lately, I wasn’t wild about this. Aside from the formula, which is a bit streaky but not terrible (especially for such a light shade), there is echoes of Zoya Cho about this that turn me off – I think it’s the more warm, yellowish leaning about it that doesn’t work for me. It’s like a dirty white.

Once again, the comparison shot shows it much different in tone than it is IRL. The closest shade I have to it is OPI The Beige of Reason; however, that is a sheer so they end up looking quite different when worn – and ‘Beige‘ is lighter in tone, anyway.

Baroque…But Still Shopping!

This is the last of the 3 LE shades! I love the name of this one…actually I enjoy the names of a lot of these for once! I was really stoked for this shade and though it was going to be a winner, but….no. Just no. The tone of it isn’t great on my skin for one, which doesn’t make for a bad polish – just bad on me – but aside from that, it’s got those horrible glitter bits in it that just don’t work in an opaque polish! Remember Pineapples Have Peelings Too and how ugly that was? I thought at first this would be sheer, with all that glitter, but when I went to layer it, it just wasn’t happening – way too much pigmentation. Bleh. I don’t like this at all (but the formula is good, 2 quick coats to opacity). I have nothing to compare this to.

I Cannoli Wear OPI

Last but not least! Historically I don’t like pale grey tones one me as they usually lean too bluish and just don’t look cute. I feel the same about this shade, sadly, though I recognize my skintone doesn’t represent most, so this probably would look great on a lot of people! It’s got a thin formula that builds up nicely in 2 coats – it’s a touch fussy but less so than ‘Gelato‘ so if you like this shade it’s worth it to pick it up. As I don’t enjoy these shades I don’t have any comparisons for it.

There you have it – a timely review for a seasonal collection, hurrah! Hopefully the LE shades are still available if any of you are interested in those. Overall I quite liked this collection; while there were a few duds, even the shades I didn’t like on me I could appreciate being flattering on someone else. Considering fall is my favourite month I’m pleased OPI nailed this release!

OPI Infinite Shine Summer 2015 Collection: Part II {swatches & review}

[This post features press samples]

Ha. Ha ha ha. This post is like, a month after Part I but ya know…life happens. And, in truth, the biggest reason I delayed this post is because I only liked two of these shades (and one of these I liked A LOT, but not enough to make up for the rest). Anyway, let’s just get this over and done with, shall we?

Enter the Golden Era

While not the worst shade of gold on my skintone, Enter the Golden Era is a bit brushstroke-y, has a less-than-stellar formula application wise and is just not really my bag. I think you can find better gold options out there.

Left to right: OPI Enter the Golden Era, OPI Dazzled by Gold

As I rarely wear gold polish, I only really had one shade to compare it to (OPI Dazzled by Gold, sadly LE) and Golden Era pales SO much in comparison to the fabulousness of that shade. On my skintone I NEED that richness of color and depth for gold to be interesting.

Bee Mine Forever

Although I like yellow polish in theory, I’ve only ever found one that really DID it for me (and MAN I do love that shade!). Though this is a nice yellow as they go, the formula was

Left to right: OPI Bee Mine Forever, butter London Jasper, OPI Life Gave Me Lemons

Bee Mine Forever is quite similar in color to butter London’s Jasper, but the latter is a bit more buttery (both apply like crap though). Life Gave Me Lemons is way more saturated.

S-ageless Beauty

Sorry the color is so intense on this, it was super-sunny when I took it and I couldn’t seem to color adjust enough to fix it. In person, S-ageless Beauty is a bit more muted and a hint more green. As a non-green lover I actually didn’t hate this…but I didn’t love it enough to keep it either. And the formula was quite thick; you can see on my index finger it smudged because it took a while to dry.

Left to right: OPI S-ageless Beauty, butter London Bossy Boots, OPI That’s Hula-rious!, China Glaze Re-fresh Mint

Here is a better representation of the color. It’s more yellow-leaning like butter London Bossy Boots but not as dusty, which works in it’s favour (on my skintone anyway). The other two, OPI That’s Hula-rious! and China Glaze Re-fresh Mint are more blue-leaning.

Silver on Ice

BLERGH. Brushstroke DISASTER of a formula. DISLIKE! The actual tone of Silver on Ice isn’t bad on my skin, but it’s nowhere near good enough to bother trying to smooth out the application. ICK.

Left to right: OPI Silver on Ice, Revlon Sterling, OPI Centennial Celebration, OPI This Silver’s Mine!

I can’t get over how much more I like OPI Centennial Celebration than any other silver I’ve encountered – it’s the sparkliness, I think. Silver on Ice is very similar in tone to Revlon Sterling, but even the cheapy drugstore option applies miles better. OPI This Silver’s Mine! has that pinkish hue that sets it apart from them all.

…To Be Continued

I live for periwinkle shades like this! I kind of want to own ever one I come across, but I resist (which I think it’s pretty damn amazing, considering). …To Be Continued has a good formula that’s fairly easy to apply but does require 3 coats to ensure everything is perfect. And with a shade like this, you want it to look perfect, yes? *As a side note, this length of nail is my absolute favourite on me, just hitting the tips of my fingers. I find it makes every polish look so much nicer!

Left to right: OPI …To Be Continued, Essie Bikini So Teeny

I thought this was going to be exactly the same as Essie Bikini So Teeny, and it IS quite close, but it’s a bit lighter and less blue leaning than the former. I was SO tempted to keep both, but I decided that I had to choose a favourite *pale periwinkle* since owning two to similar goes against my attempts at streamlining my collection. I kept the Essie, only because I’d rather give away a full bottle of polish rather than a 3/4 full one. They’re both awesome.

Wild Blue Yonder

I also quite like blue shades like Wild Blue Yonder – they’re so punchy and fun! This has a great formula, 2 quick coats, no issues at all. I don’t find these as pretty as periwinkle’s like …To Be Continued, but I still like these for spring/summer.

I paired this with Bee Min Forever, and while it was nice enough, it wasn’t my favourite pairing – probably would have looked softer and more complimentary with …To Be Continued (clearly I have a major bias for that shade, huh?).

Left to right: OPI Wild Blue Yonder, Zoya Robyn, YSL Bleu Majorelle

When I first saw Wild Blue Yonder, I thought it’d be identical to Zoya Robyn, but once again I was foiled! Robyn is lighter and has a touch of green in it. Bleu Majorelle really isn’t a contender either but I wanted to show it for comparison purposes. Again, I felt like I had to choose between Wild Blue and Robyn to fulfill my bright mid-tone blue quota…I haven’t ben able to choose just yet. I will though, I promise!

And that, as they say, is that! I debated even bothering to post these at all as the weeks past and it seemed like posting about a summer collection was silly at this point, but I feel better about doing so now regardless. I think these are all still available so if you’re keen to pick any up you still have the chance (though really only …To Be Continued and Wild Blue Yonder are worth it in my opinion).

You’ll be happy to hear though that I have all my swatches done for the OPI Fall/Winter Venice collection (which is mostly excellent), so I hope to have those up this week! I’m determined to do so, as we’re moving this weekend and I don’t know how much posting I’ll be able to get done for a few weeks after that. But THEN….once we’re settled in the new place I’m going to be able to do SO much more! A real house, guys!!!!! I can’t freakin’ WAIT 😀 😀 😀 😀

OPI Infinite Shine Soft Shades 2015 {swatches}

[This post features press samples]

I’ve been feeling majorly bogged down by outstanding posts I need to write so I’m putting my butt in gear to get them all out in the next week. Most of these are PR samples I’ve received, so I feel particularly guilty that I haven’t posted on them yet; though I feel no compulsion to write GOOD reviews, I do feel a responsibility to WRITE a review when I receive products for ‘free,’ at least as much as possible. I don’t have to, but I just think that it’s good practice to do so.

So, today I bring you OPI’s Infinite Shine Soft Shades spring release, which I received back in July (which is after spring as it is, so I don’t feel TOO bad). I’m not going to write too much about these, as if you were interested in them in the first place you probably bought them already! – but they’re still available for purchase, and neutral shades like these are season-less, really, so just in case you missed them, here they are!

OPI Non-Stop White

Non-Stop White. For a white polish, this is actually pretty good – after three thin coats your good to go, with not too much hassle, and the shine is high. I wore this as a full mani and surprisingly liked it a lot – I was never keen on stark white on me but this one somehow worked. It’s almost exactly the same as Essie Blanc though, color-wise and also application (though the brushes are different, so you may prefer one over the other), so if you have that one you can skip this.

OPI Beyond the Pale Pink

Beyond the Pale Pink. I thought I’d really like this after falling for the pale tones in the OPI Infinite Shine summer collection, but for some reason I didn’t feel the same way about this. Still a pretty shade, but maybe too close to white to make it stand out? It also was a tad streaky even after several coats.

OPI Pearl of Wisdom

Pearl of Wisdom. Nope, not a fan of this one – streak city, even after 3 coats. I really hoped this would be great, I’m forever looking for a good shimmering white shade, but this like all the others I’ve tried fell flat for me. It’s very similar to China Glaze Dandy Lyin’ Around (including it’s streakiness) except it’s slightly cooler.

OPI Eternally Turquoise

Eternally Turquoise. Very pretty aqua shade that is perfect for late summer on tanned skin. The formula however was just OK – can you see how it weirdly showed a ridge in my big toe? This was 3 coats and more effort than I felt was necessary for a shade like this.

I paired Pearl of Wisdom with Eternally Turquoise – ET stayed on my toes for a week+, but I took Pearl of Wisdom off the next day. Conor-wise a nice, ethereal combo though!

OPI The Beige of Reason

The Beige of Reason. This was a better sheer than most other sheers I’ve tried lately – not too streaky at all – but it didn’t do anything shade-wise for my hands IMO. See the small chip in the top of the bottle? I have another Infinite Shine shade that has a chip in the neck of it’s bottle – are they made of weird glass or something? Bizarre.

OPI Go to Grayt Lengths, in sunshine.

OPI Go to Grayt Lengths, in shade.

Go to Grayt Lengths. I knew I wasn’t going to be down with this shade, silver not being easy for me to wear, and this one is quite cool leaning (especially in the first photo). It’s also sort of a creme-shimmer hybrid somehow; it actually looks better in these swatches than I felt it did in person. Formula was good though, and it has a lot of natural shine.

You can probably tell, I wasn’t super wowed by this collection – I thought the color story was very appealing, but most of them fell flat for me for one reason or another. Probably another reason why I took so long to post about them! I do appreciate that these weren’t just a collection of stock-standard nudes (especially throwing in the pale aqua shade), but on the whole I actually prefer the regular formula of OPI to the Infinite Shine – I have better application with the original formula, strangely enough, and I don’t find that these wear loads longer either.

I have the fall Venice collection to show you guys in the next couple weeks (I hope) and so far I’m impressed, so don’t lose hope for OPI yet!

OPI Infinite Shine Summer 2015 Collection: Part I {swatches & review}

Summa, summa, summa’time! How’s everyone’s summer going? It’s been kind of great for me, we had awesome weather for most of June, July was not bad – we had a long stretch of rain for a couple weeks which sucked (especially with a little one who loves the outdoors and needs constant stimulation!), and now August has been pretty grand, though it’s been hella hot here the past week. Today I took Elena on the ferry which was a nice way to enjoy the sun and keep cool…she seemed to dig it 😉 I try and do water-related things with her most days as she was a fish in another life I swear! I *just* signed us up for parent & tot swimming lessons starting in September – should be fun!

Today I have half of the OPI Infinite Shine summer collection – honestly, I feel like all I do lately is swatch nail polish, which is my own fault as I have to request the samples when they’re available… Anyway, I quite liked a lot of these shades so I ended up wearing them for a few days each, instead of swatching them all at once, which means I’ve only gotten through the first handful (I also have the Infinite Shine 2015 Soft Shades to show you, of which I’m 2/3rd’s through – so I’ve actually done about 10 swatches total). I should probably quit wasting time and get to it, eh? All swatches are without top coat, FYI.

Lavendurable is a super-pretty pale lilac creme that looks awesome with a tan. I’m actually a fan of wearing pastels at the height of summer, and wearing brights more toward the tail-end of spring/beginning of summer when I need to fake the illusion of sunkissed skin (yes, I know I’m always brown lol…but sometimes I’m a watered down milk chocolate and I need a little oomph, OK?). The tricky thing with pastels is that the white base can be streaky if you’re not careful in your application – I had to use a steady, quick hand and apply 3 medium-thick coats as it tended to get patchy otherwise. I don’t mind if a polish is finnicky though if it’s this lovely!

OPI Lavendurable, Zoya Marley

You couldn’t see the differences in the first shot so I took a second at a different angle…you can see that Zoya Marley is a bit deeper in tone. Marley is a much-loved polish, but I think Lavendurable has it beat – I really love the way it’s both pale and bright! A bit less demure than Marley, shall we say.

Patience Pays Off is another great pale shade, this time in a sort of soft pinky-clay hue that again looks awesome with a tan. As with Lavendurable, it required 3 quick coats but the finished product was totally worth it.

OPI Patience Pays Off, OPI Beyond the Pale, OPI The Beige of Reason, OPI Act Your Beige

I didn’t have a comparable shade to Patience – everything else was too beige or too light to be considered a contender.

You’re Blushing Again is a bit deeper in tone, but this creamy pale peachy-pink is another stunner in my opinion. I think it’s really feminine and looks great with my skintone. Yet again, it required 3 coats to avoid patchiness, and yet again I don’t care! It has pretty great shine on it’s own too, eh?

OPI You’re Blushing Again, Essie Muchi Muchi

The only remotely similar hue I could find was Essie Muchi Muchi, and it’s not even close. This is a really unique shade as it’s not peach and its not pink – I’m loving it!

Follow Your Bliss is kind of a pepto-pink shade that isn’t normally something I gravitate toward, yet I love the look of it in this swatch. It’s very girly, eh? This is 2 coats, but its still got a fair bit of white in it so I had to be careful when applying and I used thicker coats to avoid streaks/patchiness. The shine on this one was really something!

OPI Follow Your Bliss, OPI Suzi Shops and Island Hops, RBL Oh Slap!, Chanel Sweet Lilac

This shade also didn’t have an equal in my stash, though Suzi Shops is close, just several shades lighter. I though Oh Slap! would be very similar but it’s not so vividly pink – I prefer the latter, as it’s more wearable, but man, every time I look at the swatch above I waver – it’s so fabulously in-your-face-PINK!

The Sun Never Sets is an orange cream-sicle kind of shade…the shine was killer on this one (it seems to be a bit of a jelly/creme hybrid?), but these yellow-based oranges clash hard with my skintone. The first coat was very patchy, but it leveled out well with a thicker second coat.

OPI The Sun Never Sets, OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked?, Essie Resort Fling

This one was tricky to show shade differences – Is Mai Tai Crooked? looks quite similar in the first shot, but in the second you can see it’s even more yellow-toned and a hair lighter. Resort Fling is much more peach in comparison (and hence why I like it a lot more…has less yellow and more pink).

I swatched Purpletual Emotion on my right hand because I NEVER use my right hand for swatches and I just felt like it for once (plus, it meant I could do two swatches in quick succession lol). My right middle nail isn’t as nice as it is on my left hand (since I’m a righty), but my nails were super-long for these swatches so you can’t tell as much. This shade is a creme/jelly hybrid that was a cinch to apply – two easy flowing coats – and has shine for days! I’m not generally a fan of bold purple polishes, but the shine on this one and the intensity is kind of getting to me….I might have to keep this one!

OPI Purpletual Emotion, OPI Dutch’ya Love OPI?, OPI Lost My Bikini in Molokini, RBL Mismas, OPI Hello Hawaii, Ya?

I thought for SURE that this shade was super-similar to Dutch’ya Love OPI?, but it’s not in the least! The latter is way darker (and that’s not even taking into account the shimmer). The other 3 shades are also nowhere near in tone – they’re all much cooler. Every single one of these purples I’ve passed along, but I might actually hang on to Purpletual…as long as I never have to say the name again (tongue-twister!).

I was pleasantly surprised with this half of the summer collection, many of the OPI polishes I’ve received have been lacklustre for me, but I really liked almost all of these! I will say that though the shine on a lot of the Infinite Shine polishes is pretty good, I find a lot of them have application issues (patchiness mostly) which is a bummer. I’m applying them on the Infinite Shine base coat too so it’s not that. In any case, while I don’t like to mess around with polish too much I really didn’t mind much with these as they were so darn pretty. That’s saying something!

Have you tried the new(ish) Infinite Shine polishes? Will you tough it out for a shade you love, if the formula is subpar?

 

 

Lavendurable

 

Strengthen nails with new shades of OPI Nail Envy

More polish you say? No problem! I have a constant backlog of OPI polishes to swatch and review, which means I always have more polish comin’ at ya.

The original OPI Nail Envy is a translucent, maximum strength nail strengthener & fortifier that you can use on it’s own or as a base coat to help nails grow faster and stronger. The new Nail Envy polish shades are formulated with the same hydrolyzed wheat protein and calcium complex to help nails resist peeling, cracking and splitting, and come in 4 delicate OPI shades – 3 existing favorites (Bubble Bath, Samoan Sand and Hawaiian Orchid) and 1 new Nail Envy exclusive shade (Pink to Envy).

Left to right: Bubble Bath, Samoan Sand, Hawaiian Orchid and Pink to Envy

Bubble Bath is a sheer, feminine pink that makes nails look polished and clean (due to it’s blue-leaning tones). While I like those qualities in a sheer polish, it was somewhat streaky (often a problem with sheers) so you need careful application with this one. Thin coats and a quick hand, plus ample time to dry between coats is a must.

Bubble Bath isn’t a terribly unique shade, and I found a few similar polishes to compare it to: Essie Muchi Muchi, which is also streak-prone; OPI Put It In Neutral, which is a touch less pink; and Dior Incognito, which isn’t really very close as it’s opaque and more of a beige-pink.

Left to right: Essie Muchi Muchi, OPI Bubble Bath, OPI Put It In Neutral, OPI Do You Take Lei Away?

Samoan Sand is a polish that’s been on my radar for years, as I’m a sucker for a good nude and I read somewhere this is a great option for deeper skin tones like mine. Happily, it did not disappoint – this went on easily in two smooth coats, and was quite flattering with my skin tone, though I’d be curious to see if it’s still that way once my summer tan has faded (I prefer my nudes lighter than my skin tone, not matching like mannequin hands). In the swatch below I had been wearing it for several days, so please excuse the tip wear!

Being a collector of shades like these, I thought I might have a few dupes in my stash, but I actually didn’t (huzzah!). Dior Sunkissed is more peach, and Tom Ford Toasted Sugar (another fave nude -> which I realize I haven’t shown you guys yet! Shame on me) is darker.

Left to right: Dior Sunkissed, OPI Samoan Sand, Tom Ford Toasted Sugar

Finally, we have Hawaiian Orchid, a pretty dusty mauve-pink which I normally would never look at. It’s still not entirely my cup of tea, but there’s something about it that I like – could be its smooth, creamy shine! I think this would look great on more fair skin than mine thought – which is why I might try it out again once my tan has faded (for SCIENCE).

Naturally, I didn’t have any really similar shades in my collection, but I pulled anything close just for the hell of it (continuity, ya know). RBL Poco a Poco has that same dusty quality, but it’s much more purple; RBL Oh Slap! is much lighter and a bit brighter but is in a similar color family; and Dior Incognito is once again more beige-y than pink.

Left to Right: RBL Poco a Poco, RBL Oh Slap!, OPI Hawaiian Orchid, Dior Incognito

I didn’t swatch Pink to Envy, because though it’s got that pink tint to it, for all intents and purposes it’s a clear polish – I didn’t even find that it gave my nails a brightening effect like the Dior Nail Glow polish. Not a big deal, just – no reason to add to the massive amount of swatches I need to do these days!

Do you use the original Nail Envy? Do you like when polishes have a treatment in them? What are your thoughts on neutral polishes?