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OPI Nordic Collection

Posted on 14 July, 201412 August, 2014 by Cynthia

When the press release for the OPI Nordic Collection first came out, was I the only one wondering what was up with all the tan poopy shades? I never made it to he Nordic countries while I was living in Europe which is one thing that I always kick myself for, but hopefully I will make it to that part of the world again in the near future. I have to admit that I’m a bit confused about this collection. Maybe it’s that I don’t have too much knowledge about the countries that are being represented in this collection, but how do these colors fit? I don’t know! I decided to just sit down and swatch this collection instead of dwelling to much on it and let the polishes do the talking!

OPI How Great Is Your Dane?

OPI Ice-bergers & Fries

OPI Going My Way Or Norway?

OPI With A Nice Finn-ish

OPI Can’t Afjord Not To

OPI Suzi Has A Swede Tooth

OPI My Dogsled Is A Hybrid

OPI Do You Have This Color In Stock-holm?

OPI Thank Glogg It’s Friday

OPI Viking In A Vinter Vonderland

OPI Skating On Thin Ice-land

OPI My Voice Is A Little Norse

The formula on all of these was pretty identical across the board: creamy, easy to control and opaque at two coats. One thing I do want to stress is that I felt the polishes took a bit longer to dry so make sure that you leave plenty of time between coats. Now I’m realizing that maybe it’s the crappy weather that slowed down the drying time on the polishes. So what do I think about this collection? I am always delighted with consistency, and all of these polishes are consistently good because they applied flawlessly. I am still not entirely convinced about the actual colors and how they work together because the color palette seems a little random to me. I’d be interested in hearing from ladies from the Nordic countries these polishes are supposed to be inspired by since I’m still wondering if there really is a connection besides the pun-y names.

I really like Going My Way Or Norway? because it works as a great neutral for my skin tone. As you may have guessed, my least favorite is OPI With A Nice Finn-ish because it’s yellow gold and yellow gold is just ICK in my book. This one was a lot better than the gold from the Ford Mustang collection so at least the formula sort of saved it a bit. I was also really looking forward to playing with My Voice Is A Little Norse, and I was definitely not disappointed because it creates a really beautiful effect. As for the rest of the colors, they are very nice but nothing revolutionary. Still, there are some really amazeballs cremes here so if you don’t have similar colors, they are definitely worth picking up. What are your thoughts? Will you be purchasing any of these? The OPI Nordic Collection will be widely available in August so get your list ready! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

This collection has an official release date of August 6, 2014 so go get it now! You can purchase the OPI Nordic Collection at the usual places that carry OPI and each polish retails for $9.50 ($11.50 CAN). For my Canadian readers, you will also be able to purchase this collection at Nail Polish Canada. Fun times! Happy shopping.

KBShimmer Summer 2014 Collection – Part 2

Posted on 13 July, 201412 July, 2014 by Cynthia

Don’t you just love Doctor Who? I spent my evening watching my favorite episodes again (10th Doctor all the way!!!), and I just can’t believe I didn’t even know about Doctor Who a couple of years ago. I still cry like a baby when I watch The Doctor and Rose say goodbye…I’ll never get over that. Besides watching tons of TV, I also did a crapton of swatching so I’ll have a lot of content for the following week. Today I have some swatches from the second part of the KBShimmer Summer 2014 Collection. You all know that I love KBShimmer to pieces, so I’m always excited to bring you these reviews. Let’s take a look at these beauties.

KBShimmer Peak My Interest

KBShimmer Look High And Holo

KBShimmer Sea You Around

KBShimmer Mintal Vacation

KBShimmer Sweet Wave

KBShimmer Happily Ever Aster

I loved every single one of these. These glitters are all so easy to work with and you never have to worry about not picking up enough glitter–if anything you can pick up too much. My favorite here has got to be Sea You Around because of the gorgeous green jelly base and the interesting glitter combination. If you’re interested in purchasing any of these beauties, head on over to the KBShimmer website where they retail from $7.50 to $8.75.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and good luck on Monday. You all know how I feel about Mondays. Thanks for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon.

OPI Ford Mustang Collection 2014

Posted on 11 July, 201410 July, 2014 by Cynthia

You have absolutely no idea how happy I am that it is Friday. I am jumping out of my skin for it to be the end of the workday so I can just relax and swatch my little heart out. I am so excited because of all the new collections that are coming out, especially the Nordic Collection, but I won’t say too much about that since this post is about the new OPI Ford Mustang Collection. I have to admit that I have zero interest in cars and absolutely hate driving, but I love looking at older cars. I think Mustangs are beautiful and I know that to some people, cars are what nail polish is to me so I can imagine them being super excited about this collection. Before I ramble on forever, let me show you my swatches of this small collection…and by small I mean small in OPI terms since some of their collections are just massive.

Let’s get the ugly shade out of the way first. OPI 50 Years of Style is a very frosty and brush-strokey metallic gold. Ick all around. Not only does it show every imperfection, but it also got super bumpy on me. I have seen other swatches where it looks infinitely better, so maybe it was an application issue on my part. Still, it’s not a color I like.

I have a total polish boner for white polishes as of late, so I was excited to try OPI Angel with a Leadfoot. Unfortunately, this is not a super nice white because the formula leave a lot to be desired in comparison to other spectacular whites that have come out lately. I do like how bright and creamy this looks, but be prepared to apply 3 coats to make this look good.

It’s no secret that I love hot pink so of course I like OPI Girls Love Ponies. It’s not really a unique color or anything, but it applies nicely and is a pretty staple color. I applied two coats for my swatches above.

I really don’t know if I really love OPI Queen of the Road or if I really hate it. It’s a strange color. At first I thought it was just a regular kind of coal black, but then it looks like a murky green. I still don’t know what to make of the color–it’s unique, for sure. The formula is a little thin, but it builds up well and only needs two coats which surprised me.

Is it just me, or are you also disappointed that OPI Race Red is super orange? I have a newly found love/hate relationship with orange so I’m not completely digging this color. Still, it’s a nice red-orange with a good formula so there isn’t too much to complain about.

I definitely left the best for last: OPI The Sky’s My Limit. Yep, this is the belle of the ball. I absolutely love how this looks, and it immediately reminded me of the much lusted after OPI Catch Me In Your Net. However, this is much bluer but it creates the same type of effect. The formula is great, but it did stain my nails a tiny bit because I swatched it on my bare nails.

So what do you think about this collection? Overall I like it. While I don’t LOVE every single shade, I think that I love more of them than dislike them. The Sky’s My Limit is my number one pick from this collection so if you only get one polish from this collection, get this one! The OPI Ford Mustang Collection is available now and retails for $9 a bottle. Have you already picked up any of these shades? Let me know what you think of this collection and if you have a favorite. Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you enjoy your weekend.

OPI Coca-Cola Collection

Posted on 27 May, 201427 May, 2014 by Cynthia

Hello everyone! It is a major feat that I got this post done for today. Last night at 11 pm, I was still trying to get this post together. I had 3 days off so I thought I would be able to work on a bunch of posts, but of course I was just a lazy bum the whole time. I did get swatches done for a whole week’s worth of posts, but the hardest part for me is actually putting the posts together. Well, today’s post is super fun for me because I was so excited when info on this collection first came out. Before we go any further: Coke or Pepsi? If you prefer Pepsi, close the browser and never come back. Just kidding…sorta. I am a hardcore Coke lover so I think the OPI Coca-Cola Collection is super fun. Let’s take a look at my swatches and then we can chit chat about them.

OPI You’re So Vain-illa

OPI Sorry I’m Fizzy Today

OPI Coca-Cola Red

OPI Orange You Fantastic! (1 coat over Coca-Cola Red)

OPI A Grape Affair

OPI Get Cherried Away

OPI Today I Accomplished Zero (1 coat over Get Cherried Away)

OPI My Signature is DC

OPI Green On The Runway

I think this collection is absolutely awesome! All of these polishes applied beautifully and were two coaters except for the glitters. You may find my choice a little boring, but my absolute favorite here is You’re So Vain-illa. I just love this creamy nude and can see it becoming my go-to work nail color. I would also say that Today I Accomplished Zero is my second favorite because it has so much depth. The jelly base is very dark so you can definitely wear it on its own. So what do you think of these polishes? Do you have a favorite? Let me know what you think below.

Thank so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon. Enjoy your day!

GIVEAWAY REMINDER

There are just a few days left! Have you entered my giveaway to win a full size 4 piece set of the OPI Sheer Tints? Click on the image below to go to the giveaway post. Good luck!

Zoya Magical Pixie Collection Summer 2014

Posted on 25 May, 201425 May, 2014 by Cynthia

Woo hoo! Sunday funday! So I didn’t go to watch the new X-Men movie yesterday because I basically lounged around in my pj’s all day clear into the evening. I did do a lot of swatching while I watched a bunch of movies on Netflix which included La Bamba and The Buddy Holly story. Then I watched some episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and continued to bum around. I did finally take a shower and combed my hair because I met up with a friend and we just had a lot of catching up to do. So basically my Saturday was spent in lazy bliss and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Today I will be watching X-Men so I’m excited about that…and movie theater popcorn. For your manicure viewing pleasure today, I have the new Zoya Magical Pixie Collection for Summer 2014. This new trio brings us the same super gritty texture as the first Magical Pixies but with a slightly darker base. Let’s take a look at these pretties below…

Zoya Arlo

Zoya Ginni

Zoya Bar

If you did not like the texture of the first Magical Pixies, do not expect to like these.because they are identical when it comes to the finish. These are very chunky glitters and will feel rough to the touch even if you topcoat them. I wouldn’t topcoat them only because I think they look better this way. All of these polishes required two thick coats for full coverage. To he honest, I kind of really liked the way these looked with one coat even if there was major VNL. Out in the sun, these look amazing because they truly sparkle. I would have liked these a lot of if the base colors were more vibrant…these are just too safe for me to truly go gaga over.

What do you think of these polishes? Did you get the first ones? Will you be getting any of these? I hope you’re enjoying your weekend so far because I sure am. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Essie Haute In The Heat Collection Summer 2014

Posted on 19 May, 201418 May, 2014 by Cynthia

Sometimes I feel like I get this weird high when I review Essie collections–and no, I’m not sniffing the polish or acetone. I know I’ve said it before, but I am always excited when I see new Essies. Am I weird for loving the bottle shape? I just find their bottles so incredibly classy and identifiable that I want to have hundreds of them lined up in my melmers just so I can admire the white caps. I know that I have issues but that just works to your advantage if you’re looking for Essie news and swatches, right?! I am normally in the know when it comes to upcoming collections, but I seriously had not heard a peep about the collection I have for you today until last week when I was reading a magazine. Sometimes I just assume that their neon collection is their summer collection but nope—we get a separate summer collection. Hey, in my book that’s great news because I wasn’t too in love with the Too Taboo Collection. So anyway, once I saw the ad in my magazine, I went to harass and chastise my nail guy for not telling me about this new collection. Whenever I go to his store, the first words out of my mouth (after saying hello, of course) are: “What new stuff do you have?” Sometimes I don’t even have to ask him because he will steer me to any new displays. I love my nail guy, but I’m pretty sure he’s a little scared of me. So now that I’ve rambled, are you ready to see the Essie Haute In The Heat Collection for Summer 2014?

OH MY FLIPPING POLISH GOD. Essie Strut Your Stuff is such a freaking gorgeous color. It’s like the darker cousin of In The Cab-ana. The formula on this was pretty nice because it was very opaque and smooth. I applied two coats here and it dries pretty shiny. One thing to note is that it stains a bit–but not enough to ever deter me from wearing it.

What are you doing to me, Essie? Are you trying to make up for past duds with this gorgeous polish? Cause I have to be honest: It’s kind of working. Essie Ruffles & Feathers is another gorgeous polish with an awesome formula. In real life, this color is slightly more green but my camera makes it lean a little bit more blue. Still…hubba, hubba!

I love white creamy polishes so much but we all know that the formula usually sucks balls, so I wasn’t expecting for Essie Urban Jungle to be decent. In fact, the formula is quite nice even though the first coat applied a little streaky and had a kind of chalky look. After the second coat, it was all gravy.Essie Haute In The Heat is really pretty but i found it a little boring especially since it’s the collection’s namesake. Still, if you don’t have something super similar, it’s worth getting because the formula is superb. If you have a steady hand, this is a one-coater.

Despite the silly name, Essie Roarrrrange is a nice and juicy summer color. Unfortunately, I am still on the “I hate orange” train from last week so I can’t say I am really loving the color. Additionally, this is the only polish that gave me a little trouble because I needed three thin coats to even it out.

I really wanted to love Essie Fierce, No Fear but I think this color just doesn’t do me any favors. I think it look absolutely icky on me, but I’m sure it will work on different skin tones. The formula was nice and SUPER shiny so expect two coats.

Overall, I am very happy with this collection. Coming off my disappointment with their Summer Neons, this is just what I needed to reel me back in. I know that this doesn’t necessarily scream SUMMER, but I think I quite like that. I also always appreciate their 6-piece collections because this allows me to really focus on each polish. I can totally see this collection being very polarizing, so I’m very curious to hear what you think. I think most of the major brands have put out their summer offerings, so now I’m excited to start hearing about Fall collections. Maybe I’m just trying to ignore the fact that we have 100+ degree weather all last week and it’s not even summer yet. Kill me now. On that note, I hope that you had a nice weekend and that you’re nice and rested for this new week. Is it Friday yet? No? Ok. Thanks so much for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon.

GIVEAWAY REMINDER

Have you entered my giveaway to win a full size 4 piece set of the OPI Sheer Tints? Click on the image below to go to the giveaway post. Good luck!

China Glaze Off Shore Collection Summer 2014 – Dune Our Thing

Posted on 13 May, 201413 May, 2014 by Cynthia

Excuse me, but I’m melting. Melting while I sit on the couch is not something that I enjoy, but I’m sure that those of you without air conditioning can sympathize. It’s going to be a few degrees shy of 100 today so my mood is already sour. It isn’t sour enough to not share with you my review of the China Glaze Off Shore Collection, though! As usual, this collection is divided into two sets and today I have the Dune Our Thing set but don’t fret because the Stoke To Be Soaked set will be on the blog tomorrow. You know I’m always really excited about China Glaze Collections so I try to pick them up as soon as my beauty supply stores get them. I was super excited to get them because their shipment literally arrived as I was entering the store. SCORE! Anyway, let me show you my swatches so we can talk about them afterwards.

China Glaze Wait N’ Sea

China Glaze I Sea The Point

China Glaze X-ta-sea

China Glaze Float On

China Glaze Feel The Breeze

China Glaze Dune Our Thing

So, uhm…these are supposed to be neons? Neons they are not. Why must we keep getting “neon collections” that aren’t really neon? I’m crying neon tears right now. Some of these are definitely bright, but I wouldn’t call them neon. (Can I possibly say “neon” some more? Neon, neon, neon!) Despite this, I think these colors are really pretty and the formula isn’t bad. We all remember past Summer collections, right? I’m still not over last year and the year before. The only polish that gave me some problems is the lightest pink, Feel The Breeze. It was streak-arrific but it did even out after three coats. Most of these will dry to a satin finish so you’ll need a good top coat if you want a glossy finish. I was super scared of Sea The Point because I had read somewhere that it was an application beast. The first coat was all that I feared, but then I decided to give the polish a good rolling/shaking and the second coat applied very nicely. Overall, I think these are really beautiful colors but we’ve seen these colors already. If I had to pick my favorites, I would get Float On, X-ta-Sea and Wait N’ Sea. To be honest, all the colors are beautiful so I’m having a hard time trying to pick favorites. I think that if you don’t have similar colors, these are definitely worth picking up. So what do you think? Will you be able to get past the fact that these aren’t really neons and get some of these? Do you have any favorites? This collection should be at the usual places this June…can you believe it’s almost June? Ghhhhaaaa! Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

OPI Neons Collection 2014

Posted on 11 May, 201411 May, 2014 by Cynthia

One of the only things–if not the only thing–that I love about Summer is the fact that we see tons of color everywhere and I’m not just talking about nail polish. Every Spring, I get giddy seeing previews of juicy Summer Collections and this year has been no exception. When I first started hearing about an OPI Neons Collection, I was very excited. Excited is not really the right word because I was going apeshit crazy for them. I don’t like to necessarily say that I have obsessive qualities in my personality, but you can definitely qualify my polish idiosyncrasies as such. Now, I do have to tell you that while I love bright neon colors, I definitely do not like neon formulas. I cannot stand the idea of 3+ coats of polish, and I just about lose my shit when I am told to use a white base under a polish. Do you understand my conundrum? For this review, I decided to follow OPI’s inscructions and used their Put a Coat On! white base coat which they state will further enhance color and basically make them pop. Look at me: following directions for once. Let’s take a look at my swatches before I break it down for you.

OPI You’re So Outta Lime!

OPI Life Gave Me Lemons

OPI Hotter Than You Pink

OPI Down To The Core-al

OPI Juice Bar Hopping

OPI Push & Pur-pull

Am I the only one doesn’t really see true neons here? Well, I shouldn’t say that because Life Gave Me Lemons is kind of electric. Other shades are very neon-esqe, but I was expecting something more retina-searing. Let’s get the ugly out of the way first: Push & Pur-pull, you are a beast. This polish was basically unmanageable. When I applied it over the white base, it never looked good. I applied 2 coats of the white base and 4 coats of Push & Pur-pull hoping that would make it look nice. NOPE. You may be thinking that I over-applied it, but I actually went really slowly and let each coat dry before making the decision to add another and another and another. Finally I took it all off and applied it without the white base coat which is what you see above. I am still not happy with it, but I would highly recommend that you skip the white base with this one. As far as the other 5 polishes are concerned, they weren’t horrible but they weren’t that nice either. Out of the collection, Life Gave Me Lemons had the best formula and coverage. For all of my swatches, excet Push & Pur-pull, I applied 2 coats of the white base and 2 coats of polish which I ten top coated with Seche Vite I am not a huge fan of the satin finish that most neons carry which is why I always Seche Vite the crap out all my manis. When did Seche Vite become a verb?

Let’s talk about the Put A Coat On! base coat…

Yep, hated it. It is the strangest white polish I have ever used. It’s chalky and strange and it felt like it never dried. When I applied polish over it, it kind of came off and would get runny. It was just weird. Also, can I tell you how much I hate that no matter how hard I tried, I can see some of the white peeking out around the edges of my mani? It’s a huge pet peeve of mine so it’s driving me nuts that I’m posting what I feel are sloppy swatches. If you are able to apply the white base in one swipe, then you don’t need more than one coat. If you need to make a second pass, then you’re going to get a streaky mess which is why I applied 2 coats of the white base.

Overall, I’m not diggin’ this whole collection. The three that I really like are You’re So Outta Lime, Life Gave Me Lemons and Hotter Than You Pink. Hotter Than You Pink is much brighter in real life than my pictures show and it has some beautiful shimmer to boot. I’m so conflicted because I wanted to love this whole collection so much and now I don’t. The OPI Neons Collection will be available this month and will retail for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, beautybrands.com, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com. What do you think of this collection? Will you be picking up any of these shades for the Summer? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

P.S. Have you entered my giveaway for a set of the OPI Sheer Tints? Come enter here.

OPI Glitter Off Base Coat

Posted on 7 May, 20147 May, 2014 by Cynthia

Yay me! I am done with clearing out my backlog of swatches and reviews that were in my drafts folder. I hadn’t posted my review of the OPI Glitter Off Base Coat because I noticed that I couldn’t find it anywhere!! I was going to pick up a second bottle and also wanted to get one for a friend, but none of my usual places have it. Hrrrrmmphh! Anyway, I know there were a lot of questions about if this was just Elmer’s glue in a fancy bottle so let’s talk a bit about the product, shall we?

The OPI Glitter Off Base Coat is meant to be used a a peelable base coat worn under difficult to remove glitters. When I first started blogging, I HATED glitter. You don’t understand. Glitter would make me angry. I hated what a pain in the ass it was to remove so I basically avoided it. Slowly, I began to see what I was missing out on so I saw the light and started to wear glitter until I was a complete convert. I still hated the removal process, but it was totally worth it. At one point, I did try Elmer’s Glue under my glitter polish, but I hated it because it actually peeled off some of my nail!!! I was a little dubious about how much better (or worse!) the OPI peelable base coat would be, but I’m glad to report that I had better results.

I found this base coat super easy to use. All you need is one coat, and you need to let it dry until it is completely transparent. After that, you can paint your nails with the craziest glitter ever and you won’t have issues with removal. I found that pushing the polish with an orange stick was an easy way to remove it. Initially I thought that the base coat would make my mani really weak, but I wore the same polish for 3 days and didn’t have any chipping or peeling.

When I started experimenting with gradients again, I was lamenting the pain of clean up when a few people recommended using blue on my fingers to make clean up more easy. Well, since I couldn’t find my bottle of Elmer’s glue, I decided to use the Glitter Off Base Coat for this as well. As you can see by my pictures above, it does work well. Would I recommend using it like this on the regular? No! It’s too pricey to be used this way but if you’re in a pinch, it will definitely do.

So what do I think of this product? Uhm, I feel it’s pretty darn similar to the Elmer’s Glue/water mixture that a lot of people have tried out. I don’t think it’s a must-have product, but it definitely did make glitter removal a lot easier for me so I will keep using it and will probably buy it once I’m out–if I ever find it in store, that is. Have you used this product yet? What do you think? Is it something that you’d buy? It is a little pricey at $9 a bottle, but I do like it. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

KBShimmer Spring 2014 Collection – Glitters

Posted on 6 May, 2014 by Cynthia

Did you watch 24 last night??? I was so psyched about it being back that I nearly went nuts with anticipation to be able to see good old Jack Bauer in action. I’m always so disappointed when shows that I love get cancelled…like Dollhouse! I’m still not over that one. Anyway, now that The Following and The Blacklist are on hiatus, I will have something awesome to replace them with. I got a chance to swatch these 3 gorgeous glitter polishes from the KBShimmer Spring 2014 Collection and I can tell you that I am in love. LOVE!

KBShimmer Daisy About You

KBShimmer Belle of The Mall

KBShimmer Make My Gray

Aren’t these beautiful? I think that Belle Of The Mall is my favorite because it has such a gorgeous jelly base that lets the holo glitter shine through. It’s such a juicy polish! Make My Gray and Daisy About You are milky based glitter polishes so you will been multiple coats to get a fully opaque finish. I am always super impressed with KBShimmer polishes and these are no exception. If you want to purchase any of these, they can be found at KBShimmer.com for $8.75 each. How do you like these 3 polishes? If you haven’t seen my review of some gorgeous cremes from this same collection, you can check them out here. Thanks so much for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon.