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OPI Designer Series Collection 2015

Posted on 23 November, 201522 November, 2015 by Cynthia

This might be the only time you will truly see me excited on a Monday, and it’s all due to the fact that we have a short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. I am looking forward to a long weekend and to all the delicious foods that come with Thanksgiving dinner. I was pretty lazy this past weekend which gave me some much needed time to swatch. I got through 3 collections which I should have up this week–unless I get super deluxe lazy and don’t post them until the following week. Anywho, today I wanted to show you the two polishes from this year’s OPI Designer Series Collection. I know we all dream of the past when DS polishes were delicious holos, but those times are long gone. Despite this, OPI manages to put out some interesting DS polishes and this year is no exception. Let me show you the two new polishes that have been added to the Designer Series line.

This is OPI DS Charcoal. Oh, now I wish I could have gotten better pictures of this polish. It’s so freaking pretty in real life. It flashes from green, to pink, to purple, to charcoal, to my polish loving heart. I think that what makes this polish stand out is that it dries to a satin finish so it just looks different from similar polishes. Of course I immediately thought of OPI Peace & Love & OPI, but they are not the same. They are similar, but they are NOT the same. It was incredibly difficult to capture the true essence of this polish, so you will have to trust me when I tell you that it’s kind of amazing.

OPI DS Imperial did not wow me in the bottle. In fact, I thought it was kind of boring when I first saw it. But I take it all back because this shade looks pretty phenomenal on the nail. It also has that satin finish that I love and it is super pigmented.

Overall, call me pleased. I think that both of these polishes are beautiful, but Charcoal is my fave. I just find it unique which is not something I get to say very often. These polishes are out now so pick em up while the are available. Let me know what you think of these. Will you be picking one (or both) up? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

P.S. I put up tons of stuff up on my blog sale. Polish is taking over my entire apartment–they need a new home. Check out the new stuff here.

OPI Designer Series Polished Quartz Fall 2014

Posted on 31 August, 2014 by Cynthia

I was expecting it to be much hotter than it is today, so I’m kind of happy about that. Since I don’t have AC, whenever it gets crazy hot it gets hard to swatch. You may have seen the crazy pile of polishes that I had to swatch, but I’m glad to share that I have swatched about 35 of them so far. All of them have been so ridiculously gorgeous that I barely even noticed the crazy amount of polishes I went through. I think I may be the only one who is super happy about summer being almost over. I am pretty happy that this summer hasn’t been completely unbearable, but I know that suddenly the weather will take a huge dump on my head and get insanely hot. For today’s post, I have two insanely sparkly polishes that don’t exactly scream fall, but they are ridiculously flashy and bright. I always look forward to the DS releases, so let’s take a look at the OPI Designer Series Polished Quartz duo for fall 2014.

OPI DS Titanium

OPI DS Tourmaline

Was I lying about how gorgeous these two are? Since the polishes are in a jelly-type base, they are pretty sheer so I applied 3 coats for my swatches. I played around with them a bit since swatching them and they look amazing layered over other colors so the possibilities are endless. I have an extra set of these babies so make sure to check back for my next awesome giveaway. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend and if you’re in the US, I hope you are enjoying your long weekend. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

P.S. I have added a lot of items to my blog sale so make sure you check it out.

OPI DS Sapphire

Posted on 26 May, 2014 by Cynthia

I’m a lucky girl. And by lucky, I mean polish lucky. I have so many amazing dusties in my area that I always get excited when I go because I can feel that I’m going to find something amazing. There are certain stores that I wish I could just take a stool, sit on the floor and just go through everything. I am convinced that they must have some amazing polishes hidden in their ancient stashes. Unfortunately, some of the stores are super cramped and tiny so it’s not like I can spread out and take over the entire store. I’m sure that as soon as they see me coming, the owners must be thinking: “Not this asshole again.” Anyway, today’s polish was found at one of my dusties. In fact, they had like 4 DS Sapphires and 4 DS Signature and I bought them all. Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t do the same. OPI DS Sapphire is one of the old OPI linear holos that are sadly discontinued and will cost you an arm and a leg on evilbay. It’s so lovely! Let me get to the swatches.

This polish is rather sheer so I had to apply 3 coats to get even coverage. This type of lighting definitely does not show off a holo polish so I had to use different lighting for the following pictures.

This beautiful polish is somewhat of a chameleon. It looks silver but it also looks blue depending on the lighting. The holo in this polish isn’t very linear…it’s like somewhat linear but also scattered. I just love it!

I thoroughly enjoyed my day off today especially because I always had to work holidays at my previous job. I guess this is one of the benefits of working for a public agency! If you’re in the US, I hope you had a nice Memorial day and that you took a minute to remember all the brave men and women in the armed forces who have fought and lost their lives. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

OPI DS Raw Granite For Fall 2013

Posted on 19 August, 201318 August, 2013 by Cynthia

I really do wish it was Sunday because that’s definitely my fun day. Why can’t I just win the lottery and forget about work…is that really too much to ask? Pffft! I feel so sluggish today, but that seems to be pretty normal for Mondays so now I have to pump myself up so that I can get to the gym tonight. I loaded up my ipod with a bunch of new songs (Get Lucky, Blurred Lines, Treasure among others!) last night and packed my gym bag so I can just go there directly from work. I know that if I get home, I’m going to start doing stuff and then I’m going to be too lazy to do anything. Hopefully I won’t be too sore tomorrow since I’m sure my body is going to be thinking: Whatchu doin’ fool?! I also nubbinized my nails yesterday so I’ll be giving my hands an nails a break while they grow back out. I do have a lot of swatches and posts lined up, so don’t worry…you can breathe…I will be around to regale you with nail polish! Yep, I know I’m much more important in my own head. So today I have these two really fantastic polishes to share with you that are a new addition to the OPI Designer Series line: OPI DS Raw Granite for Fall 2013 polishes are going to blow you away!

OPI DS Lapis was my favorite of the two. Look at how complex and amazing it looks! The formula was flawless: thick but easy to control, so “different looking” and a one coater! I was in love with the way it looked in its natural matte finish, but look at it with a coat of Seche:

Sweet baby Jesus! Isn’t it sparkle-licious?!

Next up is OPI DS Pewter. When I first looked at this one, I wasn’t that excited but man did I change my mind once I saw this beauty in the sun. It sparkled like a mofo. The formula on this one was also great and it looked great with two thin coats. Of course I couldn’t resist topcoating it after the awesome way that Lapis looked.

Seriously…love!

The two Designer Series offerings for this year are really gorgeous. Even though they have a liquid sand-type finish, they are not very rough feeling in case that bugs you. While I love the love of both polishes without topcoat, in my opinion, they really come to life with a nice and shiny coat of Seche Vite. What do you think of these polishes? According to OPI, DS Raw Granite lacquers should be worn without top coat for a matte finish. DS Pewter and DS Lapis will be available beginning September 2013 at professional salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCP Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $12.50 ($14.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

For more information, please visit www.opi.com. Don’t forget to follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan! Thanks so much for stopping by!

OPI DS Signature

Posted on 18 July, 2012 by Cynthia

What is it with the weather? It was so humid today that I didn’t even attempt to do anything with my hair despite the fact that I had to go grocery shopping. I am a brunette Annie today! I really want to let my hair grow out, but days like this make me want to cave and get my usual pixie/faux-hawk/pompadour cut. Do you even know how easy it is to manipulate short hair? My hair is wavy and easily holds a curl with the right product or straightens out nicely if I put in the effort. However, my hair, in this humid weather, looks something like this:

Just shorter. Ghaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Anyway, since the weather wasn’t cooperating I wasn’t feeling good at all so I did what I love to do when I’m feeling crap-o-licious: I cleaned and I did a few loads of laundry. I am a meticulous laundry folder (thank you Martha Stewart for teaching me how to fold fitted sheets properly!) so I had “fun” folding all my clothes, rolling up my underwear…yes, I have a system of rolling my panties and arrange them by categories I have devised. No, I won’t go into that because you might run away screaming.

Enough of my idiosyncrasies and on to the polish du jour!

Isn’t she purdy? The pictures above were taken in a light box so it was really hard to capture all the holo magic. Below, I took three more pictures in direct sunlight.

The last picture here is blurry because I felt you could see the holo a little better. The linear holo on this polish is nowhere near as crazy amazing as the Layla holos produce, but this is still really pretty. I wasn’t that into nail polish when the original OPI DS line came out so I never thought I’d own these without having to pay crazy eBay prices (which I refuse to do). You can’t even imagine how psyched I was when I found a few bottles of these at one of my dusties. I got this one and DS Sapphire which I will be trying in the near future, but I can already tell that I will love it. After I purchased these, I went back and picked up two more bottles to use for a giveaway. 🙂 Since I’m so lucky to have such amazing dusty luck, I want to spread the luck and love!

How have things been in your corner of the world? I can barely wait for fall and not just for the nail polish collections. By the way, can you tell me what show “Jeannie Bad Perm Victim” appeared on? (Hint: Show within a Show…no, not Hamlet.)