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Of Life and Lacquer > Nicole by OPI

Kiko 383 Oil Blue

Posted on 28 January, 2014 by Cynthia

My allergies are killing me today. My nose is literally dripping like a leaky faucet and now it’s so raw that it hurts to even touch it. I don’t know why I decided to go to old and dusty places after work because this just aggravated my misery. I did manage to find some cool stuff so I guess not all is lost. I wasn’t going to post today but then I realized that I have posted every day this month and I wanted to keep the momentum going. The polish I have for you today is a bit of a chameleon so let’s take a look at Kiko 383 Oil Blue.

You know I love blues, so I love this. The one frustrating thing is that this polish just refuses to photograph accurately. In real life, this is like a dark smoky teal but here it just looks like a vibrant blue. Either way, it’s beautiful and the formula is everything I have come to except from Kiko: super buttery and very pigmented so this is opaque with two coats.

Since I’ve been trying to use striping tape a lot more lately, I decided to use it here to make a simple design. The possibilities are endless when trying out a design like this and any matte top coat will here. Here I used my Nicole by OPI Matte Top Coat (press sample) which I have been using a lot lately.

Tonight I’ve been working on swatching one half of the new China Glaze Spring 2014 Collection so I hope to have that up for you tomorrow. I was so excited when I saw this at my local nail place so I basically grabbed one of each and took off like a lunatic. I still haven’t been able to get my hands on the Sea Goddess Collection which is starting to irritate me, but I know I will get it eventually. Anyway, I hope you’re all doing well, and I will talk to you soon!

Geometric Gumdrops

Posted on 22 January, 2014 by Cynthia

Does calling Wednesday “Hump Day” annoy you? It usually doesn’t annoy me but for some reason I cringed when I typed it out. Maybe it’s the fact that my pseudo-diet is putting me in a shitty mood cause I want to eat junk. So how is my diet going, you ask?

Yep, just like that. Now that I’m feeling a little better, I’m going to start incorporating going to the gym after work. I think that’s going to help me in a lot of different ways especially to relieve stress and just put me in a better frame of mind. Let’s hope that all happens and that I don’t end up sad and eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey.

The other day I was talking with some friends about this bare nail design that Chalkboard Nails did with some Nicole by OPI Gumdrops so I totally wanted to do something in that same vein. This is what I came up with:

For this design, I used Nicole by Opi My Cherry Amour and A-nice Treat and some stripping tape. All I did was to apply the tape in a criss-cross pattern and then carefully filled in the areas with the two polishes. Lastly I applied a silver stud in the middle because I felt that really finished off the look. I really like how this turned out! I’m getting more excited about doing more than just swatching so I hope that you guys like this.

So what are you up to today? I have work tomorrow so I’m getting ready for that…after being off/sick for the last 5 days, it’s going to be rough! My little nephew is coming over tonight so I’m excited to see him. On Monday he had his 2 month check up and he also got some vaccines. Here’s a recent picture of him:

He’s being very scratchy lately so you can see the little nicks on his nose and cheek. Isn’t he freaking adorable?? Anyway, I hope you’re doing well today, and I’ll catch up with you later.

Nicole by OPI New Core Colors For 2014 – Part 1

Posted on 20 January, 2014 by Cynthia

And another week starts up again. I wasn’t able to go to work this morning because my allergies continued to torture me. I took some Benadryl last night because my face and eyes were swollen like crazy. Then this morning I still couldn’t open my eyes all the way. Ahhh….this stupid weather is going to be the end of me. Oh my glob, I almost forgot that The Following is back on TV!!! I just saw the first episode on my Hulu queue and I nearly pissed myself with excitement. I was so nervous that FOX would cancel this show just like every other awesome show (Dollhouse anyone?). I always go off on TV tangents, don’t I? I’ve completely stopped watching any kind of reality TV so now I’m watching a few dramas, mainly: The Following, Scandal and The Black List. I may watch a few other shows here and there, but I don’t follow any of them religiously. So today I have some awesome new polishes to share with you. Last week I received an amazing polish package which included the Nicole by OPI New Core Colors For 2014. Since there are 15 new colors, I decided to break up the post into 3 separate parts to showcase 5 polishes at a time. For today’s post, I have picked my 5 favorites to share with you, but it was sooo hard to pick 5 colors because I loved so many of them. Let’s take a look at the first 5 pretties, shall we?

Nicole by OPI Teal Me Something New

Nicole by OPI I Shop Mintage

Nicole by OPI Emerald Empowered

Nicole by OPI This Blue Is So You!

Nicole by OPI At Least I Pink So

The consistency of all these polishes is superb. They are all super smooth and apply beautifully. I would like to mention that Teal Me Something New stains like a mofo, but I didn’t wear any base coat so that’s my bad. Even though my pictures don’t really show it, Emerald Empowered is a duochrome that flashes green and blue—very pretty! All of my swatches show two coats of polish and top coat. The darkest color, This Blue Is So You! could almost be a one coater which is always a welcome surprise. We’ve seen so many of these dark and smoky navy blues lately, and I’m still not tired of them. These new nail lacquers should be available now for $7.99 each at retailers including select Walmart, Target, CVS, Kmart, Kroger, ULTA, H-E-B, Meijer and Duane Reade locations. In Canada, these shades will be available for $10.99 each at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart Canada, Jean Coutu, Loblaw, and London Drug.

What do you think of these first 5 new colors? I can’t wait to show you the rest later this week because they are all so gorgeous and they are mostly crèmes!!! My favorite!!! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Stamping Saturdays #2

Posted on 18 January, 201418 January, 2014 by Cynthia

Hey friends. Welcome to our second edition of Stamping Saturdays. I’m strangely proud of myself for not flaking out because that would have been pretty lame considering I started this up. ha! I really loved how my stamping mani came out today so let me show you the base color I started out with…

Nicole by OPI Better after dark (press sample), called out to me for this week’s mani. I absolutely adore the color and the shimmer is crazy gorgeous. If you didn’t read my initial review, click here because you still have a chance to enter this polish (and a second one) along with a coupon for some free chocolate!

I then used Essie As Gold As It Gets and Konad plate M73 to stamp this image on my nails. I totally love this! All the polishes from Essie’s Mirror Metallics collections stamp really well so I recommend them highly.

So what do you think about this stamping design? I hope you like it as much as I do! I wish I had a little more time today, but I am going to be babysitting my nephew for the first time today! Wish me luck!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Nicole by OPI & Dove: Discover Your Dark Side in the New Year Sweepstakes

Posted on 15 January, 2014 by Cynthia

Let me complain just a little bit right now: It is so dang hot today!!! It should not be 88 degrees in the freaking middle of Winter. You have no idea how irritated I am about this because I feel like I can deal and accept summer temperatures during the Summer, but not during the months when I’m supposed to be enjoying cooler temps. I know California weather is not typical and that we don’t really have Winters, but how is this even normal? Ok, I’m going to stop. As if you couldn’t tell already, hot weather makes me grumpy. Anyway, today I want to alert you that Nicole by OPI & Dove have teamed up for an awesome sweepstakes where there will be 25,000 winners!!! Say what?! Yes, 25,000 winners! Before I get to the sweepstakes details, I want to show you the two gorgeous polishes that you can win!

Are you a chocoholic too? Because I am!

Nicole by OPI Promises In The Dark

Nicole by OPI Better After Dark

Aren’t both of these gorgeous? The formula on both of them is perfect: creamy, very pigmented and smooth. I had absolutely no problem with application. Aren’t these the perfect colors for a chocolate inspired duo? Now for the fun part…

To enter the Discover Your Dark Side in the New Year Sweepstakes:

From now through February 5, 2014, DOVE® Chocolate Facebook fans can enter once per day for a chance to win one (1) of the 25,000 NICOLE by OPI® kits, which include:

§ A coupon for a free DOVE® Dark Chocolate Bar (1.34 oz. – 1.44 oz.)

§ Better After Dark NICOLE by OPI® Nail Lacquer Bottle

§ Promises in the Dark NICOLE by OPI® Nail Lacquer Bottle

To enter, simply “like” the DOVE® Chocolate Facebook page and click on the Sweepstakes tab to enter your name, email address, shipping address and date of birth. The Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States who are age 13 or older on or before December 27, 2013. All winners will be selected at random by an independent agency in the week following the sweepstakes.

For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/dovechocolate or www.facebook.com/nicolebyopi.

Go enter now! What are you waiting for? Good luck!

Nicole by OPI New Top Coats & Treatments For 2014

Posted on 9 January, 2014 by Cynthia

With all the pretty polish colors out there, sometimes it’s easy to forget that using a good base coat and top coat is going to be essential to keep that mani looking shiny, new and fresh. I realize that most people aren’t like me, meaning that you don’t all change your polish daily, so longevity is always important to the average consumer. This year we have some new offerings to choose from: Nicole by OPI New Top Coats & Treatments For 2014. Let’s take a look at some new products, shall we?

Now let’s see these in action!

First up is the 3-in-1 Base, Top Coat & Strengthener. This is a pretty convenient product because it’s actually 3 products in one so this is perfect if you’re traveling and don’t want to carry around multiple bottles. It gives a nice shine and it worked great to smooth and prep my nails before applying my nail color. Here I have applied it over OPI Gargantuan Green Grape (purchased myself).

Top coats…ahhh top coats! When you find one that you love and works for you, stick with it! I found that while this top coat is nice and smooths my polish nicely, it’s not a shiny as others that I use. I also found that it is thicker than what I normally prefer. Here I have applied it over OPI Gargantuan Green Grape (purchased myself) and Butter London Tart With A Heart (press sample).

Next up is a Matte Top Coat which I think had a nice consistency and wasn’t too thick. It mattifies nicely!

And lastly, we have this Oil To Go which is such a convenient way to give constant TLC to your poor battered cuticles. I keep this at my desk at work and apply some product after I wash my hands which is a lot of times throughout the day. I am always cautious of these types of products because if they are heavily scented, I probably won’t use them. The scent of this product is rather sweet and smells kind of tropical to me, but it’s not overpowering. While I would like a more subtle scent, it doesn’t really bother me.

Have you tried any of these products? Are you a cuticle product fanatic like myself? Considering the amount of abuse I put my hands through, I have to make sure that I keep my hands and cuticles super moisturized. Anyway, I hope you’re having a nice day, and I will talk to you soon!

Carrie Underwood For Nicole by OPI – Swatches & Review

Posted on 6 January, 20145 January, 2014 by Cynthia

I don’t know about you, but I am always excited when I see interesting and fun celebrity collaborations. When I first heard that Carrie Underwood would be teaming up with Nicole by OPI, I was thrilled because I looooove her. I can’t say that I’m still an American Idol fan, but I still remember when she won her season and how awesome I thought it was. Now that she because a huge superstar in her own right, I’ve continued to follow her and her music despite the fact that I’m not a typical country music fan. As soon as I received this collection, I set out to swatch it because I was so excited. Let’s take a look at my swatches for the Carrie Underwood for Nicole by OPI Collection, and then I will share my thoughts with you.

Love My Pups
Let’s “paws” for this adorably sweet pink

Carnival Cotton Candy
This spun sugar pink is all about fun

Color Me Country
This soul-ful hot pink makes me want to sing

Some Hearts
You can’t beat this romantic coral dream

Sweet Daisy
A bouquet of southern peach blossoms

Southern Charm
Frankly my dear, this nude shade looks charming on you

American as Apple Pie
Tradition runs deep in this classic red

Goodbye Shoes
Hit the road, but leave me this standalone gray-green

Fisher Queen
I’m hooked on this deep, deep eggplant

Lips are Dripping Honey
This multi-gold glitter is sweet on you

Backstage Pass
I want access to this brown with purple nuances

Party Bus
Celebrate on-the-go with this party-perfect confetti glitter

Sing You Like a Bee
Put some of this frosty ice on that, honey!

Carrie’d Away
Carrie’s own gold record signature shade

Wow, that was a lot of swatching! This 14 piece collection is composed of 8 cremes, 4 glitters and 2 shimmers. All of those crèmes made my heart happy! The two best crèmes—formula-wise—are American As Apple Pie and Goodbye Shoes. American As Apple Pie is one of those perfect one coat reds that I can always appreciate. The 6 other crèmes were nice, but I did find that they required a little more work because they all applied streaky on the first coat. I left plenty of dry time in between coats so that I could eliminate and dragging which unfortunately creates bald spots. I just love pink polish so I was so excited with all the pink here. The light pink nudeish shade, I Love My Pups, will require multiple coats and you may still have some visible nail line. Despite this, the color is very crisp and lady-like so I’m diggin’ it.

The two shimmer shares (Bastage Pass and Fisher Queen) are great dark and vampy colors. At first I felt the formula was lacking pigmentation, but the second coat evened out my polish perfectly. I think these shades are super welcome in this collection because of the sugary sweetness of most of the crèmes. We all need some variety…amirite?

The four glitters include two glitter toppers that I quite liked. I wouldn’t say that Lips Are Dripping Honey is revolutionary, but boy did I love how it looked. In fact, it’s my favorite glitter from this collection. Party bus is cute but I’m always cautious about big glitter. I didn’t notice any curling with the bigger flower-shaped glitters and I left this on for a day. I may have to try it out again because I suspect it might curl a bit. The two other glitters are somewhere between fine micro-glitters and texture polishes. I didn’t think that they were quite as rough-feeling as most texture polishes out there but they still had that sandy look to them and they dried fairly satin-y and matte. Carrie’d Away, in particular, is super sparkly. Even though I’m not a fan of gold polishes (I’m looking at you, Gold Master V!), Carrie’d Away is so bright and sparkly that I know I’ll be using it again. The one thing I didn’t like about these last two polishes is that the glitter gets into every nook and cranny. I used pure acetone to remove these polishes and I still had glitter embedded in my cuticles, under my nails, up my arms, in my nose…ok, maybe not in my nose but you get the picture.

Overall, I really like this collection. If you’re like me (or like Lesley), you’ll probably want these bad because they are Carrie Underwood polishes. While the colors aren’t something groundbreaking, you get a nice variety of colors and finishes. I’m not going to lie: I love that this collection has 8 cremes. I love crèmes. I have always loved crèmes and I always will. My favorites are: Goodbye Shoes, Carnival Cotton Candy, Color Me Country, Backstage Pass, Fisher Queen and Lips Are Dripping Honey. So now that I have rambled on and on, what do YOU think about these? Thank so much for the visit, and we’ll talk soon!

From Nicole by OPI

Nicole by OPI formulas are long-lasting, fast-drying, and salon-quality. This limited edition collection will be in newly designed bottles featuring the NEW Nicole logo. These shades will be available January 2014 for $7.99 each at retailers including select CVS, Duane Reade, HEB, Kroger, Kmart, Ulta, Walmart, Fred Meyer, Meijer, and Harmon locations. In Canada, these shades will be available for $10.99 each at Shoppers Drug Mart, Target Canada, Walmart Canada, Jean Coutu, London Drug, and Loblaws. For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

Nicole by OPI Modern Family Holiday Collection 2013

Posted on 4 November, 20134 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Can you believe that it’s November already? Thanksgiving is just around the corner and suddenly Christmas will be here. Personally, I hate how crazy people get around the holidays so I don’t even care about it all except for the food, of course, because my favorite food is beautifully showcased: CARBS. Don’t fight me on this…carbs is totally my favorite food in every way, shape and form. Yesterday I filed down my nails big time because they were starting to bug me, but I did some swatching before that happened. Today I have the Nicole by OPI Modern Family Holiday Collection to share with you so let’s take a look at the swatches.

I kind of liked this icy blue polish even though it is slightly brush stroke-y. Nicole by OPI Late Blu-mer had a pretty good formula and needed 2 coats for full coverage. Is it just me or does this look a lot like OPI Dining Al Frisco? here is a swatch of Dining Al Frisco:

Pretty darn close, right? The lighting is a bit different, but I think they can be called dupes.

Nicole by OPI Spark the Conversation is a holographic top coat which I found very difficult to apply because it was impossible to get a lot of the holo squares on the brush and get them to transfer onto my nails. I ended up getting TONS of clear polish on my nails and very little glitter so the next time I use this, I will try to pick out some of the glitter with a dotting tool.

Nicole by OPI Aren’t Families Grape? doesn’t really seem like a very holiday-type shade to me, but it’s nice. The formula seemed very thin to me so I applied 3 coats for full opacity.

Nicole by OPI You’re My Treasure is interesting, but I don’t really like it because the diamond shaped glitter is kind of random looking. I had no problems with picking up enough glitter–in fact at times I had too much on the brush! This mani totally came out looking very Lakers-esque.

And lastly we have Nicole by OPI Who Red My Journal??? This is an orange toned red with a lot of shimmer to it. It’s a nice hue, but totally not that interesting to me. The formula was nice: thin but not too sheer so I applied two coats for my swatches above.

Overall, I would give this collection a mild “meh.” For a holiday collection, I was expecting brighter, more jovial colors. These Limited Edition shades should be available now for $7.99 each at select CVS locations nationwide. For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you later.

Nicole by OPI Tink Collection

Posted on 24 June, 201329 June, 2013 by Cynthia

Hey ladies…and gents? I wonder if any guys read my blog. If they do, they’ve never commented but considering the amount of men that are into wearing nail polish, it wouldn’t surprise me. Sweet baby Jesus it was hard to wake up this morning. Not only is it Monday, but I also couldn’t fall asleep last night so I ended up going to bed after 10:00 pm which means that waking up at 3:30 am would be horrific. I actually didn’t have that hard of a time getting out of bed because I had the most horrid dream ever. I was dreaming that one of my best friends and I were taking a trip to Russia. We were on the plane and she decided we should fly in first class so we upgraded and moved to the front of the plane. The weird part was that there was no real cockpit door, we could see into the cockpit and therefore look out their window. Well, we were going down the runway gaining speed so we could take off. All of a sudden, another plane was taxing right in front of us and crossing our path. In my dream I felt this loud boom and a lot of heat. I felt like I was thrown up in the air and everything went black and I could hear people screaming. I felt like I was floating and then I things started to come back into focus and I was suddenly outside falling onto runway in the snow. Apparently we were making a layover in some Eastern European country in the middle of winter. Considering I used to work for 2 major airlines, I was never afraid of flying. In fact, being on the airplane was one of the favorite parts of my job (didn’t hurt that I always got to travel in first/business!) but, it’s like now I have this irrational fear of flying. The last time I was on an airplane, it was for a work trip and I had to like load up with a few drinks to even make it on the plane. I’m such a spaz. It was a really bad dream, and I was so grateful to wake up. However, I felt terribly uneasy about my dream all day. I haven’t started back up on my Prozac yet, but these are the kinds of dreams I have when I’m on my meds…EVERY SINGLE DAY. Eeeek…I hate that.

Anyway, now that I’ve told you about my terrible dreams, I am going to share with you the Nicole by OPI Tink Collection which is a new and limited edition collection inspired by Disney’s Tinker Bell.

Tink’s In The Pink – This happy fuchsia makes me, well…happy!

Sweet On Pete – This lime green is the “key” to Pete’s heart!

Half Charming Half Alarming – This coral is perfect when you’re feeling unpredictable

Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary – Not, it’s NOT orange…it’s tangerine. So there!

After swatching this collection, I’ve got to say that the formula on all four polishes is fantastic. I had zero issues with application and they all covered very well with two regular coats of polish. All of my swatches are two coats of polish plus a coat of Seche Vite. While these colors aren’t exactly groundbreaking, they are nice staple colors that are worth picking up if you don’t have them. My favorite color is Sweet On Pete because I don’t have a dupe for this in my collection as far as I can tell. It’s one of those weird and pretty/ugly colors that kind of draw me in. I also wanted to mention that I am missing two of the polishes: Pixie Glitter and How Fairy Nice Of You!

Pixie Glitter – This clear gloss is sprinkled with tiny rainbows.

How Fairy Nice of You! – This sweet pixie pink gives me wings

This limited edition collection will be available July 1, 2013 for $7.99 each at select Walgreens locations nationwide. For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you’re having a nice Monday. Let me know if you’re a fan of Tinker Bell and/or all things Disney. I’ll leave you with a picture of my gluttony….ceviche and a giant Tecate. I feel kind of ghetto with that giant beer but it was in my fridge and Guinness doesn’t really go with ceviche tostadas. Ha!

Nicole by OPI Gumdrops Collection

Posted on 20 May, 2013 by Cynthia

Let me ask you something: do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? Personally, I think that I am rather outgoing and talkative but it seems that when people first meet me, they think the complete opposite. They think I’m quiet and maybe a little mean. Me?! Mean?!?!?!?! Ok, maybe I am a little blunt at times which can be misconstrued as maybe being mean? Then once people get to know me, they always say: “I thought you were totally different when I first met you!” In fact, one of my best friends told me that he thought I was a total bitch when he first met me. Sixteen years later we are still great friends and it was his birthday yesterday so happy birthday again, Daniel! You’re old!

Anyway, the reason why I was thinking about this is because we had to take a personality test at work and I just found it completely bogus. If you’ve ever taken one of those tests, you probably know what I’m talking about. In fact, I can liken it to getting your palm read because they throw out so much information that can pretty much apply to anyone in a weird roundabout way. Anyway, enough about dumb work stuff and on to the polish adoration!

Today I have the Nicole by OPI Gumdrops Collection. Hey, now….don’t groan about yet another sugared texture collection! I haven’t quite had my fill of these textured confectioned polishes especially when they are super glittery and chunky. Since the formula on all of the polishes in this collection is the same, I’ll talk about it here: the formula on all of them is pretty great. I found them very easy to apply because the formula was very pigmented and dried super fast. I applied two coats for all my swatches and that gave me great coverage. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?

Candy Is Dandy

I Lilac Gumdrops

Blue-berry Sweet On You

Cinna-man Of My Dreams

My Cherry Amour

Don’t you just love Stevie Wonder?

A-nice Treat

Overall, I liked this collection. I think that I was super excited about the chunky glitter in Candy Is Dandy and I Lilac Gumdrops, but the rest were the fine glittered texture. I feel that the colors in this collection are similar to a lot of other sugared/textured polishes that we have seen this year, but if you haven’t picked any of those up, I think these are a good option.

This limited edition collection will be available beginning May 2013 for $7.99 each at retailers including select Walmart (May 2013), CVS (June 2013), Rite Aid, Kmart, Kroger, Ulta, H-E-B, and Duane Reade locations (August 2013), In Canada, these shades wil be available for $10.99 each at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart Canada (July 2013), Jean Coutu, Loblaw, and London Drug (August 2013).

So what do you think? Yay or nay? Have you had your fill of textured polishes yet? Thank so much for stopping by and I will talk to you soon!