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OPI Iceland Collection Fall/Winter 2017

Posted on 21 August, 201720 August, 2017 by Cynthia

I had not done an actual swatching session in a really long time–at least not an OPI swatch session which usually consists of 12+ bottles in one collection. To be honest, I was glad to see that the OPI Iceland Collection is “only” 12 bottles because my fingers and nails just aren’t up to the task of swatching a gazillion bottles in one sitting. In the past, I used to swatch up to 40 bottles in one sitting–how did I ever do that?? I know that there are plenty of in demand swatchers who regularly do this today so props to them because I can’t do this anymore. Anywho, today I’m going to show you my swatches of the OPI Iceland Collection which is OPI’s offering for Fall/Winter 2017. Let me show you my swatches before we get into the deets.

OPI Iceland Icelanded A Bottle Of OPI

OPI Icelanded A Bottle Of OPI

OPI Iceland I'll Have A Gin & Tectonic

OPI I’ll Have A Gin & Tectonic

OPI Iceland Reykjavik Has All The Hot Spots

OPI Reykjavik Has All The Hot Spots

OPI Iceland Aurora Berry-alis

OPI Aurora Berry-alis

OPI Iceland One Heckla Of A Color!

OPI One Heckla Of A Color!

OPI Iceland This Isn't Greenland

OPI This Isn’t Greenland

OPI Iceland Check Out The Old Geysirs

OPI Check Out The Old Geysirs

OPI Iceland Less Is Norse

OPI Less Is Norse

OPI Iceland Suzi & The Arctic Fox

OPI Suzi & The Arctic Fox

OPI Iceland That's What Friends Are Thor

OPI That’s What Friends Are Thor

OPI Iceland Krona-logical Order

OPI Krona-logical Order

OPI Iceland Turn On The Northern Lights!

OPI Turn On The Northern Lights!

First of all, if you don’t like cremes, then you’re probably not going to like this collection. And if you don’t like cremes, I won’t trust your opinion anyway. Just kidding. Sort of. Look, I adore creme polishes so of course I was in heaven here when it comes to finishes. This collection consists of 9 cremes, 2 shimmers and 1 frost/shimmer. We all know that the star of this show is Turn On The Northern Lights! so I’m not even going to pretend that this isn’t my favorite polish of the whole collection. My light box lighting definitely does not show how amazing this polish can look so let me show you a picture that I took in direct/bright sunlight:

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Beautiful, right?!?!?! The other shimmer in the collection is a light blue called Check Out The Old Geysirs. The shimmer was impossible to capture because it is extremely delicate, but when you catch it at the right angle, it’s sooooo pretty. There are some very typical creme colors in this collection and I probably could have done with less brown/taupe/mauve. My other favorite is Less Is Norse which is his like denim blue color that reminds me of the Chanel denim polishes we went nuts for a few years ago. I don’t have anything crazy to report when it comes to the formula and application: they were all pigmented and applied well. All were opaque at two coats and I applied one coat of Poshe for my swatches. Actually, I take that back: Turn On The Northern Lights! was the only sheer-sh polish in this collection and I did apply 3 coats to build up the color. This leads me to believe that it could be a great layering polish–experiments to follow.

So what do you think? Have you picked up any of these shades from the OPI Iceland Collection? Since this collection has been out a good solid moth, I’m sure you’ve already gotten a few and might end up getting more…amiright? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Disclosure: These products were provided to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Summer 2017

Posted on 5 June, 20174 June, 2017 by Cynthia

Hello friends. It’s been a slow few days chez moi so I ended up busting out all my swatching paraphernalia which includes my lighting and light box. I had been experimenting with swatching in direct sunlight, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with the results. I hadn’t had a massive swatch session in a long time and I can say I kind of missed it. I just wish that I had prepared myself by purchasing lint free cotton rounds because I had a hell of a hard time dealing with all the fuzzies. Anyway, today I want to share with you my swatches of the OPI California Dreaming Collection for Summer 2017. Being a born and bred California girl, of course I was excited to see a collection paying homage to my home state but the colors just kind of threw me off. Before I get into the details, let me show you some swatches.

OPI California Dreaming Collection To The Mouse House We Go!

OPI To The Mouse House We Go!

This magic red is for kissable lips, polka dot bows and tempting apples.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Me, Myselfie & I

OPI Me, Myselfie & I

But enough about me, doesn’t this coral look good in my selfie?

OPI California Dreaming Collection Santa Monica Beach Peach

OPI Santa Monica Beach Peach

Go ahead and hit the beach, this punchy orange has your back.

OPI California Dreaming Collection This Is Not Whine Country

OPI This Is Not Whine Country

The merlot the merrier I always say.

OPI California Dreaming Collection GPS I Love You

OPI GPS I Love You

I couldn’t have pinked a sweeter travelling companion.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Time For A Napa

OPI Time For A Napa

It’s always the right moment for this bubbly hot coral.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Malibu Pier Pressure

OPI Malibu Pier Pressure

This cotton candy pink has a very persuasive vibe.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Excuse me, Big Sur!

OPI Excuse me, Big Sur!

This rose may be soft, but it’s not afraid to speak up.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Barking Up The Wrong Sequoia

OPI Barking Up The Wrong Sequoia

Finding the perfect peach is a tall order.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Feeling Frisco

OPI Feeling Frisco

This nude’s bound to put you in a Bayful mood.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Sweet Carmel Sunday

OPI Sweet Carmel Sunday

You’re always a treat in this glistening gold.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Don't Take Yosemite For Granite

OPI Don’t Take Yosemite For Granite

Of quartz not! Everyone appreciates this shimmering slate.

Welp, I like this collection and I don’t. Part of me loves some of the shades but part of me doesn’t see the spirit of my home state reflected in this collection.

Was I the only one wishing for a polish called “Welcome to the OC, Bitch!”? Yes? No? Well, ok. I didn’t have any issues with the formula on these polishes. For all of my swatches, I used two generous coats of polish and 1 coat of glossy top coat. I was not expecting some of these shades to have a jelly formula. To The Mouse House We Go! and This Is Not A Whine Country have a jelly formula but they do build up fairly nicely so you don’t really have to worry about VNL. I did want to mention that my swatch of To The Mouse House We Go! has some shimmer flecks–that is not part of the polish; my top coat brush had some shimmer flecks from Sweet Carmel Sunday that unfortunately transferred to my swatch of To The Mouse House We Go! I absolutely love pink and coral polish shades so you can imagine that I quite enjoyed the shades in this collection. My absolute favorites are Excuse Me, Big Sur!, GPS I Love You, Malibu Pier Pressure and Time For A Napa. I found a surprise like in Sweet Carmel Sunday–who am I? The cutest part of the collection was the PR package. I posted some shots on my instagram:

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So what do you guys think about the OPI California Dreaming Collection? Have you picked up any of the shades yet? The collection is available in both classic Nail Lacquer and Long-Wear Infinite Shine formulas. Nail Lacquers retail for $10.00 ($13.50 CAN) each and Infinite Shine retails for $12.50 ($16.95 CAN) at Professional Salons, as well as Beauty Brands, beautybrands.com, Chatters, Dillard’s, Regis, Sally Beauty, ULTA and ulta.com and Macy’s.

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

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Disclosure: These products were provided to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

OPI California Dreaming Collection

OPI Washington DC Collection Fall 2016

Posted on 10 August, 20169 August, 2016 by Cynthia

Ahhhh! Wednesday! We are just about halfway through the workweek, and I am already thinking about the weekend. It’s not just me, right? Lately I’ve been having a lot of problems staying asleep through the night. Even though I tend to fall back asleep quickly, I wake up about 2-3 times each night. I think this is the main reason why I always wake up feeling so darn tired. That is definitely something that I need to talk to my doctor about. In fact, I have been wondering if maybe I have sleep apnea–great, one more thing on my jacked up health conditions list. Anyway, let’s move on to some more pleasant things like awesome nail polish. Today I have the OPI Washington DC Collection for Fall 2016 and lemme tell you, there are some awesome shades here. Let’s check out my swatches, shall we?

OPI Madam President 1

OPI Madam President 2

OPI Madam President

OPI Yank My Doodle 1

OPI Yank My Doodle 2

OPI Yank My Doodle

OPI By Popular Vote 1

OPI By Popular Vote 2

OPI By Popular Vote

OPI We The Female 1

OPI We The Female 2

OPI We The Female

OPI Kerry Blossom 1

OPI Kerry Blossom 2

OPI Kerry Blossom

OPI Squeaker Of The House 1

OPI Squeaker Of The House 2

OPI Squeaker Of The House

OPI Inside The Isabelletway 1

OPI Inside The Isabelletway 2

OPI Inside The Isabelletway

OPI Freedom Of Peach 1

OPI Freedom Of Peach 2

OPI Freedom Of Peach

OPI Pale To The Chief 1

OPI Pale To The Chief 2

OPI Pale To The Chief

OPI Never A Dulles Moment 1

OPI Never A Dulles Moment 2

OPI Never A Dulles Moment

OPI Shh...It's Top Secret 1

OPI Shh...It's Top Secret 2

OPI Shh…It’s Top Secret

OPI Liv In The Gray 1

OPI Liv In The Gray 2

OPI Liv In The Gray

OPI CIA = Color Is Awesome 1

OPI CIA = Color Is Awesome 2

OPI CIA = Color Is Awesome

OPI Suzi - The First Lady Of Nails 1

OPI Suzi - The First Lady Of Nails 2

OPI Suzi – The First Lady Of Nails

OPI Stay Off The Lawn!! 1

OPI Stay Off The Lawn!! 2

OPI Stay Off The Lawn!!

You already know how I feel about cremes, so this is my kind of collection. OPI always does such a great job with cremes, and these are no different. I had zero issues with the formula on these: all of my swatches show two coats of polish and one coat of glossy top coat. Yes, I understand that these colors may not be mind blowing, but they are beautiful, creamy and very versatile. This is also the first collaboration between OPI and Kerry Washington who is their new Creative Ambassador. If you’re a Scandal fan, you’ll definitely like the names of these polishes. What do you think of this collection? Let me know if you’ve picked up any of these shades or if you have any favorites. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

OPI Retro Summer Collection 2016

Posted on 7 July, 20164 July, 2016 by Cynthia

The weather here in California is weird. A few weeks ago it was over 100 degrees and lately it’s been in the high 70’s. I’m not complaining about the cooler temperatures, but it just means that once the temperatures start to creep up again, I will pretty much die. I really hate that it will be insanely hot deep into October but such is life…thanks to global warming. One of the very few things that you won’t hear me complain about during Summer are the nail polish collections. Duh. Who doesn’t love the juicy Summer colors that come out every year? Today I’m going to show you the OPI Retro Summer Collection for 2016. Will these satisfy my love for bright Summer polishes? Read on!

OPI Flip Flops & Crop Tops

OPI What’s the Double Scoop

OPI SPF XXX

OPI I’m Getting a Tan-gerine

OPI Towel Me About It

OPI Sailing & Nailing

Soooooo…these are pretty but they are not as bright and intense as I would have expected from a Summer collection. Despite this, they really do look great on tan Summer skin. I have heard quite a few people state that the polishes in this collection were super thin. While I did find the formula a tad thinner than what I’m used to from OPI, I wouldn’t say that it was terrible. For all of my swatches, I applied two regular coats of polish plus one coat of Seche Vite. I would 100% recommend that you allow the first coat to dry a little longer before you apply the second coat just to avoid any streakiness or bald spots. So, what do you think? Do you see any colors in this collection that pique your interest? What is your favorite color to sport during the hot Summer months? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

OPI Soft Shades Collection 2016

Posted on 6 July, 20164 July, 2016 by Cynthia

Let me start by saying that I went a little crazy with the cuticle oil when I was swatching this collection. Recently I found a lot of my favorite cuticle oil on ebay, and I have been basically bathing in it. In case you are wondering what my favorite cuticle oil is, I’ll let you know: Nicole by OPI Oil To Go. I don’t know if you have ever used it, but it’s the best cuticle oil out there and the scent is absolutely delicious. I did not realize my fingers were going to come out this darn shiny so I apologize. I am also still fidgeting with my lighting so all the swatches this week are off. I’m really annoyed by this but I was not about to re-swatch three full collections. Anyway, today I’ have the OPI Soft Shades Collection for 2016 to show you. Let’s take a look at my swatches.

OPI It’s in the Clouds

OPI Stop It I’m Blushing!

OPI One Chic Chick

OPI I Am What I Amethyst

OPI It’s A Boy!

OPI This Cost Me A Mint

Ugh, these are so pretty! However, they were a little difficult to deal with formula-wise. When polishes are this light, it can be difficult to get a smooth color application. For these polishes, I found that applying three thin coats yielded better results than two thicker coats. I also found that floating the polish on the nail reduced the possibility of getting streaky results. For all of these polishes I applied three thin coats of polish and a coat of Seche Vite to smooh everything out. All of these shades are extremely delicate so if you like this type of shades, these are well worth picking up–just be advised that you’ll have to do three coats. What do you think of this collection? Are there any shades that you like or that you have picked up? Thanks for visiting today, and I will talk to you soon.

OPI Infinite Shine Spring Collection 2016

Posted on 5 July, 20164 July, 2016 by Cynthia

Woot! Happy Tuesday all. The first day back to work after a long weekend is always the worst, but I managed to pretty much veg all weekend long except for Saturday. I asked my brother and sil to bring over the kids so it was quite a day. Even though my mom took care of Jonas while Peanut and I went out, they were certainly a handful. Jonas is almost 4 months and is quite an animated little guy while Peanut just keeps getting bigger and smarter. I really can’t pull any Jedi mind tricks on him anymore. He got into my swatch box and kept asking what the bottles of color were. When I explained to him that it was nail polish and that you paint your nails with it, he kept asking: “I try it?” I’m not sure I should be letting him wear any nail polish so I told him it was for big kids. That usually ends the discussion with him since he uses that same line every time he doesn’t want something. Anyway…back to nail polish. Today I have yet another belated collection to show you: the OPI Infinite Shine Spring Collection for 2016. On with the swatches!

OPI It’s Pink P.M.

OPI Half Past Nude

OPI Sunrise to Sunset

OPI Rose Against Time

OPI In Familiar Terra-tory

OPI Reach for the Sky

OPI Olive for Green

Can we all just stop for a moment and admire Olive For Green? This color is legit my favorite green all year. It’s kind of ugly but kind of gorgeous at the same time. I had zero issues with this collection when it came to formula. For all my swatches above I used two coats of polish and 1 coat of Seche Vite. I really like the Infinite Shine formula and always end up using my usual base and top coat with them. I don’t see too much of a difference with longevity when I use the Infinite Shine base/top coats so I think you are safe to use whatever you feel most comfortable with. I also have a soft spot for Reach For The Sky and Rose Against Time. Overall, I’m really please with these shades and can see myself wearing quite a few of these over and over. I really hope that you like these shades as much as I do. Do you have any favorites? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

OPI Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection

Posted on 13 June, 201612 June, 2016 by Cynthia

Guys, I’m in a serious nail funk. I have had zero motivation to do nail stuff for my blog. You’re probably getting tired of hearing this, but I just don’t know how to break out of this and get back to consistent blogging. Part of me is wanting to just quit, but the other part of me wants to soldier on. Nothing happened…I have just felt extremely lazy and uninspired as of late. Don’t get me wrong: I am still all over nail polish. In fact, I had to buy another melmer since I painfully ran out of room months ago. Even after doing a mini purge where I got rid of a few hundred bottles, I still needed another melmer. Do I sound crazy? Maybe I am. Anywho, even though I haven’t been doing that much nail stuff, I still found some time to swatch a few collections. I don’t know about you, but OPI is still my gateway polish brand so I am fiercely in love with a lot of the collections they put out. Today I have the OPI Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection to share with you so let’s take a look at the swatches first:

OPI Oh My Majesty!

OPI Mad For Madness Sake

OPI Having a Big Head Day

OPI What’s The Hatter With You?

OPI The I’s Have It

OPI Fearlessly Alice

OPI A Mirror Escape

OPI What Time Isn’t It

So what did I think? Look, any time that OPI puts out a bunch of cremes, I’m going to be very happy. Very happy indeed. While we all love a good glitter, holo, flaky, shimmer, etc…there is nothing more classy than a luscious creme polish. All of the cremes are spot on: great formula and opaque with two easy coats. You may say: “But Cynthia, those colors are nothing new!” Well, maybe you are right but goshdarnit who can say no to amazing cremes? If you don’t have something similar they are are definitely worth picking up. My three favorites are: Mad For Madness Sake, Fearlessly Alice and The I’s Have It. Now, let me move on to the last two: Mirror Escape and What Time Isn’t It. Mirror Escape is just a weird polish. I did not want to even try wearing it by itself so I applied an uneven coat of it over Fearlessly Alice. To tell you the truth, I kind of like the way it looks–but not enough to probably wear it again. It has a rough texture and it’s just a weird glitter combination. Props for “creativity” but NOPE. And lastly we have The I’s Have It. I have been wondering if there is one person who comes out with these interesting polishes. Like is the same person responsible for this and Pineapples Have Peelings Too? Because I’d like to get in that person’s brain. This is the one special edition polish from the collection and I’d like to point out that it’s the least special in my opinion. It’s just weird and I was not a fan when bar glitter was all the rage a few years ago and I like it even less today. I definitely was not impressed with these last two polishes. If you enjoy flawless cremes, you really can’t go wrong with these. I can also see fans of the movie snatching these up which is the whole point of collaboration collections such as this. What do you think of this collection? Let me know below. Also, just for a laugh, I saw this on Instagram and I nearly died laughing.

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Anywho, I hope you’re having a great Monday and hope the rest of the week flies by…cause Mondays suuuck. Take care and I will talk to you soon!

OPI New Orleans Collection

Posted on 29 February, 201628 February, 2016 by Cynthia

So how about them Oscars, eh? There were parts that felt super awkward but overall I enjoyed the show. I have always enjoyed watching them so I always look forward to the glitz and glamour. This weekend seemed to just fly by, and I had about a million things to get done: guess how many of those chores I actually got done. Regardless, I at least got some swatching done and have plenty of content for the coming week. Today I have my swatches of the OPI New Orleans Collection to share with you. I know a lot of people have complained that this color palette is not representative of such a vibrant and rich city. Let me show you my swatches and then I will let you know what I think of the collection.

OPI Take A Right On Bourbon

OPI Suzi Nails New Orleans

OPI Spare Me A French Quarter

OPI Show Us Your Tips!

OPI She’s A Bad Muffuletta!

OPI Rich Girls and Po-Boys

OPI Let Me Bayou A Drink

OPI I’m Sooo Swamped!

OPI I Manicure For Beads

OPI Humidi-tea

OPI Got Myself Into A Jam-balaya

OPI Crawfishin’ For A Compliment

Let me just get one thing out of the way: WHY? WHY??? Why do we continue to get shades like Take A Right On Bourbon in every single collection? I can’t stand shimmery silver metallics and there seems to be at least one of them in every single OPI collection for the last…5 million years. Yes, I feel strongly about this. Anyway, moving on… I have to say that I love, love, love the shades in this collection. While they may not be faithfully representative of such a rich city, they are gorgeous colors on their own. The formula on all of these was rather spot on, and I can’t think of any shades that I found particularly hard to work with. Overall, this is a beautiful collection that any creme lover will approve of. There are some stand-outs like Show Us Your Tips!, but they are all great. Now I want to hear what you think! Have you picked up any of these shades? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Stamping Saturdays – Metallic Flowers

Posted on 27 February, 2016 by Cynthia

Hey, happy Saturday and welcome to another installment of Stamping Saturdays! This morning I woke up a little early, but I spent my time catching up on TV shows on Hulu. I am really obsessed with the new show 11.22.1963 which is an original show on Hulu with James Franco. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you have to…NAOW! Last night when I got home, I decided that I’d come up with something for Stamping Saturdays, and I was inspired by Frosso’s rose mani. I started off with this gorgeous base color.

I cannot get enough of shades like OPI Infinite Shine You Sustain Me (press sample). Not only do I love this type of color on my nails, but it’s my favorite lip color too. I live for chocolately pink mauve shades which is why I was dying to get my hands on Jeffree Star Adrogyny. Unfortunately, I missed out on it and I’m over it now. Ain’t nobody got time for restock drama.

I then used a flowery design from a Cheeky Plate with Essie Nothing Else Metals. I think this turned out really cute!

Well, I hope you are all doing well. Don’t forget to join the link up below to share your stamped manis. You can also join our facebook group here. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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OPI Hello Kitty Collection

Posted on 1 February, 201631 January, 2016 by Cynthia

Hey there! Can you believe it’s February already? What the heck is going on because it feels like time is flying. Well, the one thing I like about February in California is that it actually sorta feels like Winter. I said sorta. Yesterday it was raining and it was windy as hell. While I was out running errands, I accidentally grabbed my car door all weird while I was trying to close it and I broke a nail…the same son of a dick nail that breaks all the time. I had some decent length in my new oval shape as you can see in the pictures below, but since I can’t stand having nails all different shapes and lengths, I just cut them all off down to nubs. I did quite a bit of swatching this weekend so you’ll be seeing this shape for the next couple of weeks until I am able to do some more swatching. One of the collections that I swatched this past weekend is the OPI Hello Kitty Collection. Now, I must admit that I don’t really care about Hello Kitty. I mean, it’s cute and all but it’s not like I am all into it. Because of the cuteness factor and because it’s nail polish, I was pretty excited to get my hands on this collection. Let me show you some swatches first, and then I’ll let you know what I think about this collection.

OPI Let’s Be Friends!

OPI Kitty White

OPI Small+Cute = <3

OPI Charmy & Sugar

OPI Look At My Bow!

OPI Super Cute In Pink

OPI Starry-eyed For Dear Daniel

OPI Spoken From The Heart

OPI 5 Apples Tall

OPI My Pal Joey

OPI My Twin Mimmy

OPI Never Have Too Mani Friends!

Was that pink enough for ya? Well, I can’t say that I was surprised at the amount of pink in this collection and I am definitely not complaining because I LOVE pink nail polish. If you like pink, then you will probably like this collection. If you like Hello Kitty, you will love this collection. If you don’t like either, then don’t even bother…unless you want a super gorgeous blue like My Pal Joey. I do want to tell you that My Pal Joey suffers from the blue pigment curse: it smells like skunk mixed with pot. The yellow and black polishes seem kind of out of place in this collection, don’t you think? My 3 absolute favorites in this collection are: My Pal Joey, Spoken From The Heart and Super Cute In Pink. Spoken From The Heart is like the most gorgeous coral pink ever and Super Cute In Pink was so incredibly flattering on me that I just loved it immediately. Since I’ve seen a few people complain about this, I did want to mention that the handles with the cute Hello Kitty images are just shrink wrap plastic so they tend to come off if you are too rough with the bottles…or if you accidentally get acetone on the plastic…yeah. So overall, I like this cute collection. It’s a must for Hello Kitty lovers, of course, but I can see a lot of these colors being favorites whether you’re into HK or not. This collection is out now and hopefully still on shelves near you. Have you picked up any of these polishes or will you be getting any? Let me know what you think. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!