OPI - Divine Swine (Muppet Collection Holiday 2011)

Can I just say, this collection is so fun! This is Divine Swine from OPIs Muppet Collection. It's a totally gorgeous purplish/pinkish glitter with medium sized silver hexagon glitter. Application was easy, I used two coats but as you can see around the edges it could have used a little extra. It, like all glitters, had a grit feeling, so I used Seche Vite top coat. Overall, I loooove it!

OPI - Gone Gonzo! (Muppet Collection Holiday 2011)

Gone Gonzo! came out with the limited edition OPI Muppets Collection for the Holiday season. I've been loving this whole collection, to read more on the collection click here. Gone Gonzo! is a clear base with sky blue smaller glitter and silver larger hexagonal glitter. Totally pretty. 

I used two coats plus coat of INM Out the Door top coat.  Of course it was a pain to remove, but totally worth it! I've also done a comparison to the similar polish Revlon Blue Mosaic, if you want to see that, click here. OPI retails for $9.50 CAD and up in Canada and a little less in the states. It can be found in select salons, e-tailers, and London Drugs here in Canada.

Sky Blue Glitters: Revon Blue Mosaic compared to OPI Gone Gonzo!

About two months ago Revlon release the The Expressionist Collection, click here to see the full collection. It included a pretty sky blue sparkle nail polish called Blue Mosaic. I believe this collection will be entering into Revlon's permanent line. More recently OPI released it's limited edition collection for the holidays, The Muppets Collection. Click here to see all post related to The Muppets Collection. The Muppets collection also has a sky blue sparkle polish, its name is Gone Gonzo! While they aren't exact dupes as Blue Mosaic has some green hexagon glitter thrown in, the are very close!

SNEAK PEAK: OPI Best of the Best Limited Edition Minis Set (Holiday 2011)

Ahhh I love this. This girl is always a sucker for minis. I'm going to pass on this one cause I have most of them.. where was this a few years ago?! The girl at the beauty supply store let me take a look at these, I don't know when they will actually be on sale. It has 10 minis (1/8 fl/oz each), all of their classic (must have in my mind) colours. This will make an excellent Christmas present! 

OPI - Warm & Fozzie (Muppet Collection Holiday 2011)

I love this collection so so much. Warm & Fozzie was literally the first polish I grabbed off the display. I didn't know what it was but I had to have it. I wish my nails where a little bit longer!!! I feel like they have been break a lot lately. Anyways...

Warm & Fozzie is from OPI Muppets Collection for the Holidays, click here to see other polishes from this collection. It's a foil type finish bronze and I think it has some olive tones in it. It's totally gorgeous, especially for Fall! I used two coats and in the picture I'm not wearing a top coat. I eventually put a coat of Seche Vite on top and it really made it shine so pretty. This is such a perfect colour for Fozzie!

This collection is just starting to pop up in salons right now, London Drugs has them in stock, and of course you can buy through e-tailers. They retail for $9 CAD, a little less in the states. These are limited edition colours, so if you see something from the collection you like, buy while you can!

OPI Holland Preview (Press Release)

Color with a Touch of Dutch

OPI Launches Holland Collection for Spring/Summer 2012

OPI celebrates color with the Holland Collection for Spring/Summer 2012. Inspired by the country’s range of stunning shades – as seen in vivid tulips, windmill-dotted hillsides and bustling canals – the collection’s twelve shades offer a mixture of sophisticated neutrals and highly-pigmented brights. 

“Holland has a very unique, vibrant beauty to match its open-minded nature,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director.  “Spring is the season of color, and the Holland Collection provides an array of pink, coral and orange hues that capture this energy. The bright lacquers are married with neutrals in new variations like red clay and sea green.”

            A sequence of electric brights, including a sun-lit orange (A Roll in The Hague), a hot coral-red (Red Lights Ahead…Where?) and two perfectly pretty pinks (Kiss Me on My Tulips and a light-catching Pedal Faster Suzi!) complement their cooler counterparts in hues of glistening purple (Dutch ’Ya Just Love OPI? andVampsterdam), while elegant neutrals (Gouda Gouda Two Shoes, Did You ’ear About Van Gogh? and Wooden Shoe Like to Know?) meet two shimmer-laced blues (I Have a Herring Problem and I Don’t Give a Rotterdam!) and a creamy sea green (Thanks a WindMillion).

“Wearing these colors on fingers and toes will accessorize the season’s hottest trends,” remarks Suzi. “The varied palette of colors accentuates the looks that walked the runway, from colored pants and ladylike frocks to long, blousy-sleeved tops and dramatic patterns.”

            Holland by OPI includes the following shades:

Siren Reds: OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It compared to China Glaze Love Marilyn

Within the last month both OPI and China Glaze put out collections with awesome red glitter polishes. I wanted to see how close these two compare. As you can see they aren't dupes but they are similar. OPI's Gettin' Miss Piggy With It is from the Muppets Collection (to see any post about this collection, including a comparison between Rainbow Connection and Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday click here). China Glaze's Love Marilyn is from the Eye Candy Collection (to see other swatches of polishes in this collection, click here).

Hello Gorgeous! OPI Designer Series Bold (For Fall 2011)

I was so bummed to see this years additions to the OPI Designer Series line. I actually passed this one up and just bought the other polish released - Temptation, when I first saw them. I did however change my mind and decide to order this one too. This is OPI DS Bold. If you aren't too familiar with the Designer Series, it's an OPI line that gets two new polishes added to it each Fall. They have a "diamond dust" formula, silver cap, and cost $15.99 CAD, a little less in the US.

DS Bold was described as a red glitter but I would say it leans towards pink. It has a jelly base and the glitter is lighter colour than the base. It's totally stunning and my pictures just can't do it justice. It's a close match to last year China Glaze Mrs. Clause, which was limited edition in their Holiday Collection ('Tis the Season to be Naughty and Nice) last year. So if you picked up Mrs. Clause you can probably skip DS Bold and it's price tag. 

I used three coats of Bold and one coat of Seche Vite. It was had "glitter bumps" after the top coat so two coats of top coat might be best. I think its beautiful, but I still wish we seen more of OPI DS holographic lacquers like previous years. I purchased mine from eBay. I know Chatters carries the DS line but I haven't seen them get any of the new ones in. 

***I've had two people say that they have had problems leaving comments on here for the last few days, I apologize and hopefully I'll get it call figured out soon!

The Halloween (no art skills necessary) Manicure

I have to say Halloween is the perfect time to bust out that "old" bottle of shatter/crackle nail polish. It's amazing how quickly fashion has it's turn around. I remember the first time I wore out my OPI Black Shatter and the girl at the MAC store was in complete awe, that was only this March! It's so funny, Black Shatter was completely hard to find, girls would stalk salons to find it and the salons that DID have it would charge up to $15 for a bottle! Now you can buy it anywhere. I feel like I've been tired of shatter for ages now. So this would be the perfect time to get some use out of it. I don't know about you but I keep my nail polishes in a dark closet but my OPI Shatter has gone very chunky already. So I figure it'll be a good time to get probably the last use out of it.

Anyways this is Wet N Wild Creepy Pumpkin (click here to see it on it's own) with a layer of OPI Black Shatter and Seche Vite top coat. I looooove how this turned out. The beautiful orange shimmer peaking out looks amazing. Perfect for girls like me that have a phobia of nail art. It doesn't take a lot of time and it has zero chances of going wrong... and so pretty! Look at the orange underneath!

THANKS FOR DROPPING IN!

OPI Nicki Minaj Collection! (Actual bottle pictures!)

This is from OPI's official Facebook page today. Here is what the have to say:

Some of you have already heard the news, but we're excited to share it ourselves. This coming January OPI will be releasing an outrageous Nicki Minaj collection with six mind-blowing hues. Despite what you've seen online, we wanted to make sure you got accurate information from us. The Nicki Minaj collection consists of a deep shimmering purple Shatter called "Super Bass" and these five Nicki-inspired colors: "Metallic 4 Life", "Save Me", "Fly", "Did It On 'Em" and the bubble gum hue "Pink Friday"

OPI - Designer... De Better (Muppet Collection Holiday 2011)

I'm so loooving this collection! This is OPI's Designer... De Better from the Muppets Holiday Collection. I feel like this one is a good Fall colour too as metallics are great for Fall. This is the second polish from the collection that I'm swatching. 

It's a foil polish, thats mainly silver with bronze speckles. At first glance I thought this was a rose gold colour, but looking closer it is silver/bronze.

This is one of my favourites from this collection. This collection should be hitting salons fairly soon. In Canada these are about $9-$10 CAD and in the states it a little less. OPI can be found in London Drugs, Chatters, and salons. In the states it can be found at Trade Secret, Target, and salons. 

OPI Serena Glam Slam - Your Royal Shine-ness with Servin' Up Sparkle

This is Your Royal Shine-ness with Servin' Up Sparkle layered over it. Pure glitter heaven! hahaha This is a link to my post about Your Royal Shine-ness by it self (here). I used two coats of Your Royal Shine-ness and two coats of Servin' Up Sparkle. Servin' Up Sparkle is a clear base with small glitter and medium silver hologram glitter. In the bottle it looks amazing. On top of Your Royal Shine-ness it's a little less noticeable, it would be more noticeable over a plain colour. It's a gorgeous glitter, not like anything I have. It's only available in the Glam Slam packs, click on the link above to read more about the packs.

OPI - Rainbow Connection & Deborah Lippmann - Happy Birthday Comarison

I loooove fun glitter like these! This is OPI's Rainbow Connection compared to Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday. When I saw Rainbow Connection, Happy Birthday was the first polish I thought of. They are very similar so did some swatches of them both. I believe I have the "old" version of Happy Birthday. I've had it since it came out so I'm assuming its the old one. The new version is suppose to have more pink glitter in it. Here is link to my post with OPI - Rainbow Connection swatches.

Left to Right: OPI Rainbow Connection (1 coat)

Deborah Lippmann - Happy Birthday (1 coat)

OPI - Rainbow Connection  (1 coat) over OPI - Black Onyx (1 coat)

Deborah Lippmann - Happy Birthday (1 coat) over OPI - Black Onyx (1 coat)

(OPI - Black Onyx is a plain black creme)

Top: OPI - Rainbow Connection

Bottom: Deborah Lippmann - Happy Birthday

Top: OPI - Rainbow Connection over Black Onyx

Bottom: Deborah Lippmann - Happy Birthday over Black Onyx

OPI - Rainbow Connection

- Has three sizes of hexagon glitter:  Large, Medium and Small 

- Has six colour of glitter: Orange, Gold, Pink, Silver, Blue, Green

- All six colours have the three sizes of glitter.

- Silver glitter is predominant with clear base

Deborah Lippmann - Happy Birthday

- Has two sizes of glitter (it's largest sizes is the same has OPI's medium size)

- Large size hexagon glitter comes in: Orange, Gold, Pink, Silver, Blue, Green

- Small glitter comes in hexagon shaped and square shaped

- Small glitter comes in the same colours has the large glitter but also with red

- Silver glitter is predominant with clear base

The differences are that OPI has three sizes of hexagon glitter to it, Deborah Lippmann has two and it's largest glitter is the same size has OPI's medium size. Deborah Lippmann has a variation of hexagon and square glitter in the small size and the small size also comes in red. 

The similarities are they do both have hexagon glitter and have majority of the same colour glitter. They both have a clear base. Both go on nicely in two coats. Both are very silver glitter predominant. 

Dupes? Not exact. But they could very well be sisters. They really do look very very similar. While they are exact dupes, I don't think anyone really needs both, they are super close.

OPI Rainbow connection is limited edition for the Holiday 2011 season. It's part of the Muppet Collection that is due out November 2011. OPI's retail for $9 CAD and a little less in the states. They can be found in salons and many drug stores.

Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday isn't limited edition. It retails for $20 CAD and can be found at Holts, Murale, and select boutiques. 

Thanks for reading! 
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OPI - Rainbow Connection (Muppet Collection Holiday 2011)

O. M. G. it's here! I remember seeing promo pics of the OPI Holiday Muppet Collection and just dreaming it would be here... and it's arrived! Sooo excited! The first one I'm showing you is the one with the most hype around it, Rainbow Connection! Hexagon glitters have been really in for a while now so it was only inevitable that OPI would come out with some great ones.

Rainbow Connection is a clear base with tons of glitter packed into it. I used two coats and didn't put a top coat on for these pictures. 

It has three sizes of hexagon glitter:  Large, Medium and Small 

It has six colour of glitter: Orange, Gold, Pink, Silver, Blue, Green

The colours come in all three sizes. Silver seems to be very predominant in it. OPI can be found in salons and it's popping up in more drug stores. I know London Drugs carries OPI and so does Target if you live in the states. Retails for about $9 CAD and a little cheaper in the states. This is a limited edition holiday collection, so if you see it get it while you can! I looooove it. So different and fun. I have a comaparison to Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday lacquer, click here to see comparison. 

Thanks for reading! 

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OPI Serena Glam Slam - Your Royal Shine-ness

So these lovelies have been sitting untried in my apartment for quite sometime now. OPI came out with a bunch of different Serena Williams sets this past summer. I have two or three of them. But this one I think I like the most because it skipped the shatter. The set comes with Your Royal Shine-ness and Servin' Up Sparkle. 

This is Your Royal Shine-ness by itself. It's two coats to get a nice opacity and one coat of Seche Vite top coat. I'm loooving this colour. It's a foil finish thats silver with a slight touch of gold to it. It's suuuper blingy on your nails. 

I really really enjoy this colour, I think metallics are great for Fall. I was a little scared it would be a lot like the other silver polishes I have, but there is something a little different to it :) I believe I paid about $16 CAD for this at a hair salon, it's been months so I can't quite remember. I do know it's still available on e-tailers if your having a hard time finding it locally. I wanted to wear this alone cause it's gorgeous, in my next post I'll show you it with Servin' Up Sparkle over it.

Thanks for reading :) Please follow!

OPI - A-Taupe the Space Needle (Fall 2011)

OPI's newest collection is called Touring America and it's 12 polishes. This is A-Taupe the Space Needle. I was anticipating this on for a long time. I love taupes and I loooove spending time in Seattle! But I have to say I think this colour went way past edgy and into just plain ugly. I know khaki/camouflage/military type colours have carried over from last fall but ugh. This colour just plain sucks. 

It took two coats to be opaque and the application was great, even though the brush in this particular bottle was very messed up (what gives OPI?). I'll admit browns aren't my thing, I think grey toned taupes are much better. This looks like a lighter version of Chanel's Khaki Brun, which I'm not totally in love with either. 

Compared to OPI's other taupes: L to R

A-Taupe the Space Needle

You Don't Know Jacques

Over the Taupe

Tickle my France-Y

I really wanted to love this colour but I think I'll have to try it other time. Maybe I'll warm up to it.

A-Taupe the Space Needle with Starbucks!

Time Capsule: My Top 5 Summer 2011 Nail Polishes

I wanted to do a quick post on some of my favourite nail polishes that came out this Summer. Just for something to look back on. I know in 2010 I was a mint addict, it looks like this year I've diversified. I thought it would be fun to make a little post to remember the polishes that I most frequently wore this season now that it's slowly coming to an end.

It was honestly a tough choice. But here are my top 5 of Summer 2011 (pictured below from left to right):

• Chanel - Mimosa (Les Fleurs d'été Collection, 2011)

• Deborah Lippmann - Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Summer 2011)

• OPI - Mermaid's Tears (Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, 2011)

• American Apparel - Neon Red (LE Neon Collection, 2011)

• China Glaze - Below Deck (Anchors Away Collection, 2011)

Let me know what your favourite polish of Summer 2011 was!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Pumpkin Spice (Halloween 2011)

I don't know about you, but here in Vancouver it feels like Summer just started. It's September 4 and it's the first day my apartment was too hot to handle. Hence, I made my way to the air-conditioned mall to grab a cool drink and take a look around. Now Pumkin Spice I've seen around for almost a month now and just never picked up, but for some reason today I had to have it. I kept telling myself it was too much like China Glaze's Ick-A-Bod-Y from last years Awakening Halloween collection to justify me buying it... but I still bought it. No will power.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pumkin Spice (three coats)

After I swatched it I thought it was terribly ugly. Like really really fug. So I played around with it a bit and compared it to last year China Glaze's Ick-A-Bod-Y. And I'm glad I didn't just give up on it, over black I think I like it better then Ick-A-Bod-Y.

Left to Right

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Pumkin Spice (three coats)

China Glaze - Ick-A-Bod-Y (three coats)

OPI - Black Onyx (two coats) & Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Pumkin Spice (one coat)

OPI - Black Onyx (two coats) & China Glaze Ick-A-Body (one coat)

As you can see both polished look much better over Black. They both have a clear black base that takes many coats to build up something more opque. They both have the same orange glitter but China Glaze's has much more. I think I might like Pumpkin Spice more... I'm a little torn, it all depends on how much sparkle you like I guess. 

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear retails for $3.50 CND (and about the same in US). It can be found many places, this particular bottle is from London Drugs, I haven't seen the displays with Pumpkin Spice out anywhere else yet. London Drugs usually has the Limited Edition displays out first. 

China Glaze is a little harder to find in Canada. It' retails for about $7 CND. Ick-A-Bod-Y was a limited edition colour from last Halloween collection only sold at Sally Beauty Supply. In the lower mainland there are two in Surrey and one in Abbotsford and one in Bellingham (if your a cross boarder shopper). China Glaze is also sold at many salons.

I'd love to read our comments on the two! Thanks!

OPI Pair'em Scare'em Limited Edition Halloween 2011 Pack

Ummmmm cool! K I love this set. This is OPI's Pair'em Scare'em Halloween pack. OPI also came out with a pack of four minis called the Spookettes (see pictures here). Both packs had Zom-Body to love a green glow in the dark polish. Pair'em Scare'em had two full size bottles, one Zom-Body to Love and one Black Shatter. 

You can see the packaging is so adorable. Glow in the dark is usually a little hard to work with and usually clumpy but ZBTL was actually not so bad. I suggest shaking well, it doesn't take very long for it to separate. First I'll show you pictures of it by itself. Kinda reminds me of Chanel Jade? Click on the pictures for a closer view!

And now to experiment...

Top: 1 coat plain white polish & 2 coats of Zom-body to Love

Bottom: 4 coats Zom-Body to Love by itself

Top: 1 coat plain white polish & 2 coats of Zom-body to Love & 1 coat Black Shatter

Bottom: 4 coats Zom-Body to Love by itself & 1 coat Black Shatter

From Left to Right:

-4 coats Zom-Body to Love by itself & 1 coat Black Shatter

-1 coat plain white polish & 2 coats of Zom-body to Love & 1 coat Black Shatter

-4 coats Zom-Body to Love by itself

-1 coat plain white polish & 2 coats of Zom-body to Love

Conclusion: I think it looks better (especially in person with a layer of white underneath).

Excuse the Black Shatter mess! I didn't want to open the new bottle that came with it because I have a OPI Black Shatter opened already from when it first came out and it already seemed chunky/crusty. Hmmmmmmmm

Now the fun stuff! Time to turn the lights down...

Final thoughts... Zom-Body to love is amazing, I'm loving it. In the light and in the dark I think it looked more vibrant over a white base (I just used Joe Fresh in White). To see it glow brighter it has so be able to absorb some light.