REVIEW of OPI Embrace the Gray With SWATCHES

Hello (dust) bunnies!

It feels good to be writing again. Before we get into the review, let me address what's been going on. Essentially, there have been two things keeping me from writing. My life/future is still in a state of flux and I have been very busy. On one side of things there's a lot of chaos and scrambling and toxic, anxious feelings. And on the other side there was work and scheduling and stress (and some fun!) but also a lot of chaos. I was recapping for a while which took up a lot of writing energy. I was also taking advantage of living in New York and seeing a lot of theatre and concerts which used up a lot of critical brain power. Basically, I was draining up my reserves for both positive and negative reasons. For the moment things have calmed down. I'm not working regular full time hours anymore (but if you're hiring, wink wink) and I don't have more than the usual number of events on the horizon. I'm very happy to be talking to you again. I say this every time but I really did miss you. Anyway, I think I still remember how this goes. Let's get into the review, shall we? ;)

Color: OPI Embrace the Gray is a medium gray creme polish. It feels like a fairly straightforward, no nonsense color. As a gray, it doesn't lean too brown or too blue. It embraces the color it purports to be. If anything, it's slightly more blue/cool-toned. If you like grays, I think it's a flattering shade. You see a lot of very light neutral grays and a lot of dark grays, especially in the fall but there aren't a ton of mid-toned grays. I like having it in my collection. To me, it's not really a summer color but it doesn't need to be relegated to fall and winter. I wore this one in early March.
Formula: The formula wasn't notably thick or thin but I ran into application issues.
Application: The first coat of polish applied smoothly without any drag but it did cause me a bit of trouble. I had to be careful to use medium thick coats and not go too light or thin with the coats of polish. For some reason it didn't want to adhere to the nail and trying to work with it using the brush only made it worse so it was difficult to get smooth, even coats. The polish kept coming off in patches and then when I would try to even it out it would form streaks and ridges. The second coat was more of the same. I had to go very lightly with the brush to avoid brushstrokes and yet try to have enough polish on the brush and at the same time not have so much polish that I'd lose all control and have polish pool in my cuticles. That run-on sentence is great evidence of the juggling act that was taking place. On short nails, two medium thick coats was basically opaque but there were some tiny patches of balding so I added a third coat. At three coats the polish was fully opaque. The third coat was the same as the previous two in application.
Wear: The polish wore well without a notable amount of tip wear. It did dull a bit and pick up scuff marks but that might have been more noticeable because it was a gray polish and inclined to look dingy.

CONCLUSION: If you can handle this polish, I would recommend it because of the color. It certainly isn't impossible to work with. I've dealt with much worse, including with similar grays. It's just fussy so I wouldn't get it unless you have an experienced hand.

 

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SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Gargantuan Green Grape With SWATCHES

Hello bumblebees,

I've got an older polish for you today. I can't get confirmation on when this polish was first released but I know it's been a few years because I've had this polish recommended to me on more than one occasion in the past. I finally decided to pick up this polish from the discount site 10DollarMall.com. Again, not a sponsor but seriously, sponsors, I'm available. For a while I couldn't find Gargantuan Green Grape in stores. I think this was around the same time I was trying to track down What's With the Cattitude. Then I feel like it started showing up in stores again but I was no longer tempted to get it. Maybe it was the fact that I'd already been purchasing other light greens like Zoya Tracie and Essie Navigate Her. By the way, I can do a comparison of OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, Zoya Tracie, Essie Navigate Her, and Butter London Bossy Boots if you'd like. But anyway, I saw this polish on the site and you know I'm a sucker for a sale so I had to pick it up.

Color: OPI Gargantuan Green Grape is a pastel green creme polish. For me, it's definitely a pastel. It is just a touch lighter than the other greens in my collection and the color also has this creamy quality that is unique to pastels. It vacillates between a paler, cool-toned green and a brighter, pale spring green. I find that the polish looks cooler and dustier indoors and brighter and more yellow-toned outdoors in direct sunlight. I think it looks pretty indoors or outdoors but I think I prefer the cool-toned green as it's a bit more unique. This isn't the most flattering green for my skintone but I do think it's a fairly flattering color. It can veer on garish in the wrong lighting but for the most part, I love it.
Formula: The polish has a thinner, fluid formula. It is rather sheer.
Application: This polish has the typical wide OPI brush and longtime readers will know I prefer the thinner Essie brush but the width of the brush didn't create any problems for me. The first coat went on smoothly without any drag. However, because the formula is thin and the polish is sheer it was difficult to even out. I would suggest that you work with the polish as little as possible. Do not try and even out this polish with the brush. You'll just make things worse. I barely got any coverage with the first coat. With the second coat, I noticed that the brush was really creating streaks and ridges in the polish though the brush still glided smoothly without drag. With the third coat, the brush was still creating a few ridges but generally the polish glided onto the nail very smoothly. At three coats, the polish was not completely opaque. Light was definitely still able to pass through all of my nails and on a few nails, coverage was particularly poor because of the uneven application. I therefore chose to add a fourth coat of polish to my second nail, middle nail, and thumb nail. Painting with my nondominant hand, the polish appeared even less opaque. I had to do four coats on all of my nails and the polish still wasn't completely opaque. Actually I went back and added a fifth coat on two of my nails. I know. I know. Terrible!
Wear: I wore this polish for eight days. In that time, I experienced barely any tip wear. Really the polish only wore away from the very edge of the nail. I did experience a lot of growth in that time which is why I felt the need to remove the polish. I had absolutely no trouble removing this polish. In spite of the multiple coats, the polish actually came off quite easily

CONCLUSION: This is a difficult one for me. I want to recommend this polish because I do love the color and it ends up looking alright. But it is just so sheer. I think you have to make the decision for yourself. Application is manageable and this might work better if you can layer it with something else but I completely understand if you want to skip the hassle of dealing with such a sheer polish.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page. I will get a small percentage of anything you purchase through one of my links at no extra cost to you.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Alcatraz...Rocks With SWATCHES

Hello darlings,

Today I have a polish from OPI's Fall 2013 San Francisco collection. I didn't see this one in stores so I ordered it off amazon because I was just so in love with the swatches I had seen online. I want to say that this polish didn't disappoint... but it did. And then again, it didn't. Let's break it down.

Color: OPI Alcatraz...Rocks is a dark blue textured polish. My personal opinion is that it's a dark blue base that leans towards navy containing silver microglitter that can reflect back as a multitude of colors including red, green, and yellow. For a long time this polish underwhelmed me both in its matte form and with top coat but then I realized that this polish eats top coat. When I applied a thicker layer of top coat I saw how beautiful this polish could really be. With a single layer of top coat, the sparkle is more understated and falls a little flat. The sparkle is also a little flat if you wear this as a textured polish. But with a sufficient amount of top coat, this polish is gorgeous.
Formula: Alcatraz...Rocks has a thinner, fluid formula.
Application: Having used Elmer's glue as a base coat with much success with other glitter polishes I decided to not even pretend I wanted to deal with cleaning up a glitter polish the old-fashioned way and used glue as a base coat for my entire manicure this time. I used two coats of glue as my base coat, painted on with a regular nylon brush I bought at an art supply store (Pearl Paint if you're in NYC) to create a relatively thick barrier between the polish and my nails.
The first coat went on very smoothly. It was quite sheer and not exactly an even layer of polish but it was already very sparkly. As this polish is a little thin, it's important to make sure you don't have too much polish on the brush or it'll flood your cuticles and make a mess before you know what's happened. The second coat of polish also applied smoothly. However, it thankfully applied more evenly than the first coat and at two coats the polish was already much darker than at one coat though it was still not opaque. At three coats the polish was as opaque as I felt it needed to be. It hadn't reached the full opacity of a good creme polish but I think it looked fine, especially because it applied evenly so there were no bald patches.
Wear: I wore this polish for eight days. I think the polish eats top coat. With one layer of Seche Vite, you can still feel a bit of texture and the polish doesn't really sparkle. With another thick coat of Seche Vite (two coats in total) you get the full shine and smooth finish and feel of a regular (non-texture) polish. I find the polish much prettier this way. While I was testing the polish I only wore it with one coat of Seche Vite (though all the swatches were taken with the two layers) and I feel like I would have liked the polish more had I worn it with 2 layers of top coat to begin with.
The polish held up well on the hand where I didn't use top coat. After eight days I only experienced a minuscule bit of tip wear and some growth at the cuticle. The polish surprisingly didn't hold up as well on the hand where I applied one layer of Seche Vite. After eight days there was some chipping one on nail (though the chipping occurred a few days before the eight day mark), there was more tip wear and growth, and my manicure began to look dull a day or two after application.
As for the glue as base coat method, the polish peeled off easily. All but 2 nails came off in one piece.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this polish but not enthusiastically. Learn from my experience. This polish doesn't look fantastic as a textured polish and if you wear it with top coat be sure to apply a sufficient number of layers to get a smooth surface and get this polish to appear its best. Use glue as your base coat for easy removal. And realize that this polish won't be fully opaque.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page.

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REVIEW of Sephora by OPI Already Famous With SWATCHES

Hello my little starlets,

How are you today? I'm just in such a better mood now that my laptop has been fixed. Today I want to share the polish I wore to a recent holiday party. Cat, you may be saying, it's the end of January, what holiday party could you have gone to? Chinese New Year is January 31 this year. Happy New Year to everyone who celebrated it. Anyway, let's turn our attention back to this polish. This is another polish from the Sephora by OPI Tinsel Town collection I purchased a while back.

Color: Already Famous is a champagne gold foil polish. I think. This polish isn't exactly like other foils but it's even less like cremes or shimmers or textured polishes. I'd say it's most similar to the hybrid foil formulas like Zoya Seraphina and Julie G Shimmer Island. But it's even more sheer than those polishes and the particles are smaller so you might be tricked into thinking this is some kind of shimmer or glitter polish. This polish is usually a pretty, flattering champagne shade that is a cool-toned blend of gold and silver which made it perfect for a holiday party. However, it can also look like a basic gold polish or take on warmer, coppery tones to be a bit more coppery and rose gold. I wouldn't call it a rose gold polish at any time but it can have that warmth depending on the lighting.
Formula: Already Famous has a very thin, sheer formula. It looks like a sheer base with flecks of shimmer.
Application: The first coat went on quite sheer but very shimmery, also like a top coat. I already had the feeling that it was more of a foil than a shimmer. It went on a bit streaky, which is not unusual for the first coats of most polishes. It didn't coat the nail in one even layer but there was no drag and I was able to even it out so this is a polish you can work with. The second coat was still a little streaky and quite sheer but shimmery. At three coats this polish was still sheer and failed a light test. I really didn't even to do a light test to know it wasn't opaque. The coverage does build up from one to three coats but it's just nowhere near opaque. If you don't mind being able to look through your nails this is fine but it may bother some people.
Wear: I wore this polish for 5 days and didn't experience much wear. It was actually surprisingly easy to remove though like a lot of glitters a few stubborn pieces refused to come off my nails.

CONCLUSION: I would probably recommend this polish, especially if you're getting it at Big Lots where Sephora by OPI polishes are heavily discounted right now. It is very, very sheer but the color is pretty and application isn't aggravating. It's really just the lack of opacity that is holding me back from really recommending this polish as otherwise it's a very wearable, flattering shade.

 

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Sephora By OPI Nail Colour in Havana Dreams With SWATCHES

Hello beautiful dreamers,

Today I'll be reviewing another Sephora by OPI nail polish. I picked this up in a Sephora haul in the summer for $4.50 as they were phasing out the Sephora by OPI line in favor of the new Formula X polishes. I haven't the slightest clue what this polish has to do with Havana but if you do like this polish you can probably track down a bottle online and Sephora still carries the color in their gel polish line.

Color: Havana Dreams is a light blue creme polish. It is a pastel blue but it is just bright enough for me to not call it baby blue polish. As far as blue polishes go, it's fairly demure and very wearable while still being fun. I could see someone wearing this polish as a manicure or pedicure for a wedding as their "something blue." Even though I'm wearing it in December, it's definitely more of a spring/summer shade. I think it's fairly flattering for someone with my yellow undertones though the brightness can make it a little harsh. However, I do think is one of those polishes that could work for a lot of people.
Formula: The polish has a thin, fluid formula. It also smelled rather terrible. It wasn't as toxic as Sally Hansen polishes can be but it was noticeably bad.
Application: Here's where we really run into trouble. First of all, this polish comes with a very wide brush and you know how I feel about wide brushes. That said, to begin with application went fairly smoothly. The polish glided on beautifully though I immediately noticed that the polish was a little sheer. As soon as I went over the polish with the brush, it just pushed the last layer of polish around so I ended up with an even thinner layer of polish. The brush was also a little streaky. The problem was that I could paint a stripe of polish on the left and right sides of my nail but the middle brushstroke would always mess things up. Application of the second and third coats were more of the same. I wish I had a different brush to apply this polish to see how it would perform. Anyway, since the polish was still sheer and failing a light test at 3 coats and I had somewhere to go with this polish I just pushed ahead and added a fourth coat of polish. A light test still reveals sheerness and uneven application but I'll be damned if I'm adding a fifth coat of a creme polish. Seche Vite helped to smooth out the polish a little.
Wear: I have actually enjoyed wearing Havana Dreams on my nails. As long as I don't pay too much attention to the imperfections, it is really a very pretty polish. I wore it for five days and I didn't experience any tip wear in that time. The polish just naturally dulled a bit.

CONCLUSION: I find it difficult to recommend this polish because it's not perfect but even with all of the problems, I still ended up preferring it to Zoya Blu (I will do a comparison post in the future). The polish doesn't end up looking that bad and if you're not a crazy nail polish blogger who does light tests you probably won't notice that the polish isn't fully opaque. It can be difficult to find good pastel creme polishes. This one is not fantastic but all things considered, it's not the worst.

 

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REVIEW of Sephora by OPI A True Romantic and Butterfly Nail Art

Hello bumblebees,

I felt like I needed a bit of a cleanse after a few weeks of darker colors. No, not one of those horrifying juice cleanses. I tried just incorporating juices into my morning routine and it was bad enough. I would rather eat fruits and vegetables. I don't need to consume them in liquid form. Anyway, I haven't been buying that many polishes lately so I was inspired to pull out the Sephora by OPI Tinsel Town Collector's Set I purchased all the way back in late December of 2012 as a bit of a Christmas gift for myself. And yes, of course there was some kind of sale going on at the time. I haven't used the set until now because I've just had so many other polishes to try out and I didn't want to waste these polishes as I'm not sure how long these little bottles will last. Also, I think Sephora has pretty much done away with the Sephora by OPI line in favor of Formula X so I didn't want to really fall in love with a polish and then worry about tracking it down or locating a dupe. Looking through the set for something refreshing after weeks of dark polishes and metallics, I decided to try out the lightest shade, A True Romantic.

Color: A True Romantic is a pale pink creme polish. I think it belongs more in the family of nudes and neutrals than it does in pink range of colors. That's part of the reason why I like it. It was light enough and had enough of a peachy/yellow tone to not clash too much with my skintone. I still prefer nudes that are more yellow like OPI Samoan Sand but I think A True Romantic is a very pretty, feminine shade and it would look great against very pale skintones with pink undertones. I'd be wary if you have yellow undertones as it could clash a bit. There were times when I didn't love the way this looked on my nails.
Formula: The formula is on the thicker side without being gloopy. Although it is thicker, it is also rather sheer.
Application: And here is where we run into trouble. When I applied the first coat I noticed that the brush seemed a little streaky and the polish seemed a little sheer but that's not out of the ordinary for a light nude polish like this so I just tried not to overwork the polish and go over it with the brush too many times. The second coat applied in much the same way. The polish went on smoothly (without the brush dragging) but streaky. The third coat was the same. I just could not get an even layer of polish. At three coats, it was semi-opaque but streaky. I could have deal with this polish not being completely opaque if I had been able to apply even coats of polish. As it was, it looked streaky and patchy. And here is where you just me. I ended up applying five coats of polish in a misguided attempt to get this polish to full opacity. Even at five coats it was still very streaky and could not have passed a light test in a million years.

CONCLUSION: The color of this polish is alright but the application was terrible. I would not recommend this polish. I was so frustrated by the streakiness that I ended up creating a nail art design to cover up the balding.

 

 SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Peace & Love & OPI With SWATCHES

Hello my little flower children,

Today I have a lovely duochrome for you from the OPI Fall 2013 San Francisco collection. I didn't see this collection in stores and I was really only interested in two of the shades so I ordered them online from amazon.

Color: Peace & Love & OPI is a duochrome shimmer polish. I would say that it spends most of its life as some combination of gray, green, and purple. I realize that doesn't sound very appealing but I think the swatches speak for themselves this time. At night it appeared to be a shimmery reddish purple or a gunmetal gray most of the time. During the day it was often a mix of green and a lighter, cooler purple. I think it looks lovely if it's in its green/purple phase and you flutter your hands when you talk. I found myself getting distracted by how nice my nails looked.
Formula: I would say that the formula was a little thicker than a normal OPI polish.
Application: Application of the first coat was very smooth though brushstrokes were apparent because of the finish of the polish. The second coat also applied smoothly though it was a little gloopy on one nail. You don't want to push the brush down too hard or the visible brushstrokes will be worse. I would not work with this polish and try and even it out with the brush as I've seen the nail technicians do when I've gone to the salon. This is not a polish you want to mess with. Just apply it and leave it. You could probably get away with two coats of polish but I'm a perfectionist so I added a third coat for full opacity.
Wear: I wrote in my notes that I wore this polish for 15 days which is possible but doesn't seem likely. Anyway, however many days I wore this polish, I experienced tip wear and growth at the cuticle/nail bed but no chipping.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this polish if you like the color. The formula is nowhere near horrible but it's not my favorite OPI formula. I don't expect that you'll have a lot of trouble with application if you purchase this polish but if you know you already have difficulty painting your own nails, I might consider something else or having it applied at a salon.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page.

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REVIEW of OPI Anti-Bleak With SWATCHES

Hello chickadees!

No cute preamble or greeting today. Honestly, I have no idea what the name of this polish is referencing. Anti-freeze? I don't know. The polish in question is Anti-Bleak which was released as part of the Mariah Carey for OPI collection that also brought us A Butterfly Moment and Stay the Night. I loved both of those polishes so hopefully Anti-Bleak will continue the trend. Keep reading to find out.

Color: OPI Anti-Bleak is a reddish purple creme polish. In bright direct sunlight it can almost appear to be a muted fuchsia. In normal direct sunlight it's a basic red-toned purple. In the shade, it looks like a lighter version of Essie Carry On. And indoors at night it can look like a very dark, brownish red.
Formula: The formula is a little thicker than normal for an OPI polish. In my experience, OPI polishes tend to be very liquid-y and not very viscous.
Application: The first coat applied smoothly though I did notice one bubble. The second coat applied very smoothly as well and I noticed that the polish appeared very shiny even without top coat. I needed to apply three coats to get this polish to full opacity. I generally found application to be smooth but with this polish it's important to make sure you have enough polish on the brush so it doesn't drag over the last layer of polish. It's a good formula, but it's not perfect.
Wear: I wore this polish for six days. It's one of those polishes that seems to attract smudges. I had no real trouble removing it. It was a little messy but I didn't experience any staining.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this polish. It's not something you need to own but if you're looking for a color like this in your collection, Anti-Bleak is a good choice based on the formula.

 

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Sephora by OPI Leaf Him At the Altar With SWATCHES

Hello my lovely dryads,

Can you believe that this is the first Sephora by OPI polish I'm reviewing? I certainly can't considering the fact that Sephora is one of the first places I started shopping when I really got into makeup. Anyway, if you follow this blog, you'll know that I picked this polish up in a recent Sephora haul when it was on sale. As far as I know, it's still on sale so keep reading to see if I think you should purchase a bottle of your own.

Color: Sephora by OPI Leaf Him At the Altar is a bright, leafy green shimmer polish. I know it's a bit simplistic to call it a leafy green when the polish has the word "leaf" in the name but I can't think of a more apt description. I think it's a gorgeous color and it's very flattering for my skintone. I think this is a polish that would work for a lot of people.
Formula: The polish is on the thinner side and has a liquidy consistency.
Application: Because this is my first Sephora by OPI polish I'll go into a little more detail than I usually do. The brush is long and thin. That is perfect for me because I have never understood the love for wide brushes (e.g. wet n' wild, Sally Hansen). Maybe it's the shape of my nails but I find wide brushes awkward to use. Application was very smooth. Because of the thin, liquidy consistency the polish just glides effortlessly over the nail. The brushstrokes are a little bit visible because of the finish but after I added top coat I didn't really notice them that much. This isn't like a frost polish where the brushstrokes are very apparent. I don't go over the polish too much or try and work with it but you could definitely do that with this polish. It's easy to work with to achieve even coats and I didn't have any issues with the brush dragging. I applied three coats to get this polish opaque. However, when I did the light test (holding my nails up to the light) I noticed that there was still a little bit of balding. It wasn't noticeable except when I was doing the light test especially with the shimmer so I just left it at three coats. Application was just as easy when I was painting with my nondominant hand.
Wear: I wore this polish for five days with no signs of wear.

CONCLUSION: I would definitely recommend this polish. I have had to restrain myself from buying another bottle while it's on sale. The formula is a little on the thinner side but the color is gorgeous and the polish applies very easily.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Honey Ryder With SWATCHES

Hello my little honeybees,

Guess what time it is... That's right! It's time for another textured polish review. Today I will be reviewing Honey Ryder from the OPI Bond Girls collection. When I first saw swatches of this polish, I knew I had to have it in my collection.

Color: OPI Honey Ryder is a cool-toned gold textured polish. I can barely contain myself. I love it so much. It has this amazing grittiness and it's really just what I feel like I've been wanting and not getting from the other textured polishes that I've tried. It's definitely a cool-toned gold as opposed to a more yellow-gold or a warmer gold with more orange or red to it. I feel like I see the textured polish as well as gold microglitter.
Formula: It's hard to make a call on the formula as textured polishes are a little different in consistency. I would say that it's thinner rather than thicker but not noticeably so. It's neither watery not gloopy.
Application: Application was very smooth. The polish comes with a wide brush but I didn't have any issues with it. Honey Ryder is very glittery on the first coat. The second coat also applies smoothly and you can work with this polish a little bit. The polish is basically opaque at three coats though I did see some slightly sheer spots at the tips of my nails when I did a light test (holding your nails up to a light source to see if the coverage is even). I wonder if this would be more noticeable if my nails were longer.
Wear: I only wore this polish for 3 days. I didn't experience any chipping or tip wear in that time but I kind of got a little tired of feel of the texture. It isn't abrasive enough to scratch up your skin but it does feel a little rough.
Removal: With my regular non-acetone polish remover it takes about as much effort to remove as something like Orly Rage or Revlon Carbonite. Still, I did use Elmer's glue as a base coat on my thumb and while the polish didn't pop off in one layer, I was able to peel it off in small pieces with a little effort. I didn't damage my nail and it was a lot faster and less tiring than using polish remover.

CONCLUSION: I would absolutely recommend this polish. I already bought a back up. It's a gorgeous gold polish. I think the cool-tone is very flattering for my skin tone and you're really getting texture. However, this might not be for you if you don't like textured polishes and I'm not sure if it really offers full, even coverage. If I try it again when my nails are longer and there's a major issue, I'll update this post.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page.

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REVIEW of OPI Can't Find My Czechbook

Hello chickadees,

I... I've got nothing. I can't think of anything cute or clever to introduce my review of OPI Can't Find My Czechbook. Heck, I don't even know if you like my attempts at humor. Hardly anyone leaves comments. Yes, I'm in a mood. Here we go...

Color: OPI Can't Find My Czechbook is an aqua creme polish. Isn't the name just precious? It may be 60% of the reason I bought this polish. I know I have a problem. Don't judge me. Anyway, I've been reviewing a lot of polishes in the blue/green color family lately which makes it a bit more difficult to describe them in a way that differentiates them from one another. To me, OPI Can't Find My Czechbook is aqua. It's clearly blue, but it has a bit of green in it. It leans more blue outdoors, and more green indoors, especially as the day goes on and the amount of natural light decreases. The color is saturated but somewhat muted and this polish tends to photograph brighter than it really is so be wary of taking the swatches you see online at face value.
Formula: The formula is liquid-y and thin. It's the kind of creme polish formula that I expect from OPI.
Application: The application of the first coat was smooth but sheer. The second coat didn't apply as smoothly or evenly. You could see where the brushstrokes overlapped. At this point it became a question of balance. You kind of have to estimate how much polish you need so there's enough polish that the brush won't drag into the last coat of polish and create streaks and not too much polish so the liquid-y formula will flood into your cuticles and create too thick of a layer. I won't say it wasn't tricky. It wasn't terrible or unmanageable but it was not my favorite formula to work with. At three coats, the polish looked fine but a light test (holding your nails up to the light) and close scrutiny revealed the uneven coverage. I wasn't too bothered so I just left it at three coats.

CONCLUSION: I would probably recommend this polish. It's not the most unique color but it's rather pretty and it would be flattering for a lot of skin tones. The formula can be a little difficult to work with but it isn't impossible. However, if you don't want the trouble, I would suggest looking for a dupe with a better formula.

 

SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Stay the Night With SWATCHES

Hello my little volcanic rocks,

How are you today? I've been holding onto this review for a while since I took way too many photos that I then had to sort through for color accuracy. I had been dying to get this polish for the longest time. OPI Stay the Night is one of the liquid sand polishes from the (relatively) recently released Mariah Carey for OPI collection. To me this polish has nothing to do with Mariah and everything to do with volcanoes. It looked so cool in swatches that I just had to order it off of amazon. So what do I think now that I've tried it for myself?

Color: OPI Stay the Night is a black textured polish with fine red glitter. The liquid sand polishes will be interesting for those of you who aren't familiar with textured polishes. They dry matte but the glitter dries in a way that leaves the surface of the nail slightly bumpy and uneven. This is a good thing as strange as that might sound. It's a very interesting effect but I think you need to pick and choose your textured polishes carefully. Stay the Night is a standout because it looks so spectacular as a liquid sand polish. Personally, I don't like the look of the more colorful glitters. The swatches make the red glitter really pop. In real life, the black dominates more, especially indoors or if you add top coat. I really don't love the look of this with top coat. It's much more unique and special without it. Worn matte, the grit is very fine and it takes me back to high school when I would wear black polish with long nails. I think it looks incredibly chic and elegant with elongated oval-shaped nails.
Formula: As this is a textured polish the formula can't really be compared to regular cremes or glitters. It is like a glitter with a very fine grit. It's not thick at all.
Application: For this application I used Elmer's glue as a base coat again. I used the new nylon paint brush I bought at Pearl Paint to apply a thin coat of glue. As for Stay the Night, it applied pretty smoothly and I was able to even it out without worrying about streaking or balding or any of the usual issues. It's important to make sure you don't have too much polish on the brush though. In one coat you put down a good amount of glitter but you don't get a lot of coverage/opacity. It took three coats for me to get to full opacity but I should note that it's important to not paint super thin coats. I did that on my pinky nail and I needed four coats for full coverage. The one thing that annoyed me is that it's a little gritty around the tips and you'll get this problem regardless of whether you wrap the tips with polish. The polish also takes a while to fully dry so be careful.
Wear: As I mentioned, the grittiness at the tips of the nails was a little annoying. You can feel the texture on the surface of the nail but again it's a very fine grit so it's not something that should irritate you. But you should know that your nails will feel a little abrasive. Like other matte polishes, it seems almost water resistant so don't worry about washing your hands or taking a shower. I do get the lava effect I wanted but it's definitely more pronounced in the pictures which are of course extreme close-ups. I only wore this polish for one day before I applied top coat to do all my swatches so I can't comment on how well this polish holds up long term. With one coat of Seche Vite you can still feel the texture but obviously the texture is much less pronounced.

CONCLUSION: I would definitely recommend this polish. I loved the way it looked and application was easy. However, this polish won't be for everyone. You really need to be someone who favors dark, interesting polishes and texture. Textured polishes are a trend that everyone won't want to follow but I happen to really like OPI Stay the Night.

 

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REVIEW of OPI Do You Lilac It? With SWATCHES

Hello my little wildflowers,

Today I'll be reviewing OPI Do You Lilac It?. I don't have a lot to say about this polish. It's been in my collection for quite a while, long before this blog started and so long ago that the shop where I bought it is now closed. I'm not really a lilac/lavender kind of person though I know this is a polish that a lot of people recommend when they're suggesting nail polish colors. But I did like this color. Just not enough to review it until more than a month after I had swatched it. So yeah...

Color: OPI Do You Lilac It? is a light purple creme polish. I hesitate to call it lilac as it isn't what I personally think of when I think of lilac. It's a light/medium purple, not quite as light as the very light pastels and not quite as dark as the true purples. Do You Lilac It? is definitely more of a blue-toned purple. The color is rather quiet and demure. It's flattering for my skintone and I think it would be flattering for lighter skintones but I wasn't wildly in love with it for some reason. It was just alright to me.
Formula: The formula is a little bit thick.
Application: So, the first coat was pretty smooth but with successive coats I noticed how thick the polish was. It was liquid-y and runny but the brush dragged through the polish creating ridges and the polish seemed to thicken with the second and third coats. This is not a polish where you should go over the brushstrokes to even out the polish. You will just make more of a mess. That said, after I applied my Seche Vite top coat, the unevenness seemed like minor imperfections. I wore this polish for 5 days and during that time the small issues didn't bother me.

CONCLUSION: It's quite possible that the issues with the formula are from having such a old bottle of this polish but if you were to locate this polish I would assume that the bottle would be just as old unless this color is part of the permanent collection so I don't really see that as an issue for this review. Based on how flattering the color is and how the polish ended up looking alright, I would probably recommend this color in spite of the application issues. However, I can't give a enthusiastic endorsement.

 

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REVIEW of OPI A Butterfly Moment With SWATCHES

Hello my little butterflies,

OK, it's official. OPI A Butterfly Moment is the most flattering pink polish I have tried so far. Like ever. Given Mariah Carey's well known love of butterflies (and Hello Kitty, but that's beside the point) if I had to guess which would be the best polish from her recent OPI collaboration, I would have picked OPI A Butterfly Moment. And from my experience, I would have been right. I had been hemming and hawing about whether or not to purchase this polish and finally I couldn't help myself any longer and ordered it off of amazon.com. I am so happy I did. I love this polish! I might be gushing but I feel like it's completely warranted. Let's get into it...

Color: Before I launch into this, I'm going to tell you to look at ALL the swatches. OPI A Butterfly moment is very difficult to describe as it can look very different depending on the lighting. It isn't a duochrome, but it can either look like a pink shimmer or a nude shimmer polish depending on the lighting conditions. And this can change if you're indoors and walking from one room to another. I can't definitively say that when you're outdoors the polish is pink and when you're indoors the polish is nude because this polish pretty much does what it wants. Personally, I love almost all of the color variations and find them extremely flattering for my skintone. Sometimes this polish is a subtle, girly lighter pink and the shimmer just provides shine and vibrancy. Sometimes it is a dusty rose pink and the shimmer seems more muted so the polish almost seems a little speckled. It reminds me of looking at a shimmer eyeshadow indoors when it's not really catching the light. There's a slight marbling effect if you look very, very closely. Sometimes the polish appears to be a golden tan/nude shimmer polish with a golden shimmer. Then it feels like a color Jennifer Lopez might wear with a lot of bronze and brown and gold makeup. The one time I don't like the way this polish looks is in dim indoor lighting when it can look like a dirty rose pink, like the dusty rose pink but darker. This just strikes me as a little too mature and old-lady-ish and it's not very flattering for my skintone. Thankfully, this is not how this polish usually appears.
Formula: The formula was one of those great OPI formulas. Very smooth and easy to work with.
Application: Application was very smooth. There was surprisingly good coverage in one coat and I thought the polish looked fine in two coats but it didn't pass the light test (where you hold you nails up to the light and see if light passes through) so I added a third coat. I do think the third coat is necessary.
Wear: After a week of wear I have some visible nail growth at the nail beds but otherwise I could continue wearing the polish on my left hand. On my right hand there is either tip wear or nail growth and a teensy chip on one nail. Given how well the polish has held up on my left hand, I don't think there's a major issue with wear but I just wanted to mention the chipping.

CONCLUSION: Heck, yes, I would recommend this polish. Great color, great application. I wore it all through my final exams and I have to restrain myself from buying a backup right now.

 

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REVIEW of Nicole by OPI Alex By The Books With SWATCHES

Hello my little bookworms,

Hooray! It's May. And... everything is pretty much the same as it always is. I'm drowning in a sea of assignments and future exams... and about to graduate in less than a month. Hopefully. What better time could there be to discuss Alex By The Books, the polish supposedly inspired by Alex Dunphy, as part of the relatively new Nicole by OPI Modern Family collection. I say "supposedly" as if you take a look at the entire collection it seems like they just randomly assigned characters to colors. And the names aren't incredibly inventive. Anyway, moving on...

Color: Alex By the Books is a light green creme polish. Is it a pastel? Is it a mint green? Is it sea foam green? Is it a For Audrey dupe? I don't know. Why are you so full of questions today? Ask me again when there's a worldwide standardized lexicon for discussing colors. All I can say for certain is that this polish is a mix of blue and green that leans towards the green end of the spectrum and chances are you'll probably be able to find a dupe for it. It's more demure and subdued under certain lighting conditions and a bit brighter under other conditions but it never really approaches the intensity of something like Essie's Mint Candy Apple which I think of as being a bit too harsh.
Formula: The formula was a little thick, especially compared to regular OPI polishes. I think this may be the first Nicole by OPI polish I'm reviewing on this blog and I can't say I was all that impressed with the formula.
Application: The first coat was a bit streaky, but that's usually the case for most polishes. The second coat was relatively smooth but I noticed that the brush was causing streaks to form. I had to be very careful to hold the brush so that it was perfectly flush with the nail. By the third coat the polish was opaque though I could see a few bald stripes near the tips of my nails where the brushstrokes overlapped and I could see where the brush strokes overlapped at the nail bed and on the sides of my nails. Which is all to say that it isn't easy to get even application with this polish.
Wear: I wore this polish for four days and during that time I didn't experience any tip wear or chipping or dulling of the polish (though to be fair, I rarely experience any of those things with my manicures).

CONCLUSION: Alex By the Books is a pretty polish if you're looking for a polish in this color family that leans a bit more green. But though the formula is manageable, I would probably suggest looking for a dupe with a better formula and especially a better brush.

 

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