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 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.

 

SWATCHES

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.

 

SWATCHES

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.

 

SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Color So Hot It Berns With SWATCHES

Hello poppy seeds!

Let's just get this one out of the way, shall we? I don't know why I bother trying to photograph anything red. Red polishes. Red lipsticks. The photos are rarely ever color accurate, especially if it's a bright red.

Color: OPI Color So Hot It Berns is a bright red creme polish. It's far from as bright as it photographs though. You will see a lot of swatches where this polish looks orange. This polish is not orange. It's not even red-orange. It's really just a touch brighter than a standard red. I tried comparing it with my lipsticks and if it helps it is darker than Covergirl Hot Passion and L'Oreal British Red but brighter than Kate Moss Rimmel Lipstick and Maybelline Red Revival.
Formula: The formula is very liquidy like other OPI polishes tend to be but it isn't sheer or so thin that it becomes unmanageable and flows into your cuticles.
Application: I needed three coats to get this polish opaque. Application was relatively smooth but the brush dragged streaks through the polish. It's one of those brushes where you have to be really careful about putting enough polish on the brush and positioning the brush at the right angle so it doesn't cause any streaks to form. I used a thin first coat and a thicker second and third coat once I recognized the issue.

CONCLUSION: I had an easier time with the formula and application of Essie's Jelly Apple so if you're looking for a nice standard red, I'd probably suggest that polish instead though I don't know if they're dupes. Regardless, I think you should be able to find a dupe for OPI Color So Hot It Berns with a better formula and easier application. While Color So Hot It Berns isn't impossible to work with, for the price with such a dupeable color, you're better off looking for something that applies more easily.

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.

 

SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Samoan Sand With SWATCHES

Hello my darlings!

I can finally write a post with some good swatches again. Thank goodness. I picked up OPI Samoan Sand in a drugstore.com haul even though it seems to always be available at every drugstore with a OPI section. Even though I"ve never been a nude polish kind of girl there was just something about the swatches I'd seen that had me captivated, especially when I saw how this looked with a matte top coat. I haven't tried that out yet but I did wear this polish for quite a while and I think it's a perfect foundation nail polish shade for me. You know, that color that's a shade or two off from the foundation you wear? There's something that looks so polished about it.

Color: OPI Samoan Sand is a light sandy, peachy beige creme polish. It reminds me of my foundation and I used to wear L'Oreal n2 so it's a pretty pale shade. I feel like depending on the lighting it can take on more of a yellow tone or more of a pink tone.
Formula: Like other OPI polishes, this one is definitely on the thinner, less viscous side but I wouldn't call it remarkably watery or gloopy.
Application: The first coat was pretty smooth, though a bit streaky on the thumb. The second coat was also smooth, though I did feel like the brush was prone to making ridges in the polish if it wasn't held flat and flush with the surface of the nail. At two coats, I thought opacity was decent but I felt like I needed a third for full opacity. On my third coat, I feel like ridges were more of a problem but it was easy to smooth over imperfections. It wasn't a perfect formula but I felt like it was manageable. When I was painting with my nondominant hand, application was still smooth but you could see more of the ridges because I had less control with the brush. Seche Vite worked wonders but it didn't completely even out the ridges. Though I will say it was a very minor thing and it probably won't bother most people. I'm just looking for a perfect polish and I'm going to tell you what's wrong with all the ones I do try.
Wear: I wore this polish for over a week. I thought it wore beautifully during that time and I grew to love it.

CONCLUSION: I think this is a beautiful nude creme polish to try if your skintone is anything like mine. I love the look of foundation nails. This is a polish that takes an experienced hand as the formula is a bit tricky to work with so if you're looking for something easy, you might want to skip this one. But I'm happy to have this one in my collection.

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 through amazon.com through the links on my page. 

SWATCHES:

REVIEW of OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts

Hello my little honey bunches of oats, (still trying out the new endearments)

I don't know why I keep buying gray and nude nail polishes when I'm far more into color but I guess I keep thinking that one day I'll find that perfect polish and I can stop my search and just stock up on that color. Anyway, after the disaster that was China Glaze Elephant Walk, I was feeling a bit discouraged but in the gloominess of February I really couldn't see myself pulling out a bright coral to cheer myself up. So instead, I took out the bottle of O.P.I. French Quarter For Your Thoughts that I picked up during my drugstore.com haul however long ago. As a quick aside, I think that's a really adorable name. It comes just short of making complete sense combining "french quarter" with "a penny for your thoughts" but somehow the inconsistency makes it work. Enough rambling. Shall we get into the review?

Color: I hesitate to call OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts a light gray creme polish because I'm afraid the word "quarter" in the name might give you the wrong impression. The gray of this polish is somewhat muddied so that in dim lighting at times it almost seems like a light beige latte kind of color. It's a very warm gray. The swatches are pretty color accurate so I'll stop trying to describe the color and let you just take a look at them at the end of the review.
Formula: Like other OPI polishes, this polish has a thinner consistency which I find easier to work with. It was almost opaque in two coats but I still needed three to get full opacity.
Application: Application was very smooth but this is not the kind of polish that you can really work with to cover the nail. That is, I wouldn't go over the same spot with the brush as the brush is a little streaky and it could drag ridges into the coat you just painted. I noticed some overlapping brushstrokes at the base of my nails but it didn't really bother me too much.
Wear: I wore this polish for four days. During that time I had a little bit of tip wear but the main reason I removed the polish was because my nails were growing out and there was a noticeable gap at the nail bed.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this polish. It's a nice, neutral, flattering warm gray and though the brush leaves something to be desired I think you should be able to work with this polish just fine. It is one of the better polishes in this color family that I've tried.

 SWATCHES (Note: If there are any bubbles, they are from my Seche Vite.)

REVIEW of OPI Yoga-Ta Get This Blue

Hi chickadees!

Another short review today. This time it's Yoga-Ta Get This Blue from OPI's Spring 2008 India Collection. I picked up my bottle in a haul from drugstore.com. So, do I dare compound the pun and say I think "yoga-ta" run out and buy this polish? Hmn... Perhaps. ;) Keep reading.

Color: Yoga-Ta Get This Blue is a rich sapphire blue polish with lighter blue shimmer. The shimmer gives it that gorgeous lit from within quality and a lot of depth. The color is gorgeous, sexy, and captivating.
Formula: Not noticeably thick or thin. I noticed that it dried very quickly.
Application: Application was very smooth. This polish was so opaque that it was almost opaque in one coat. It takes a lot for me to only do two coats, as I'm pretty much a three coat girl unless a polish can hold up to the light test without that third coat. There was no question about it. This polish was opaque in two coats. I will say that on the second day (I didn't have a chance to take pictures the first day) the polish wasn't meeting my shine standards for photos so I put on another layer of top coat.

CONCLUSION: Yes, I would definitely recommend this polish. The color is gorgeous and will work for a lot of skintones. Application was very smooth, it dried quickly, it was a two-coater. What more could you want? :)

SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI My Pointe Exactly/Piroutte My Whistle

Hello darlings,

It isn't often that I can say that a polish looks exactly the way I expected it to when I bought it. Thankfully, that was the case when I finally paired OPI's My Pointe Exactly with OPI Piroutte My Whistle, a polish and top coat from the NYC Ballet Collection. I was feeling a bit glum about not having snow for Christmas (yes, I know this post is more than a little late) so once I got back from my trip I decided it was finally time for the My Pointe Exactly/Piroutte My Whistle manicure I'd been holding off for so long.

So, firstly I'll start with My Pointe Exactly, which I only wore on its own for a day (long enough to photograph) and then I'll talk more about Piroutte My Whistle.

Color: OPI My Pointe Exactly is a semi-sheer light gray polish. It sounds like it would be horrible but I think it might actually be my favorite of the three OPI NYC Ballet Collection polishes I own (the other two being Barre My Soul and You Callin' Me a Lyre?). Because it's gray, it avoids looking too simple or precious like other sheer polishes. But because it's a lighter color and a sheer polish, it still elongates the look of your fingers.
Formula: The formula is much like that of the other polishes in this collection. It's on the thinner side but for a sheer polish it isn't watery.
Application: Application is also a lot like the other polishes in this collection. The polish applies very smoothly though I do get a bit of balding. It really isn't that noticeable once you've applied top coat and if you're not examining your nails very closely. The polish looks obviously gray in 2 coats. I think you need at least two even if you want a very sheer look. I used 3 coats to get it to a level of gray I was happy with. It isn't fully opaque but I like the semi-sheer look with this polish.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of OPI Barre My Soul With SWATCHES

Hello chickadees!

Longtime readers of this blog will know that I'm not the biggest fan of nude or pale nail polish colors. That is, except for when I have to take an exam and I can't afford to get distracted by bright colors or a blinding scattering of glitter. During a recent drugstore.com sale I picked up OPI's Barre My Soul which I've been wanting to try ever since I first tried OPI's You Callin' Me a Lyre at a salon but I always chose You Callin' Me a Lyre over Barre My Soul. Well, I finally cheated on You Callin' Me a Lyre and I'm glad I did.

Color: Barre My Soul is a semi-sheer nude polish. I would call it a very light beige, almost like the kind of color you would find in a selection of foundations or concealers. My swatches show it with a strong pink undertone but I would say it's definitely more of a light beige/sand color in person.
Formula: The formula is nice. It's on the thinner side as you might expect a sheer nude polish to be but it's not watery or unmanageable.
Application: The polish went on very smoothly without any dragging but I did experience some streaking and balding. Like other OPI polishes, this polish had a wide brush but I didn't think it had a negative effect on application. The polish was semi-opaque in 2 coats but I wanted to use 3 to get a little bit more coverage.

 

SWATCHES

REVIEW of O.P.I. Cuckoo For This Color With SWATCHES

Hello darlings!

Today's review is of an older polish, O.P.I.'s Cuckoo For This Color which I picked up at Ricky's. It is from the Fall 2010 Swiss Collection. I have been searching for a good dark green nail polish (while I like Sinful Colors Last Chance, it stains like crazy) and while I was in the store, I was debating whether to get O.P.I.'s Live and Let Die from the new Skyfall collection. But then O.P.I.'s Cuckoo For This Color caught my eye. And I'm glad it did. Let's get into the review, shall we?

Color: O.P.I.'s Cuckoo For This Color is a deep, rich forest green polish. It can look more green or bluish-green depending on the lighting. The polish is a jewel-toned dark green base with green shimmer, giving it a lot of depth regardless of what the lighting is like. And yes, the shimmer is very apparent. To me, the color shouts Christmas. It's very festive and personally, I would feel strange wearing it anytime other than December... which was why I felt odd wearing it at the end of November, but oh, well.
Formula: I thought the formula was watery. I didn't have an issue with opacity but it did have that tendency to flow into my cuticles. Clean up was easy though, and the polish was nowhere near unmanageable. I thought the polish looked opaque in 2 coats but it didn't hold up to the light test so I used 3 for full opacity. Those who aren't as obsessive as I am would probably be happy with 2 coats.
Application: Application was very smooth, possibly because of how watery the formula was. I had no problems with streaks or dragging or balding.

CONCLUSION: I would definitely recommend this polish if you like the color. The shimmer gives it a lot of depth and I'm just nitpicking about the formula.

 

 SWATCHES

REVIEW of O.P.I.'s Monsooner or Later with SWATCHES

Hi chickadees!

I'm not even going to lie or beat around the bush. I found O.P.I.'s Monsooner or Later incredibly frustrating. Frustrating to work with, frustrating to photograph. I'm happy to have another red for my collection but I'm sure you could find a better one.

Color: O.P.I.'s Monsooner or Later is a bright, tomato red creme polish. Did it photograph that way? No. It kept photographing orange. But if you go to the supermarket and pick up a bright red tomato, it's that color. It's pretty dupe-able but I have to say I liked the color. It's like a bright red lipstick. It just works. I won't go so far as to say it's a universal color but there's the right shade of red for every woman.
Formula: I found the formula thick and a little gloopy. This was very odd for me as it is an O.P.I. polish and usually they have great formulas or they're on the watery side but the formula was undeniably gloopy. The good news was the polish was very opaque. It was almost opaque in 2 coats but because it didn't hold up to the light test (where you hold your nails up to the light and see if you can see light passing through any bald patches) I did a third coat.
Application: As I said, the formula was thick, making application difficult. I found it very hard to get even coats but the problems were mostly fixed by Seche Vite. While application is a little tricky, I don't think you should be too upset with the final result. I should also note that this did come with a slightly wider brush which I'm personally not a fan of.
Wear: I wore this during part of the time we lost power in NYC due to Hurricane Sandy when I wasn't as conscious of my nails but I usually put them through the same amount of stress regardless. Anyway, my polish chipped a little on the pinky nail of my right hand. I note this because my polish almost NEVER chips. Also, I'd only been wearing the polish for a few days.

CONCLUSION: I certainly think you could find a dupe for this color and the formula and application aren't anything to rave about but if you see it in the store and it's on sale, you could do worse for a tomato red nail polish. Even with the problems, I liked having the color on my nails. It was bright and cheerful.

 

SWATCHES

REVIEW of O.P.I.'s You Callin' Me a Lyre? With SWATCHES

Hi chickadees!

Hrm. I'm conflicted about reviewing this polish. I was so in love with it for so long. I tried it out at the salon when it was first released only at salons and we instantly clicked. From then on I had a ritual of going to the salon and getting a OPI You Callin' Me a Lyre? manicure before big exams. But now that I've finally tried it for myself...? I have to say the first blush of romance has worn off. I don't know if I'm just tired of it or if it was never as good as I thought it was but I'm no longer so in love with the color and I definitely have issues with the formula. Let's discuss...

Color: I think my problem with this polish is that even though it sometimes photographs cool, this is a warm-toned sheer pink polish. It brings out the yellowness in my skin and just does bad things in any lighting. My skin either looks dull, sallow or oddly dark...as if my hands are dirty and not as if I've gotten a tan. In the first few coats it looks like your basic sheer polish but as you build it up, you can see that it really has a milky appearance. To me it's the sheer version of a jelly polish. I think for the right skintone, this could be a pretty, effortless, girly polish.
Formula: The formula itself was not too much of a problem. It's a sheer polish but it wasn't especially thick or watery. It was a bit difficult to even out but I'm not sure if that was a polish issue or an application issue.
Application: This polish definitely went on a little streaky at first. At 3 coats, it looked fine. It wasn't opaque but I could have left it if it hadn't looked patchy and if I hadn't seen some clear balding. So I ended up using 4 coats which I think gets it as opaque as you want a sheer/milky polish to get. This is one of those OPI polishes with the wide brush. I couldn't tell if it helped or was a hindrance in this case. I will say it was easier to use than the wide brushes I've used in the past but I still had issues. I managed to even things out more or less and with Seche Vite on top, I couldn't notice streaks or unevenness to the point that they bothered me. Really the thing I had the most trouble with was the color.

CONCLUSION: I can't really recommend this polish if you have a similar skintone to mine and I can't really recommend it based on the formula either. As much as I used to love it, I don't think I'll be repurchasing this.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of O.P.I.'s Go On Green! With SWATCHES

Hello darlings!

I hope you're having a lovely summer. If you follow this blog, you will probably know that I'm spending my summer studying as I seem to be starting almost every review by mentioning that. Sorry! It just happens to be what's on my mind. The other thing that's been on my mind lately is a color. Somewhere between mint and sea foam. I cannot tell you how much it's been popping up in magazines and on blogs, etc. etc. lately. It's definitely the embodiment of one of my most hated phrases "on trend". Nevertheless it is such a pretty color that it's spurred an eyeshadow obsession in me. I have a matte eyeshadow from Inglot in #345 and a Stila single eyeshadow called Cha Cha that I bought because they remind me of the mint/sea foam color I've been obsessing over.

When I finally decided to pull O.P.I.'s Go On Green! which I've had in my collection for a very long time (Maybe 1 or 2 winters ago. The store I bought it at is actually closed now.) but haven't used until now, I didn't expect it to remind me of the color I've seen popping up everywhere lately. I know it's called Go On Green! but it looks like s shimmery light aqua in the bottle. I guess I feel like with a name like that it should be a traffic light kind of bright green.

Anyway, on to the formal review... (Recommend looking at the swatches)

Color: This is a very sheer and shimmery light green polish with a hint of blue. There's also an odd undertone. It's not a duochrome but depending on how your nail reflects the light, the part not reflecting the light can seem slightly pink/purple. It can also take on that slightly greasy look that certain shimmers do.
Formula: Again, it is very sheer. I used 4 coats to try and get it opaque and it's still not fully opaque. Also, once the polish dries you can see that the surface isn't perfectly even and it looks almost grainy. I think that's a phenomenon caused by the shimmer.
Application: I was worried about the larger brush but I had no problems. It was very easy to apply and applied very smoothly without the brush dragging.

My personal opnion is that while I think this is a very pretty polish that on the whole applies pretty well, I just don't like the finish. I prefer opaque polishes over sheer ones, especially when it comes to color or shimmer. This polish might be nice to layer with other things but on its own, I just find it a bit offputting. When it catches the light, I love it because I can pretend it's opaque. When it doesn't it looks like an uneven paint job.

Conclusion: If you like this color and you don't mind a sheer polish, I would feel comfortable recommending this based on the easy application.

 

SWATCHES (I tried to use the swatches to display all the qualities I discussed in the review.) 

REVIEW and Comparison OPI Black Cherry Chutney and Milani Black Cherry with SWATCHES

Hi darlings!

I have another comparison review for you today. This time I'm putting two "black cherry" colors from different brands head to head. On my index finger and ring finger (1 and 3 from the left) I'm wearing Milani's Black Cherry. On my middle finger and pinky finger (2 and 4 from the left) I'm wearing O.P.I.'s Black Cherry Chutney. To make things easier, I'm going to first do mini-reviews of each and then do a comparison. Swatches will be at the end, as always.

O.P.I Black Cherry Chutney

Black Cherry Chutney is a very dark purple polish with subtle red shimmer. In some lighting, it can look almost black or brown (because of the red-tone). This is one of those great smooth O.P.I. formulas. The bottle I purchased, had a really big brush. I don't remember if this is how O.P.I. polishes used to be or if this was just something particular to this bottle but I found it annoying. The polish applied evenly in 2 coats but I did 3 for the sake of comparison because the Milani wasn't as opaque in 2 coats.

  Milani Black Cherry

Milani's Black Cherry is a dark red polish with subtle red shimmer. It can also look very dark in certain lighting but it's always lighter than Black Cherry Chutney. Application was reasonably even though I did have trouble with getting the brush into corners without making a mess. I had to do 3 coats. It was noticably red in the first and second coats but darkened quite a bit in the third coat.

 
COMPARISON

• O.P.I. is a purple polish, Milani is a red polish
• Both have red shimmer
• Both are red-based
• Both are very dark in 3 coats
• The Milani is lighter than the O.P.I. is all lighting
• O.P.I. more opaque
• O.P.I. applies slightly better

Conclusion: These polishes are NOT dupes for each other but unless you just have to have a really complete collection, I'd choose one or the other. You won't be missing anything. The O.P.I. has a slightly nicer formula once you get used to the brush but the Milani is almost half the price. It comes down to a slight color difference and which aspects of the product are more important to you.

SWATCHES
I went a little crazy with the swatches and camera settings this time so you could see all the differences between these polishes.