OPI
OPI Blue Comparisons
Since navy is such a big color this fall and with OPI putting out three great blues this year, I thought you all might appreciate a little side by side comparison. While I love these dark colors, capturing their true beauty on screen is REALLY difficult but I did my best.
To me, the major differences are:
Russian Navy – has a blue green base, like Glacier Bay Blues, subtle shimmer on the nail and is the closest to an actual navy shade
Who Are You Wearing? – has more purple in it’s base, multi-colored blue and red shimmer, looks blue/purple depending on the light and has an overall darker hue
OPI Ink – is the most burple (bluish purple), has the most sparkle and glitz due to the silvery micro-glitter, is the least “blackish-blue”
Which one do you prefer? Or did you just give in and buy all three?
OPI Holiday in Hollywood: Dazzling Darks & Neutrals
When I think of glitz and glam, my mind immediately drifts to Hollywood, award shows and the red carpet. For Holiday 2007 OPI takes us there with the Holiday in Hollywood Collection. It includes two distinct sets of six polishes: Dazzling Darks & Neutrals and Glamour Reds.
The Dazzling Darks & Neutrals are up first. The Glamour Reds are soon to follow.
Stars in My Eyes is a semi-sheer sparkly silver. What you see below is two thin coats. I’m sure a third coat would make it completely opaque. As I was applying Stars in My Eyes and the majority of the sparklers in this collection I noticed a great multi-colored shimmer in the lacquer but it doesn’t appear on the nail. Instead this shade has a slightly pinkish cast and amazing depth. It dries semi-matte so if you really want to put on the glitz, add a super shiny top coat.Hollywood Blonde is my surprise of the collection. I totally didn’t expect to like, let alone love, this shade. From the few pics I’d seen of it online, it looked like a blah nude. Wow was I wrong. A glistening nudish pink semi-sheer, this is my kind pale. The gold shimmer gives it depth and a fairy dust quality. I would totally rock this on my tips or toes for a holiday party. I love when a polish blows my expectations out of the water.I’d Like To Thank… is described by OPI as a “copper shimmer.” I don’t know what Suzi has been smoking but I see no copper here. I’d Like To Thank is a duo-chrome; a shade that changes from one shade to another depending on the lighting. This one changes from a mid-tone peachy pink a deep golden rose thanks to the magical gold metallic shimmer. This is a shade I’d say is more suited to warm skin tones. The only real downside of this color is that the metallic quality made my brush strokes more apparent.My Big Break has the same consistency and duo chrome effect as I’d Like To Thank. And the same visible brush stroke issue but it’s not nearly as visible. There is a small amount of green shimmer in the formula that shows up on the nail at certain angles. Overall it’s a lovely berry rose shade that leans towards a deep lilac depending on the light.Have You Seen My Limo? gets the prize for most unique. Yet another duo-chrome, the deep grape base has silver and green shimmer that allows the shade to transform from reddish purple to a dark silvery plum. I really hope OPI adds this to their permanent Classic Collection.Who Are You Wearing? is a tough color to accurately capture. I must have shot 40+ images of it and I still had to add swatch shots from other images to give you an idea of how truly cool this polish is. When I first saw online swatches of it I thought it was just another blue, like OPI Ink or Russian Navy but, oh no it’s so much more! The final duo-chrome in this collection, Who Are You Wearing? has a red shimmer that only appears in warm indoor lighting. Otherwise it’s a battle between the blue shimmer and the purple base as to which color you’ll see. The purple being the hardest to capture digitally. This is a shade you MUST see for yourself.The Holiday In Hollywood collection is available now at professional salons, including Ulta, Trade Secret, Regis, Pure Beauty, JCPenney, Dillard’s, Beauty First, and Beauty Brands.
Now it’s time for you to weigh in. Which shades have you drooling? Which ones have you bought? What’s on your wish list? What didn’t work for you? Any lemmings killed?
OPI Pinkalicious
Since there isn’t a lot of information available about this collection, I will go ahead and call them the Pinkalicious Collection. If you know different, tell us in the comments. All I do know is that they’ve only been found in Canada and even there they’re not easy to find. Due to Nikki’s love of all things pink and extreme diligence on the phone she was able to find these in a salon and have them shipped across the border for a hefty price.
It’s been a while since I’ve used an OPI polish due to the enormous amounts of swatching I’ve been doing lately. I almost forgot how incredible the Pro Wide brush is. Even though there have been issues with individual polishes since the OPI formula change, these three all applied like a dream. Smooth, highly pigmented and streak-free. All with a metallic silver shimmer and high gloss factor. If you can find these and love pink, snatch ‘em up.
Spring Fling
Berry Rosy
New OPI Designer Series
Just released, the new Designer Series polishes from OPI. Being a holographic glitter junkie isn’t easy. As much fun as it is having a prismatic rainbow on your nails, it’s not always appropriate or safe. There’s been times that I’ve found myself distracted by the sun catching my holo mani while driving. Shh, don’t tell the police.
So now to add to my already large collection of “shiny object” distractions comes Fantasy and Diamond. I don’t have these little beauties in my hands yet but I will give proper reviews as soon as I do.
From what I can tell, Fantasy looks like a navy blue holo. I’d imagine it’s what we originally anticipated DS Glamour being. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Glamour, it’s one of my holy grail pedicure shades but I know that in addition to the clamoring for a black holo (OPI My Private Jet) a navy holo was on many a wish list. Let’s cross our fingers and toes that this is it.
Now I don’t want to pass judgement without seeing Diamond in person but I’m guessing it won’t be a very “me” shade. It looks pewter and I don’t don’t do silvers very well. If I do a metallic, it’s usually gold. I’m keeping and open mind though.
These new Designer Series polishes are now available on Head2Toe Beauty’s website. Don’t crash their server!
photos: Head2Toe Beauty