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Zoya Suvi Comparison

By on July 12, 2007
in Big 3 Free, Fall 2007, Green, OPI, Zoya with 3 Comments

A pal on the Makeup Alley Nail Board asked me if Zoya Suvi is a dupe for OPI Jasper Jade. In fact she hopes, for her wallet’s sake, that it is. Well Deni, I’m both happy (for me) and sad (for you) to say they are different.

As the pictures below will show, Jasper Jade is more blackened than Suvi. While Suvi is the shade of a flawless deep green emerald, Jasper Jade is the color of an emerald with some carbon deposits.


Oddly enough Suvi and Jasper Jade both have sheerness as an obstacle but it’s easily defeated with 3 coats of color. So while I will continue to covet and lovingly hoard my bottle of Jasper Jade as I do with any and all green polishes I find, I do love Zoya Suvi more for it’s vibrancy.

OPI Russian Collection Swatches

By on June 19, 2007
in Big 3 Free, Fall 2007, OPI with 30 Comments

Now that you’ve had time to drool over the bottle pics of this collection, I give you swatches and lemming wheel pics. I ask that you please don’t republish these pictures without my permission.

I haven’t really had time to play with all the colors as in depth as I’d like so I can’t give you full reviews now but I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.

What I can say is that Catherine the Grape, Russian Navy and Moscow At Midnight are the standout shades for me. They are each unique and stunning on the nail.

To be honest, I really didn’t expect to love Catherine the Grape from just looking at the bottle but, as they say, looks are deceiving. Applied, it is a gorgeous plummy purple with bronzey shimmer.

Moscow at Midnight is a near black with reddish shimmer that stands out in the sun but just adds interest in indoor lighting.

Russian Navy could be OPI Ink’s deep dark cousin. It’s navy on the nail but it has blue, purple and pink shimmer to add depth.

Boris & Natasha, Catherine The Grape, Kreme de la Kremlin, Cosmo-Not Tonight Honey

St. Petersburgundy, An Affair In Red Square, Vodka & Caviar, Ruble For Your Thoughts

Midnight In Moscow, Siberian Nights, Russian Navy, Suzi Says Da!





OPI Fall 2007 Preview

By on June 14, 2007
in Big 3 Free, Fall 2007, OPI with 7 Comments

Ok seriously, I’m so not ready for Fall. I haven’t even hit the point of bitching about my electric bill from running the A/C day and night. Yet, here we are checking out the new shades for fall. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall. I love the cool crisp air, the leaves changing, etc. The only problem with that is that in Cleveland, Fall lasts for approximately one week. So forgive me if I don’t jump up and down at the thought of fall colors just yet.

Alright everyone, grab your faux fur hats and muffs as OPI takes us to Russia. With 12 shades in this collection ranging from beige-gold shimmer to blackened brown with a blue thrown in for good measure, there is a color in here for everyone. And in typical OPI fashion the names are just as fun as the polishes themselves.

I will give more in depth reviews as I swatch and test each shade so for now, I’ll leave you with bottle pics as an appetizer for whats to come. (c)=creme, (s)=shimmer

Midnight In Moscow(s), Siberian Nights(c), Russian Navy(s), Suzi Says Da!(c)
Taken with extreme flash to show the base colors.
St. Petersburgundy(c), An Affair In Red Square(s), Vodka & Caviar(c), Ruble For Your Thoughts(s)
With flash to show the finish
Boris & Natasha(c), Catherine The Grape(s), Kreme De La Kremlin(c), Cosmo-Not Tonight Honey(s)
With flash to show the finish

Name the Next OPI Shade

By on June 11, 2007
in OPI with 4 Comments

Trade Secret/Beauty Express have teamed up with OPI on another store exclusive shade. Only this time, it’s up to us to name it. From now until June 15th you can submit your entries on the Trade Secret Style Club site.

Quite a few years ago I saw a segment on Stripped, the Style Network’s behind-the-scenes beauty products show, about OPI. They showed the process of how the polishes are named. That the names come first then the shades. At the time they were working on the Las Vegas collection and there was dice, playing cards and roulette tables on the conference table for inspiration. I so wanted to be in that room and have their job. Well, now’s our chance to have a minuscule taste of the fun they must have.

from the Trade Secret website:
Come up with a catchy name for Trade Secret’s exclusive holiday OPI nail lacquer shade shown below and you could win 50 OPI nail lacquers from the 2008 seasonal collections, plus a stylish train case.

Need inspiration? Think holiday, think glitz and stop by the OPI collection at Trade Secret ● Beauty Express to do a little research!

OPI Night Brights Review

By on May 1, 2007
in Big 3 Free, OPI, Summer 2007 with 11 Comments
I finally got my hands on the Night Brights collection from OPI. In all honesty, I’m not sure how I feel about this collection as a whole. It seems to me that OPI played it safe even though they delivered a couple standout colors.Black was huge last fall/winter and there has been a lot of talk about metallics for summer so there is something for every trend lover in this mix of dark and molten hues. Transitioning from winter’s black to steely gray, midnight blue and blurple (bluish-purple) for spring, the dark side of Night Brights is my favorite.

(l-r) My Private Jet, Light My Sapphire, OPI Ink

(l-r) OPI Ink, Light My Sapphire, My Private Jet
I borrowed this pic from a fellow nail boarder to show of the blingtastic shimmer of OPI Ink. Thanks again, 8pril!

My Private Jet is one of the standout colors in this new line. OPI finally listened to the cries of the many holographic polish lovers out there and delivered a true dark holo. It’s a nice smoky black with that fantastic smooth holo glitter that OPI has perfected so well. Just like the Designer Series, MPJ applies extremely smooth thanks to the Pro Wide brush.

Light My Sapphire was a disappointment in formula, not necessarily color. The color is a bluish-black with a subtle silvery shimmer. It’s darker than the true deep navy of China Glaze Up All Night but you can definitely tell it’s not a black or charcoal gray polish. The problem with this one is the application. It was uneven, gloppy and just plain frustrating. I applaud OPI for taking the steps to rid their polishes of toxic chemicals but if this polish is an indicator, they may want to head back to the lab.

OPI Ink is by far my favorite polish of the six. It’s glorious, shimmery goodness. It’s a mesmerizing mix of blue and purple with fab pink shimmer. A must have for any blue or purple lover. If you were only going to buy one polish from the Night Brights, this would be my recommendation. I can’t wait to wear it on my toes this summer.

(l-r) Give Me The Moon, I Only Drink Champagne

(l-r) I Only Drink Champagne, Give Me The Moon

Give Me The Moon is a pale silvery blue. It reminds me a bit of the blue in Creative’s Spring 2006 collection, Rejoice, only opaque. I love the baby blue shimmer and the slight iridescence. It’s not a must have color but it’s a nice alternative to silver for summer. In my opinion, silver nails are hard to pull off. I think of them being frosty and old fashioned or super sparkly and over the top. People that can’t pull off gold but still want something with a metallic feel should check this color out.

I Only Drink Champagne is a true creamy champagne color. In the bottle it looks like it’s made of vintage yellowed pearls. While it’s not unique, it is soft and pretty and impressively opaque. A lot of light colors can end up being too sheer and you’re fooled by the bottle color. This one delivers; what you see is what you get. My only issue is with the finish. It leaves brush strokes so you have to be careful as you apply it.

I decided not to buy Golden Rules! after seeing Fivezero’s pic and reading her review of it. While I’m sure it will work for darker skin tones, like she suggests, I just know it would look horrid on me. I’ll leave you with her words and pic to decide for yourselves. Thanks FiveZero for sharing your thoughts and pic with us!

Golden Rules!, from OPI’s 2007 Night Brights collection, is actually really beautiful in the bottle—a rich, light caramel gold with loads of shimmer, to the point of being slightly frosty. The trouble with it is that it is, in my opinion, a really difficult colour to pull off. I am warm-toned (NC30-35) and it is not flattering on me in the least. I have a feeling that some darker skintones will be able to pull it off well, but it’s quite hard to say.

 

Finally, for the geeks like me that have so many polishes you need comparisons to avoid buying dupes, this is for you.

Left column: Creative Blue Blood, China Glaze Blk-Billa-Bong, Creative NFS.

Right Column: OPI Ink, Light My Sapphire, My Private Jet.

If you click the pic for a closeup, you’ll see that the only similar colors are Blue Blood & Blk-Billa-Bong and I still say they’re different “enough” to own both.
photos: All Lacquered Up, 8pril on MUA and Fivezero on MUA.

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