OPI - Fifty Shades of Grey Collection - Swatches and Review

"Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me. Perhaps I've spent too long in the company of my literary romantic heroes, and consequently my ideals and expectations are far too high."

-E.L. James Fifty Shades of Grey

Well, the highly anticipated (for some) movie adaptation of the popular book will be hitting theaters soon. With that said, it's no surprise that there are tons of products out there that are marketing themselves around the movie's release.

I was in a Cosmoprof store and saw that they had the new Fifty Shades OPI collection set up. For some reason, I felt like I needed to have them. There are six polishes, and I wasn't really prepared to get six OPI polishes today. That's where the boxed set of mini bottles comes in, for a really great price.

Ready to see?

At first glance, it seems like a pretty unassuming collection. I mean, it's four variations of the color grey (of course) a red and a glitter. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the colors in this group of polishes.

My Silk Tie

"My Silk Tie" is a silver metallic polish. It looks very similar to Push and Shove, from an earlier OPI collection. It's pretty, but metallic silver doesn't knock my socks off. 

In my pictures I have on 3 coats of "My Silk Tie" and one coat of Seche Vite.

Dark Side of the Mood

"Dark Side of the Mood" is a dark grey that leans just a teeeeeeny bit blue and has a very soft silver shimmer that would absolutely not cooperate. This one definitely needs three coats.

I have on three coats of polish and one coat of Seche Vite in my pictures.

Romantically Involved

"Romantically Involved" is, in my opinion a perfectly balanced red. It doesn't lean red violet, and it doesn't lean orange. It's just a tiny little bit too dark to be a primary red. It applied like a dream. I have on two coats of "Romantically Involved" and one coat of Seche Vite.

Embrace the Gray

"Embrace the Gray" is a slightly blue leaning medium gray creme polish. I had a little bit of trouble with application on this one. I am thinking it could be because I was using a mini bottle, but it got a little streaky and didn't level out well on its own. Even after topcoat, I felt like it didn't get totally smooth.

In my pictures I have on three coats of "Embrace the Gray" and one coat of Seche Vite.

Shine for Me

Shine for me is a clear based glitter polish filled with royal blue micro-glitter and lots of silver shimmer. I used it alone, but I think that this color would look great with tons of different colors as a topper. Application was great, I felt like all that tiny glitter spread out very easily.

I have on three coats of "Shine for Me" and one coat of Seche Vite.

Cement the Deal

"Cement the Deal" is a light dove gray creme polish. Okay. This one. This polish was the troublemaker of the group. Like I said earlier, the problem could have been the brush or the mini bottle, but the way this polish applied left something to be desired. It wouldn't level out on its own. I also needed two coats of topcoat to get it to look like it does in my pictures. So, that makes three coats of polish and TWO coats of Seche Vite. Gloopy Gloop. I don't think that this color is redeeming enough to make up for its weird application.

So, what do you think? All in all, the collection is pretty nice. There were a couple that I could take or leave, but I like the rest.  

My favorites? Romantically Involved and Dark Side of the Mood, for sure. 

Will you be jumping on the Fifty Shades of Grey bandwagon too?

OPI - Little Red Wagon

I have got an oldie but goodie for you today. I'm gonna be a naughty blogger and show you a discontinued color. I've had this polish FOREVER. It's been sitting unloved in a drawer for a long time. My daughter and I were attempting a water marbled Christmas ornament when I unearthed this old 2008 OPI beauty. I used it in a water marble on an ornament and then decided to put it on my nails.

I always forget how beautiful a classic red nail looks.

This is "Little Red Wagon" and it is from the OPI 2008 Holiday collection titled "Holiday in Toyland".

Even though this one is discontinued, you can find it easily on third party sites like eBay and Amazon for less than $15. I think this might be the perfect base to go under some holiday nail art!

Thanks for reading, have an awesome weekend!

OPI Holiday 2014 - Comet in the sky

Hi all! I have one of the glitter toppers from the OPI/Gwen Stefani Holiday 2014 collaboration to show you. I have to say...I wasn't super excited about this collection when I first saw it. Don't get me wrong...this collection has some very nice colors and when it comes to quality product, OPI has it on lock. I was in store at my favorite cosmoprof and got to see the colors in person. The one that really stood out to me was a glitter topper called "Comet in the Sky".

It's kinda fun, isn't it?? I had to have it, simply because the bottle itself looks so beautiful. I'm a sucker for iridescent sheer flakes and glitter, so the combo of that and black is super cool to me. 

In my pictures I am wearing two coats of Comet in the Sky over two coats of OPI's French Quarter for your Thoughts. 

It's a chunky glitter so it definitely needs a generous portion of topcoat to smooth it out. I really like this, as far as glitter toppers go. No fishing for big pieces, and all of the glitters place themselves really nicely.

Now that I've tried this one, I might need to go grab the other glitters in this collection!

Thanks for reading! Have a fabulous day!

Wondering what I've been up to?

Yep, I'm still around. I haven't abandoned you. I will spare you the excuses and just tell you that I have been a Slacker McSlackerton. I have let the stresses of life get the better of me and neglected my blog.

I'm still here, and am getting my ducks in a row.

Want to see what I've been wearing on my nails? I only took pictures of 3 of them, and I'm happy to show them to you!

OPI Do you have this color in Stock-Holm?

This is a true purple for purple lovers. In every single picture, it wants to go a little blue...but it is definitely purple. On top of it, I stamped Mentality's "Moe".

Elevation Polish: Tre Cime di Lavaredo

This. This is GOLD that I actually like. It's a cool gold that almost leans green and has a strong linear holo. You must get your hands on this polish...I just checked earlier and it was still in stock. Usually that isn't the case for long...you should probably go get it right now :-)

The Holo Unicorn

Ok, please pardon my very red looking hands. I have a little bit of everything going on in this mani. The colors I used are:

Indigo Bananas : Maui Wowee

Digital Nails: Wow

Stamped with Mentality black, and two Sally hansen color foils

Topped everything with Enchanted Polish "Djinn in a bottle

It's fun, and crazy and super holographic magic!

I'm back friends...and I'm feelin good about all the fun things I have in store!

Thanks for reading!!!

I'm back, with some MOM nails!

Hello everyone! I SINCERELY apologize for being MIA for almost two weeks. Since the last time I checked in, I have been in major preparation. Lots of gardening, weed pulling and outdoor yard work. I've been spring cleaning like a mad woman. All of that hard work and elbow grease makes for some pretty shabby nails. I have cut my nails down pretty short, because it makes life a little easier when I'm busy like I have been. 

Because my nails are so short, I'd like to introduce you to my MOM's nails! She and my Dad are the reason for all the housework. They came into town the other day, and that night Mom said, "I expect some cool nails while I'm here." 

But of course, Mom.

For Mom's nails I used two of the Cosmoprof exclusive OPI Flamingo chic colors, Flamingo-tini pink and Feel the Mo-heat-oes green.

Wheeeeee! Aren't these the cutest nails you've ever seen?? Mom's got great nails, so I always love doing fun stuff for her! Also, Flamingos are her favorite thing, so this is the PERFECT collection for her!

The OPI Flamingo Chic collection is a Cosmoprof exclusive collection, but it can easily be found with a little digging on Ebay or Amazon, maybe even at a nail salon near you!

Thanks for hangin in there! I won't be gone as long again! 

Hope you are having a wonderful Memorial Weekend.

Polish Me Silly - Clownin' Around

I'm so ready for spring and summer! I have so many fun, bright colors that have been stashed away all winter. I picked up a set of OPI minis from the Euro Centrale collection just before Christmas and I forgot that I had them...until last night!

This color is "You're such a buda-pest!"

This color is so pretty, I was having a hard time deciding what to put over it. You simply cannot have plain colored nails...right? 

First, I tried stamping and the black that I used just wasn't what I was looking for. It took away from the cute springiness of this color. I stood in front of my stash of polish, trying to decide what to use and I spotted this Polish Me Silly color that I've had since Christmas!

Here's "Clowning Around" by Polish me Silly.

Doesn't that look cute! It reminds me of a malted milk Easter egg!

I'm so excited to use this one, now that it's neon season again!! I didn't expect it to still be so bright, considering I didn't layer it over white!

In my pictures I have three coats of "You're such a buda-pest" and one coat of "Clowning Around". 

I did one coat of Seche Vite last night, and I could still feel the glitter pieces a little bit. This morning, I put a coat of Gelous over it and then another coat of Seche Vite, and it seemed to smooth it out a bit. 

There's a bit of bubbling in there, as you can see. I think it's because of all the clear coats on the nail.

You can find TONS of amazing stuff on Polish Me Silly's Etsy Page!

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Happy Valentines Mani

Ahhhhh love. The day of adoration, love, hearts and kisses is almost upon us. My nails are all ready for Valentine's day, although I must admit I'll probably change them before friday! I felt like doing a little water marbling, and a little stamping too. Apparently I felt like challenging (torturing) myself today...

Yep, there's a whole lot goin on in this mani! I used a white base under my water marble, and also under my stamped finger. Here's a list of my colors...

Thumbs: Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Sonic Bloom

(I also stamped with Sonic Bloom)

Water Marbling - Essie Mod Square and Sation - Of Corset I'll Call you

Glitter: OPI liquid Sand - Pussy Galore and Model City - Pink Diamonds

Here's the thing about water marbling...it's kind of a pain in the ass. The end result is worth it, but just barely! I'm joking...I love the trial and error of water marbling. I made a mini tutorial a while back, you can check it out HERE. It seems there are so many variables when it comes to marbling, so what I will tell you is to try and try again. The same goes for stamping...I probably stamped 8 different times before I kept what you see in the pictures. Even after all of that, I don't LOVE LOVE it. It's cute...but it could look better. 

Here's another tip for water marbling/masking your fingers for nail art...

Use elmers glue!

Rocked my world! You can just peel it right off!!! The thing I hate the MOST about water marbling, gradients and stamping is how stained your hands are afterwards. My hands are SUPER dry so if I don't protect my skin, I end up looking like Lorde at the Grammy's...

Hehe...speaking of gradients, stay tuned for a gradient sometime this week!

It's below zero...why not wear some floral nails?

It's winter here in Minnesota. It's below zero outside. There are no nice days in the foreseeable future. Christmas is over. It's a looooong time til spring.

Alright. Enough griping about how crummy it is here, let's focus on bright happy things. Floral print sounds nice doesn't it? This mani makes me think of bright, soft, cottony fabric. I needed something to brighten up my icy mood yesterday. :-)

I chose a matte topcoat, because I thought it looked more like fabric. My love for matte topcoats is growing. This one is by NYC and it's called "Matte me crazy". I picked it up at target for under $2!

The two main colors in this mani are OPI's "My Vampire is Buff" and China Glaze "A Rose Among Thorns". For the flowers and the dots, I used my dotting tools!

I'm pretty pleased with my floral print mani, what do you think of it?

Mini how to: Water Marble!

Here's a mini water marbling tutorial for ya. I'd like to make a video, and I will. I just need to find some time! I've been able to do a successful water marble like, 3 times out of 50 attempts. There is a lot more to it than you'd think! It seems to me that there is one major factor that decides the fate of your water marble...it's the polish. Duh. Some polishes work, some don't, and there's no way to know whether one will work or not until you try it! In my experience, the brands I have the most success with are Essie, OPI (if it's newer and not goopy), Sally Hansen Xtreme wear and some of the Sally Hansen Complete salon manicure.

First, start with a white base. It can be a creme or a shimmer. Also, prep the skin around the nail. Some like to use tape to mask the cuticles and skin, I used chapstik. It's easy to apply and makes cleanup super snappy. It's good for your cuticles too! Bonus!

Next, get your stuff together! Room temp, bottled water will do the trick. I've tried tap water, and for some reason it doesn't work like bottled water does. Have your polishes open and ready for dropping onto the water's surface. I use a dotting tool for my marbling, but you can use a needle or a safety pin or something of the like.

 

As you drop your polish it should spread out evenly like in this picture. You should be able to tell right away if a polish is going to work or not. If it doesn't rapidly and evenly spread out, I'd advise you to move on to the next color to try. I am telling you, I have tried almost ALL of my polishes to see if they work and there is a very small amount that do. I feel like the aforementioned brands are the best in my limited experience. The more polish you drop onto the surface the higher concentration of color you will have. You can see in this picture I dropped more pink and less teal. 

 

Next, take your dotting tool and drag into the center from the outside. You don't have to do it in a "flower" pattern like this, it's just my habit to do it this way. I've seen some where you drag across to make sort of a Zebra stripe effect.

Then, just dunk! Nail first submerge your nail into the marbled polish, parallel to the water. Before you take your finger out of the water, scoop the polish off the surface with a q-tip. Shake off any water droplets and wait for the polish to dry a bit before you put on a top coat!

Seems simple...really, it just takes a LOT of practice. 

 Stay tuned for a video tutorial!

Peace, love and OPI!

Let me just start off by saying that this polish is freakin awesome! There's just something about a multi-chrome polish that makes me giddy. I've had this little beauty sitting in my collection for almost a month, and I hadn't used it until today. I don't know why I waited so long! This polish is one that will be a go-to fall color for sure.  I was feeling sad that I would have to set my bright summer colors aside and start using dark polishes again. Now that I see the beauty of "Peace, love and OPI" I feel pretty enthusiastic about the fall colors that are out there! Check it out!

It's so beautiful!

It's silver, wait no, its purple...

No, it's green...it's all of the above! I keep staring at it because its so fun!

What do you think?