Nicole by OPI Gumdrops Collection - Review and swatches

*PR sample

Hello lovelies,

the texture polish trend is not dying out, on the contrary. Right now I have here another texture polish collection, this time from Nicole by OPI called Gumdrops.

From the Press release: “These shades are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI Co-Founder & Artistic Director.  “By combining groundbreaking texture technology with some of the hottest trends including matte and shimmer finishes, Nicole by OPI has created a new line of lacquers for cutting-edge manicures.  Worn without top coat, Gumdrops lacquers dry to a textured matte finish to give nails a “sugar” coated appearance.





My Cherry Amour - dark cherry textured base with multi-coloured glitter. The polish is absolutely gorgeous in the bottle and while it's glossy but once it dries into a matte texture it is not so much. Don't get me wrong I still like it but the glossy version is just amazing. Two coats were fully opaque.

And here is a version with topcoat. It beautifully sparkles with rainbow coloured glitter in the sun and the colour looks much richer.

A-Nise Treat - charcoal black textured base with silver glitter. It's chic rock chick look and I like it! It applied easily and two coats were fully opaque.

Blue-Berry Sweet On You - lavender blue textured base with silver glitter. This polish has a slight foil-like shine to it and it doesn't feel as gritty as the other ones. The formula was slightly thicker but manageable and two coats were fully opaque.
 

Candy Is Dandy - medium pink textured base with holographic glitter and silver particles. It's a pretty pink and I like the bigger holo glitters, they stand out nicely and shine in the sun. It is a bit sheerer so I've had to apply two thick coats.

Cinna-Man Of My Dreams - bronze brown base with silver, blue and bronze particles. It's an interesting colour combination. It is not completely brown, it is leaning towards red plus the blue particles thrown into mix make it really unusual. I'm wearing two coats.

I Lilac Gumdrops - lilac base with big silver flecks. The formula of this polish was slightly thicker yet manageable. I needed two coats for full coverage.

Overall, this collection offers some nice textured polishes with extra sparkle. They all applied easily and were opaque in two (sometimes thicker) coats. The drying time is longer than with normal nail polishes, the texture needs to dry and harden properly otherwise it can be ruined easily. But once it's completely dry it can last without chipping quite long. The removal is somewhat difficult as with glitter nail polishes. 

My absolute favourite is My Cherry Amour, especially the topcoated version!

This limited edition collection will be available beginning May 2013 for $7.99 each at retailers including select Walmart (May 2013), CVS (June 2013), Rite Aid, Kmart, Kroger, Ulta, H-E-B, and Duane Reade locations (August 2013), In Canada, these shades will be available for $10.99 each at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart Canada (July 2013), Jean Coutu, Loblaw, and London Drug (August 2013).

*PR sample

Three China Glaze Tranzitions shades - Review and swatches

Hello lovelies,

I got a chance to try three out of six available shades from the new Chnia Glaze Tranzitions collection. A little bit more about the collection:

China Glaze® Tranzitions’ revolutionary new nail lacquer reacts when a clear top coat is applied, changing the color from one shade to another for a stunning effect.  

So let's have a look at the polishes I've got:

Metallic Metamorphosis - grey shimmer before topcoat, blue-grey with topcoat. Its pigmentation is excellent, only one-coater and it dries fast. I have applied a stripe of topcoat to the middle of the nail but the difference is not very visible so no elaborate designs. I was quite disappointed with this polish.

Modify Me - sky blue with shimmer changing into darker blue. It applies easily and it's a one-coater but it is slightly streaky. It dries fast and removal is very easy. The contrast between topcoated area is good so I've done two designs with Modify Me.

Split Perso-nail-ity - lavender pink shimmer shade that changes into darker shade. It has a subtle silver shimmer. As the two shades above, this one is also one-coater. I like this one the most as the colour is not streaky, dries fast and the difference between colours is very good. The removal was super easy.

I don't know what to think about this collection. On one hand I like the idea of playing with topcoat to create different coloured areas but on the other hand topcoat is difficult to work with as it dried very fast and got gloopy. Also the manicure doesn't last as long because the whole nail is not topcoated. 

I like that all of the polishes are opaque in one coat and that they dry fast. I think I might play around with them again.

The Tranzitions collection is available from January 2013 in the usual outlets.

*These were provided for a review

A England Dorian Gray with neon stripes nail art

Hello lovelies!

Hope you've had a nice Thanksgiving you in America :) Now it's shopping time! I must tell you I can't decide what to buy! There's so many awesome indie deals and polishes and I have a very tight budget :-/ I'm not even looking into any other beauty deals. What did you buy and what I should look at?

Today I've got here A England Dorian Gray which is beautiful gunmetal grey with fine silver shimmer. I've just added cool neon stripes to it using striping tape. Would you wear it?

A England is currently running a promotion where you can buy Dorian Gray for £6 or in a set of two polishes for £10! Free shipping as well! Check it out here.

Inspired by...a ring - Tape manicure featuring OPI and A England

Hello lovelies,

Today I have a manicure inspired by a ring. I've recently got my paws on a charcoal coloured lightning bolt ring and I've decided to match my manicure to it. It's very simple design, nothing fancy.

I have used OPI Die Another Day as a base colour and A England Dorian Gray for the lightning bolt. I've also used a tape to achieve the lightning bolt shape.

OPI Germany Collection for F/W 2012 - Part 1: Cremes

Hello lovelies,

I'm so thrilled I can show you the first half of the OPI Germany Collection for Fall/Winter 2012. This collection has colours for everybody! From creme beige and unusual shades to rich jewel-like colours.

"Drawing inspiration from Berlin, an exciting new fashion hub that blends classic looks with the avant-garde, the collection’s twelve shades offer a mixture of vibrant color, urban-chic neutrals, and reds in variations from light to dark", says OPI.


Today I'll show you the first half - creme shades:

 
Berlin There Done That - light taupe creme. It's a gorgeous taupe with a hint of lilac to it, perfect for fall and elegant yet trendy manicure. This shade looks like it suit most. It applied very easily and dried fast. The pigmentation is good as I needed to apply just two coats.

Don't Pretzel My Buttons - honey-beige creme. Gorgeous beige polish that just makes me want to decorate it with black, put on my 'little black dress' and go out! It has a good formula that applies almost itself. I'm wearing two coats and the coverage is perfect.

Don't Talk Bach To Me - lime-yellow with a very subtle silver shimmer. Yes, there I said it! It has subtle shimmer and it's in the cremes! Well the shimmer is not that visible and this polish just didn't fit into the shimmers category :) It's unusual yet trendy shade for those who want to stand out. I see this type of shade appear every fall from different nail polish brands so yes, it's still in!

Formula of this polish is not so great though, it's slightly worse than with the other polishes. The pigmentation is little lower but I applied two thicker coats and it was enough. If you like thin coats, you might need three. The polish itself is little runny if you apply thicker coats and also be careful about brushstrokes....but that's just nit-picking ;)

My Very First Knockwurst - rosy-beige creme. This shade is very girly (but we're girls, right?) and pretty. I'm happy that OPI put different kinds of beige shades into the collection because some like yellow/beige based neutrals and some prefer pink based ones. The polish had very good formula. I found it very easy to work with and I needed just two coats for a full coverage.

Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine! - black-olive creme. Whoah! I say yes to this, it's such an interesting shade! The formula was great too, it applied really smoothly. Two coats were enough for the full coverage and it dried fast. Perfect!

Schnapps Out Of It! -muted orange-y brown. Ehm, OPI call's this shade mauve..imo this is NOT mauve. Otherwise it's a pretty shade for fall, kind of a colour of falling brown leaves. It also has a good formula and pigmentation. I'm wearing two coats and they applied really nicely.

First I thought this half of the collection will be boring but I was wrong. Yes, the neutrals are classy and might be boring for some but the lime-yellow Don't Talk Bach To Me or Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine! are certainly not boring shades.

All polishes are opaque in two coats and have an excellent fast-drying formula. They all applied really easily thanks to the OPI ProWide^™ brush. Only Don't Talk Bach To Me has a little lower pigmentation and formula is runny otherwise it was ok. I'm wearing a topcoat on all swatches but the colours were shiny by themselves.

OPI Germany Collection should be available August 8, 2012, at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $8.50 ($9.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. 

*Products provided for a review by OPI