Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Hey there, ladies! Today I have for you a polish that's been in my stash for quite a while: Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams. I've worn it before, but finally decided to make a blog post on it. Without further ado, here's the photos:

Below is 3 coats of Havana Dreams with topcoat (Orly In a Snap)

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Havana Dreams is a pale baby blue creme. The formula on this is super thin; it required 3 careful, thin coats for opacity. Some nails could've even used 4 coats, but I didn't want to make my nails too "thick". I do love the color and it didn't take overly long to dry. Now, I'm not sure if that's due to the new topcoat I'm testing out or the polish itself. 

What do you think of Havana Dreams?

-Shelby

Few of my most recent Manis!

Hello again, ladies! Yes, I am back with a post after who knows how long! Like I said before, life gets in the way. I am a first-year college student and timing is never perfect for photos, but now that spring and summer are approaching, I plan on doing a lot more nail posts, especially once I move home for the summer :) I still have a lot of untried polishes in my stash and I want to purchase a couple of polishes from the spring 2013 collections as well! Side note with that...I am in love with EVERY color from the new Butter London collection...my wallet is already crying.

So I thought to make up for my ultimate lameness, I could show you guys a few of the manicures I've done lately. I don't remember all of the polish names and the photo settings are not ideal, but I'm going to give it a whirl anyway!

China Glaze It's a Trap-eze

 This first mani is a combo of 3 different colors: a lavender (possibly Essie St. Lucia Lilac or China Glaze Light as Air), a Sally Hansen nail art pen in white and China Glaze It's a Trap-eze to top off the white. I loved the effect of this design, but I wish I had made the white area in the center thinner. That way the lavender would've shined through more!

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

I love dot manis! I wish I used lighter colors for the dots or a lighter base for the polish, but whatevs. I just used alternating dotting tool sizes to create a little pattern. Warwick Way is a little on the thin side. Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue is perfection! 

Revlon Coastal Surf

I love Revlon Coastal Surf! It is such a gorgeous shade of blue- this makeshift photo does not do the color justice! Also, the formulation was great! Barely needed two coats :)

Unfortunately, I can only remember 1 polish from this mani- Zoya Ziv. Ziv has been my recent go-to gold polish and it just looks great with every type of mani! I used a nude base and sponged on Ziv as well as an Indie glitter on the tips. I love the effect this created! I will definitely recreate this for an actual post!

Revlon Provence
Confetti Lonesome Dove

Yet another poor photo, but I love this design! It's the "puzzle piece" design. I painted half my nail Revlon Provence and the other half Confetti Lonesome Dove. Then I took large dotting tools and did purple on the gray half and gray on the purple half, spacing the dots out to create this look! I love Revlon Provence, its formulation is great. I also really like Lonesome Dove, it is a great neutral gray and wallet-friendly!

I hope you guys enjoyed this!

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Don't Feed the Hand Models, Butter London West End Wonderland and Zoya Ziv

Good afternoon ladies! I hope you all are having a lovely holiday season. I've been doing some Christmas shopping recently and oh man, are the stores packed. I walked into Sephora today to take a quick browse and the line was 15 people long. Geesh, I'm glad I wasn't purchasing anything :)

Last night I visited with my boyfriend and played a fun game with him and his sisters (telestrations): it's a combo of telephone and pictionary. If you guys have kids/nieces/nephews/etc. around the age of 10-15 you should consider getting this game for them! Lots of fun and laughs :)

I have a mani for you guys that I did a few days ago; I absolutely love the combo!

What I used:
2 coats Sephora by OPI Don't Feed the Hand Models (except ring finger)
2 coats Zoya Ziv (ring finger)
1 coat Butter London West End Wonderland (ring finger)

Sephora by OPI Don't Feed the Hand Models
Butter London West End Wonderland
Zoya Ziv

Sephora by OPI Don't Feed the Hand Models
Butter London West End Wonderland
Zoya Ziv

Sephora by OPI Don't Feed the Hand Models
 Butter London West End Wonderland
Zoya Ziv

Don't Feed the Hand Models is a gorgeous cool-toned nude creme. This kind of nude is what suits my skintone best; the more beige nudes don't suit me too well. This was opaque in 2 coats. Ziv is a phenomenal gold foil. I am smitten for this polish! It may be my new fav :D. Or maybe the combo of Ziv and West End Wonderland, a gold and red glitter polish. They are just stunning and almost look like one polish when combined. 

What do you think?

-Shelby

Butter London Big Smoke and China Glaze Liquid Crystal

Hello ladies! Another late post for me- the night time just seems to be when I have the time for posts. I could schedule it for the following morning, but I like seeing it display right away :)

I wanted to try out a couple of untrieds of mine- Butter London Big Smoke and China Glaze Liquid Crystal. I wasn't sure how these would look together, but I like the outcome :)

Let me apologize for how orange I look in these photos! The polishes are pretty color-accurate, but for some reason I look like I just fake baked :/ Kinda funny since I am extremely white haha

Butter London Big Smoke
China Glaze Liquid Crystal
Sephora by OPI Indi-go with the Flow

Butter London Big Smoke
China Glaze Liquid Crystal
Sephora by OPI Indi-go with the Flow

Big Smoke is a dark navy shimmer leaning to the gray/green side. It isn't a true navy for sure, its tones make it look unique. I don't have any other shades like this! Unfortunately, the polish didn't wear amazingly. I had chips pretty quickly after it completely dried. Originally that is why I added Liquid Crystal- I didn't want to repaint a badly chipped nail! Liquid Crystal is a predominantly blue glitter with larger pink, green and silver glitters throughout. The blue is supposed to shift purple in certain lights, but I found that effect to only truly appear within the bottle. On top of that I added $OPI Indi-go with the Flow, a periwinkle blue glitter in a clear base. The last glitter was somewhat unnecessary, but whatevs!

Hope you enjoyed!

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality and Models Own Pink Fizz

Hello ladies! I know this is an extremely late post, but I guess it's just that kind of night for me! Maybe you'll see this when you're sipping on your Sunday cup of coffee, rather than at nearly 1 am (Cali time, of course). 

Below I used $OPI Sparkling Personality, from the Betsey Johnson collection, and Models Own Pink Fizz

Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality
Models Own Pink Fizz

Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality
Models Own Pink Fizz

Sparkling Personality is a silver micro glitter with some pink micro glitters mixed in. The formula on this is great- 2 coats for full opacity. Pink Fizz is a pink micro glitter. Not much to say about this one, it isn't all that exciting, but it spiced up this look! This also took 2 coats for full opacity. I had to use the "dabbing" method a bit with Pink Fizz to cover bald spots.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Shelby

Essie Borrowed & Blue and Stroke of Brilliance

Happy Friday ladies! Have any fun plans for the weekend? The weather has been cold and rainy lately, so I'll probably just relax and enjoy the rain from behind the windows :P.

I really wanted to wear a spring-ish pastel shade, but add a winter twist so I used 2 very complementary Essie shades together :)

What I used:
1 coat Sally Hansen Hardener
2 coats Essie Borrowed & Blue
1 coat Essie Stroke of Brilliance
1 coat Sephora by OPI Matte Topcoat 

Essie Borrowed & Blue
 Essie Stroke of Brilliance

Essie Borrowed & Blue
Essie Stroke of Brilliance

Borrowed & Blue is possibly my favorite blue Essie polish- it's the perfect baby blue creme. It is fully opaque in 2 coats and smooths out substantially after the 2nd coat. It's from the 2011 wedding collection if I'm not mistaken. Stroke of Brilliance, a recent addition to the Luxe Effects line, is a gorgeous small and large periwinkle glitter in a clear base. I love the look of the baby blue and periwinkle together :). To make the glitter pop, I added $OPI Matte Topcoat. It's pretty good, though I may like my Essie matte topcoat better!

Thanks for stopping by :)

-Shelby

China Glaze Champagne Kisses and Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US! I did a very fall-esque mani yesterday and wanted to share it with you!

What I used:
2 coats China Glaze Champagne Kisses
1 coat Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

China Glaze Champagne Kisses
Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

China Glaze Champagne Kisses
Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

China Glaze Champagne Kisses
Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

Champagne Kisses is a stunning fine milled rose-gold-like and holo glitters in a clear base. In two coats, the nail is no longer visible. I love China Glaze fine glitters- they are gorgeous! I added Don't Be Eggnog-ious, a small and large copper glitter in a clear base, for that extra oomph! Love the combo!

What do you think of this?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Slushied

Good afternoon! Today I have for you a very out of place shade during this chilly weather: Sephora by OPI Slushied. I believe this came out with the Glee collection this year (or last?). I'm not a huge Glee fan, I actually don't really like it >.<, but the polish is pretty and the price was great on ebay.

Below I used 2 coats of Slushied

Sephora by OPI Slushied

Sephora by OPI Slushied

Slushied is a cross between a light blue and a classic blue creme. It lies somewhere in the middle. The formula on this was excellent and it went on great in 2 coats! This reminds me a lot of Sally Hansen Blue Me Away. I may have to do a comparison post later on!

What do you think of this polish?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue and Orly Fowl Play

Good morning ladies! Today I have for you an exciting mani to show you- a matte glitter gradient! :D

What I used:
2 coats SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play (sponged)
Essie Matte About You

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
 Orly Fowl Play

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play

Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue is a gorgeous eggplant creme. The formula was amazing and it was perfectly opaque in 2 coats. Fowl Play was the perfect match for a glitter gradient. Once I added the matte topcoat, the different glitters were even more visible :)

What do you think of this?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 24: Inspired by a Book

Good afternoon! Today's challenge stumped me a little. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading quite often, but the novels that I read wouldn't be easy to recreate on my nails. I like Nicholas Sparks' novels; I guess you could say I'm a sappy romantic. Instead of using one of his novels for inspiration, I used a very popular book (unread by me, though) for inspiration: 50 Shades of Grey

What I used:
Ulta Concrete Evidence (base)
Sephora by OPI Frankly, I Don't Give A-dam
China Glaze Recycle
Nails Inc The Thames
Essie Stylenomics
Orly Atomic Splash

Gray Gradient

Gray Gradient

I kinda took the easy way out with a gradient, but I like the outcome, especially with the dark gray glitter! All the polishes were fairly good for sponging, except Stylenomics was giving me a hard time on the tips. This is a very obvious mani: 50 Shades of Grey...different shades of gray on my nails, but hey, at least you get my inspiration :P!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down & OPI The Living Daylights

Good afternoon ladies! Today I was in the mood for a very fall-esque mani, so I chose an army green shade: SOPI Caught With My Khakis Down

I added OPI The Living Daylights to my thumb and ring finger. I really like how versatile this glitter from the new collection is!

Below I did 2 coats of Caught With My Khakis Down & 1 coat of The Living Daylights

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down
OPI The Living Daylights

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down
 OPI The Living Daylights

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down
OPI The Living Daylights

Caught With My Khakis Down is a gorgeous muted army green creme! The formula was pretty good, but the drying time was a little too long for my liking :/. The Living Daylights is full of teal, copper, gold, silver large hexes in a clear base. This also had a long drying time, but was well worth it!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 17: Glitter

Good afternoon ladies! I'm so excited for today's challenge because I am obsessed with glitter :D

I had a hard time choosing one, so I decided to go with an untried!

Sephora by OPI I'm So Sari!

Sephora by OPI I'm So Sari!

I'm So Sari! is a gorgeous predominantly teal glitter with some larger silver glitter throughout! This is from the SOPI Indian Summer Collection, which I thought was a great collection of colors :). The names of the polishes are so cute, especially this one! The formula was great! 2 coats worked pretty well, but I added a little extra polish to the tips so there was no vnl! 

What do you think of this?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

Sephora by OPI XOX Betsey & OPI If You Moust You Moust

Good morning lovelies! First off, let me apologize for my lack of posts yesterday; I spent the day with my boyfriend :). We went to a football game at his former high school and we had a lot of fun! I also did a guest post for someone (will post about later when it's up on their blog), so I spent a lot of time on that this morning, rather than make a post for this blog! Anyway, I did some stamping the other day and wanted to share it with you guys!

What I used:
Sephora by OPI XOX Betsey
OPI If You Moust You Moust
Konad plate m79

Sephora by OPI XOX Betsey
OPI If You Moust You Moust

Sephora by OPI XOX Betsey
OPI If You Moust You Moust

Sephora by OPI XOX Betsey
OPI If You Moust You Moust

XOX Betsey is a blush nude creme. This shade is from the Betsey Johnson collection, which I am actually a fan of! I'm not a huge Betsey Johnson fan overall, but this collection is nice :). I have 2 polishes from it and I like them both. The formula on this was great and I had zero issues with it! If You Moust You Moust is the perfect pink creme with a great formula. XOX Betsey worked a lot better than If You Moust You Moust for stamping because XOX Betsey is a little thicker. I like If You Moust You Moust, but I don't think I'll use it for stamping again. I like the concept of this mani and I'll definitely try it with different polishes and combos :)

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Shimmer Polish Karen Gradient Nails

Happy Thursday! I hope everyone's day is going well so far; I am in a good mood because today is a special day for my boyfriend and me! :). Today I decided to finally try gradient nails! I also added some glitter to spice it up. Next time I am definitely using tape around my nails if I do glitter...it wouldn't come off my fingers no matter what I did!

I started off with my previous manicure from yesterday (2 coats Sephora by OPI It's Hippo to Be Square & 1 coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri). Then I sponged on OPI Funky Dunkey and Shimmer Polish Karen! I like the look I achieved, but next time I may just try using 3 different non-glitter shades for practice :).

SOPI It's Hippo to Be Square
OPI Funky Dunkey
Shimmer Karen

SOPI It's Hippo to Be Square
OPI Funky Dunkey
Shimmer Karen

SOPI It's Hippo to Be Square
OPI Funky Dunkey
Shimmer Karen

I didn't have a good warm-tone purple glitter, so I went with Karen, a predominantly pinky-purple and silver glitter with some blue and purple glitter mixed in. Karen gave me a hard time with cleanup; the glitter refused to unstick, even with pure acetone. Funky Dunkey, on the other hand, didn't give me any problems. Since it was quite a bit darker than the SOPI color, it was hard to blend. I think with practice I will become better at doing these types of manicures! :)

I hope you guys enjoyed!

Until next time,

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI It's Hippo to Be Square

Hello again! I was looking through my stash and pulled out a favorite of mine from earlier this year: Sephora by OPI It's  It'Hippo to Be Square. I originally had a mini version of this polish (from the Sephora by OPI holiday set), but caved in and bought the full-size a while back! Man, I'm sure glad I did!

Below I did 2 coats of It's Hippo to Be Square

Sephora by OPI It's Hippo to Be Square

Sephora by OPI It's Hippo to Be Square

Sephora by OPI It's Hippo to Be Square

Sephora by OPI It's Hippo to Be Square

It's Hippo to Be Square is a pink-leaning lilac creme. This is an ah-mazing color & polish! The formula is great; it is fully opaque in 2 coats and there wasn't streaking during application. Picture #2 is the best depiction of the color; it shows more purple than the other three photos. This color is a typical Easter egg color, but I like to wear pastels anytime! The name is adorable too! It reminds me of the game Hungry Hungry Hippos! This color also somewhat reminds me of OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender.

Have you guys tried this polish? What is your favorite pastel purple?

-Shelby

Swatches of Untried Polishes!

Happy Wednesday! During the school year, Wednesday was my least favorite day of the week because it wasn't the beginning of the week, but also wasn't Friday. During the summer, though, I'm rather indifferent. I haven't had much to do during this week while my boyfriend works, but hopefully I'll get to see him before the weekend :)

Today I swatched 6 polishes I haven't used yet. They are all creme or jelly finishes, no glitter.

Orly Cotton Candy

Orly Cotton Candy

Orly's Cotton Candy is a bright, peachy pink crelly. It somewhat reminds me of Essie's Van D'Go, but much brighter and a little darker than Van D'Go. I used 3 coats for the photos above; the application was pretty good. Up until the third coat, there was visible nail line. The color is great & the name is really fun! It would look nice with a tan too :)

Orly Bon Bon

Orly's Bon Bon is a light, grey-toned lavender jelly. This polish surprised me! I thought it was going to be a creme, but was surprised by the jelly finish. I like it none the less! It took four coats to reach this opacity above. The application was good, but using four coats is a pain. 

Sephora by OPI Casting Call

Sephora by OPI's Casting Call is a cool nude/mauve creme. The application of this was great! It was almost perfectly opaque in one coat, but I did a second to be on the safe side. I think this is a very wearable color, especially for a work environment. I think I'll get a lot of use out of this in the fall.

Jessica Barely Blueberry

Barely Blueberry is from Jessica's Gelato Mio! summer 2012 collection. This is a gorgeous baby blue creme. Also, I liked all the names from the collection, and this one isn't an exception! It took 3 coats to reach full opacity, but it was worth it! I can't get over how much I like this pastel :). I'm a sucker for pastels, especially blue and purple pastels. 

Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl

Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl

Sinful Colors' Beautiful Girl is a more peachy version of a bubblegum pink. I believe this color is discontinued, but I'm not 100% sure. Beautiful Girl is pink with peach undertones, while Cotton Candy is peach with pink undertones. It took three coats for full opacity and the application was decent. It's a nice summer color!

OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender

OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender

OPI's Lucky Lucky Lavender, from the Hong Kong collection, is a light purple leaning very pink creme. This nail polish is a dream! The application was great and looked wonderful after 2 coats. I had zero streaking and the coverage was even. I like it against my skintone and I can see myself wearing it anytime of the year!

I hope you guys enjoyed! & enjoy the rest of your week!

-Shelby