OPI - The Man With The Golden Gun

Tonight I've got OPI's The Man With The Golden Gun topcoat to share with you- while I couldn't justify shelling out the cash for this myself, I was pretty thrilled to find it in my stocking at Christmas. The gold flakes aren't very dense in this- what you see below is one coat over Zoya Marley. This is a pretty Easter look, but next time I think I'll try this over a darker colour (although I think I'll wait for a semi-special occasion... I can't help but think plastering gold leaf on your nails requires a special event- I guess grocery shopping doesn't quite count). 

I kind of think this is worth it based on the shiny golden bottle alone- it's like a trophy! Definitely the ideal gift for a nail fanatic. Did you buy into the gold flake topcoat trend this past season?

OPI Siberian Nights and F4 Polish Heavy Metal

Siberian Nights is another polish from the OPI Russia Collection (Fall 2007) that I adore; it's a gorgeous blackened aubergine-purple creme. 

Siberian Nights also made the perfect base for F4's Heavy Metal- an insanely glitzy mixture of reflective metallic square glitters in all different colours. This was a showstopper, but one that is definitely best with a couple layers of topcoat. Love it.

What do you think of this combo? 

OPI Suzi Says Da! + Dandy Nails Grave Robber

I'm ashamed to say that these pictures are from a manicure I wore waaaaay back at the beginning of last November. I guess they just kept getting pushed to the back of my un-posted folder. Nevertheless, you're finally seeing them tonight. Suzi Says Da! is one of the polishes I picked up from the OPI Russian collection (which I'm extremely enamoured with- it's an older collection from Fall 2007, but there are still a few polishes kicking around from it if you look hard enough). This is a deep red-toned brown creme. It reminds me a little of darker Chanel Rouge Noir. From what I recall, the formula was good, and I used two coats for these pictures. 

This one was taken under bright artificial light:

This was also a perfect base colour for Dandy Nails Grave Robber, a combination of metallic orange and steel-blue shredded glitter in a clear base. Very unique, and such a cool colour combination. I applied it as a gradient to the tips of my nails. I really love how this turned out, and it wore for ages. 

I'll also take this opportunity to show you a really cool bracelet I picked up last fall- it's a white "blood vessel" motif cuff that I really loved pairing with the vampy-ness of Suzi Says Da!. I purchased it from Nervous System's Etsy store. I highly recommend checking them out- they make some really amazing and unique items!

What do you think of my accessorizing? Have I piqued your interest in anything I've shown you today?

OPI Stay The Night (Liquid Sand)

I couldn't resist picking up the four new OPI liquid sand minis- I'm always intrigued by a new texture/effect in nail polish, and I haven't seen anything quite like this before. Today I've got "Stay The Night" to show you- this is a black with red glitter combination. It makes me think of asphalt with glowing red embers. I found application to be easy, and this covered in two coats. In reality, the red glitter in this sparkles like crazy- definitely worth checking out in person!

This last picture was taken shortly after application, and it looks a little bit glossy yet. I did find that in order to maximize the fully matte "liquid sand" look, it is best to let this one dry completely. I've noticed that with some swatches of Stay The Night other bloggers have mentioned that they wish it was less glossy and more matte- I think this may be partly because Stay The Night was swatched, but not allowed to fully dry. Just a hunch, anyways.

Overall, I really like the liquid sand effect. It's not terribly gritty, although if you're sensitive to texture you might not like it. The best way I could think to describe it was that it feels kind of like a cat's tongue. Okay, that sounds like a weird comparison to make, but it's strangely accurate. It's not so gritty that it will snag on anything, but it does feel kind of rough. 

The other interesting thing I noticed about this polish is that when first applied, it looks like a normal non-glitter polish. Then it kind of granulized into this grittier finish. Pretty cool. Removal was also a breeze- not at all like removing an all-glitter polish. 

What do you you think of the liquid sand finish? Have you, or will you, be trying these out? I'd love to hear your thoughts on these!

OPI German-icure by OPI (plus comparisons)

Today I have a great vampy shimmer to share with you, although I imagine you've already seen it a billion times by now. This is OPI German-icure by OPI, from the Fall 2012 collection. It's a deep vampy red loaded with coppery shimmer. 

As you can see, it has that lit-from-within, dark around the edges look that really nice vampy shimmers have. In the next photo (taken under direct light) you can really see the coppery shimmer running through it.

In the shade:

In full sunlight (I love how it looks here):

I also decided to do a comparison between some similar shades in my stash; left to right we have Color Club Jewel of a Girl, OPI German-icure, and OPI Royal Rajah Ruby

On the nail, left to right: Jewel Of A Girl, German-icure, Royal Rajah Ruby

Left to Right: Royal Rajah Ruby, German-icure, Jewel of a Girl.

Of these three, Color Club Jewel of a Girl is the farthest off; it's far more purple, although it still has that lovely vampy shimmer look to it. Royal Rajah Ruby and German-icure are far closer, although they certainly aren't dupes. The main difference is the very prominent copper shimmer German-icure has; Royal Rajah Ruby is a bit murkier, with less obvious red shimmer. To my eye, German-icure is warmer looking, probably because of all that copper shimmer.

Which of the three do you like best? And have you tried saying "Royal Rajah Ruby" ten times fast?

OPI Skyfall Collection Minis - Swatches!

It's rare that the OPI minis released with each major OPI collection contain the colours I really want from the collection, but in this case they contained every colour I really wanted to get my hands on! I have swatches of the four OPI Skyfall minis for you today.

First up I have Goldeneye- a dense golden flakey glitter in a clear base. This is two coats of Goldeneye, and if wearing this for a manicure I'd probably do a third in order to ensure opacity (in the last photo, taken in direct sun, it tends to look a bit sheer at two coats). I really love this one, and it's my favourite of the bunch. Incredibly luxurious and glitzy, I haven't come across anything like this before! 

Live and Let Die is a deep forest  green with golden-green flecks. The formula on this was fantastic- almost perfect in one coat. It reminded me slightly of Essence Walk on the Wild Side (reviewed here), but compared to that this is a darker green, and the glass fleck is more pronounced.

The Spy Who Loved Me is an extremely bright cherry red jelly with flakey gold shimmer in it. When I say "cherry red" I'm mostly thinking of that red pencil crayon that was always assigned the title "Cherry", even though it wasn't anything like the colour of a real cherry. Has anyone else puzzled over that? At least in my experience, cherries are usually a deeper red- nothing like this shade. Well, anyways, no matter how you want to describe it, this is a lovely red. It feels very festive, and holiday-appropriate!

The World Is Not Enough is an interesting one; formula-wise this was a little frustrating. It's quite sheer, and requires at least 3 coats for opacity (I used three below, and it could have used another). It's an unusual mixture of taupe/silver/pink flakey shimmer. I'm loving all the flake shimmer in this collection. Overall I like this, and appreciate how unique it is; I think I might try layering it over another colour next time, though.

What do you think of the OPI Skyfall minis? Will you be picking up any colours from the collection?

Pirate Polish The Witching Hour (layered over OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest)

I decided to layer The Witching Hour (from the Pirate Polish Halloween Collection) overtop of my OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest manicure from the other day- how wicked does this look in the sun? I love how that shimmer comes out and plays with the glitter topcoat. 

In the shade:

And I couldn't resist putting a mattifying topcoat overtop of The Witching Hour; I love how it makes the glitter stand out (please ignore the tip wear this is showing at this point!).

What do you think of this combination? I'm pretty thrilled with it! Unfortunately, I can't say I'm thrilled with the weather forecast for tonight- possible chance of snow (and temperatures are already venturing into the sub zero area). Ugh. So not ready for Canadian winter.

As always, Pirate Polish is available in my Etsy store. The Witching Hour is part of the 5-piece Halloween Collection I released recently, and if you're interested in checking out swatches from the full collection, you can see them here!

OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest

If you get only one lacquer from the OPI Germany collection... it should probably be this one. Feast your eyes on OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest:

How perfectly gorgeous is this? Vampy, shimmery, glowy, purple perfection. The formula was fantastic: easy to control, levelled out nicely, and good to go after two coats.

In natural light the warm velvety purple shimmer really lights up, and under artificial light the shimmer can sometimes take on an almost golden hue, as seen below.

In the shade, the shimmer is less visible, but still there. It appears to be a deep purple, but not black (which I love). Mmm, glossy purple perfection!

What do you think of OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest? I'm so very glad I decided to pick this one up- it's really something special! 

Fall Extravaganza! Pirate Polish Autumn Embers over OPI DS Indulgence

I layered Pirate Polish Autumn Embers overtop of my OPI Indulgence manicure from the other day... and... BAM! The perfect fall manicure. This looks amazing. And I'm not just saying that because Autumn Embers is my own polish which is currently available in the Pirate Polish Etsy Store. I'm seriously head over heels in love with this. I mean... look at it! 

Rich, earthy, coppery and holographic gorgeousness, all compounded by the delicious golden flash and red base of OPI DS Indulgence.

Well... what do you think?