OPI Alcatraz...Rocks

Before we get to the good stuff, I have a teeny tiny rant.  Does anyone else hate Google+?  I mean like really dislike it?  I have had this polish swatched for the longest along with a few others and couldn't post them because I didn't know Google+ had an auto-enhance feature that was automatic when you signed up.  Lame.

I'm so glad that I had someone tell me about it or this would have gone unblogged probably for many years to come.  It's way to gorgeous for that.  This is an OPI sand from the San Francisco collection called Alcatraz...Rocks.  It's like a navy/purple sand with steely silver shimmer in it.  Of course it dries matte  and I only needed two coats for full opacity.

7 Days of Halloween - Day 2

So for the second mani I wanted to do a mani inspired by a Halloween costume and what girl doesn't want to be a princess at some point in their lives?  I know I was a princess one year when I was way younger.  With that said, I tried to exaggerate them a little like costumes should be.

I used two coats of OPI - Pussy Galore for the pink base.  Then I started packing on glitter and glequins to my half moons in silver.  Just for fun I added three large black rhinestones to go with the decal on my ring finger.  I got the decal at Claire's and the whole set really reminded me of a Bollywood style mani but I decided to use it for my "Crown Jewels".  There was a slight problem with the decal though.  It's flat and so in order for it to fit the nail you have to curve it to the correct shape BUT it refused to stay curved.  This was a mani that I couldn't even wear out of the house because it was sticking up.  A little disappointing but still really cute if it actually worked.

I hope you enjoyed these princess nails and will come back tomorrow for some spooky nails.

OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Collection

Good Afternoon Lovelies!  Today is supposed to by lazy day, but I thought it was the best day to get a lot of posts done.  I am finally getting these beautiful swatches up too.  I wanted to wait until all the hype had worn down because I know even I was getting tired of see swatches of them.  Also I know I won't get my hands on the new Zoya PixieDusts (besides Carter) for awhile so what better time than now to show a fresh take on some of the most beautiful textured polishes around.

I'll start by saying that I didn't show any of these with top coat like I did with the other textured collections I've shown because it didn't change the look of them at all.  They just weren't textured anymore.  As far as formula goes, all of them were about the same...fabulous!  I know some textured polishes can get thick or goopy and sometimes unmanageable but that is not the case here.  Now for swatches!

Starting with the lightest, this is Solitaire.  It is a frosty, pearly white with silver glitter.  I don't think this is the most flattering color for me however it's going to be great for Winter/Holiday nail art.  I used three thin coats.

Honey Ryder is definitely one of my faves out of the collection.  I used two thin coats but could have easily got away with one.  It is a warm, super metallic gold with silver glitter and everyone should own it.  I feel like it would look great on any skin tone.

Pussy Galore is a frosty, pearly powder pink with pink shimmer throughout.  My camera wouldn't capture the shimmer but I promise it's there.  This is one that I thought I would hate simply because it's baby pink, but it's not that bad.  I may not wear it that often but I think I may reach for it now and again.  This is two coat.

Jinx!  Ahhh Jinx.  I am always drawn to coral-y colors and this one is the perfect fit.  It's a red/orange/coral base with a sugary golden shimmer along the same caliber as the Zoya PixieDusts.  The colors is also very saturated so I only needed two coats.  This is another collection favorite if you couldn't tell.  (:

Tiffany Case is another polish I thought I may not like, but I actually love it.  The same as Honey Ryder, this is a super metallic light blue with silver glitter.  I could have got away with one coat but used two for good measure.  When this dries down completely it really is stunning.  I've also read (only a few blogs) that it stains but I didn't have that issue any time I've worn it. *shrugs shoulders*

And finally Vesper.  Tied with Honey Ryder and Jinx for a collection favorite, I absolutely love this color.  I should have shown you all what it looked like in two coats but I always wear it with three so that's what we have here.  This is the only one without any kind of glitter/shimmer or metallic undertone.  It's a pretty "flat", straight-forward dark plum.  I love the finish on this one when it's completely dry too.  The photos above came out much glossier than in real life.

I hope you all enjoyed my take on the Bond Girls collection.  Which one is your favorite?  Are you torn between a few like me?  Let me know in the comments below.  Happy Lazy Sunday!

Textured Gradient with Stamping

Good Evening Readers!  Thanks for checking in tonight.  I have a really cool gradient to show you and I even stamped over it.  (:

This is my textured gradient using OPI Jinx from the Bond Girls collection and Claire's Paradise that I showed you all the other day.  I really just can't get enough of how gorgeous that purple is and that's why I keep featuring it on the blog.  I promise I'll stop soon.  lol

I haven't done a gradient in awhile because I ran out of sponges but I finally purchased some today and I was ready to gradient everything.  I really love how these two colors work together.  At first sponge I didn't think they would make it because I could clearly see the line between the two.  Obviously that line was blurred and created a really beautiful gradient.

I wanted to use three colors but I also didn't want to go crazy since I was planning on stamping over it.

This is the gradient stamped with a striped design from Bundle Monster plate bm-207.  I think it came out looking more like zebra than the actual design suggests which I'm not crazy about.  I just don't like zebra print unless it's on a real zebra.  lol  Then again it's not the worst design because I think the textured gradient makes up for it.  (:

On my left hand I used the same gradient but a geometric type stamp and that looks pretty cool too.  I put them on all crooked or else I'd show you.  lol

I plan on doing more gradients in the upcoming weeks because I've been having withdraws so if there is any color combo you'd like to see, textured or not, let me know in the comments below or you can hit me up on my Facebook page.  Don't forget to hit the "Like" button while you're there.  ;)

Comparison - Claire's Paradise/OPI Can't Let Go

Well here it is!  The comparison that I promised you.  I don't do a lot of comparison posts because I really try not to buy dupes.  I have a pretty small polish collection so it's easy for me to remember what I have when I'm out shopping for polish.  Today's comparison is of the Claire's sand polish I showed you on Tuesday and one of the first OPI liquid sands.

This is Paradise which I showed you one Tuesday.  You can read the post HERE in case you missed it.  (:

The is OPI Can't Let Go which I showed in THIS POST back in December when they were first released.

Looking at those two photos I can already tell they aren't exactly the same shade of purple.  That might be due to my lighting so let's see them side-by-side.

  

Above are two bottle shots.  You can definitely see the grainy effect in both bottles.  Not one looks more dense than the other.  The glittery bits really stand out as well.  OPI Can't Let Go definitely has bigger chunks of glitter.

I used two coats of OPI Can't Let Go on the left and two coats of Claire's Paradise on the right.  Can't Let Go leans a little more to the blue side whereas Paradise leans a little more the red side.

As I said before, Can't Let Go has larger chunks of glitter.  Paradise does have two sizes of glitter, they just aren't as large as Can't Let Go.  As far as finish and texture, they both dry very matte and have the same gritty finish.  The most noticeable difference is that Paradise has a very reflective finish.  The white flash is almost blinding in the right light.  Pretty cool.

 Claire's Paradise

OPI Can't Let Go

My final consensus is that these are definitely not dupes.  They are extremely close in color however they have very different qualities.  If you are like me and try not to buy dupes, then you would be safe by only buying one of these especially since they are close in price...OPI sands sell for $9.00 and the Claire's sands sell for $7.00 (however they are BOGO 50% off).  Can I, myself, justify keeping both?  Yes!  I just can't bear to get rid of either one because I love textured polish so much.  That's the hoarder in me coming out.

Anyway I hope this was an informative yet fun comparison post.  Have a great night!  (:

Claire's Paradise

Oh my goodness!  I got so caught up watching How the Universe Works on Netflix that I lost track of time.  It's definitely inspired me to do another galaxy mani in the very near future.  But not tonight!  Tonight I have another one of my new picks from Claire's.

This is Paradise.  It's a blue-toned purple sand.  Yes I said sand.  Claire's makes sands now and they are super gorgeous.  It is very reflective as well.  I was completely blinded by it's "gleam" of reflected light so I toned down the brightness of these photos for you all.  There are actually two different size glitters in this polish - traditional, tiny sized glitter with a few small sized hex glitters throughout.  I tried my hardest to get clear photos.

I only needed two coats for these swatches, but if I went a bit thicker with my application I could have gotten away with just one coat.  I was very pleased with this polish and it is now one of my favorite textured ones.  It dried a lot slower than I would have liked, but the payoff of the two coats was totally worth it.  The texture was right on par with all of the other textures I own as well.

I knew as soon as I put this on that it reminded me of another pretty purple sand I have.  Can you guess?  Come back Thursday for a comparison of the two to find out what it is?

There are two other shades of sands at Claire's - a pink and a turquoise.  Will you be seeking out these beauties with me?  Let me know in the comments below.  (:

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse

Today is just going to be a swatch post but a great one!  A dear friend sent me this polish knowing that I was falling all over it and couldn't buy it at the time.  She runs a little blog called My Nail Polish Obsession...you may have heard of it.  (:  If not, you should.  Her stash and swatches are amazing!

I applied 2 coats of OPI Magazine Cover Mouse but honestly, for everyday wear (not photos), you don't need but 1 because the base is very saturated.  At first this polish looks all red, but when you get a closer look there is actually a pink flash in there.  I'm sure it's speckles of pink glitter or sand and not part of the red base color.  I feel very girly in this color for sure.

I'm not normally a red polish kinda girl but I've been listening to Lana Del Rey a lot lately and she really inspires me to lean towards reds since it is her signature color.  This polish is from the OPI Couture de Minnie collection that I won't own any of (except this one of course).  Why you ask?  I HATE Minnie Mouse!  I don't know why but I've never liked her or Mickey.  They are just weird to me.  lol So with that said, I won't support her collaborations with OPI.  I sound like a crazy person. (:

Have a great day and don't forget to tell certain men in your life Happy Father's Day.

Textured Neutral Ombre

Since I'm getting my mani motivation back but I'm still creatively blocked, I thought I should "cleanse my palate" so to speak with a nice neutral mani.  However, I couldn't just go creme, I had to go sand.  I mean it is beach weather outside.

From pinky to pointer is OPI Solitaire, Zoya Godiva, OPI Honey Rider, and OPI What Wizardry is This?.

On my thumb is Zoya Dahlia...still one of my favorite textured polishes to date.  I don't have much to say on their formulas or anything.  You can read my post on the Zoya PixieDusts HERE and my post for OPI What Wizardry is This? HERE.  I promise I'm not being lazy by linking you to old posts.  I just feel as though you can get all the info from there.

With OPI Solitaire, I am keeping that to myself as well.  lol Only because I am reswatching the Bond Girls collection (I hated my first swatches) and then when I am satisfied I will post the whole collection here.  I know you all may be tired of seeing them on other blogs right now anyway.

Oh and speaking of textured polish, who else is SUPER DUPER excited about the Fall 2013 Zoya PixieDusts?  I am freaking out.  If you haven't seen a press release on the other blogs, just keep looking.  I'll give you a little peek though.

Eeeeeeee!!

Sand Art With Zoya London

Evening All!

I know I showed you all the entire Zoya PixieDust Collection, but I have yet to do any nail art with them...until NOW!  For this mani I used Zoya Dannii and Zoya London and then a couple black pearls.

Oooh!  Ahhh!  Don't you love it?  I know it's very simple, but I really love it.  I think the shimmer of Dannii with the texture and sparkle of London work really well together.  I got these little black pearls in a wheel from Claire's.  It came with studs and rhinestones and these black pearls (white ones too).

I used 2 coats of Dannii and used striping tape to get such a straight line for the deep v.  Instead of brushing on the sand, I dabbed it just to get it even.  This mani is with no top coat.

I hope you all love this mani as much as I do.  I did it in green on the other hand, but I smudged it before I could get a photo.

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