Sephora by OPI Happy Earth Day to Me

Sephora by OPI Happy Earth Day to Me

A truly swampy yet kind of shimmeringly alive greenish-brown with gold highlights. Above is three coats; it could've used a fourth.

And because I just wanted to try the SOPI Blasted Glitters already... another ugly mani:

Sephora by OPI Blasted Turquoise Glitter over Happy Earth Day to Me 

No, I did not wear this long. The SOPI Blasted series of glitters were just weird. I can see a slight crackle effect but mostly, it looks like unevenly distributed glitter.

St. Patrick's Day! Pahlish: Stroke of Luck + gold flakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I haven't posted in a bit -- this past week was my Spring Break and I went to Los Angeles for a few days and I just lazed around after returning (other than taking the GMAT yesterday, yikes). I've been doing NOTDs (which I've been posting on Instagram) but I'll catch up posting here, too :)

Now, I've been lemming gold flake polishes forever (starting with the Rococo original) but couldn't justify the price. Mainstream brands such as Zoya, OPI and Sephora by OPI were nice enough to release their versions of the gold flake polish. I got one from each brand, and they're all pretty different (in size of gold flakes) so I feel it's semi justified. That and I didn't pay full price for any of them (usually 50% off).

I was wondering what to use for a St. Patrick's mani when I thought, green of course! and the bottle of OPI: Man with the Golden Gun that was sitting on my desk caught my eye and the idea was born. Of course, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one with this mani idea and I've seen a few NOTDs already with the same theme but great minds think alike, yes?

I layered all three polishes over Pahlish: Stroke of Luck (which I felt was appropriate also).

In the shade picture, you can see the square glitters in the Pahlish. It also has tiny gold glitter, which is hidden by my use of gold flake topcoats.

The smallest flakes are from Sephora by OPI, and the larger/medium sized ones are from Zoya and OPI.

I don't like shard shaped glitter but I like how the gold looks. Hope everyone has an excellent day!

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Oh so swatchable - $OPI 212-Sephora

This is a polish that I swatch every single darn time I'm in Sephora! I've never quite broken down enough to buy it, but I had the opportunity to swap for it, so I went for it!

Should have bought this a long time ago....

Sephora by OPI 212-Sephora

A lovely deep complex colour. The base seems to be a blackened olive, and mixed in are varying amounts of orange flake, holo mini-glitter, and other goodies. It's quite hard to describe, and frankly, sounds like a hot mess. But on, I think it's a little mysterious....it's not quite obvious that you're wearing a crazy glitter polish. It's one where people ask "What IS that on your nails?" and grab your hand to take a closer look.

Love it.

What polish have you picked up recently that you should have bought much earlier?

kittytokaren

Sephora by OPI Chic Prints in Lace

So not worth the money, time or trouble. 

Sephora by OPI Chic Prints in Lace

DIY Minx from Sephora (which Minx apparently helps design). These were awful. I love nail appliques and I loved getting Minx done but these were impossible. I had to cut each one down to size for my small nails but then cutting them down made them really hard to peel off. They apply fine (as long as you get it right on the first or second time) but the excess is hard to file off, leaving a jagged, messy edge. It took me about an hour to apply these (and it usually only takes me 30 minutes for other appliques). And they have NO lasting power whatsoever. The instructions say they're only meant to last one day but these didn't last 12 hours.

Closeup of Lace

Also, even though they're reflective like "real" Minx, their patterns are sort of lacking in... I don't know... appeal? Not a fan. 

So I've been playing around with Photoshop lately because I've been wanting to design some custom fabric on Spoonflower. I was thinking something with nail polish bottles (because I have a one-track mind) and started teaching myself about vector graphics. ...and I really, really, suck. Here is my maiden attempt at a simple graphic: 

I'm not going to say how long this really simple graphic took me. People who do this sort of thing professionally... you all have my serious respect. 

From Blank Canvas to Birthday Cake - $OPI Spark-tacular! Top Coat

I was really enjoying my OPI Alpine Snow blank canvas mani! But I decided that I would add a new polish I bought just for funsies (my brother's favourite word, btw!) - and because I probably can't wear crazy polish for that much longer.

I went to Sephora earlier this week to return something and saw something new in the rack - Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular! Top Coat and I bought it on a whim! I don't have the original Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, but I'm certain that this was meant to be a dupe, copy or 'inspired by' polish. It's full of multi-coloured glitter in different shapes and sizes - but none of them are too large or chunky, which is something I like. (I'm not loving the look of the upcoming OPI Rainbow Connection - a super chunky rainbow glitter - at all.)

This is two coats and the result reminds me of Funfetti birthday cake! Speaking of which, it was recently my kitty cat's birthday - and she loooovvvves cake. She turned 22 years old! (Yes, in real years.) Here is the lovely lady (alias "The Master Manipulator"), enjoying her birthday in the sweltering heat. Ah...cat life...

Anyways, sorry for the non-polish pic! For those who have DL HB - is this dupe-y or just 'inspired by'?

kittytokaren

Comparison of Zoya Breezi and Sephora by OPI Slushied

This is why you should never de-dupe your collection by just looking at bottle color.

Zoya Breezi (Summertime, 2011) and Sephora by OPI Slushied (Glee, 2011)

OK. So Breezi looks a tad bit darker than Slushied, right? I mean, maybe if you look really closely, you could think that Breezi may look a tad more teal than Slushied. (Btw, thanks to my SO's mom for Slushied. It's awesome.)

From left to right: Slushied, Breezi, Slushied, Breezi

Seriously, this is not a weird camera quirk. They looked this different on the nail. They're barely even in the same color category (in my head -- granted, my head subdivides the rainbow into about a hundred colors). Slushied is this bright creme that falls somewhere between azure and cyan. Breezi is closer to a very blue teal and it's almost got a bit of a jelly squish to it. Both applied extremely well: two coats each.

Moment of Weakness - $OPI Traffic-Stopper Copper & Only Gold For Me

Recently I was in Sephora picking up some necessities (*cough*) during the 15% off sale they had on. Just minding my own business, buying my staples, and wearing my conservative Essie Jazz mani (probably my fav nude...check out my post here) - a normal, responsible, short-skirt-long-jacket kinda day. And then I paused...at the $OPI display...

You know I have a weakness for golds, so I casually layered the tester of Only Gold For Me over my Jazz mani. I figured "I'm taking this off tonight anyways!". Then I spotted Traffic-Stopper Copper. Hmm...

So I added that too...

And guess what? I love it, and walked out with both of them! I even ended up wearing this mani for a couple days as well.

I don't know what it is exactly, but the combination of the teeny glitter with the larger hexagonal glitter is really lovely. I also love how sparse the polishes are - what you see in the picture is a couple coats, but with one coat I think you can really achieve something nicely subtle and for me, wearable. For those glitter fanatics out there, I really recommend picking up Traffic-Stopper Copper - I think that the combination of the glitter sizes in the copper colour is quite unique and special and goes really well with rose gold if you're into that. (Which I am - you'll be seeing my new rose gold watch in an upcoming post!)

Now I'm just trying to get my hands on Flurry Up - the silver counterpart to these polishes! I can't find it anywhere - anyone have any clues for me?

kittytokaren

Urban Ballerina - $OPI Shiny Dancer

I really loved the idea of the Sephora by OPI (fondly known as $OPI) Urban Ballerina collection. All the greys and pinks were right up my alley! Here is Shiny Dancer...

In the shade...

Blurred to see the beautiful shimmer...

Hehe and the polish matches my sparkly ballet flats! I thought they fit the theme as well - Urban Ballerina...so apropos!

As pretty as this polish it, it is very reminiscent of OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous. The finish is the same foil-y metallic, but there is some variation in the tone. LLM leans more green, whereas Shiny Dancer is more blue. In the end, I decided I liked LLM better with my skin and Shiny Dancer found a new home - but I would still highly recommend it!

Have any collections out recently really appealed to you from top-to-bottom? i.e. colours, theme, marketing, etc.?

kittytokaren

What Chanel Trapeze Should Have Been - $OPI Already Famous

Reminder: Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY featuring Essie Smokin' Hot and a Pradman labradorite ring!! Click here to see the original GIVEAWAY post, or just enter using the widget at the top of the blog!

In general I try not to buy Sephora by OPI ($OPI) polishes. I hate the brush, and I think they're mad overpriced. But every once in a while, one comes along that demands my attention. This gorgeous metallic/taupe concoction hits so many of my "need-it-now" buttons that it was a must-purchase! (I alleviated my price annoyance by buying it during Sephora's F&F sale...)

Behold - a non-streaky taupe-metallic-foil dream...$OPI Already Famous.

In shade:

In the sun...it's even more sparkly in person!:

This is basically an amped up version of Chanel Trapeze (see it here). While Trapeze is a shy wallflower waiting to be asked to dance, Already Famous is the first girl out on the dance floor. Yes, the finishes are very different, and Already Famous is probably darker, but I think this is what I was wanting from Trapeze all along - a neutral but sparkly polish devoid of telltale brushstrokes. Sorry Trapeze...you're very pretty, but I think my dance card is full now.

Have you been tempted by any $OPI polishes lately?? Did you buy any during F&F?

kittytokaren

Some 'edgy neutral' misfires!

I've shown you so many polishes that fall in the 'edgy neutral' category that I adore, I thought it was time to show you some I didn't love, just to even the score. Sometimes not all polishes work - even if they look great in the bottle! Here are a couple that I was excited about, but didn't work out as planned, for different reasons.

$OPI Under My Trench Coat:

I have two Sephora by OPI neutrals that I absolutely love - Metro Chic and Run With It! - and I have been itching to give their sister - Under My Trench Coat - a spin!

This polish reminds me of the clay in art class when I was a kid - complete with shimmer that looks like the little grains in the clay! As pleasant as those memories are, I'm not sure I'm loving carrying that memory around on my nails - it certainly doesn't suit me at all. Even though it is fairly unique in my collection of 'edgy neutrals' thanks to its shimmer, it's not working. All this polish does is bring out the strong yellow tones in my skin, making me look...jaundiced. Nice. Disappointing because I loved it in the bottle!

Off to a new home it goes! I'm sure this would look good on someone with different colouring. :)

Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas:

When I saw this in the bottle, I went completely Gaga for it! (Haha I'm so punny!) It looked like the perfect warmer grey, that doesn't have the green leanings of Essie Chinchilly. Unlike Under My Trench, I actually really like the colour on my nails, and I think it suits me. BUT, the application on this was *horrendous*. Super chalky, and I had to be really careful to load my brush up and use very few strokes, otherwise I'd get uneven bumpiness in the finish that is normally characteristic of pastels. Oh, and I got chips after a day. For such expensive polish, this is ridiculous, and I just don't look forward to wearing it because of the application and wear issues. Away it goes!

So that's all for today! Have you ever bought a polish because of how it looked in the bottle only to be disappointed later?

kittytokaren

A Step Ahead of the Trend?: $OPI Havana Dreams

Let's face it - Chanel has been setting nail trends for several years now. I feel like there is even a special kind of regret in missing out on a Chanel limited edition polish - a regret that people are really cashing in on on eBay ($300 for Jade? No thank you!).

So this is my attempt to stay one step ahead of the trend! Sephora by OPI ($OPI) Havana Dreams:

A step ahead of this future trend?:

Chanel showcased a creamy powder blue polish with their breezy, beachy fashions at their Cruise Collection for 2011. No word on when this is going to be released, but I know that when it comes out, I'm going to *want* it. Sephora by OPI released Havana Dreams - which looks to be a similar light blue to the mystery Chanel.

The formula was rather runny so it required 3 coats, but wasn't chalky at all. As with my other $OPIs, I think application will improve greatly with the addition of an OPI ProWide brush, like I did with Metro Chic here. I'm not sure about it on me - I know it's pastel, but it is so out of my comfort zone I have a hard time gauging whether or not I can pull it off.

So what do you think - trendy triumph or baby blue blunder? Is it worthy of a ProWide or should I throw it back into the swap pool?

kittytokaren

On-the-fly mall swatch: Chanel Paradoxal v $OPI Metro Chic

My Nordstrom got Chanel Paradoxal in today, and I know a lot of you (like me!) have been foaming at the mouth to see this one in action!

Before I paid the Chanel fee, I was curious to see how this matched up to Sephora by OPI Metro Chic - the scuttlebutt was that Paradoxal might be its darker, more brooding sister. So I quickly swatched Paradoxal at Nordie's and headed over to Sephora to swatch MC, so you're seeing very sketchy mall swatches here!

In all the pics, Paradoxal is the darker of the two. I don't know if I think that these two are sisters - maybe half sisters? They definitely from the same genre and the colour try to evoke a similar smokey, sexy, neutral-ish feeling. However, Metro Chic has a malted-milk creaminess to it that is lacking in Paradoxal - plus, it is much lighter and has more 'taupe' flavour to it - whereas Paradoxal is plummier. Paradoxal has that famous subtle Chanel shimmer - but trust me, it's very subtle. Especially for those of us thinking of wearing it in the Fall/Winter season, I think the shimmer is going to show itself only rarely. If you're considering this, I wouldn't factor the shimmer into your decision - if you don't like the base colour, you're not going to enjoy it.

What do I think?? I LOVE it! This was pretty much made for me - it's greyed out, sort of neutral, and purplish. I love edgy neutrals and I love purple, so this is perfect. Plus, the formula was lovely so that gives it some more points. Needless to say, I bought it. I will probably wait until the Fall to really get wear out of this though.

Just wanted to show you really quick!!

kittytokaren

PS Don't forget to tune in July 1 for our NEW and IMPROVED site, courtesy of mKat!!!! It's going to be amazing :)

Trend-cum-Classic: Sephora by OPI Metro Chic

My life has been pretty hectic as of late. Family issues are ruling my life, and I spend every waking minute that I'm not in lab dealing with them. Lab isn't going all that great either, and my apartment is a complete disaster. Even though it is summer and 'pastel weather' (about 90ºF and humid here!) I needed a sort of Heimkehr - a return to home, to feel like myself again.

So I put on a polish that I wear a lot, but for some reason have never shown you. I think it is because I wear it when I'm super busy/flustered and don't have the time/energy/patience/awareness to snap pictures. I only own back-ups of two polishes (Essie Tennis Corset and OPI DS Glow) but I consider this baby totally back-up worthy! You can't tell from the pictures, but I'm definitely going to need another bottle soon.

Sephora by OPI ($OPI) Metro Chic - a colour that was super trendy a couple years ago but has proved its staying power and become a total classic in my opinion. I know this one has been reviewed to death, but here it is on me:

I took a couple pictures because the colour of this is hard to accurately capture - it's a dusty, milky, silky, smokey ermine colour with purple tones. Basically, grey + brown + purple = Metro Chic. It sounds bizarre, but on the nail it is just super chic and elegant, and whenever I put this on I think "Why on earth do I wear anything else?!" - truly the sign of a great polish!

The one tick I would put in the 'con' column for Metro Chic is that is a Sephora by OPI polish - not that I dislike the polish itself - I just hate hate hate that long skinny brush!! However, I made a HUGE discovery - the OPI ProWide brush fits in the $OPI cap! I ripped out that awful brush, stuck a ProWide in there, and now my absolute favourite brush is now in what might be my absolute favourite polish!!!! It improved application tremendously, and I did two easy coats - in the dark, I might add - and I think it turned out great.

Is there a colour you go back to again and again? Do you think taupe colours have become classic or would you still put them in the trend zone?

kittytokaren

Sephora by OPI swatches: Absinthe Makes the Heart & Worth My Weight

Here are two Sephora by OPI polishes that I feel just didn't suit me at all... but everyone else seems to like 'em. :P

This is one color that I just had no love for at all. This is a swatch from awhile back (early December, right after my trip to Boston). That's how non-fun I think this color is: I totally forgot that I had swatched it...

Sephora by OPI Absinthe Makes the Heart

I like dark greens, I like multicolored shimmer. It's not an uninteresting polish: it's gold and green shimmer in a darkened moss green base. But on my fingers, it just looked like slightly sparkly mud. In some lights, the green showed up a little bit more and was kind of pretty... but this sort of just reminds me of dead leaf mulch. Sparkly dead leaf mulch but not sparkly enough. :( I also found this polish fairly sheer and had to use four coats to build it up to opacity. A lot of people love this color but I just couldn't make it work for me. :(

Sephora by OPI Worth My Weight

This is a polish that I REALLY wanted to love. Chunky holo glitter and small holo glitter suspended in a gold shimmer and microglitter base. It sparkles like crazy and is right up my alley... excepts it falls in that paler, cooler gold category that never fails to make my hands look weird. It is totally gorgeous up-close though.

Close up of Worth My Weight

Worth My Weight in the bottle

$OPI Run With It!

I've been lusting after Sephora by OPI (lovingly called $OPI) - Run With It! for quite a while. Even though it's not one of the 'popular' polishes in the nail community, I've been lemming it. Every time I walk into a Sephora I turn a bottle around in my hands and looks at the strange shimmer/speckles. I stalk photos of it online. I've tried relentlessly swapping for it to no avail. I went to the mall with my BFF this weekend for some girl time and finally decided to bite the bullet and get it. $o glad I did! Here is Run With It!:

It is another one of those neutrals with an edge that I adore! Its a soft dove grey colour (which means a grey that leans brown instead of blue). This polish is subtly interesting - it has the most interesting finish to it. On one hand, it seems to have some speckles in it that are darker than the polish itself - these don't really shimmer but rather contribute to the overall colour. On the other hand, there is some distinct superfine gold microshimmer that you can only see in very direct sunlight.

The end result is a polish that I think is the perfect "grungy neutral with an edge" for spring - it is lighter than most of it's taupe-y cousins, giving it a really soft, sophisticated elegance. The finish of this polish makes it really special to me. The effect is subtle, but really cool, and makes this a one-of-a-kind polish.

I only own two other $OPI polishes - Metro Chic (love so much) and Don't Go There (really like this on my toes). The reason I only own a couple is because in general the line is:

a.) expen$ive

b.) similar formula to OPI in my opinion

c.) not especially unique colours

d.) the brush sucks.

How does Run With It! fare?

Well, I still think the price is inflated and the brush is still terrible. The $OPI brush is like the awkward, lanky, gangly teenager of polish brushes - it is really long, but the cap is quite wide, so it doesn't know how it wants to be applied. The brush itself is quite skinny (so flinty would probably like it with her bitty wittle nails...) but I have to say, if I'm going to pay over OPI prices for an OPI polish, I'd rather it come with the amazing ProWide brush. Even though it offends my sense of order, I'm seriously considering pouring this into an empty OPI bottle with a ProWide brush, because I know I'm going to be reaching for this one often! I also have a feeling it would apply just like my favourite OPIs if it was given the chance!

Run With It! does manage to be unique and special, and seeing as I absolutely love edgy neutrals - this makes it worth the money to me, and I'm really glad that I finally sprung for it! My BFF loved it too. (She was sporting Rimmel Steel Grey that day, btw :) so proud!) I really don't understand why this polish is named the way it is, but the bottom line is that if there was an emergency, I would take this polish and run with it - I really really love it!

Have you guys tried $OPI polishes? Thoughts on the colours/formula/brush??

kittytokaren

P.S. BTW I've also received a ton of compliments on this one already!

NJ Transit FAIL and NOTD

So I've been excited about Nails Night Out NYC for months now. MONTHS. You may have read about it on other nail blogs (it was featured on All Lacquered Up and Scrangie, among others). Finally, tonight was the night. I got up early this morning to have time for homework and working out. Finally, I got on the NJ Transit train to New York Penn Station at 5:58 PM. I figured that was plenty of time to get to NYC around 7ish and then take a cab to the venue. Little did I know that tonight was the night that NJ Transit trains would completely shut down. :( It was a very disappointing, frustrating, sad night for me. I missed Nails Night Out because of a stupid train malfunction. I can't stop blaming myself for not having left earlier, you know? Oh well. :(

Here was my special NOTD that I wanted to wear to NNO.

This is 2 coats of Sephora by OPI What a Broad and 1 coat of Nicole by OPI Let's Get Star-ted.




With flash:


You can purchase the SOPI at sephora.com and the Nicole is currently available at most Harmon stores and some Bed, Bath & Beyond stores.

Thanks for reading!

Now and Then

Let's explore the changes in my nails over the last year...

June 2008 - OPI Russian Navy


August 2008 - OPI My Private Jet


September 2008 - Sephora by OPI Never Enough Shoes


August 2009 - Urban Decay AC/DC


August 2009 - The Icing Roger That


This post demonstrates how applicable the phrase "practice makes perfect" is to nail polish. As you can see, only just a year ago my nails looked like hell after application!! My cuticles were dry and cut and hurt! So here are some of my tips about nail application that may help those of you just getting into nails:

- Apply your nail polish s-l-o-w-l-y. I am the least patient person on earth and it took me awhile to get the hang of a slow application. Applying slowly ensures less mistakes and therefore less cleanup!
- When I do make mistakes, I usually clean up either in the shower the next morning or I apply cuticle oil all over my cuticles and then clean up with a cuticles stick.
- Creative Nail Design Cuticle Eraser (most beauty supply stores) and California Mango Mend (Sally Beauty Supply) are my HG (holy grail) cuticle products. I also use cuticle oil most mornings.
- I use Nubar Nu Nails as my basecoat, which has proven to be very effective for my nails. Remember, however, that everyone is different - just because one basecoat works for me doesn't necessarily mean that it will work for you. Keep trying!

Thanks for reading!