OPI Coca-Cola Collection

Hi, you guys! Happy Sunday! Do you have any plans for Father's Day? We have a fur baby (Dan the chinchilla), so we'll be celebrating Chin Father's Day haha. I have a small surprise for the hubby, but I can't say what because he's proof-reading this post for me. :)

OPI collaborated with Coca-Cola to come up with polishes inspired by their beverages, and I have the resulting nine-piece Coca-Cola by OPI Collection to share with you today.

OPI Peace & Love & OPI

Hi, you guys! This week is just flying by! Sometimes that's a good thing. But sometimes, I'm like "Noooo slow down... I need to get stuff done." Lol. It's definitely the latter this week. :-)

Today, I've got another of my picks from the OPI San Francisco Fall Collection to share with you. Peace & Love & OPI... gosh, how do I even begin to describe this? It's like an oil slick on your nails. The base is a dark gray metallic, and it has duochrome shimmers that shift from teal to purple.

The duochrome is so strong and beautiful in this. When you look at it straight on, you'll see teal shimmers in the center and purple shimmers around the edges. Then as you tilt your hand, the more you tilt, the more you'll see the purple move in from the edges. The formula is great, so application is nice and easy. Two thin coats and you're good to go. :-)

You can find Peace & Love & OPI starting today (August 7th) at your local nail salons and beauty stores such as Ulta and Dillard's for a retail price of $9 for 0.5 fl oz.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Sephora by OPI Mermaid to Order

Hi there! Hope this post is finding you well! :-)

I was at Sephora the other day and saw that the Sephora by OPI polishes were all on sale for 50% off! The rumor is that the Sephora and OPI collaboration is coming to an end, and Sephora is discontinuing their Sephora by OPI polishes... hence the sale. So I picked up the one polish I have been eyeing for quite some time, but have just never made it into my shopping cart for whatever reason. Mermaid to Order is finally mine! :) It's a rich and vibrant duochrome green/teal/blue polish with a metallic finish.

Oh my gosh, how beautiful is this, right?! It has everything I adore in a polish: jewel-tone, duochrome, metallic, shimmers, and teal! The center color is green, and then as you tilt your hand, you'll see teal and then blue move in from the edges. The more you tilt your hand, the more teal and blue you will see. The formula is great, and application is easy peasy. Each coat comes out thin and smooth, and you just need the standard two coats for opacity. There are some brush strokes due to this type of finish, but most of that goes away once it dries.

You can find Mermaid to Order at Sephora for a retail price of $9 for 0.5 fl oz, but all Sephora by OPIs are currently 50% off for only $4.50.

Barielle Wanna Samba?

Hai hai! *waves* :-)

A while ago, Barielle came out with a set of five new colors to celebrate the holidays, and I wanted to share with you my picks from this beautiful collection. Today, I have Wanna Samba? to show you. It is a duochrome gray/purple polish with a metallic finish.

Isn't this color beautiful?! The duochrome is so strong in this. It looks to be a gray base with green/teal shimmers in it. Then as you tilt your hand, you will see the purple duochrome move in from the edges. The more you tilt your hand, the more purple you will see. The formula is fantastic. It's two smooth coats for opacity. And even though this is a metallic, it isn't too streaky once it's dry.

You can find Wanna Samba? on Barielle.com for $8 for 0.45 fl oz, though there is an ongoing sale for buy one get one 50% off; or as part of the Carnival Fiesta kit of five polishes for $25.

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more information, please view my Disclosure Policy.

Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Lava

Hi you guys! Yay for Friday!

Sally Hansen recently came out with their Lustre Shine collection, a set of duochrome polishes infused with real silver particles. When I first heard, I didn't pay too much attention. After all, it seems like every polish company has come out with their own line of duochrome polishes which contains least one gold/green duochrome that looks awfully like Chanel Peridot. But that all changed when I saw the bottle shots of Lava. Pink/orange duochrome, which no one else is doing!! And could this be a dupe or at least be of a similar inspiration as Mac Bad Fairy, a lemming of mine that has eluded me?

Lava is composed of a sheer base with warm, shimmering pink/orange duochrome particles. What you see on the nails when you look at it from straight on is that the center color is pink, while the edges of the nails are orange. The more you tilt your hand, the more orange you will see. The polish comes out in smooth, medium consistency coats, and dry time is pretty quick. Due to its sheer base, you do need three coats to achieve the look you see in the swatches.

I went a little crazy with the pictures. I think I took over 100 shots in total to try to capture the color shift, and finally whittled it down to the few you see. My expectations were so high, and still Lava managed to blow me away. Since I don't have Mac Bad Fairy, I don't know if they are true dupes, but Lava totally fills the spot in my heart that had been lusting after Bad Fairy's pink/orange duochrome goodness.

The only negative is that Lava is a little pricey. I found mine at RiteAid for $8 for 0.33 fl oz, compared with salon brands such as OPI or Essie, which are $8 to $8.50 for 0.5 fl oz. And due to its medium consistency and needing three coats, you will see a noticeable dent in the bottle after each use.

For me, the only question left is, how many backup bottles should I buy? :P What do you guys think? Will you be picking up Lava or any of the other colors from this collection?

Orly Mysterious Curse

Hi you guys! I have another untried from my collection to show you today. I have been saving this one for the fall, as well. It is Mysterious Curse from Orly's Dark Shadows Collection that was released earlier this year. It is a blue/purple duochrome with a metallic finish.

The base color of Mysterious Curse is dark purple, and its shimmers are blue. What you see on the nails when you look at it from straight on is that the center color is blue, while the edges of the nails are purple. The more you tilt your hand, the more purple you will see. I had a bit of trouble getting the exact shade of color correct in my pictures. In person, the purple and blue colors have a slightly muted quality to them that I just wasn't able to capture in my pictures, so what you see is just a shade more vibrant that it really is.

The formula is easy to work with and fast drying, and I needed only the standard two coats for opaque coverage. One thing to note about this polish is that it is an exact dupe of Orly's Royal Velvet. I'm not sure why Orly would release the exact same color under two different names. I think Mysterious Curse is gorgeous and I love it! But if you already have one or the other, you definitely don't need both.

You can (probably still) find Mysterious Curse at your local nail salons, at beauty stores such as Ulta and Sally Beauty, and online at select beauty retailers.

China Glaze Unpredictable

Today I have another color from the China Glaza Bohemian Collection to show you. Unpredicable is a teal/green/gold duochrome with a metallic finish.

The base color of Unpredictable is a teal green, while its shimmers are golden green. Looking at it straight on, the color in the center of the nails is the golden green, while the edges show teal green. The more you tilt your hand, the more you will see of the teal green. Just like in Swanky Silk, the duochrome colors in Unpredictable are clearly visible, so I am a happy camper. :-) This color has pretty good coverage. What you see in the swatches is two coats, and it is opaque at that point.

You can find Unpredictable for a limited time at your local nail salons and at beauty stores such as Ulta and Sally Beauty for a retail price of $6.99 for 0.5 fl oz.

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

China Glaze Swanky Silk

I can't believe the Olympics is already over. I waited four years for this, and it's over in the blink of an eye. I was super excited to see the Spice Girls reuniting to play at the Closing Ceremony! For a moment, I felt like a teeny bopper again. Lol. :D

Today, I have Swanky Silk from the China Glaze Bohemian Collection to show you. It is a pink/gold duochrome with a metallic finish.

The base color of Swanky Silk is champagne gold, and its shimmers are pink. What you see on the nails when you look at it from straight on is that the center color is pink, while the edges of the nails are gold. The more you tilt your hand, the more gold you will see. Gold and pink are two colors that I love, so I am very happy that the duochrome is strong enough in this polish that both colors are visible.

What you see in the swatches is two coats, and it is still a little bit sheer. That is how I prefer to wear this, but you will need a third coat if you want total opacity. The formula is thin and easy to work with. Remember that with metallics, thin coats are a must if you don't want to end up with a streaky mess.

You can find Swanky Silk for a limited time at your local nail salons and at beauty stores such as Ulta and Sally Beauty for a retail price of $6.99 for 0.5 fl oz.

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

Woohoo, it's the weekend, lovely readers! And I have the most awesome polish to show you today. :-)

Just Spotted The Lizard is from OPI's recent The Amazing Spider-man Collection. It is a gold and green duochrome metallic.

Once on the nails, you will see mostly a coppery gold with some green around the edges when looking at the nails straight on. Shifting the hand and the angle of viewing will show more of the dark green and teal duochrome. How much duochrome you see on your nails will depend on the curvature of your nail bed; the more curvature to your nail bed, the stronger the duochrome. One thing to note is that the duochrome you see on your nails will not be nearly as strong as what you see in the OPI bottle. The OPI bottle is round, with a greater curvature than most people's nail beds, so the duochrome you see in the bottle is exaggerated.

This color has been widely anticipated as a dupe of Chanel's famous Peridot, and that is one of the reasons I was super excited for this. At $25, Chanel Peridot was just out of my reach, whereas OPI is much more reasonably priced at $8.50. I feel this color can be somewhat difficult to wear. The gold is a bit washed out, and the green duochrome adds an almost moldy green look to the gold at certain angles. Yet, this color is undeniably interesting and memorable. For that alone, I would recommend this polish, especially if you were lusting after Peridot, but could not afford its high price tag.

You can find Just Spotted The Lizard at a variety of nail salons, spas, and beauty stores for $8.50 for 0.5oz.