OPI Nordic Collection - Fall 2014

Hi there, gentle readers! Thank you so much for all the kind words. <3 We've been doing all right. We're slowly replacing all the essentials we lost, though that's been a bit slow because last month has been insanely busy. I've bought another camera, and I'm borrowing a laptop, so I'm able to finally make progress again with blogging. :) It's really wonderful to be back. I've missed you guys.

Today, I've got the 12-piece OPI Nordic Collection for Fall 2014 to share with you. I was pretty excited when I heard of this collection. I love the idea of all things Nordic, and my one visit to a Nordic location (Stockholm a few years ago) was filled with incredible memories. Also, this is the first year in a long while that I've been this eager for fall and everything that it brings. Just thinking about the cold nights and snuggling in warm sweaters fill me with joy. Ok, onto the collection...

FingerPaints Enchanted Mermaid Collection

Hi, you guys! I'm writing this as I'm watching The Strain (on FX) with my husband. It's a gory vampire tv show, and I'm totally chicken when it comes to anything scary, so I'm half hiding behind my laptop as it's on lol.

Today, I've got a collection with an interesting concept to show you. The FingerPaints Enchanted Mermaid Collection is made up of four shimmery shades with fish scale textures. When I first heard of this, I was so excited. The idea sounded amazing and I'm always up for trying a new texture, especially one with a novel concept. But it didn't quite turn out the way I had thought. You can see for yourself...

China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle

Hi hi, happy weekend! :)

Sometimes I'll put a color on my nails and just go like "why did I not get this sooner?!" and China Glaze's Too Yacht To Handle definitely falls into this category. It's a bright, stunning medium turquoise with a creme finish. 

The formula is fluid and easy to control, making application easy. It builds up coverage nicely, and I used three coats for opacity. It has some neon pigment so it dries semi-matte; you can add a top coat if you want a glossy shine. It's always a little hard to get green/blue colors exactly correctly. I think in person, this is a shade or two more green, especially under artificial light.

Ah... there's a wonderful satisfaction to finally picking up a lemming and having it turn out just as beautiful as you imagined. This color has been on my wishlist since it was released last summer and I saw all the stunning pictures popping up. But I must have gotten distracted (easy thing to happen), because I didn't get around to procuring it until last month. Thankfully, Amazon is nicely stocked with non-current polish collections so I did not permanently miss out on this beauty. :)

Nicole by OPI Roughles Collection

Hi, you guys! Hope your week is going well. We had a few days of sunshine, so I totally soaked up the vitamin D. But now it's back to rain and clouds... gotta love the Pacific Northwest. :P

Today, I have the Nicole by OPI Roughles (pronounced "ruffles") Collection to show you. These speckled pastels caught my attention from the moment I first saw the promo pictures. They look so fun and unique, I was just chomping at the bit to try them out. Without any further delay, here they are. :)

Salon Perfect Nautical Nights

Hi, you guys! Happy October! :)

Today, I wanted to share with you the last of my picks from the Salon Perfect First Look Fall Collection. Nautical Nights is a dark cool-toned teal-ish blue with lots of shimmers in a metallic finish.

With Salon Perfect Matte Fx Top Coat

This is probably the color I was most looking forward to in the collection, and it does not disappoint. It's so mysterious and vampy in how rich and dark it is. It's exactly the sort of color I would wear if I were feeling bleak and wanted to embrace that. :) It has a great formula with no application issues. It goes on as smoothly and evenly as it looks in the swatches. You can get away with just one coat of this, though I did two for the swatches mostly out of habit.

I added a matte top coat at the end, and I love it even more. The matte-ness really brings out the shimmers and adds a little sophistication to this color. After trying out so many colors as mattes from this collection, I have to say I've totally gone matte-crazy lol. It instantly takes any shimmer and makes it so refined and elegant. I'm definitely going to be matte-fying a whole bunch of my fall colors over the next few months. :-)

You can find Nautical Nights exclusively at Walmart stores for a retail price of $3.98 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

China Glaze Tongue & Chic

Hi, you guys! :) Is it really only Thursday? It feels like it should have been Friday like two days ago lol.

Today, I've got another of my picks from the China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection to share with you. Tongue & Chic is a dark, cool-toned, teal green with a metallic finish.

This is another one of those blackened-around-the-edges colors that manages to look both rich and dark at the same time. The formula is great. It's thin enough to afford lots of control, making application easy. It's also pigmented, so you need just one coat for total coverage. And since the shimmers are subtle, it dries without any streak marks. The only negative is that, as usual with colors this dark, you can get a little bit of staining upon removal, but it's gone after a few hand washings.

You can find Tongue & Chic at your local nail salons and at beauty stores such as Ulta and Sally Beauty for a retail price of $7 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

KBShimmer Teal Another Tail

Happy weekend! Hope you guys have fun plans lined up! :-) For me, I think this will be a pretty typical weekend. Cleaning, yard work, and catching up on the blog are all on the agenda. I also hope to eat a few delicious meals out with the hubby. :-)

KBShimmer has just announced their seven-polish fall collection, and I'm super excited to have six of those gorgeous colors to share with you. Today, let's start with a favorite of mine from the collection. Teal Another Tail is a slightly muted green-leaning teal with tons of prominent pink shimmers and a scattering of small round teal glitters. 

The pink shimmers in here come across strongly because of the density and the larger-than-usual sizes of the shimmer flakes. Combined with the little teal glitters, they make me think of iridescent fish scales and mermaid tails. Such a stunning and unique color combination! The first coat is a little thin, but the second coat fills in almost everything and reaches a good amount of coverage, so I left it at that for the swatches. If you want 100% coverage, you'll probably want a third coat. The shimmers and glitters in here do feel a little gritty to the touch and the finish is a bit matte, so you'll need to add a top coat if you want a glossy shine.

You can find Teal Another Tail starting September 1st at KBShimmer.com for $8.75 and HarlowandCo.org for $9 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

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.

China Glaze Keepin' It Teal

Hi, you guys! Happy middle-of-the-week! :)

Today, I have another of the jellies from the China Glaze Sunsational Collection for you. Keepin' It Teal is a cool-toned, teal-leaning green with a squishy jelly finish.

It's thin and easy to apply, building up coverage evenly, if a bit slowly. What you see in the swatches is three coats, and it's decent coverage at that, though still a little sheer. If you want a more opaque finish, you'll probably want a fourth coat. This one isn't particularly neon or even that bright, but it's still a great color and it dries to a high-gloss shine. :)

You can find Keepin' It Teal at your local nail salons and at beauty stores such as Ulta and Sally Beauty for a retail price of $7 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

Essie First Timer

Hi you guys! Hope your Monday is off to a good start. :-)

I've got another fun color from the Essie Resort 2013 Collection to share with you today. First Timer is a cool-toned medium minty green with a creme finish.

This is a really pretty and unique green. :-) Depending on the lighting, it can look more aqua or more green. It seems relatively light in the bottle, but once on the nails, it appears darker and more of a medium green... not sure why that is lol. The formula is good, coming out in thin and even coats that are nicely pigmented and that dry to a glossy shine. The first coat is a little streaky, but the second coat smooths everything out and reaches opaque coverage.

You can find First Timer on Essie.com, at your local nail salons and drug stores, and at big name retailers like Target and Macy's for $8 for 0.46 fl oz.

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

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook

Hi hi! Friday is finally here! Weeeeee! :-)

Today, I've got another pretty color from the OPI Euro Centrale Collection to share with you. Can't Find My Czechbook is a cool-toned medium blueish teal with a creme finish.

This teal has a slightly dusty quality to it, so it appears a little muted and not too vibrant or bright. These sorts of colors, with their fresh and muted qualities, are so popular at the moment, so this is definitely an on-trend color for spring. The formula is thin and smooth, going evenly onto the nails and drying quickly to a glossy finish. What I have in the swatches is two coats, but it's still a little streaky if you look closely, so an additional coat wouldn't hurt. 

You can find Can't Find My Czechbook at your local nail salons and beauty stores for $9 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

Barielle Jillian's Jammin'

Happy Friday! :-) Today, I want to share with you my other pick from Barielle's recent holiday collection. Jillian's Jammin' is a medium blue with tons of duochrome blue/purple shimmers in a glass fleck finish.

The base blue color has a beautiful teal tint to it that is more visible on the nails than in the bottle. The duochrome in the shimmers isn't very strong, but you can definitely see the blue/purple shift around the edges of the nail. The formula is smooth and easy to apply, though more sheer than usual. It takes a while to build up to opacity. What you see in the swatches is three coats, and there are still some visible nail lines at that.

You can find Jillian's Jammin' 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.