September 2, 2008
Fall Blitzkrieg: OPI La Collection De France
I’m a little late to the party (check out Scrangie’s swatches) but, of course, I have to give you guys my take on one of the biggest collections to hit us this Fall. I wasn’t all that excited for OPI France when I initially saw the promotional images. OPI has a proclivity for releasing several reds and ‘almost blacks’ in just about every collection and, frankly, it gets old. The promos of France made it seem like more of the same. Consequently, I wasn’t expecting to like these. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this collection is actually pretty cool.
Sure, a few of the colors were fairly run of the mill OPI type stuff. I’m not doing back flips for OPI Louvre me Louvre Me Not (ducks to avoid thrown stones, tomatoes, assorted rotting vegetables), but there are several solid gorgeous, unique colors in this collection. There have been a few complaints about colors in the France collection being thick and difficult to apply but I didn’t have any real trouble with them.
As a side note, I really feel like OPI did a good job of designing colors that are representative of French culture and fashion. I say that because I felt like they could have done more with the Indian collection, it’s good to see that they were spot on with France.
*Dies* OPI You Don’t Know Jacques is my absolute favorite color from this collection. Seriously, every once a while an amazing color like this comes out and renews my passion for nail polish. The color is tough to describe, grayish, brownish, dirty, mushroomy? This is my current NOTD, 2 coats, love it. I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again, love these grayed out mushroomy colors. I just can’t get enough.
OPI Yes… I Can-Can! is a shimmery eggplant type color. The base color seems similar to OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. The shimmer seems multi-colored, I see flashes of green, silver, and violet in the bottle. On the nail, it’s silvery and serves to give Yes… I Can-Can! depth. This swatch is 3 coats but with careful application good coverage is possible at 2 coats.
OPI Tickle My France-y is my second favorite color from this collection. It’s a grayed out subtle nude pink – it is chic and sophisticated perfection. Earlier last week, when I went back into the professional nail color purgatory, Tickle My France-y was the first color I chose for the big switch. This color was so beautiful, so flattering that I didn’t even care about being forced to wear professional colors. This mani was 3 coats.
OPI Parlez-vous OPI?, another stand out color, is a grayed-out (or smokey as OPI puts it) plum. The application was slightly troublesome, my bottle was chalky and thick but it’s workable. This is 2 coats.
OPI Louvre Me Lourve Me Not is my least favorite color from this collection. Sorry guys, I know I’m completely alone, everyone else loves this one. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this color but I have a predisposition to disliking shimmers and I’ve just had my fill of shimmery mid-range purples this fall. You can’t really see it in my image but Louvre Me Lourve Me Not has blurple and violet shimmer. This swatch is 3 coats.
OPI I’m Fondue of You is a reddish light chocolaty brown with reddish brown shimmer. I don’t love this one. It’s pretty but not special. This swatch is 2 coats, I think the color would look better with 3.
OPI Eiffel for this Color is an ‘almost black’. OPI says it’s wine but it looks dark purple with violet shimmer to me. It’s similar to Yes… I Can-Can! but they’re different enough to warrant owning both if one is so inclined to do so. Normally, I would say boo to an almost black but I, surprisingly, like this color. This swatch is 2 coats.
Scrangie called OPI Crepes Suzi-ette a ‘mom’ color… it is – but – it’s hot. I think this one ventures into the realm of work appropriate. I’m actually surprised that I like this color too. I probably wouldn’t have batted an eye at this creamy reddish caramel in a store, but it’s actually very flattering on the nail. I would even dare say that it’s unique. This swatch is 2 coats.
There will always be reds in an OPI collection, shockingly there were only two in the France Collection. One of which, OPI Bastille My Heart, is a deep burgandy with violet shimmer throughout. Pretty, but standard.
OPI Baguette Me Not, a creamy salmon, is another shocker. Totally didn’t expect to like this ‘mom’ (haha) color but I love it. Very chic, very work appropriate. This swatch is 2 coats.
OPI A Oui Bit of Red, the other red in the France Collection, is a mid-range bright red. I love reds and I would have loved this one too, but for the shimmer. The saving grace is that the fuschia shimmer is very subtle, hardly noticeable. This swatch is 2 coats.
Finally, OPI We’ll Always Have Paris. Love. It. This is the color that I wanted the annoyingly almost black OPI Lincoln Park After Dark to be. I love LPAD but I always wanted it to be more noticeably purple and vampy. OPI granted my wish with We’ll Always Have Paris. Strangely, OPI says this color is dark coffee… definitely looks dark reddish purple to me.
Special thanks to OPI.
July 21, 2008
Alternatives to Chanel Kaleidoscope
Like I said before, I usually don’t buy Chanel nail polish *but* Chanel Kaleidoscope was so beautiful and unique, I just had to have it. The minute I saw a swatch of it taken by MUA’s Mrs_Brightside, I called Nordstrom and put a bottle on hold. That was incredibly out of character for me but it was totally and completely worth it. Even though I can honestly say that I love Kaleidoscope, I want to show you guys some possible alternatives to it. With the economy the way that it is right now, a luxury item like a 20 dollar bottle of nail polish, is probably not the most prudent way to spend money. Of course, some colors are must-have, recession or not, but if you can settle from something less extravagant, why not do so? (I’m a hypocrite, I know.)
First, here she is (are bottles of nail polish female? hmm) in all her glory:
*Heavy Sigh* In the sunlight, Kaleidoscope shimmers with ultra bling. Indoors and in the shade, it’s more of a subtle mirrored greenish platinum color. It’s beautiful but I have no idea why it’s called Kaleidoscope, neither does Scrangie. If the other shade is Gold Fiction, why not call this one Platinum Drama.
Essie Steel-ing the Scene is the closest thing to Kaleidoscope in my stash. These are actually fairly close color siblings. The main difference is that Kaleidoscope has the greenish tone and a lot more shimmer. However, if you really want to follow this trend but don’t want to blow the cash, Essie Steel-ing the Scene is a great alternative.
Here is Kaleidoscope and Steel-ing the Scene side by side. Despite several attempts, I couldn’t get the image to show the differences between these colors. I blame the inferior camera. While these colors are very close they really don’t look as similar in real life as they look in the image. Steel-ing the Scene has a smoother finish, less bling, less shimmer and is less mirrored.
Adorée Rockport Gray doesn’t have a mirrored finish. It’s a pseudo-metallic light silverish gray with some mossy shimmer throughout. Rockport Gray is not a dupe but it’s a pretty good alternative, especially for people who don’t want to go full out metallic. This is my NOTD right now, it’s subtle enough that I was able to get away with it at work. The application and wear is excellent.
I first lemminged Milani Key Lime Shine when I saw it on FiveZero. The polish doesn’t show the brush strokes, the lines on the surface are actually my nail ridges. If I did this as an actual mani, which I will soon, I would use Camo as a base to eliminate that issue. Key Lime Shine is a highly mirrored metallic light lime green. This is the only one of the colors exhibited here that is available at drug stores, although it is rumored to be hard-to-find.
June 25, 2008
The Polish Addict is Now Officially Against the Chipped Nail Polish Trend.
This is just disgraceful and aggravating. After I read that ridiculous article from the New York Times, I thought, ok whatever, ultimately people should do whatever they want with their nails. I said that because I really did not believe that this trend would actually pick up any followers. It’s one thing to let your nails chip when you don’t have time but purposefully wearing chipped polish is lame. This photo of Vanessa Hudgens isn’t a candid, it’s from an actual photo shoot. Look at her hair, makeup, accessories and clothing – chipped nails, when the rest is done up to the nines just looks bad. I mean really, how could this ever been seen as appealing?
In any case, I was being a nail polish hippie before when I decided to just accept this trend for what it is, stupid but ‘to each their own’. I’m taking my original stance back and instead officially aligning myself against this trend. Ugh. If Stars have to be unoriginal lemmings why not at least copy someone like Fergie or Rihanna that actually do interesting things with their nails. I hope this trend goes away ASAP and that the Hollywood lemmings pick up elaborate Japanese nail art instead, now there’s a trend I wish would get some national exposure. And sorry, but regardless of what Deborah Lippmann may say, black chipped polish doesn’t look edgy, especially not on people who are famous for doing children’s musicals.
Special thanks to blushingblondie for pointing this abomination out on MUA.
May 5, 2008
Color Club Flower Power Collection Neon Swatches
This isn’t the entire Flower Power Collection – these swatches are just the colors that are going to be available in the 7-pack that Color Club released recently. The collection in its entirety includes just about every neon shade you can possibly imagine. The entire collection is really amazing. Not included here but worthy of mention from this collection are Wild Child, Blue Light, 220 Volts, and Bizerk Turq. Check them out if you haven’t already. All these swatches are 2 coats of color and 1 coat of Color Club Vivid Color Intensifying Top Coat. Vivid is a really great top coat to use for matte drying neons. It really brings the color to life.
Limelight is a really vibrant neon green. I usually have a hard time with the application of neons, especially greens, but this applied really smooth. It’s tough to capture neon colors on film so none of these pictures do these colors any justice. I *love* this green.
LOVE Orange Revenge – it’s perfect. The neon collection has two other great shades of orange but Orange Revenge is the most vibrant and unique. Orange polish is definitely really trendy right now so if you’re in the market for a neon orange, this is an excellent (and inexpensive) one to pick up.
Power Play is one of the more popular shades from the Flower Power Collection. This picture isn’t the best depiction of the color – it’s more hot purple in real life. It’s a really beautiful color, not subtle but not the flashiest of the bunch either. It’s a good compromise for people who want to try neons.
This is my current NOTD – it’s gorgeous in all its neon flashiness. It pulls a little towards orange as opposed to a true fuchsia, but it’s still really great. I know a lot of people feel that this color is too much for tips… I don’t agree… but you can’t argue with taste. I double dare you to wear it on your tips but if you really just can’t do it, try it as a pedi.
The Flower Power Collection has several excellent pinks. I plan to do a side by side comparison of all of them soon. Pink Lust reminds me a bit of the pinks from OPI Indian Collection with just a little more zing.
Lazer Pink is my favorite pink from this collection. It’s a classic neon Barbie Pink. Alas… there is a difference in color batches a la the OPI Bubble Bath fiasco. I have two bottles of Lazer Pink. One is brighter than the other, but both are very pretty. I’ll post the comparison when I compare the pinks.
This collection is available at both Head2Toe and 8ty8.
Special thanks to Color Club.
April 30, 2008
Neon Nail Polish is It This Summer
China Glaze did it first with the Ink Collection. Nubar has the Get Hot collection, Color Club has the Flower Power collection, even Essie ventured away from nudes and pinks to do a mini collection, Neon Shorts, this summer.
Neon is definitely not in everyone’s nail polish comfort zone. If you want to ease yourself into this trend, try wearing a neon orange or red similar to the one Rihanna is wearing in this picture. (look for Color Club – Sexsea or China Glaze – Japanese Koi)
Those of you who want to go all out neon, like Rihanna’s nails in picture below, try China Glaze – Celtic Sun.
If having neon nails is something you want to look into but you aren’t sure whether you’ll like it, don’t pour tons of money into it by purchasing expensive brands. Instead, take a trip to your local drug store. This trend has already been picked up by the less expensive brands. Sinful Colors, a mainstay at Walgreens and a very excellent inexpensive brand, has just released their neon collection. If you have a Claire’s Icing at your local mall, go pick up their recently released neon five pack.
I love neon. Were it not for my summer internship with the State Attorney’s Office, I would never take these colors off – but I know it’s not for everyone. What do you guys think about it, are you going to rock the neon this summer? If yes, what are your favorite colors?
The Polish Addict 