OPI Holiday 2013 I Snow You Love Me

So this is the last of the OPI 2013 Holiday Mariah Collection for you. When I picked up the other colours there was one that had not had it's stock take so the distributor kindly offered to post it to me, this is OPI I Snow You Love Me.

OPI I Snow You Love Me is described by OPI as 'just like I snow you love this disco light confetti', well that's not really a description but that's as close as I've found. Basically this is a round holographic glitter, it has a pattern on the glitter so it sort of reminds me of a snowflake. I wore it here over 2 coats of Visions of Love because I wanted you to see it against something dark so it would stand up. 

I wanted to love this glitter but I'm not sure. I found it really sparse and there was loads of clear base so when you try to put it on the nail you get a ton of base and not much glitter, that was my main problem. I also thought the base smelt quite strong, although for the sake of a pretty glitter I can cope with that. I tended to try and get the glitters on the neck of the bottle and then place them which worked better. It is a unique glitter in my vast collection and it is pretty and sparkly, I'm sure I'll give it another go with a different base.

The one thing I do want to point out is that the glitters are completely and utterly flat. I've been asked a few times if there is any curling and I can say there is none whatsoever, I think a lesson was learnt with When Monkeys Fly! In fact I took these pictures without any topcoat as I was in a rush, so that just shows you how flat they are.

In all I will definitely keep this one in my collection but it is probably my least favourite glitter from the collection.

I can't wait to wear this whole collection for real during the holidays! If you want to check out the other polishes from the collection you can see the liquid sands here, the glitters here and the reds here.

Which ones are on your list?

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OPI Holiday 2013 Mariah Carey Collection - Part 3 - The Reds

Last but certainly not least, Part 3 of the OPI 2013 Holiday Mariah Carey Collection. This last post is all about the reds and as we all know OPI loves their reds.

There are 6 reds in this collection, varying from the classic OPI bright red to a very dark and almost chocolate red.

I have to admit I do love a good red at Christmastime and OPI always come up trumps!

So, for these swatches I used 2 coats for each colour. The formula on all of these is great. I'm looking forward to wearing them during the holidays and blinging them out with a glitter topper, speaking of which, I got my 'I Snow You Love Me' today but it's at my neighbours. Stay tuned for a post on this one later in the weekend.

So, on to the swatches......

All I want for Christmas (is OPI):
This marvellous maroon is present-ly my top choice

This is totally the usual red from OPI, I'm sure I have several dupes for this one but I had to have it for the name (it's one of my favourite Christmas songs).


In My Santa Suit:
This generously pigmented red is worth staying on the 'nice' list.

This is a really pretty classical red shimmer from OPI, it reminds me of I'm not Really A Waitress but I'm sure it's a brighter red. Again, I probably have a near dupe but as always I get suckered by the names in holiday collections!


Underneath the Mistletoe:
Is my kiss as spicy-sweet as this candy apple red?

Loved this in the bottle and love it on the nail. The tiny glitters really sparkle and this photograph really doesn't do this polish justice.


Cutie Little Vixen:
This deep red violet has cutie written all over it

More of a plum/pinker tone than a true red, makes a nice addition to the collection.


Sleigh Ride for Two:
There's only one room left for this dark hot chocolate

I'm not sure I'd have said this was a hot chocolate colour, it has a lean of plum to it and I was a little disappointed that the shimmer didn't show up on the nail as much as it did in the bottle.


Visions of Love:
I see this rich burgundy in my immediate future

This one was about as dark as I ever like to wear, on the nail it was a very dark brown with a touch of red. Quite a classic.

The reds are usually the ones I'm least interested in but I'm pretty pleased with this part of the collection, they are all polishes I will wear and would be beautiful for pedis. My picks? Definitely Underneath the Mistletoe was my favourite because it is a little different, the others were nice but as I have a good sized OPI stash I probably have similar polishes. Having said that I will wear all of these and I'm glad I have the collection.

Will you be picking up any of this holiday collection?

OPI Holiday 2013 Mariah Carey Collection - Part 2 - Golds and Glitters

Today I want to show you the second instalment of the OPI 2013 Holiday Mariah Carey Collection. I've chosen the golds, glitters and brown toned polishes for this post as these were my favourites, second to the liquid sands.

There are 4 glitters in this collection and I am missing one from this post. I Snow You Love Me had not been stock taken at the distributor when I visited so it's on it's way in the post to me and I'll post it on it's own as soon as it gets here.

All swatches were 2 coats of polish unless otherwise stated, in true OPI style the formulas were excellent and easy to work with, even for glitters.

Here they are:

Ski Slope Sweetie:
This golden pearl is everybunny's favourite

I did buy this one but I queried it to be honest, it looked sheer in the bottle and for this swatch I used 3 coats. As you can see I still have VNL but I do think it's a layering polish. The day I bought it I put it on my thumb, over my Enchanted Polish A Little Fishy Told Me, it was very pretty. When I use it I'll be sure to layer it over a lighter colour, it gives off a very pretty gold sheen.


My Favorite Ornament:
Make this champagne glitter your new personal favourite

Very pretty and very sparkly, gave great coverage in 2 coats.


Wonderous Star:
This gold flecked shimmer has heavenly shine

This one almost reminds me of an indie polish, initially I wasn't sure about the black glitter, however it's grown on me and I do like it. Again it was a very sparkly polish with a good coverage.


All Sparkly and Gold:
What more can we say.... the names says it all

Well the name does say it all - pretty polish, uninspiring name!


Warm Me Up:
This spiced coffee hits all the cold spots

I thought this one was a bit of an odd choice in this collection and I really wouldn't describe it as a spiced coffee at all. It really reminded me of a smoked version of the base colour of OPI's My Private Jet. I don't have anything the similar in my collection and I might wear with with a glitter topper to add a bit of jazz.

All in all, I really liked all of these. My top picks would certainly be My Favourite Ornament and All Sparkly and Gold, I think they will make beautiful accent fingers and even look beautiful on toes.

Watch out for part 3 tomorrow, a must if you like your reds.......
x

OPI Holiday 2013 Mariah Carey Collection - Part 1 - Liquid Sands

Today I have a very exciting post for you.....

On Thursday I just happened to drop in at the UK OPI distributor, Lena White, in Watford Hertfordshire, on my way back from work. I actually wanted to have a look at the OPI San Francisco collection but what to my wandering eyes should appear???? The OPI Holiday 2013 Mariah Carey Collection!!

Now, I had seen the press release OPI had put out and although I really do love OPI I couldn't help feel a little cold and disappointed towards this collection. In real life it was totally the opposite, they enchanted me. I had told myself I didn't need any more liquid sands, boy was I wrong!

This collection features 12 glitters/cremes/shimmers and 6 liquid sands. The only one I didn't buy was the black liquid sands (Emotions) because I knew I really wouldn't wear that one.

I thought I'd show you the liquid sands first as these were the first of the collection I had tried. In true OPI liquid sands formula they are great to apply, wear like iron and aren't too bad to remove.

I photographed these in a light box first and then in natural light so you get a better idea of what they will look like. I tend to find they are much more sparkly in natural light.

All swatches were done with 2 coats of the liquid sands.

OPI Silent Stars Go By:
This blush of textured pink has parades of sparkle

 This was the first of the collection I tried and it really was pretty!

OPI Make Him Mine:
But make this textured glistening rose mine first!

 I absolutely loved this polish. The colour is just divine and I think would suit many skin tones, it was very flattering on me.

Baby Please Come Home:
Can't wait to see you in..... this textured and sparkling lilac

Probably the least flattering on my skin tone but very sparkly and I still liked it. It kind of reminded me of a foil but in liquid sands formula.


It's Frosty Outside:
This frosted silver is so icy it's hot

This one was really sparkly, initially I bought it with the intention of wearing it as a ring finger accent however it was so pretty as a full mani and will be gorgeous as a pedi colour. I wore 2 coats for this but could still see a tiny bit of VNL so when I wear it next I'll do 3 coats for complete opacity.

Kiss Me At Midnight:
It's time to fall in love with this frosted ice blue.

 This one reminded me of a liquid sands in Nails Inc Baker Street. In these pictures the polish wasn't completely dry (I got fed up waiting) and the texture hasn't fully developed yet, it will be even more awesome when it is totally dry.

All in all I really like this collection. I wasn't even going to get any more liquid sands but these convinced me. I think my favourite has to be Make Him Mine, it was just so flattering, but I really did love them all.

I'll be back tomorrow to post more of the OPI Holiday 2013 collection so keep an eye out!

Which is your favourite?
x

Girly Bits What Happens in Vegas.... Ends Up On Facebook

So, I'm back with something good.....

It's a Girly Bits Limited Edition. Now I don't post a whole lot of Girly Bits but that isn't because I don't wear them often or love them, it's just because for some bizarre reason I can never quite capture the beauty in my photographs and so I rarely post them if I can't do them justice. Girly Bits was my first indie polish a few years ago and still one of my favourites today.

What Happens in Vegas.... Ends Up On Facebook is a LE polish which was created for bloggers who visited CosmoProf Show in Las Vegas this year, Pam also kindly made a limited and numbered batch for her customers, I got number 113!

Girly Bits describes this polish as a beautiful dusty eggplant shimmer with holo qualities and blue/purple colour shifting iridescent micro glitters, pink micro glitters and red micro shimmer. I'd tend to agree with that except I really felt this is a beautiful scattered holo which has really pretty blue iridescent glitters, this makes it great to wear any time because even when it's not in the sun it is still beautiful to look at.

I used 2 coats for this mani and a layer of Cult Nails Wicked Fast. I wore this mani for about 5 days I loved it so much. If you weren't able to snag this beauty when it was for sale don't despair, there will be plenty more pretties to play with - I even have a very special duo from Girly Bits to show you next Friday.

Enjoy!

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