2013 - The Year OPI Got Their Mojo Back

Hi Goddesses

For those of you who've read this blog since it started, you'll know that mainly I've been critical about everything OPI has released over the last 2 years.  I've found their collections to be boring, uninspired and just ... dull.  But 2013 was the year they turned all that around :)


Let me take you back in time 3 years.  My polishaholica had just been born, and OPI was my gateway drug.  I bought shitloads, and I mean SHITLOADS of polishes in those first 6 months, snapping up job lots on eBay, and falling in love with the various collections.



About this time they also released Pirates of the Caribbean - one of their best, full of delicious pastel creamy pearl colours - and then ... it stopped.  The colours got drab.  Some of them got yucky.  They went from must-have to "can live without that".  And that's just sad.



So I have LOVED this OPI year we've had - it's as if they've come back to life, resurrected by Liquid Sands and utterly inspired by San Francisco.   Sure, they've still released some collections I haven't cared for, but doesn't every brand?


So here are the 8 OPIs I've loved this year - and seriously, I can't believe I've loved 8 - bravo OPI, bravo!

Can't Let Go - Liquid Sand



Can't Find My Czechbook - turquoise perfection



My Vampire Is Buff - THE perfect base for nail art.  You need this.



The Impossible - Liquid Sand.  Red plus purple = kills Crumpet everytime.



Matte Top Coat.  My favourite one out there.



Baby Please Come Home - Liquid Sand, purpley, aaaah.



Peace, Love and OPI - wow, duochrome amazingness



In My Santa Suit - so hot it GLOWS - glorious



Finally, I'm certain that Muir Muir On The Wall would have made the list ... IF I had gotten round to wearing it ... too many great polishes, too many.


Check back in a couple of weeks to see how OPI did in the Readers Poll.  Which was your favourite OPI this year?  And do you think they've turned the corner?

OPI - Stranger Tides - Green for Depression Awareness

Nails I Love

OPI – Stranger Tides

Hi Goddesses

Unexplained Mysteries of the Universe Vol 333 – why do I love this polish so much ?

Let’s see …

• Do you like green as a polish colour?  NO
• Do you like pastels?  NO
• Were you impressed with the Pirates of The Caribbean Collection when it first came out?  Er, NOOOO
• Hhhmmm this makes NO sense!

Lol.  It’s weird, but I ADORE this polish.  When POC came out, with the exception of Planks A Lot I hated them all.  I thought they were weak wishy-washy pastels and just soooo sub-standard.  However, not being one to resist a bargain, I came across a cheap set of them on eBay and bought them to sell on, and then … gulp, fell in love with them.

There is something in the formula of these POC polishes that separates them from everything else.  They go on like butter, shine like a supermodel’s hair in a L’Oreal ad, and have a glossiness that is unparalleled.  They look like pearls.  Pearls.  Beautiful multi-coloured pearls.

And they make me feel like a lady J  they do.  There is something undeniably elegant about them that just screams “good taste” lol – ignore them at your peril, these polishes are subtle charmers.

Stranger Tides is the green one then, but the lesser green one (Mermaid’s Tears being the darker green, if a pastel can be called dark).  Anyway … this is super glossy, super elegant, looks like a pearl, and is just the softest, fluffiest, most delicate pale green you’ve ever seen.

I think most of all I love that all of these are built on a cream base rather than a white base – this just bleeds all the starkness away, leaving you with something elegant, subtle and pure.

Love.  J

J

Top Tip – if you’re ever unsure what a nail colour looks like, go to Google images, which will give you plenty of contrasts and compares.

Sally Hansen PLUM LUCK & OPI Rainbow Connection

Nails I Love

Sally Hansen PLUM LUCK goes Bliiiiing!

Hi Goddesses

A super short post, but some super amazing nails.

This is Sally Hansen PLUM LUCK topped with OPI Rainbow Connection.

Don’t they look STUNNING together ? The rich plum of the polish really allows the RC to dazzle …

Enjoy!  J

J

Top Tip – if you’re ever unsure what a nail colour looks like, go to Google images, which will give you plenty of contrasts and compares.

OPI DS Ruby

Nails I Love

OPI DS Ruby

Hey Goddesses

So, there may be a bit of a Red Holo Theme about to descend upon you!  This is my latest Holy Grail (now that I have found The Perfect Taupe) and I have 4 to test to see if they meet my fussy standards!

I didn’t realise that OPI DID a red holo, but my favourite eBayer Janet, at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Boulder-Creek-Boutique?_trksid=p4340.l2563  found DS Ruby for me.

In the bottle, RUBY is beautiful, but she’s certainly not a ruby red.  She has the pinky-red tone of so many red holos, but I hoped that on the nail she’d liven up a bit and I used 3 good coats.  For extra fun, I put a base coat of black on 1 nail, to see if that would turn her crimson.  Er, no, it just looks a MESS!

On the nail, Ruby stays pinky red.  It’s not an impressive shade – it’s a bit too bright and brassy for my liking.  All would have been forgiven though if she’d done what she said on the bottle and dazzled me with her holographic goodness … but even that is AWOL.  Yes there’s holo there, but only about a fifth of what you’d find in DS Original.

So I find myself EXTREMELY disappointed.  It was the polish I was most excited about trying from my epic nail mail L  I should have known when I couldn’t open the bottle – I’m always a sucker for omens, and this one just wouldn’t budge.  Thankfully after some hot water, she did but, well, it stayed downhill from there.

Summary – if you’re looking for a fab pinky red with a bit of holo, then this is definitely for you.  If you’re still searching for the perfect red holo, move on ….

I’ll be back with some more red holos soon – 2 from Glitter Gal and a franken I did.

Enjoy J

J

Top Tip – if you’re ever unsure what a nail colour looks like, go to Google images, which will give you plenty of contrasts and compares.

OPI DS Original

Nails I Love

OPI DS Original

Hellooooo Goddesses

This beautiful, gorgeous, holo-tastic blog starts with a tale of stupidity.  I first came across DS Original a few months ago – April, maybe – when I bought some polishes from a salon that was closing down.  I wore it, loved it, received compliments all day, and THEN DECIDED IT WAS TOO SIMILAR TO PLANKS A LOT AND THAT I SHOULD SELL IT !!!

Can you believe?  Oh my word, that there was even a time when I was BOTHERED that some of my polishes might be similar, or that I would never get to wear them often enough!  Pah.  So, anyways, had to buy 1 again, oops and all that, and this is another wonderbuy from my fave eBayer Janet at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Boulder-Creek-Boutique?_trksid=p4340.l2563

Deep breath. Sigh.  Drool.  Why did I ever sell this?  Doh!  Oh my words, Original is gorgeous.

Let’s start at the dictionary shall we?  ORIGINAL means “new, fresh, inventive, novel; creative or original manner.”  Let’s not forget this.  When OPI launched their DS series with the original staggering holos, I wonder if they had any idea what they’d started ?  Did they know how much lust they’d generate, how many imitators they would spawn, how holo would become a nail maniac’s heroin?

Maybe not, but there is no doubt that as THE Original, DS Original is probably the best example of holo there has ever been.  It holos the pants off Glitter Gal, puts SpectraFlair in the shade, and makes any other holo (and this even includes OPI’s own) weep with embarrassment.

Original is a beautiful lilac-purple.  Delicate and dazzling in equal measure, it ups the volume when you get it in bright light, and dials it down in the shade.  It has more dazzle dust per nano-particle than any other thing on the planet, and is so gossamer thin and sheer that it’s like layering angel’s wings.

No other holo comes close to this.  Sure, some look better from a distance, or might be a prettier colour, but the first holo still cuts the deepest.  Every particle brings its own rainbow to the party; every droplet carries starlight; every brush stroke breathes magic.

This IS the polish to end all polishes.  It IS the best holo of all time.  It IS pretty much near perfect.  Ladies, goddesses, it IS Original, breath-taking, inventive and the redefinition of what we would demand for our nails.

If your hair is worth L’Oreal, your nails are certainly worth this.  Go on, treat yourself – originality is never a waste of money J

Enjoy oh and PS yes, the ring finger is layered over black for a little playsie J

xx

J

Top Tip – if you’re ever unsure what a nail colour looks like, go to Google images, which will give you plenty of contrasts and compares.