Category Archives: Product Reviews

Reader Request: Comparison Swatches of OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked?, Aloha from OPI, Where Did Suzi’s Man-Go?, Toucan Do It If You Try & Live. Love. Carnaval

OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked Swatches ComparisonA while ago, some of my wonderful readers asked me how certain OPI nail polishes compared, so I put together this post.

Two of the lacquers are from the Hawaii Collection: OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked? and OPI Aloha from OPI.

The other three I compared them with were OPI Where Did Suzi’s Man-Go?, OPI Toucan Do It If You Try, and OPI Live. Love. Carnaval, which are from the Brazil Collection!

P.S. If you haven’t already, enter my 1000th Instagram Post Worldwide Giveaway for your chance to win a nail-polish prize pack! (Ends Friday February 20 at 11:59 pm EST)

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OPI My Gecko Does Tricks Swatches & Review

OPI My Gecko Does Tricks Swatches, Review & PhotosOPI My Gecko Does Tricks from the Hawaii Collection that officially launches today (February 4th) certainly is a tricky one for a couple of reasons.

This pearly, bright green is very flashy – even flashier than my photos would suggest. But that’s not why my ‘gecko’ is tricky.

The first reason is that it wouldn’t show its true beauty to the camera. Its not a hard polish to photograph…if you have decent lighting conditions. (Read the rest of my post to learn about the second reason why it’s tricky.)

The thing is that I wore OPI My Gecko Does Tricks twice as a full manicure in the hopes of capturing it properly. Unfortunately, the mornings before I left for work were very dim, and by the time I came home in the evening, natural-light photos would’ve been more grainy than organic cereal.

Since I don’t have a light box or use any fancy lighting equipment, I rely on Mother Nature, even though she likes to switch things up on a daily basis. (Hey, I love challenges!) So, after wearing OPI My Gecko Does Tricks for a few days, I did something I rarely do: I painted my nails the exact same colour right after I finished removing it. Then, I wore that manicure for a couple of days straight. (Yeah, back-to-back OPI My Gecko Does Tricks!)

During the first and second times, I snapped photos, which is why you may see that there’s tip wear in some photos and not others. All these photos spanned probably around 9 days of wear, so the lighting isn’t consistent.

Typically, I try to take the majority of my photos of a manicure on the same day to rule out major natural-light changes or very-different angles.

I even considered wearing it a third time to hope for (literally) a brighter morning where I could snap this baby. But then, as I’m sure you understand, a new nail polish caught my eye that I had to wear instead. The nailphile train just kept on rolling! 🙂

Instead of delaying this review further, I decided to post it because today is the official launch of the OPI Hawaii Collection! (From the minute I saw the collection, I secretly wanted to highlight this polish to coincide with the release date.)

P.S. Yesterday night, I published a second blog post. Check it out, if you missed it! It’s about Essie at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week!

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OPI Just Lanai-ing Around Swatches & Review

OPI Just Lanai-ing Around Swatches & ReviewOPI Just Lanai-ing Around from the Hawaii Collection was like a Jack-in-the-Pineapple-Box for me because, in the bottle, I felt ambivalent about it.

Then, I put it on my nails, and fell in love with it because it’s such a casual, easy-to-wear mauve that’s muted.

Yeah, “I like to mauve it, mauve it!” (Hehe, I couldn’t resist the pun and reference to that song.) 😉

With that ‘Granny Chic’ vibe, it’s certainly a colour that appeals to people of all ages, and it’s easy to see why – OPI Just Lanai-ing Around is timeless like a Chanel handbag.

I also imagine that this colour is very flattering on a wide variety of skin tones, which gets major thumbs up!

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FedoraHarp Raindrops on Roses Swatches & Review

FedoraHarp Raindrops on Roses Swatches & ReviewDid you watch the Super Bowl last night? I did – whoa, it was intense!

I’m not a huge football fan, but I always watch the Super Bowl (as well as the Halftime Show), and the game didn’t disappoint. (Check out my Instagram, if you’re interested, because I posted a photo and some video clips of the Halftime Show.)

It was anyone’s game, but congratulations to the New England Patriots on becoming the NFL Champions! (Special shoutout to Malcolm Butler for making the play of the year. It was incredible to watch, and he’s proof that you shouldn’t underestimate a rookie!)

But now…back to nail polish! 😉

FedoraHarp Raindrops on Roses is an extremely sentimental nail polish for me for two major reasons.

Firstly, Leah (aka FedoraHarp) has been one of my loyal blog readers for years. She creates 5-free and cruelty-free indie nail polish in Israel. (Her FedoraHarp Etsy store ships worldwide.)

When she reached out to me to ask if I’d be interested in reviewing some of her artisan lacquers, I was incredibly honoured for the opportunity! To top it off, she said that, at that time, I was the first blogger from North America who she approached for this. (You can just imagine my excitement!)

Secondly, as you probably could tell from the name FedoraHarp Raindrops on Roses, it has a Sound of Music theme. This shade can be purchased separately or as part of a duo (full-size or mini). I was ecstatic about the Sound of Music theme because I grew up watching that musical featuring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

(You have no idea how many times I used to sing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and pretend that I was pretty Liesel when I was a kid! Even to this day, the entire movie is as clear as day, and I watch it a few times each year.)

Other important information she told me that might interest you? FedoraHarp Lacquer is hand-mixed in Leah’s home. She’s a non-smoker and owns a cat, but she’s careful to keep him away from her work area to prevent any allergen contamination. She also tries to be environmentally friendly by reusing packaging, but if you request brand new packaging, she will gladly oblige.

As I’ve mentioned a few times recently, my cuticles have been dry and ravaged lately. With lots of hand-washing and the harsh winter weather, it really took a toll on my skin. But I hope that you’ll look past my temporarily ragged cuticles to enjoy the beauty of this pretty polish! 🙂

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Reader Request: OPI That’s Hula-rious! Comparison Swatches

OPI That's Hula-rious Comparison SwatchesSince I posted my in-depth review with swatches of OPI That’s Hula-rious! from the Hawaii Collection, some of you have asked me how it compares with other specific greens. I’ve included all the ones you asked about.

In this post, I show you some OPI That’s Hula-rious! Comparison Swatches!

As you can see, none of them are dupes, and while this is coming from a green fiend, I have to say that you can totally justify buying all of these because they’re different enough. 😉

The greens I chose to compare were the following:

You can click on any of the above links to see the individual in-depth reviews I’ve done on those.

But, to better see how they all compare under the same lighting conditions, check out the rest of this post.

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Essie Wrap Me Up Swatches & Review

Essie Wrap Me Up Swatches & ReviewA great palate cleanser, Essie Wrap Me Up from the Cashmere Matte Collection is a very different look for me.

I’m used to wearing bold shades, even to the point of being tacky. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like to venture out of my comfort zone and try something different.

Essie Wrap Me Up is certainly a far departure than what I’d normally reach for, but I appreciated the demure light beige with just a hint of pink and awesome texture.

This one features the Cashmere Matte finish, which feels smooth and satiny like luxurious sea glass!

Oh boy – winter has taken a toll on my cuticles a while back when I wore this nail polish! (I don’t slap on lotion or cuticle oil before taking my photos. I just snap photos of myself as-is.)

However, recently I purchased a new and fun cuticle oil that’s supposed to smell like cupcakes. Hehe, that was a major selling point for me.

I’m going to try to be more conscious about using cuticle oil at night before I go to bed. But you won’t see any difference for a while because I still have a few photos of manicures I’ve worn already that I’ll be showing on here.

(Expect to see a review of the cupcake cuticle oil on here after I’ve used it for at least a month. I think that’s a decent amount of time to see any differences in my cuticles.)

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OPI Go with the Lava Flow Swatches & Review

OPI Go with the Lava Flow Swatches & ReviewPick-up line to snag a nailphile: “Is it hot in here, or are you wearing OPI Go with the Lava Flow?”

Okay, so maybe not. (Then again, I’ve never heard any pick-up lines that hooked me. Have you?)

What does impress me is OPI Go with the Lava Flow, which is from the Hawaii Collection that officially drops on February 4th!

Striking while the iron’s hot, this nail polish breathes so much life, it’s like a dragon throwing flames in an enchanted forest!

P.S. Did you ever have a lava lamp? When I was in elementary school, I really wanted one, but money was always tight in my family, so it wasn’t exactly a priority purchase. Hehe! Now that I’m an adult, I still haven’t bought one. I rarely see them, but when I do, I stare at them for longer than is probably socially acceptable. 😉

P.P.S. I haven’t forgotten about those of you who requested that I do comparison swatches for a few shades in this collection! (I need to set aside some time this coming weekend for it.)

P.P.P.S. This is just a friendly reminder that my worldwide giveaway for the China Glaze Road Trip Travel Sized mini set with 6 polishes ends tomorrow (Friday January 23 at 11:59 pm EST)! Hurry to get your entry in while you still can!

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