Tag Archives: OPI

OPI Cement the Deal Swatches & Review

8 Replies

OPI Cement the Deal Swatches & ReviewYesterday, I reviewed OPI Dark Side of the Mood, and today, I’m giving you a closer look at OPI Cement the Deal, which also hails from the Fifty Shades of Grey Collection out in January 2015. (For quick swatches and bottle shots of the entire collection, check out this post.)

Now, it’s no secret that I love nail polish, but grey nail polish and I haven’t had the best relationship.

You see, for me, it’s a hit or miss, and I haven’t experimented with many greys. Hopefully the more I try, the more I’ll learn.

From what I have in my collection, I find it the most challenging to pull off lighter greys because the undertone has to complement my skin tone or it looks ‘off’. Whereas with dramatic, dark greys, there’s enough contrast, so they are easier to wear.

OPI Cement the Deal is a pale grey with just a smidgen of blue, however in some photos, it seemed to translate as having more blue than what I could see in real life. It leans more on the cement-grey side than the blue, in case you are wondering about which is accurate.

Continue reading →

Share

OPI Dark Side of the Mood Swatches & Review

16 Replies

OPI Dark Side of the Mood Swatches & ReviewOPI Dark Side of the Mood is part of the OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection, which will be released in January 2015.

(I did a Quick Look post on the OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection, so head there if you want to see swatches of all six colours and bottle shots.)

Dark Side of the Mood makes me think of my first full-time job straight out of university because one of our account passwords was based on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon!

While grey isn’t the first colour that’s on my radar, I did very much enjoy wearing OPI Dark Side of the Mood because it’s dramatic and offers a lot of contrast against my skin tone. As you know, the bolder the colour, the happier this nailphile is! 😉

Continue reading →

Share

Quick Look: OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection Swatches & Bottle Shots

21 Replies

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey CollectionNot long ago, I posted the OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection Press Release on here with plenty of information about each colour and the inspiration behind it all. (This collection launches in January 2015.)

Yesterday, I came home from work to find a box from PR with this collection!

I asked on my social media if you wanted to see the OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection or the Essie Cashmere Matte Collection for 2015, since I received both on Wednesday.

At the time when I wrote this post, it looked like OPI was slightly dominating. (For those who voted to see the Essie collection, don’t worry! I’ll be featuring a Quick Look post on that soon because there was a lot of interest in it. Please stay tuned! The wait won’t be long.)

My pick just from the way the colours initially looked when I saw them in person for the first time? Shine for Me is the standout of this collection! It’s really sparkly and has blue particles that complement the grey. (I am looking forward to trying this one out and to seeing if its slight texture can be tamed with a top coat.)

Grey nail polish is sometimes challenging for me to sport, so this variety will help me narrow down the kinds that are more flattering on me. Should be interesting!

Haha, and in typical OPI fashion, there’s a red. It’s a great punch of colour in this collection, and you know that OPI has nailed the formula of red nail polishes! 😉

P.S. Whenever I see the name of this collection, the old song by fellow Torontonian, Amanda Marshall, “Shades of Gray” plays in my head. It was really popular on the radio when I was in high school, so it’s nostalgic for me! (And it has a great, strong message.)

Continue reading →

Share

Nail Art Tutorial: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Nails

22 Replies

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Nail ArtI love the Christmas story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (It’s like the holiday version of The Ugly Duckling.)

When you embrace your imperfections, it can be very empowering. Don’t be afraid of doing something different. If we were all the same and liked the same music, movies, or nail polishes, life would be more boring than reading the telephone book backwards. (Although that might be interesting – I’ve never tried it.)

You may remember that back in 2011, I posted a Reindeer Nail Art Tutorial. In that design, I used heart sequins for Rudolph’s nose, and I made the ‘mistake’ of using a dark background, so the antlers didn’t quite show up as well as I had hoped. Nevertheless, I still very much enjoyed wearing that design.

Now that it’s 2014, I decided to revisit the design again and create Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Nail Art! This time, I opted for all creme nail polishes and a lighter base. (I highly recommend using cremes for everything to help your design stand out. However, it would be really cute if you used a glitter or shimmery red polish for Rudolph’s nose!)

P.S. I’m going to try doing more festive freehand nail designs this month. Not sure how many I can squeeze in before Christmas, but I’ll do my best!

Continue reading →

Share

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection Press Release

28 Replies

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey CollectionThis evening, I have the OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection Press Release!

There are six nail polishes in the OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection, which launches in January 2015. (I feel like all of them are good staples to have because you can easily combine them with other colours. There’s nothing too crazy.)

You’d probably expect that with a name like “Fifty Shades of Grey”, this collection would be all greys, but one is red.

I’ve never read the novel by E.L. James. Have you?

Truth be told, I have no desire to read it, either. (No offence to those who really love the book. We all have different tastes, and that’s just not the type of book that I’m drawn to.)

Actually, I usually gravitate toward books that make me laugh out loud because while there are plenty of hilarious writers out there, making someone laugh out loud just by your writing and not by clever verbal delivery or funny facial expressions is pretty challenging. It’s a talent that I really admire.

Recently, I picked up “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler, which I’m really excited to dive into. (You may remember that I posted a photo on Instagram and mentioned how I redeemed a bunch of my Shoppers Optimum Points, and one of the things I got was that book.)

I’ve read a few pages of Yes Please so far, and she already had me laughing so hard because the preface is so sarcastic! 🙂 (Any other Amy Poehler fans out there?)

But enough about what I’m currently reading! Let’s get on with the nail polish already, right? 😉

Continue reading →

Share

Nail Art Tutorial: Santa Claus Nails

10 Replies

Santa Claus Nail Art TutorialBack in 2011, I did Santa Nail Art where each nail featured The Big Man in Red’s suit. I really loved that design, and even though I wanted to wear it again, it was time for a challenge. (Click to see my step-by-step tutorial for the Santa Suit Nail Art!)

After seeing The Little Canvas’ cute nails with Kris Kringle’s face, I knew I had to try my hand at this design. Although mine didn’t turn out as well as neatly as hers, I had tons of fun painting this, and it was fun to bring my Santa Claus gang with me everywhere I went! (Thanks to The Little Canvas for the inspiration!)

Haha, I intended the Santas to be smirking or to at least look happy, but I guess my nail striper brush was a bit too thick and I was rushing a little. So, some of my Santas look like they’re being very sarcastic. Haha, can you spot which one drank too much of the spiked elves’ Christmas punch? 😛

Hey, it would be neat to combine this and the santa-suit design in a single manicure. You could even paint Santa’s hat on one nail. That would allow you to paint a whole bunch of different designs.

Continue reading →

Share

Nail Art Tutorial: Snowman Nails

12 Replies

Snowman Nail Art TutorialIt feels like I haven’t worn faces or eyes on my nails in a long time.

(Taken out of context, that might make some people scratch their heads.)

Although my schedule after work has somehow gotten busier than ever before, I want to make time to do more freehand designs, especially festive ones leading up to Christmas.

Today, I’m showing you easy Snowman Nail Art that only requires a base coat, a top coat, five colours, a dotting tool, and a striping brush.

The nail polishes I used to create the snowman nail art are The Body Shop Colour Crush in Minty Amour, OPI Queen of the Road, OPI Angel with a Leadfoot, OPI Juice Bar Hopping, and OPI This Gown Needs a Crown!

I love sharing these kind of simple designs because it might encourage someone to try their hand at nail art, even if they’ve never done so before. There are a lot of overly complicated designs out there that, while nice to look at, can be intimidating to beginners.

It’s my goal to make nail art that’s easy to replicate because I believe that everyone should enjoy the fun and creativity that it has to offer. I don’t want anyone to feel excluded!

To do this design, you don’t need masterclass skills, but you will need patience. Also, remember that happiness is your goal, not perfection, and you’ll always be a winner. 😉

P.S. Read the bottom of this post for a short story from my childhood about how I once got in trouble for building a snowwoman.

Continue reading →

Share