NOTD Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer in Sephora 212

Above: Sephora OPI nail lacquer in 212

Sephora OPI’s nail lacquer in 212 is a pretty polish incorporated into the holiday 2010 limited collection. Previously, 212 is an online only purchase or at Sephora’s 5 Times Square New York store. Now everybody can enjoy this polish. I would describe this colour as a golden black base with multi-colour glitter in fine and flakey sizes. I can see glitter of many colours in 212: fine gold, silver, holographic and  flakey red. Despite the dark base, the polish applies a bit sheer and I needed three coats for full colour coverage. As with most glitter polishes, it finishes a bit rough but with a top coat it smoothes out the texture a bit. It doesn’t become totally smooth but it is not rough either.

Sephora VIB Sale Haul Goodies

Above: Ole Henriksen 3 Little Wonders; Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Sephora 212; and Urban Decay Little Sins Eyeshadow Primer Potion Set.

These are my goodies from the Sephora VIB sale last weekend. I picked up the Sephora OPI in Sephora 212 nail lacquer; Urban Decay Little Sins Eyeshadow Primer Potion Set; and Ole Henriksen 3 Little Wonders Set. I have always liked the original UD primer potion and the little travel size lasts me about 6 months. I can’t wait to play around with Eden (matte), Sin (champagne shimmer) and Greed (gold shimmer). I have previously tried out the 3 Little Wonders in sample sizes by redeeming my Beauty Insider points, but found it too expensive for me to buy at regular price. Since there is a VIB sale, I decided to take advantage and try the skin care for a more long term basis. I am quite happy with my picks and I will be back shortly for the review and swatches. Stay tuned for them.

Above:  Ole Henriksen 3 Little Wonders

Above: Urban Decay Little Sins Eyeshadow Primer Potion Set

Above: Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer in Sephora 212

Fun with Blues and Greens NOTD Sephora OPI in Read My Palm and MAC Plasma Blue Nail Lacquers

Happy Monday everybody, it is a long weekend here in Canada today. Hope everybody is enjoying their Monday. I have been having fun in the sun and busy with other commitments. It is just an easy lazy posting from me today. I haven’t worn MAC Plasma Blue nail lacquer in a long long time and I have been craving to wear Sephora OPI Read My Palm again for a while, so Voila ! MAC’s nail lacquer in Plasma Blue was released in 2008 for the Neo Sci-Fi collection, it is a bright turquoise perle finish. It goes on very smooth, but it is slightly sheer and streaky. I needed three coats for a semi-opaque finish, but even with three coats I can still see some streaks and the white of my nails; however, it is a gorgeous summer colour and I love it on my toes!

Mermaid in the Shade NOTD Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Mermaid to Order

Above: Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Mermaid for Order

Back in the day when I was a wee little girl in Grade 2, I love all things mermaid. I even submitted a drawing of a trio of mermaids to an international children’s drawing contest in Japan and won the bronze prize from the submissions from my school. Nevertheless, I am still very fond of mermaids and I just have to pick up Mermaid for Order from Sephora’s 2009 summer Mermaid in the Shade collection. The frosty turquoise is oh so pretty and the sheen reminds me of the scales that would be on a mermaid’s tail.

Mermaid for Order is a gorgeous blue green frost finish that dries to a high shine foil like finish. Just imagine the colourful foils you can find at craft stores in turquoise. Being a frost, I do get visible brush strokes but it s fairly minimal to me. It is a pigmented colour but comes off sheer and I needed three coats for an almost full coverage for most nails. Some nails could use a fourth coat for a bald patch touch up. Since I did use a base and topcoat, I was surprised that my nails chipped by the next day because frost finishes are usually quite hardy. Perhaps, I was more active at work then usual, using my hands more. Mermaid to Order is a permanent beauty from Sephora and if you are turquoise lover you should check this baby out. If you want something a little different, I think Mermaid to Order being a frost distinguishes itself from all the turquoise cremes from this season. Also, who doesn’t like mermaids?

Mermaid in the Shade Collection NOTD Sephora Nail Lacquer in Ocean Love Potion

After poking around my nailpolish collection, I rediscovered an old beauty and decided to wear it: Sephora OPI Ocean Love Potion. This is the very first item, I have ever bought at a Sephora store, since the store opened in my city. Before then I would order from the website once in a blue moon. This lovely shade of muted turquoise is from Sephora’s Mermaid in the Shade Summer 2009 collection. Originally, this was a limited edition colour but Sephora decided to make this permanent. I just love the name Ocean Love Potion. I think it really looks a green ocean but with a touch of blue and gray. Perhaps it looks like a love potion concoction a mermaid would make to captivate her love.

The application is smooth, creamy and streak-free. The texture is not thick or thin, I find it just right. I achieved a smooth and pigmented finish with two coats of polish. This colour is a muted blue green turquoise with a touch of gray dries to a glossy creme finish.

NOTD Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Iris I was Thinner

After weeks of admiring and debating about this colour, I finally picked up this gorgeous creamy lavender colour. On the Sephora website, this is described as a medium toned iris colour. Indeed, this purple looks  just like the colour of the iris flower. Iris I was Thinner originally debuted in the spring 2010 collection of Modern Flower and is part of the permanent Sephora OPI collection.

Iris I was Thinner is a cool toned purple that is blue based. It dries to a gorgeous, smooth and creamy finish. The polish is very glossy. It is very pigmented and requires only two coats of polish to achieve full opaque coverage. I thought I have more than enough purple nailpolishes but I can’t help but buy this because it is just that pretty and perfect for spring. I am always on the hunt for the perfect lavender and I think this is one that I would love and wear often. It is very punchy and funky. I love how bright and girly Iris I was Thinner is.

Going from Matte to Satin to Shiny NOTD Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer in Domestic Goddess Matte

I picked up Sephora OPI Domestic Goddess Matte from Sephora a few weeks ago and finally wore it today because it matches a lovely purple tank top I have. Domestic Goddess is a lovely vibrant shade of grapey purple, which reminds me of McDonald’s Grimace. The original Domestic Goddess is one of Sephora’s best-selling colours, which is a glossy creme. Last year, Sephora created a matte version of Domestic Goddess, along with Metro Chic and What’s a Tire Jack? as limited edition colours. Your local Sephora may still have the matte versions in stock.

As a matte finish, Domestic Goddess dries into a flat velvet like finish. Although matte polishes remind me of matte wall paint, I find that this colour as a matte looks quite sophisticated. Two coats is enough for an opaque finish, but with a third coat I get rid of brush marks. I love how fast the polish dries and can be a great polish for a quick manicure. I never have to worry about smudged or nicked polish when I am in a hurry. Though I don’t need to fret about smudging polish and waiting for polish to dry, the polish does chip faster than glossy polishes.

Within a day I noticed small chips on my nails with a matte finish, while it usually takes 3-4 days for a glossy polish to show wear and tear. I also have little scratches with the matte polish, while this doesn’t happen with glossy polishes. These are the consequences of matte polishes, as the base coat and top coat is skipped to keep the matte finish.  Ironically, matte polishes does not stay matte because it gets progressively more shiny as the days go by; however, it would never turn into a high gloss finish. Usually it turns into a semi-gloss/ satin finish. For Domestic Goddess, I noticed that the matte wears off within three hours and turns into a satin finish. Below are pictures of Domestic Goddess as a matte. I have also shown its wear as a satin and put on a top coat to show it as a gloss to reflect the finish of the original Domestic Goddess’ glossy creme finish.

Above: Sephora OPI Domestic Goddess Matte

Above Sephora OPI Domestic Goddess Matte

Above Sephora OPI Domestic Goddess Matte

Above Sephora OPI Domestic Goddess Matte with some wear and tear

This swatch shows the wear and tear of the polish after a few hours. The matte finish wears off and becomes a semi-gl0ss/satiny finish.

Above Sephora OPI Domestic Goddess Matte with a topcoat

This swatch shows Domestic Goddess Matte with a topcoat making the polish glossy and just like the original Domestic Goddess. The original dries to a glossy creme.

NOTD Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Havanna Nights Collection 2010 in Read My Palm

I just can’t get enough green nailpolishes in my life right now and of course, it helps that it is one of the hottest nail trends at the moment. During my last trip to Sephora, I stumbled upon their new summer 2010 Havanna Nights collection and fell in like with Read My Palm, a muted medium tone jade green creme.

It has a touch of gray to it without any signs of blueness. At first I thought this would look like Ocean Love Potion, which I have; however, Ocean Love Potion is a creamy muted blue green teal, while Read My Palm is a true green with gray. Like the many fabulous Sephora nail lacquers, Read My Palm is creamy, smooth and pigmented. I have full opaque colour coverage in two thin coats. Of course it dries to a creamy glossy goodness. If you love jade greens and are looking for something without blues in it, grab a bottle of Read My Palm because it is a limited edition color from Havanna Nights.

Sharing My Stash: Glitter-atti Nailpolishes

It has been a long time since I shared my stash. Last time I shared my collection of feather costume lashes, today is my stashes of glitter polishes. I love the look of glitter and the flexibility to change the look of nailpolishes, but it is just a pain in the ass to remove! But I love my glitter polishes, especially Sephora OPI Too Good for Him and OPI Mad as a Hatter from the OPI’s LE Alice in Wonderland collection. I don’t have too many yet, but I think it would expand eventually.

Above: Sephora OPI in Untarnished Image; Worth My Weight; Too Good For Him; and It’s Bouquet with Me

Above: Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday; OPI Mad as a Hatter; and OPI Absolutely Alice

NOTD Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Go with the Flow-er

Above: Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Go with the Flow-er

This is another pretty find at Sephora that was released with the Modern Flower spring 2010 collection. Sephora describes this colour as a bright bright tulip pink with hot pink shimmer. In these photographs the polish looks like an orange red with gold shimmer but on my nails and against my skin tone, the colour is a fuchsia red with hot pink micro shimmer. The colour is very pretty and multi-faceted because it alternates between red and pink depending on the lighting. Though it looks hot pink on me in most lighting. The application is smooth and thin without being too runny or watery. The colour is nicely pigmented but it has a slight sheerness. With two layers I get full even colour coverage but the whites of my nails peep through slightly; however, with three layers the colour becomes opaque. Texturally, this polish’s multi-shimmer reminds me of some of OPI’s Designer Series polishes. When I saw this colour in the store I knew I want to pick this up because it is the perfect spring/summer pink that would compliment perfectly with a few of my favourite summer pleasant tops and dresses. The pink is so pretty and it reminds me of the pink/red in ribbon candy.

Above: Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Go with the Flow-er

Above: Sephora Nail Lacquer Go with the Flow-er