day two hundred and thirty, opi here today aragon tomorrow

alright. i sort of like and don't like this polish. i imagine it's an amazing vampy green in sunlight but i didn't have any sunlight to work with so i was kinda 'meh' about it. plus (through my own fault) my cuticles are a wreck so i had a horrible time getting my fingers to actually look nice whihc is making it hard to me to appreciate this one. i'm thinking of tabling it and coming back to it when my cuticles are in better shape! when i saw the green in it...i was really pleased. it's totally unlike most OPI polish colours...so go opi! i need more green in my life

day two hundred and twenty seven, opi tickle my francey

this isn't what i had intended to post today but it is what i ended up wearing and so you get to see it! i actually bought this when i had my giveaway and have been holding onto it ever since. the top kept getting stuck so i never got around to wearing it, everytime i'd un-stick the cap i'd end up wearing something else instead! and plus i had high hopes for this polish so i kept putting it off because i didn't want to be disappointed. thankfully i wasn't!!! i didn't get the results i had hoped for until the 3rd coat, it was only then that it became opaque. it's a really great mannequin hands shade, it made my hands feel very 'clean' in a business kind of way, no distractions, just a nice seamless transition from my fingernails to my fingers! this will definitely get added to the interview polish list that i keep in my head! i am very satisfied with this one, definitely one that i will keep and not swap! (but speaking of swaps i'm super excited, i'm swapping for about 15 bottles of polish and i cannot wait to complete the swap!)

day two hundred and seventeen, opi bright lights, big colour!

the story of this nail polish (for me) goes back about...4-5 years. i had a manicure done in an essie coral colour and i couldn't remember the name (i still can't) and devoted a huge portion of my time shopping around at different etailers and retailers trying to find the precise shade. this isn't it...that much i do know. but beyond that...i can't even remember what the original colour WAS!

anyway! this is from the brights collection back in...i don't know, but awhile ago to say the least! it's a really gorgeous pink/orange coral with a super strong gold flash and stunning iridescent shimmer loaded in the polish. it is a great, spring-y warm colour...a perfect antithesis to the freezing grey rain we've had here! it DOES go on quite sheer...this was i think 5 thin coats and i still felt like my natural nail line was visible (which i hate). but it's so pretty and cheerful...it gets a pass on the VNL department. it is kind of a mix between the two different shades shown (i snapped two at work on my iphone because i was convinced i hadn't captured it accurately...and i still haven't! )

day two hundred and thirteen, opi malaga wine

ignore the colouring in the first photo, the last four are accurate (i had to turn off all the settings to make it appear as it really is!). this is kind of a short description post because i'm trying to stick to the 'if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all' rule. malaga wine is a dark red wine colour from the espana collection. i will say the main reason i own this polish is because i have actually been to malaga and had a ridiculously amazing time. however, this polish has nothing to do with malaga outside of name reference! it is a really recent colour and i think that is why i'm so unhappy with it. this is not OPI reinventing the wheel...this is OPI putting out a standard wine colour and calling it brand new. that kind of irks me. i know that they're a big brand and are not known for taking risks and blah blah...but this is BORING! how many wine colours are out there in the OPI core collection!? LOTS!

so. meh. even my friend (who doesn't even wear nail polish) said that this was a really boring colour in contrast to the colours i typically wear! so it's not just me! this polish could've been something really cool. instead...it's average. it's nothing special and you can find this same colour in a drugstore brand for a cheaper price.

day one hundred and ninety three, opi ginger bells!

giveaway winners! my 3 ladies i am posting your parcels on Monday, rain or shine!

here's 'ginger bells!' from the opi holiday 2009 collection. i wasn't really sure on this one in the bottle, it is a bit of a strange colour and i'm still not 100% sure if i like it on me, i think it's a great colour though and i'm definitely holding onto it! i will say...it doesn't actually remind me of ginger - i assume gingerbread, if anything i feel like it should be part of a thanksgiving collection and be called pumpkin pie! or something along those lines. although it's a bit brown for a true pumpkin colour. it's still really cool and unusual...which is rare for OPI so i appreciate the few times they step out of their comfort zone!!! it is sort of an orangey brown with maybe the slightest hint of red all mixed together into one. a fun creme, nice and shiney...definitely like it! although buy it from etailers who do discounts, not like me, i snapped it up in a salon when i saw it but paid full price (ugh!)

day one hundred and eighty nine, opi have you seen my limo?

so this is an old classic from the opi holidays in hollywood collection. it's a very nice purpley shimmer with a very slight silvery/grey-ish duochrome. very nice colour, a definite staple in most collections!

day one hundred and sixty five, opi shim-merry chic

don't forget to enter my giveaway where you can win TEN bottles of nail polish!!! (winner is announced in 4 days)

we haven't seen OPI for awhile! this is 'shim-merry chic' from the 2009 opi holiday collection and i am quite pleased with it! it's a dark gold...hints of brown colour with flakes (FLAKES!) mixed throughout. the so un-opi flakey gorgeous-ness adds an incredible layer of AWESOME to this otherwise...pretty but meh polish. i mean...without the flakes it'd still be nice and pretty, but with them!? out of this world 'oh how i love thee' gorgeous. i tried to get some really close shots of my nail to show the flakey goodness and show how it is random on each nail (and is different than the dense flakes found in nfu.oh polishes)...but please excuse my cuticles. nail polish has helped curb my nail biting habit but in times of stress i pick at my cuticles (and i am the worst moisturiser ever...i always forget but i did just find an UHG [ultimate holy grail] hand lotion by bliss, their high intensity hand cream is now my favourite lotion ever so i am trying to get better at it...and always moisturise your nail beds!!! solar oil by CND is my personal favourite...if i don't moisturise my nails they will start to ache! so be good to your hands).

wow i got off topic but it was important! you can get this polish from any retailer that sells OPI (i ridiculously overpaid at a salon and spent £10 on this one bottle) so don't go to a salon and pay full price! my favourite etailers are transdesign.com, 8ty8beauty.com and head2toebeauty.com but i know there are tons more!


enjoy!

day one hundred and forty seven, opi designer series reserve

okay. here is an interesting and gorgeous designer series polish from opi called reserve. it's sort of a coppery/peach almost flesh colour but the diamond dust signature of all DS polishes makes it ridiculously intriguing, beautiful and exciting!!! i'm completely enamoured with it, it also makes another good demure yet fantastic manicure for people who might shy away from neon green with purple polka dot fingers (haha). this beauty was gifted to me by a friend and i'm so glad she chose it because i probably would've never picked it for myself but now that it is on...i adore it. it's just really different!!

day one hundred and forty six, nubar iris dust opi movin' out

okay people this was suppoed to be an image heavy post but blogger aren't cooperating! nubar iris dust is another fantastic duochrome from the smarties at nubar, its a purple/orange duochrome and the effect is magnificent. i had an interview today so i wanted something subtle and decided to try a new shade (well...i've had this for a couple years i just haven't worn it yet) for my interview instead of going with a trusted fav (any of the ones i've mentioned!). i originally planned on just painting opi "movin' out" (after the AMAZING billy joel song...i think!) but it is a clear jelly with pink microglitter suspended throughout...because of the clear base i couldn't leave it on my nails alone since you could see how stained and yellow my nails are through the polish so i put on 3 layers of nubar iris dust followed by 1 more layer of movin out to give it some extra shimmer. the cool thing about movin out is that because it is a clear base it allows the microglitter to reflect whatever colour the nubar polish is reflecting. i thought it was really awesome and so i took a video just to demonstrate how much i loved the sparkle!! it definitely reminds me of one of the new CND effect polishes (the opi).

day one hundred and thirty nine, opi my private jet

today we have the amazingly gorgeous my private jet by OPI. there are 2 versions of this polish and one is older...one is (obviously!) newer, the older one is supposed to be more holographic and it is when you see side-by-side comparison shots...but i've only got the new one and it suits me just fine. i've actually never worn this and i bought it 2 years ago!! another reason i love this blog, i have so many colours that need their day to shine. this polish certainly does shine!! it is a dark brown/black holographic/prismatic polish and the effect is amazing. you can just see the rainbow effect across the finger, i am in love! it's definitely unforgettable!

day one hundred and twenty seven, opi that's berry daring

i think this is the brightest, most cheerful polish i own. great for a very cold and snowy london! i was gifted this polish...it's definitely a blue-pink..really nice colour, this is, as always, 3 coats.