Nails : Beauty and Fashion Tech

Sephora by OPI Nail Polish

I have been asked several times already about the new OPI for Sephora nail lacquer. So I figured I had better get this review up sooner than later! Yes, OPI has teamed up with Sephora to release a fairly good sized collection of nail polish shades.

I stopped in a picked up a Sephora by OPI metallic plum/purple shade called Meet for Drinks, that turns out to be almost a dead ringer for my favorite limited edition purple shade from the MAC Fafi Collection (read review). So that solves my problem of what to do when the LE polish I had runs out!

As you can see, it really is a pretty shade. With purple nails, clothing and accessories being the in trend this fall, I’m sure that I will be wearing this shade quite a bit.

The Sephora by OPI polish wears about the same as regular OPI nail lacquer. For me, that mean it chips a bit quicker than some other brands, such as Essie, but it still is a good polish with decent enough wear. the Sephora line has a good range of shades, with a number of neat colors.

Shop for Sephora by OPI Nail Polish

Popularity: 28% [?]

Nubar Oh Baby Pink Polish

Nubar makes some great shades of pink nail polish. This one sends 10% of the proceeds to City of Hope for breast cancer research.

You can purchase Nubar nail lacquer at bynubar.com.

BBNBCA

Popularity: 37% [?]

Moving into Fall with Deep Purple Nails

I am dragging myself kicking and Screaming into fall now. I started with a purchase of fall nail polish from the OPI France Collection in the shade We’ll always Have Paris. I wasn’t quite ready to wear it on my fingers, so I just did my toes! Here they are. I admit that it is not the best pedicure–I got a little sloppy with it!

I really like this shade. Purple hues suit me well, especially when they are very dark. I also don’t care for black, blue, or other things that seem a bit too trendy and funky for my age. So the purple trend works well for me. It is just reddish enough for me to not feel like I am wearing a kid’s color. Look for all sorts of deep purple nails this fall, while grays, blues, and black are still around as well.

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Popularity: 25% [?]

Matching OPI Nail Polish to OPI Nic’s Sticks

Last week, I reviewed OPI Nic’s Sticks - Paint & Go Nail Laquer (read review). I loved the shade, but didn’t really love the polish. So I and wondered whether I could find the same shade in a regular polish. Off to Ulta I went, where I matched my Nic’s Stick to the OPI shade Elephantastic Pink. Below are the side by side results:

The shades were pretty darn close, although I still like the Nic’s Stick shade a bit more. I tested the OPI polish out at work and when I chipped it typing (something I regularly do to all polishes), I used the Nic’s Stick to fill it in.

It worked pretty well, as long as I filled in the chip and then went back over the entire nail with the Nic’s stick polish. The Nic’s Stick lacquer is sheer enough that a perfect match was not needed, but it does need that extra full coat to cover a chip.

Together, they are a pretty good pair! I might try this with other shades.

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Popularity: 29% [?]

OPI Nic’s Sticks Nail Lacquer: Polish on The Go

OPI Nic’s Sticks - Paint & Go Nail Laquer are easy to use quick dry nail polish “pens.” Basically it is a tube with a built in brush that the polish is clicked up into, making it easy to carry and apply polish just about anywhere.

The downside of these polish pens is that they tend to have lower quality brushes and the polish just doesn’t come out as nice. This makes sense if you think about it: Anyone wanting a top notch manicure will do one with a full base coat, good lacquer, and a top coat. The pens really are more aimed at on the go easy nails, so they often lack the finesse of a really good manicure.

Sally Hansen makes a similar product that I was not overly impressed with, but I decided to give OPI Nic’s sticks a try. I got the shade Express-ion of Love and adored the color.

Overall, this line has very nice shades. The color is also fairly sheer, but will become opaque with a couple of layers. However, when it dried, I found that the polish looked a bit dull, so I had to add a glossy top coat. At that point, I might as well have done a regular manicure. But having the pen does make for easy touch ups. When I chipped my polish at work, I just grabbed the pen from my purse and touched it up. The polish dries very quickly, so smudges are no concern. The Nic’s sticks polish tended to last not quite as long as regular polish would and it also chipped a bit easier.

On the whole, this is a decent item for when you really need simplicity, or the ability to do quick touch ups. Otherwise, I suggest sticking with regular nail polish. It also got me wondering if I could find the same shade in a regular OPI polish so that I could do a normal manicure and then use the Nic’s sticks for touch ups. More on that next week!

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Popularity: 21% [?]

Get a Great Pedicure: Daily Beauty Bytes

This reminds me of just how much I need a good pedicure!

Pedicure how-to

Top Do-It-Yourself Pedicure Tips

Pros share tips on getting salon results at home

With gorgeous sandals hitting the shelves, it’s no time to be shy about baring your toes. Sure, you could splurge on a luxurious pedicure but who has the time and money to keep that up? Fortunately, celeb-trusted nail pros Roxanne Valinoti, Nicole Dihn and Jenna Hipp are sharing their top tips for pampering your feet. Read their advice to find out how to do a pedicure at home — and look like you went to a salon. …More

What are Daily Beauty Bytes?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Total Nail RX Nail Treatment Products

The Total Nail RX line of nail treatment and specialty products is fairly new to the market. I have seen it only at Walgreens, so it may be exclusive to them.

Total Nail RX Fill Me In Surface Smoothing Base Coat

The line features a number of items aimed at various nail issues, such as chipping, strength, ridges etc. It also features a French manicure set and base and top coats. I purchased the Fill Me In surface smoothing base coat and the Slick Fast Dry top coat.The Nail RX base coat did a nice job of filling in ridges and providing a good surface for polish to adhere to that is not too slick, but not overly tacky. The base coat appears to be a peach color in the bottle, but it dries clear.

The Slick Fast Dry top coat also worked quite well. It provided a quick hard surface and gave off a nice amount of shine.

My one complaint about the line is that the bottles come with a thick rubber band around the lids that I suppose is meant to make it anti-slip when using the brush. But the band falls off of the bottom and I found it uncomfortable if pushed up. Fortunately, it is easy to remove, so it would not stop me from purchasing the items, nor does it prevent me from recommending them.

Look for Total Nail RX products at Walgreens stores by the other nail products. Price regularly runs from around $7-$10, but I have seen the items on sale fairly frequently.

Popularity: 12% [?]