OPI : 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.

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Popularity: 28% [?]

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% [?]

The Blue Nail Trend: Getting it Cheap with Wet-n-Wild!

When it comes to the trendy blue nail polish look, I’m a fence sitter. I have seen some women, particularly younger women, wear it well. In the darker shades, I tend to rather like the look. On myself, however, I think it looks rather silly–Something my husband very much agrees with.

Regardless, there is no need to break the bank buying sold out Chanel on Ebay or spending $20 on the Dior version in order to have the current hip look in nails. The cheaper brands are already stepping up and putting out blue shades. When chasing a trend, buying cheap makes sense. You are unlikely to use up the product before it goes out of style anyway

At the cheapest end of the scale, you can get a perfectly acceptable polish in Wet ‘n’ Wild for a couple dollars at your local drugstore. As one of those impulse grocery store purchases, I picked up Wet ‘n’ Wild Sapphire Blue for under $2 and gave it a try. The quality of the polish was surprisingly good. It covered well with only a single coat, dried quickly, and has been almost as chip proof as my more expensive polishes. Plus I kill nail polish so fast, that chip proof means little to me–I chip even the best within a day. Here is another view of it:

I think the blue looks odd on me, but that is not the fault of the brand. I plan to give Wet ‘n’ Wild another look for some shades that are better suited for me. Why spend $8 for Essie or O.P.I. when a $2 brand at the grocery store works just as well? The shade choices are more limited though and I have to admit that my favorite shades happen to be from Essie and MAC. So I doubt I will be entirely switiching brand loyalties.Here are a few other affordable options for blue nails (both currently on sale for under $6 through the links): OPI Nail Polish Yoga-ta Get this Blue! from the India Collection, and Essie Nail Polish - Aruba Blue. Other bargains can be found online, as can the more expensive Dior version. Also watch for all of the drugstore brands to play catch up and start releasing their own blue shades.

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Popularity: 24% [?]

OPI Garden Party Nail Polish Collection

I don’t always wear nail polish, especially on my fingernails, but when summer kicks in, I usually step it up a bit. So I couldn’t stop myself from buying the OPI Garden Party Nail Polish Collection when I was last at the Ulta store. This is a set of mini bottles of some of the shades in the collection, and is a fun way to try out different shades.

The OPI Garden Party Collection is right up my alley in terms of my favorite nail lacquer shades. It is a bunch of light pinks, peaches, and whites. All of those tend to be my favorites. I think each mini bottle will do about three, or maybe four, manicures or pedicures. The downside of getting the mini bottles is that the brush is a bit harder to handle, but I did OK.

My favorite color was funny bunny, which is a pearly white shade. I did a pedicure with that. I also really like no bees please, which is a delicate pink shade. The shades in the collection are perfect for summer. They also would work well for french manicures. OPI polish is good stuff too. It usually is pretty durable and long wearing. It also applies evenly.

If you are looking for a way to try out a bunch of shades at once, give this collection a try!

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Popularity: 6% [?]