OPI | Beauty and Fashion Tech

OPI Matte Lincoln Park After Dark

I love the OPI nail polish shade Lincoln Park after Dark, so I grabbed it in both the OPI Suede version (read my OPI Suede Lincoln Park After Dark review) and the Matte version. OPI says that because the suede and matte polishes do not wear as long to not use a base coat with them. Trust them on that! When I tested OPI Suede, I followed that advice and it wore very well. I forgot when I tried the OPI matte and it was chipping off less than 24 hours after I put it on! Not using a top coat it obvious–it would ruin the mattte or sude look.

In terms of appearance, I like the Lincoln Park After Dark matte version better than the suede. But I still prefer the regular polish over both of them. If you try the matte, experiment with doing a glossy tip. I think that gives the matte nail polish looks a better overall look. I also like using a mattifying top coat better than using the already matte nail polishes. It seems to wear longer and gives more flexibility, since you can wear your favorite polish shades either normally or matte that way.

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OPI Suede Nail Polish Lincoln Park After Dark

I was curious about OPI Suede nail polish, and I have always loved the OPI shade Lincoln Park After Dark, so I was happy to see it in the Suede version: OPI Lincoln Park After Dark SUEDE Nail Lacquer.

OPI Suede is basically the matte version of a frosted polish, which results in a suede-like effect. It is an interesting look. It appears matte, but light can catch on the frost a bit, so it isn’t completely without shine at times. I rather like it and I think I prefer it over a standard matte look.

OPI states that the suede nail lacquers do not wear as long as other polishes and they also instruct not to wear a top coat with the suede polish. Wearing a top coat certainly would defeat the purpose, since it would remove the matte effect. As for wear, I didn’t think it was too bad. I started chipping it a day later because I was doing yard work, but it actually held up better through that than I expected it to. I can’t say that I particularly noticed any less wear from it than I do with standard OPI nail polish.

Popularity: 2% [?]

OPI Nail Polish South Beach Collection

I had a hard time choosing a nail lacquer shade to try from the OPI South Beach Collection. I finally decided on Paint My Moji-Toes Red, Miami Beet, which is a nice berry red shade.

For some reason, this polish didn’t last all that long for me though. Usually OPI lasts OK for me, so it was likely something I did, such as applying it too thick—I’m often guilty of that and this one didn’t need an extra coat. In any event, I do really love this shade. I got mine at an Ulta Store.

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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: 2% [?]

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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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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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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