OPI Shine Bright Collection - Swatches & Review

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On Saturday I came home to a surprise package from Stark Matthews with the brand new OPI Shine Bright Collection and some really yummy looking cookies.  One sadly didn't make the distance and it was completely smashed and all the way through the box but the most important thing is that the polishes all survived and now I have them to share with you guys.

Dressed To The Wines is described as a red wine shimmer.  This is such a beautiful and rich colour and perfect for the cooler weather (which is not the current Melbourne weather).  The formula is great and applies evenly and easy.  For my swatch I used two coats.

Gingerbread Man Can is described as a shimmery brown.  I want to say this is quite a unique shade in my collection but I'm not 100% sure.  It's interesting but it's not one I would consider as a favourite.  The formula is great and easy to use.  For my swatch I used two coats.

Merry In Cranberry is described as a fuchsia.  This is definitely my favourite from this collection.  The colour is really pretty and the formula is great.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Naughty Or Ice? is described as a champagne shimmer.  This one is really sheer.  I think you would need four coats to build it up so with that said I used it as a topper.  I'm pretty sure that this would look better over a lighter base but I used it over Merry In Cranberry and I kinda like it.  There is something kinda cool about it.  Anyway, I used one coat over Merry In Cranberry.

Red-y For The Holidays is described as a classic velvet red.  This is such a staple red that everyone should have in their collections.  I also think it makes for a perfect Santa red.  The formula is always.  It's so creamy and applies like a dream.  My swatch shows two coats.

Snowfalling For You is described as a pearlescent pink.  As much as I usually love pink polishes this one gets a no from me.  The application of this polish is ok, but those visible brush strokes and bubbles look horrible.  So definitely not a fan of this one.  For my swatch I used three coats.

This Gold Sleighs Me is a pearlescent gold.  Not a fan of this one at all.  Again it has those visible brush strokes but this one was also more difficult to use as it drags the polish off if you go over the same spot.  It did apply better on the second coat which is what is shown in my swatch.  I do question if I should have done a third coat.

This Shade Is Ornamental is described as a velvety rose pink.  I'm not a fan of this polish either.  The colour isn't my type of shade, the formula is ok (not great but not terrible) and it has those visible brush strokes.  My swatch shows two coats.

Overall, I'm not completely in love with this collection.  I think there are a couple of great shades and some that are perfect for the holidays but those pearlescent shades ruin it for me.  I wish Australia would get the other shades that they sell in the US because there are some gorgeous polishes in the mix which I would happily trade for some of these.

OPI Shine Bright Collection is available now from Myer, David Jones and selected salons.

OPI Hidden Prism (Part) Collection - Swatches & Review

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There is one thing that has come out of this whole stage 4 lock down period - lots of packages.  There is no simple just duck out to the shops to pick up this or that instead you sit at home and wait for when/if Australia Post decide to deliver.  Anyway, I wasn't actually expecting anything when there was a knock at my door - surprise nail mail!  Inside was these two gorgeous OPI polishes from the Hidden Prisms Collection, some nail/cuticle care goodies and a really pretty face mask.  

Coral Chroma is a peachy orange with a strong light pink shimmer.  This is super sheer so I decided to swatch it over OPI Hopelessly Devoted To OPI.  Honestly, I didn't think I would like this polish much but once it was on my nails I changed my mind.  It's gorgeous!  Like I said it is sheer so I am not sure how many coats you would need to make it opaque, but it does make for a great topper.  It is easy to use and does have slight brush makes but I think the colour makes up for that.  For my swatch I used one coat.

Prismatic Fanatic is a blue toned base with a strong purple shimmer.  I absolutely love this shade.  I instantly feel in love with it as soon as I saw it.  It too is sheer but again makes for an excellent topper.  I used one coat over OPI Kanpai OPI!

I love both of these shades!  I think they are both gorgeous and make for great toppers.  I look forward to trying them over some other base colours.  

The Hidden Prism collection is available now from David Jones.

OPI Infinite Shine Mexico City (Part) Collection - Swatches & Review

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Last week I came home to some surprise nail mail.  I love when that happens.  It's always such a fun guess what is is inside the box.  Inside this surprise nail mail was some of the new polishes from OPI Infinite Shine Mexico City Collection.  I've actually seen swatches of this collection on Instagram and it has some great looking colours in the mix.  I have noticed that the Infinite Shine Collection only has ten shades vs the twelve shades that are in the regular formula.  I just thought I would mention that in case you had seen swatches of twelve polishes and wanted them in the Infinite Shine formula and couldn't find them.

Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal is described as a coral creme.  This is a nice colour especially for those warmer days (I say that as it is cold outside and I am sitting with a big jumper, pjs and fluffy socks on).  The formula was a little bit streaky on the first coat but it evened out beautifully on the second coat.

Mexico City Move-mint is described as a soft understated mint creme.  This one really surprised me!  Because it is such a light colour I was expecting it to be streaky and sheer.  While it isn't a one coater it really does have a great formula for such a light shade.  For my swatch I used two coats.

My Chihuahua Doesn't Bite Anymore is described as an orange creme.  This one definitely is more towards an orange toned red than orange if you ask me.  This one isn't really my sort of colour but I sense there will be many people who will love it.  The formula is great and is opaque in two coats.

I think this is a good collection overall especially if you are new to polishes.  There are definitely some good staple colours in there.  Of the three that I have tried I would say that Mexico City Move-mint is my favourite followed by Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal.

The Mexico City Collection is available now from Myer, David Jones and selected salons.

OPI x Converse Neons By OPI Collection - Nail Art

Last week I shared my swatches and review of the new OPI x Converse Neons By OPI Collection (you can find that blog post here if you are interested).  I am obsessed with the colours in this collection which then sparked some nail art ideas.  I thought why not share them all in a blog post.  These are just the manis I have done so far but you can bet you will be seeing these colours pop up time and time again because I do love them!

This mani you may have already seen on Instagram but as we all know things can be hard to find on IG after some time (I have 3,000 posts on IG already - so who knows how many I will have in a year or two.  Anyway, when you have a collection of polishes made in collaboration with Converse you just have to use them to do Converse nail art.  My freehand definitely needs a lot of work.  I am out of practice.

My go to style of mani is to randomly sponge polishes on which is exactly what I did for this next mani.  This aren't the greatest polishes for sponging unfortunately.  I don't think they are quite opaque enough so leave a patchy look.  But this can also work in your favour depending on what look you are going for.  I stamped using Hit The Bottle's Snowed In and Lina Nail Art Supplies Make Your Mark 02.

Dry brush manis are sooooo easy to do yet it's one of those techniques that I forget about.  I'm so glad that I didn't forget this time.  This is hands down one of my favourite manis.  The polishes are perfect for this type of mani.  Love, love, love.

When you don't want to take off your current mani, what do you do?  Stamp over it of course!  I am sure it's moments like this that the negative space images where born.  Image is from Uberchic Beauty Nice & Negative.

I'm not sure what else I can say about this OPI collection.  I love the colours both by themselves and in nail art.  You definitely will be seeing these on my nails time and time again.

OPI x Converse Neons By OPI Collection - Swatches & Review

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OPI and Converse teaming up is like a dream come true.  We all know that I love nail polish (OPI was the brand that kick started my obsession) but what you may not know is how much I love my Converse.  I have had Converse in different styles for many, many years.  My first pair were a pair of Chuck Taylor All Star Classic Low Top in blue and had Banana In Pajama shoe laces.  Anyway, let's talk about more recent Converse.  With the collaboration with OPI Converse have released a range or shoes (in different colours and styles) to match the OPI polishes.  How cool is that?  I was lucky enough to receive the awesome neon yellow ones (I'll include some pictures at the bottom of this post) and the four neon polishes that have been released in Australia (I believe in the US there is six polishes in total).

Dance Party Teal Dawn is a bright teal.  I love this colour but like all teal polishes this one doesn't photograph accurately.  It's not as blue looking in person.  The formula is a little bit streaky but is easy to work with.  For my swatch I used three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken outdoors in overcast lighting

Orange You A Rock Star? is a bright coral orange.  I love this colour too but the formula isn't great.  It's really streaky (but easy to work with) and required four coats to even out.  I think this one may be better over a white base.  

Picture taken in light box

Positive Vibes Only is a bright purple.  I absolutely love this polish!  I wore it for nearly 3 days and I didn't want to take it off.  Sadly, when I did take it off I noticed that it had stained my nails a little.  Formula wise this one is good.  It's easy to use and builds up in three coats.  Depending on your application and fussiness you could stop at two coats.

Picture taken in light box

V-I-Pink Passes is a bright pink.  Again, I love this colour!  The formula on the other hand, isn't the greatest.  Like with Orange You A Rock Star? this one is really uneven and required four coats to even out completely.

Picture taken in light box

Now onto the shoes!  As these are neon yellow they freak out my camera (it's nice to know it's not just neon polishes that freak out my camera) but they are so cool.  I love that they also have OPI on them and a polish name (I believe that Pump Up The Volume is the name of the yellow polish but sadly this one and a blue polish hasn't been released in Australia).

I love this collection (and shoes)!  The colours are gorgeous, although I do wish that the formulas were better.  That said, the formulas won't stop me from wearing these polishes.  Did I mention that I love the colours?

This collection is available now from Myer, David Jones and selected salons.

OPI Tokyo Collection - Swatches & Review

I am so excited for today's post!  From the moment I started seeing pictures of the OPI Tokyo Collection I knew that I had to have it.  As soon as it popped up I grabbed it and now I get to share it with you guys.  Before we get into the swatches, let me know if you want to see some comparison swatches with these shades and I'll do my best to do them in the next couple of weeks.  Right, lets get into the pretties!

All Your Dreams In Vending Machines is an electric pink shimmer.  I absolutely love this colour and think that it's stunning!  The formula is a little patchy on the first coat, but does even out on the second coat.  I used three coats for my swatch as I found it a little see through at the tips for my liking.  Sadly, this polish stained my nails after I removed it (I had it one for just under 24 hours).

Picture taken in light box

Another Ramen-tic Evening is a dusty rose creme.  I love this one too.  I think it is such a pretty colour (you'll probably hear me say that about a lot of these polishes).  The formula is easy to use but is a little uneven on the first coat.  It does even out beautifully on the second coat, which is what I used for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Arigato From Tokyo is an orchid creme.  It's going to come as no surprise that I love this one too!  The colour is gorgeous and the formula is fantastic!  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Chopstix And Stones is a cobalt blue shimmer.  I absolutely love this one but this is one of those polishes that doesn't translate so well to pictures.  It is a much deeper and richer colour in person that it shows in my pictures.  It also has a glow about it.  It's stunning and the formula is amazing.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

How Does Your Zen Garden Grow? is a lime green creme.  This may come as a surprise, but I love this colour!  It's bright and fun.  Definitely great for summer.  The formula is easy to use but it is a little uneven on the first coat.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Hurry-juku Get This Color is a berry pink creme.  I love this one too!  It's gorgeous!  The formula is amazing and you could get away with one coat.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

I'm On A Sushi Roll is a teal creme.  I'm a big fan of this one too.  The colour is so pretty and the formula is great.  It too is close to being a one coater.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Kanpai OPI! is a periwinkle blue/grey creme.  I am so in love with this colour!  I don't think I have anything remotely close to it in my collection.  I think it would also look amazing mattified!  The formula is fantastic and is opaque in two coats.

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Rice Rice Baby is a mauve creme.  I'm really not sure if I like this colour or not.  It leans a little too "mature lady" if you know what I mean.  Maybe it would be better in some nail art?  I guess I will have to play with it and see.  The formula is great though and opaque in two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Samurai Breaks A Nail is a lilac shimmer.  This is one of the polishes that drew me to this collection and it didn't disappoint.  I love the colour.  It's truly stunning.  The formula is a little on the sheer side, and is patchy.  I used three coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Suzi-san Climbs Fuji-san is an emerald creme.  This one definitely seems more teal to me than emerald to me, but what ever you want to call it it is a pretty colour.  It doesn't look as blue in person as what my camera makes it look though.  The formula is amazing and you could easily get away with one coat.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Tempura-ture Is Rising is an orange creme.  This isn't a favourite of mine but I think it's great for nail art.  It's a good summery colour.  The formula is patchy and needs three coats to even out, which is what I used for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

I love this collection!  It is definitely one of my favourites that they have done.  The colours are great (and no reds for those of you who think that that is all that OPI do) and the formulas are great (for the most part).  I am a little disappointed that All Your Dreams In Vending Machines stained my nails.  The colour is so gorgeous that it wouldn't stop me from wearing it again.  I'm not sure that I can pick favourites from this collection so I'm not going to.

What do you think of the OPI Tokyo Collection?

OPI The Nutcracker And The Four Realms Collection - Swatches & Review

The holiday season is in full swing and it really isn't the holidays without the OPI holiday collection.  I know that this collection has been around for a little while now and you have probably already seen plenty of swatches and read lots of reviews but I thought I would share my thoughts on the Nutcracker And Four Realms Collection anyway.  This collection contains fifteen polishes with various finishes and is limited edition.  For my Aussie readers, I believe the glitters aren't available here.  I ordered all of the polishes from a US site.

Berry Fairy Fun is a medium purple with pink and purple shimmer.  This is one of the polishes that spoke to me when I first seeing this collection.  I think the colour is so beautiful.  The formula iseasy to work with, however it does apply a little unevenly.  I used three coats for my swatch, but you can get away with two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Black To Reality is a blackened red shimmer.  I think that this is such a great shade, especially for winter.  I do wish that I had some better lighting to show off the shimmer in this one.  It is really pretty.  The formula is great and is opaque in two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box (with flash)

Candied Kingdom is a bright red creme.  This is one of those expected shades when it comes to a holiday collection.  I think it's good shade if you like reds (especially for the holidays).  The formula is great and applies beautifully.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Dancing Keeps Me On My Toes is a pearly white.  I found that this one is quite sheer so I decided to layering it over black.  As expected, this one does have visible brush strokes. My swatch shows one coat over black.

Picture taken in light box

Dazzling Dew Drops is a gold metallic with gold shimmer.  This one is quite sheer, especially on the first coat.  It's easy to use and applies evenly.  I did find that this one was quite slow drying.  For my swatch I used three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Dreams Need Clara-fication is a light periwinkle blue creme.  Now this shade is right up my alley.  Surprisingly I don't have anything in my OPI collection remotely similar to this.  Do OPI not do periwinkles or do I just not own any?  Anyway, this colour is gorgeous!  The formula is a little uneven on the first coat but evens out on the second coat.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Dreams On A Silver Platter is a mix of silver and white glitters of various sizes in a clear base.  I'm not sure if this polish can be built up to be opaque - I think that this will come down to a personal preference.  I think it makes for a great glitter topper though.  I used one coat over Dreams Need Clara-fication.  I really like this combination. 

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Envy The Adventure is an emerald green creme.   The formula of this one is awesome.  You could easily get away with one coat.  This one isn't a type of colour that I would normally wear, however I think it would be great for nail art.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Ginger's Revenge is a deep red creme.  Now if I was to do a red creme, then this is the type of red that I go for.  This one is also really glossy (even before applying top coat).  The formula is great and it is opaque in two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Gold Key To The Kingdom is a mix of gold and white glitters of various sizes in a clear base.  Like with Dreams On A Silver Platter I'm not sure if this one can really be built up or not.  I used it as a topper (one coat) over OPI March In Uniform.  This isn't a favourite glitter of mine but as you can see it has a great glitter payoff.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

I Pull The Strings is a mix of rose gold and gold glitters of various sizes in a clear base.  I do like the mix of the golds over the deep red.  I think it's quite pretty.  Again, I'm not sure if this one will build up to be opaque or not.  I used one coat over Ginger's Revenge.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Lavendare To Find Courage is a light lavender creme.  I love this one!  It's such a great colour.  It also looks awesome mattified (you'll see that mani at some point in the near future).  The formula is great and is opaque in two coats.

Picture taken in light box

March In Uniform is a navy blue creme.  I love this one too.  I think I would prefer it on shorter nails, but either way the colour is still pretty.  The formula is also fantastic.  You could easily get away with one coat.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Tinker, Thinker, Winker? is a silver holographic glitter.  I love, love, love this one!  It's soooooo pretty and so holo!  My pictures don't do it justice at all.  I'm not sure if this one is meant to be a topper or not but I did find it quite sheer on the first coat, so I decided to layer it over black.  My swatch shows one coat over black.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in overcast sunlgiht

Picture taken in overcast sunlight

Toying With Trouble is cool toned pink creme.  I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I really like this one.  I think it is a really nice pink and the formula is fantastic.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Wow!  This is definitely one of the biggest collections that I have swatched and reviewed in quite some time.  It's a great collection though.  While there are a few shades that I personally don't care for, overall the formulas are great and the colour range is good too.  My personal favourites are Tinker, Thinker, Winker?, Berry Fairy Fun, Dreams Need Clara-fication, Lavendare To Find Courage and March In Uniform.  There is also a few more that I really like as well but I'm not going to name them all.

What do you think of OPI's Holiday Collection for this year?  Which shades did/are you going to pick up?