NOTD: OPI Alcatraz... Rocks

OPI Alcatraz... Rocks

(a Liquid Sand shade)

2 coats, no topcoat

 

This is the main shade from the OPI San Francisco collection that I have been drying to try. I was lucky enough to win it in a giveaway and I LOVE IT! As hard as I tried, my camera couldn't catch how the multi-colored shimmers show up even when it's left matte.

OPI Alcatraz... Rocks

2 coats

plus 2 coats of Gelous and

1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

I thought I'd add some topcoat, and it brings out the glitter even more. This is definitely my favorite Liquid Sand shade so far.

 

NOTD: OPI Jinx

OPI Jinx
a Liquid Sand shade from the 2013 Bond Girls collection

(click pic to enlarge)

left to right

Solitaire

This diamond-sparkling white is totally engaging.

Pussy Galore

This light feminine pink has the purrrfect amount of shimmer.

Tiffany Case

A classic light blue worth investigating.

Vesper

A mysterious and intriguing deep purple.

Honey Ryder

Take a ryde on the wild side in this shimmery gold.

Jinx

This mesmerizing matte coral has lucky sparkle.

The only one I decided to buy was Jinx, and I am so glad I did! I agree with those that say this is the prettiest one in the collection. It's so eye-catching and the color color is gorgeous.

 

 

NOTD: OPI Magazine Cover Mouse

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse

2 coats, no topcoat 
Liquid Sand

from the Couture de Minnie collection

Last Saturday I purchased the Runway Minis at Ulta for $12.95 and after I swatched A Definite Moust-Have, I moved to the right and did the next shade, which was a Liquid Sand shade. (more on that in a minute)

 

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse

macro shot

It is really pretty! I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of texture polishes because I find them sort of scratchy and bothersome. So I added some topcoat to see what that looked like.

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse

2 coats of Gelous, 1 coat of NYC GCS added

One problem for me, though, is that with all the coats I've got on there, chipping starts pretty fast. It's the second day now and I've got one nail that's about to peel off completely, and two that have big chips near the tips. For me, this would be an "occasion" look- meaning I'd just wear it for a party or an event- it wouldn't be a mani I could plan on wearing for multiple days due to the chipping.

But more on the fact that they included a Liquid Sand shade in the Runway Minnies set..... I do think it's great anytime they don't put a topcoat mini in there! However, do you notice that on the front of the Runway Minnies set they don't mention Liquid Sand? If you were a nail polish novice, perhaps a Disney lover, and picked this up and didn't know much about texture polish, Magazine Cover Mouse would throw you for a loop!

There is a very small sentence on the back, below the name of the shade, that tells you not to use topcoat.

Still, I would have like to have seen OPI add the Liquid Sand wrapper on the bottle top like they do on the regular size bottles like this:
 

 

 

Or at the very least, highlight the Liquid Sand feature on the package front like this:

 

 

 

What do you think?

OPI Announces Bond Girls collection

(click pic to enlarge)

left to right

Solitaire

This diamond-sparkling white is totally engaging.

Pussy Galore

This light feminine pink has the purrrfect amount of shimmer.

Tiffany Case

A classic light blue worth investigating.

Vesper

A mysterious and intriguing deep purple.

Honey Ryder

Take a ryde on the wild side in this shimmery gold.

Jinx

This mesmerizing matte coral has lucky sparkle.

Since I really liked the OPI Mariah Carey collection (both matte and with a topcoat), I am excited for more Liquid Sand shades!  These will be available in May 2013. I am especially excited for Tiffany Case and Jinx- these look gorgeous! Are any of these shades calling your name?

Press release info:

                  

               OPI announces the launch of Bond Girls, a collection of six new Liquid Sand™ nail lacquers featuring a textured, matte finish infused with reflective sparkle fitting the allure surrounding the Bond Girls.  In hues of white, pink, blue, purple, gold and coral, Bond Girls offers a range of shimmering shades with the distinctive Liquid Sand finish.

 “OPI is extremely excited to partner again with EON Productions,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI co-founder & Artistic Director. “Following the success of the holiday promotion with the latest James Bond film, Skyfall, it’s been a thrill to create colors for the women who’ve captured Bond’s attention over the last five decades.

“The six shades are named after some of the most iconic – and my favorite – Bond girls, including: Solitaire, Pussy Galore, Tiffany Case, Vesper, Honey Ryder and Jinx,” adds Weiss-Fischmann. “Worn without top coat, these Liquid Sand lacquers give nails a pebbled, matte finish worthy of the captivating ‘Bond Girls’ name.”

NOTD: OPI The Impossible

Today I have another one of OPI's Liquid Sand shades to show you. One of OPI's latest innovations is "Liquid Sand", which is basically a matte, textured glitter meant to be worn without topcoat. There are four shades of liquid sand released as part of the Mariah Carey collection. I picked up the mini set at Ulta to check what I thought.

Macro shot of OPI The Impossible

3 coats

OPI The Impossible

3 coats, no topcoat

OPI The Impossible

3 coats color, 3 coats of Gelous and 1 coat NYC GSC added

left: no topcoat                         right: topcoat

Again, I wore this for a day before I added topcoat and it wore great. I absolutely loved it so much more with topcoat, it is gorgeous.

I do want to note that I do not think I got a single piece of star glitter in my bottle of The Impossible. Now, maybe that is because it's a mini bottle and there was just less of a chance of getting some in there? After I did all 10 fingers with 3 coats and didn't get one, I turned the bottle every which way and search to see if there was any in there and I did not find a single piece. A bit of a disappointment.

Overall, I really liked the Liquid Sand polishes. I love being able to change the look of my polish on the second day, and adding a topcoat is a fast and easy way to do that.

NOTD: OPI Stay the Night

Today I have another one of OPI's Liquid Sand shades to show you. One of OPI's latest innovations is "Liquid Sand", which is basically a matte, textured glitter meant to be worn without topcoat. There are four shades of liquid sand released as part of the Mariah Carey collection. I picked up the mini set at Ulta to check what I thought.

Macro shot of Stay the Night (3 coats)

This is matte black with shiny pink glitter. Definitely my favorite of the set so far (I still have The Impossible left to swatch).

OPI Stay the Night

3 coats, no topcoat

I wore the shade with no topcoat for 24 hours and again got no chipping and minimal tipwear.

Stay the Night

with topcoat applied (3 coats of Gelous, 1 coat of NYC GCS)

I actually think I love it even more with topcoat- it's absolutely glowing!

left: no topcoat                         right: topcoat

This shade was a bit harder to remove, and I actually probably should have just used the foil or Reesa method. I used my scrubby tub and had to scrub quite a bit on each finger- it probably took me at least twice as long to remove as the purple and blues liquid sand shades did.

Come back tomorrow for swatches of The Impossible!

NOTD: OPI Get Your Number

Today I have another one of OPI's Liquid Sand shades to show you. As we discussed yesterday, one of OPI's latest innovations is "Liquid Sand", which is basically a matte, textured glitter meant to be worn without topcoat. There are four shades of liquid sand released as part of the Mariah Carey collection. I picked up the mini set at Ulta to check what I thought.

Macro shot of Get Your Number (3 coats)

 

OPI Get Your Number

3 coats, no topcoat

OPI Get Your Number

3 coats, no topcoat

 

As you can see from the blurry pic, there is some seriously gorgeous holo glitter in  there that is so so pretty in the sun.

 

This shade did need three coats to reach full opacity, especially at the tips. Again, I wore the shade with no topcoat for 24 hours and again got no chipping and minimal tipwear.

 

Get Your Number

with topcoat applied (3 coats of Gelous, 1 coat of NYC GCS)

 

 

I love this both ways- with and without topcoat. It's eye-catching.

 

left: no topcoat                  right: topcoat

 

I also wanted to speak on removal- although it took a bit longer than a normal creme polish, this bumpy glitter came off just fine in my scrubby tub. I was afraid I might need to use the foil or Reesa method, but I had no problems getting every last piece of glitter off without scraping or having t o work too hard.

 

So far I am loving these Liquid Sand shades.

NOTD: OPI Can't Let Go

One of OPI's latest innovations is "Liquid Sand", which is basically a matte, textured glitter meant to be worn without topcoat. There are four shades of liquid sand released as part of the Mariah Carey collection. I picked up the mini set at Ulta to check what I thought.

Macro shot of Can't Let Go (2 coats)

OPI Can't Let Go

2 coats

I was very impressed with the coverage I got in just two coats, so I stopped there. I am so used to using a quick-dry topcoat, so it was hard for me to leave the topcoat off and let them dry on their own. I would estimate it took about 10 minutes for them to feel dry and like I wouldn't mess them up if I touched them.

I have seen some swatches of the liquid sand polishes taken before they have had a chance to completely dry and reach their final texture. Those swatches don't look quite as matte. I really think it really helped show the effect for my swatch to be taken on the second day. I have also seen some people mention that they felt applying lotion dulled the matte effect, but I didn't find this at all.

I was also pleasantly surprised with the wear- I went a full 24 hours without a single chip and barely any tipwear- and I work with paper all day in my job and did business as usual.

I also thought the texture might bother me, but it kinda felt cool, so I didn't mind it at all.

Can't Let Go with topcoat applied (2 coats of Gelous, 1 coat of NYC GCS)

On the second night, I applied topcoat to see how that changed the appearance. This photo was taken the next afternoon. I actually loved it with topcoat too- the topcoat made the glittery super-shiny and gorgeous in the sun.

left: no topcoat                        right: topcoat