OPI Spiderman Collection Swatches and Review!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you are all having a wonderful Thursday!  Today, I have something very exciting to show you!  At least, I'm super excited about it!

The new OPI Spiderman Collection!  A bit of background for you all;  I'm a bit of a nerd.  I love superheroes.  I love superhero movies.  I especially LOVE Spiderman!  Something about a dorky kid gaining superhuman powers just really makes me happy!  Plus, last Fall, the boyfriend and I were walking around the city and totally stumbled into the re shoots of the new The Amazing Spiderman movie!  So needless to say, I'm very excited for this summer's release of The Amazing Spiderman (not to mention that Andrew Garfield will make a much better Peter Parker than Toby McGuire ever did.)  So when I found out that OPI was having a tie in with the movie, well let's just say the fangirl in me did a little happy dance!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  2 coats of Call Me Gwen-Ever

This is one of the two colors that feels a bit out of place in this collection that's much darker but it does feel right for a Summer release!  Call Me Gwen-Ever is an orange-leaning coral creme that's a perfect pedicure shade for Spring or Summer!  The formula was great on this one, fully opaque in two coats and really easy to apply like most OPI Cremes are!

Above:  2 coats of Into the Night

First of all, I love the name of this polish, it just sounds so ominous!  Into the Night is a deep sapphire shimmer.  The difference between this and most of OPI's shimmers is that the formula was pretty thin.  This is two coats and it could have used a third.  I do love the slight silver shimmer this polish throws off but I wish the formula was a tad bit thicker.

Above:  2 coats of Just Spotted the Lizard

For some reason, this name makes me laugh every time.  Just Spotted the Lizard is the next in the series of CHANEL Peridot dupes we've been seeing over the last year and this is a pretty good one!  It's actually closer to Deborah Lippmann Swagga Like Us which I will show you next week.  Just Spotted the Lizard is a yellow gold with a hint of green and a tiny bit of deal flash to it.  It's not a full duochrome but it has a hint of flash that's really pretty, hence all the pictures!  The formula was good, opaque in two coats, but be careful when applying or it may get a tad bit brush stroke-y.

Above:  2 coats of Number One Nemesis

Seriously OPI wins in my book for some of the best polish names!  Number One Nemesis was the real standout of this collection for me.  It's almost a CHANEL Graphite dupe except it's a tad bit more green.  I love it!  Number One Nemesis is a deep pewter/grey/green jewel toned polish that's just gorgeous.  I love that it has the tiniest hints of dark green sparkle and it's really just a gorgeous, multi-dimensional polish!  The formula was great, opaque in two coats and it's really just gorgeous!

Above:  2 coats of Your Web or Mine

This was the other polish that felt a bit out of place in this collection but again, it works for a summer release!  Your Web or Mine is a carnation pink frosty polish.  Frosts are never my favorite because the brush strokes drive me nuts (especially because mine always look a bit wonky since I apparently can't paint in a straight line.)  It's definitely too frosty for my taste but if you are a pink lover or a frosty lover, you won't be disappointed!  The formula was good, opaque in two coats and lots of pigment to give a really bright shade!

Above:  2 coats of My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Now you need some sort of a white in a Spiderman Collection since webs are kind of an integral part of the story!  What I love about My Boyfriend Scales Walls is that it's not a bright white but a slightly grey, softer white.  This doesn't have a chalky look to it and wasn't streaky in two coats like many whites can be!  I really like this polish a lot!  It's a great alternative to a neutral without being boring!  The formula was great, opaque in two coats!

above:  1 coat of Shatter the Scales over 2 coats of My Boyfriend Scales Walls

I know the shatter thing has been done a lot, but I"m really excited for a dark green shimmer shatter!  Shatter the Scales is a deep, forest green shimmer with a hint of teal that shatters beautifully!  I love the hints of silver shimmer to it that make it look almost three dimensional!  I'm a big fan!

So there you have it, the OPI Spiderman Collection!  I think this was a really interesting collection.  Call Me Gwen-Ever was pretty but felt out of place and Your Web or Mine wasn't my favorite but I really enjoyed the rest of the collection!  I will be sure to do some comparison posts soon for you all with Just Spotted the Lizard and Number One Nemesis but I think they were both great colors!  Plus My Boyfriend Scales Walls is a really interesting take on a white!  These polishes will be available in May 2012 and will retail for $8.50.

What did you think of these polishes? Any must haves? Any dupes?  Are you as excited for a new Spiderman as I am?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy above for additional information.

Layering Day 5 - OPI Nicki Minaj Collection Featuring Fly, Save Me and Super Bass Shatter

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Today, for day 5 of Layering Week, I have a couple of the polishes I picked up from OPI's Nicki Minaj Collection that was recently released.  I picked out 4 out of the 6 polishes that were released and today thought I'd show you two different layering combinations using a base of Fly!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  2 coats of Fly

I started with Fly, the only one of the cremes that stood out to me enough to buy from this collection!  I wish my camera photographed how teal it is, because it's looking much more blue in my photograph, but in real life there is a lot more green to it!  It has a great dusty quality to it that prevents it from looking neon and I just really like this creme!  It was perfectly opaque in 2 coats and is very pigmented so it's a great spring polish in my opinion!

Above:  2 coats of Fly, one coat of Save Me

So the first layering combination I tried was with Save Me and Fly.  Save Me is small silver microglitter that has blue and holographic bar glitter in it!  I'm just not sure how I feel about bar glitter.  It looks "hairy" to me, kind of like glitter exploded and got stuck in something.  I like the colors and I like the idea, but the execution just doesn't do it for me.

Above:  2 coats of Fly, 1 coat of Super Bass Shatter

Now this is a combination I can get behind!  I will be honest, I haven't worn a shatter manicure in a really long time, but I kind of love this one!  Super Bass Shatter is a dark purple shatter that has some glitter in it!  And, depending on the base color, it can go from fuchsia to magenta to dark purple!  Plus it cracks super well unlike some other shatters (I'm looking at you Turquoise Shatter!)  I really liked the look of this!  The teal and the purple are a great combination and it's just super fun!

So there you have it, a couple of layering options with the Nicki Minaj Collection.  What do you guys think of these colors?  Are you a fan of bar glitter?  Are you over Shatter or still loving it?

Patriotic Manicure for July 4th!

I know, I know, I'm a day late with this one! Sorry! I was house/dog sitting for my parents this weekend with the boyfriend so I actually didn't change my polish for two whole days! Then we went to Target and the local beauty supply shop where I bought new polishes (more to come on that later) and we didn't get back to NYC until last night. So, my July 4th manicure lasted for about an hour while we ate dinner and then I changed it again! Anyway, here is my version of an "American Manciure."



These are all the polishes I used for this manicure. From left to right: China Glaze Hey Sailor, Wet and Wild White Creme, OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue, OPI Red Shatter, OPI White Shatter, OPI Blue Shatter. I started off with one coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails and then two coats of the non-shattered polishes.



As you can see, I did the thumb and pinkie red, the ring and pointer fingers white and the middle fingers blue. Then I decided to add a shatter to each nail as well.



Voila! An American Manicure. I do love my shatters and this seemed like a great way to use a bunch of them!

What'd you do for your July 4th manicures?

OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Mini Set

OK I've had these swatches for awhile but I just got so excited by all my other nail polish (a problem I frequently have) I haven't posted them yet! I figure since my giveaway that ends Friday (Enter HERE) includes this same mini pack (in a brand new version of course) I should show them off to you all! The giveaway also includes the Silver Shatter which is shown here as well! All pictures are one coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails and two coats of the color.



First up is Skull and Glossbones, which is a light grey with a hint of green:





Next up is Planks a Lot, a gorgeous darker lavender with a bit of dustiness to it:





Now is Sparrow Me The Drama, a medium pink shade with a bit of murkiness:





And last but not least, Stranger Tides, a murky pale green.





Last, I wanted to show how each color lookes with the Silver Shatter, so here they are plain and then with shatter. Sorry for the not so great picture quality, this is before I got my new camera that captures colors perfectly!





So that's the collection! I already swatched Mermaid's Tears a few weeks ago which you can find

HERE. Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway that ends Friday!

Do you love this collection? What are your thoughts on Silver Shatter?

METS Manicure!

So the boyfriend won Mets tickets a few weeks ago, and since I'm a HUGE Mets fan and he's never been to the new stadium, we tried to go to the Mets game yesterday! I had a checkup for my broken foot at the doctor (still broken, 3 more weeks in the boot) and then we headed to Queens to go to the game. In the pouring rain. And after the third rain delay, we finally decided to go home and watch Hoarders instead! However I did do a fun Mets manicure for the occassion which I thought I'd share with you!



First I started with a coat of Seche Vite Ridge Filler and then three coats of OPI Y'All Come Back Now Ya Hear? I do love that squishy orange jelly! Then, since the Mets colors are orange and blue, I added some OPI Blue Shatter on top! (Ignore the shadows in the pictures, I just got a new camera and am still figuring it out!)




Unfortunately I was in a rush and upset about my foot so I did the coat of OPI Blue Shatter too thin, but it's still pretty fun! I did just normal vertical polish on my pointer and pinkie fingers, horizontal on the middle finger and a zig zag for my ring finger! Topped it off with Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat and I was good to go!

Do you guys do special manicures for special events? What are some of your favorites? Do you ever try to shatter in different directions?

OPI Katy Perry Collection

Ok so I know it's Pink Wednesday however there ARE 2 pinks in this collection! I was going to show off one of my new pink holos but my computer was not cooperating! So, instead I will give you a slightly older collection,the OPI Katy Perry Collection. I bought this as a mini collection and only recently added the Black Shatter to it (originally had China Glaze Black Mesh but decided I wanted to try the OPI as well.) Here we go!



To start with, here are all my minis. I no longer have the packaging but from left to right they are: Last Friday Night, The One That Got Away, Teenage Dream and Not Like the Movies. OPI Minis are REALLY mini, but just so cute that I can't resist them!





Here is Last Friday Night both with and without flash. It is a very sheer blue base packed with blue, pink and silver glitter. I did three coats of Last Friday Night and it's still very sheer. I think this color would be best over a brighter blue because it just doesn't do much for my skin tone on its own.



The One That Got Away is a gorgeous dark pink, almost raspberry color with a glass fleck finish that is just beautiful. I'm not much of a pink girl and I loved this! This was three coats, but with a normal sized bottle I could have gotten away with two. The flecks really make the polish have depth and vibrancy.




Above is Teenage Dream both with and without flash. This is basically a pink version of Last Friday Night but since it's pink based, it looks better on the nails. This is three coats and there is absolutely a visible nail line. You have to be careful with the glitters because if you don't let them dry, it ends up dragging the glitter around and making bald spots! I thought this might be nice over The One That Got Away since I prefer using sheer glitters over a complimentary color.



I actually really liked this combination! It made the dark pink sparkle much more and was just very pretty.




I saved my favorite for last. Not Like the Movies was so awesome that I bought a full sized bottle! It's a grey/almost lavender base that has flashes of red, purple and green in it. It's like a trichome, since a duochrome isn't enough to describe this! There is a very subtle shimmer to this as well and it's one of those colors that is impossible to capture with a camera. Needless to say, this is a must have color for me!

Finally, I wanted to see how the shatter looked over all of them but didn't want to wait for each one to dry so I painted each nail a different color to show the effect. Here is it first without and then with Black Shatter.



From pointer to pinky - Not Like The Movies, Teenage Dream, The One That Got Away, Last Friday Night.




LOVE it! I'd say for me, the only must have was Not Like the Movies however I'm happy to have a mini of The One That Got Away in my collection for when I feel like a deep pink.

What did you all think of the Katy Perry Collection? Any hits or misses?