Nicole by OPI DC Lover

purchased by me

Just as OPI collaborated with Coke last year, this year Nicole by OPI is doing a similar collaboration.  The only one I wanted was the Diet Coke polish, DC Lover.  DC Lover is a silver foil with red glitters, and it's so saturated with glitter, you can't tell that it's a bit sheer at two coats.  Be warned that there is a lot of fallout during removal--you will find foil particles everywhere.  For me, it's worth it!

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I found the Nicole by OPI Coke collection display on the top shelf of a CVS rack, where they retail for $7.99 each.

My NYE mani and the elephant in the room

press sample/purchased by me

So, if you're one of my few faithful readers, first of all, thank you for sticking with me and second, you may have noticed I semi-disappeared.  At the end of last year, I hit a wall when I realized that I had too much nail polish, had spent too much money on nail polish, and that I wasn't willing to put in the work to make this anything other than a hobby blog.  That, plus the holidays, plus the realization that my house was a pigsty and I had only myself to blame, led to a (mercifully short) bout of depression.

After a few weeks when all I posted was press releases, I've decided that there's nothing wrong with being a hobby blog with fewer than 50 followers, as long as I enjoy it.  So going forward, I'll continue to swatch Zoya collections, but I'm not going to try to buy every new thing out there to try to run with the big dogs.  I'd rather wear the polish I've only swatched but still love and share true excitement with my readers.  I also plan to practice stamping and share my results no matter how bad they are, and maybe 2015 will be the year striping tape and I become friends, if not besties!

As a reward for reading all this crap, here's a pretty picture of Nicole by OPI On a Gilt Trip with a bit of Zoya Monet:

Nicole by OPI On A Gilt Trip and the final giveaway prize reveal!

purchased by me

My October Ipsy bag arrived on Tuesday, and while it was good enough that I'll at least keep the subscription through November, there was one item that really caught my eye.

On A Gilt Trip is a soft yellow gold, and while it looks like a foil in the bottle, it dries to a satin matte finish.  The formula is superb--smooth, well-behaved, opaque in two coats and quick-drying.  It's a lovely choice for subdued holiday bling.

Once I'd tried it, I loved On A Gilt Trip for itself, but when I saw it for the first time, all I could think of was how it would be the perfect backdrop for the other purchase I was excited about.

A little background here--I have MS.  It's in remission and under control, but if I don't hold things tightly, my fingers spasm and send stuff flying.  Forks, polish brushes, dotting tools, pens, you name it.  So nail art is never going to be my best skill, but I love it.  This week, I found a product that gives me a PERFECT leopard mani every time.

This is Spot Sign by KB Shimmer, and Christy has made at least one dream come true for me.  Spot Sign has black micro-glitter, black hexes, holographic sparkle and leopard spot-shaped black glitter in a clear base.  It absolutely requires fishing and dabbing because of the spot shapes, but look at the result and tell me it isn't worth it!  It also dries a bit 3-dimensional, but two coats of Seche Vite fixed that.

If you want your own bottle of spots, you can get one at KB Shimmer for $8.75, or enter my giveaway and win one!

Nicole by OPI Roughles: Rock the Look

purchased by me

Rock the Look is a bit of a chameleon, shifting from a true pink in bright light to more of a salmon pink in lower light.  It's not my favorite of the three, but it's going to make an adorable nail polish necklace for one of my nieces!  The formula was the same as the previous two polishes, i.e. very good.

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I did see these on ebay, but since the only seller who had them was using pictures stolen from Vampy Varnish, I'm glad I waited to get them from CVS.

Nicole by OPI Roughles collection: On What Grounds

purchased by me

On What Grounds is the second of the three Roughles polishes I got, and the formula was exactly the same as I'm Stucco on You.  However, even though I only had it on for about 45 minutes, this one did stain my nails.  Next time I wear it, I will double up on base coat, because the turquoise polish with blue textured bits is adorable and I love turquoise for both spring and summer!

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As I said yesterday, don't worry if you haven't seen these yet, just keep your eyes open and I'm sure they'll arrive eventually.

Nicole by OPI Roughles collection: I'm Stucco On You

purchased by me

I'd given up all hope of ever seeing these beauties in my backwards corner of NE Ohio, so it was a lovely surprise to find them at a not-really-local CVS.  The formula for the three I bought is the same--smooth and easily flowing, opaque in two coats and quick-drying.  I'm Stucco On You has a light lavender base with blue and lavender texture, and I'm really enjoying the look.

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If you haven't seen Roughles in the wild yet, don't worry, they might still be coming!  As I said, I found mine at CVS for $7.99 each plus tax.

Sneak peek: 5/12/14-5/16/14

purchased by me

Go Tribe!

In honor of the Indians game starting right now, here are some baseball nails, done with OPI Solitaire and a Migi Nail Art pen in red:

Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops

purchased by me

I Lilac Gumdrops is a blue-toned purple textured polish.  It's a bit sheer and took three coats to be opaque, but it wore like iron--in five days, I only had a bit of tip wear!

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I Lilac Gumdrops is more blue-toned than Zoya Stevie, and Stevie was opaque in two coats rather than three.  I Lilac Gumdrops is on my ring and middle fingers, and Stevie is on my pinkie and index fingers.  They're not dupes, but if you already have Stevie, I wouldn't grab the Nicole unless you really want a bluer polish.

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The Gumdrops collection are now available at CVS stores, CVS.com, Ulta stores and website and drugstore.com at varying prices.

Sneak peek: week of September 9-13

Nicole by OPI Cinna-Man of My Dreams

purchased by me

Cinna-Man of My Dreams is from the 2013 Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection.  It's the only one I bought, and it's gorgeous!  It needed three thin coats for opacity, but for a shimmering pink-copper-bronze textured polish, I was willing to do an extra coat.  The formula was a bit on the thin side but not runny.  Both photos are three coats, the second blurred to show off the range of colors.

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The Gumdrops collection are now available at CVS stores, CVS.com and drugstore.com.  Prices vary, but since these are limited edition, grab the ones you want as soon as you see them!