Manicures « Fab Fatale

Manicures

June 25, 2012

Manicure Mondays – OPI Nicki Minaj Collection

Nicki Minaj OPI Collection Swatches Nail Polish

The Nicki Minaj collection for OPI is such a fun mix of nail polish and I can definitely see her wearing all of these colors. The collection includes bright creams, glitters, and even a glitter shatter.

Nicki Minaj OPI Collection Swatches Did It On 'Em Yellow Green Creme Nail Polish

Did It On ‘Em is a beautiful bright yellow cream nail polish with a tint of lime green. The application was perfect in two coats.

Fly is a teal cream nail polish and probably my favorite of the collection. Y’all know I’m a blue nail polish-aholic, and this beautiful shade is no exception!

Nicki Minaj OPI Collection Swatches Metallic 4 Life Black Glitter Nail Polish

Metallic 4 Life is a black glitter nail polish and my second love of the collection. I LOVE monochromatic glitters – Metallic 4 Life has a beautiful black base and is packed full of shiny silver sequin glitter. This polish was opaque in 2 coats.

Nicki Minaj OPI Collection Swatches Save Me Blue Bar Glitter Nail Polish

Save Me is packed full of confetti style holographic blue bar glitter in a clear sheer base. I got it mostly opaque in 3 coats.

Nicki Minaj OPI Collection Swatches Pink Friday Cream Nail Polish

Pink Friday is a bright bubble gum pink creme nail polish that went on opaque in 2 coats.

Nicki Minaj OPI Collection Swatches Super Bass Shatter Purple Glitter Nail Polish

I’m not a big fan of shatter nail polish {been there, done that}, but Super Bass is the most fun shatter I’ve ever tried. It’s a beautiful shade of purple pink raspberry glitter and cracked well over Pink Friday.

My Thoughts On OPI’s Nicki Minaj Collection

This is such a fun collection that definitely screams Nicki Minaj. As with most OPI polish, the formula for each color went on so smooth and settled with no steaks. The brushes weren’t too wide or too thin, which made application super easy. My two favorites were Fly, the bright teal cream, and Metallic 4 Life, the beautiful monochromatic silver sequin glitter on a black base.

So what do you think of the OPI Nicki Minaj collection? See any colors you’d like to pick up?

The products mentioned in this post were sent to me by the merchant or their PR company. All opinions are 100% my own. For more info, please view my full disclosure policy.

June 18, 2012

Manicure Mondays – China Glaze Prismatic Chroma Giveaway

China Glaze Prismatic Collection Swatches Glitter Nail Polish

Update: And the winner is… BreAnnNicole! Congratulations! I will email you shortly to get you set up with the giveaway. This contest is now closed to further entries. Thanks so much to everyone that entered.

Previous: I have a fun giveaway for you all today! China Glaze sent me their 6-piece Prismatic Chroma Glitter nail polish collection to swatch and review, and another to give away to one lucky reader!

If you love glitters, then you’re going to LOVE the China Glaze Prismatic Chroma collection! This collection is comparable to Sally Hansen’s Gem Crush Collection, but a bit more muted in color. Most glitter polishes in the Prismatic Chroma collection have a silver or gold base shimmer with just a hint of color and are packed full of confetti colored glitter.

China Glaze Prismatic Collection Swatches Glitter Nail Polish Ray-Diant

Ray-Diant is a silver gold shimmer nail polish full of confetti colored glitter in red, green, yellow, orange, and blue.

China Glaze Prismatic Collection Swatches Glitter Nail Polish Prism

Prism is a purple shimmer nail polish packed full of blue, green and pink glitter. I love the blue to purple duochrome flash in this polish.

China Glaze Prismatic Collection Swatches Glitter Nail Polish Polarized

Polarized is a silver shimmer nail polish with green, orange, blue, and yellow glitter. Polarized is comparable to Ray-Diant, but leans a bit more silver than gold.

China Glaze Prismatic Collection Swatches Glitter Nail Polish Optical Illusion

Optical Illusion is a green shimmer nail polish with blue, pink, red, yellow, and green glitter. The base color is such a pretty shade of green!

China Glaze Prismatic Collection Swatches Glitter Nail Polish Liquid Crystal

Liquid Crystal is a blue shimmer nail polish packed full of purple, green, red, and yellow glitter. Liquid Crystal is comparable to Prism, yet the duochrome in this polish goes from a blue-green to purple, rather than blue to purple.

China Glaze Prismatic Collection Swatches Glitter Nail Polish Full Spectrum

Full Spectrum is a silvery pink shimmer nail polish with red pink, blue and green glitter. This was the most sheer polish in the collection.

My Thoughts On China Glaze’s Prismatic Collection

I’m not a big fan of confetti colored glitter nail polishes or frosty shimmers, so I’m not really too wild about any of these colors. For glitter polishes, I usually prefer sequin, effects top coats, or monochromatic glitters (ex. a pewter glitter in a black polish). With that said, this collection is fun and super sparkly, so if you love glitters, especially a duochrome glitter, then you will LOVE this collection. The formula was easy to apply with no streaks and I loved the wide brushes. I was surprised that most went on fully opaque in only two coats.

How To Win

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If you’re already a follower or fan, comment to let me know and I will count that as an entry. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. US residence only please. Contest ends 11:59 pm PST July 2nd and a winner will be chosen at random on July 3rd.

The products mentioned in this post were sent to me by the merchant or their PR company. All opinions are 100% my own. For more info, please view my full disclosure policy.

June 10, 2012

Manicure Mondays – OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques Press On Nail Strips Blue Fishnet

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques – Blue Fishnet

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques Press On Nail Strips Reptile

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques – Reptile

OPI is launching their all new Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques this month, real nail polish strips available in 14 different designs. They let me pick out two of my favorite appliques to review and I chose the blue fishnet and the reptile. I LOVED both designs – the blue was so fun and perfect for summer and the reptile, perfect for fall/winter, is actually much more beautiful than it shows in the pic above.

Since we’ve seen press on nail strips before, I’ll compare and contrast OPI’s to other brands. The OPI Pure Lacquer nail appliques were super easy to apply with no smoothing issues and I love having a greater selection of designs on the market to choose from. Compared to the original nail appliques {at least the first I’d ever heard tried}, Salon Effects by Sally Hansen, which are thick and provide great coverage for nail ridges and visible nail lines {VNL}, OPI’s appliques are a little on the thin side. You can see my nail ridges in the blue fishnet pic above. Also, this brand is a little harder to remove than the Sally Hansen brand, similar to Incoco nail strips, as it has a gummy sticky layer that rolls up under a cotton swab. Lastly, OPI’s nail appliques do not come with a nail file and cuticle stick like Sally Hansen’s, which is interesting since OPI’s pricing is a little higher at $11.95 vs. Sally Hansen’s price tag of $9.99.

Overall, the designs are beautiful and I love their selection. They’re super easy to apply, but I’m not sure that I’d spend $11.95 on appliques that are this difficult to remove, are thin, and a little more expensive than other appliques on the market.

So what do you think of OPI’s Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques. See any designs you’d like to try?

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques Press On Nail Strips Creams

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques Creams – Gray Rattlesnake, Peacock, Fishnet, Parisian, Reptile, Floral, Pink and Black Lace

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques Press On Nail Strips Shimmers

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Appliques Shimmers – Metallic Waves, Sequins, Zig Zag Sparkle, Geometric Sparkle, Gold Lace, Pink and Silver Lace, Girly Glam

The products mentioned in this post were sent to me by the merchant or their PR company. All opinions are 100% my own. For more info, please view my full disclosure policy.

June 4, 2012

Manicure Mondays – Essie Navigate Her

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Collection Swatches

I’m loving the color selection from Essie’s Navigate Her collection. There’s a little something for everyone and all will look great against a summer tan. Clearly merchants study trends, but it’s interesting that at the same time, several brands came out with nearly exact colors. I’ve listed near dupes beside each polish below for comparison.

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Swatches Olé Caliente Bright Pink Creme Nail Polish

Olé Caliente is the color I used in my How To Paint Your Nails Perfectly tutorial video. It’s a bright pink coral red creme nail polish, similar to OPI’s Red Lights Ahead… Where? from their Holland collection and China Glaze’s Make Some Noise from their Electropop Brights collection.

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Swatches A Crewed Interest Pink Peach Creme Nail Polish

A Crewed Interest is a light pink peach nude creme nail polish, similar to Nicole by OPI’s Kardashian Kolor Paparazzi Don’t Preach.

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Swatches Orange, It's Obvious Creme Nail Polish

Orange, It’s Obvious! is an orange creme nail polish, similar to OPI’s A Roll In the Hague from their Holland collection.

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Swatches Tour De Finance Bright Pink Shimmer Nail Polish

Tour De Finance is a bright pink nail polish with a barely there purple blue shimmer. It’s similar in color {polish and shimmer color}, to Butter London’s Disco Biscuit, but not nearly as dazzly.

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Swatches To Buy Or Not To Buy Light Purple Shimmer Nail Polish

To Buy Or Not To Buy is a light lilac purple creme nail polish with a barely there blue shimmer. In fact, the shimmer is so barely there, that you can’t even see it in the pic. It’s similar to China Glaze’s Sweet Hook from their Electropop Lights collection.

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Swatches Light Green Creme Nail Polish

Navigate Her is a light green creme nail polish and is a darker version of Butter London’s Bossy Boots.

My Thoughts On Essie’s Navigate Her Collection

I LOVE every color in this collection and they are all perfect for spring. I do have to say though, all of the polishes were streaky. In fact, they were so streaky, that even after 3 coats each, you can still see some bald spots. I’m also so ready for Essie to get a bigger brush. It’s so thin, that when you have to put on that many coats, it’s difficult to get it streak free and takes a lot of strokes. At nearly $8 a bottle, I’m not sure that I would splurge on this combination of streaky formula and outdated thin brush.

So what do you all think of Essie’s Navigate Her collection. Do you own any of these colors or see any you’d like to pick up?

The products mentioned in this post were sent to me by the merchant or their PR company. All opinions are 100% my own. For more info, please view my full disclosure policy.