OPI "Sapphire in the Snow"

Good morning, guys and gals! Happy Sunday! I woke up to see a little bit of frost on my car windshield this morning - winter's on it's way!


Today's post is looooong overdue. I can't believe I waited so long to share OPI's "Sapphire in the Snow" with you! It's probably one of my all-time favorite OPI cremes ever. In fact, it's one of those polishes that I rarely use, because I don't want it to ever run out! 


I feel very fortunate to have found this beauty about a year ago at my local beauty supply store. It was in a gift set with "Merry Midnight". I really only wanted SitS, but the sales clerk could only sell me the set (which came with a free silver cuff bracelet!). Who'da thunk that both of these polishes would become some of my favorite OPI's?! This is one of my only polishes that I feel I need a back-up bottle of. If it weren't going for so much on eBay, I might buy a bottle today. But I'll wait to see if I can find another bottle dusty-hunting some day. Fingers crossed!


Although the name is "Sapphire in the Snow", it's not a sapphire-colored polish. Instead, it's more of a purple-blue. When "Road House Blues" from the Touring America Collection came out earlier in the year, I thought (more like HOPED!) that it was just SitS re-named. RHB is more of a true blue creme; it's bluer than SitS. Regardless, they're both some pretty awesomely gorgeous cremes!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
1 coat OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
2 coats of OPI "Sapphire in the Snow"
1 coat of Poshe' Super-Fast Drying Topcoat

And here's a little sneak-peek of my next post...

Last night, at Target, I found this cute little holiday dog t-shirt and couldn't pass it up at only $2.50. As you know, I only have cats...

My little Snow Princess!

She might not look happy, but I really do think she likes her new t-shirt!

Well, enjoy the rest of your Sunday! Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

OPI "Chatters Me Up" vs. Orly "Rococo A-Go-Go" - - - PICTURE HEAVY!

Happy Friday, everyone! I LOVE these 4-day work weeks!  :-)


I hope all of my US friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! My day was pretty low-key, but quite long. I volunteered to be a balloon handler in the annual St. Louis Thanksgiving Day parade downtown. I even made it on TV (there was just a close-up shot of me walking, no interview!)! It's a lot of fun to be a part of, but it's very early in the morning, and it was reeeeeeally, reeeeeally cold yesterday morning. After that, my mom and I went and had Thanksgiving dinner at a nearby restaurant. After that, we went and saw The Muppets movie! It was so cute! I wish I had painted my nails in one of my Muppets polishes!


When I got home from work tonight, I had a lovely package from Canada from my friend Linda! She was kind enough to purchase a bottle of the Chatters exclusive OPI polish, "Chatters Me Up". I don't even know what a Chatters is (I'm thinking it's similar to a Trade Secret or Beauty Brands?), but I know that this polish was only being sold at the Chatters salons, so my only way of getting a bottle was if I knew someone in Canada - and lucky for me, I do!


Before my package arrived, I had heard that "Chatters Me Up" was a dupe (or very close dupe) of the new Orly "Rococo A-Go-Go", which I already had, but never tried. So, as soon as I opened my package, I knew I wanted to see for myself how close the two are.


Sure enough, they are almost exact dupes...

L to R on all hand pictures: Orly, OPI, Orly, OPI
(no base coat or top coat used)

What do you think? In the bottle, they don't look like dupes. But on the hands, it's my opinion that they do.


My reason for posting so many pictures is because there aren't a lot of pictures of "Chatters Me Up" online. Before I decided to purchase this, I wanted to check out swatch pictures, first. If I remember correctly, there was only one blog post which showed pictures of CMU. And at the time, there were no swatch comparisons of it with the Orly polish. 


Because I'm such an OPI hoarder/collector (just all-around FAN of OPI!), I'm not regretting buying CMU (even though it was the most expensive OPI I've ever bought!). I love it, and am anxious to wear it soon. That said, the Orly version *might* just have to go in the swap pile, since there's no need for me to own both.


Have a fantastic weekend, and thanks for stopping by to check out this post!


Love,
K

OPI's "Parlez-vous OPI?" and China Glaze "Below Deck" Comparison

Well hello!


Today's post is going to be short and sweet...


A friend of mine on Facebook recently wanted to see a comparison of OPI's "Parlez-vous OPI?" and China Glaze's "Below Deck" to see how similar they are. As you may know, PVO was part of OPI's 2008 Fall Collection de France (one of my favorite OPI collections!). I purchased mine at my local grocery store (I know, total diversion...) and am so glad I snatched it up when I did. It's quite hard to find, and is going for some pretty crazy prices on Amazon and eBay. I purchased Below Deck recently from a local beauty supply store. This one isn't as hard to find (yet!), since it was part of China Glaze's 2011 Anchor's Away Collection which was released earlier in the year. 


I never realized how close the two were until my friend requested a side-by-side comparison.

Sorry about the messy painting. I literally just slapped on a couple of coats of each and snapped some pictures quickly. 

But as you can see, they are very close, but not dupes. PVO is much more "purple-y", where BD has a hint of taupe in it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I prefer the color of Below Deck over Parlez-vous OPI. Normally, I'm all about the OPI's, but this time, CG wins! That said, I'm not giving my bottle of PVO up to anyone! 

Revlon - "Facets of Fuchsia"

Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope you've been enjoying your first Fall weekend of the year! Here in St. Louis, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous! As my mom always says, "If the weather were like this all year-round, we wouldn't be able to afford to live here!" Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year. I just hope we get a full Fall this year, and we don't get ice and snow too early!


Today, I wanted to share with you my mani of the day: Revlon's Facets of Fuchsia. I recently purchased this at Target for around $4. Except for wearing Revlon's Perplex, I don't have a lot of experience with their polishes. But let me tell ya, so far, so good! Talk about an all-around bargain! I just was amazed at their quality, and am quite impressed with their color selections! And you can't beat their price and availability!


Facets of Fuchsia is supposed to be a dupe of Deborah Lippman's Bad Romance. Now, I can't claim this to be true, since I don't own Bad Romance. Based on the swatch pictures I've seen online though, I think it's safe to say they're close to identical. If you like BR but don't want to fork out the $18 for a bottle, go get yourself a bottle of FoF - you won't be disappointed! But go quick - this is a Limited Edition color from Revlon and won't be around long!


I layered FoF over 2 coats of OPI Black Onyx. I didn't want any VNL and I was afraid it was going to be sheer, so I figured I'd be safe and just layer it over black. 


I do recommend using either Poshe or Gelous Top Coat (I used both for this mani!). They will smooth out your nail and give you a high-gloss shine! 


Application:
Deborah Lippman 2 Second Nail Primer
1 coat OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
2 coats of OPI Black Onyx
1 coat of Revlon Facets of Fuchsia
1 coat of Gelous Nail Gel Coat
1 coat of Poshe Super-Fast Drying Top Coat
CND SolarSpeed Spray

Thanks for stopping by! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!


-Katie

Zoya - "Ki"

What a beautiful Sunday we're having! It's about 83* outside right now, without a cloud in sight!


Because of the great weather we have today, I chose a polish that I could get good outside pictures with (and since I'm not a big fan of holos, my next option was duochromes!).


I know there are tons of pictures of Zoya's "Ki" on the internet, but I don't care - I wanted to show you my own pictures! The pictures I took were the best I could get inside and outside. It was very difficult to capture the amazing duochrome finish with my camera. If you're thinking about purchasing this color, I suggest searching for more images on the internet.


Ki is one of the best duochromes I've ever seen. Depending on the light, sometimes it looks like a dusty purple, other times it looks sort of olive green. I'm a big fan of duochrome polishes, and this might be my new favorite! In my opinion, it should be a staple color for any polish collector/hoarder/lover!


I purchased Ki during Zoya's recent promo where you got 2 free polishes with any order. I chose this and Edyta as my free colors. I'm looking forward to trying that, too! I can't say that Zoya is my favorite brand, because I always seem to have issues with either bubbling or smudging (due to the polish not being completely dry). However, as a company, Zoya is my favorite. They are so generous with their promos, that they make it affordable and accessible to just about everyone (with free polish, BOGO, or free shipping). And, I'm noticing more Zoya colors popping up at the Ulta's near me, so that's perfect, too! Now, I can try (or at least see!) before I buy!


Application
OPI Nail Envy, Sensitive and Peeling Formula
2 coats of Zoya's "Ki"
2 spritz's of CND Solar Speed Spray

Outside, under direct sunlight:

Inside, with flash:

Inside, under artificial light:

 Do you have a favorite Zoya color? What do you think about Zoya polish all-around? Have you taken part in any amazing Zoya promos?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!


<3,
Katie

Nubar "Iced Licorice"

Well, I survived another Monday! It wasn't nearly as crazy as I had expected. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, but hopefully that will make the day go by a little faster. I haven't looked forward to the weekend as much as I do now! My mom and I are driving to Chicago on Saturday morning to see a Cards/Cubs game (I'm from and currently live in St. Louis, so these are always great games to catch). A vendor of ours at work gave me 2 suite tickets and is putting us up in a hotel Saturday night. So, it'll be a very mini vacation! Looking forward to it! Go Cards!!!!!!!


Okay, back to the review...


I wanted to show all of you another one of the swaps I got recently, Nubar's "Iced Licorice". Nubar describes it as a glitter polish, but to me, it seems more like a shimmer. Here's a bottle picture from the website www.bynubar.com.

I really hate to say this about yet another Nubar polish, but I wasn't a big fan of this color, either. I really don't know what I was expecting out of either "Stardust" or "Iced Licorice", but when I saw both of them on my nails, I was feeling pretty "eh" about them. I didn't hate either of the colors, I just wasn't impressed. Sorry to say, "Iced Licorice" will be going in my swap/blog sale pile along with it's sister, "Stardust".

I do have to give credit where credit is due, though. Both "Stardust" and "Iced Licorice" applied really well. The formula was nice. It wasn't too thin, but wasn't too thick, either. And I really do like the brush handle and brush itself. Both made application a breeze.

Application:

OPI Chip Skip

2 coats OPI Nail Envy, Soft & Thin Formula

2 coats of Nubar's "Iced Licorice"

1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

Pictures taken outdoors, in direct sunlight:

Indoors with artificial light:

Pictures taken indoor using flash:

Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone! 

Katie

OPI "Have You Seen My Limo?"

Hey, kids! Happy Saturday! Gosh, it's such a beautiful day! I've already been garage sale-ing and have gotten all my errands over with for the morning. Now, time to enjoy this day off!


I'm sorry I've been kind of MIA for the past couple (maybe few?) weeks. I had an issue with one of my nails, and ended up cutting all of them down to a much shorter length. I didn't think they were pretty enough for pictures, so I've been waiting for them to get back to normal before blogging again.


Earlier this week, I purchased my first bottle of nail polish from eBay. I've been lemming OPI's "Have You Seen My Limo?" for quite a while, and I found it for a pretty good price on eBay, so I decided to just buy it so I could check that lemming off my list. Well, it arrived yesterday, and I immediately had to try it out. It was everything I had hoped it would be - a dark vampy duochrome polish that didn't look too black, but didn't look too purple. 


I'm a little bummed about this eBay purchase for one reason: the bottle of OPI I received had it's serial number etched off, and is missing the bar code sticker on the bottom (the 2nd sticker with the color name on it is still attached). I don't doubt that this bottle is authentic, it just makes me mad that the seller advertised it as new and undamaged, when it is, in fact, damaged (in my opinion). I've learned from this experience that I should always ask questions before I buy/bid on eBay.


Although I'm not happy with the actual bottle, I am thrilled with the color inside! This might be one of my new favorite colors (it hasn't made my Top 10 list, but it's close!).


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
Seche Clear Base Coat
2 coats of OPI's "Have You Seen My Limo?"
1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
OPI Drip Dry Drops

Have you ever purchased polish from an eBay seller? If so, how was your experience? Do you have a favorite seller you like to buy from on eBay?

OPI's "Steady As She Rose" and my GingerKitty Birthday Giveaway prize!

WARNING: VERY Picture Heavy!

(with 2 very special guest stars at the very end!)

So I told you all in my last post that I was going to *attempt* to blog 2-3 times per week in June. So, I wanted to start off the month on the right track! 1 down, 1 or 2 more to go this week! *Fingers Crossed*!

Today's post is another polish from OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, "Steady As She Rose". When I purchased the polish, I was thinking it would be sort of a muted pink. Instead, I'd describe it as a muted pinkish-lavender. As you can see in the pictures below, it looks pink in some, and purple-ish in others. No complaints, though - I really like the color. I like the application even more! Just like with "Stranger Tides", this little beauty was a breeze to apply. I did use 3 coats, but probably could've gotten away with just two.

I'm also including pics of my new GingerKitty Designs Clarins 230 ring I WON in her Birthday Blog Giveaway! How cool, huh? I got my ring in the mail today and have been admiring it ever since I opened the package. The best way I can describe this ring is by saying it's "like a juiced-up mood ring"! Tracey, the designer and creator of all of the GingerKitty jewelry, used Clarins 230 nail polish for this ring. So now, I can honestly say that I "got my hands" on Clarins 230 - finally! (Did you catch the pun there?)  Here's a link to her Etsy shop (this link goes directly to the Clarins 230 ring I won!). Have you ever checked out the GingerKitty blog? If not, here's the link. 


Thank you, Tracey, for such an incredible and generous giveaway! I'm honored to own one of your pieces of artwork! 


Now, the fun part - the pictures!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
1 coat OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
3 coats of OPI "Steady As She Rose"
1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
OPI Drip Dry Drops
1 spritz CND Solar Speed Spray (I reeeeeeally wanted my nails to dry quick!)

Without Flash:

With Flash:

Now, the beautiful GingerKitty Clarins 230 ring! Look at all the different colors that come out, depending on the light and the angle!

You can't say I didn't warn you about the abundance of pictures! Now, just 2 more (to me, they're my favorite pictures in the whole post!):

My baby girl, Cleo (aka Cleopatra, Kee-Kee, Cleeps, Cleepy-Weepy, the list goes on and on!)

My other baby girl (and Cleo's mom), Gracie (aka Gracie McGee, Gracie Face)

If you've made it to this point, THANK YOU! I hope I didn't bore you with all of my pictures! Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Katie (and Cleo and Gracie, too!)