lavenderlilac dream: OPI

Showing posts with label OPI. Show all posts

Can't believe it's been almost a year since my last nail post! Truth be told it took my nails this long to heal from all of last year's experiments. Yes, they were that weak for that long (unfortunately).

Now that my nails have shown improvement, I have been a little over excited to try new designs or just have them painted in general. Bad move for the next few months? Probably...

sally hansen 610 red zin essie matte about you shiny stamping plate sh225

I haven't done anything matte in such a long time. I have seen these not-quite-all-matte designs floating around the internet here and there before. It was an easy decision for me to incorporate my nail stamping kit into this experiment since I just didn't feel like cutting up strips of tape at 11PM. (Late-night nails session at it's finest.)

I started the process with a layer of OPI's Base Coat, then 2 light coats of Sally Hansen's 610 Red Zin, and 1 coat of Essie's Matte About You.

After going through the different image plates on hand and choosing a design, I used the same red polish to stamp the image onto each nail. I am nowhere near perfecting the nail stamping technique but I am much better at it than when I first got them. Definitely something that takes some practicing.

Close up of the texturing created
It is difficult to see without really taking a close look but hey it is still atypical. It isn't just all shiny or all matte. The mix of the two makes it a little more interesting, at least I like to think it is. The only negative to this whole matte thing is having to forgo a top coat. The edges of my nails are already starting to lose polish.

Does anyone have any tips for making matte designs last longer or is this something that just can't be avoided?

L to R:
Seche Clear ... Milani 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer ~ 509-HD,
American Apparel Rose Bowl (pink) ... OPI Rumples Wiggin (purple),
OPI What's with the Cattitude? (blue) ... Revlon Buttercup (yellow),
American Apparel Office (green) ... Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Anti-Chip Top Coat

My nails are finally strong enough for polish! I felt like I haven't done my nails for yearrrss (it's probably only been half a year lol). I had such a hard time deciding what color to choose. So I ended up using 5 colors instead to make the decision easier. Who ever said we can only use one polish color at a time? :P Would you do the same or was I just a little bit too excited?

I found that I really love how dark glittery polishes look on my nails. Something about how it creates shadows/depth that makes my very wide nails look so thin and pretty in shape! This isn't to say I don't love pastels of course! Also I find that microglitter is a way easier to remove than chunkier glitter polishes.

I actually got to try this particular polish shade when bestfriend bought it about a year or so ago. I loved it then but could never find it at the nail supply store myself. She said they were there but I could never spot it. Luckily we all went a few days ago and with her help I finally have one to call my own!

To what I can see...this is a metallic black with fine purple green and silver microglitters. However don't quote me on this since I'm not very versed in the nailpolish vocabulary department.

With one light layer.

It doesn't look this bad in person, really! I think the flash made a bit more extreme.

If you really want, I think you could wear one layer. I probably would if I didn't have the time to sit and wait for many layers to dry. I don't think that under normal circumstances, you'd be able to see the nails this much. It'll probably look like how the ring finger looks...or a little darker.

After this point, the swatches are with 2 layers of the polish and a base and top coat.

Indoor lighting + Flash

Forgot if this was natural or artificial lighting...but this definitely had flash

Natural Lighting + Flash

Natural Lighting + No Flash

What are some of your favorite polish shades?

In an effort to clear my Drafted Posts list...here is another nail polish swatch for everyone!

Remember this swatch?

Since I already shared how OPI's Last Friday Night is over a blue polish, here it is over white.

Please excuse the mishap on my pointer finger!
I used Essie Marshmallow as the white base. I think I used about 2-3 layers to build the white up. I don't really recommend it unless you have a lot of time to wait for the layers to dry. Marshmallow applies rather sheer and streaky. (Works better for a French tip mani though!) I think I used about 2-3 layers to build the white up.

The effect of Last Friday Night and a white polish is much softer and not as bold. I actually prefer this combo over the former one, just personal preference.

I would love to wear Last Friday Night with another white though...the hunt continues!

Any suggestions?

The first polish that I bought from Sephora...Blueberry from the Hello Kitty polish line.
This is one of the few blues that I own and feel comfortable wearing.

Sephora describes this as an "opaque pastel periwinkle blue".

One layer! Pretty sheer and applies spotty...But surprisingly it was VERY easy to apply.

Two layers & Much better!
But as you may (or may not) see on my pinky, a little of my nail & some of its ridges still peeked through. I was still satisfied with this, but you can easily go with 3 layers. If I remember correctly, this polish tried pretty quickly as well.

2 layers...Natural Lighting + Flash

2 layers...Natural Lighting + No Flash

On separate occasion, I wore:
2 layers of Blueberry + 1 layer of OPI Last Friday Night ... Artificial Lighting + Flash

Ahh! Look what happened to the polish. This was a long time ago, but the whole piece of nail polish came off from almost every nail! I don't know if it's my Top Coat or Last Friday Night but this has never happened with any of my mani's before...Not with Blueberry alone, not with Essie Good to Go top coat...never! There's always the usual & gradual chipping, but nothing like this :O

Another nail polish swatch! ^__^

I was able to relax (finally) on Friday (so I wouldn’t be stressed on SAT day)...SO I did my nails :]

I was looking for the Essie Good to Go top coat and I saw that the store where I usually get my nail polishes had the OPI’s nail polish for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it was a pretty sparkly pink. I couldn’t resist (my self-control is worse than I thought..LOL)!

OPI describes it as a “pale pink with a shimmer of hope – and an uplifting sparkle”.

I used 3 coats because it looked a bit streaky with less than that (or it could be that I'm not used to applying sparkly polishes..)

**For base coat I used Seche Clear and top coat I used Essie Good to Go**

Taken with natural light & flash

Taken with artificial light & no flash

Taken with artificial light & flash

Taken with artificial light & no flash

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I don’t know if anyone will notice, but the image quality should be better than before (I got a new camera) ^__^

I think this has become one of my favorite nail polishes ^__^
Although it applied a bit streaky, after the 2nd coat it is pretty opaque and you can't really see strokes. Still have to be careful when applying it. Have to work quickly! And the top coat helped to even it out (a little bit) so no worries.
It's a really pretty color. If you can get your hands on it, try it :]