Picks from OPI's Fall 2012 Germany Collection

I tried to resist this collection. I really did. Then my favorite and most guilty polish enabler, Christy, texted and said, "I've found a bunch of the OPI Germany collection. Which ones do you want?" How could I deny her?

Every Month is Oktoberfest is a beautiful, vampy burgundy shimmer in a vivid purple base. This is two perfect coats. Look at it glow!

Gratuitous shot of Every Month is Oktoberfest. Please enbiggen, and promise to buy it if you find this one in the wild.

I've been searching for a good mannequin hands shade, and couldn't turn down Don't Pretzel My Buttons. I asked her to grab this one, but picked up H&M Nerd before Christy dropped these in my lap. The color is great, but it was streaky and had a hard time self-leveling. I like Nerd's formula much better. This one will be a great base for glitters and such.

This is three coats of Germanicure by OPI. Such an odd bird. I seriously think I got an off bottle, but will try reswatching it. It's hard for me to believe the photos above and below are the same polish. Germanicure has a similar finish to Oktoberfest, but has a red-brown base and red and gold fine shimmers.

I was so disappointed in this polish. I want to give it another chance before I write it off for good.

So tell me, which polishes from this collection made it into your stash?

Quickie swatch - My picks from the Color Club 2013 Halo Hues collection

I first saw swatches of the new Halo Hues colors on Sheila's blog. Honestly, I had no clue that Color Club was coming out with a new holo collection. While I was looking for more swatches, I saw that they had inadvertently sent polishes out to some distributors. So, I did what any good polish fiend would do and I hunted those suckers down!

Unlike a polish fiend, I thought, "Pam, you already have a blue and a pink holo from the last collection, so don't get those." I was probably feverish, but I only bought the four you see below.

The formula is smooth and easy like the last set. Beyond was rather thick, but workable. As you can see, a quick dry top coat (Essie Good To Go) didn't dull the holo whatsoever. 

I couldn't pick just one, so I did a skittles mani. L-R: Eternal Beauty, Kismet, Beyond, and Cosmic Fate. 2 coats with top coat.

What do you think? Did you get any of the 2012 Halo Hues? Are you getting any of the new ones?

Zoya Bela Swatches and Review

I got this polish about a year ago or so ago. It was after Black Swan came out and there was some hullabaloo because it had a cameo in the film. Last time I wore it, I had issues with visible nail line (VBL), so I piled on coats until it was pretty much opaque. I’ve made peace with VNL since, and decided to wear it again as a palate cleanser after all the neons, holos, and foils I’ve been wearing.

This formula isn't horrible, but my brush seemed a little… Solid? I was able to work with it. The above shots are in sunlight with 2 coats. Bela looked a little streaky before a coat of Seche Vite, but good ol’ SV leveled it out nicely. I noticed the dings after I took the picture. Sorry! That’s what happens when one does a mani in the morning before work. J

Zoya LE Bibhu Mohapatra NYFW polishes

I couldn't deny this collection for many reasons. Beautiful red, pretty pewter, opaque nude, free shipping, Zoya color box... I love the colors, so I'm glad I got a set. Zoya website says they're now sold out. I love the story of Mohapatra"s inspiration:

"He told us that the red was an homage to his mother. When Bibhu was growing up, he remembered his late mother always wearing the most beautiful color of red nail polish on her nails. Because it was customary to eat with your right hand in India, she only wore the red on her left hand. So he always rembered her left had being painted." (zoya.com)

Say it with me, guys. "Aww!"

I swatched and took pics of the Color Box, but I think I'll save the box pics for another day.

Zoya Parveen is a yellow-based beige/nude with a very nice shimmer. Zoya says its opaque in 2 coats, but my 2nd coat was really streaky, so I added a third. It was hard to get a good pic of this one. It's not as yellow in real life. I had just scrubbed Starry Pink (removal was much easier than I expected), so that's why I've got lobster hands going on.

Zoya Zeenat is a lighter silver/grey with a fairly obvious silver shimmer. This is two coats, no topcoat. Looks VNL-y on my ring finger, but there really isn't any. Very pretty. It's got purple tones to it, so of course those jump right out on my hands.

Zoya Rekha is a classic red creme. It is similar to Sooki, but is cooler and more blue-based than her. This color was practically opaque after 1 coat, but 2 got rid of all VNL. I think I'm good for reds now. :)

All Hail The Queen wear & Rimmel Burgundy Flirt

There's been a little lack of blogging, huh? The reason? All Hail The Queen has been lasting for ages! This (horrible) pic is right before I took it off after 6 days of wear. A few small chips, serious growth, and need of lotion & cuticle cream. :) I think a big contributor to the great wear is Hard As Wraps. 6 days is unheard of for me. Think I've found a new basecoat...

I went to Walgreen's yesterday and got some great deals. Plain old Wet n' Wild is $0.69, so I picked up 2 bottles of clear in case I want to try frankening. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear was 2/$4, so I got Wet Cement and a glittery red. I also had a $1 off coupon for Rimmel, and chose Burgundy Flirt. I'm finding it harder to remember where the holes in my collection are. I don't think Burgundy Flirt filled any, but it is pretty.

Formula was decent. These polishes have a very wide, curved brush. The name of it escapes me. The other 2 I've got work really well, but this one is rather wonky. It ended up looking okay though. This is 2 coats over Hard as Wraps and under Poshe. There was some balding, but I think I should've waited a little longer between coats.

Next up will be my new Zoyas from the BOGO sale.

butterLONDON All Hail The Queen

I finally got the last lemming on my list! A quickie overnight trip to Chicago led me to Ulta, which led me to the teeny, tiny end cap display of butterLONDON polishes, which led me to the next-to-last All Hail The Queen in the place! Behold...

I don't know why I love this one so much. I love holo glitters, but don't usually get so enraptured with nudes (Yummy Mummy excepted). This one has me though. I found myself staring at it all day today. I used Hard as Wraps, 2 coats of lacquer, and 1 coat of Poshe. There is so much depth to this shade! If I didn't know better, I'd think I were wearing at least 4-5 thin layers. The microglitter looks silvery and monochromatic in most lighting, but is definitely holographic in the sun. I tried my best to capture that in the photo above, but it just wasn't happening.

And really quick... a bit about Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps... I'm very happy with it so far. Granted, I've only used it on my last 2 manis, but it really does strengthen my nails. I think its helping with the peeling as well. I had Yummy Mummy on for 4 days before a chip, and I did some heavy-duty spring cleaning while wearing it. I'm curious to see how it holds up to hand washings at work, but so far, I've found a winner!