OPI Texas Collection Spring 2011 Swatches and Review

This year's spring nail polish collection from OPI is Texas-themed. I've never been to Texas but I have a lot of Texan friends... I wonder what they'd have to say about these shades? Any Texans want to weigh in on them?

There are twelve shades as usual, and they are:


Austin-tatious Turquoise. You know, this looks like such an amazing color in the bottle and it looks pretty great in the picture... But it's actually a freaking nightmare. The color is great- a sheer turquoise glass fleck shimmer with subtle pink duochrome... But the formula! Oh, the formula. It's sheer and watery, a combination that can only spell disaster. What you're seeing here is SIX COATS. Six watery, runny, goopy coats. The color is dustier and less vibrant in real life. If you want something similar (glass fleck duochrome turquoise) without the weird formula, try Nicole by OPI Iceberg Lotus.

EDIT: I've been receiving reports from people who own this color, and a few of them say that their bottle isn't watery and sheer like mine. However, the majority of people I've heard from say they have watery bottles like mine. It seems like there are multiple batches of this color floating around.



Don't Mess With OPI. Nice dusty medium green. I like the muted quality of this, it's not your standard green creme. It's like if OPI Jade Is The New Black and Rescue Beauty Lounge Orbis Non Sufficit had a baby.


It's Totally Fort Worth It. Very, very hard to capture the finish of this color. It's not just a plain silver shimmer, it has tiny pink-red sparkles! You can see some of those elusive sparkles in the middle of the bottle on this picture. It would be my favorite color of the collection if it weren't for the sheer, watery formula. This is four coats.


I Vant To Be A-Lone Star. I'm not understanding the name of this. I get the "Lone Star" part, but 'vant'? Is that like a Green Acres reference or something? Wait, did Green Acres even take place in Texas? Eh... guess it doesn't matter. The color is nice. Light greyed-out blue with silvery shimmer. Tranquil and serene. Reminds me of another ancient discontinued OPI... drawing a blank on the name.


San Tan-tonio. Light milky brown creme. Surprisingly flattering on my cool skintone. Makes me think of suede.


Suzi Loves Cowboys. I used flash on this color because it looked too black in natural light. The flash shows the base color and how it looks in sunlight. It looks about two shades darker in dim light. It's just a dark chocolate brown creme, nothing too exciting... But very unusual for spring!

Now for the surprise: the jellies sorbets.

Big Hair, Big Nails. A red coral, or a light cherry sorbet.


Do You Think I'm Tex-y? A deep beet pink/purple sorbet.


Guy Meets Gal-veston. A medium orange coral sorbet.


Houston, We Have A Purple. Haha, my favorite name out of all of them! This is a deep magenta borderline purple sorbet.


Too Hot Pink To Hold 'Em. An awesome saturated pink sorbet. My picture doesn't do it justice, you have to try it out! (Fixed my typo, oops!)


Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear? A medium orange sorbet.

Now, OPI is really pushing this "sorbet" finish pretty hard lately. They describe it as a completely new finish. It's a semi-sheer or translucent wash of color which has the effect of looking like hard candy or popsicles... If you've been into polish for a while, this should sound familiar, because it's what we polish junkies know as a "jelly" finish. Jelly polishes have been around for a long time, but they're not very common. Despite the whole "It's not a jelly, it's a sorbet, it's brand new!" thing, OPI does this finish really well.

I mean, just look at them, they're beautiful. You may not be able to pick up on the jelly effect of the finish from my pictures, but the finish is really spectacular. It's not so sheer that it looks clear, and it's just translucent enough to look soft and squishy. The colors they chose are vibrant and candy-like and they're perfectly suited for the jelly/sorbet finish.

Initially, I did not have high hopes for the sorbets. They all looked like boring colors and I thought they would be too sheer. And, as usual, my mind changed once I actually put them on my nails. They're lovely. I did three coats of all and I think they're perfect.

The formula on this collection is varied. The sorbet/jelly shades are nearly perfect, only a little on the thick side. The other six shades are watery, runny and sheer. I had a really hard time applying them with Austin-tatious Turquoise being the most difficult and I Vant To Be A-Lone Star being the easiest. The brushes were inconsistent and uneven in shape, size and smoothness. Some were rough, a few were normal. I am used to OPI having a very consistent and reliable formula, this collection is hopefully just a fluke.

I'm torn on my opinion of the collection overall. I had written off the sorbets before I even tried them and they ended up being my favorite part. They're very spring/summer appropriate predictable colors, but the sorbet finish makes them wonderful.

The other shades seem too random. There doesn't seem to be one cohesive theme within the color range. You've got brown, green, sparkly turquoise, silver.... They just don't mesh well. And they're a little bit sleepy, I have to admit. Though, I've realized that OPI's spring collections have been very sleepy for the past few years and the summer collection is the exciting one.

Also, the names are starting to be a little too ridiculous. Some are cute, but others get dangerously close to Misa-level cheese and length. I did really love "Houston, We Have A Purple."... I'm still giggling about that one!

So, overall, the new sorbet polishes are definitely worth trying on if you get the chance. If you've never tried a jelly finish polish before, you'll probably be delightfully surprised. People with longer nails may have issues with visible nail line, but if that doesn't bother you, you'll probably love them. The inconsistent, watery formula on the rest of the colors turns me off to them a bit, but Don't Mess With OPI and It's Totally Fort Worth It are worth the frustration.

(These were sent to me for review.)

Zoya Sunshine Collection Summer 2011 Swatches and Review

My first summer collection post of the year! A welcome change from all the bland colors I've been staring at lately. The Zoya Sunshine set is the shimmer half of their summer collection. It reminds me a little of their Sparkle collection from last year, tons of glittery sparkle in these. Take a look.



Apple. See what I mean? Look at all that gold sparkle. This shade is a light yellow-toned green with crazy amounts of sparkling gold flecks. It looks like it could be a nice match for Color Club Magic Elf... I haven't compared them on the nail yet, but they strike me as being extremely similar.



Faye. This might be my favorite of the collection. I don't think I have another color quite like this. It's a warm prune purple base with insane gold sparkle. It's so bright. And it's not exactly glittery; the particles are really smooth and thin and shiny, not chunky or rough like true glitter. They blend together and make a really glowy smooth look.



Kimmy. Such a hard color to capture, it's so rich and colorful and sparkly. My camera can't handle it! The gold metal flakes and the saturated warm red go so well together. It looks like fire.



Reva. This color is much cooler and saturated in real life, the lighting is washing out the color in this picture. It's the cool toned counterpoint to Kimmie. It's a strawberry shade... except imagine that instead of seeds, the strawberry is speckled with 24 karat gold.


Rica. A golden coral glimmery shade. I like the depth in this, it's not a flat shimmer at all. The base of these colors is sheer and the gold flecks look really cool through the sheer base.


Tanzy. A light orange with gold fire. It's a little like Gabrielle, but the flakes are smaller and shinier.

The formula on these was different this time around. The biggest difference is the drying time, which is much longer than I'm used to from Zoya. The texture is a little thicker on these compared to the similar Sparkles, and they're more sheer so those factors could contribute to the long dry time. The Summertime half of the collection doesn't have the same long dry time. These were on the sheer side and I found that they looked best with three coats. I'm wearing three coats in all these pictures. Application was good aside from the thicker than usual texture.

All of these colors are so glowy. They're luminous. I really like how they look like they're glowing when you're wearing them. The colors are bright and cheery, and the cheeriness is only amplified by all that golden glow.

My top picks are Faye, Kimmy and Reva. All of them are nice, but those three wow me the most. Faye, because it's unique and gorgeous and Kimmy and Reva because they're so rich and colorful and the red shades look amazing with the gold metal flake.

And, I'm sure you've all seen the news about the promo, but just in case, I'll post it for you:

Do you have an account** on Zoya.com? If you answered yes, a very special offer is waiting for you!

A BOGO (Buy One, Get One) Offer*
on the new Zoya summer collections
12:01 EST 3/21/2011 - 11:59 EST 3/25/2011 only.

As an ADDED BONUS for taking part in the exclusive account holders only BOGO Offer*, standard shipping will be only $2! (Order more than $55 and shipping will be free!)

You can BOGO* any colors from Zoya's ModMattes, Summertime and Sunshine collections! With 15 new colors to choose from you are bound to find plenty of BOGO offer* options to love!

Please see the ZOYA blog (http://zoyanailpolish.blogspot.com) for complete details.

*Offer open only to those with active accounts** on Zoya.com, artofbeauty.com, Qtica.com and qticasmartspa.com as of 3/20/2011 at 5 PM ST. Offer open to consumers, Online promotion only. Continental US ONLY. BOGO Offer* is good on Open stock .5oz Polish ONLY from Summer 2011 collections. (Zoya Summertime, Sunshine and ModMatte) BOGO Offer good for up to 7 polishes. BOGO Offer* code is unique and non-transferable. One code per account. Code expires on 3/25/2011 at 11:59PM EST. Standard ground shipping is $2.00 and FREE for orders over $55. Upgraded shipping not available for this promotion. Please allow standard time for processing and shipping, however if volume is higher than expected please allow up to 4 weeks for shipping and processing. Please allow 2-6 weeks for delivery. Comments, videos and pictures posted about this Zoya.com BOGO Offer* outside of Zoya.com or zoyanailpolish.blogger.com are not representative of the opinions of Zoya Nail Polish, Art of Beauty, Inc., Qtica and Qtica Smart Spa and we do not confirm the accuracy of any postings..

**Qualifying accounts are those with a valid username (email) and password that has been created and used in the last 3 years account must be made by 3/20/2011 at 5PM EST to qualify for the BOGO Offer. No purchase necessary to start an account. Customers are responsible for maintaining active accounts. If username or password have been lost we (Art of Beauty, Inc.) are not responsible for restoring accounts or giving out any account information.

(These were sent to me for review.)

MAC Bad Fairy Nail Polish

I never got a chance to review this while it was still relevant. It sold out before it was even released! I ordered online and by the time the collection was fully added to the website, it was long gone. I hate that about MAC. There's such a rush for the limited edition items that they're usually sold out before we can order them :(

Nevertheless, it's still gorgeous so it's worth posting:

MAC Bad Fairy nail lacquer (Venomous Villains collection)

It has a sparkly glass-fleck finish (think Orly Cosmic FX) and it reflects coral, gold, burgundy magenta and a little bit of green. It's not a match anything I have in my collection; it's a little similar in theme to OPI The Show Must Go On but definitely not a duplicate.

NOX Twilight - Twilight Nail Polish

There's a line of Twilight-themed polishes available right now and I got the chance to swatch a few of them over the summer. First things first, I haven't read the books or seen the movies so I really don't know enough about Twilight to determine whether or not these have anything to do with it.... Teenage vampire romance just isn't my thing. *hides Blutengel CD*

All I can say is that the shade names seem sort of random/generic and don't really bring to mind vampires or werewolves or anything of that nature... But the bottles are pretty sweet and the colors are nice!


Citrus. Really pretty hot pink / pinky coral with gorgeous gold flash/shimmer. I like the gold shimmer in this a lot, reminds me a little of OPI Bright Lights, Big Color- only a pinker, more demure version.


Debutante. A pale pinky-champagne with really strong gold duochrome. I'm digging the duochrome nature of this even if it is a really soft color. It's both flashy and subtle.


Poseidon. Aqua blue creme. A little softer than something like Zoya Robin. Not quite as bright and clear as the standard sky/aqua creme.




Sugar Plums. This one is a hot dark magenta with a blue/violet duochrome flash/shimmer. The shimmer sits on top and changes colors when you move your hand.


Talon. Dark navy shimmer. Not unique but it's still pretty.



Wine and Dine. I wanna date you, baby... I wanna take you out... I wanna wine and dine you... Sorry, polish names always remind me of songs. This one looks cooler in the bottle than it does on the nail, but that's not to say it's bad on the nail. In the bottle it looks like a magical swirl of pink and silver glitter but on the nail it becomes a light pink foil. Foils are pretty cool, but I was hoping for more glitter based on the bottle!

There are a few other shades in the line, including a pretty silver holo glitter, but I didn't try any of those.

The formula on these was good. I didn't really have any issues with application, but the brushes seemed a little soft to me. Opacity was pretty good, I did three coats of all the colors here but only Debutante and Wine and Dine needed the third. Dry time was a little on the long side.


Overall, I like the colors, but they seem so familiar... The bottles are freakin' sweet. I like that big metal seal glued to the front, it makes them look all regal and official. I don't really see what these have to do with Twilight or vampires or anything like that, though... Twilight fans, any opinions?

These are available online, but I've also seen them in store at Meijer and they just so happen to be on clearance right now!

(These were sent to me for review.)

Milani Neons

Finally posting these. I gave up on trying to get a good picture of Fresh Teal. Hah!




Awesome Orange. Gorgeous neon safety-vest orange creme.




Dude Blue. Really nice interesting medium neon blue. Not so sky blue as it looks here- it's closer to the color of the bottle. Not the typical neon blue shade, I'm extremely fond of this one.



Fresh Teal. The bane of my existence. This color is like a lot of other neon greens and teals and does freaky things to the camera when you try to photograph it. These two shots are the best I could get! It's a neon teal. Somewhat like the color of the bottle, but not that dark. It is not bright blue as it looks here- it is teal.



Pink Hottie. The lighter of the two neon pinks. This one is more of a foofy-girly pink cupcake Barbie type neon pink. Highlighter pink, but creamy.




Pink Rocks. The darker of the neon pinks. This one borders on being neon red. Not as creamy as Pink Hottie or the other neons, this one is more of a jelly finish than a creme.


Rad Purple. Also difficult to truly capture, but not hard to describe. It's the standard 'neon' purple, not quite bright or glowy and not totally purple either. Think Eyeko Purple Polish. Looks nothing like the bottle color, sadly.



Techno Red. I was hoping this would be more red like the color of the bottle, but it's actually a light pinkish-red coral. Not super bright either, but still dries matte like a true neon.



Totally '80s. This is definitely my favorite. It's such a fun color! It's a lime green and yellow neon. A little weird and murky looking, not a super crisp color. It is totally 80s, but also totally 90s. I used to have a slap bracelet this color. Reminds me of one of those OPI Shrek colors, but brighter. Fiercely Fiona, maybe? I can't remember the names now!


The first thing that I need to mention about these is that the bottle is opaque. The color you see on the bottle is actually painted onto the glass and it doesn't necessarily represent the actual color of the polish. This is annoying for many reasons, mainly that you have to open the polish in the store to see what color it really is.

The formula on them was good but a little thin. I did three coats of all, some needed it, some didn't. Drying time was a little on the long side for neons which generally dry pretty fast. Since they are neon, they dry to a matte finish (they do not have the application or wear issues of traditional matte polish). Do not worry- it's supposed to do that. If you like the matte look, leave them as-is, but if you like them glossy, use a topcoat.

These aren't terribly unique, but it seems hard to make a truly unique neon. Totally 80s doesn't look like most of the neon greens and yellows out there so that's my top pick. Not a bad collection of neons and they're easily accessible.

I'm pretty sure these are permanent colors, at least in my area. All the Milani displays have permanent shelves for the neons and the 3-D holo ones.

(Some of these were sent to me for review.)