OPI

The OPI Brazil Beach Sandies Mini Kit Says Bye-Bye to Boring With Four Vivid Textured Polishes

February 13th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

The new four-piece OPI Brazil Beach Sandies Mini Kit, $12.95

Very clever, OPI. Very clever. 🙂

The part of me that lives to over-think the symbolic significance of everything loves the juxtaposition of gritty sand, neutrals and bright pigments in the OPI Brazil collection.

On one end, there are the sandy-colored neutral polishes in the overarching 12-piece OPI Brazil collection, which all have a smooth, creamy finish.

On the other, there are the four vivacious mini polishes here in the accompanying Brazil Beach Sandies Kit ($12.95), all of which have OPI’s pebbled, textured Liquid Sand finish in bright, eye-catching shades, also known as psychedelic party sand for your paws.

Even if you aren’t a big fan of textured polishes, I think these vivid shades are still worth a try if you like playful, cheerful colors. They’re seriously smile-inducing, and the names — You’re So Flippy Floppy, What’s a Little Rain Forest, Samba-dy Loves Purple and I’m Brazil Nuts Over You — are catchy, too.

In each of the swatches below, I’m wearing two coats…

OPI You're So Flippy Floppy — You’re So Flippy Floppy

OPI What's A Little Rain Forest — What’s A Little Rain Forest

OPI Samba-dy Loves Purple — Samba-dy Loves Purple

OPI I'm Brazil Nuts Over You — I’m Brazil Nuts Over You

OPI Brazil Beach Sandies Mini Kit — The front of the box

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It’s a Carnival of Color as Vivid Brights Samba on Tips and Toes in OPI’s New Brazil Collection

February 13th, 2014 by Karen 21 Comments

Next time I enjoy a plate of feijoada while beautiful women in colorful bejeweled thongs and feathered headdresses dance around my table, you better believe I’ll be wearing one or two (or 12!) of the shades in OPI’s new Brazil collection on my nails!

The OPI Brazil collection, available now

Where am I going with this?

One word: Brazil (by way of San Francisco).

One of my favorite places to eat in the city is a Brazilian restaurant called Canto do Brazil, and dining there is a total experience. First, the food — beyond yummy, and not overpriced (the plantains, beans and rice, OMG!).

But that’s not all. There’s also the show. 🙂 While you eat, gorgeous Brazilian showgirls in Carnival regalia dance around the tables and try to coax diners to dance with them.

Last time I was there, I was too focused on the mountain of carb-tacular goodness in front of me to shake my groove thang, but next time, it’s ON! Because I’ll have an extra reason — the beautiful brights in OPI’s new 12-piece collection ($9 each), which I love, love, LOVE.

OK, sure, I think the neutrals in the collection are pretty, too. I mean, I appreciate elegant neutral nails as much as the next girl, especially when worn with a bright lipstick, and I think the muted pewter, taupe, mocha, nude and chocolate shades here play off bolder colors nicely.

But the brights! Oh, the brights… Inspired by rainforest flowers, the creamy yellow, coral, orange, pink, red and deep jungle green, are just so blasted rich and vivid that you may feel the urge to hop on a flight to Rio right meow. 🙂

OPI I Just Can't Cope-Acabana, a creamy sunshine yellow — Just Can’t Cope-Acabana, a creamy sunshine yellow

OPI AmazON...AmazOFF, a creamy deep jungle green — AmazON…AmazOFF, a creamy deep jungle green

OPI Where Did Suzi's Man-Go?, a creamy mango orange — Where Did Suzi’s Man-Go?, a creamy mango orange

OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian, a creamy warm pink — Kiss Me I’m Brazilian, a creamy warm pink

OPI Toucan Do It If You Try, a creamy confidant orange — Toucan Do It If You Try, a creamy confidant orange

OPI Live.Love.Carnaval, a vibrant coral — Live.Love.Carnaval, a vibrant coral

OPI Red Hot Rio, a ruby red — Red Hot Rio, a ruby red

OPI Scores a Goal, a creamy rich chocolate

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Glitz, Glitter and Glam Steal the Spotlight in the OPI Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection

October 11th, 2013 by Karen 34 Comments

You don’t have to admit to watching Glitter, Mariah Carey’s cinematic tour de force, to love the new OPI Mariah Carey Holiday Collection, but an appreciation for sparkly stuff certainly helps.

The new limited edition collection glistens with glitter, and gobs of it. Fifteen of the 18 bottles blaze brighter than the twinkle in Mimi’s eye when she’s in the spotlight, as giant stage fans whip her hair into full-on diva mode, and she does that thing where she sings along to the high notes with her hands.

You know what I’m talking about. 🙂

Yeah, I’ll come clean. I saw Glitter in the theater…ON OPENING DAY! And yes, I’ve seen Mariah in concert (I even wore jeans that were frayed at the waistline, coupled with a crocheted crop top, BAM!), and I own most of her CDs. Even the hard-to-find remixes.

Team Mimi, y’all! — is all I have to say.

So yeah, I’m a Mariah fan, and I hummed Dreamlover when I heard about the new collection (available now at professional salons, Pure Beauty stores and Ulta, and coming soon online, for $9 a bottle, or $10.95 CAD).

The rich reds, golds and burgundies in the release made me feel plenty of Emotions as I swatched them in my bathroom today…

And because we’re talking about Mimi, of course there’s a healthy dose of glitz and glitter here, which the gals/guys who like to sparkle should welcome with Open Arms.

If, rather, you prefer textured polishes, you might find the six Liquid Sand shades Irresistible.

Take a peek down below, and let me know which of these is your number one. I’m wearing two coats of each.

OPI All I Want For Christmas (Is OPI) — All I Want For Christmas (Is OPI), a maroon

OPI Cute Little Vixen — Cute Little Vixen, a deep reddish violet

OPI In My Santa Suit — In My Santa Suit, a pearly red

OPI Warm Me Up — Warm Me Up, a dark brown-gray with pearl

OPI Sleigh Ride For Two — Sleigh Ride For Two, a dark chocolate burgundy with pearl

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I Left My Heart in San Francisco and Put the OPI San Francisco Collection on My Nails

July 16th, 2013 by Karen 54 Comments

The OPI San Francisco Collection, New for Fall/Winter 2013

Before I met El Hub and moved across the Golden Gate Bridge from the city to Marin County (oh, the things we do for love!), I called San Francisco’s Outer Richmond district my home.

I lived in an apartment at the corner of 36th and Geary, about five minutes from the often foggy beach. At night, the 38 Geary Bus would rumble past my window as low fog horns from the Bay lulled me to sleep.

I was in my 20s then, savoring life in the city right at the height of the dot-com boom. I loved the excitement and everything the city had to offer, but truth be told, the experience also kicked my @ss…in a good way though.

I learned a lot — about myself, about what I wanted out of life, what I didn’t want, and even after a decade removed from the city, I’m still awestruck every time I cross the Golden Gate and see the city skyline.

I love that town. 🙂

Needless to say, I’ve been hella freakin’ over the moon about the new OPI San Francisco collection.

And, yes, I said hella. Because that’s how we do it here, babe.

The 15-piece release, new for fall/winter 2013, feels authentic to me, like OPI did their research. It’s like they took postcards of some of the city’s most iconic places and spaces and poured them into the bottles.

May I be your tour guide? I’d love to show you around San Francisco by OPI 🙂

For starters, I think it’s fitting that OPI chose fall for a San Francisco collection, seeing as how it’s such a wonderful season around here. Generally sunnier, warmer and less crowded than summer (yup, it’s the micro-climates here). September through early- to mid-November is my favorite time of year in the city.

Very much like a song sung about SF, the collection embodies the urban aspects of SF — sure, it’s a city — but it also has some very beautiful parks and lush outdoor areas, like the greens of Golden Gate Park and Land’s End (could you imagine a shade of green inspired by the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill?? I die!).

Instead of going that route, though, OPI chose something more street chic, with nautical blues, sandy taupes, foggy grays, Golden Gate/Chinatown reds, burgundies and browns. It’s not urban in an industrial way. More like a hike up and down steep city streets surrounded by epic views and high-rise buildings.

One of the city’s many piers with Angel Island on the right…

The collection features 12 shades in OPI’s regular polish formula, encompassing a mix of creams and shimmers, as well as three textured Liquid Sand shades, and the entire color palette is meant to go with fall’s fashion trends, specifically looks with military details and winter whites.

For me, most of the polishes require two coats, although some of the more glittery shades, like Haven’t the Foggiest and Alcatraz…Rocks, work well with one. They all boast OPI’s signature bad-@ss brush, which is nice and full and wide and makes it very easy to cover an entire nail evenly in two or three swipes.

Hop aboard this cable car with me, and let’s take a look. 🙂

OPI A-Piers to Be Tan — A-Piers to Be Tan

A-Piers To Be Tan is a creamy orange-brown. Call me cat lady, but it reminds of Tabs’ tum more than anything else. It’s one of my least favorite shades here, but I do like the way it contrasts with the rest of the colors in the collection.

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Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From GoldenEye, Xenia Onatopp

November 8th, 2012 by Karen 32 Comments

bond girl looks xenia onatopp 1 — A Xenia Onatopp Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in GoldenEye

“M, what on earth is this contraption?”

“That, Bond, is a Thighmaster. Google it.”

“My thighs need no mastering, M.”

“Famous last words, Bond. Famous last words.”

. . .

Can I just say how hard it is to find a frickin’ Thighmaster these days? Because really, if you’re gonna dress up as Bond girl Xenia Onatopp, you want your thighs to be like BAM! — straight-up killing machines!!

I’m not kidding either. In 1995’s GoldenEye, Xenia, played by the gorgeous Famke Janssen, is the Bond babe who famously kills by crushing people to death with her thighs (wha?!).

(Keep in mind, this was before MMA was popular, LOL!)

In fact, Xenia almost takes out Pierce Brosnan’s Bond in one of their encounters…

I sure love Xenia’s makeup in the movie. She smolders in a smokey eye and rich red lips while she seduces her prey.

Psycho on the inside, but she keeps it classy on the outside.

Nice. 🙂

This afternoon I thought I’d pattern my makeup after hers — not literally copying it, but I tried to capture the same feel, with the biggest difference being that I used a rich gold eyeshadow to play off the OPI GoldenEye polish on my nails.

opi goldeneye — OPI GoldenEye, from the new Bond-themed Skyfall nail polish collection

bond girl looks xenia onatopp 3 — Wearing three coats of OPI GoldenEye

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Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From Skyfall, Savarine

November 7th, 2012 by Karen 34 Comments

bond girls severine skyfall look — A Savarine Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in Skyfall

“Bond, I’m going to need you to be on your toes for this next assignment. This group is very dangerous.”

“Whatever you say, M.”

“I’m serious, Bond. Cat ladies are the real deal. They’ve been known to actually persuade spies to abandon their missions and join the cat crusade. They will not stop until the world goes full-on feline!”

“So…does that mean I have to keep my paws to myself?”

. . .

Yeah, so if the curmudgeonly cat lady thing doesn’t pan out for me over the next couple of years, I might just become a full-time, self-employed Bond girl. Seriously! I’d have no problem slinking around the house by myself all day long looking all mysterious and sultry like Savarine, the Bond girl from Skyfall, the latest installment in the series.

I’d be totally fine with that.

In the movie, which opens this Friday across North America, Savarine is played by French actress BÃ©rÃ©nice Marlohe. I’ve forbidden myself from reading any spoilers, even though I desperately want to (just two more days!), but movie stills are okay, especially when the makeup, hair and nails are to die for, like they are in these pics of Savarine.

Ooh, I that gray eye look… It’s kinda smokey, and I dig the cat eye shape.

See how the shadow slightly wings out at the ends? I feel like it elongates the eye. Oh, and peep the inner corners, and how her eyeshadow tracks her tear duct, ending in a slightly pointed tip. Makes it look even more feline, meow! 🙂

I was really inspired today by Savarine’s look, so I thought I’d give it a try this afternoon and wear it with OPI’s dark plummy red Skyfall nail polish.

The eyes: step by step

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Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From The World Is Not Enough, Elektra King

November 5th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

An Elektra King Bond Girl makeup look — An Elektra King Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in The World Is Not Enough

“James?”

“Yes, M?”

“Be…careful.”

“Always.”

“No, James, I mean it. This Tabs character is…dangerous. This whole playboy tabby supermodel persona of his is just a cover. We know he’s up to something… We just don’t know what it is yet.”

“What do we know about his current location?”

“We know you’re close. He was spotted last night at a Petco in Novato, and we expect him to return there tonight. He appears to have a penchant for gravy…”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“I want you to be there when he arrives at the Petco tonight.”

“And?”

“Bring him in, James. I want you to stop that cat.”

. . .

T-minus four days till the new Bond movie unleashes suave justice on American movie goers and I. CAN’T. WAIT.

I grew up on a steady diet of James Bond. 🙂 Both of my parents loved the movies, and when I was a kid, whenever a new one would come out, my folks would pack us all up in the car, and take us to the local drive-in.

Yep, I said drive-in. We used to have an actual drive-in movie theater in our town (some years ago the lot was turned into a strip mall).

Skyfall, the latest film in the Bond franchise, opens this Friday nationwide, and OPI recently released a new 12-piece Bond movie-inspired nail polish collection of the same name.

I was taking a shower the other day when I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to do a series of makeup looks inspired by Bond girls and the colors in the new OPI Skyfall collection?

Yes, yes, I think it would. 🙂

And for the first one, how about Elektra King? She plays cat and mouse with Bond in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough.

It’s not one of my favorite Bond films — I cracked up laughing at the pained expression Pierce Brosnan makes in the unintentionally funny seduction/torture scene below — but I love, LOVE the nail polish based on the movie in the Skyfall collection!

OPI The World Is Not Enough from the Skyfall collection

It’s a shimmery purplish taupe with tiny flecks of glitter, and it looks almost like a silvery khaki sometimes, depending on the light.

So beautiful…

opi the world is not enough swatch — Wearing three coats of OPI’s The World Is Not Enough (but you could probably get away with two)

In the 1999 movie, Elektra King is played by the gorgeous Sophie Marceau. There’s a scene during which she puts JB through hell while wearing a sultry smokey eye and a full-length purple, taupe and black gown — you know, because when you’re inflicting pain upon an international super spy, why settle for sweats?

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Lacquers Better Look Out for Sephora by OPI Nail Colour Remover

July 27th, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

sephora by opi nail colour remover

Alright, that’s it! I give up. I’m done waiting for Target to restock my favorite E.L.F. Nail Polish Remover Pads. Done!

Sure, they’re awesome and only $1 for a pack of 18, but what good is that when they’re hardly ever in stock? Seriously, I must check my local Target at least once or twice a week.

I wonder if a fellow nail enthusiast is stockpiling them… Heck, that’s what I’d do. 🙂

Oh, well. On the bright side, I think I found an alternative that 1) I like even more and 2) can usually find at Sephora.

A 2-ounce bottle of Sephora by OPI Nail Colour Remover costs five times as much as E.L.F.’s secretive pads, but that’s still only $5 (or $9 for a bigger 4-ounce bottle), which isn’t bad, especially considering how well I think it works.

It cuts through layers of lacquer like a hot knife through butter! — and it works without drying out my cuticles or nails, thanks to moisturizing grape seed oil, vitamin E, sea kelp and aloe.

With a cotton ball/pad soaked with five drops, I can usually get through four nails with up to three layers of polish each and a base and top coat. Glitters take a few more drops, of course, but even so, that’s still more efficient than E.L.F.’s awesome pads.

PRICE: $5 for a 2-ounce bottle (a larger 4-ounce bottle is also available for $9)
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Sephora stores and sephora.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

An Olympic mani with Rococo Nail Apparel’s Rock & Royal Kit

rococo nail apparel rock & royal

I’m so glad I found this remover! It’s perfect timing, too, because I’ve been going through a paw-painting phase where I change my polish every few days.

Oh, so many colors, so little time…

In fact, I just removed Bobbi Brown’s Bobbi Turquoise from the Desert Twilight collection, and now I’m trying to decide among the red, white and blue (or maybe all three?) shades from the Rococo Nail Apparel’s Rock & Royal kit ($36 for the kit, or $16.50 each), a limited edition kit for summer 2012.

I want to be wearing cute nails for the Olympics opening ceremony. 🙂

rococo nail apparel v.i.p.
V.I.P.

rococo nail apparel lab nude 1.0
Lab Nude 1.0
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