[Review+Swatch] OPI Gwen Stefani Collection

Press Sample

Hey guys! It's already Friday - TGIF! Today I have swatches of the new Gwen Stefani for OPI collection. This collection features several different finishes, so there's something for everyone. There's also nail art at the end, so keep reading!

Zoya Gloss Collection Swatches

Katherine, 4 coats: a vampy eggplant jelly gloss.  This isn't one of those red-brown vampy shades.  It definitely stays true to its purple base.  While I like the color, unfortunately the formula is just as problematic as any other vampy polish.  The color applies very unevenly.  Even at four coats, you might notice uneven application.
 

***

Frida, 5 coats: a teal blue jelly gloss.  4 coats would have been fine for this shade, but I wanted it to be darker for pictures.  However, even at 5 coats you can see that it is still quite sheer.  (Yes, I have those white bruise marks on my ring finger.)  With that said, I love this color.  It's so gorgeous and shiny!  This is a color I wouldn't mind doing a few extra coats for.

***

Paloma, 3 coats: a berry pink jelly gloss.  OMG!  Haha, I don't use that word often, but this color is so pretty!  It's my favorite of the bunch, and the most opaque.  It's a lot lighter and brighter on the nail than in the bottle (as are all of these).  In the bottle, it just looked like another berry shade, but on the nail it's more of a berry-magenta mix!  It's also so shiny and so squishy and gahhh...  It makes me want to eat my nails.  Haha.

You can also layer glitter under these for a jelly sandwich look.  Here I layered two coats of OPI Pirouette My Whistle under one more coat of Paloma (making it 4 coats).  At four coats, Paloma become slightly darker and almost fully opaque (as far as jellies go).  The purple in it is also more emphasized.

Verdict:  Out of the three shades, I was definitely impressed by two of them: Frida and Paloma.  If you love jellies and sheers, these might just be for you.  They are definitely sheer though, and that's how Zoya is marketing them.  If you follow Zoya on Facebook, you might have seen their numerous pictures of ways to layer the glosses with glitters to make glitter sandwiches and ombres.

Availability:   This collection is currently available on Zoya.com for $8 each.  You might also find these at Ulta as well.


What do you think of these sheer glosses?  Is this something you would wear?  Let me know in the comments! :)


Liz

*The polishes reviewed in this post were sent to me for my honest review.
Post contains affiliate link.

China Glaze Fall 2012 On Safari Swatches

Hello, hello!  I'm so excited to show you these new China Glaze On Safari shades today.  I have five from the collection, so let's get to it! :D  My swatches are all shown without top coat. 

Man Hunt, 2 coats: bright blue creme-jelly hybrid.  I love how blue this is.  It looks navy indoors, but outdoors it's so blue and yummy.  It seemed more like a jelly on the first coat, but it became nice and opaque at two.  Even though it's opaque, I think it still looks kind of squishy.  The formula was nice as well.

Exotic Encounters, 2 coats: a dusty teal-green creme.  The formula was excellent on this one.  It practically painted itself.  Exotic Encounters was also the color I was most excited about, and it didn't disappoint!

Purr-fect Plum, 2 coats: a dark plum/berry creme.  Nothing too unique, but quite flattering.  I know this is going on my toes once fall rolls around.  The formula was good like the others.

I Herd That, 3 coats: very fine gold and orange glitter with blue and green glitters; possibly holographic.  The glitters are so fine, it's hard to tell.  I mostly get glowing blues and greens sparkling through the mass of gold and orange, but it does have a holographic glitter quality to it because of how sparkly it is.  This is one of the colors that would have escaped my radar if I hadn't had a chance to try it out myself.  The blue and green glitters really make this one for me.  I love it a lot more than I thought it would.  The formula was perfect, and it becomes relatively opaque in 2 coats.

Prey Tell, 2 coats: a vampy maroon-brown creme.  Look how shiny and squishy this is!  I found the formula to be okay.  It required some concentration on my part, just because of how dark it is.  It was a little harder to get clean rounded edges near the cuticles, and dry time was a bit slow.  I'd recommend waiting a little between coats to avoid drag.


Verdict: All the colors I've tried had excellent formulas, except for Prey Tell.  Even then I'd say that Prey Tell was one of the less finicky vampy red-browns I have tried so far.  I knew from the beginning that I was going to love Exotic Encounters, and it lived up to my expectations in both color and formula.  Also included in my list of favorites are Man Hunt and I Herd That, which turned out to be an unexpected favorite.


The China Glaze® On Safari collection will be available at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide in July 2012.  Individual polishes retail for $7 MSRP; the 6-piece sets retail for $42 MSRP. 



Liz

*The polishes reviewed in this post were sent to me for my honest review.
Please view my Disclosure Policy for more info.

Sally Hansen Oxblood

Today I have for you another polish from the Alexander Wang Spring 2012 line.  This one's a gorgeous vampy red creme.

Oxblood, 2 coats.  Is it red?  Or is it brown?  This is one of those deliciously dark, vampy reds that look brown in certain lightings.  Maybe it doesn't fit in a spring collection, but I like it anyway.  It's very glossy and kind of squishy looking.  My only gripe about this polish is the brush.  I think I got a bad brush. :(  It wasn't cut very evenly.  Combine that with a flat, large brush and it spelled disaster with such a dark, pigmented color like Oxblood.  I think I'm going to trim my brush a bit to even it out.  I'm pretty sure all the brushes aren't like this, since I've never had problems with my other Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure brushes.  If anything, you can always check the brush at the store before you buy it.

Currently, I'm still craving soft colors, but Oxblood is definitely a polish I'll revisit in the fall.


Liz

*The polishes reviewed in this post were sent to me for my honest review.
Please view my Disclosure Policy for more info.