Duri Keep Your Options Open Spring/Summer Collection Review - Part 2

Yesterday, I brought you the first part of this collection, and today, I have for you the 6 remaining colors, and I think I've saved the best for last...

Celebrate the Sunset - Dusty pink creme.  I was really drawn to this color.  Given the name, and the dustiness and slight purple tinge to this color, I was immediately reminded Mountbatten pink, a dusty pink used to camouflage warships at dusk (though I think this is pinker than true Mountbatten pink, that may actually have been closer to the mauve-pink below).  It's also the exact shade you will sometimes see at sunset when the sky near the horizon turns pink.  I had good coverage with the formula and was able to reach opacity in 2 coats.

How to pink a winner - dolphin-skin grey creme.  This is such a pretty grey with a lot of blue in the base.  It reminds me of Zoya Kelly and Caitlin, in that regard.  Also, in the bottle and on my nail, it is a bit bluer that it appears in my pictures.  It doesn't really scream "summer" to me, but it is a really nice color, nonetheless.  2 coats.

Keep Your Options Open - deep, vampy purple with subtle red, blue, and purple micro-shimmer.  You may be saying to yourself "oh another vampy purple", and it is a vampy purple.  However, it's the shimmer in this one that sets it apart.  The base is a jelly-ish creme and the micro-shimmer gets suspended in the base so when you move your fingers, you see sparkles of fine shimmer.  The shimmer's not exact hidden or secret, but it's not an overtly-shimmery polish, if that makes sense.  It was a little hard to capture the shimmer with my camera, but my ring finger in the top picture and my pinky finger in the bottom picture are good examples.  The formula was good and I had no issues.  2 coats.

Lazy Days - Medium-toned, dusty mauve.  When I first saw this one in the color, I thought it was going to be very "mom-ish".  Then I put it on and I fell in love with it.  It really reminds me of the long-discontinued Essie Lyford Lilac, though it's more purple than the Essie.  This one had the best formula of the lot and it was opaque in one coat, though I applied two.  

Steal the Spotlight - Bright, orange-based red with golden micro-shimmer.  I think this one is my favorite polish in this collection.  The color is warm, but is very wearable on my skintone, which can sometimes be an issue with orange-reds.  It's so bright and summery and would look fantastic with a tan.  I had no issues with the formula.  2 coats.  

The Big Score - rose champagne metallic.  This lone metallic in this collection is also the one which stumped me the most in coming up with a description.  The color is a pretty mix of mauve-pink, silver, and champagne gold, and while it's a foily-metallic, there are also large particles of silver and pink shimmer in this one.  This one is pretty unique in my collection.  The formula was good and I had no issues.  2 coats.  

I thought the previous colors from this collection were nice springy colors, but I absolutely love the colors in this second grouping.  If I had to pick favorites, I'd say Celebrate the Sunset and Steal the Spotlight, but there isn't one I don't like.  

Duri polishes are available at Duri.com and retail for $5 a bottle.

Duri Keep Your Options Open was sent to me review.  The above links like to a previous post on this blog and Duri's website and are not affiliate links.  

Duri Keep Your Options Open Spring/Summer Collection Review - Part 1

Sorry for taking a short break.  This summer break is all about trying to manage my time and at this point, I'm not doing such a good job of it.  LOL.

Anyway, today, I have for you part 1 of Duri's Spring/Summer 2012 collection.  When Duri sent out this collection, both in press releases and in samples, they broke it in to groups, Spring and Summer.  These polishes are from the "Spring" grouping and tomorrow, I will show you the "Summer" group...

Far and Away Adventures - hot, rose pink shimmer.  When I first swatched this one, I thought I wouldn't like it.  I honestly thought it was going to be a frosty mess.  However, it surprised me.  What I thought was going to be frost was actually a slight purple flash.  I really love the color, too.  I'm not sure, if I could wear it for a full manicure, but I think this would look fantastic as a summer pedicure.  The formula was fine, though I still had thin spots at 2 coats, so I applied three.  Also, while it's not a frost polish, it is apt to show brush strokes, so it's wise to go slow with this one and watch where you place your strokes.  

Necessary Luxury - light, putty grey creme.  This polish would fit nicely in the "greige" family, and is a great work-safe polish.  There is a slight lavender tone to it in the bottle, but that didn't really translate on to my nails.  Formula was fine with no issues.  3 coats.  

Off the Beaten Path - light, lilac creme.  This one is so light and airy and I think it's a perfect spring polish, though it would look just as lovely in the summer.  It's a beautiful purple with a hint of blue.  3 coats.  

Set the Mood - Milky white sheer.  The color on this one is very pretty, but I really didn't like the formula.  I can handle sheers on occasion, provided they aren't streaky (which a non-streaky sheer polish is a rare find).  This one wasn't as streaky as some I've seen, so you may be able to tame it with a sticky base coat.  I still had thin spots at 3 coats, so I'm not sure if you can reach opacity with this one.  That said, I think this would work well as a french manicure polish, provided you could control the streaks.  3 coats.  

Stay in Splendor - creamy orange creme.  This one was the color of orange creamsicles.  I think this one would look fabulous with a tan.  Formula was a little thin for me.  3 coats.  

Trust Your Instincts - light pink-lavender.  This one is the baby sister to Off the Beaten Path.  It's a super light polish, but I was able to reach opacity rather quickly.  I found the formula to be thick, yet a little runny, but it was easy to control.  2 coats.

I thought this was a really nice offering for spring.  My favorites are Off the Beaten Path, and oddly enough, Far and Away Adventures.  Be sure to check tomorrow for the second part of this collection.  

Duri polishes are available at Duri.com, as well as other online retailers and brick and mortar supply stores.  Polishes retail for $5 a bottle.

Duri Keep Your Options Open collection was sent to me for review.  The above link links to this collection on Duri's website and is not an affiliate link.

Duri Angels and Demons

Last year, Duri released a 6 polish collection inspired by the movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".  I think most of the polishes in the collection may have been repromotes, but they were new to me, so I was pretty excited.  

I loved the look of the collection and I couldn't wait to review it.  Now, part of that is probably because of the movie and the fact that Daniel Craig is my Hollywood boyfriend (:P), but also it just looked like a gorgeous collection.  Unfortunately, my life continued it's pattern of topsy-turvy and I just never got around to swatching the entire collection.

However, I am now trying to post single polish posts of polishes I wasn't able to review last year.  Today, I have for you another of the polishes in this fantastic collection, Angels and Demons...

I chose this polish because, as you may notice, I chopped my nails WAY down, and then I had a break on my pinky (isn't that always the way), and I had to go even shorter.  :\  So, I figured a darker polish was in order.  

When I put it on, I was a little surprised, though it was a good suprise.  Maybe I didn't stare at the bottle hard enough before I applied it, but for some reason, I thought this was going to be a charcoal grey base loaded with silver glitter.  It's not.  It's a gunmetal-grey foil metallic.  

I love this polish.  I had no issues with formula or application.  In fact, it applied like a dream and was completely opaque in 2 coats.  I also used a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri quick-dry topcoat.

I really like Duri polishes.  I find them to be fun, inexpensive polishes and they have a wide range of colors and finishes.  You can purchase Duri polishes directly from their website and they retail for $5.  

Angels and Demons was sent to me for review.  The above link directly links to the polish pictured and is not an affiliate link.

Duri Icicles

 

This is part of the new Duri Girl with the Dragon Tattoo collection (for which I am currently working on the review).  I was going to wait to post this one until I am finished with the post, but I have had it on my nails for 2 days now, I love it to pieces, and I just had to share it with you.  I will give a more detailed review when I review the collection.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. 

Like Mother, Like Daughter

My daughter, Amelia, is 3 years and a couple months old and she's already a makeup junkie. Training that one right, I am. Right now, she's got polish on her fingernails and toenails and a big splotch of mascara on her cheek. The fingers and toes were intentional. The mascara was because she snuck in my bathroom, got the tube and started playing "ostrich" with it. Buh? I have no idea. She has a HUGE imagination.

She's enamoured with my polish and makeup collections. Half the time, I have to let her play with my powder or a cheapy Avon blush, just to get her out of the room. Let alone, everytime she sees me doing my nails, I hear "Amia's turn. Pawish". <3>

Usually, her weapon of choice is China Glaze IDK. She loves it. It's purple and holo and she thinks it rocks, but last night, she picked up a red... OPI Thrill of Brazil. Well, that wasn't happening, so we compromised with a fun, girly pink. Now, here's something random that no one ever talks about. What colors from an adult's collection are best for a little one. Well, it's no so much a color question with me, and aside from red and vampy colors, I'm okay with her wearing whatever. It's more a question of application. I find OPIs to be extremely difficult to apply on little nails, especially with the new brush. I liked ChG for her until I unearthed the Duris in my collection and tried one of those on her. It was the perfect sized brush and wand for applying nail polish on a little girl.

She chose Duri Bikini Bubbles. It's a pretty bright pink color with silver running through it. If I'm remembering correctly, it reminds me of Orly Sterling Silver Rose, though I haven't had SSR in years so I can't compare the two. The application was pretty easy (as easy as one can apply nail polish on a twitchy 3 year old). It took me about 10-15 minutes to apply polish on her fingers and toes. I did thin coats and used no top or base coats, so it was dry within just a few minutes. It won't last more than a few days on her, but she's incredibly happy, so that makes it worth it.

Here's another crappy camera phone picture to show off her pretty fingers.

As for the brand of polish, I bought my 5-6 Duris last year at hello-gorgeous.net for a pretty decent price, about $3 each. This was before I discovered my beloved TD, so thought $3 was a good deal. TD, however, does not carry Duri, so H-G is the best price I've found for that brand, if you are in the market for it specifically. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of Duri before I tried it on Amelia. I did put Playing Trix over OPI Cajun Shrimp last week and it did make a nice pinky, shimmery coral, but it didn't work well with my skintone, but as far as wearing it alone, the one time I tried, it took forever to apply due to the small brush. It also took awhile to cure and I think I just ended up taking it off altogether.

I need to give the brand another try. I've heard they have a nice, light yellow (yellow scares me, but I want to get my feet wet nonetheless), so I may check that out next time I'm in a buying mood. I think in my collection, I have Jackpot, Red Square (not to be confused with AiRS, but the colors look close in the bottle), To Die For, and Rock Opera, in addition to BB. Oh and I think there's a lavender in there too, but I don't remember the name and I'm too lazy to look. I recently gave Playing Trix to my sis because it did nothing for me. I'm going to put a Duri at the top of my try list just to see if works for me or if little Miss A inherits all my bottles.