OPI Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Review

As I am continuing in my tradition of striking while the iron is hot (LOL)... I bring you the months-old OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection.  Unfortunately, this one that got put aside while I had to take a little break and I'm just now able to review it.  However, as the movie is due to be released on DVD in November, I figure I'm still relevant.  Heck.  I'm now ahead of the curve.  :P

Anyway, this was OPI's "Brights" offering for 2011, and that kind of threw me, as their brights collections in the past have been extremely vibrant, and bright hues.  These colors, as a whole, are far more subdued that past collections.  However, I actually think it's a misnomer to call them pastels.  While the are lighter shades, there is still a vibrancy about them that I would not associate with a pastel shade (as when I think of pastel, I think of soft baby-ish colors).

Mermaid's Tears - Mint green creme.  This one has perhaps a bit more blue in it and is perhaps a tad brighter than a traditional mint.  However, it still gave me a dreadful (say that in a pirate voice) case of red-hands.  The color is absolutely beautiful, but I just can't wear it.  :(

Planks A Lot - Slightly dusty, mid-tone purple.  This one is probably on the lighter end of what I consider mid-tone.  However, it's much darker and brighter than what I consider to be a light purple or a lavender.  There is a slight dustiness to it, but I don't think it's a dupe for RBL Purple Haze (though if any one wants a comp, I will be glad to do one).  

Skulls and Glossbones - Pale grey creme.  Yes, this one is a pale grey, but going back to the vibrancy I mentioned above, it's not a color that looks white.  It is most definitely grey.  It's also got enough warmth in the base to not give me dead-hands, but it's not exactly what I would consider to be a warm grey.  It also has a touch of green in there to give it just a slight dirtiness (along the lines of Stranger Tides, but not nearly as funky).

Sparrow Me the Drama - Tea rose creme.  When I was swatching this, I thought it may be a dupe to RBL Smitten, but after looking at pics, I don't think it is.  Sparrow Me the Drama has a smidge of purple in it, whereas Smitten is a true rose creme.  That said, it a gorgeous color, and it looks amazing under Lippmann Glitter in the Air

Steady as She Rose - Pale dirty rose creme.  Again, like most of the other colors in this collection, Steady as She Rose has a slight dirtiness to it.  These colors really do fit in well with the Pirates of the Caribbean theme.  It is a pale pink, so you wouldn't think it would be that unique, but the dirtiness really sets it apart. 

Stranger Tides - dirty, artichoke green.  This color is completely funky and it didn't work with my skintone.  That said, I completely loved it. 

Also, the formula on these was fantastic.  I had no application issues with any of the colors and each color was opaque in just 2 coats. 

I kind of wish that they had included a bright Caribbean blue with this collection (perhaps lose one of the pinks), but I think being a collection based on a movie, it was cohesive and well-thought-out.

Additionally, along with these 6 cremes, OPI released Silver Shatter along with this collection...

Here it is swatched over Stranger Tides with no TC. 

The fact is, I stink at crackles/shatters.  I hate that you have one chance at getting it right.  You also have to have just the right amount on your brush and go in the right direction.  It's just too much pressure.  LOL.  I have problems with getting the right amount on the brush, so I either end up with a thin coat with drag marks or a thick coat that never cracks.  That said, the finish on this one is gorgeous and if you and crackle work well together, I think this would be an amazing option to add to your collection.

This collection is out now and OPI retails for $8.50 a bottle.

these were sent to me for review

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Turquoise Opal

I waffled on posting this all day.  Thing is, it took this about 2a, after taking a sleeping pill, so my cuticles look awful.  I'd been swatching Zoya's summer collection and I must have been high when I removed the last one.  However... this color is too amazing to not post it.  So, my apologies in advance for my bad cuticles and for any lemmings this may have created.

This is one coat of Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal over 2 coats of Illamasqua Boosh.

Remember all my whining about wanting an oilslick polish.  Well girls, this *almost* kills the lemming.  I still want something a bit more pastel, but this is so gorgeous that I may forget about the oilslick.  LOL.

Then, just a little bit ago, I got a little creative.  I was getting ready to take this off, so I figured I'd play with it. This is ChG Crushed Candy over my original mani.  I used a swirl/circular motion.  I also topped it with another coat of Turquoise Opal and then TC.

Unfortunately, Turquoise Opal is HTF and you have to resort to eBay.  I hate to say it because scalpers make me stabby, but if you can afford this... you need it.

These were all purchased by me.

Experimenting with Crackle

When I first got my China Glaze crackles, I'd heard that changing the direction of your strokes, will change the crackle effect.  This stands to reason, of course, but I tried it once and it was a big fat fail, so I gave up.  Then, I happened to receive a half of the collection from China Glaze to review about 2 weeks ago.  They were sitting on my desk and I was bored, so I figured I'd give it another chance.  I think this time, I was much more successful.  :)

This is China Glaze Cracked Concrete over Zoya Charisma.  I love this combo.  From L-R:

1. Middle finger - I created this look using horizontal stripes rather than vertical.  I think this is probably my favorite of the three.

2. Ring Finger - This was created by using half vertical strokes and half horizontal stripes.  The "dividing line" is diagonally down the nail.

3. Pinkie Finger - This started out being more of a cross-hatch pattern, but morphed into a truly random patter when I started filling in the gaps.

Basically, the sky is the limit when it comes to creating designs with these thicker crackles (i.e. OPI, ChG)  There's just a few ground rules you need to know...
- be quick
- have just the right amount of your brush.  Too much will glob and too little will pull.
- just one coat.  you can always apply another coat of crackle over the top of the one you are currently doing, for a cool layered effect, but don't try to do multiple coats of the same color at the same time.  It won't crack and it will just look really thick and glumpy.

UPDATE - I wanted to add this pic.  Per Kimberly's suggestion, I tried a swirl pattern.  Starting with a dot of color in the middle and working my way around it in half-circles.  Here's what I came up with...

Sorry for the quick and dirty pic, but I think this is the best one yet.  Thank you, Kimberly, for the idea.  :)


ChG Cracked Concrete as well as 2 others were sent to me for review.  I also purchased the entire set of crackles prior to receiving my review samples.  Charisma was purchased by me.

OPI DS Desire with ChG Crushed Candy and Lippmann Boom Boom Pow

Okay it is crazycakes how much I love this.  :D

I was inspired by this post on the MUA NB.  I don't have WNW Prancer, so I figured I'd do the gold one instead.  I had on OPI DS Desire and because I can't go 6 hrs without doing something to my fingers, I figured I'd add some crackle (me thinks crackle is the new konad.  LOL).  Then it still needed something so I added Boom Boom Pow.

I love it so much and I will be a little sad when it's gone.

China Glaze Crackle Lightning Bolt over golden glitter

This was inspired by pics of the new OPI and Serena Williams collaborations, due out this May.  In the pictures, there is a new White Shatter that they layer over a champagne gold glitter, Spark de Triumphe (I'm assuming this is the French Open portion of the collection).  I loved the look so much, I had to recreate it right now.  So, I used 2 coats of OPI Glitzerland, with one coat of  Fingerpaints Winter Wishes.  I then topped the whole thing with China Glaze Crackle Glaze in White Lightning (which I'm quickly becoming addicted to) and 2 coats of Seche Vite.  I love this.

FYI... if you'd like to check out the pictures of the new Serena Williams collections and the new "Shatters", check out this post at Addicted to All Things Pretty.

OPI Glam Slam collection (pt.1 - Simply Smashing)

FYI... I am sorry in advance if this post seems a bit disjointed, my spawn had me up at 5am, so I figured I'd constructively waste time by reviewing polish.  LOL.

It seems like we are getting a lot of celebrity collaboration collections lately.  Glam Slam is among those collections, as it's OPI's collaboration with tennis star (and nail technician) Serena Williams.  Glam Slam is an 8 piece collection, but unlike most other collections, it will be released in 2-polish sets, with release dates coinciding with each of the 4 Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open).  Simply Smashing is the first of those releases.  It consists of one polish, Simply Smashing and one top coat, Black Shatter.

Simply Smashing - Sparkling yellow-green foil metallic.  As soon as OPI sent out their PR info regarding both the Serena Williams and Katy Perry collections, this polish is the one that first caught my eye, and I really can't tell you why.  I guess because it's such a unique color (it really looks like a shiny tennis ball).  If you happened to like the 2 greens from OPI's summer 2010 release Shrek Forever, Who the Shrek Are You? and Fiercely Fiona, you will probably love this.  It's like a perfect marriage between the two, only all glammed up.  Unfortunately, while I love the color, I don't really think it works with my skin, at least not alone (see below).  Pic is 4 coats, as the formula was quite sheer (though buildable).  

Black Shatter - Rubbery-finish black crack top coat.  I know there are several crackle topcoats now on the market and more to come, with China Glaze's upcoming Crackle collection, but this one seems to differ a little bit in the finish in that it definitely shatters more than crackles.  It almost looks more like animal print rather than the cracked-window look of most crackle top coats.  Black shatter is being marketed with both the Serena Williams collection and the Katy Perry collection, and I must say that I really love it over Simply Smashing.  It is recommended that you apply Black Shatter over dry nails for optimum "shattering", but in all honesty, I applied it over semi-dry nails and got fine results.  It dries completely matter, though with a tad bit of rubbery-ness to it, so unless you want it to flake off, you'll probably need to use a topcoat.  The pic above is with TC on both my middle finger and my pinky and no TC on my ring finger.  

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All in all, I really like this first offering from the Glam Slam collection.  In addition to using it under Black Shatter, I would love to see Simply Smashing as a base for a black and white konad design (must work on that soon).  Also, I think I like this one because when I was 13-14 yrs old, I became obsessed with tennis.  I blame Jennifer Capriati and Andre Agassi.  LOL. I couldn't play to save my life (you need better hand-eye coordination than what I bring to the table :P), but I read the tennis magazines, knew all the stats, and watched every.single.tournament I could catch without cable.  In fact, remember needing to watch Wimbledon so bad that I'd sneak into the quiet, out-of-the-way waiting rooms (at the hospital where I volunteered the summer before ninth grade) just so I could watch it.  

I can't wait to see what the other 3 offerings in this collection will bring.  I'm sure with Serena Williams involved, they will be great and a little on the edge (just like Simply Smashing).

I know OPI has announced there is some delay in this collection, but it should be out by the end of this month.

These were sent to me for review

Quick Look at OPI Black Shatter

I was all set to review the Katy Perry collection and Black Shatter, only to discover that my camera battery was on it's final moments.  But I wanted to give you all a sneak peek, nonetheless.  :)

This is 1 coat of OPI Black Shatter over 4 coats of OPI Not Like the Movies (full review on both coming soon).  I then topped it w/ 2 coats of Seche Vite.

Omigosh.  I thought I was in love with Not Like the Movies on it's own.  Then I added Black Shatter and decided this was the coolest thing ever.  :D 



Born Pretty Store - Crackle Polish

I recently received several products to review from Born Pretty Store.  I plan on reviewing these products over the next week. 

The first product I have for you is their crackle polish, something I was pretty excited to try in anticipation of OPI's new crackle ("shatter") polish coming out at the first of the year.  However, compared to pictures I've seen of OPI's new polish, this one seems much more "crackle-y", something I really like.

This is all 5 of the crackle polishes offered by Born Pretty Store swatched over silver (Misa Got to be Reel).  From thumb to pinky: yellow, red (it's more pink than red, IMO), blue, green, and black.  I apologize for the quick skittles pic, but I have a bit of a backlog, and a camera battery that needs to be charged, so I wanted to make sure I did a post about this as quick as I could.  I do plan on more detailed pictures in the next few days.

I never really got into the crackle polish thing, when Cover Girl first released them to the masses, back in the later 1990's, but I must say that I'm digging this look, especially the red (pink) over the silver and black over the silver.  I think they are a really cool way to spice up an old manicure or a quick way to do a nail-art-ish look without spending the time actually doing nail art.  These would also be a great way to do a "team colors" mani, provided of course, that one of your team colors is one of the crackle colors.

There is a bit of a learning curve to crackle polishes.  One that I'm still learning.  A few things that I've learned (and I will add more to this as I play with them a bit more)...
- a lighter base color is better
- for more crackling, only use one coat of the base color (so something highly pigmented is better).  I used 2 on my ring (green) finger and you can see that the crackling is deeper and not as pronounced.
- only use one coat of the crackle coat

That said, I'm really looking forward to playing with these a bit more.  If you all have any ideas for color combinations, I am all ears.  :)

These crackle polishes are available at Born Pretty Store (see above for link).  They come in a 4 pack (all colors except for yellow) for $12.87 or $3.67 individually.  Born Pretty Store ships free to many countries (see their website for details). 

Be sure to stay tuned for more items from Born Pretty Store.

These were sent to me for review