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Nowadays I try to use a polish soon after I buy it, but I still have some old polishes that I just have to check off my list. This was one of them. OPI Sapphire in the Snow (Holiday Wishes, Holiday 2009) is a deep blurple creme:
Picture taken in natural light. (I’ve given up trying to photograph blurples accurately; they always turn out much bluer than in real life.) This applied well in two coats. I don’t think the name really matches the color. I picture a much truer blue when I think of sapphires. Regardless, it’s a very pretty and richly pigmented color. While this is a blurple, and it is very blue toned, I think this is actually one where the purple tones are more obvious. It’s quite dark but it has a certain element of dustiness that keeps it from looking pitch black. I paired this with Color Club Rad Nomad on my toes.
<3sarah
Keeping up with the newer polishes, next in the queue is OPI Meep-Meep-Meep (The Muppets, Holiday 2011), a red raspberry-pink microglitter with pink microglitter:
Picture taken in natural light. (The lack of sunlight fails to showcase the sparkle, but this was more color-accurate than artificial light photos.) This applied well; a little sheer on the first pass but two coats provided sufficient opacity. Although it’s not as red as I originally thought, I love the color still, as I just adore pinks that approach red. The microglitter keeps it looking pretty and festive, and the jelly-like base is loaded with it! I paired this with China Glaze Little Drummer Boy on my toes.
<3sarah
I thought it would be great to get back into my new polishes with a pretty holiday sparkler. OPI Rainbow Connection (The Muppets, Holiday 2011) is multicolored hexagonal glitter of varying sizes in a clear base. I put it over Illamasqua Boosh:
Picture taken in sunlight. I used one coat of Boosh and two of Rainbow Connection. I know these rainbow glitters pretty much look the same, but I can’t resist! I have a few of them, but this is the first I’ve actually tried (and the last one I’ve acquired, natch.) This seems to have three sizes of glitter, and the largest size is really big, making nice pops of color on the nail. Over black, i just look at this as multicolored, but I guess it would look predominantly silver if worn on its own. I think over black or some other dark shade is the way to go for this kind of polish; it just makes the colorful sparkle stand out that much more. I paired this with OPI Let Me Entertain You on my toes.
<3sarah
Today I’ve tried yet another new holiday release. OPI Animal-istic (The Muppets, Holiday 2011) is an orangey red with red-orange and gold microglitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was not strongly pigmented but it still applied well in two coats. The microglitter is of that irregular, broken-flake variety. It’s so pretty! The finish has an all-over tiny sparkle. It kind of borders on being a shimmer but I’d still consider it a microglitter. I love how the sun just lights it all up. This shade of red looks very warm and festive. It’s nice to be wearing one again. I paired this with Sally Hansen Emerald City (Xtreme Wear) on my toes.
<3sarah
So far this month I’ve been trying older polishes, but it was about time I tried another one of this year’s holiday releases. OPI Excuse Moi! (The Muppets, Holiday 2011) is a rosy pink with multicolored hexagonal glitter:
Picture taken in natural light. This may be a glitter, but surprisingly, it’s dense enough to be opaque in just two coats! I also found the formula to be relatively easy to spread. One coat of topcoat won’t make it completely smooth, but it does harden and set the polish and gives it a much-needed shine. The color doesn’t really look that “holiday” to me, and this isn’t even my favorite type of pink, but the more I look at it, the more it grows on me! I haven’t seen a glitter combination like this before; the multicolored glitter adds that extra unique twist. I would love to see this formulation in more colors; the fact that it covers in just two coats makes this a total winner for me. And I didn’t have the sunlight to capture it, but of course it’s very sparkly. 
I paired this with OPI Festive Fuchsia on my toes.
<3sarah
So far this month I’ve been playing catch-up with older polishes wile I wait for this year’s holiday haul to come in. I actually planned to try this last year but I never got round to it. OPI Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow Suede (single release, Fall 2010) is a deep emerald green matte shimmer:
Picture taken in artificial light. This applied pretty well, but it’s not super pigmented and is prone to cuticle drag so I used two coats with major touchups in between (I do believe this gives me a more even result than three regular coats.) The last “matte” polishes I’ve been trying were of the satin variety, so it’s refreshing to use a polish that truly dries quickly. I’d forgotten how awesome the finish feels to the touch! Perhaps the stark matte trend has fallen out of favor by now, but I wish OPI would convert more of their recent releases into matte shimmers. This doesn’t really look like its namesake, but it is beautiful. The color is so rich and because of the finish it truly looks luxe and velvety. I’ve heard this looks gorgeous with topcoat, too. I paired this with OPI Glitzerland on my toes.
It’s been a while since I’ve worn something really glittery, so for the last week in November I chose OPI Warm & Fozzie (The Muppets, Holiday 2011), a unique mix of bronzy brown, gold and pink microglitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. (Click to really see the detail in full-size!) This applied well, but the formula was on the sheer side, so I used two coats plus touchups (which probably adds up to three regular coats) for full coverage. I keep staring at my nails because this looks so interesting! Its exact color is hard to define. Instead of having microglitter set in a colored base, I feel like the different colors of microglitter combine to create the overall look. There could be more colors in addition to the brown, gold, and pink (there seems to be color-shifting going on as well), but those are the most apparent. The foily microglitter makes the finish look very sparkly, too. This is part of a holiday collection but since I wear almost exclusively reds and greens in December I wanted to try this this month. I paired this with OPI Holiday Glow on my toes.
<3sarah
I know the holidays are far off but I’m anticipating having a lot more holiday-themed polishes to wear next month, so I thought I’d take care of this one now. OPI Merry Midnight (Holiday Wishes, Holiday 2009) is a deep reddish-purple base with champagne and blue microglitter, and orange flaky glitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied pretty well but as expected, the base was rather sheer, to allow the glitter to shine through. I needed three coats plus a few touchups for solid coverage. It’s totally worth it, though, because the end result is gorgeous! The base color builds to a rich plummy shade, and the different types of glitter look great mixed in there. It’s great that the flaky glitter is so prominent! It looks like burning embers. There’s not much blue microglitter but when it catches the light it just pops. The champagne microglitter isn’t really distinct, but it’s definitely needed to give the finish a more rounded, complete look. This polish has a lot going on but all the elements somehow work together in a lovely way. I paired this with Milani Totally Cool on my toes.
<3sarah
Ever since I bought this particular shatter polish I knew I would use it to paint a Yankees-themed mani. As an homage to their pinstriped home uniform, I layered OPI Navy Shatter over Rescue Beauty Lounge Underwear:
Left hand:
Right hand:
Pictures taken in sunlight. Underwear doesn’t have that magical RBL formula; it’s thick and definitely needs a self-leveling topcoat, but for layering purposes I was able to get away with just one coat. And this shade of white is very, very bright. I don’t have that many, but this is my favorite crackle polish I’ve tried so far, because the colors stand out from each other and I got so much crackling on every single nail! The formula was smooth, which helped me spread the polish over the nail easily, and not thick, which helped me paint quickly. I keep looking at my nails because I’m so happy with the result! I love it even more since it makes me think of the Yankees. 
Since yesterday’s game was suspended due to rain, I’ll be wearing this through games 1-3. I paired this with Orly Pixie Dust on my toes.
<3sarah
With the weather like it is, I didn’t feel like wearing a bright, happy color that I wouldn’t be able to see in the sun. Plus, I still had to check this polish off my list, so I thought it was the perfect time to try OPI Skull & Glossbones (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), a greenish pale grey creme:
Picture taken in natural light. This applied well; even though it’s a lighter color it wasn’t that streaky and was quite pigmented. I only needed two coats (plus minor touchups) for full coverage. I love polishes across the whole spectrum of grey. This one looks like it’s on the warmer side, especially compared to most of the other light dove greys I own, which are cool-toned. Typical of a light grey, though, it looks whispery-soft. The green tone gives the color a murky, dusty look, in addition to contributing to its overall warmth. I paired this with Barielle Snap Dragon on my toes.
<3sarah
