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To follow up my previous NOTD, I’m wearing the other polish I got from this collection, and I’m also wearing this color for Oscars weekend. Illamasqua Swinger (Naked Strangers, Summer 2012) is a light champagne gold metallic foil:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was smooth and applied very well in two coats. There are some brushstrokes but they’re hardly visible due to all the foily shimmer. It’s nicely opaque for something so sparkly so I imagine this would be good to use for nail art. When I was looking at this in the bottle, I saw a very faint amount of holographic glitter. It’s hardly noticeable in the bottle, so it doesn’t really transfer to the nail. I only see it when I really look for it, but it’s worth mentioning ’cause it’s in there somewhere. This is the kind of shade I look for in a gold polish. Aside from those antiqued, honey golds, I don’t really like yellow gold shades, so I like that this is more neutral to cool-toned. It really does make me think of champagne when I look at it. 
I paired this with China Glaze Twinkle Lights over black on my toes.
<3sarah
For my last mani of the year, and the last in this series of reds, I’m wearing OPI Danke-shiny Red (Germany, Fall 2012), a cool candy apple red metallic shimmer:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. (This looks more cool-toned than the photo reflects.) This was well pigmented and applied very smoothly in two coats. The formula is metallic, but the shimmer hides any brushstrokes. Metallic finishes, even the shimmery ones, aren’t my favorite because of the brushstrokes, but I love them when they come in a rich color, and when they have that certain glow to them. This one definitely has both! This shade of red is on the cool side. It’s not exactly bright but still looks very vibrant because of the glow from the metallic finish. The glow on this one seems really intense, too. I can definitely imagine this being a car color. The name inevitably reminds me of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, though. 
I paired this with Sally Hansen Midnight in NY (Complete Salon Manicure) on my toes.
Happy New Year!
<3sarah
I don’t think I got this polish in time to try last fall, so I saved it to wear now. I was so excited to try it ’cause it’s definitely interesting and unique. Color Club Nouveau Vintage (Back to Boho, Fall 2011) is a blend of bronzy brown, red, green and gold microglitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, though the formula was a tad sheer. I ultimately needed three coats for full opacity. The finish looks somewhat metallic so there are slight brushstrokes that are masked by the microglitter anyway. Cleanup was kind of a chore, the base is absolutely loaded with microglitter; you can see I still have some all over my fingers! The upside to all that microglitter is that it creates a pretty, fine sparkle. I love the mix of colors in this! The sunlight in my photo brings out the more greenish-gold side, but at other times it looks more reddish brown. Even though the color looks different in various lights, it doesn’t quite behave like a color-shifting duochrome. It’s like I can see all the different colors of microglitter at once, and they somehow play off each other nicely. I paired this with Color Club Rebel Spirit on my toes.
<3sarah
This polish definitely puts me in the mood for Thanksgiving next week. China Glaze Harvest Moon (The Hunger Games Capitol Colors) is a warm copper foily shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. (Click to see in clearer detail.) This applied well, and for the type of formula, it was pretty opaque and provided full coverage in two coats. The finish is gorgeous! It’s nice and sparkly in a foil-like way. Any brushstrokes that would come from this being a metallic color are covered up by the shimmer. I love the copper color as well; it’s rich and cosy and just makes me think of warmth and the fall season. I paired this with Color Club Blue-topia on my toes.
<3sarah
After owning these polishes for a while without touching them, I’ve been working through this collection slowly but surely this year. This last one is probably the most interesting of them all! Orly Space Cadet (Cosmic FX, Fall 2010) is a predominantly rosy pink multichrome microglitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, but due to the sheerness of the formula I needed three coats for full coverage. This polish is beautiful but frustrates me because I found it impossible to photograph even remotely accurately! I tried taking pictures over two days and I still couldn’t capture how it looks in real life, so this is definitely one to see in person. Most photos I took made it look like just a brownish bronze. I only define this as predominantly rosy pink because that’s how it looks in the bottle, but on the nail, it color shifts at any given angle. Unlike other duochromes I’ve tried, which look like one color straight-on, then totally shifts to the other color at another angle, this one operates on a sliding scale of color change. As I move my nails, I can see swampy green, ivy green, bronze, rose pink, mauve, pinkish purple…there’s probably more! It’s a microglitter, too, so it’s nice and sparkly. The finish also comes across as having a metallic, spacey vibe. I know there’s a dupe out there in MAC Mean & Green, but I still look at this as unique. I paired it with OPI Excuse Moi! on my toes.
<3sarah
Because of yesterday’s rainy weather I was put off wearing the dark, sparkly polish I was going to try since I knew I wouldn’t have gotten a good photo of it. Instead I shifted to a type of polish that I knew would still look like new when I went to photograph it on this second day of wear. OPI Designer…De Better! (The Muppets, Holiday 2011) is a bright silver foil peppered with copper microglitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, though due to its slight sheerness I needed three coats for full opacity. The finish is incredibly reflective; I had a hard time getting a shot without too much glare! The shade of silver is so light and bright that it practically has a white-hot glow. The copper microglitter is definitely visible, but probably not at a quick glance. It breaks up the monotony of the silver and gives some warmth to the overall tone. I love the finish! The sparkle is delicate because the microglitter particles are tiny, but really intense since the base is loaded with them. I paired this with Barielle Falling Star on my toes.
<3sarah
The last of the polishes I had to try from this great metallic collection was China Glaze Millennium (Khrome, Winter 2009), a pure silver metallic shimmer:
Picture taken in natural light. (Click to see it less blurry in full-size.) The formula was smooth and pigmented; I got full, even coverage in two coats, over two coats of basecoat. Although it doesn’t necessarily go with my skintone, I really like silver nail polish; often times I prefer it over gold. I love this shade; true silver can look so bright! This has a really futuristic vibe to it. At a quick glance this does look like molten silver on the nail. I hardly wear any jewelry so with this type of polish on I kind of feel like I am. I’m glad to have finally tried this collection! Since the formula shows every flaw on the nail, I wanted to wait for my nails to be free of any ridges and dents. I wasn’t too keen on the formula at first, but after finding the right techniques to make it work without excessive bubbles and brushstrokes, I totally came around. I particularly love the last three I tried. I still prefer the foil-type metallics, for the sparkly factor, but it’s great how the very fine shimmer in this keeps the finish from looking frosty, while still preserving the look of a “regular” metallic finish. I paired this with OPI Russian Navy Suede with topcoat on my toes.
<3sarah
This collection is mostly made up of different shades of gold, silver and bronze. The colorful exception is China Glaze Metallic Muse (Khrome, Winter 2009), a seafoam turquoise metallic shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well in two coats; it went on very smoothly over two coats of basecoat. It’s a good thing the formula is pigmented; it’s best to use as few swipes as possible because the more brush strokes you make, the more you open the mani up to cuticle drag. I think this is because the polish dries so fast so extra swipes of the brush drag along spots that are already dry. That’s also why it’s better to do thin coats, as thicker coats would dry too fast, which causes major bubbling. This sort of formula may be finicky but the payoff you get with the look of the finished mani is great. The shimmer is quite fine for a shimmery metallic but it does the big job of covering up brushstrokes and avoiding the dreaded frosty appearance. I love this color! It definitely stands out among the rest of the polishes in the collection, which are more neutral. It’s silver-toned, but unlike Sci-Fi, which was lavender-tinted but still mainly silver, this one is predominantly turquoise. It can shift between looking bluer or greener depending on the light. It makes me think of the sea and mermaids; it’s really pretty. I paired this with OPI We’ll Always Have Paris Suede with topcoat on my toes.
<3sarah
For the second half of the Olympics I have the second half of this metallic collection, starting with China Glaze Sci-Fi (Khrome, Winter 2009), a lavender-tinted silver metallic shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was smooth and pigmented, giving full coverage in two coats. The double-layered basecoat method I’ve been using seems to be doing the trick; I get less bubbles with each polish I try from this collection. Any visible bubbles I get now are from the topcoat. I don’t like topcoat bubbles either, but I can tolerate them much more than bubbles from the polish itself (plus, topcoat makes polish bubbles disappear ). This doesn’t look purple enough for me to call it lavender; it still falls under the silver category. At a quick glance this may look like a plain silver, but when compared side-by-side to a true silver you can clearly see it’s not. This is also a shade darker than your standard silver. I think the lavender tint may come from the shimmer. I love it; whenever I see a metallic polish that’s lavendery and silver I just automatically think “spacey.” It kind of reminds me of that silvery purple/green duochrome color combination. I paired this with Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees Suede with topcoat on my toes.
<3sarah
I picked out this gold polish to wear over the final weekend of Olympic tennis, hoping to see Novak Djokovic win the gold medal. Unfortunately, the best he can play for now is a bronze. Although it’s held at the same venue, it’s definitely not the same Wimbledon. From the colored kits to the excitable crowds to the three-set format for the men, the Olympic tournament created a totally different atmosphere at the All England Club. Yet we’re exactly where we were one month ago: Federer vs. Murray in the finals. *sigh* I guess I’ll have to wait to get some joy in Rio. OPI Just Spotted the Lizard (The Amazing Spider-Man) is a duochrome metallic shimmer that shifts between antique gold and serpent green:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well in just two coats. Being a metallic, there were brushstrokes, naturally, but there’s so much shimmer in there that it effectively masks them. I skipped on Chanel Peridot because I didn’t like it enough to pay $25 for it. However, I was definitely willing to get an exact dupe at a fraction of the cost (and as I’ve heard, one with a better formula and pigmentation). I can see why there are several versions of this exact color out now; it’s stunning! Duochromes can be disappointing; they’ll look great in the bottle but not as good on the nail. The color-shifting in this one is quite obvious, and the colors work really well together. When looked at straight-on, gold is the main color (with a bit of green on the sides), and the full green shift comes out when you view your nails from different angles. I love this shade of gold; it’s warm but because of the green, it’s not too yellow. The shimmer is also gorgeous; aside from keeping the metallic finish from looking frosty, it creates a delicate but intense sparkle. I love it; I keep stopping to just look at my nails. I paired this with Sephora by OPI Mash-Up on my toes.
<3sarah
