Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Today I would like to show you a manicure that I created quite a while ago, but have not gotten around to posting. I have been sick the past two weeks and my energy for creating manicures is at an all time low. Luckily this candy filled manicure is just perfect for a day which has become synonymous with candy overload...

For this manicure, I created a gradient using Nicole by OPI Candy is Dandy and I Liliac Gumdrops. I stamped using Essence Stamp Me! White and Bundle Monster plate BM-306. Fun and easy...

Here is a look at the gradient before the stamping. To create this gradient, I simply brushed on I Lilac Gumdrops over Candy is Dandy when it was dry. I think because they are textured, this sort of rough gradient still looks good and is much quicker than sponging...

How will you be spending your Halloween?

I will be spending my Halloween at work, leaving my boyfriend home to tend to the trick or treaters. We get lots and lots of them every year. I am sad I won't see all the cute costumes, but also kind of glad I won't have to be jumping up and down every 20 seconds to open the door.

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

OPI Designer Series Pewter and Lapis

Today I would like to show you the two Designer Series by OPI lacquers released this Fall. These Designer Series shades feature a DS Raw Granite finish which is a matte textured finish very similar to that of OPI Liquid Sand shades. The texture of DS Raw Granite compared to Liquid Sand seems to be less pronounced and a bit softer. Both of these are gorgeous and perfect for Fall...

I allowed one hour of drying time for each of these shades. They are dry and ready to wear a lot sooner than that, but I like to give them the extra time so that I can show them in their 'final' state, since they do tend to keep drying for a bit. I did not use a top coat for these...

DS Pewter
A pewter gray packed with small and hex silver glitter. It applies very easily and has great distribution of glitter in each brush stroke. Two coats provides complete coverage...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI DS Collection: Designer Series Color Name/Number: DS Pewter, DS 044 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

DS Lapis
A dark navy blue with silver micro-glitter. This has a very nice, easy to apply formula. It is practically a one coater, although I did use two for my manicure. This makes me think of dark blue denim and the gentle texture really gives it that feel as well...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI DS Collection: Designer Series Color Name/Number: DS Lapis, DS 045 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

As always, I would love to know what you think of these!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

JulieG Frosted Gum Drops

When I first saw these pretty JulieG Frosted Gum Drops on Groupon, I hesitated ordering them. The hesitation was based on nothing more than my self-imposed no buy and my desperate need to avoid adding to the untried pile. Luckily, after mentioning the deal on my facebook page, I was persuaded to break my no buy and I'm so glad that I did because these are awesome! I swatched and wore these months ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting them. Perfect way to stall some time as my nails recover and grow out after multiple breaks...

In my mind, I break these into two categories, the shimmers and the glitters. The shimmers are the red/orange shades and include Hot Cinnamon, Sugar Rush and Tangerine Dream. The glitters which contain larger hex glitters in a color matching the base are Rock Candy, Blueberry Fizz and Crushed Candy. The glitter shades are more difficult to remove because of the glitter, but despite that they are definitely my favorites. All six of these have a great easy to apply formula which is opaque in 2-3 coats. I let them dry for at least an hour before taking photos even though they are dry to the touch and ready to wear much sooner than that...

Hot Cinnamon
A textured red with a red shimmer. Definitely a hot shade. A dupe for OPI Magazine Cover Mouse. Two coats for full coverage...

Swatch Details
	Brand: JulieG Collection: Frosted Gum Drops Color Name/Number: Hot Cinnamon, 70155 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No

Sugar Rush
Textured medium orange with a gold shimmer. This one had me thinking deja vu since it is a close match to both OPI Jinx and Zoya Destiny. Can't complain though since I love this gorgeous orange. Three coats for full coverage...

Swatch Details
	Brand: JulieG Collection: Frosted Gum Drops Color Name/Number: Sugar Rush, 70156 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No

Tangerine Dream
A textured light orange with a golden shimmer. This is not the best for my skin tone, but the color itself is lovely. Three coats for complete coverage...

Swatch Details
	Brand: JulieG Collection: Frosted Gum Drops Color Name/Number: Tangerine Dream, 70157 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No

Rock Candy
A textured teal green with matching glitter and silvery shimmer. This was love at first sight for me. Gorgeous color that I would be happy to 'rock' any day! Just two coats for full coverage...

Swatch Details
	Brand: JulieG Collection: Frosted Gum Drops Color Name/Number: Rock Candy, 70158 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No

Blueberry Fizz
A textured denim blue with matching glitter and silver shimmer. Another favorite of mine. This one need three coats for complete coverage...

Swatch Details
	Brand: JulieG Collection: Frosted Gum Drops Color Name/Number: Blueberry Fizz, 70159 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No

Crushed Candy
A textured violet with shimmer and glitter in the same violet shade. A sure beauty that needed only two coats for complete coverage...

Swatch Details
	Brand: JulieG Collection: Frosted Gum Drops Color Name/Number: Crushed Candy, 70160 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No

These are my first JulieG polishes and I'm very impressed with the quality. The three glitter shades really won me over and are completely unique in my steadily growing textured polish collection...

Have you picked up any of these Gum Drops?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Nicole by OPI Gumdrops Swatches & Review...

The textured trend has hit me hard and I can't help but love each new shade that I have the pleasure of trying. These beautiful Nicole by OPI Gumdrops are certainly no exception. In fact they more firmly establish my fascination with these textured, matted sparkly beauties. I find it amusing to think that for years polish makers tried so hard to make the shiniest, smoothest lacquers around, not realizing that we would go so crazy over the complete opposite...

I Lilac Gumdrops - "But I love this sugar-frosted lavender."
A textured pearly lilac with small silvery glitter shards. The color is beautiful and the irregular shaped glitter makes it unlike any other textured polish that I have. It is fairy sheer and needed three coats to build up to full opacity, but the formula is easy to work with...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Gumdrops, Limited Edition Color Name/Number: I Lilac Gumdrops, NI 194 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

My Cherry Amour - "You're the one magenta I adore."
A textured deep berry red with scattered holographic glitter. The holo glitter was very camera shy and needs quite a bit of direct light to show it's sparkle. A really gorgeous shade. In some ways it reminds me of Zoya Blaze, in the bottle they look almost identical, but obviously very different on the nail. It is very easy to apply, has a great formula and provides full coverage at two coats...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Gumdrops, Limited Edition Color Name/Number: My Cherry Amour, NI 195 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Candy is Dandy - "This sweet pink is my favorite guilt-free treat."
A textured pearly pink with holographic glitter, including some larger hex. This again has a lovely formula that I can't really find fault with. The larger hex glitter gives some nice bling to this otherwise very sweet shade. It is the sheerest of the Gumdrops and I needed four coats before I felt that it reached good opacity. I would probably choose to layer this over a similar colored base in the future...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Gumdrops, Limited Edition Color Name/Number: Candy is Dandy, NI 196 Number of coats: 4 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Cinna-man of My Dreams - "I dream in shades of this warm spice pink."
A textured reddish brown with cooper shimmer. This shade is quite a bit more complex than it photographs as it is made up of small flakies of different colors. It reminds me a lot of Nicole by OPI Just Bust a Mauve, although slightly darker and textured. The complexity of the different flakies is the same. This only needed two coats for full opacity and has a nice formula...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Gumdrops, Limited Edition Color Name/Number: Cinna-man of My Dreams, NI 197 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Blue-Berry Sweet on You - "I’ll be true to this berry blue hue."
A textured denim blue with a bit of teal and silver sparkle. This is absolutely my favorite of the Gumdrops. I just adore this color and managed to wear it for four day straight with just some slight tip wear by the time I removed it. This one definitely wears very well and I might add I love the way it looks and feels after a bit of wear when it begins to soften and loose some of the sharpness. It has a great formula and is opaque in two coats...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Gumdrops, Limited Edition Color Name/Number: Blue-Berry Sweet on You, NI 198 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

A-Nise Treat - "This shimmery licorice is everyone's favorite."
A textured black with silver glitter. Another great shade that I like a lot and you might remember it from my galaxy manicure yesterday. Even without the galaxy nail art, it reminds me of a night sky so full of stars. This is easily opaque in two coats and has a nice, easy to apply formula...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Gumdrops, Limited Edition Color Name/Number: A-Nise Treat, NI 199 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Overall, I really love these textured shades. They are easy to apply and most of them provide full coverage in two coats, except for I Lilac Gumdroms which needed three and Candy is Dandy which needed four coats. I gave each of them at least an hour to dry before taking photos, although they are dry to the touch and ready to wear a lot sooner than that. Removal of them greatly varies depending between the shades. Those that are loaded glitter such as I Lilac Gumdrops, Candy is Dandy and A-Nise Treat are more difficult to remove than the others.

I would love to know what you think of these Gumdrops. Which is your favorite?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **