OPI Casino Royale

My very last James Bond polish! This is OPI Casino Royale. The color really freaked my camera out but this is pretty close to color accurate. It's slightly darker in real life but Casino Royale is a plummy, vampy, raspberry tinged red. It looks almost brown in artificial light. The formula on this was pretty bad. Kind of gluey and thick if you tried to do thin coats but difficult to keep from flooding my cuticles when I did thicker coats. I did three coats but it really didn't NEED the third coat. A lovely color, not one of my favorites but still really nice.
Speaking of favorites, I figured now that I've worn all the Bond polishes that I have I figured now would be a good time to tell you my top picks from this collection. This collection was a fairly even mix of love, like, meh and hate for me. My loves from this collection, in no particular order:

clockwise from top left:

 On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Man With The Golden Gun, Tomorrow Never Dies, Goldeneye

Yay! What were your top picks for the Bond collection? Honestly, if you had asked me my predictions from the press release, I'm sure only one of those would've made the cut. Isn't that how it always goes though!

OPI Die Another Day

My second to last Bond polish! And honestly, I kind of hate this one. I'm not much of a red girl to start with but orange reds? Ugh, no. Die Another Day has this metallic, glowy, burning amber quality to it. Indoors, it looks a little more jewel toned. This is two coats but really only because I was being lazy. It could probably benefit from a third. Formula wasn't crap but it wasn't impressive either. Overall, I'm just meh on this polish and it would be among the first to go if I ever weed out my stash.
Just one more Bond polish! I'm really ready to move onto something else. I don't have any immediate plans for new spring collection purchases but maybe I'll swatch an older spring or summer collection. I'm just so ready to be out of winter!

OPI The World Is Not Enough

We are getting so close to the end of the Bond polishes! This is The World Is Not Enough. OPI describes it as a "rosy silver". It's so much more than that. It can look coppery, almost purple, silvery bronze and of course more of a "rosy silver" depending on the light. It's a very pretty color that definitely fits in well with my collection. This was three coats and while it did look opaque at two, it need the third to really give it depth. It wasn't too gritty feeling but I did use a thick top coat (Insta-Dri). Probably not a must have from the Skyfall collection unless you favor metallics. I'm just finding that I lose any subtle nuances when I wear most metallics and they tend to just look and feel very similar to me. Anyways, just two Bond polishes left!

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me

 

The picture isn't very color accurate but this is OPI's The Spy Who Loved Me. This color is reading much much more red in real life but I think the red shimmer in this freaks my camera out. The Spy Who Loved Me is a very pretty red with red and gold shimmer. If you've ever used a China Glaze glass fleck polish, this looks very similar to that. It's still slightly sheer after two coats but it's even so, I'm ok with VNL. The formula on this was incredible. So easy to use, not too thick or too thin. Seriously, every polish needs to be this amazing. I'm surprised I love this as much as I do, since I'm not really into red. I definitely recommend finding it if you like a good glass fleck or red.

It's been a long week for me. I hope everyone is having a great day!

OPI Tomorrow Never Dies

I love this color! This is another James Bond polish, Tomorrow Never Dies. OPI calls this an "intense purple". This is a true blurple. In some lights it's a beautiful royal blue and in others it's a perfect royal purple. There are some shimmers showing in the bottle but it doesn't really come across on the nail. Still, it's a perfect two coater and a just fantastic color. I didn't realize I would love this as much as I do. I've been using the same Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure base coat and Insta-Dri top coat. I love the top coat, it's fast drying and super glossy but I'm unsure on the base coat. I have a huge problem with my polish peeling off my nail and this base coat doesn't really seem to do much more for me than my OPI base coat. I'll keep testing it out but so far I'm not super impressed.
I've got four more Bond polishes to go! Does anyone have any recommendations for what to do about my polish peeling problem?

OPI Skyfall

 

 Jenn wanted to see Skyfall next so here it is! It's a tad bit more vampy in real life but this is fairly color accurate. OPI simply describes this as a maroon. If you want a more exact color description, I say Skyfall is a vampy raisin red. It definitely falls into the oxblood trend that we saw in the fall. This was two easy coats followed by Sally Hansen Insta-Dri topcoat. A lovely color that I will definitely enjoy wearing. It's a nice change of pace to wear a cream instead of a glitter or shimmer color. It feels so polished and sophisticated. I'll definitely be trying the other creams in this collection next.

Again, I didn't get to see this movie but I've definitely missed my chance until it comes out on DVD. We had planned to go the week of Thanksgiving but we were both sick and wouldn't have been able to find a sitter anyways. We will definitely rent it when it comes out though!

Any ideas of what I should swatch after I'm done with the Bond polishes?

2/16/13 ETA: We watched Skyfall last night so I feel compelled to right a mini review of it for this polish. It was by far the most intense Bond movie I've seen but I absolutely loved it. It lacked some of the silliness of other Bond movies but I think this one really required that. I love Ralph Fiennes and I think Daniel Craig makes a fantastically modern and fresh 007. I was so distracted by the polish Sévérine was wearing, trying to see if I could guess what it was and I think it was this one but I'd have to double check. There was just something about the relationships between Bond and the other characters that I really loved about this one. Oh and I think Eve is my new favorite Bond girl!

OPI The Living Daylights

Yay glitter! I think I'm going to try to finish out my James Bond polishes since we seem to be on a roll with them! This is The Living Daylights which is over On Her Majesty's Secret Service. TLD is copper, gold, silver and turquoise hex glitter in a clear base. I did one coat and this only took minor dabbing and pushing from me to get a nice spread of glitter. Overall, I really love this glitter. I think it fits the collection well and can go over a lot of the polishes. I'm just not sure what it is about this polish, it feels like a more grown up glitter. I definitely recommend a thick topcoat over it, just to keep the glitter particles from catching on things. One of my favorites from the collection for sure!
Would anyone be interested in seeing a round up post of these polishes once I finish? I know I say this one's my favorite in a ton of posts but maybe I could make a list of the ones I feel like are really really worth owning?

OPI On Her Majesty's Secret Service

What can I say, I'm loving these Bond polishes! This is On Her Majesty's Secret Service and I think this is definitely one of my favorites from the collection. It was three coats and an absolutely fantastic formula! OPI calls this a misty green pewter and I'm not quite sure that's how I'd put it. It's very hard to describe. It's a dark gunmetal type color with kind of a green/gold duochrome effect plus some blue specks. So multidimensional, SO gorgeous. You should be RUNNING to go find this right now.
I used a new base coat and top coat with this so I'll let you know how I like them. Base coat was Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure Base Coat and top coat was Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip. The top coat is great so far, very shiny and fast drying!
I didn't actually watch the corresponding movie for this but if I do, I'll be sure to tell you what I think.
Any requests for polish swatches? I'm loving the Bond polishes but if there's something you want to see, let me know!

OPI Live and Let Die

Another Bond polish! This was my Christmas mani. Live and Let Die is a deep forest green with yellow green shimmers. It was absolutely perfect in two coats. It did take forever to dry, even with a fast drying top coat. I like this color and it is very unique in my collection but it just doesn't WOW me. From an arm's length it looks almost black.
As usual, we watched Live and Let Die when I put this on. It was Sir Roger Moore's first Bond film and we all know he's my favorite Bond. Live and Let Die is the MOST ridiculous Bond movie I've watched so far. Don't get me wrong, they can all be just a little silly but this one was just crazy. I still enjoyed it and would totally recommend it if you are a Roger Moore/Jane Seymour/70's movie fan like I am. Plus I already knew the theme and love it!

OPI GoldenEye

Yay for another Bond polish! This is GoldenEye. It's a pretty sparkly yellow gold. I thought I might have problems with application because I generally do with metallics but this was three easy coats. It doesn't feel gritty but I did use my Revlon topcoat. I'm kind of in love with this color, I think it's so festive. As we did with Moonraker, we watched GoldenEye when I put this on. It's my boyfriend's favorite Bond movie and I think he was disappointed I didn't love it as much as he did. I did really enjoy it though! Pierce Brosnan makes a very sexy Bond and I fricken love Sean Bean. I just didn't find it as fun as Moonraker. Still, it's a good movie and I recommend it, if you haven't seen it.

OPI Moonraker

The rarely seen right hand! So this is OPI Moonraker, which is part of the Skyfall collection that I've been lusting after. My boyfriend got this and a couple others for me for my birthday (I'll post them in a haul after Christmas). Of the whole collection, I was most looking forward to Moonraker. It was such a unique silvery blue almost liquid metal type of shade and I knew I at least had to have this one. The color is stunning but the formula is so disappointing. I did 6 coats on my left hand and 4-5 coats on my right. It was so thin but it clung to the brush. Even waiting 5 minutes between coats, I had dragging. Maybe it's my technique or maybe I just got a dud. Either way, I'll try again eventually because I just love this color! We watched Moonraker after I put this on and I actually really loved it! I guess whenever I hear the name James Bond I think Roger Moore, even though this was the first Bond movie I've seen with Roger Moore as 007. So Moonraker the movie totally lived up to my expectations but Moonraker the polish was disappointing. Did anyone else have this problem with the polish?

German-icure By OPI

Finally, I'm showing you one of my picks from the OPI Germany collection. And honestly, this was kind of a let down. It's a very pretty rusty red color with a little brown and a little orange. I don't know exactly what I expected but it pulls a little more orange than I hoped. Still, it's a lovely color, perfect for a fall collection. I used OPI basecoat, 3 coats of German-icure and one coat of Revlon Colorstay topcoat. The shimmer isn't extremely pronounced but it does give it a little bit of a glow. It's so frustrating to wear two colors in a row that don't live up to expectations. It makes me not want to wear an untried next and just show you guys something I've already worn and love but haven't taken pictures of. If there is something on my list you want to see, let me know!

OPI The Man With The Golden Gun

Excuse the crappy cuticles but OMG!!!!!!! Gold flakie goodness! I have a fantastic boyfriend who knows the way to my heart is not jewelry but actually nail polish. I went into Ulta looking for the OPI James Bond nail polishes but only picked up this one. (I do actually want the others but had to restrain myself as this baby is $30.) I layered one coat over OPI Black Onyx and used my Revlon top coat. It's just so stunning and feels incredibly luxurious. I thought I might do a gradient with it but my first try at it was just so frustrating. I'm going to try to get the technique down with a glitter first so I don't waste the gold goodness. I'm so happy with this polish! OPI James Bond has made me excited about polish again!

OPI Pepe's Purple Passion

As we continue to work through my stash, I figured I could show you some more from OPI's Muppets collection (Holiday 2011). This was the first collection I ever felt like I needed to own every single one. It wasn't because of the colors but actually because of the names. Muppets was a huge part of my childhood and to have a themed collection is so awesome. Anyways, this is Pepe's Purple Passion. It looks like a plummy burgandy flakey in the bottle but it dried so much darker on the nail. I struggled to capture it. All of my natural light pics turned out so red looking so this is artificial light. The flakies didn't end up as pronounced on the nail, they just give it a glow from within type look. It definitely fits into the oxblood trend for fall. I'm very happy with it.
Another note on the Revlon Colorstay top coat. It's working just fine for me. Formula is very reminiscent of the OPI top coat but it's a little shinier than OPI. It's nothing like my favorite, Seche Vite but it's earned it's place in my heart.

OPI Rainbow Connection

Can we all take a moment to appreciate how lovely this is? ....Mmmm....Yes, I'm in love with this combo. Three coats of SH Parchment, topped with one coat of OPI Rainbow Connection and then one coat of OPI's top coat. It looks like sparkly sprinkles on frosting or something! I tried not to be too fussy with the glitter and just let whatever came off the brush be what I had. I didn't dab it on or anything. I've been wearing this a few days. If there are any chips or tipwear, I'm not noticing it. I was hoping I would get some kind of Fourth of July mani done but I'm not sure if that will happen tonight or not. I still have one more Sally Hansen to swatch!

22/55 polishes swatched

27 more days

OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

Let's take a break from China Glaze, shall we? I love them and everything but it feels so nice to use an OPI again. This is Just Spotted the Lizard from the Amazing Spiderman collection. Other bloggers have confirmed that this is a dupe for Chanel Peridot, but I don't have that so I can't really say. This is an AMAZING color. It's slightly duochrome, definitely less so than Orly Space Cadet. It's metallic but almost in the sense of liquid metal. It's incredibly smooth and so gorgeous. This swatch is very accurate, greenish gold with a hint of brassiness to it. Two coats with OPI top coat and base coat. One bubble that you can see there on my pinkie but overall incredible. It might have been difficult to find when it first came out but you should be able to find it now! Go! You won't be disappointed!
And this is making me wonder something. The OPI top coat and base coat worked fantastically with the OPI polish, would this hold true with other polish brands? I have no idea since I don't own any other base coats. Maybe one day I will test this theory.

OPI Sparrow Me the Drama

Continuing with my friends and family picks, this is Sparrow Me the Drama. My boyfriend picked this one and I wasn't sure he was going to like it on my nails but he actually did. It's a blue based bubblegum pink from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection that came out last year. It took three coats and even then I'm not sure it's completely even. I think I'm going to try comparing this to OPI Shorts Story because it seems very similar. Honestly, if I ever feel the need to purge my collection, I think this one would be on the way out. I like it fine enough but it doesn't wow me and it's a fairly basic color. Up next is my twin sister's pick and I'm super excited!

OPI I Have A Herring Problem

This is OPI I Have A Herring Problem. I'd describe this as a faded denim blue with very subtle silver and gold shimmer. Not my favorite color but I do like this. I used OPI Natural Nails basecoat, 3 coats of Herring and OPI top coat. It was kind of overcast so this is the best I could do. The shimmer is a little more noticeable in real life. And my pinkie looks so scraggly. It's got a big ridge in the middle that I'm trying to grow out.