China Glaze Hey Sailor

Despite the picture, the polish you are seeing is actually much more red. This is China Glaze Hey Sailor. I'm not much of a red person but if I had to pick one, this would probably be it. It's a nice basic red cream with a super cute name. I wouldn't say this is a polish you absolutely have to have because I'm sure that there are lots of other similar colors out there but this one is definitely a welcome member in my collection. This was two coats but I still have a slightly VNL. The formula on this was much better than the others I've worn so far. It was on the thin side but much less so than the others.
I've been working on updating my collection list and it's been quite the chore. I discovered quite a while ago that about 5 polishes got deleted off the list so I'm working on hunting then down and adding them back on the list. Not a big deal to some people but I really really enjoy a nicely organized and accurate list!

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 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 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!

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 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.

China Glaze Cherry Pie

So I put this on more than a week ago, took pictures exactly a week ago and took it off at least a couple days ago. And it's just going up now? Yeah, I have no explanation. The is China Glaze Cherry Pie. It was my sister's pick from this mini project I'm doing. 3 coats and definitely VNL. Fine with me. It's an orange based red but this color is fairly accurate. This is a glass fleck, which means a jelly with teeny tiny pieces of sparkle and shimmer. It's not a jelly like what I'm used to but definitely falls into that category, if that makes sense. Overall, I'm in love and can't wait to try more of these China Glaze glass flecks. ALU's description and swatches made me buy them all so look out for more swatches from this collection (Summer Days 2009). One more polish left in my mini project!

ELF Red Velvet

Happy Belated Mother's Day! I hope it was a fantastic one for you. My boys took good care of me. We went to Ikea and I got a new desk to use for a vanity table. Sadly, it can't be set up until we move. Fingers crossed I can show it to you before August ;)
I selected this polish using a method I will be trying out for at least another week. I asked some of my friends and family to pick a number and I used the corresponding polish from my google document. My friend Sam was up first and she picked 58. This is ELF Red Velvet. I have NO idea if this is the new formula or not. I got it in a gift set for Christmas and I don't own any other ELF polishes other than the 5 bottles in the set. Anyways, the application was dreamy. The brush is a little shorter than I'm used to and slightly wider than China Glaze but narrower than OPI. The first coat dried lightning fast but the second coat took ages. You can see the nick in my ring finger which happened a good half hour after application. There was significant chipping on the second day :/ I still enjoyed the color and application was easy enough that I would definitely consider purchasing more ELF polishes.