As some of you may know, I’ve been on hiatus because I was studying for the bar exam. What you don’t know is that I was utterly and totally convinced that I failed the exam. The testing occurs over the course of two days. The first day, the Florida portion of the exam, beat me down and ultimately broke me. I walked out of the testing center, did the walk of shame back to my hotel room, thought about how I would be staying there again in February to retake the exam and I cried. Yes, it really was that bad. The questions were just absurd and completely unexpected. I could have memorized the study materials word for word and I still wouldn’t have known the correct answers with absolute certainty. The second day consisted of the MBE (the national portion), it was hard but very fair. My hope was that I would score high enough on the MBE to make up for my major failure on the Florida portion. The problem is… you have to wait almost 2 months for the scores to be released. I was hanging over the edge of a cliff over these scores.

Then, finally, the scores came in the mail. Not only did I pass, but to my complete disbelief, I actually scored very well on both portions.

What does all this have to do with nail polish? Well, sometimes life throws some pretty perplexing stuff my way and when it does I take the opportunity to find a color that expresses how I feel.

The name says it all. OPI It’s Sheer Luck is a ultra light pink toned off-white with a frost finish. This is 3 coats. This color was originally from the Las Vegas Collection (Spring/Summer 2003) but I believe it became part of the main Soft Shades Collection all of which are available on an on going basis.

OPI Give Me the Moon was included in the 2007 Summer collection Night Brights. Not a particularly ‘bright’ color per se, but definitely a unique, interesting color. The base shade is like an icey gray but the dense blue iridescent shimmer gives it a bluish over all glow. It’s definitely a sheer-ish color but this swatch is only 3 coats.

Here is a photo taken with flash to exhibit the exquisite shimmer.  I’d be interested in comparing this color with the new OPI Breathe Life (which I have yet to obtain, curses!) The base color looks different but Breathe Life seems to have the same shimmer that makes this color so great.

If you follow my blog, you know how important today is to me. So, in good polish addict form, I had to choose a color that reflected my feelings about this historic day. Darren Garnick recent asked me if I was doing anything special with my nails for the inauguration. My initial reaction was, hell yes. I wanted to do something ridiculously flashy, like yellow, to represent my happiness and my hope for a brighter future. Instead, I decided to go something flashy, yet subtle. I figured OPI Designer Series Coronation (the name is fitting in a silly way) would be the perfect color.

Coronation was recently released with the new Designer Series colors (all of which you can see on Scrangie’s blog). I was pretty surprised to find that Coronation applies like a glitter top coat. Essentially, this polish is extremely dense multi-sized holographic glitter suspended in clear polish. With just one coat you get an effect similar to other dense glitter top coats. I put it over Zoya Trixie, it looked nothing short of amazing.

The holographic effect isn’t the uniform oil slick effect found in previous Designer Series colors. Instead, it’s like an amalgamation of multi-sized glitter each flashing brilliantly and individually. The shape of the glitter is irregular, each one like flecks or erratically cut chucks. I see as many as 3 different sized pieces of glitter. When applied with multiple coats (3 is what I did for the picture above) the very small pieces of glitter come together to build opacity. The image to the left was taken with flash and shows Coronation’s holographic glimmer. In the sunlight you get a slightly more uniform holographic reflection but it’s not high intensity, meaning the holo isn’t as colorized or rainbow-y as other holographic polishes.

A lot of you asked me for a good alternative to the white version of OPI Bubble Bath so I figured now would be a good time to pick up the count down again. OPI Time-less is More is whiter than Bubble Bath and it doesn’t lean towards pink but I passionately love this color. In my endless search for the perfect off-white, I’ve tried many, many polishes and, to me, this is absolutely the most perfect one. It should be everyone’s go to off-white. You can read my original post on this color here¹.

I also have an announcement unrelated to nail polish. Some of you may remember that I’ve been on the job hunt. I’ve received an offer from the State Attorney’s Office (Florida’s equivalent of a District Attorney’s Office) in which I’ve been interning and I’ve decided to take the position! I’m so excited that I’ll have the opportunity to continue working with them as an Assistant State Attorney upon my graduation. This is truly a dream come true. Annnnnd since this is my final semester of law school and I won’t be interviewing any longer, I don’t have any professional obligations so I can wear ridiculously unprofessional colors! For those of you that like to see professional colors, I’ll still be posting those too but now there will a good mix that should make everyone happy.

When my obsession with nail polish first sprouted, I really wanted to find the perfect soft shade (a mission that continues to this day.) Everyone recommended the quintessential soft color, OPI Bubble Bath. Soon thereafter I conned my roommate into placing an order for my birthday, I asked for Bubble Bath. I had never seen pictures of it so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, I just knew it was a flattering soft very light milky color . I received a bottle of very light, milky pink nail polish.

Since I didn’t know what to expect, I took my pink, wore it, liked it, threw it in with the rest of the stash and moved on to other colors. A little while after that, someone posted on MUA requesting suggestions for a milky off-white. Another person suggested Bubble Bath. I thought it was a weird suggestion because Bubble Bath was clearly pink, not white. So I said something to that effect in the thread. We argued back and forth a while, both of us utterly baffled at how the other could mistake what was so clearly one color for another color. Eventually another member clued us in that we were both right. The more recent version of Bubble Bath was pink. The original Bubble Bath was, in fact, white.

I hunted around for this version for a really long time and couldn’t find anywhere. I had just about given up when Dami of Perfectly Polished Tips hooked me up with a bottle. I love this soft off-white milky color way more than the subsequent pink version. However, to my major shock, the pink version which is OPI’s new formula, applied better than the the white version which is OPI’s old formula. The common belief is that OPI’s older formula is vastly superior to the newer big 3 free formula but that’s definitely not the case with this color. I had to use something like 5 coats of color with the white version and it was fairly streaky. The pink version was perfect in 3 coats, very easy to apply.

Here they are, the sneaky polishes together. The original version does seem to have a slightly pinkish tinge. This leads me to believe (and this is all conjecture) that it is possible that the new version is a mistake, too much pink pigment in the batch. However, the color is so different that I wonder whether OPI purposefully changed the color of Bubble Bath. I’d email them and ask but I have a feeling the answer would be “we didn’t change the color.” *cues X-files music*

(Sorry, I’m watching the final disc of entire X-files series right now. I have been unduly influenced. haha.)

Happy New Year Everyone! I have a few nail polish related resolutions this year. First and foremost, I’m going to cut back on my nail polish expenditures. I’m only going to order colors when I run out of staples and I plan to limit myself to 3 to 5 per order. I’ll allow myself impulse buys but only for colors that are hard to find and already on my wish list. Addicts refer to this sort of endeavor as a low-buy/no-buy. I don’t know how successful it’s going to be but I’m going to try!

We’re finally approaching the top 10 in the countdown.  Number 11 is an exhibitionist, OPI Designer Series Exclusive.

Don’t mind my bottle, it’s a little jacked-up. Exclusive is an older color and I believe I received it in a swap. I’m a pretty huge fan of holographic nail polish in general but there is something particularly beautiful about Exclusive.

My love for this color is surprising because I’m really not a fan of pinks but Exclusive is just so… luxurious and exquisite. My picture above just does not do it justice. The nail wheel swatch to the left is more accurate in showing the amount of bling one should expect from Exclusive. As you can see, this color goes all out. Love it.

OPI La Boheme was my NOTD a few months back.¹ This color is a major favorite among nail polish enthusiasts but it never really called my name. Shimmery, sparkly reds just aren’t my thing.

Then one day, for no particular reason at all, I decided to pick one up. I can see why everyone loves it. It’s very pretty, but to me it’s just another sparkly red.

La Boheme was released in 2003 as a part of the very glitzy Holiday on Broadway collection. That collection featured a few sparkly and glittery low intensity duochromes. La Boheme has the reputation for having two versions in existence, like OPI Black Tie Optional, one version is a high intensity duochrome that changes from red to amber, the other version only has a slight duochrome effect.

I believe mine is a dud. Everyone warned me to watch out, lest I be distracted by the sparkly duochrome-y-ness while driving. It was very beautiful and I admit I starred down at my nails during a few red lights, but I just didn’t see the magnificence that other people see.

Happy Holidays everyone!

OPI Up Front & Personal is a glitzy sheer light gold toned multi-colored micro-glitter that flashes green and pink. This color is a tough one to pull off. It looks gorgeous in the picture but it was less flattering in person, although, I wouldn’t say that I didn’t like it on myself. I think it would probably work wonderfully as a layering polish. This swatch is 1 coat of OPI Start to Finish base coat, 4 coats of color, 1 coat Seche Vite.

It’s pretty rare to find a color that looks so abhorrent on me that I can’t manage to wear it for a full 24 hours. Usually, if I do encounter one, it’s shimmery. I think this might actually be the very first time in the history of my obsession with nail polish that I’ve encountered an unwearable creme, OPI Pink of Hearts 2. Let me quantify that statement, I don’t think this color is inherently unattractive. I think if my skintone were lighter, if my nails were less yellow-stained, and if they were shorter so as to not reveal as much VPL, this color would look okay, maybe  even very good. However, the condition my nails are in right now is just not conducive to successfully rocking this color.

With all that said, even though I’m 2 months late with this post, purchasing this color is for a good, deserving cause. OPI donates $25,000 every year to Susan G. Komen for The Cure. I don’t believe the donation is tied to the purchase of the polish but I still think it’s an excellent way to show support for the search for a cure to breast cancer. Last year’s Pink of Hearts was gorgeous so I have high hopes for next year’s installment, assuming OPI continues to relaunch variations of Pink of Hearts for breast cancer month. This mani was 1 coat OPI Start to Finish base coat, 4 coats of Pink of Hearts (it’s very very sheer, but not streaky), and 1 coat of Seche Vite.

I drool all over myself when I find a truly unique color. It’s a pretty rare occurrence, but every once in a while it happens. I know many of you will be surprised to see this color on the list. It wasn’t popular with the masses, probably because it’s very ‘out there’ but that’s why I love it.

This truly gorgeous dirty mustard yellow reminds me of run ways and high fashion. In a perfect world, colors like this would be staples for everyone. Until then, I’ll keep drooling for these rarities.

As a meaningless side note, I tend to associate certain polishes with whatever was going on in my life the day I wore it. I wore The “It” Color while studying for finals last spring, specifically I was studying Criminal Procedure Police Practices. I remember constantly staring down at my nails which significantly hampered my study efforts. You can read the original post on this color here.

I’m happy to be sharing my top 20 with you guys, mostly because I decided to make this a tradition. Once a year I will pick out my top 20 favorite colors and actually wear them. I’m disgusted to say that my collection has reached such a ridiculous size that I don’t get the chance to re-wear colors very often, this way, I have an excuse to return to my favorites.

OPI Got the Blues for Red was released in Fall 2005 with the Chicago collection. It was one of the first OPI reds I ever bought so it has a very special spot in my heart. (Oh… memories from when I had a manageable collection.) I only chose one red for the countdown because reds have a tendency to look like each other in way that other colors do not. I decided on this red in place of other much loved reds (like OPI Thrill of Brazil and OPI Vodka & Caviar) because Got the Blues for Red is the perfect balance of chic classic red and high drama depth of color. As the name suggests, this is a darkened red, so it’s stunning without being ‘too much’¹. This color, despite its simplicity, is a bonafide show stopper. Even my Mother, who has no real interest in nail polish, passionately loves this color. We both recently purchased back-up bottles since this color has sadly been discontinued. Also, it goes without saying, the application is smooth like butter, absolutely perfect in two coats.

Twice a year, the girls on the Nail Board vote for their top 20 polishes. I’ve been promising you guys my personal top 20 for a while and I’m finally getting around to it. My top 20 has some classics in it but there are also a few colors that people might not expect. First up is # 20, this year’s OPI Tickle My France-y.

This color is so subtle, so chic, just perfect.  As completely ridiculous as this may sound, I rarely wear colors more than once but I’ve worn OPI Tickle My France-y a whopping 3 times. This color has become my go-to ‘professional’ color. As some of you may know, I’m applying for a position as an Assistant State Attorney. It’s a 3 round interview process. I’ve worn TMFy to two of the interviews already and plan to wear it one more time this Monday for my final interview. I almost feel like this color gives me confidence, maybe even a little bit of luck. If I get the job on Monday, I guess we’ll know for sure. Even if TMF-y isn’t bestowed with magical job granting powers, it’s still an excellent color. It definitely belongs in everyone’s collection. (You can read my original post about TMF here.)

OPI I Only Drink Champagne is a very light frosty champagne gold. This is 3 coats plus top coat. It’s a very flattering color, I’d say… neutral with an oomph. It’s been recently discontinued along with a few other colors from the Night Brights collection so grab it while you still can.

OPI Don’t Know… Beets Me! is a vibrant mid-range hot pink. I bought it because it’s sort of the half way point between OPI Koala Bear-y and OPI I’m India Mood for Love. I’m a little baffled by the name… beets… are dark red? If the people at OPI have access to genetically altered hot pink beets, personally, I’d like to know. I believe this is 2 coats (I forgot to write it down haha) plus top coat.

Nail art is a silly way to support a Presidential candidate, I know, but seeing as how some ***shat turd-wad stole my Obama sign ¹ I figured I might as well sport my endorsement on my nails, since presumably some McCain supporter can’t abscond with them. I’m not the only one, check out Eve’s custom Obama print. Only in my wildest dreams could I do anything that elaborate so I decided to copy Luckypenny (a fellow nber) and do a Obama hope symbol manicure.

I used China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway as a basic democratic blue. For the hope symbol I used OPI Vodka & Caviar and China Glaze Caribbean Blue. The stripes were done with Art Club by Color Club White.

I used notebook paper reinforcements to get the shapes right – sort of a pain, but definitely worth it. If you are planning to do an Obama or Democratic Party inspired manicure for election day, please send me your images. I would love to show our support for the Party by posting all that democratic creativity on Election day. And, I hope this goes without saying, GET OUT AND VOTE!

A little while ago, one of the lovely girls on MUA RAOK’d me these great OPI Halloween decals (along with a my mega lemming OPI Boo-berry). I fell in love with the Jack-o-Lantern decal immediately and decided that I would use them for one of my Halloween manis this year. I’ve actually never used decals before so I was surprised to find that, counter-intuitively, decals are actually really stiff. So stiff that the plastic refused to mold with the curvature of my nail bed, causing the ends of the decal to pop up. It still looks okay, I guess, but the psycho perfectionist in me is probably going to use this flaw as an excuse to remove this manicure and break out the coveted OPI Ghostess with the Mostess for Halloween Night

It wasn’t just the stiffness of the decals that ruined this nail art attempt. No sir. Lots of factors contributed to this fail. OPI Osaka to Me Orange is a major PITA. It took me four coats to even get close to complete coverage. But I already knew that would happen, I’m just a glutton for punishment. (You can check out my comparisons of different oranges, including my previous battle with OtMO, here and here.)

I topped my creation with China Glaze Ghoulish Glow. Ghoulish Glow got a bit of a bad rap for not being glow-y enough but I like the effect. My picture doesn’t do it justice but it actually glows a lot. To get the best results I sugget the following: the glow-in-the-dark particles inside this polish settle very quickly so you have to shake the ever-living-day-lights out of it a few minutes before you use it to get the maximum glow effect. (Of course, let the bubbles settle before you put it on.) As for the coats, you have to build. 1 coat gave me a little glow, 3 coats gave me mega glow. The down side of this polish is that it dulls the color that you put it over, but that’s going to happen with an glow-in-the-dark polish that is meant to be used as a top coat.