OPI Holiday 2010- The Swiss Collection

I'm still in denial about the fall collection that are coming out in the next few weeks (and going to be sold out by August), and here's a glimpse from OPI holiday 2010 collection. This time they are inspired by Switzerland, so I expect at least one of the twelve colors named after Heidi (of the Alps, not the Hills) and a milk chocolate shade. But those are just my wild guesses. This is what we know for now (from the WWD coverage of a special show in Milan):

"The palette runs from a dark green, named Cuckoo for This Color, to Glitzerland, a sparkly gold, to a vibrant pink red called Diva of Geneva. The collection will hit shelves globally in October and will be priced at $8.50."

Info and photo: WWD

OPI Holiday 2010- The Swiss Collection

I'm still in denial about the fall collection that are coming out in the next few weeks (and going to be sold out by August), and here's a glimpse from OPI holiday 2010 collection. This time they are inspired by Switzerland, so I expect at least one of the twelve colors named after Heidi (of the Alps, not the Hills) and a milk chocolate shade. But those are just my wild guesses. This is what we know for now (from the WWD coverage of a special show in Milan):

"The palette runs from a dark green, named Cuckoo for This Color, to Glitzerland, a sparkly gold, to a vibrant pink red called Diva of Geneva. The collection will hit shelves globally in October and will be priced at $8.50."

Info and photo: WWD

OPI Holiday 2010- The Swiss Collection

I'm still in denial about the fall collection that are coming out in the next few weeks (and going to be sold out by August), and here's a glimpse from OPI holiday 2010 collection. This time they are inspired by Switzerland, so I expect at least one of the twelve colors named after Heidi (of the Alps, not the Hills) and a milk chocolate shade. But those are just my wild guesses. This is what we know for now (from the WWD coverage of a special show in Milan):

"The palette runs from a dark green, named Cuckoo for This Color, to Glitzerland, a sparkly gold, to a vibrant pink red called Diva of Geneva. The collection will hit shelves globally in October and will be priced at $8.50."

Info and photo: WWD

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat & Essie Jazz

I've been having a nail polish crisis. All of a sudden I got tired of super bright colors and ultra shimmer. Everything looked off, too much, overdone and just plain wrong. I also got tired of the three coat ritual to get that perfect utterly unnatural finish. So I dug out my namesake, Gaia by Zoya, which is a white with gold flakes. I used it as a wash of color more than a full coverage manicure, but even that was not quite what I wanted because Gaia looks better mid-summer. I have several beige options but somehow none made me happy, until a quick shopping excursion for other items led me to these two colors.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat is a taupish nude beige with very light shimmer. It's not quite as mushroomy as Chanel Particulier and other colors in that range, but it has a cool undertone balanced by the almost gold shimmer. Essie Jazz is a bit warmer, more opaque and creamy- there's no shimmer there.

Texture-wise, The OPI is much thinner and dries quickly. It's perfect as a quick one coat, not-quite full manicure look, though with a second coat and a clear top it's as elegant and sophisticated as any color can be. Jazz is very creamy and a lot thicker, which means streaky, so I must take more time to let it dry properly and apply a second  coat . It's worth it, though, because the result is quite refined and looks effortless and very chic.

I bought Under My Trench Coat ($9) at Sephora Union Square (also available online) and Essie Jazz ($8) at a J. Crew store.

All photos are mine.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat & Essie Jazz

I've been having a nail polish crisis. All of a sudden I got tired of super bright colors and ultra shimmer. Everything looked off, too much, overdone and just plain wrong. I also got tired of the three coat ritual to get that perfect utterly unnatural finish. So I dug out my namesake, Gaia by Zoya, which is a white with gold flakes. I used it as a wash of color more than a full coverage manicure, but even that was not quite what I wanted because Gaia looks better mid-summer. I have several beige options but somehow none made me happy, until a quick shopping excursion for other items led me to these two colors.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat is a taupish nude beige with very light shimmer. It's not quite as mushroomy as Chanel Particulier and other colors in that range, but it has a cool undertone balanced by the almost gold shimmer. Essie Jazz is a bit warmer, more opaque and creamy- there's no shimmer there.

Texture-wise, The OPI is much thinner and dries quickly. It's perfect as a quick one coat, not-quite full manicure look, though with a second coat and a clear top it's as elegant and sophisticated as any color can be. Jazz is very creamy and a lot thicker, which means streaky, so I must take more time to let it dry properly and apply a second  coat . It's worth it, though, because the result is quite refined and looks effortless and very chic.

I bought Under My Trench Coat ($9) at Sephora Union Square (also available online) and Essie Jazz ($8) at a J. Crew store.

All photos are mine.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat & Essie Jazz

I've been having a nail polish crisis. All of a sudden I got tired of super bright colors and ultra shimmer. Everything looked off, too much, overdone and just plain wrong. I also got tired of the three coat ritual to get that perfect utterly unnatural finish. So I dug out my namesake, Gaia by Zoya, which is a white with gold flakes. I used it as a wash of color more than a full coverage manicure, but even that was not quite what I wanted because Gaia looks better mid-summer. I have several beige options but somehow none made me happy, until a quick shopping excursion for other items led me to these two colors.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat is a taupish nude beige with very light shimmer. It's not quite as mushroomy as Chanel Particulier and other colors in that range, but it has a cool undertone balanced by the almost gold shimmer. Essie Jazz is a bit warmer, more opaque and creamy- there's no shimmer there.

Texture-wise, The OPI is much thinner and dries quickly. It's perfect as a quick one coat, not-quite full manicure look, though with a second coat and a clear top it's as elegant and sophisticated as any color can be. Jazz is very creamy and a lot thicker, which means streaky, so I must take more time to let it dry properly and apply a second  coat . It's worth it, though, because the result is quite refined and looks effortless and very chic.

I bought Under My Trench Coat ($9) at Sephora Union Square (also available online) and Essie Jazz ($8) at a J. Crew store.

All photos are mine.

OPI Spanish Collection

Fall 2009 is shaping up as a beautiful season for nail polish. I still have to show you the limited edition Chanel colors, but today I'm taking a break from worshipping Chanel in favor of OPI's Spain Collection (La Coleccion De España).

There are twelve colors in the Spain Collection, most fall under the obligated red, fuchsia, purple, etc.. There's also Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow, the must-have green polish every range includes this season, which should delight green polish fans. It's beautiful and dark (I played with it at Ulta), and if I didn't already have Zoya Envy I might have been tempted just because it's so special. And I rarely wear green polish...

The colors I chose were Barefoot in Barcelona, a beautiful classic warm beige (you can see it on my nails in this post), Can You Tapas This? (rich brownish burgundy) and Give Me Moor! (deep purple with subtle red shimmer). All are easy to wear and are quite elegant. Barefoot in Barcelona is my current go-to shade, because I don't need to worry about it clashing with my clothes or overwhelming anyone. The dark colors are as sexy as they come and definitely say "fall", even if I hate to admit the cold days are coming.

OPI Spanish Collection ($8 per bottle) is available at Ulta and from several online sources.

All photos are mine.

OPI Spanish Collection

Fall 2009 is shaping up as a beautiful season for nail polish. I still have to show you the limited edition Chanel colors, but today I'm taking a break from worshipping Chanel in favor of OPI's Spain Collection (La Coleccion De España).

There are twelve colors in the Spain Collection, most fall under the obligated red, fuchsia, purple, etc.. There's also Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow, the must-have green polish every range includes this season, which should delight green polish fans. It's beautiful and dark (I played with it at Ulta), and if I didn't already have Zoya Envy I might have been tempted just because it's so special. And I rarely wear green polish...

The colors I chose were Barefoot in Barcelona, a beautiful classic warm beige (you can see it on my nails in this post), Can You Tapas This? (rich brownish burgundy) and Give Me Moor! (deep purple with subtle red shimmer). All are easy to wear and are quite elegant. Barefoot in Barcelona is my current go-to shade, because I don't need to worry about it clashing with my clothes or overwhelming anyone. The dark colors are as sexy as they come and definitely say "fall", even if I hate to admit the cold days are coming.

OPI Spanish Collection ($8 per bottle) is available at Ulta and from several online sources.

All photos are mine.

OPI Spanish Collection

Fall 2009 is shaping up as a beautiful season for nail polish. I still have to show you the limited edition Chanel colors, but today I'm taking a break from worshipping Chanel in favor of OPI's Spain Collection (La Coleccion De España).

There are twelve colors in the Spain Collection, most fall under the obligated red, fuchsia, purple, etc.. There's also Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow, the must-have green polish every range includes this season, which should delight green polish fans. It's beautiful and dark (I played with it at Ulta), and if I didn't already have Zoya Envy I might have been tempted just because it's so special. And I rarely wear green polish...

The colors I chose were Barefoot in Barcelona, a beautiful classic warm beige (you can see it on my nails in this post), Can You Tapas This? (rich brownish burgundy) and Give Me Moor! (deep purple with subtle red shimmer). All are easy to wear and are quite elegant. Barefoot in Barcelona is my current go-to shade, because I don't need to worry about it clashing with my clothes or overwhelming anyone. The dark colors are as sexy as they come and definitely say "fall", even if I hate to admit the cold days are coming.

OPI Spanish Collection ($8 per bottle) is available at Ulta and from several online sources.

All photos are mine.

Yellow

Yes, I know bright yellow is one of the hottest colors for the comming summer, but even Natalie Portman doesn't convince me that having yellow nails is a good thing.

But for those who are interested in getting the look, here are a few options for yellow nail polish(click to enlarge):



Would you wear it?

Photo of Natalie Portman: A socialite's Life

Yellow

Yes, I know bright yellow is one of the hottest colors for the comming summer, but even Natalie Portman doesn't convince me that having yellow nails is a good thing.

But for those who are interested in getting the look, here are a few options for yellow nail polish(click to enlarge):



Would you wear it?

Photo of Natalie Portman: A socialite's Life

Yellow

Yes, I know bright yellow is one of the hottest colors for the comming summer, but even Natalie Portman doesn't convince me that having yellow nails is a good thing.

But for those who are interested in getting the look, here are a few options for yellow nail polish(click to enlarge):



Would you wear it?

Photo of Natalie Portman: A socialite's Life

Nail Candy, Take 2

I had a little deja vu moment when I opened the newsletter from Sephora announcing their spring 2009 nail color collection from OPI. The title was "Nail Candy" and the bright colors are happy, bright and sweet. And very much like a cream version of the ChitChat collection Zoya introduced last summer, which was shimmery with gold undertones .

The link above goes to my post from May 2008, titled Nail Candy, and here are the color samples from both Zoya and OPI/Seophora press releases. Fun colors, for sure. I'd still stay away from painting your nails yellow. I tried it last year and wouldn't repeat it.

Zoya ChitChat Summer 2008

Sephora by OPI Spring 2009

What do you think? which ones looks better?

original image is mine

Nail Candy, Take 2

I had a little deja vu moment when I opened the newsletter from Sephora announcing their spring 2009 nail color collection from OPI. The title was "Nail Candy" and the bright colors are happy, bright and sweet. And very much like a cream version of the ChitChat collection Zoya introduced last summer, which was shimmery with gold undertones .

The link above goes to my post from May 2008, titled Nail Candy, and here are the color samples from both Zoya and OPI/Seophora press releases. Fun colors, for sure. I'd still stay away from painting your nails yellow. I tried it last year and wouldn't repeat it.

Zoya ChitChat Summer 2008

Sephora by OPI Spring 2009

What do you think? which ones looks better?

original image is mine

Nail Candy, Take 2

I had a little deja vu moment when I opened the newsletter from Sephora announcing their spring 2009 nail color collection from OPI. The title was "Nail Candy" and the bright colors are happy, bright and sweet. And very much like a cream version of the ChitChat collection Zoya introduced last summer, which was shimmery with gold undertones .

The link above goes to my post from May 2008, titled Nail Candy, and here are the color samples from both Zoya and OPI/Seophora press releases. Fun colors, for sure. I'd still stay away from painting your nails yellow. I tried it last year and wouldn't repeat it.

Zoya ChitChat Summer 2008

Sephora by OPI Spring 2009

What do you think? which ones looks better?

original image is mine

More From OPI La Collection De France

Now that the weather has taken a serious plunge towards the dreary and right before I go back to holiday reds, the mood calls for something different.

Enter OPI's La Collection De France for fall-winter 2008. I've already talked about Tickle Me France-y, an elegant nude which was my transitional color. Now we go for the serious stuff:
Parlez-Vous OPI? and You Don't Know Jacques!


Both looked on the scary side when they first came out several months ago, but even back then their beauty was apparent. Parlez-Vous is a smoky violet, cool and aloof. I can't stop looking at my nails when wearing it because it's just that different from anything else I own and wear. I was worried about the color clashing with my olive skin, but it works surprisingly well. Two coats got me bottle-perfect depth and coverage.

You Don't Know Jacques looked even more intimidating. In the bottle it is a dark taupe with strong gray roots, but on the nail (mine, at least), it actually has more brown and is a lot easier to wear than I ever expected. It's a melancholy color and works best on those days the sun is nowhere to be found. The look is elegant and not goth at all, quite suitable for most workplaces, as long as you keep your nails short and oblong, to avoid the Morticia vibe.

The quality is what you expect from OPI. A good brush, great coverage, easy to apply and lasts (with the aid of base and top coats) five to six days before the first crack appears.

OPI La Collection De France is available at decent nail salons and from various online sources. I'm pretty sure I got mine through Amazon for about $8.50 each.

Photo: Winter Evening at the Louvre by Rita Crane Photography on flickr