Hi there!
Hope you're well today. Snow is forecast here AGAIN! Spring is playing hide and seek with us at the moment.
I picked these pretties up at TK Maxx a few weeks ago, and have had them in my 'to swatch' pile since. Here's how they look in the box:
Apologies for the slightly rubbish picture. I didn't find out until it was too late that it was impossible to get the polishes out without wrecking the box. I believe these to be the 'light' half of the OPI Top Ten collection (Amazon LINK here) but I didn't see the other darker half in TX Maxx.
Without further ado, let's get on with it. The first in the box is Alpine Snow:
I actually already own the full size of Alpine Snow, and I did a comparison post with My Boyfriend Scales Walls (HERE) which is one of my most popular posts. The first coat is patchy, but the second coat evens it out, so this is two coats. It's also pretty fast drying. I was pleased to find that the brush in the polish was still a pretty decent size, even though it's a mini polish.
Next up we have Bubble Bath:
I also own the full size polish of this one (why did I buy this set haha), and I already knew I didn't like it so much, too sheer for me. This is two coats. Of course it would be good for a french manicure, which is probably why it was formulated in the first place. I noticed that the mini bottles are comfortable to pose with.
Next is Tickle My France-y:
This was also quite disappointingly sheer. At two coats I still had alot of VNL. However I do like the colour, so I went with another coat, so this is 3 coats in this picture. It is a very pretty nude.
Second to last we have Kiss Me On My Tulips:
This is a bright pink that does nothing for my skintone, but no fault of the polish for that. It reminds me a bit of Orly's Basket Case. Perhaps I'll do a comparison on the two at some point. At one coat it still had VNL, but this is two, and as you can see, hardly any VNL left. Dry time was med/fast.
And last but not least we have Red Lights Ahead... Where?
This is two coats. Too sheer for me. It was relatively fast drying though. Lifes too short for undies on a polish when I have other reds that don't need it. Not too impressed with this one.
Here's a picture of the brush, which was pretty consistently good across all the polishes:
So there we have it. That's the whole (half of the) set reviewed. I paid £19.99 at TK Maxx and to be honest, if you're like me and don't like to see your nail line through your polish, I wouldn't recommend this set. Oh well, live and learn! One of these days I'll actually have that blog sale I keep wondering about having, and most of these will probably be in it. I'm sure there's somebody out there who has the patience to apply more coats than I do. I can't comment on wear time, as I haven't liked any of them enough to wear for any length of time.
They were all very shiny though, no topcoat in any of these pictures, and pretty fast drying, so it wasn't all bad. Now I know the brushes are OK, I would buy more OPI minis, but I would check out the reviews first to make sure they're opaque enough.
What do you think? Yay or nay? Is VNL a big no-no for you too or don't you mind it?
Until next time...
MASPOOASE x x x
~Wendy~
Hey there again!
I'm back again, with a post I'm really excited about. Now it's no secret that I despise sponging, it's just so messy. But every now and then a flash of inspiration hits me and I can't resist.
I have a friend on Twitter, Adam McLevey, who's an artist. He's currently mid-way through a series called The Persona Project (link here) where he paints his character Steve in a variety of disguises.
I love seeing the different canvasses come along each day, and of course, me being me, sometimes I think, ooh I could do that on my nails! He recently painted a Persona canvas based on the film Hellboy, and the background of it 'pinged' at me.
So here's what I came up with, and I kinda love it:
Now, it has to be said, this is loads zingier colour-wise in real life. I've tried to correct it, but I just couldn't get it to look exact with my camera.
I've taken a picture on my phone, which is a bit closer to the real colours (but blurrier):
My cuticle clean up isn't brilliant, but I'm not too bothered about that, it will wash off eventually.
And here's a slice of the picture that started it. I wasn't too sure about how much I could show, either for copyright, or without offending the artist, so I played it safe (hopefully) and just used a bit which shows the gradient I'm going on about, from a screenshot of his webpage:
As you see, the 'warm' side is much more orangey than my nailart - if I did this again I would use a different colour, but I'm pleased with how the green and the yellow came out.
Here's the polishes I used:
Collection 2000 Hot Looks in 64 Hidden
Collection 2000 Hot Looks in 45 Lemon Soda
Boots Natural Collection in Antique Coral
OPI Red Lights Ahead... Where?
Elf mini polish in Black (not pictured)
Oh, OK, one last pic of my masterpiece haha:
I think this came out really well, and I'm dying to publish this so you can all see it!
Incidentally, the Persona canvases would make a brilliant gift for the guy (or girl) who's got everything, and most of the Persona's include worldwide shipping, so bear it in mind next time you've got a present to buy for that difficult one. Alot of these canvasses are only £20 - bargain!
He also paints commissions if you've got any art you'd like to have done. Incidentally, I'm not being paid in any way, money or goods for this post, I just think his art is fab. You can visit his Persona shop (here)
So what do you think? Are you a fan of gradients, or do you usually avoid them like me?
Until next time...
MASPOOASE x x x
~Wendy~
