Thursday, March 29, 2012

Picture Polish Opulence Collection 2012 - Mask-a-rade, Monroe and Peacock

Picture Polish has just added three more shades to their lineup: Mask-a-rade (a multichrome rainbow glitter), Monroe (a vampy wine with tiny holographic sparkles), and Peacock (a green glitter in a purple jelly base). I think these are three of the coolest colors I've seen from Picture Polish so far, so I took way too many pictures of them.


Picture Polish Mask-a-rade



Picture Polish Mask-a-rade, one coat over black creme.



Picture Polish Mask-a-rade, two coats over black creme. This is a multichrome rainbow glitter in a clear base, so it really needs to be applied over an opaque base color to show up. It's very much like the Ozotic Elytra glitters, if you've ever used those. In fact, Mask-a-rade looks like all three Elytra colors mixed together in one bottle. Same kind of bright, shiny, color-changing glitter, same clear base, same texture, everything. This polish is amazing. It has every color in the rainbow in it and each glitter particle shifts colors with only the slightest change in angle or lighting. The only downside is that it would take four or more coats to be opaque enough to wear it alone, but that's okay because to me, it looks better layered than alone.



Picture Polish Monroe


Picture Polish Monroe, three coats. This one's a dark, vampy wine jelly with some teeny tiny cute little holographic shimmer flecks in it. It's not strongly holographic; the hologram particles are just an accent. The jelly finish helps to not drown out the holographic sparkles, you can see them through the base color so it has more depth than a plain creme with glitter.



Picture Polish Peacock


Picture Polish Peacock, three coats. This is a deep blue-toned purple jelly base with lots and lots of irregular-shaped blue-green glitter. It actually looks surprisingly dark on the nail and it's not as sheer as I thought it would be. It would probably be best layered over a purple (if you felt like layering), because layering over black completely hides the purple color of the base:


Picture Polish Peacock, one coat over black creme.


The formula on these was not great. All of them are thick and don't flow smoothly. If you go really slowly and take your time to do thin, even coats, letting each one dry for a minute or two before adding the next one, they're fine. But if you rush like I do, you'll end up with some weird thick areas and probably some bubbling. They dry very slowly, but drying time is better if you let each coat set for a few minutes.

I think these colors are awesome, but I do think the formula could use some improvement. It's not terrible, but for $13.50 AUD per bottle, I'm surprised at how thick and slow-drying it is compared to other polishes in that price range. That said, these three are my favorite Picture Polish colors so far. Mask-a-rade is stunning. It really is amazing and there aren't many polishes like it; the only ones I know of that are similar are the Ozotic Elytra polishes. Monroe and Peacock are okay, but Mask-a-rade is really the star of this collection.

The Opulence Collection is available now from Picture Polish, and they do ship internationally.

(This was sent for review.)

55 comments:

  1. You're literally the worst person for creating lemmings for me!!! Amazing polishes! NEED :Q..

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Peacock is the prettiest of all three! Love!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love Monroe but the price and application issue has put me off. I think I could create the same look with a vampy colour from CG that I already have and fairy dust or northern lights. I always seem to buy polishes you swatch so this is a welcome relief to my bank account!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think that layering a holo topcoat will create exactly the same effect, but if you mix the two together in a separate bottle it will make something with the same finish! :)

      Delete
  5. I NEEEEED Monroe in my life!!!! Thanks for sharing ;0).

    ReplyDelete
  6. looove them all but I MUST have Monroe!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the last two! Question: do you used a brush to get that clean edge around your cuticles, or are you just that good at applying your polish?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I don't usually use a cleanup brush. I've had a *lot* of practice applying, hahaha :D

      Delete
  8. Woah! Monroe and Mask-a-rade are calling my name! May as well get Peacock too right, why the heck not? Amazing swatches as always Scrangie =)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Does Mask-a-rade look similar to Black Knight when layered over black? It reminded me of it when I saw the swatches =O

    Mmmmm I want to get Monroe :]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kiiiiinda, but not quite the same. Mask-a-rade has only one size of glitter, but lots of bright colors. The Black Knight has more shapes and sizes and most of the glitter in it is plain/opaque, not larger translucent duochrome like Mask-a-rade :)

      Delete
    2. I was going to ask the same question! :)

      Delete
  10. All three look beautiful, especially mask-a-rade. And I love that Monroe is a jelly, a finish that I've discovered that I really love.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Why oh why do you have to keep putting out these AMAZING swatches? You're killing my wallet (but in an amazing way) :) Pricing of these seems pretty good to me, especially when you compare it to OPI which is $20 here in Australia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't believe the price for OPI is so much more there! That really sucks, I'm sorry :(

      Delete
    2. It's a small price to pay for true love :)

      Delete
  13. Wow, monroe is sexy in a tiny bottle!! They are all incredible *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
  14. I swear I can't read your blog without wanting to buy everything you swatch. When I read about the formula issues, my heart dropped and all I could think was 'but they're so preeeetty' ... I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get Mask-a-rade anyway. Your pictures are amazing, as always :]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bahahaha, sorry :D I've been told I have that effect, but I feel the same way about the rest of my fellow bloggers :)

      Mask-a-rade is worth it despite the slow-drying formula. It's freakin' awesome.

      Delete
  15. Peacock and Mask-a-rade are super pretty, but (with shipping) $50 is just wayyyyy too much to spend on two polishes (for me, anyways), especially if they don't have a perfect formula. Do you have any dupe suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't think of any dupes at all, but I'm sure you could franken your own versions of these. Like for Monroe, a vampy wine creme with some holo topcoat mixed in. Peacock, a few types of green glitter in a purple creme base. The only way to dupe Mask-a-rade is to buy all three Ozotic Elytras, but that's more expensive.

      I think a few domestic online retailers will carry these (like llarowe), but I didn't see them in stock anywhere at the time of this posting.

      Delete
  16. Replies
    1. Personally, I think it's the best one, and one of the coolest glitter topcoats I've ever used. :)

      Delete
  17. These are out of my price range, but they are so beautiful. I really like mask-a-rade. Your swatches are always so amazing! I recently quit biting my nails and have learned a lot from you. Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  18. These are out of my price range, but they are so beautiful, especially Mask-a-rade. Your swatches are always amazing! I recently quit biting my nails and have learned a lot from you. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Would not spend the $ plus shipping for average look, and not a superior quality formula. $10 for SpaRitual is a good deal when I know it's going to be an amazing formula and my nails won't break down and peel from it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know if I'd call these an average look, but the price is pretty steep!

      Delete
  20. Scrangie, how do you get the cuticle-side edge of the nail polish so clean-looking? As I've "Google Image" shopped for dark colors, I noticed a lot of amateurs seem to have pretty sloppy edges. Any tips before I venture into my first darks? Thanks! -Katie

    ReplyDelete
  21. Scrangie, how do you get the cuticle-side edge of the nail polish so clean-looking? As I've "Google Image" shopped for dark colors, I noticed a lot of amateurs seem to have pretty sloppy edges. Any tips before I venture into my first darks? Thanks! -Katie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The trick is to predict how the polish formula will behave and adjust your application technique accordingly.
      I start off by placing the polish brush a few millimeters from where I want the polish to stop- so just slightly away from the cuticle.

      I usually have a good sized bead of polish on the brush, enough to be able to push the brush smoothly across the nail with the polish as a cushion, as opposed to painting the polish on with very little on the brush.

      Anyway, once the right amount of polish is on the brush and it's positioned properly on my nail, I press down gently on the brush- this causes the bristles to fan out into a curved C or U shape that mimics the shape of my cuticles.

      That should make the perfect crisp line at the edge and prevent you from getting polish in your cuticles. You'll want more polish on the brush for thick formulas, less for thin ones. Let the small amount of polish flowing off the brush create the curve for you instead of painting all the way up to your cuticle :)

      Delete
    2. Great advice, Scrangie. Very detailed! :) This is why you're my favourite beauty blogger.

      Delete
    3. Cool, thanks Scrangie! I ordered Zoya Blair. I think it's supposed to arrive in a week...can't wait.

      Delete
    4. Thanks Scrangie! (Not sure if comment #1 went through)

      Delete
    5. You're welcome! Please feel free to email me or comment if you need more detail or just have any other questions :)

      Blair is *gorgeous*, by the way. You're going to love it. Extra glowy vampy red, reminds me... I haven't worn it in quite a long time, I should get that one out at try it on again!

      Delete
  22. I am so in love with Peacock and mask-a-rade . Gorgeous colors. I wish they weren't so expensive though. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah :( Though, getting Mask-a-rade is comparable to buying one Ozotic Elytra, except it's like all three of them in one bottle... at least that takes the sting out of the price!

      Delete
  23. These are all fabulous! Peacock is my mom's maiden name so I'm especially drawn to that one!

    ReplyDelete
  24. ohhhh, these colors are lovely. Too bad about the formula :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish it was thinner and dried faster, but they are super pretty!

      Delete
  25. I don't own anything from this brand mainly because of the price and because I'm saving money, but after seeing Peacock, I'm really tempted. Very gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Absolutely in love with peacock!!! So wanna get my hands on that colour!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I NEED Mask-A-Rade, looks fabolous!!!
    Greets :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. *picks up jaw from ground*
    THESE ARE SO GORGEOUS!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Totally now getting monroe its beautiful yet being discontinued!! ugh Why!! Same goes for Mask-a-rade, get it while you can guys!! Thanks for for the swatches. =)

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful. Refrain from using my comments for unsolicited advertising. If you would like me to check out your blog or product, please email me. Thank you!