OPI San Francisco Collection Fall/Winter 2013 Swatches and Review

OPI San Francisco Collection

Fall/Winter 2013

(press samples)

In addition to the three new Liquid Sand shades, OPI's fall/winter collection is full of warm, autumn-like colors offset by a handful of bold blues, a shiny foil, and even a little duochrome.

 

A-Piers to Be Tan

I shore do like this chocolaty tan.

(Reminds me of one of the most notorious OPI shades of all time: OPI And Apple Pie.  More caramel than chocolate, really.)

Dining al Frisco

Just feast your eyes on this fresh-air blue!

Embarca-Dare Ya!

Betcha can’t pass up this marvelous magenta.

(Has a small amount of pink/red/gold duochrome shift. Subtle.)

 

First Date at the Golden Gate

You and me and this shimmery ruby make three.

 

 

Haven’t the Foggiest

Can’t tell you why I love this misty gray...I just do!

(The most perfect pewter foil ever. Has a strong charcoal/deep grey tone, not pure bright silver.)

I Knead Sour-Dough

Are you bready to wear this toasty warm brown?

 

Incognito in Sausalito

You better keep this almost-black blue under wraps.

In the Cable Car-Pool Lane

Good golly, Miss Trolley, this rich burgundy takes me away!

 

Keeping Suzi at Bay

There’s no holding back this assertive navy blue.

 

Lost on Lombard

Oh garn-et! I’m all turned around!

 

Muir Muir on the Wall

This trailblazing plum is the fairest of all.

(Very good duochrome effect on this.  Goes from plum to bronze to green.  Reminds me of some of OPI's best discontinued colors, namely Black Tie Optional.)

 

 Peace & Love & OPI

This holographic sage and eggplant is far out!

(Steel blue to purple to teal multichrome.  It's not a dupe of Not Like The Movies, nor is it a dupe of Lippmann Wicked Game.)

The formula on these was mixed, but generally good.  The creme shades were perfect.  A dream to apply.  The shimmers were more sheer and uneven than I was anticipating and took an extra coat for evenness and opacity.  I did three coats of each, but only the shimmer shades needed the third coat.  Dry time is fast.  

A couple ho-hum colors, but also a couple of very cool ones.  My picks are Muir Muir On The Wall, Peace & Love & OPI, Haven't The Foggiest, and Keeping Suzi At Bay.  Two gorgeous duochrome shimmers, my new favorite silver foil and a vibrant but not neon blue creme.  

Don't forget to check out the Liquid Sand polishes that are part of this collection!

(Collection provided for review.)

OPI San Francisco Collection Fall/Winter 2013 Liquid Sand Swatches and Review

OPI San Francisco Collection Fall 2013

Three New Liquid Sand Shades

 (press samples)

Along with the usual set of twelve shimmer and creme shades, OPI is releasing three new colors of Liquid Sand.  Two cremes and one mind-blowingly pretty glitter!

 OPI Liquid Sand polish in Alcatraz Rocks.

Whoa.  Look at this masterpiece of a polish.  It's a deep blue base with the typical Liquid Sand/textured polish grit, but it also has tons of multicolor glitter.  I think I see every color of the rainbow in here.  It looks fantastic as-is, but if you don't mind doing two or three coats of topcoat, you can turn it into a glossy glitter polish with a smooth finish instead.

 OPI Liquid Sand Polish in It's All San Andreas's Fault.

This one is a creme-finish medium taupe brown.  Dries a shade or two darker than bottle color.  Never becomes fully matte after it dries so it has a tiny bit of gloss to it.

OPI Liquid Sand Polish in Wharf! Wharf! Wharf!

Gorgeous, rich blue creme base with textured grit.  Also dries a bit darker than bottle color.  And the name... I know it's supposed to be woof, woof, like a dog, except wharf because it's by the ocean, but all I can think is... Wharf! Wharf!

.... Worf?

The formula on these is a dream.  Perfect thin texture.  Absolutely nothing to even criticize as far as the application is concerned.  One tip for applying, though: Do thin, even coats.  If the polish base is too thick in some areas, it'll gloss out your sandy texture.  Dry time on these is fast.  They do chip faster than a normal polish, but not as fast as a true matte.

If you're only going to get one textured polish this year, seriously consider Alcatraz Rocks.  It's AWESOME.  The other two are cool, but seem unimpressive next to Alcatraz Rocks.  It's a scene-stealer for sure.

(Collection was provided for review.)

Sephora Color Hit Nail Polish in Blackjack Swatches and Review

Sephora Color Hit in Blackjack

Shimmery charcoal grey with iridescent shimmer flecks.  The main shimmer color in this is a blue/purple duochrome (starts to flash gold at extreme angles), but there's also silver and blue-grey with little glints of teal-green here and there.

The formula on this was good.  Not too thick, not too thin, nice even consistency, no application problems.  This is a mini-sized polish but it still had a decent brush.  Dry time was good.  Dries a little dull but looks better once I add topcoat.

This is the first color I've tried from Sephora's new Color Hit line and I'm disappointed in the color but not the formula.  I expected this to be a black with rainbow glitter but it's actually a blue-grey with a little duochrome shimmer.  No contrast to the color at all and it looks all faded and bleh to me.  No life, no sparkle. Also brings out a ton of redness in my skin (the dreaded lobster hands, oh no).  I'd like this a lot more if it had a true black base to give a little lift to the shimmer, cause the shimmer is pretty cool if you look closely at it.  Oh well, it was only $5.

Origins Brightening Musts Skincare Kit Review

 Hey! Another half-finished draft post! Woo! I bought this set from beauty.com ages ago, but I've already repurchased two of the three products since then.  I bought my first Origins skincare item back in Fall of 2011 and I've been a huge fan ever since.

This kit consisted of a full-size VitaZing SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer, a travel-size Modern Friction dermabrasion creme and a travel-size GinZing eye creme.

What I liked:

• VitaZing is great.  It's hydrating, tinted and it smells good.  It doesn't make me break out or otherwise irritate my skin.  I've repurchased this.
• GinZing is also hydrating and it has a little bit of peachy tint when applied so it brightens the eye area.  Works well and doesn't sting my eyes.  I've repurchased this as well.
• The kit as a whole was a good price, but it's now sold out.  

What I didn't like:

• VitaZing only came in one shade when I bought this.  The tint is good in the summertime when my face is a little more tan, but a bit dark and obvious when I'm paler.
• Modern Friction burns like hell.  It stung my skin, my nose, my eyes, my lips, everything.  To add insult to injury, it didn't even do a good job of exfoliating.  I don't intend to ever experience that again.  Bleh.
• GinZing in a jar dries out way faster than GinZing in a tube. 

My Origins holy grail is the Mega Mushroom line, but I love the "zing" things just as much.  I suppose the mushroom products are better for winter and these are better for summer.  Really, out of all the Origins stuff I've tried since 2011, Modern Friction is the only thing I haven't liked, and when it comes to me and skincare items, that's really rare.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio for Blue Eyes

 Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio for Blue Eyes

press sample

 Hey... look what I found hanging out in my drafts folder.  Eyeliner! Pretty ones, too. All this time just waiting for me to do some eye looks and swatches with them.  But, hey, I took pictures, might as well post them, swatches or not.

What I liked:

• Pretty packaging
• Good, basic, very wearable colors
• Easy application
• Smudges nicely
• Reasonable price
• It's for blue eyes, but all three shades look especially nice on dark brown eyes like mine

What I didn't like:

• Not as pigmented or intense as any other kohl I've used
• Breaks very easily
• Grittier than other kohls I've used

Not bad, but not great either.  I wish they were more pigmented because I like how easily they apply, especially if I feel like doing a smudged liner smoky eye thing.  At least they're cheap! About $10 for the trio.

(sample provided for review)

China Glaze Texture Collection Summer 2013 Swatches and Review

China Glaze Texture Textured Polish Collection

(press sample)

Here's China Glaze's entry into the textured polish arena.  So far I've mostly worn glitter-based textured polish, but I gotta say, the texture really stands out on matte creme colors like these. I've grown to like the glittery kind, sure, but some of them just look like you forgot to put on topcoat. These are not like that.

China Glaze Bump and Grind.  

Bright fuchsia-coral creme base with sandy texture.

China Glaze In The Rough.  

Light yellow-toned green creme base with sandy texture. Reminds me of really cheap guacamole, the kind that's probably only 2% avocado. 

China Glaze Itty, Bitty and Gritty.

Bright pink coral creme base with sandy texture.
p.s. itty bitty gritty committee 

China Glaze Of Coarse!

Medium sky blue creme base with sandy texture.

China Glaze Toe-Tally Textured.

Light yellow-toned orange creme base with sandy texture.

China Glaze Unrefined.

Light pink creme base with sandy texture.

The formula on these is gritty (obviously).  There are two things to be mindful of when applying this formula: One, the grit can clump together, so you may need to brush over it a few times to get it evenly distributed across the nail.  Two, if the base to grit ratio is wrong, some spots will look smooth and shiny instead of evenly textured.  Thin, even coats are a must if you want a uniform look.  Other than the grit (think of it like glitter), it applies like a normal polish.  These are opaque in two coats (what I'm using here) and dry to a semi-matte finish.

I gave each of these about 15 minutes to dry before photographing them and they all seem to retain a slight amount of gloss rather than drying to a true matte finish.

If you're looking for something unique, unusual, and hell, even flat-out weird, this is it.  The textured look is odd enough, but combined with the unexpected base colors (spring green??) in the collection they're just completely bizarre.  I like bizarre.  Toe-Tally Textured is my favorite here (I just really like orange), but if you want to go all out crazy... In The Rough.  Such a strange polish.

These are available now!

(Samples provided for review.)

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetic Lip Tar in Yaoi and Clockwork

Currently digging these two new(ish) shades of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar (sent for review):

OCC Lip Tar in Clockwork.  OCC calls it a "burnished orange creme," but I think it leans a little bright against my skin tone for me to think of it as burnished.  On me it looks like a pink-toned, white-base orange, almost more of a salmon or coral color. 

OCC Lip Tar in Yaoi.  I'll admit it, I mostly like this one for the name.  Doesn't hurt that it's also a wicked cool color, though.  It's a bright neon fuchsia, and since it's one of their "metallic" shades, it has a silvery shimmer overlay.  It's not really sparkly; the shimmer texture is like the shimmer in a foil nail polish, but it's not reflective or metallic either.  More like a frost. 

Yaoi does bleed and feather on me after a while so I try to remember to carry lipliner with me when I wear it.  I like clear lip liners like Urban Decay Ozone, that way I don't have to try to find a matching color.  I don't seem to have a bleeding problem with Clockwork.

Like all the other Lip Tars, these are insanely pigmented.  If you try to apply one like you'd apply a normal lipgloss, you'll be in for a shock.  You only need a tiny, tiny amount for complete coverage.  I have the best results when applying them with a lip brush, but you can apply straight from the tube if you're careful and don't mind getting your fingers dirty.

These are available directly from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, $18 for a 0.33 oz tube. 

(Sent for review.)