Some New OPI Minis

There is certainly no shortage of new polish launches from OPI. Here are a few photos of the mini-sets offered from OPI's Katy Perry collection ($12.50), and Sephora by OPI's Glee ($24), and Urban Ballerina ($18) collections. Although these sizes are tiny (1/8 fl. oz.), they are a nice way to try out some new colors, especially those you wouldn't normally select or use very often.  (Will try to update with swatches soon!) :)

Not Like the Movies is my favorite from the Katy Perry collection. It's a pretty gunmetal duochrome that flashes purple or olive green depending on the angle of view, but what makes this one special is its gorgeous, super-fine silver sparkles.

The Glee collection is really fun and bright. According to Sephora.com the holo-glitter topcoat Celibacy Club, the shimmery navy blue Sue vs. Shue, and the shimmery coral Express Yourself to Yourself are all mini-kit exclusives.

Look at the beautiful holographic rainbow shimmer of Celibacy Club below. I tried this on today over a wine shimmer I had on and the sparkley-ness when the light hits it is mesmerizing!  

Channel your own inner "Black Swan" ;) with the soft shades of Urban Ballerina. It's hard to tell from these bottle photos but the purple shade has a hint of purple shimmer. The rest are opaque cream shades. I've seen many versions of this type of smoky grey recently in other lines, and the beige nude and pale pink aren't especially unique, but are nevertheless lovely and nice basics to have.

You can see the slight bit of shimmer in the purple below:

~Thanks for stopping by!~

Outfit of the Day and China Glaze Avalanche

Well, so far, one of my themes for 2011 has been to "make the most of what I have." I was organizing my shoe collection over the weekend (yes, long before I became obsessed with makeup, my first love was shoes!). I pulled out a pair of Max Studio faux snakeskin sandals that I bought on clearance over a year ago and still haven't worn (awful, I know). It's because I always go for the more comfy or easier-to-match shoes, and end up wearing the same things over and over... It's just fashion laziness. In fact, I sometimes do the same thing with makeup and reach for the same items day in and day out just because they are close at hand, and not really because they are the best choice. So I promised myself to make an effort to be more creative with my wardrobe and makeup collection and show a little love to those neglected items that have been stashed away.

Below is a look at a quickly thrown-together outfit for daytime, along with some photos of one of China Glaze's older polishes, Avalanche, from the Winter 2007 Ski collection. It's a metallic chrome that is a cross between violet, gunmetal and blue. The formula is a bit thick and does show a lot of brush-stroke marks, which is too bad, because the color is quite pretty. I think it looks especially great with denim, but would also look nice with black, gray or navy.

And, on an unrelated note, NARS Spring 2011 is now available at narscosmetics.com! Currently shipping is free with a $25 purchase. I've been awaiting the new eyeshadow trio Calanque -- it is marked as sold out, but there is a message that more stock is coming soon. I am also looking forward to seeing the polish Desperado, the Hollywoodland shadow pencil, and the Nouveau Monde shadow duo.

Pink lace-trimmed tank and jeans from the Gap, open cardigan by Absolutely (Creative Worldwide) from Nordstrom BP, shoes: Max Studio.

Max Studio "Xian" sandal

Even more bottle photos - this may be overkill, but I can never choose just one! 

 

I like the look of the weathered wood of the picnic table in the photo above.

As I was taking the photo below there were many bees buzzing nearby and I was hoping one of them wouldn't land on me. :)

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone!

Zoya 3-free promotion picks and Spring 2011 Intimate collection

Recently Zoya offered a promotion of three free polishes to their Facebook fans to celebrate hitting a milestone number of fans. I'd like to share some photos of the three shades I picked, along with a look at the beautiful shades in the new Intimate collection, which was released today.

A perfect little bouquet of polish

A sheer, delicate opalescent ballet pink with silver glitter

 

A dramatic plum with lots of eye-catching bronze sparkle

 

A feminine and pretty magenta/gold duochrome

Reece reminded me of Dolce & Gabbana's Rose so I pulled it out for a comparison. They are similar but definitely have some differences. Reece is more of a magenta pink and has a strong greenish-gold duochrome. Rose is a medium rosey-pink with a bronzey-gold shimmer duochrome. 

Kaelyn ~ knotted cable knit scarf by Fossil

And below is a look at the the Spring 2011 Intimate collection color spoons. The more photos I see of this collection, the more I appreciate the beauty of these muted pastel shades and subtle shimmers. These are perfect to transition from winter to spring. Can't wait to try them out! 

Click to make it larger. (Don't they look just a bit like cute little Easter eggs?)

 

Love the iridescent blue shimmer in Gemma, which makes this one very unique. Dove looks like the perfect flattering, neutral gray. I can also see myself getting a lot of use out of Marley and Jules as they are the types of shades that would complement almost any outfit. Caitlin is lovely as well -- I have a few blue-grays, and violet-grays, but nothing quite like this.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

MAC Mega Metal Shadow Peacocky Collection Part II Comparisons

Here are a few comparisons for each of the three shadows I purchased from the Peacocky collection. Hope this is helpful. The colors I've chosen may not be universally flattering, but there are so many other great shades available. See Karlasugar for swatches of all fifteen!

Dandizette

1. Waft from the Tone: Grey quad

2. Dandizette

3. DSquared "B" Greasepaint Stick

4. Industrial Pearlglide Eyeliner

5. Fly-By-Blu Pearlglide Eyeliner

6. Blue Flame Mineralize Eyeshadow

7. Deep Truth

Tweet Me

1. Tweet Me

2. Melon pigment

3. Straw Harvest

4. Style Predator from the Leopard Luxe quad

Spectacle of Yourself

1. Spectacle of Yourself

2. Twinks

3. Sorcery

4. Inter-view Mineralize Eyeshadow

5. Antiqued

6. Rich Life pigment

Sequined corduroy jewelry box from Anthropologie

Have a nice weekend!