October 20, 2013

OPI Take Ten Holiday Minis Gift Set!

 *Sent for review*

Among OPI's holiday gift options is this cute little set of ten mini polishes. All 10 polishes are beloved OPI colors, ranging from older classics to newer favorites. The cool thing that I really like about this set is that you can give the whole set of 10 polishes to someone, or divide up into two sets of 5. Here's what the sets looks like divided-


This classy neutral set contains OPI Pirouette My Whistle, Alpine Snow, Bubble Bath, Tickle My France-y, and You Don't Know Jacques!


This set of holidays reds ranging from bright to dark contains OPI Cajun Shrimp, Big Apple Red, German-icure by OPI, Malaga Wine, and Lincoln Park After Dark.


First up we have OPI Alpine Snow, a favorite of mine for nail art. I have been through of couple of bottles of this over the years and it is still my go-to white creme. It's a nice bright white, kind of stark-looking, but I like that sometimes for a certain look.


This is three coats of Alpine Snow. Two coats is mostly opaque, but I usually use a third to even out any streaks. The mini version was maybe a tad streakier than the full size, due to the smaller brush.



OPI Bubble Bath is a classic OPI pale pink sheer. I believe it's one of their most popular shades. It probably looks better if you don't have green stains on your pinky nail, LOL! I see why this is a favorite of those who like wearing sheer polish, it's a pretty flattering pink-white shade.


This is three coats of Bubble Bath. I had absolutely no trouble with streaks, this applied nice and evenly.



Next up is OPI Pirouette My Whistle, a more recent OPI favorite. Pirouette My Whistle is a cool mix of white satin hex glitter and teeny silver sparkles in a clear base. This is a nice subtle looking glitter that adds dimension without adding a lot of grit to your mani and removes pretty easily.


This is one coat of Pirouette over Bubble Bath. It applies really nicely, although you may occasionally have to fish around for the white satin hexes. 



OPI Tickle My France-y is new to me, I have never tried this one! It's a nice pale mushroom-y creme, very neutral and work appropriate. It leans a little pink too, rather than brown, so I'd imagine it's very flattering on a wide variety of skin tones.


This is three coats of Tickle My France-y and I still had some VNL. I thought this was more opaque, based on swatches I've seen. I am not crazy about this color with VNL, but maybe with four coats it would be better. It had a good formula, not real problems.



My favorite of the neutral set is OPI You Don't Know Jacques!. Shockingly, I do not own this already! Why?? I've been missing out on this hunk of taupe-y creme goodness! Jacques has that little tinge of purple that makes it a little more exciting than straight taupe. It also happens to be super flattering on me, so I'm going to need a full size bottle.


This is two coats of Jacques and the formula was excellent! Even with the mini brush I had no difficulties applying this.



OPI Cajun Shrimp is another polish I don't own, but now need a full size bottle! Cajun Shrimp is a bright coral-y red creme. It actually leans a bit on the crelly side, in between and creme and a jelly. It's squishier than a standard creme.


This is three coats of Cajun Shrimp. I still had some VNL at two coats, so I went with a third. The formula was lovely though, more gel-like than standard cremes as well.



OPI Big Apple Red is another classic OPI that has been popular for years and years. It is a real true red creme. It's bright and sassy, but also classic. It doesn't lean too blue or orange, just nicely red.


This is three coats of Big Apple Red, again, I had some VNL at two coats. Nice formula, maybe a hair on the thin side, but not bad.



OPI German-icure by OPI is a favorite of mine in OPI's recent history. It's a gorgeous vampy red-brown shimmer. OPI really does vampy shimmers so well! It looks like it's glowing in the sun and it's not so dark in low light that it looks black. This reminds me, I need to wear this again soon!


This is three coats of German-icure. For such a dark color, the first coat is so sheer, I always use three coats for this. But it's worth it! Great formula on this too!



OPI Malaga Wine is a nice purple tinged red creme, maybe almost crelly. I wouldn't really call this wine, it definitely says more berry to me. Another very popular OPI color.


This is three coats of Malaga Wine. It had a similar formula to Cajun Shrimp in that it felt a little gel-like. I always find that very easy to work with and control near the cuticle.



And finally, we have another extremely popular OPI shade that I don't own- OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. I know, I know- coming from someone who claims to love vampy polish, this is like heresy. But for some reason, I always felt that I had something similar in my collection. Now that I see it in person, I don't actually have anything like this. Other deep vampy cremes in my collection are too black, too brown, or even too red. Lincoln Park is really a deep dark purple and I really love that!


This is two easy coats of Lincoln Park and the formula was a dream.

*Sent for review*

Overall, I think this set would be an amazing gift for that friend who's just getting into polish, or the one who keeps stealing your polish and won't buy her own. A seasoned nail polish hoarder collector may own several of these already, but check your stash. I personally did not own 7 out of 10 of these, making it a very worthwhile addition to my stash.

Take Ten is available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com. Take Ten retails for $24.95 ($29.95 CAN).

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