OPI Muppets Holiday 2011 Collection Part II!!

I FINALLY have the second of three parts of the amazing OPI Muppets Holiday 2011 collection. As some of you probably know, I had a HUGE Irish dancing competition this past weekend, the New England Regional Championships. I have been practicing so much for this event that some of my blogging duties have been ignored. However, I placed 3rd in the whole New England Region and am now qualified to go to the World Championships in Belfast, No. Ireland!! So, thanks for being patient, and on to the swatches!

First up is the lovely Meep-Meep-Meep, a fuchsia shimmer with small iridescent flakies. Meep-Meep-Meep reminds me of a pinker version of holiday 2009's Smitten with Mittens. That's a good thing, because I LOVE Smitten with Mittens. Meep-Meep-Meep has the same tiny little flakies as Smitten with Mittens and they add a very pretty effect to the polish.

I did three coats of Meep-Meep-Meep for the pictures, but it was pretty opaque at just two coats. The formula was lovely, nice and easy to work with!! For me personally, this is not only a festive holiday polish, but a great polish for a little shimmer any time of the year.

Next up is Pepe's Purple Passion. I like this polish in person, but I HATE all of my pictures. Ugh, I don't know what happened. Pepe's Purple Passion is a deep figgy brown/purple with some iridescent flakes and shimmer. The flakes show up more prominently in the bottle than they do on the nail. Indoors, you don't really see them much at all. I like the brown/purple hue of this polish. It's different than other purples I own.

I did two coats of Pepe's Purple Passion and it was perfectly opaque. The formula was good, although I felt there was something a bit off/different about it. Maybe a little thick? It didn't make it difficult to work with though, so I really don't have any complaints about it!

I am having a tough time picking my favorite glitter of this collection. Every time I try a new one, I think it's my favorite LOL. Gone Gonzo is definitely in the running for my favorite. Like Fresh Frog of Bel Air and the other glitters, Gone Gonzo is a mixture of small round glitter and large silver hex pieces of glitter. I like how OPI did basically the same polish in different colors- pink, green, red and now blue. I definitely needed this kind of glitter polish in all of those colors!

I did three coats of Gone Gonzo for these pictures and was very happy with the opacity of this polish. I'd  probably even wear it at just two coats, especially with how short my nails are currently. This was easy to apply and if I didn't like where the hex pieces ended up, I could just push them around the nail a little to move them.

Also in the running for my favorite glitter of this collection is Excuse Moi!! Excuse Moi! is a semi-sheer pink jelly base with small round silver glitter and silver and holo hex glitter. The pink jelly base allows this polish to be fully opaque in just two coats. This is a really cool polish, I LOVE it!!! It reminds me of China Glaze Carnival Lights from the 50 Specialty Glitters collection. I think I like Excuse Moi! better. I'll have to dig that out for a comparison.

This is two coats of Excuse Moi! and I think it's perfect. The formula was lovely, and actually not very difficult to remove either!!

Overall, I still am loving the glitters the best in the OPI Muppets collection. Pepe's Purple Passion and Meep-Meep-Meep are very pretty polishes and both are suitable for those looking for shimmer, rather than full on glitz. However, the stand outs for me so far have been every one of the glitters! The remaining four polishes that I have to swatch are not glitters, so we shall see how I feel about them. I will have those up tomorrow, I need to catch up on my swatching!

The OPI Muppets collection is available now at professional salons, including Ulta, Beauty Brands and Trade Secret.

These polishes were sent to me for review by a PR agent for OPI. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

Continuing with Revlon's awesome streak, we have Revlon Facets of Fuchsia. Facets of Fuchsia is an excellent black jelly polish packed with fuchsia hex glitter and small fuchsia glitter. It is purportedly a Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance dupe, but as I don't own Bad Romance, I can't say for sure!!

Now, I would probably layer this polish over black if I were actually wearing it. As you can see, it's a little translucent in patches, especially by the tips. However, I always like to show you what you are really buying first, before I show a polish layered.

This is three coats of just Revlon Facets of Fuchsia by itself. Application was fine, no problems to speak of. It wasn't difficult to get the glitter on to the nail at all.

Look how pretty it looks up close! Awesome! I need to pick up Blue Mosaic and Starry Pink as well, Revlon is stealing all of my money!!!

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia is available now at a drugstore near you!

Come Tiptoe Through My OPI Nice Stems! Swatches!

OPI Come to Poppy

OK so there aren't any tulips in the OPI Nice Stems! collection, but there are pink peonies, dahlias, and poppies! Nice Stems! is the OPI summer release sparkling into your town with three different pinks and a glittering pink top coat. I was surprised to find myself loving these colors! I'll explain as we go along...

OPI Come to Poppy

OPI Come to Poppy

First up we have the lovely Come to Poppy. Come to Poppy is a shimmering coral pink with excellent pigmentation. I found this to be very nearly opaque in one coat! I did two coats to really bring out the color, but I'm sure my mom will sport this with just one coat. There is so much shimmer in this gorgeous color! Come to Poppy also has a lovely smooth formula and has no brushstroke problem despite the shimmer.

OPI Come to Poppy

OPI Come to Poppy

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

Come to Poppy looks even prettier with two coats of I Lily Love You, the glitter top coat in the collection. I Lily Love You has gorgeous iridescent small glitter, along with large flakes of confetti-like, holo party glitter. I took some of these pictures on a weird angle because I felt you couldn't see the iridescence of the glitter in the straight on pictures. It's really beautiful in person! I think I Lily Love You is best suited for a top coat, as it would take many coats for it to give full coverage. Over the pinks in this collection, it really looks amazing.

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

Next we have Play the Peonies, a bright white micro-shimmer tinged with pink. This polish is an excellent way to wear white in the summer and avoid the streaking and starkness that usually comes with white polish. This also applied very smoothly and streak-free. OPI's formula is really great lately and the Pro-Wide brush is making the application of pale colors like this so easy. I love Play the Peonies alone and will definitely wear it like this in the summer when I have a (fake) tan. This is three coats, but I would probably wear two if I weren't taking pictures.

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies with I Lily Love You

While I love Play the Peonies alone, I think something magical happens when you layer I Lily Love You over it! I Lily Love you has a sheer pink jelly-ish base that adds a cool dose of color to Play the Peonies, not to mention sparkle!

OPI Play the Peonies with OPI I Lily Love You

This look makes me hungry... for birthday cake or something. I think it reminds me of Funfetti! LOL. Yummmmm!! I love everything about this combination!

OPI Play the Peonies with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Play the Peonies with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You?

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You?

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You?

Last, but oh so definitely not least, is Be A Dahlia, Won't You? Be A Dahlia is a super bright fuschia sparkler with a texture kind of similar to Zoya's sparkling metallics. I think the sparkle in this in a bit smoother looking though, it's really nice. This was the sheerest of these three polishes, but it's still pretty opaque in three coats. Great formula again, I just really can't complain about OPI's current formula. Whatever they're doing, they should keep it up!

OPI Be a Dahlia, Won't You?

OPI Be a Dahlia, Won't You?

And of course, this looks FABULOUS under I Lily Love You! I am actually wearing it as a full mani right now, because I couldn't bear to take it off. Be A Dahlia is so bright and sparkly and I Lily Love You looks like a party, so this is a winner for me.

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

One note about I Lily Love You: those large flakie party glitter pieces you see? They come off the brush onto your nail very easily. However, you have to make sure you actually have one or two of them on the brush. Some of the times I dipped the brush into the bottle, it came up without the big pieces, so I had to dip again. Once you have a big piece or two on the brush, you can just apply as usual.

Overall, I like the flower theme of the collection, I like the great formula on all of these polishes, and I love the brightness of Come to Poppy and Be A Dahlia, and the mod feel of Play the Peonies. And I lily love I Lily Love You... I mean, I really love it LOL. I think it'll look cool layered over dark colors and neons too. Even if you're not a huge lover of pink polish, I think you might find at least one color attractive. As an added bonus, I feel like these polishes all made my nails look fantastic- just really healthy and attractive. That's not something I always look for in a polish, but hey, isn't that what nail polish was originally designed to do?

The OPI Nice Stems! collection should be available now or very soon at your local Ulta or Trade Secret store.

These polishes were sent to me for review by a PR agent for OPI. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

Zoya Summertime Part Two! Life's a Breezi... I mean, Breeze!

Zoya Mira

Today I have the second half of the Zoya Summertime collection for you, featuring the beautiful Mira, Breezi, and Areej. I loved the first three Summertime polishes I reviewed (Sooki, Tamsen, and Kieko), but I may like these three even better!

Zoya Mira

First up is Zoya Mira. Zoya's promotional info describes Mira as a "Blue toned medium purple with dusty lavender tones and an opaque cream finish. For a muted yet colorful purple that isn't too dark." Now, I agree that this is a blue-toned medium purple, but I don't really find it to be muted. I think it's actually less muted than some other purple cremes I own. I haven't directly compared them yet, but I think Mira is brighter than China Glaze Grape Pop. It is certainly more flattering on me than Grape Pop.

Zoya Mira

The formula and pigmentation for Mira were excellent again. Just two coats for complete opacity and very smooth application. Some bloggers felt this wasn't the most unique color, but if you were choosing between another brand's purple creme and Zoya Mira, I would pick Mira for the excellent formula and pigmentation. This is another one that I'm sure Mommy Never Enough Nails will wear at one coat! She loves to find good one coat polishes and these Zoya Summertime colors definitely qualify.

Zoya Mira

Zoya Breezi

Ahhhhhhh Zoya Breezi!!! Doesn't this just say SUMMER? You don't know how much my little polish loving heart goes pitter patter for this polish. JUST LOVE. This is a MUST MUST HAVE. Zoya described Breezi as a "Soft, dusty, medium cerulean blue with an opaque cream finish." Cerulean was always my favorite crayon in the Crayola box, by the way. I would say this is not quite the same color as Crayola Cerulean, but it's seriously beautiful and I love it. I think of peacocks when I see this for some reason. I think that first picture above is the best color representation.

Zoya Breezi

Zoya Breezi

Maybe I don't need to continue saying this for the Summertime collection, but awesome formula and pigmentation again!!! If all cremes were this easy to work with, I would be a HUGE fan of cremes. I'm a huge fan of these cremes already, and you know I usually don't like them. I just hate how most cremes are lumpy and hard to work with, but Zoya's Summertime cremes are so thin and smooth, but also ultra-opaque. Two coats for Breezi beautifulness.

Zoya Breezi

Zoya Breezi

Hyacinths blooming

By the way, I wish there was some Smell-o-Vision technology for your computer, because while I was outside photographing these beauties, the most delicious scent was wafting through the air. These very fragrant hyacinths blooming right outside my back door must have been the source of the deliciousness. The pretty smell added to my summer-y experience with the Summertime polishes LOL.

Zoya Areej

Zoya Areej

Last, but certainly not least, is Zoya Areej. In the bottle, Areej was reminding me of another polish, although I can't think of which polish that might be. However, once on the nail, I don't believe I have anything quite like Areej. Zoya described it as "Pink with an opaque cream finish. A pink for when you want a bold pop of color but not something neon-bright." I think this is kind of an average description for such a pretty polish. For one thing, this pink definitely has a good deal of purple to it. It's not just a standard pink cream. The purple added to the pink is what makes me like this polish more than I would like a standard pink cream. Pinks are not so much my thing, but Areej will definitely get a lot of wear time this summer.

Zoya Areej

By now, I think you know what I'm going to say about the formula. Fantastic, super pigmentation. It's official, all 6 polishes in the Zoya Summertime collection are super-pigmented and super smooth to apply. My mom will have plenty of one-coaters to get her through the summer LOL. I would probably be OK with wearing some of these at one coat when I don't have time for a full mani.

Zoya Areej

All in all, these three receive a 10/10 from me as well. So the whole Summertime collection gets 10/10! I am rating these based on the excellent color saturation, ease of use, and smooth application. I don't rate collections based on colors because I find that to be a very personal thing. Personally, I love these colors, and think that they are different from others that I already own. Plus, I would buy these over any other brand because they are (say it with me now) pigmented and smooth! (I wonder how many times I said "pigmented" in these two posts?).

I was thinking of comparing Breezi with China Glaze Shower Together (although Shower Together is darker and not the same color) and Mira with Grape Pop. Does anyone want to see these comparisons, and are there any other comparisons you'd like to see?

The Zoya Summertime collection is available now online at Zoya.

The polishes in this post were sent to me by a PR agent for Art of Beauty. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.