Tag: Nicole by OPI
Hustle
Welcome to my last mani of 2021!
I was feeling matchy-matchy, so I wanted to match my nails to my new Stitch Fix dress. How fortuitous that the polish from this month’s ipsy bag is a match?
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and two coats of Complex Culture “Hustle”. “Hustle” is an orange-leaning red and brilliantly glossy. I wanted a little accent, so I used Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter”, followed by Glitter Grabber on my thumbs and ring fingers. I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat, EXCEPT for my pinkies – I wanted to see “Hustle” mattified, so I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
I was taking a risk with “Pick of the Glitter” – blue and rose gold glitter on a red polish – but it turned out fantastic. The little bit of blue is really eye-catching.
The Roaring 20s
The 20s aren’t roaring yet…but I still have hope.
My sister-in-law was in town a few weeks ago and I picked up a few full sheets of Color Street Nail Decals. There were some really cool sets! My favorite is “Drop the Ball” – black and gold chevrons – very 20s Art Deco.
I wanted to mix polish and decals, so I applied the decals to 6 of my fingers – I was able to cover two fingers per decal, by using a thumb size on my thumb and sideways on my pinky (thanks for the idea, Becca). My middle fingernails are always pretty short, so it was easy to cover two nails with one medium decal. These decals lasted a week and looked perfect! The nail polish chipped before the decals.
For the polish, I couldn’t decide on shimmer or glitter, so why not both? The glitter on my index finger is Butter London “Tart with a Heart” and the shimmer on my ring finger is Nicole by OPI “On a Gilt Trip”. This is two coats of each over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I wanted them to be matte to match the Color Street, so I topped with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
Instead of holding a bottle of polish, I decided to showcase a member of my daughter’s Octopi Army – she made it herself!
Joe Exotic Nails
You know I’ve been chomping at the bit to do Joe Exotic Nails – and I finally figured out a way to make it work!
I do NOT have faith in my freehand painting skills anymore, so I’d been hesitant to try painting tiger stripes on my nails. There’s just no way it wouldn’t look shit. But then I remembered the shit ton of Jamberry Nail Wraps that I got years and years ago. I hunted through the piles and found a single White Tiger Strip in a pack of samples that Kimberley had sent me – score!
Once I added the Jamberry to my ring finger, I had to duplicate Joe Exotic’s glitz and glamour. I decided to go with his ICONIC teal lewk, as opposed to his hot pink wedding lewk. I started with Sally Hansen Double Duty for the base coat, and then two coats of Sally Hansen Color Therapy “Reflecting Pool”. I topped with my favorite turquoise and copper glitter, Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter”. I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It turned out AMAZING!
I had forgotten how annoying Jamberry Wraps can be if you don’t cut them exactly perfect. I kept getting the edge stuck in my fucking hair. As badass as my nails looked – I could only stand to wear this look for two days.
Now I wish I had another set of White Tiger Wraps, so I could do Roy Horn Nails…
So Amazon
I’m sure it’s not shocking that one of my nicknames during high school was ‘Amazon’. When I first started hearing it, it was meant pejoratively, started by a few jerky guys. Obviously, little Richard did not do his homework – Amazons are pretty badass!
I’m still feeling the purple, so I decided to recreate the same mani, but with a better purple. The better purple is Sinful Colors “Amazon Woman”, which is just outstanding. I had forgotten that it’s rather matte on it’s own – but of course, I topped with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat for extra matte-ening.
Of course, I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat (which I still cannot find in a store – eek). This is three coats of “Amazon Woman”, again using Nicole by OPI “Rainbow in the Sky-lie” on accent nails. The matte top coat is SO important for a long lasting manicure. Matte polishes are very delicate and chip within minutes it seems. Unless you are planning to paint every day, a matte top coat is absolutely necessary.
For My Work Wife…
I did these purple nails for my work wife – she loves purple!
Easter is coming and the stores are filled with pastels. I decided to mix up my pastels with some glitter. I started with Makeup Revolution “Adore” – two coats over Glisten & Glow Base Coat. The first coat was very streaky, but I got it to smooth out a bit with the second coat. There were weird fibers or hairs in the polish – I couldn’t tell if they were coming from the brush or what. This is the first time I’ve used this polish, so I don’t know what the fuck was going on with it – is hair nail polish a thing in the UK?
I used Nicole by OPI “Rainbow in the S-Kylie” on my accent nails. It’s a very versatile glitter, despite the fact that it is Kardashian-related.
I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat – I wasn’t brave enough to try the matte top coat , the polish is too lumpy. I do like the look quite a bit, although it’s starting to chip.
$12 Latte?!?!?!
Thinking…have I ever spent $12 on a latte? I’m sure I’ve spent at least $7 or $8 in Vegas…and at every airport Starbucks ever. But there aren’t people out there spending $12 on the regular? Are there?
Trust Fund Beauty “$12 Latte” was in last month’s ipsy bag. It’s a deep chocolate brown. I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and then two coats of “$12 Latte”. I decided jazz it up a little with Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter”, one of my favorite glitters. The bronze and turquoise really brings out the chocolatey goodness. I finished with “HK Girl”.
“$12 Latte” was silky smooth – full coverage in two coats, with no streaks. I really like this brown – this will be my goto brown when I’m in a poopy mood.
Southwestern Mermaid
It’s Easter…but I was already sick of pastels, so I just went with something I’d had in mind with a while.
When I first got Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter”, I tried it over a nude. I decided to try it over a turquoise to bring out the turquoise glitter. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I did two thin coats of Sally Hansen “Marine Scene”. “Marine Scene” is one of my older polishes – not quite a decade old, but quite a while, since it’s only half full. My husband really likes this polish and just rolled his eyes at me when I started to put glitter on top of it. HE DOESN’T UNDERSTAND.
I topped with “HK Girl” for a smooth finish.
The turquoise glitter is a bit darker than “Marine Scene”, so it stands out. I like this a lot – it feels very Southwestern Mermaid.
The Vegas Challenge
So…my dear skeptical husband didn’t think I’d be able to last 5 days in Las Vegas without painting my nails. That sounded like a challenge to me!
I’ll admit, I cheated a little bit. I was careful to choose very light polishes that would wear well…but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have had a freak slot machine accident that mangled a nail. I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and then a single coat of RUFFIAN “Sahara”. I then sparkled up with THREE coats of Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter”. THREE. I was hoping for fuller coverage, but it’s not bad. I’m still gonna need a chainsaw to get it off. I finished up with “HK Girl”.
Just in case, though…I took “Pick of the Glitter” with me, in case I needed a touch-up.
Turns out, I didn’t need any touch-ups. Although there is major edge wear – there were no major chips. Actually, the new growth and my cuticles look worse than the tips.
Toodles, I’m going to go look for my chainsaw…
First Ulta Haul of 2016
View this post on Instagram
I didn’t think it would be so soon…but here it is – my first Ulta haul of the year.
I had been using John Frieda Illuminating Shine and I REALLY like they way it makes my newly short hair feel. I noticed it was $3 each on Ulta’s site and went nuts, ordering 3 each of shampoo and conditioner. (IÂ guess it is discontinued now – it’s no longer on Ulta’s site. FUCK.) Isn’t that the way it always goes? You find something you like and them BOOM – it’s gone. Ugh. I also got a John Frieda Gift with Purchase – travel sizes of John Frieda Beach Blonde Cool Dip Purifying Shampoo, Smooth Seas Detangling Conditioner and Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray. Of course, I just cut all the blonde off my hair, but these will be good for summer.
I also picked up Urban Decay Loose Ultra Definition Finishing Powder – I’ve been using the Pressed, but wanted to try this. I also got Biore Baking Soda Liquid Cleanser (is baking soda the new charcoal?) – I tried it last night and it was nice. I had been lusting over Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter” for about a month, after spying it in a Walgreen’s display. It was still on my mind, so I broke down and bought it. (It is every bit as good as I thought it would be.)
My purchase qualified me for the Platinum Skin Beauty Break Gift with $60 Purchase – a little plastic makeup bag with NOICE samples. Inside the bag: Dermablend Professional Setting Powder (Pricey); Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser (going to Vegas with me); StriVectin SD Advanced Intensive Concentrate for Wrinkles & Stretch Marks (Which one should I work on first?); Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive (Leave it to Gwyneth Paltrow to make beauty products in the worst scent imaginable); Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate; Lancome Renergie Lift Multi-Action Lifiting and Firming Moisturizer; Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels; Patchology FlashPath Eye Gels; and Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil. This is the best sample bag I’ve gotten from Ulta, I think!
I didn’t get my Variety Sampler though…Bummer.
$1 Sucker
I was so proud of myself yesterday – I had gone to Big Lots for lunch snacks for my kids and managed to leave without any polishes…although I did dig through the buckets, I showed restraint. My restraint was gone when I stopped by HEB after work for some tasty, fresh tortillas – I passed an endcap labelled “Final Clearance”. I couldn’t resist any longer.
I got Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer “Sugar Cloud” & “Mint Tint” (I’ve tried Sugar Coat, but not Sugar Shimmer), Sally Hansen Triple Shine “Scale Up” (is there such a thing as too many flakies?) and Nicole by Opi “Party Bus” from the Carrie Underwood Collection.
When my husband was unpacking the groceries, he took one look inside the polish bag and groaned, “Really???” Uh oh…I must have crossed some imaginary line…