OPI SoftShades 2013 - Oz The Great And Powerful Collection

Here is O.P.I's annual SoftShades collection for 2013. It is inspired by the Disney movie, Oz The Great And Powerful and features 3 sheer neutrals, 3 glitters and 1 new Liquid Sand polish.

I've got the mini set which contains: Don't Burst My Bubble (milky creme), Glints of Glinda (milky creme), I Theodora You (milky creme) and What Wizardry is This? (new Liquid Sand).

All swatches are without topcoat.

Don't Burst My Bubble: An elegant pale pinky white polish. It's a very wearable colour that gives off a simple, elegant look. A nice clean look.

This is 4 coats, which is where I felt it was opaque enough, but I noticed 2 coats was good for just a sheer wash of colour. The first coat was a bit patchy but the second leveled it out. The formula was a tad thicker, but still easy to work with. Dry time was average, especially for that amount of coats and it dried to a high gloss finish.

Glints of Glinda: A soft neutral colour verging on tan/sandy toned. Again, like Don't Burst My Bubble, it is a very wearable colour and has a simple clean look about it.

I did 4 coats here but could probably have gotten away with just 3. Again, I noticed 2 coats was good for just a sheer wash of colour. Formula wise, it was pretty much the same as Don't Burst My Bubble. The first coat was a bit patchy but the second leveled it out. The formula was a tad thick, but still easy to work with. Dry time was average, especially for that amount of coats and it dried to a high gloss finish.

I Theodora You: A sweet baby pink polish that is elegant at the same time. Great if you want a subtle hint of pink but not full on candy coloured nails.

This one had the best formula of the 3 cremes, it was practically faultless. I did three thin coats but again, two would have been fine for a subtle wash of colour. The first coat was slightly patchy but hardly noticeable at all. Dried to a lovely high gloss finish.

What Wizardry is This?: A taupe brown shade with fine gold shimmer running through it. Features a dark olive base with flecks of gold bronze and brown. It reminds me of tarnished/antiqued gold, but truthfully I'm not too sure about the colour.

The formula was pretty good, not to thin and not too thick. At two coats I thought it was acceptable but I did three just to make it totally opaque. I'd say it requires at least 10 minutes drying time in between coats though because when I touched a nail after 5 minutes it smudged, so it definitely needs quite a long drying period. It dried to a VERY fine texture and actually a lot smoother than I was expecting. Also, it does take quite a while before it goes totally matte.

2 thickish coats of topcoat totally eliminates the texture and makes the gold shimmer really shine through. Removal was actually pretty easy, no severe scrubbing required!

Here's a quick shot of the polishes in this mini set:

Overall, I LOVE all three cremes in this collection! They are all totally wearable and just so beautiful! If I had to pick, my ultimate favourite would be Don't Burst My Bubble, because of the amazingly clean look it gives. 

Kiko 645 Burgundy

Texture polish is EVERYWHERE right now. And although O.P.I. started the trend, I wasn't hugely blown away by them. And the new Barry M's didn't impress me at all so I started to think textured nails couldn't look all that good. But after popping into the Kiko store and spying there new Sugar Mat polishes I snapped some up right away!

And the first one I've worn is Kiko 645. I wore it on my nails on Saturday for a fashion show I was in with my friends from my old dance class.

And ahhh I love it! Its basically a pinky toned burgundy coloured polish with gorgeous duochrome sparkles that dries to a textured matte finish.

This is two thin coats and application is actually really good for what is basically a really dense glitter polish. It dried fully within 10 minutes and removal was actually surprisingly easy!

I didn't try it with topcoat but if it looks like what it looks like when its wet then I think that'll look gorgeous too.

And here's a quick collage of some photos from the fashion show :)

China Glaze Midtown Magic

First of all, sorry for the lack of posts. Its been a hard week. Anyway, I'm not gonna go on about it...

Ok so here's a confession. I admit it. I am a scaredy cat! I've just got home from a movie marathon sleepover and oh-my-god, nothing will ever be the same again! I just CAN'T cope with scary movies!! I am now terrified of just about everything. Great.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, onto the polish. Since it was a sleepover I was going to, I thought a midnight themed polish would be suitable. This is China Glaze Midtown Magic.

Its is a burgandy/chocolate/wine (i couldn't decide) base with gold and copper flecks in it. The shimmer is far more obvious in the bottle than on the nail but I, for once, actually like it because it reminds me of a starry night.. You know, when you have to stare up at the sky for a bit before you see the stars.

This is GORGEOUS! Two coats is plenty, you can leave it at one if you want a lighter base but it can occasionally get patchy.

Its sort of a vampy kind of colour because the base can be mistaken for black if you don't look properly. But if you do, you would see all the pretty gold and copper and occasionally red sparkles and that is what makes me think it would make a good autumn colour!

Another thing that i love about this polish is that in the sun it glows from within! Like seriously, the center of my nails remind me of a crackling fire. The one gripe i have with this one is that it takes aageees to dry! :( Thank god for quick dry spray!

Blurry pic to show of the sparklyness!

I'll be back on Tuesday with a Halloween post, I promise! x