OPI 'Who the Shrek are You'

This has to be my fav from OPI's Shrek Collection, which was released this past spring. I adore greens and I've had my eye on this baby during my no buy. It was so hard to stay strong when I saw this lovely shade of green...

Who the Shrek Are You

Typical OPI creme formula, this was opaque in two coats. Such a gorgeous shade of lime green with a touch of brown.  OPI really nailed this color, it really is the color of Shrek! A color I would have never imagined would look good on my nails! LOL! But I'm absolutely in L-O-V-E!! I've been wearing it for the last two weeks (off and on of course).

Essie Resort Collection

I know I am late on this collection but it was released during my self-imposed 'no-buy'. But I had my eye on this collection since and I knew I wanted all the colors. So I just bought the mini box set last week and had a chance to swatch them this weekend...I'm so in love with ALL the colors! I feel as though Essie should have went with this collection as their featured summer collection. Maybe they could have just expanded on the Resort Theme and added two more colors. The other summer collection is so random and none of the colors really stand out, I wasn't impressed with it. But I was very impressed with this collection...I also find that I am starting to have a love/hate relationship with Essie's formula. Sometimes it can be a bit sheer and it takes three to four coats to reach the opaqueness that I like. However, this collection surprised me as all four colors were opaque in two coats and VERY pigmented!

Lapis of Luxury

Splash of Grenadine

Turquoise & Caicos

Playa del Platinum

This is actually my fav of the collection, sometimes it's the simplest colors that take my breath away. I'm having a love affair with taupes and 'greiges', as you may already know from my many posts on the greige trend, LOL...Love it!

It's like Butter baby Pt. 2

This color is by Butter London and is called Vintage Rose, I believe. The label fell off at the bottom so I'm not 100% sure that is the name. But I think that's what I remember, lol...I could be just totally making that up though. Oh well, I like that name for this color... *shrugs*....Anyway whatever the name, it's a gorgeous dusty rose/mauve color that I think will work well on many different skin tones. The application is very smooth and this color was opaque in two coats...

Butter London polishes retail for $14 and you can purchase them on their website www.butterlondon.com or www.beauty.com. But you may be able to find them a bit cheaper on amazon.com OR wait for Haute Look to have another sale of these babies, that's when I got mine I few months back...

This was the collection that started it all...

Last summer I was flipping through my latest issue of InStyle when I came across the ad for the Summer 2009 Mermaid in the Shade Collection by Sephora by OPI. I was immediately mesmerized and needless to say, it was THIS collection that started my obsession for nail polish...I LOVE blues and greens!! Below are the three colors that I almost immediately ran out to get from the collection...by the end of the summer I had the entire collection but I these are definitely my three favs! They have become my 'go-to' colors for the summer months!

Ocean Love Potion

Such a beautiful sea-foam green! Just lovely! It's actually about a shade darker than this is normal light...I wore this on my toes a lot last summer and I even got my manicurist to paint little yellow flowers on my big toes several times. It was really cute, wish I was blogging back then so I could've taken some pics. I'll have to get it done again...the formula on all of these is great. They are all opaque in two coats and go on very smooth.

Blue Grotto

These pics do this color no justice. It is the prettiest shade of deep dark blue, with just a hint of purple. It truly does remind me of the deep, dark, depths of the ocean. I used to get little white flowers on this color on my big toes, it was so sailor-chic with the dark blue and white. I think I'm going to take this color to my next salon pedicure! Who says you can't wear dark shades in the summer!?

Mermaid to Order

A stunning Blue-Green shimmer...the perfect color for a beach trip or tropical getaway! I didn't wear this color at all last summer...shame on me! I'm going to wear it tomorrow, I forgot how pretty it was! LOL!

The PolishFreak Look Book Series...

Featuring American Apparel Manila...

Chanel Iman...Ft. AmerApparel Manila by PolishFreak

Bright, Bold and....

BLUE! Another fun color for summer, a really pretty, pigmented blue creme...

Blue Streak

I've been trying to put my finger on what this color reminds me of but I can't seem to. It's just blue...maybe crayola blue?? LOL, I don't know. I know I like it! I've been trying to add some fun colors to my collection, so this definitely fits in that category! Great formula, opaque in two coats...So, what are some fun, pigmented cremes you guys have in your collections?

The PolishFreak LookBook Series: Day Party

Featuring American Apparel Manila...

Day Party by PolishFreak 

I LOVE GREEN

So I ran into Ulta the other day and their Salon Formula polishes were on Sale so I snagged a few. This green was the first one I picked up, my eyes were immediately drawn to it. It's something about Spring and Summer that make me want to try FUN colors! And this is definitely one of them...

LIMELIGHT




Application was a bit streaky after two coats but was fully opaque after three. I love this lime green color! I like it because its not too bright, but very warm. I have a few staples in my wardrobe that are this color so I had to add this color to my polish collection.

Ginger+Liz Haul...

From GingerandLiz.com: The Ginger + Liz Colour Collection™ is the new buzzworthy brand of beauty products created by model/author S. Liz Pickett and entrepreneur H. Ginger Johnson. Ginger and Liz have a decade of individually unique experiences in the fashion, beauty, and marketing industries that coupled with their insatiable love for fashion and beauty led to the development of the Ginger + Liz Colour Collection™.

I discovered this brand during NYFW, as it was one of the featured polish brands that many designers choose for their models to rock down the runway....So I decided to see for myself what the buzz was all about...Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed.


Swagger...


A gorgeous metallic/foil dusty rose color. Forget Minx, hello Swagger!! This baby applies like a dream and opaque in two coats! 


Gray Area

Sorry, this one is a little blurry, still trying to get used to my light tent. But you can still see the color. This is the perfect "Greige" for the season. It looks grey in the bottle but has taupey-beige undertones on the nail. This polish is a matte (or wax coat as they call it), below is without the top coat...

BoyToy


I really love this color. It's slightly different from all the other minty-blue cremes out there being that it has a soft shimmer to it. Of course my camera couldn't capture it but the shimmer just sets this color off even more!


Hold the Drama


The purple I've been dreaming about. That perfect shade of eggplant, not too dark that it looks black once it dries. LOVE IT!!


Overall the formula and quality of these polishes is excellent. They all applied opaque in two coats, except for Boy Toy, I applied three for that one...I wore Boy Toy last week for about five days with NO CHIPPING! These are organic and three free (No toluene, formaldehyde, or DBP) and I really love the brushes on these as well. They make application smooth and easy! I have two more, Trance and Tough Luxe, that I am going to post soon. Can't wait for you guys to see those, I've saved my two favs for last!! ;)

You can purchase these polishes at GINGER+LIZ.com. They retail for $12.

I'm back in business!!! Orly Prince Charming...

Hola PolishFreak readers! I'm back in business! I needed to take a little break I had some issues going on in my personal life that needed to be handled and now that that is all squared away I can get back to doing what I love...blogging about nail polish!! As you can imagine I have a ton of polishes that I need to share with you all because even though I haven't been blogging, I've still be buying away!! LOL! I even bought a light box/tent, which should help significantly with getting posts done because I don't have to depend on the sun...So anyway, over the last few weeks I had been on the prowl for the most perfect chocolate creme polish and during one of my Sally's runs I found this baby, Orly Prince Charming....

This was the last color I swatched against the sun...I really am loving this color against my skin tone. I'm really into browns and taupes right now and I think this is the perfect combo of the two. When you first look at it in the bottle it appears to be a chocolatey-brown creme but after seeing it on the nail, you can see the grey undertones of the color. My only complaint about the polish is the formula, I've found that Orly polishes can be kinda watery. However this still applied pretty evenly and was opaque in about three coats... LOVE! So what are you guys favorite taupes and browns??

OPI Jade is the New Black

So I've been really into greens lately and I believe this color is the reason why. I swatched this color a few weeks ago and since then I've been buying green polishes like crazy!! But none have lived up to this shade yet...I'm so in love with this pretty shade of green, just take a look for yourself...

 

  

One word comes to mind, CHIC! Sometimes green nail polish can seem less than sophisticated. But OPI hit the nail on the head with this one. This color evokes sophistication and confidence! This is such an awesome shade of green because it will look great year round. It has subtle undertones of yellow which makes it a shade somewhere between forest green and teal. Love it!! Like most OPI cremes it applies easily and is opaque in two coats.

Sidenote: Sorry I haven't been posting as frequently lately, school has been kicking my ass this semester! But spring break is coming up and I will be a posting monster that week!! Can't wait to graduate in May so I can focus on things that I want and love to do, in my free time! Also I have been working on a new angle for this blog, as I love nail polish and fashion so I have something in store that I think you're going to love! Stay tuned for that...

OPI Hong Kong....Dim Sum Plum

Here's another from the OPI Hong Kong Collection, Dim Sum Plum...I wouldn't necessarily describe this as a plum, but it is a gorgeous shade of pink/magenta...

 

 

Remaining true to OPI's winning formula, this is a lovely creme that applied opaque in two coats...I really love this shade, after exploring other swatches on different skin tones, I feel that this color is a universal shade. In my opinion, it's one of those shades that compliments all skin tones.

China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le...Shhhhhhhhhh

So I've been getting into blues lately...I think I have the winter blues, wishing it were summer already! Or it could be that they're in the same family as purples so naturally I would lean towards them...whatever the case, I'm falling for them and falling hard!! On my most recent Sally's run, I picked up a few China Glaze polishes and this blue baby was one of them...

 

  

Hellloooo Peri-wink-le!!!!! Oh right, it's a Secret! Ssssshhhhh! LOL, I know I'm corny, but I thought the name was really cute...anyway, as you can see it dries slightly darker than it is in the bottle, but nevertheless still a gorgeous shade of blue. Almost the shade of the sky, but slightly darker. This was opaque in two coats and applied like butter, a wonderful China Glaze creme...all these lovely, warm shades are making me long for summer!!

OPI Hong KONG...Suzi Says Feng Shui

I'm beginning to fall in love with blues and this is why...

Suzi Says Feng Shui 

 

  

Ahhh! The most gorgeous shade of blue!! Opaque in two coats, typical OPI creme formula....I really can't wait til summer, I'm so sick of the cold weather. Plus I can't wait to rock this color on my toes this summer!!

Valentine's Mani...China Glaze Seduce Me

Ok I know I am a day late, but my camera died on me yesterday so I had to wait until today to get batteries and upload my pics from yesterdays swatch-fest...

So I wasn't even going to do a Valentine's Day Mani or even wear a polish that remotely paid homage to the day because its such a Hallmark Holiday created so that card, candy and flower retailers can make money...But I was going through my collection to find colors I hadn't swatched yet and my eyes fell on this baby...

China Glaze SEDUCE ME

 

 

The camera doesn't even capture the depth of this color. It is a VERY pigmented RASPBERRY red creme. Meaning, it's a red with strong pink undertones to it. It was love at first sight. The formula was great, opaque in two coats. 

I'm actually kind of mad that my camera didn't really capture this color because it's not this red in real life. The pink undertones are very visible...oh well *shrugs* I'm saving up for a new camera now, any suggestions??

Love & Beauty...Forever 21 Nail Polish

It seems like a lot of clothing retailers are stepping into the cosmetics arena, and that's fine with me! Forever 21 has a line of nail polishes now also. These polishes retail for $2.50 and I must say the formula on them was great!! After my trial of Urban Outfitter polishes, I was pleasantly surprised by this brand, entitled Love & Beauty...

Love & Beauty "Orchid"

 

  

A beautiful Lavender Shimmer. I wanna call this a shimmer-creme-metallic, LOL, I don't know...It consists of really fine lavender and silver glitters; but the application was so great, it went on like a creme. It applies on the nail like the China Glaze Khrome polishes....It was really sunny when I swatched these so the sun really picked up on the silver micro glitter, but its actually more of a lavender color indoors and in a softer light. This was opaque in two coats...it kind of reminds me of China Glaze Sci-Fi a little bit, especially in the sunlight.

Love & Beauty "Jade"

 

I really love this color!! It's really close to OPI's Jade is the New Black, but not quite as dark and it has more of a yellow undertone to it while Jade is the New Black has more of a blue undertone. For the price, it has a pretty good creme formula. It was opaque in two coats, but I added a third because I have become a chronic three coater!! LOL...Overall, great job Forever21...there's nothing better than cheap, good quality nail polish! Forever21 Nail Polishes can be found on their website or in stores. Though the website seems to have more color selection than the actual stores, however it may be different at your local Forever21 store.

I also discovered, while working on this post, in honor of Valentine's Day Forever21 has released the Romantic Lingerie Collection...go head Forever21, already releasing collections!! :)  ....My eye is on the Grey, Mauve and Baby Pink, what about you?

Grey

 

 Pink

 

Mauve

Purple (which isn't so purple...)

  

Teal

Baby Pink