Nicole by OPI That's What I Mint

Hi everyone! Today I have a polish from Nicole by OPI's Gumdrops Collection which is their take on textured polishes. I had to pick up a few things at CVS when I was out of town a few weeks ago and That's What I Mint caught my eye. I had seen a few reviews of the Gumdrops collection, but for some reason I don't remember ever seeing this one before.

That's What I Mint is a medium blue textured polish with gold glitter sprinkled throughout. It reminds me somewhat of a lighter (more teal leaning) OPI Absolutely Alice, but textured of course. I really love it! It was stunning in person (and that was hard to capture in pictures...especially how stunning it was with topcoat). Formula was great with full coverage at 2 coats. The oddest thing about this polish is the name since it is blue, not a minty green. I'm a bit puzzled by that really.

 

 

 

 

Here it is with topcoat. Much more awesome in real life. 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm glad that I'm fully embracing wearing textured polishes in their textured form, but I still love to topcoat them! Thanks for looking everyone!

Mani Backlog Spam

While exploring my Photobucket, I found lots of unposted manis from throughout the year. Gah...how did I miss all of these?

Femme Fatale Abyssal Reflections (over American Apparel Malibu Green)

HARE Polish Golden Years (over either teal or blue...I can't remember)

Pahlish Eleven Pipers Piping. 

Lynnderella Very Pretty Vampire over BB Couture Dragon's Breath 

BB Couture Dragon's Breath

Ninja Polish Ambrosia

Elevation Polish Haba Xueshan over OPI Fly

Elevation Polish Huangshan over Finger Paints Pop Art Purple

Color Club Miss Bliss

Layla Purple Illusion

Nicole by OPI Kendell on the Katwalk over Zoya Ibiza

Color Club Eternal Beauty

HARE Polish Oceans of Alloys (over Contrary Polish Sky)

Contrary Polish Sky

Cult Nails Let Me Fly

Color Club Harp On It

Whew...that was way more than I thought! Thanks for looking!

Purple Shimmer Sunday: Illamasqua Poke

Hi everyone! For the second edition of Purple Shimmer Sunday, I have a polish that I've had for probably almost 2 years untried. I got Illamasqua Poke when I first started my polish collection and it have sort of forgotten about it. I even considered selling it once. It is SO PRETTY though. And also a beast to photograph. It has a reddish purple base, but it wants to lean really blue in photographs. I swear it has some sort of neon pigment in it. It has a fabulous silver shimmer with hints of blue throughout the base. This is 2 coats of Illamasqua Poke.

*Most color accurate pic...it leans more red like this*

After I wore Poke alone for a day, I added a cute blue/purple fine glitter topper from Nicole by OPI called Gone Wishin' (that was a gift from my pal Moxie over at Pied Polish Piper). I thought this worked really well together.

So all in all I love both of these polishes that have been untried for ages. It is fun to dig around and find treasures in my stash. Be sure to check out what Kristy has in store over at The Polish Haven for all of your purple shimmer needs on Purple Shimmer Sunday! Also check out Kathy over at Pied Polish Piper as she is joining in on the purple shimmer fun now as well. Thanks for looking!

Advent Calendar Challenge Day 1: Red (a few of them)

Hi everyone! I actually have a few reds to show you today. I have been wearing them over the past few days and saving them for this post!

First up is Butter London Knees Up. This is a fabulous metallic red. If you don't have it...go get it. It is perfection.

 

 

Then I layered on 1 coat of CrowsToes Holly and Hellfire. This polish has lots of red and silver, with even a few lighter red/pinks thrown in to break it up (and also some holo glitters). It was so sparkly it was giving my camera issues. Haha!

 

 

 

 

 

Next I did a mani with Layla Ceramic Effect #53. These polishes are now available at Ulta so I couldn't resist picking up a few. This is a red/orange/green flakie in a red jelly. It reminds me of a redder (less berry) version of Barielle Elle's Spell. I will say that the flash of the flakies isn't as strong in the Layla, however it could be due to the denser red base color. It would have built up nicely on its own, but I layered one coat over China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I have a gorgeous Nicole by OPI from last Christmas called Orna-ment for Each Other. This was a Target exclusive I believe, but I actually found it this summer at TJ Maxx on clearance. It is a fine red glitter with gold mixed in. It is really an underrated polish. It reminds me of a red version of OPI Absolutely Alice. This is 1 coat over Zoya Jade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So everyone if you want to join in...feel free to participate in the challenge! Thanks for looking!