Zoya ModMattes Collection

   Matte polish can be lifesaver if you're in a hurry and need a mani change.  They dry super quick on their own and don't need top coat.  But, they have their downsides too.  Because you don't tend to wear top coat, the polish does not last as long.  And any flaws or ridges in your nails will show/be accentuated.  A light buffing before application can fix this however.

   This summer Zoya has brought us a Limited Edition collection of 3 neon matte shades.  Phoebe- a vibrant blue with sublte hidden shimmer, Lolly- a hot pink, and Mitzi- a yellowish lime green.  Pigmentation was good for the collection.  All 3 only needed 2 coats for full opacity.  I recommend waiting a few minutes between coats.  With Phoebe and Lolly I experienced some cuticle drag when I applied the second coat, but I waited longer with Mitzi and it was less of an issue.  I also waited longer between applying base coat and the first coat of color.  For my base coat I used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base.  The top coat I used for comparison shots is Barielle Manicure Extender.

Phoebe

Direct Sun

Indoor

  Phoebe is my favorite of the group.  You can't really see the shimmer in matte form, but it does give the polish a softer feel.  Now see the difference with top coat on my index and ring finger:

Lolly

Direct Sun

Indoor

   See how noticeable the ridges in my nails are in the indoor shot.  That's what I meant by mattes showing every flaw.  I think the top coat helps hide the ridges and other flaws, which is always good in my book.

Mitzi

Direct Sun

Indoor

   Mitzi probably has the flattest finish on its own of the three.  See what a difference top coat makes with this one:

   ModMattes are available individually or in a 3 pack set of mini polishes, which are what I have.  One word of warning though, when I removed Phoebe, which I wore over night, I noticed some blue staining to my nails.  I have a feeling this could be an issue with the other two as well.  So I recommend doubling up on your base coat with these.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were sent to me by the company for consideration.

MUPPETS! OPI Announces Holiday Collection.

   And did I mention MUPPETS?!?  As you might be able to tell, I'm just a little excited about the OPI Holiday collection this year.  I am a BIG Muppets fan and can't wait for the new movie in November.  Plus I really like Jason Segel who wrote the movie as well as starring in it.  I've watched The Muppet Show, Muppet Babies, Muppets Tonight, and all the movies since I was a little kid.  I even used to walk around the house imitating Miss Piggy when I was really young. 

   Please enjoy the following press release and promotional pictures:

Sending “Warm & Fozzie” Wishes from OPI!

OPI Celebrates Disney’s “The Muppets” with Holiday
Lacquers Inspired by Walt Disney Pictures’ New Film

This holiday season, OPI pays homage to America’s favorite Muppet friends as they hit the big screen in Disney’s The Muppets.  With an all-star cast including Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Kermit, Miss Piggy and the entire Muppet crew, the family comedy opens in theaters nationwide on November 23, 2011. 

Inspired by the film’s namesake lively and colorful characters, OPI launches twelve limited-edition Nail Lacquers for Holiday 2011. “OPI is so excited to work with Disney to celebrate this long-awaited movie release,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director.  “Not only do The Muppets characters inspire fun, bright and joyful colors, the fashionable Miss Piggy lends her name to three high-shine pink-based hues, ranging from bold red flecked with silver to a multi-dimensional strawberry shade.”

This line features six shimmery reds and neutrals, as well as six glitter-packed shades, including:

Animal-istic
This wild bright red cannot be tamed!

Meep-Meep-Meep
Missing out on this fuchsia would make you weep, weep, weep!

Wocka Wocka!
The popular deep berry makes everything fun and merry!

Pepe’s Purple Passion
This deep, decadent shade is the best purple ever, okay!

Designer, de Better!
And this light metallic bronze is ready for the runway.

Warm & Fozzie
A feel-good shade of metallic copper.

Rainbow Connection
The rainbow glitter of your dreams.

Excuse Moi!
Ahem! This pink glitter has something to say!

Gone Gonzo!
The aqua-blue glitter is taking over the world!

Fresh Frog of Bel Air
A glitter that prefers the greener things in life.

Divine Swine
The finest, most fabulous magenta glitter ever.

Gettin’ Miss Piggy With It!
Red glittery fun for everyone!

Lacquer packed with micas and sparkle gives a 3-dimensional textured look that makes nails look like jewelry. With shades ranging from textured glitters in rainbow, red, green and blue to softer shimmers in copper and bronze metallic hues, these twelve colors provide the perfect accessory for the holiday season.

As with all OPI nail lacquers, these shades inspired by Disney’s The Muppets contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

This limited edition promotion will be available beginning November 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for  $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

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ABOUT OPI

As the world leader in the professional nail care industry, OPI is committed to providing high-quality products and services to both salons and their customers, along with a focus on industry safety and innovation. Known for its exceptional formula, fashionable colors and iconic names, OPI’s heavily-pigmented lacquers are super rich, long-lasting and chip-resistant – offering an affordable luxury to consumers. OPI nail lacquer is available in over 200 shades and contains no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Each lacquer features OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Currently, OPI is available in over 100 countries and retails a full line of professional items, including nail treatments, finishing products, lotions, manicure/pedicure products, files, tools, gels and acrylics.

ABOUT THE MOVIE

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. With secret, signature, celebrity cameos, Disney’s “The Muppets” hits the big screen Nov. 23, 2011.  

   So what do you ladies think?  The glitters have potential from the promo pics and based on last Holiday's Burlesque glitters and the Alice in Wonderland two, these should be really good.  I do think they've gone a bit heavy on the reds and berries even for a Holiday collection, but those are what OPI is known for.  Which colors look the best to you and which do you think you'll pass on?  I'll most likely wind up with all of them simply for the Muppet connection.  

OPI and Serena Williams Glam Slam! US Press Release

   Please enjoy the following press release for the final set from the Serena Williams Glam Slam! collections.  This final set is already showing up in stores so keep your eyes out for it.

Grandstand Finale!

OPI Launches Sizzling Shades with Serena
Williams’ Glam Slam! Series in Anticipation of
Upcoming New York Tournament

OPI and tennis superstar Serena Williams announce the two final lacquers in the 2011 Glam Slam! promotion, timed in conjunction with the upcoming NewYork tournament. Glam Slam! U.S. features a duo-pack with two high-shine shades:

shimmering red, Love is a Racket

and glittering bronze, Pros & Bronze.

“OPI and Serena return to our home country for the final launch with two bright, feminine lacquers,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “Packed with red and gold micas for intense luster, the Glam Slam! series finishes with two classic, glamorous colors.”
“Whether worn alone or with Pros & Bronze layered over Love is a Racket for a golden glow, these two shades have rich hues that are perfect for transitioning fromSerena Williams has received the World Number One in singles ranking by theWomen’s Tennis Association on five separate occasions, along with being listed as sixthon the all-time greatest champions list. Additionally, she has won two Olympic goldmedals in women’s doubles and has earned 27 Grand Slam titles to date. Serena is themost recent player to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman in history to do so.
New shades in the Glam Slam! promotion are introduced to coincide with each of the four major tournaments, including the upcoming New York tournament in August 2011. As with all OPI Nail Lacquers, Glam Slam! shades contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and each includes OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

Glam Slam! U.S. will be available beginning August 2011 at Professional

Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure

Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $14.95 ($20.95 CAN) suggested retail for

each duo-pack.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI

on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

OPI Silver Shatter

   I have a confession to make.  I am a glitter polish addict.  I love looking at my nails and seeing them sparkle in the light.  I've been known to get a bit distracted while in the car from looking at my nails.  Usually while I'm riding, not driving so no worries.  OPI has brought out a Shatter top coat that feeds this addiction with their Silver Shatter.  It adds sparkle and shine to any polish.  And is a great way to hide minor chips and tip wear when you don't have time for a full mani change.

   I tried Silver Shatter over OPI Mermaid's Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection that was released simultaneously.  The directions, like all Shatters, say to use over fully dry polish, but I used it over polish that was still slightly tacky instead.  I think I got good results.

   Watching Shatter polish dry is really fun.  Especially since they dry super quickly.  I trick I've learned with these is to not brush back over polish you've already applied.  I've found that going back over polish can sometimes ruin the shatter effect.  With the silver, the polish will look sheer when you first apply, but becomes opaque as it dries and shrinks up.

   The biggest issue I had with Silver Shatter was cleanup.  With other colors this isn't a big problem.  But the Silver has micro glitter in it that DOES NOT want to come off your skin.  At least it didn't for me.  You can see this pretty well in the shade photo.  On three fingers I applied the Shatter in standard vertical direction.  On my index finger I applied it horizontally and on my thumb I applied diagonally.  Each direction gives a different look that are fun on their own or combined.

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

   Silver Shatter is much more subtle than some of the other Shatters.  At least over pastel polishes like the Pirates collection.  But sometimes a subtle shine is what you need.

Icing Blackout

   Hello everyone.  I'm writing to you today from lovely sunny, and blessedly cooler than home, California.  Seriously, it is at least 20 degrees cooler here than in Georgia.  Maybe even more.  I'm loving it.  Well, except for the sunburn I already have.

   For those of you who don't know what Icing is, it is an accessories store in a lot of US malls.  I believe it is a branch of Claire's aimed at a slightly older age group.  One of their collections is a full line of nail polishes.  They have all different finishes and colors.  The bottle shape may look a bit familiar to you:

   I bought Blackout several months ago, but only recently tried it.  Blackout is a black base with holographic glitter.  I was impressed with the formula and application of the polish.  The first coat went on very sheer so I was a bit concerned, but the color built nicely and I only needed 3 coats for full opacity.  I don't remember what base coat I used sorry.  For top coat I tried out Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in the red bottle.  It was fairly fast drying, but still dentable longer than Seche Vite. Removal wasn't too hard, but as with most dark colors there was some residual polish that did not want to come off the edges of my nails and a tiny bit of staining.

Direct Sun

Blurry for Sparkle

Shade

Indoor

   In any light you can tell this is not just a black polish.  In shade the glitter simply looks silver, but inside you can start picking up the holographic nature.  Sun will obviously bring it out the most.  However, none of these photos truly capture the sparkliness of the polish.  Sparkles always freak out my camera.  

   I was impressed with this polish.  I have a couple others from Icing and plan to try them out soon.  But based on this one, I will definitely be buying more.