Gwen Stefani Collabs with OPI

So I have been stalking beauty blogs for weeks now, trying to find out what the Gwen Stefani OPI collection is going to look like. Well, as you can see, I found it!

From left to right:

1. I Sing In Color (Glossy)
2. Over and Over A-Gwen (Glossy)
3. Hey Baby (Glossy)
4. Love Angel Music Baby (Satin)
5. Push And Shove (Unknown)
6. In True Stefani Fashion (Glitter Top Coat)
7. 4 In The Morning (Satin)

Because I have always been a fan of Gwen Stefani’s music as well as her fashion line (L.A.M.B.), I cannot wait to get my hands on this collection. The colors choices really do seem to represent Stefani, and I am especially excited to try 4 In The Morning (black nail polish is one of my favs right now).  I couldn’t find many details on the 5th color, Push and Shove, so I guess we will have to wait until the collection is released before we can get a real sense of what the color is going to look like. If you are curious to see swatches of the rest of these colors, you can google it. I found a few swatches online, and I think you all will be pleased. This collection is scheduled to be released in January 2014.

What do you guys think? Are you looking forward to this collaboration?

Half Moon

So I decided to try my hand at a half moon manicure since all the nail salons I called last week couldn’t guarantee me that they had a nail tech that could reproduce the look. In the photos below I used  Revlon’s Bubble Gum and OPI’s My Boyfriend Scales Walls. This manicure is a little more difficult than one might think. Check out the images below and let me know what you all think about my skills (or lack thereof…Lol):

A Jelly ‘Sammich’

Hey Ladies!! As promised, I wanted to post this picture so that you all could see what I meant when I was discussing “jelly sammiches” earlier this week on the blog. Although I am not a fan of wearing glitter on all of my nails, an accent nail never hurt anyone. To achieve this look I used two coats of OPI’s Don’t Touch My Tutu, one coat of Rainbow Honey’s Magic Cake on top of that, and I finished my jelly sandwich off with one more coat of Don’t Touch My Tutu. To avoid smudges and bald spots, makes sure that you allow sufficient drying time between each coat.

Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a blessed weekend!! xx

Mint Leopard Remix

Nail polish is such a fun accessory, I just can’t stay away from it. I bought this OPI color a few weeks ago, but it was so difficult to photograph I never posted it here on the blog. I figured if I placed it in front of a contrasting color/print it would show up better. And sure enough, it is showing up true to color here.

Ulta was having a sale on OPI polishes, buy 2 and get 1 free, so I snagged this one, which had been on my wish list for quite some time. It’s called Gargantuan Green Grape. That’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Nonetheless, it is a gorgeous mint green. Everyone is obsessing over Essie’s Mint Candy Apple, which is nice, but I like the formula on this one better. Plus the color doesn’t look as chalking, in my opinion. You’ll need about three thin coats for the color to be opaque.

If you’re curious about the wallet, I bought it last year during Nordstrom’s anniversary sale. This Halogen wallet is a year old but is still one of my favorites.

BTW, this year Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale begins on July 19th, but for Nordstrom cardholder’s the early access to the sale begins tomorrow. Therefore, I’ll be spamming you guys with previews of the goodies once I’ve had a chance to scope the scenes! Talk to you all soon! xx

Spring/Summer Nail Polish Picks

Here are swatches of some nail polishes that I think you all will enjoy this season. I pulled some of my favorite polishes at the moment, many of which are a part of Spring 2013 collections.

• OPI – My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours
• Essie – First Timer
• Essie – In The Cab-ana
• Zoya – Sweet
• Essie – Mint Candy Apple
• Zoya – Pippa
• Color Club – Poptastic
• China Glaze – Keep Calm, Paint On
• Julep – Avery
• Revlon – Blue Lagoon

As you can see, blues and pinks are my weakness! And who doesn’t love pastels?! Remember that nail polish is just another accessory to add some color to your wardrobe so have fun with it! Don’t get so bogged down with trends. Do you! xx

OPI: My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours

Okay, I know you guys are like, ‘Kel, enough with the nail swatches…Stop trying to make me buy nail polish…’ but I had to show you guys the last swatch I have for OPI’s Euro Centrale Collection.

Let me introduce you to My Paprika is Hotter Than Yours…With the first coat I was kind of feeling like, meh…same issue with all the creams in this collection: streaky, streaky, streaky. But honey, the second coat really made this color look amazing! I was expecting MPIHTY to be a bright red, but it is actually a bright orange-red. GORGE! Orange isn’t really a color that I particularly care for but I am in love once again. Here are the swatches:

What do you guys think of this color? I will definitely be rocking this one whenever I am in the mood for some brightness!

xx…Kel

OPI: Euroso Euro

Here is another swatch I wanted to share with you all from the OPI Euro Centrale Collection. OPI…Euroso Euro is perhaps my second favorite color from this collection so I decided to talk about it today.

Like ‘Can’t Find My Czechbook’, this one was streaky with the first coat. Gosh, that really annoys me, but as I said the other day, with the second coat everything is right in the world again. I find that a lot of cream polishes, despite the brand or the color, tend to be a bit streaky…Some more than others. Regardless though, I love this creamy, purple deliciousness. And I am normally not a fan of purple…

Depending on the lighting, this color sometimes shows up more blue than purple, but OPI…Euroso Euro is definitely a dark purple cream polish. When you see it in person,there will be no mistaking it. The other thing is that it dries to a matte finish, which will also suck for those of you who don’t wear topcoats (and assuming that you don’t like matte finishes).

In the swatches above I used two coats of the nail polish, and one coat of Out the Door topcoat. So far I am really loving the polishes I picked out of the collection…Hot stuff! Talk to you all soon! xx

OPI: Can’t Find My Czechbook

I was on Instagram the other day and someone had posted a picture of this gorgeous blue from OPI’s latest Euro Centrale Collection, which was just recently released. I went to Ulta with my Mom the other day and picked up three colors from the collection: Can’t Find My Czechbook, My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours, and OPI Euroso Euro.

Can’t Find My Czechbook is a light teal blue cream nail polish. It’s actually quite conservative despite how it may look in the bottle. This light blue is muted so it isn’t bright at all. I think it is absolutely gorge! However, what I do not like about it is that the polish kind of drags when you are painting the first coat. For some odd reason, it is very streaky and leaves your nails with bald spots. Its saving grace though is that with the second coat, the color is completely opaque, which makes it all better. Lol…I used two coats of Can’t Find My Czechbook and the Out the Door as the topcoat in the swatches above. I’ll be sure to post swatches of the other two colors from this collection later this week.

Here are some other swatches from the rest of the Euro Centrale collection:

BTW, have you all seen the new China Glaze Avant Garden Collection? It is now available on Head2toebeauty.com and I will definitely be ordering a few (I love all the greens and the blues from this collection…you know the drill!). You can check them out here…Anywhoo, I will talk to you all soon! xx

Second Image from www.pinchofpretty.com

Kiss Me On My Tulips

Another nail fanatic I follow on Instagram posted this nail polish not too long ago, and I had to have it!! I actually snagged it on Ebay two weeks ago for just $7.49 (free shipping) and was so excited to swatch it! It’s a gorgeous creamy pink from OPI’s Holland collection (didn’t have the desire to order any of the other colors from the collection). I have a lot of pink in my nail polish collection, but for some reason I couldn’t pass this one up. Check it out below:

OPI’s Pink Friday

So I recently received Nikki Minaj’s OPI collection and I’ve been trying out each of the colors one by one…The first one I tried was Pink Friday, which I posted on my Instagram (@alwayzkel). I definitely like it, but there isn’t anything extraordinary about it. While it is a pretty color, I am pretty sure that I’ve seen several pinks like this before…Though, I must also say that this pink is soooo Nikki! I have definitely seen Nikki Minaj rock a pink like this on many occassions and it totally fits her personality.  Check it out for yourself:

I’ll be sure to swatch the rest of the collection for you all so that you can decide if you want to purchase it or not…I purchased the entire collection on Ebay, and paid significantly less than what they costs in retail stores. And if you already have the collection or colors from the collection, let me know what you think of it. Smooches! XOXO

BTW: Notice that I swatched this color on my right hand…Ha! I’m learning! Lol