A Little Bit Of OPI Spam

My 70-some untried OPI's have been weighing on my conscience.  As a fangirl they're a bit embarrassing.   For every shade I've worn, there's another I haven't.  I own some real classics that I've only admired in the bottles so far.  I don't have all of my lemmings, but I do have a collection I adore.  At this point I'm kinda tempted to do a whole OPI week sometime.  Could happen.  For now I've been making a point of using them for undies and work manis and slowly chipping away at my backlog.  It's been a great reminder of what makes them my favorite!


Mermaid's Tears is a pale, dusty green cream.

Not my most outstanding CVS find, but I was still delighted when it turned up there.  I'd wanted Mermaid's Tears since wearing its near-dupe, Sinful Colors Open Seas.  That happens to me a lot.  OPI dupes usually feed my lemmings instead of killing them.  Mermaid's Tears is considerably thinner than Open Seas and almost watery.  It's a little streak-prone, but it evens out at three coats and is drop-dead gorgeous.  It's not a color I'd ever have picked a couple of years ago, but I love it!  I wore it as the base for Sally Hansen Tulle Kit.

Skull & Glossbones is a warm-toned light gray cream.

This is two coats and...wow...I really should have used a third.  Like Mermaid's Tears it's on the thin side.  It's decidedly more flattering in person than it looks here.  I'm not sure if "bad hand days" are a thing, but sometimes I feel like they might be.  I was still on antibiotics for that sinus infection when I swatched this and I'm gonna blame my low fever for the red blotches.  Skull & Glossbones was the base for my Sally Hansen Big Smoky Top Coat comparison.

Cartwheels On The Catwalk is a dusty, pastel blue-green cream.

Ok, so I snuck a Sephora by OPI in.  That's kinda still OPI.  Kinda.  It looks right at home with the two Pirates Of The Caribbean shades too, since it's dustier than it looks here.  It's also a lot like them formula-wise, a bit on the watery side.  This is two coats.  Oxymoronic "pastel brights" are a big thing right now and I guess I've been subconsciously pulled toward them.  I'm pretty sure I'll be passing on new ones from Maybelline and Sally Hansen, but I like what I already have within this trend.  You've seen Cartwheels On The Catwalk as undies in two of my recent posts, Sinful Colors Opalescent Toppers and part 2 of the Bundle Monster stamping polish.

French Quarter For Your Thoughts is a warm gray cream.

Touring America is one of my absolute favorite collections, dominated by murky creams.  I have literally half of it and always keep an eye out for a good price on Suzi Takes The Wheel and Get In The Expresso Lane.  French Quarter's formula is exactly what I expect from OPI creams, a perfect two-coater.

Pure is 18k white gold and silver leaf in a clear base.

over French Quarter For Your Thoughts

I told myself dozens of times that I didn't want Pure...and then I wore It's Real and knew I needed this too.  Some of the leaf pieces in Pure are a bit large, but I love it so damn much!  This was one of my favorite recent work manis.  I'm glad I waited until a few weeks ago to get it.  Its original price was $30 which I just can't do.  I wound up finding it on Amazon for around $12.  Woot!

Manicurist Of Seville is a berry red crelly.

I've had this one for quite a while.  I got it when it went on clearance at a supermarket, back in my BUY EVERYTHING phase.  No regret here at all, though I did have some pinprick bubbles.  I'm trying to figure out what's up with that and I'll report back on my theories eventually.


Dating A Royal is a medium blue crelly.

I'd been warned about the watery formula, but it's so blue that I don't even care!  This is three coats and the crelly finish and blueness are worth the slight formula hassle.  I forget where I got it.  I wanna say it was the nail supply store, but I might have found it on eBay.  It's bugging me that I can't remember.  That's not all that's bugged me about this polish recently.  It was missing!  I was sitting here at my desk a couple of hours ago, watermarking photos for this post when a little light went on over my head.  I don't know what made me want to look between my desk and the little drawer unit that holds my SFW polishes, but there it was!  What a relief!  I knew it would turn up, but it was making me the slightest bit nervous since it's a favorite.  It's even on my credit card.

Well...it's a beautiful June day and as much as part of me wants to sit home and swatch, I'm going shopping!  It's time for Helmer #3 and I feel silly having a credit card with polish on it that hasn't been used for polish yet.  So far it's only bought pizza.  Time to break it in properly!