I'm not happy to admit it, but OPI really has nailed this color. Perfectly Fall, wine-red with a purple hue, with gorgeous velvety shimmer.
Application was breezy. I think it will wear great as well - I've been typing the whole day and still no trace of a tip wear.
Those of you who cannot get your hands on HTF NYPD Beet - get Meet For Drinks. It's not an exact dupe, but this rich velvety shipper makes them look very much alike.
All Konaders and Konad-addicts, I have great news for you.
Konad special polish? Not so special any more. Once you have figured out how to work the scraper, you can achieve good results with regular aka reasonably priced polishes!
So far, I've had excellent results with Easel Come, Easel Go and Gift Of Gold (both by Finger paints).
One picture is better than thousand words, so here we go:
Easel Come, Easel Go over RBL Au Chocolate. I know, it seems like a blasphemy to konadize this polish, but what can a poor Konad-adict do?
Gift Of Gold:
Please excuse the sloppiest swatches ever, I was really excited to stamp this gold right away over anything.
To be honest, these pictures just do not do the justice - gold is so much richer in real life!
I have also tried a couple of OPI - old formula red and a new blue - to recreate Sara's wonderful 4th of July mani. Guess what? Both worked just great!
The only problem I've had so far was with Essie Marshmallow. I want to use it for Konad french tips, and polish is too thin. I left it opened for to make it thiker and cannot wait to report you the results of this experiment.
I will get Misa's white and black and try them as well.
I really hope this post would save some of you a couple of bucks!
/Konad 10 ml special polish - about $10; Finger Paints 15 ml - about $4. Goft of Gold is discontinied, but Fool's Gold from a current collection seems like a good replacement/
One might even call it the best mani for TGIF night on the town.
I've been experimenting a lot with Konad; and finally decided to give a holo-polish a go. The only holo I have is OPI Designer Series Design.
Ingredients:
- OPI Have You Seen My Limo as a base
- OPI DS Design
- Konad plate # m20
Results:
Daylight many:
I think, it's an acceptable manicure for a casual Friday in a "relaxed" office. You can barely see the design.
But wait until the light strikes it!
Little flowers almost lighten up from within:
So, what do you guys think?
We are having a week dedicated to HTF (hard to find aka discontinued) polishes on Make Up Alley's Nail Board. I've decided to be a smart one and post pictures of both HTF and a Fall-suitable polish.
OPI La Boheme. Honestly, I've almost stopped to hunt HTFs. I had an epiphany: polish is a polish is a polish. In most cases, anyway; but not in this one. La Boheme is cerainly well worth to hunt it down. Is it warm? Is it cold? Is it sparkly? Is it a bit of this, this and that?
As my readers (anyone out there?) might know, I've been having issues with a bad tip wear of my precious Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes.
Recently I was given a RBL top coat as a present (thanks again, Diann!) Well, I have to tell you: it improves the wear tremendously. I'm on my third day with Au Chocolate; have been typing lake a mad typist all the time; and still not a hint of a tip wear. Sad, but looks like you need to buy the $16 top coat (or even $48 treatment system) to get a good wear out of RBL polishes.
Couple of words about the top coat. Short disclaimer: I do not do regular top coats, just fast drying ones; I have a life, you know. RBL top coat is not a fast drying treatment; neither a self-leveling, unlike Seche Vite or Poshe. It does, thou, yields an incredible, glass-like, hard glossy finish. A great way to refresh a dull mani. A bit expensive for a refresher coat? Oh, yes. But if you are a heiress - why not?
Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolate. Dark chocolate at its best: smooth, glossy and undeniable. Great polish? Yes. Expensive? Hell, yes. But I didn't say "cheap", I said "healthy".
Finally, it has arrived. True, it's still hot here, in Atlanta (darn electrical bills!). Yet, we can already sleep with a window open, air smells like Fall; and maples are morphing from green to purple.
To celebrate the season - three colors I enjoy for Fall.
Misa, Sepia Stained Cotton. Hot chocolate lacking some milk and definitely loaded with chocolate. Some bronze sparkles and a hint of green shimmer.
I have to tell you about an application: it was awesome, flawless, perfect - I can keep going like this for a while. Practically, this polish just applied itself. Two coats to achieve a bottle color. Love!
RBL Drifter. Glossy, deep, vampy purple. Signature-perfect application.
Just a litle problem - it chipped in 24 ours, sharp. I know that nothing is perfect in this world, but still - one can expect some durability for $18 a bottle.
Sephora by OPI, On Stage. Oh my, I love this color: muted, dusty purple with a hint of lilac-y gray. My description may stink like patchuly, but I swear - nothing momsy about this color.
The only drawback is an application. Goopy hunk of a mess. Person with average manicure skills (I'm modest, aren't I?) might just throw the bottle in the trash. Booo! The color is worth an every painful brushstroke, thou.
...to share my 2 cents. Or, more likely, $27. Yep, these polishes are $9 a pop.
I wasn't excited about Sephora by OPI. For starters, I'm a bit of a snob in a twisted anti-snob way: I hate exclusives, limited editions etc. Price tag did not make me happy either.
But being as Curious George as I am, I swapped for a couple of bottles and now I have to admit - I like these polishes.
First of all, brushes in Sephora OPI are normal, old-time OPI brushes (as opposed to the Pro-Wide mops).
Second, application was really good for all three colors I have.
Third, I like the colors. In my opinion, OPI has achieved a very nice balance between edgy and wearable. Good comeback after France collection, as boring as it gets.
To the pictures.
I'm With Brad. Vampy red creme; very, very blackened. Unlike most blackened polishes, it doesn't look black indoors, but shows its red nature. Under a bright light it just glows. I'm not a big fan of shimmers, but I do like I'm With Brad.
Run With It. Great example of a wearable edge-ness or edgy wearabless. Grey-beige, appropriate for a non-conservative office, yet very trendy. Note a delicate shimmer: it reminds me of a concrete mixed with glistening gold sand. /gah! that's corny!/
Please excuse a sloppy Konad job.
Call Your Mother. Elegant, muted, sophisticated pale purple. Looks like a wilted lilac flower. And, somehow, reminds me about signature IKEA meatballs gravy - creamy, glossy, naturally looking and totally unhealthy (in this case - for your account).
Bottom line: these polishes are worth looking at. Despite the crazy price tag, they are extremely popular, so hurry if you want to get any colors from a limited edition (yuck!) Autumn & Eve Fall collection.
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