Nicole by OPI Notorious! Neons

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI White Base, three coats Nicole by OPI Green Neon
Top: one coat Essie Good to Go
Application: average (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Notorious! Neon collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Nicole by OPI recently released their very first neons in two mini sets, called Notorious! Neons and Scandalous! Neons. I am always interested in neons, so I was excited to try these. The Notorious! Neons include a white base, a green neon. fuchsia neon and orange neon. None of these polishes looked particularly neon in the bottle, but we all know that can be very deceiving. I tried Nicole by OPI Green Neon first and found it to be a bright green, somewhat grass green like, but more neon. It's not retina-searing neon, but it's happy and bright.

I did find Green Neon to be streaky and the white base was also streaky. With that combo, you can only expect the finished result to be streaky. I also had to use three coats of Green Neon over two coats of the white base. Green Neon is pretty sheer. I do like the color a lot, but I wish it applied more evenly and in fewer coats.

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI White Base, three coats Nicole by OPI Fuchsia Neon
Top: one coat Essie Good to Go
Application: average (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Notorious! Neon collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Nicole by OPI Fuchsia Neon is a juicy looking pink neon. I layered this over the white base, but I think this could looking cool by itself as a jelly-ish polish. With shiny top coat it looks glossy enough to pass as a jelly!

OK so you can see I had the same streaking problem with Nicole by OPI Fuchsia Neon as I did with Green Neon. This time, I was super careful to try to get the white base more even, but Fuchsia Neon itself was streaky. Again, I had to use three coats of the neon for coverage and to try to even this out. Look for me to use this in a jelly sandwich though, as I have a feeling this could be stunning without the white.

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI White Base, two coats Nicole by OPI Orange Neon
Top: one coat Essie Good to Go
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Notorious! Neon collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Now we're talking! Nicole by OPI Orange Neon is easily the winner of the Notorious! Neons! Orange is bright and punchy, again, not retina-searing, but definitely nice for summer. Being the sucker for orange that I am, I love this!!

I had a bit of streaking with Orange, but not nearly as bad as the other two. Orange was also more pigmented. I only used two coats of it over two coats of the white base.

Overall, I think the Notorious! Neons will be great for sandwiching. I know a lot of people like to use sheer neons for that purpose, so if you are one of them you will want to check these out. Just like all polishes with neon pigment, they dried to a satin-y finish, so you will need top coat if you want shine. I think I would recommend using a better white base if you would like to wear these over white.

The Nicole by OPI Notorious! Neons are available now at drugstores near you!

The Nicole by OPI Notorious! Neon collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Memorial Day NOTD

Base: one coat CND Stickey
Color: one coat each of: Lynnderella Deep Blue Seeing, Lynnderella UnDead Red, Lynnderella Love, Lace, & Lilacs, OPI Don't Burst My Bubble
Top: none
OPI Don't Burst My Bubble was sent for review, the Lynnderella polishes were all purchased by me. Any opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Happy unofficial start to the summer here in the U.S.! Although some of the U.S. just had snow the other day (!), summer is really on it's way, I promise! Like mostly everyone, I love Memorial Day weekend because it really does feel like the start of summer, but I also want to remind everyone that today is all about the veterans. If you know a vet, thank them today!

I decided to layer some red, white, and blue glitters to celebrate Memorial Day. I started off with Lynnderella Deep Blue Seeing, then did a coat of Lynnderella UnDead Red, and one of Lynnderella Love, Lace, & Lilacs, and topped it off with OPI Don't Burst My Bubble. I love how this turned out!

I hope you're all doing something fun today! I am just hanging out with Binx, but yesterday my family had a little party!

Lynnderella polishes are available at Lynnderella.com.  Lynnderella also has a special Memorial Day LE polish, Remember 2013, up for auction, ending today. The proceeds benefit a charity that helps miltary families.

OPI Don't Burst My Bubble was sent for review, the Lynnderella polishes were all purchased by me. Any opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Essie First Timer

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus
Color: three coats Essie First Timer
Top: Essie Good to Go on pointer and middle nail, no top coat on ring and pinkie
Application: average (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
Essie First Timer was purchased by me. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Essie First Timer is one of the two highly sought after shades from the Essie Resort 2013 collection. I looked for it in every store that sells Essie around here before finally caving and ordering it on Amazon (along with Essie In the Cab-ana). First Timer is an interesting minty-lime green creme that manages to be both dusty and bright at the same time. It is really gorgeous in the bottle, but interestingly, changes color when you use top coat! I used one coat of Essie Good to Go on my pointer and middle nail and no top coat on the ring and pinkie so you could see the difference. The difference is even more apparent in person. With top coat, First Timer looks brighter and more lime colored. Without top coat, it is dustier and leans more blue. I actually really like both colors, so I guess that's good!!

This is three coats of First Timer. The formula is not my favorite. It's thick and also manages to be streaky at the same time. It should be fine in two coats, but I had to do a third to cover the streaks. It doesn't really seem to self level either. If you love the color in the bottle, I would suggest not using top coat, but that may result in the polish still looking uneven.

Overall, I don't regret buying First Timer. I have a weakness for Essie greens and I love the color with or without top coat. The formula is a bit challenging, but not the worst I've ever used. I'm glad I have this in my collection and can't wait to try In the Cab-ana!

Do you have any fun Memorial Day plans? My family is having a little get together today, but otherwise I will just be relaxing with my baby kitty!! I have a fun Memorial Day mani idea for tomorrow too!

Essie First Timer was purchased by me. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Thackery Binx!!!!

If things are a little slow around here for a few days, it's because there is way too much cute in my house to handle!!!! Meet Thackery Binx, my 3 month old kitten!! He refuses to stay still for peektures right now, so these will have to do. In case you don't already know, he is named after the cat Binx in the movie Hocus Pocus, my favorite movie when I was little.

Binx is very active and also HATES to be alone right now, so he's keeping me busy!

Giveaway Winner!!

The winner of my R.I.P. Google Reader giveaway is......

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Jamie R, entry #193!! Jamie, please send an email to neverenoughnails@gmail.com within the next 48 hours. Include your prize preference ($25 to your Paypal account or $25 Sephora gift certificate) and your Paypal address if that is your preferred prize!

Nicole by OPI Gumdrops Part 2!

Base: none
Color: three coats Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops
Top: none (unless otherwise indicated)
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Today I have the swatches of the other three Nicole by OPI Gumdrops (texture) collection. It seems that Connecticut weather is feeling very anti nail blogger right now, because every time I go to swatch something, it is cloudy and drizzling. Please excuse any raindrops you might see in these pictures. First up we have Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops. This is an interesting polish because it has a shimmering matte light purple base with silver glitter. Most of the texture polishes we've seen have been totally matte bases with glitter, so the shimmering yet matte base is very cool. I think the shimmer was more noticeable in person than in pictures though. If you look at the bottle in person, you'll see what I mean. Speaking of the bottle, I'm holding the wrong bottle in these pictures! What a dope... I didn't even realize this until I had removed I Lilac Gumdrops and put on the next polish! Just one of those days, I guess.

I Lilac Gumdrops was a little on the sheer side, needing three coats for full opacity. The formula was pretty good though, I didn't have any real complaints. I Lilac Gumdrops is probably a cousin of Zoya Stevie, but the shimmering base in Gumdrops makes it slightly different. Below you can see I Lilac Gumdrops with one coat of Gelous.

Base: none
Color: three coats Nicole by OPI Candy Is Dandy
Top: none (unless otherwise indicated)
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Nicole by OPI Candy Is Dandy is a medium pink matte base with silver glitter, small silver holo glitter and larger silver holo glitters. I really like the holo glitters in here, they add a nice touch and make Candy Is Dandy different from other pink textures. And if you're thinking this is similar to OPI The Impossible, it's not at all. They are totally different pinks (The Impossible is a darker more saturated fuchsia) and The Impossible has pink holo glitter and silver holo stars.

Candy Is Dandy also needed three coats to get rid of any pesky VNL. The formula was a nice consistency though and easy to apply. The picture below shows Candy Is Dandy with one coat of Gelous. It's very pretty like this as well!

Base: none
Color: three coats Nicole by OPI Blue-berry Sweet On You
Top: none (unless otherwise indicated)
Application: average (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

I was so excited about the gorgeous color of Nicole by OPI Blue-berry Sweet On You that I grabbed this bottle to hold while taking pictures of I Lilac Gumdrops, haha! Blue-berry Sweet On You is a stunning blueberry matte base with silver glitter. This color is just a really unique and nice mix of blue and purple, I can't think of anything like this! It looks a little more blue and less unique in the bottle, but once it's on the nail, it really looks amazing!

Lucky for Blue-berry Sweet On You, I love the color. The formula is not my favorite. It was thicker than the other polishes in this collection. When I was applying the second coat, it seemed to wipe off some of the first coat (even though I had let the first coat dry for almost 5 minutes). You can see a spot on my ring finger that I just couldn't get covered. If you let this dry completely in between coats, that would probably solve the problem, but it would also be the longest mani ever, since complete dry down takes 10-15 minutes or more. This is three coats. The polish is pigmented enough for two coats, I was just trying to get rid of any bald spots. Below is Blue-berry Sweet On You with one coat of Gelous.

Of the 6 polishes in the Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection, I think three are totally unique (Blue-berry Sweet On You, Cinna-man of My Dreams and Candy Is Dandy). I am totally in love with four of them (the three mentioned, plus My Cherry Amour) and with the exception of Blue-berry, I liked the formula for all 6. Because Blue-berry is such an awesome color, I can forgive it for being a little difficult. Divas can be hard to work with, but so worth it. Have you seen these in the wild yet? I saw them at CVS, so keep checking back if you're looking for them.

The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection is available now at drugstores near you.

The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

From the Untrieds Drawer: CrowsToes Absolum- Your Potions Master

Base: one coat CND Stickey
Color: two coats OPI Russian Navy, two coats CrowsToes Absolum- Your Potions Master
Top: one coat Gelous
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
OPI Russian Navy and CrowsToes Absolum were both purchased by me. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Today's post is yet another polish that I do not understand why I left sitting in my untrieds drawer for a few months. CrowsToes Absolum- Your Potions Master is an outstanding mix of jewel tone glitters, including emerald green hexes, blue hexes, silver glitters in a couple of shapes and sizes, and some orange glitters as well. Now honestly, I really purchased this polish because it was named for Alan Rickman, the man who plays Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. I love me some Snape, so I knew I needed this polish. However, it is absolutely stunning as well! The glitters seem to be extra sparkly in this polish!

 For this look, I dabbed two coats of Absolum over two coats of OPI Russian Navy. Application using the dabbing method was pretty easy. A LOT of glitter comes out on the brush, so you don't need to "try" to get this glitter out! The formula did feel a bit thick, due to all of the glitter, but I didn't find it to be a problem.

CrowsToes Absolum- Your Potions Master is actually in stock right now at Llarowe. I feel like every polish addict already has this polish, but if you don't, you definitely NEED it! Now that I see how excellent this is, I kind of want to order CrowsToes Cheshire, Voodoo and Heartshaped Box of Hors#@t... hmmmmm...

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $25 Sephora gift card or $25 in your Paypal account!!! You could buy this polish and others!!


OPI Russian Navy and CrowsToes Absolum were both purchased by me. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Nicole by OPI Gumdrops Part One!

Base: none
Color: three coats Nicole by OPI Cinna-man of My Dreams
Top: none unless otherwise indicated
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Just when I thought I was so over textured polish, Nicole by OPI comes out with their Gumdrops collection and sucks me back in!! I wasn't super in love with textures in the beginning, then I kind of liked them, and now I REALLY love a select few, including this one, Nicole by OPI Cinna-man of My Dreams. Cinna-man of My Dreams reminds me of a texture version of NOPI Just Busta Mauve. It is a really unique mix of bronze and reddish-plum all rolled into one. I can not think of any dupes/even close relations for this beauty.

I used three coats of Cinna-man of My Dreams for these pictures, but I would probably just do two next time. I did three kind of out of habit. This was so easy to apply. I had no issues whatsoever. It also wasn't that hard to remove!!

Below, you can see Cinna-man with one coat of Gelous. It's pretty easy to get these smooth. They're like the sugary fine textures, not the super lumpy ones. I seriously love this polish both ways, smooth and textured!!

Base: none
Color: three coats Nicole by OPI A-nise Treat
Top: none unless otherwise indicated
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Nicole by OPI A-nise Treat is a black with silver glitter texture polish. The silver glitter is nicely sparkly in this one. I like the combo of matte black and sparkly silver. This is similar to Zoya Dahlia, but A-nise is darker black, less gray.

This is three coats of A-nise Treat and I did feel like I needed all three. There were some sheerer looking areas after two coats, and the third coat really evened everything out. It was pretty easy to apply though, no real issues.

Here is A-nise with one coat of Gelous. It looks so pretty this way!

Base: none
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI My Cherry Amour
Top: none unless otherwise indicated
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

I confused as to how exactly this happened, but I LOVE Nicole by OPI My Cherry Amour!! I am never a huge pink/red fan and considering that I wasn't too into textures, I shouldn't be loving this, but I totally am. My Cherry Amour is a red-pink with silver glitter. It is a lot more pink than it looks in the bottle. I think the texture finish looks very cool with this kind of typical nail polish color! I am having a hard time deciding whether to wear this or Cinna-man as a full mani first.

My Cherry Amour only needed two coats and applied like a dream. Sorry about the water droplets on my hands and nails, it started pouring before I could finish these pictures. And it ruined my swatching party (I wanted to swatch the other three NOPI Gumdrops polishes!).

Here is My Cherry Amour with one coat of Gelous. DELICIOUS!!! I love it this way too! (So weird, why I am into this pink color???)

Of these three polishes, I think Cinna-man of My Dreams is the most unique. I really like the other two as well, so I am quite happy with the first half of the Gumdrops collection!

The Gumdrops collection should be available now at the usual drugstores/Targets, but I know people have had some trouble finding them. I did see a full display at the "good" CVS in town, but not the other one.

By the way, we found a kitten on Satruday and we are just waiting for the rescue group (PAWS) to approve us!!! We walked into a room with 5 kittens and one tiny black male came right over to us. I picked him up and he purred for about 10 minutes! Needless to say, I hardly looked at the other kittens (although they are adorable) and I wish he could be home with us right now!


The Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.