OPI Designer Series Royal

I am closing out my Designer Series posts with a real BANG!

OPI Designer Series Royal




Is this one a beauty or what?? The polish was quite sheer and I am wearing four coats here, plus a top coat, but trust me, it was all worth it. This is an absolutely amazing and gorgeous color! It is a bright purple with a blue and pink holo effect. It's simply stunning! I absolutely LOVE this color! If you can find it anywhere, you need to snatch it up ASAP!

I will resume my non-DS posts tomorrow :-) I've been trying to perfect my Konad skills, so I've got a few of those coming up, as well as some other spring and summer-appropriate shades. Oh, and of course, my giveaway details! I got a Bare Escentuals eye kit yesterday that will be part of the giveaway :-D Deets coming up soon! xoxo

OPI Designer Series Sensation

Okay, I am almost done with my Designer Series polishes -- I have only a few more to show! Actually, that's not quite the truth. I have more than just a few, but I don't really feel like swatching the remaining 4 or 5 that I have, so those will be mixed in with regular posts in the future :-)

OPI Designer Series Sensation




(outside, direct sun)






I was pleasantly surprised with this polish. In the bottle, it looks like a bright pink with blue/purple holo, and that's exactly what it looked like on the nail. It reminds me a lot of DS Dazzle, but with a blurple instead of silver effect. The application was pretty good - the polish was sheer and jelly-like, but built up well and was even and opaque in three coats. I went outside in the sunlight to try and get some better pics of the holo effect.

I promise that I *do* have contest details coming up soon. I bought some goodies as part of the contest today and I have a few more things to pick up before I start giving out details and accepting entries. Stay tuned!! <3

OPI Designer Series Treasure

Two more followers!! C'mon guys -- I'm at 98! I need *TWO* more to reach 100 :-D Please help me out. Thank you!!

OPI Designer Series Treasure




(outdoors, sunlight)




As I start to wind down the Designer Series posts, you'll start to see the ones I saved for last -- and it's not because I like them best... haha. It's most likely because I didn't think I would like them, so I avoiding using them. And, that's the case with this polish :-(

When I first got it, I thought I would like it, since orange is a cute color sometimes, but when I opened the bottle to check it out, I noticed the watery, sheer consistency and it turned me off immediately. So, of course I procrastinated when it came to putting it on. I finally got around to it last weekend and as expected, I was disappointed. First of all, I am wearing FIVE coats, and it is still not as opaque as I would like (as you can see in the outdoor pics), and it is also not really a holographic polish, so I have no clue why it is in the DS line. The color is a nice, bright, pumpkin orange, and I like the shiny wet look, but it was such a pain to apply and it took forever to dry (no doubt due to the massive number of coats). I don't think I'll be wearing this one again. Definitely not a fan!

OPI Designer Series Original

WOO HOO! Almost to 100 followers!! You guys are awesome! I smell an awesome giveaway coming up shortly! Only a few more followers to go! I am getting everything together right now and will have giveaway details posted shortly :-) In celebration of almost hitting 100, here's a gorgeous polish for y'all:

OPI Designer Series Original




This polish was perfect in just about every aspect -- the formula was thick but easy to apply. It only took two coats to be fully opaque. The color is just GORGEOUS. It's a shimmery plum color with a pink/blue holo effect. I kept on holding my hands up in the sunlight and moving it around so that I could admire the effect. It's just plain WOW. I love this polish! If you don't already have it, you must get it! :-)

I am down to my last few Designer Series polishes. I think I have about 7 or 8 left to post. I have to admit that I am finally starting to suffer from DS overload, so you may see me throw in a non-DS post here and there :-)

OPI Designer Series Coronation

I like this one a lot better than both Diamond and Shimmer. I think I've found my go-to silver holo polish!

OPI Designer Series Coronation




I think I am wearing three coats here, so the polish is thin, but not as thin as Shimmer was. As you can see, I got great opacity in three coats, which is great for a light-colored polish. This one is very close to a pure silver color. I see a hint of light blue in there, but for the most part, it's a beautiful shimmery silver color. It reminds me of diamonds on my fingernails, and y'know what they say about diamonds being a girl's best friend :-D

Also, I'd like to give a big THANK YOU and WELCOME to all my new followers! I can't believe how the number exploded overnight!!! I am 75% of the way to my goal -- so if you haven't followed me yet, please do so! For my giveaway, I will have not one, but TWO winners! I'll have a whole stash of polishes that the winners can pick their favorites from (first place gets to pick first), and the first place winner will also get some other goodies such as nail stickers, a buffer, some *Lush Lemony Flutter* (I love this stuff), chocolate yummies, and anything else I can think of! Pics and instructions will be posted after I hit 100 :-D

OPI Designer Series Exclusive

I've worn this once before, and I swear, every time I wear it, it just gets more and more gorgeous!

OPI Designer Series Exclusive




And here are some outdoor pics, since Spring is finally arriving here!




This polish is the perfect purple/pink holographic hybrid. It's just gorgeous! In the bottle, I thought it looked really purple. Then, as I wore it, I began to notice the pink a lot more. In the indoor pics, you can really see the sparkle in it. The application is one of the best I've seen for DS -- it was smooth and perfectly opaque in just two coats. Sooooo gorgeous!

I've really been into Konad lately. I recently picked up a bunch of new plates and went through my polish stash to find good Konad polish candidates. My last few manicures have been strictly Konadicures, and I've gotten so many compliments! Those pics will be coming up after all the DS polishes are done :-)

OPI Designer Series Dazzle

I was surprised that this one was included in the Designer Series line -- it's not a holographic at all!

OPI Designer Series Dazzle




Okay, so I won't deny that it's pretty and sparkly, but where is the holo effect? I don't see it at all. This applied like, and looks like, a glass-fleck polish. Each coat was jelly-like and semi-sheer. I have three coats on here. By the third coat, opacity was decent. I love the "wet" look on my nails, and my fingers sparkled in the sunlight, but there is no holo at all. Sorry to disappoint y'all :-( But, I can definitely see myself wearing this color again in the summer -- this pink shade is perfect for summer days. It reminds me of strawberries and watermelons and... yum!

OPI Designer Series Desire

It's no secret that I'm a sucker for neutral and brown polishes. Add that to my love of Designer Series, and you get this perfect polish here!

OPI Designer Series Desire




Actually, I am calling this brown, but as you can see in the pics, it is an amalgamation of all different colors! I see mostly brown, but I also see some gold, maybe some peach, and a little bit of pink also. And of course, the holo on this is quite noticeable, so that just makes it all that much prettier! The application was great as well -- I got good coverage with just two coats, but I wanted it to be a tad darker, so I am wearing three coats in these pictures.

I have almost made it through all my Designer Series polishes. I honestly don't have that many left, which is great (it means I can go back to posting other brands and polishes), but it also makes me kind of sad (for obvious reasons...) :-(

OPI Designer Series Limited

I sometimes think that OPI likes to mess with my head. What color is this? Orange? Peach? Pink? Brown? Who knows! But, whatever it is, I like it!

OPI Designer Series Limited




As I said in the opening paragraph, I have a hard time describing this color. When it was in the bottle, I thought it looked peach to me. But, then I put it on and noticed a little bit of brown or maybe pink in there. I honestly have no clue! But, it is a beautiful color and application was great as well. I'm wearing three coats here, but probably could have gotten away with only two.

I really hope OPI releases more Designer Series polishes soon. Honestly, I think I might go a little stir crazy after I've finished posting all the DSes I own. Whatever will I do without more DS polishes in my stash? Oh noes!!!!!

OPI Designer Series Reflection

Woo hoo -- two of my favorite things in the world - red and a DS polish!

OPI Designer Series Reflection




This one was wonderfully opaque and although I had great coverage in just one coat, I slapped another one on there to smooth it out. I love the shade of red that it is -- a pure red, not one hint of pink or orange. Admittedly, the holo effect on this one isn't as great as others -- this looks more like a shimmer than a holo, but I don't care because it's so PRETTY! :-)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! It's supposed to be summer weather here today and I cannot be more excited!! Time to take the pooch out to the dog park :-)

OPI Designer Series Mystery

Mystery is a relatively new color -- it was released along with Glow (featured already in another post) a few months ago.

OPI Designer Series Mystery




I apologize in advance for the crappy pics. This one was IMPOSSIBLE to get good pictures of. The color is actually a VERY dark, almost-black purple with chunks of gold flakey glitter in there. I also did a horrible application job, which didn't help with the pics. I originally had one two coats, but noticed that it wasn't completely opaque on some nails. I was too lazy to slap on another coat, so I went two days with my mani like that. I hadn't taken pics yet, so prior to taking these pics, I slapped on a third coat, and that's why you see some tipwear with a coat of polish over it. Oopsie! But, the color really is super pretty. It definitely looks like a chunky black unless you are in sunlight, or look up close... then you can see the purple and gold flakes.

I've recently re-discovered Konad and am starting to get the hang of it. My application isn't perfect, but it's getting better. Hopefully after I've honed in on my Konad skills, I will post some Konadicures :-)

OPI Designer Series Signature

Okay, onward with the Designer Series polishes! Fear not, polish lovers, I have a LOT more to show you! :-D

OPI Designer Series Signature




This one was quite the pleasant surprise. When I saw the bottle, I thought it was just another DS pink, but it turned out to be this gorgeous pink/purple mauve color after I put on three coats. The holo effect on this one is quite gorgeous -- it is more purple than Divine, but a lighter color and more pink than Extravagance.

Don't you guys just love this color?? <3

OPI Designer Series Illuminate

So... the problem with posting all these Designer Series polishes is that I am going through my stash so quickly! I usually reserve DS polishes for more "special" occasions, or when I want my nails to feel pretty. But, that rarely happens, so it was bumming me out that I had dozens of them just sitting in my bathroom. So, that's when I decided that I would use only DS polishes until I go through all of them! This is going to last probably until at least the middle of April, since I am a little behind in posting. Here's another beauty for today:

OPI Designer Series Illuminate




I *love* this color! Like, seriously love. This is not a color I would have picked to become a DS polish. It is like a light mud-colored brown with hints of muted orange in it. The holographic effect on it is gorgeous! Forgive the dent on my index finger - I got a little too excited when the polish was drying and I messed up the polish on that finger and was too lazy to fix it. The formula was also perfect -- only required two coats, which is what I'm wearing here. This almost looks jewel-toned to me, and I love that quality. I have yet to rank which DS are my favorite, but this one is going to definitely be in the Top 5. What a beaut! :-)

OPI Designer Series Divine

Oh yes, divine indeed!

OPI Designer Series Divine




What a gorgeous, bright (but not too bright) pink holographic polish! It shimmers like crazy! Application was very good -- it was opaque in two coats, but I put on three, just to be consistent with the other DS polishes I have posted. I actually think this is my second time wearing this color -- I wore it to my BFF's bridal shower/bachelorette weekend as well. I liked it so much that I decided it needed another go-round on my nails :-)

OPI Designer Series Diamond

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Happy Monday!

OPI Designer Series Diamond




I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with this polish -- at first, I saw the name "Diamond" and thought it would be a silver holo polish. And, three coats later, I *still* don't know what color it is. It has a hint of silver in it, but I think i also see some light purple/lavender in there. Does anyone else also see it?? This is a very pretty color and work-appropriate also IMO.

I took a look at my DS stash and realized that a lot of my remaining colors are pretty light-hued. I guess I was pretty drawn to the darker colors, because I used them all first! :-)

I'm pretty excited because tonight is the premier of Dancing With the Stars. Call me cheesy, but I loooooove that show! Monday is usually a gym night for me, because one of the classes I really like take place on Monday, but I am actually going to skip class tonight because I want to watch the premiere, and my DVR doesn't work (suck it, Comcast), so I have to be home in order to watch it. Can't wait!!!

OPI Designer Series Extravagance

OK, sorry about the detour yesterday -- now back to our regularly scheduled Designer Series postings!

OPI Designer Series Extravagance




WOW! I have to say that this is by far one of my most favorite DS polishes ever. Look at that sparkle! Check out that shimmer and holographic awesomeness! I'm floored! Perfect formula on this one - no application issues whatsoever. The color hovers between purple and pink - maybe a tad more toward purple. My pics didn't come out all too clear, but that's probably for the better, because it makes the holo more noticeable. Pretty pretty pretty! :-)

OPI Designer Series Glamour

Now, this is what I'm talking about -- a Designer Series polish that applies beautifully and looks even more gorgeous on!

OPI Designer Series Glamour




This polish is just about perfect - I could get away with just two coats, and the formula was great. The color is a great deep blue/almost purple -- it is not quite navy. It reminds me a lot of OPI Ink, but a bluer, holographic version. It's like a rainbow on my fingernails. I couldn't stop staring at my nails the whole time I was wearing this. This polish is awesome! Totes loves <3

OPI Designer Series Shimmer

Today is the kick-off of all-OPI Designer Series polishes! YAY!!!

OPI Designer Series Shimmer




Well, I was hoping to start off the week with an awesome polish, but I am going to kick it off with this disappointment instead, since it happened to be the first one that I picked out of my stash. Looking at the bottle, I wasn't sure what to expect. At the very least, I thought I would have a very pretty light gray/silver holographic polish. The thing that disappointed me the most about this polish was the application. No matter how hard I tried, I could *not* get it to be opaque enough for my liking, and the formula was watery. I am wearing FOUR coats here, and it is still too sheer for me. Blah! I quit after four coats and decided to just leave it as is. I like how you can very clearly see all the different colors in the light, but I don't think I would ever wear this as a standalone polish, but it may work as a topcoat over a dark color to give it a little bit of shimmery goodness.

Oh well -- I have some better ones coming up - I promise! :-)

OPI Designer Series Amethyst

Happy Groundhog Day!!! Here's a little something that's different and unique - a purple Designer Series polish!

OPI Designer Series Amethyst




I normally love all DS polishes, but I didn't fall in love with this one. I am only wearing two coats, but it still seems way too sheer for me. This one didn't build up as nicely as I would have liked. The formula was watery and sheer, making it a tad difficult to work with. It is also not as purple as I expected. It is more like a light lavender. The holo effect on this one is strong and very obvious. I kinda would have liked it more if it were more purple, and less holo. Oh well, can't win them all I guess! However, this color is quite spring-like, so hopefully this means that Spring is right around the corner :-D Who cares if the Groundhog saw his shadow? Around here, winter will last another 8 weeks at least. Ha!

OPI Designer Series Reserve

In case y'all couldn't tell, I love OPI's Designer Series and am on a serious mission to collect them all!!! :-)

OPI Designer Series Reserve




I thought I would like this one more than I did. In the bottle, it looks like a super pretty light-pink rose color, but it just didn't sparkle and shine on my nail the way I thought it would :-( It is still pretty though. Application was great, and 2-3 coats was all that was needed. I would wear it again, I think. Probably in the summer.

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" is playing on the radio right now. I loooove this song. Actually, I love all Lady Gaga. As a person, she's a little eclectic for me, but her music is badass. I need to make a mental note to download this song on iTunes later, and her new single with Beyonce, "Telephone," also.