Givenchy Dandy Moire

I saw this lovely little gem on Sephora.com and I knew I had to have it. It looked so amazing in the picture, like a shimmering deep blue/green duochrome.

When it arrived, I felt a little shocked- from the picture it appeared to be a normal-sized polish, but it's actually extremely small- .18fl oz!! That's mini-size! And for $15? Damn! Is that somewhere around $80+ an ounce?? I admit, math is not my strong point, but something seems wrong.

Despite the small size and absurd price tag, this is a very pretty polish. In the bottle it shows a strong blue and green duochrome effect, but it (sadly) doesn't appear on the nail. The brush is very difficult to work with, and the formula is a little thick. Even with all of those flaws, the color still seems worth the headache. It's beautiful.


Dandy Moire.

It's a deep, dark midnight blue with blue, silver and green shimmer and just the tiniest hint of green reflection. It's quite stunning to look at in bright sunlight- very shimmery but not glittery. It looks almost like velvet with a dusting of iridescent sparkles.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm finishing up a bunch of your requests and should have them posted soon. I didn't forget about you! Every request is important to me, and I love doing them. I love doing them so much that I realized I have been spending a crazy amount of time playing with nail polish and sitting in front of my computer, and neglecting things that I should be doing... Like, oh, I don't know, folding the laundry that's been in the dryer for a week? LOL. Nail polish is much more fun than mopping, more fun than working out, more fun than making dinner or reading my growing stack of unread books...

Anyway, I'm babbling. I just wanted to let you know that I love doing your requests, even if it takes me a little while longer than I'd like to get them done. :)

Misa Neons: Look On The Bright Side Collection

I've teamed up with Misa Masa! We've split our swatches in two for this collection. Check out Misa Masa's half of the colors here. She's a great blogger with a bit of a Misa obsession (and believe me, Misa is something you *should* obsessed with) and some great swatching and reviewing abilities.

Here's my half of the collection:


A Sunny Smile Makes Me Go Wild. A super-bright highlighter yellow. It may not look like it in the picture, but it's the exact burn-your-retinas bright yellow shade as a highlighter marker. Similar to Chine Glaze Celtic Sun, but less of a jelly finish. This is thick and a little streaky, not exactly easy to apply. For some reason this happens with all bright yellows and I have no idea why.



Hot People Like You. Bright neon pink with a purple/blue reflection and a touch of shimmer. Unlike other neons, this one doesn't dry to a chalky finish. I left the second picture huge so you can click to see the shimmer up close.


Pour Me Something Tall And Strong. Hey, that's my motto. A gorgeous bright Crayola blue that's perfect in every way. This is my new favorite blue polish. It reminds me of OPI Dating A Royal, but brighter and more vibrant. Like Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm's baby sister.


Sandals, Flip Flops and Hip Hop. What do you know, three of my least favorite things all rolled in to one convenient package! Hahaha. Name aside, this is a gorgeous color- hot glowing corally medium pink- a deeper, more saturated hot pink. Very, very bright and beautiful.



Six-Pack Summer. Very bright neon orange. Like neon-orange spray paint. Very smooth and easy to apply. Definitely a shocking color!


The Grass Is Greener On My Side. This color is too pretty. TOO pretty! A bright, oceany blue-green shimmer. Very smooth, perfect formula, dries quickly. I think it's a twin to China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise (but it dries faster and has a better formula!) observe:

China Glaze Turned-Up Turquoise.

Maybe the Misa is a bit more green than the China Glaze, but still pretty darn close!

And here are the neons all together, because they look so much better when they're all next to each other. It increases the awesomeness by 500%!



I love this collection a lot. These aren't just neons; they're innovative neons. They aren't the gooey, chalky neons I'm used to. They're smooth and thin, dry just as quickly as their chalky cousins and have a little bit of an edge to them. They're not all creme, there is some shimmer to a few of them. Shimmery and neon? Hell yeah!

Thanks, Misa!

Let's Talk About Acrylics

I have seen a lot of nail enhancement "bashing" (maybe not quite bashing, but definitely no love) lately, and I think it's a little unfair.

Acrylics and gels and other forms of nail enhancements seem to have such a bad reputation for ruining your nails, and that's understandable, as your average nail tech usually does ruin your nails. It's not the enhancement's fault- it's the lazy nail tech.

Acrylics can actually be very good for your nails. It keeps them protected and helps them grow without fear of breakage or staining.

I don't know if any of you saw my post on Makeup Alley a couple weeks ago about making finger soup, but I had a little accident with my left index fingernail.


I was using one of these handy utensils to cut vegetables over a giant pot of vegetable soup. It was a wedding gift and I recently fell in love with it. It was so handy! You didn't need a cutting board at all, just like food scissors! Anyway, I was cutting carrots when all of a sudden something caused my hand to slip and SNIP!! I take a giant chunk out of my nail, nearly cutting off my finger. It cut down so far that the nail bed was exposed with only a thin layer of nail to keep me from bleeding all over. It was terrifying! And no, the nail didn't go into the soup- it flew across the kitchen and oddly enough, landed in the sink.

So, now I had a nail that was so short I couldn't file it down to even it out, it hurt and was on the verge of bleeding. What was I to do? Have a sharp, jagged, painful monster nail until it grew out? No way!

This is where acrylics save the day.



(Check out the wicked burn on my ring finger- I blame YOU, roasted asparagus!!!)

I used some clear acrylic and a tip to make myself a new fingernail until my real nail grew out enough to file. It was clear in real life, for some reason it looks really cloudy in these pictures. It was only a tiny bit thicker than my natural nail, and you would never know it was fake unless I told you. Not huge and thick, but thin, clear and natural looking.

And remember how I said a few posts back that I was having trouble with China Glaze? I'm wearing Passion In The Pacific on my nails in this picture. It's only about, say, 14 hours old in these pictures and look how damaged it is! It never fully dried, and I was chipping and denting it despite being very careful.

Back on topic. I don't do acrylics often (I really hate the way they feel- you can't scratch with them!! I really don't need them, my natural nails are very nice!) but sometimes I find myself needing one to repair a broken-down-too-far-to-file nail. I know that when I remove the acrylic nail, my natural nail will be in the same good condition as it was before I applied the acrylic. In fact, it may be in even better condition because it won't be stained by polish, it won't chip or break and it may even be a little stronger from the weight of the acrylic.

My natural nail had finally grown out enough to file down the jagged edges without making myself bleed, so I removed the acrylic yesterday. It came right off with a little acetone- about 30 seconds and it was gone! And underneath? My nail was smooth, strong, shiny and not one bit stained like my other nails.

The myth is that acrylics will severely damage your natural nail. What really damages your natural nail is a nail tech filing and drilling the hell out of it with an e-file, or YOU damage your natural nail by biting or peeling off the acrylic instead of removing it the right way (soaking).

Acrylics aren't evil- they're really not! They're great for repairs, or just to wear. If you can't get any length on your natural nails but want long nails, acrylics can do that. Or, maybe you want a french manicure that never chips? Acrylics. Maybe you want some really wacky, over-the-top nail art? Acrylics!

Hopefully I've helped to remove some of the stigma surrounding acrylic nails.

As a bonus, here's China Glaze Passion In The Pacific for lovely reader Sigrun:

Nine New OPI Designer Series Shades!

I'm a huge fan of the OPI Designer Series polishes, and I just saw a huge ad for the new shades! WOOHOO!!

They are:

Coronation: Silvery platinum crowned with diamond dazzle.

Extravagance: Glittering, glamourous magenta.

Reserve: A shimmer of vintage pink.

Opulence: Magnificent mauve drenched in diamonds.

Tapestry: Dazzling deep rose.

Reflection: Rich, glowing ruby.

Classic: An elegant shimmer of golden beige.

Limited: Glistening, glimmering warm peach.

Illuminate: A brilliant sparkle of rich, burnished gold.

I don't have a scanner, so I'll have to look for some pics of these to post. From the picture, none of them look that interesting, but that seemed to be the case with the rest of the Designer Series polishes also. I'll have to wait until I see these in person to pass judgment. I can't wait. You can never have enough holo!

I hate the names of these. I can't tell them apart! Half of these already sound like existing DS colors, but I can never remember the names of them to tell if they are new or old. *sigh* Confusing!

This ad also featured close-up bottle pics of OPI Holiday In Toyland and there appear to be some GLITTERS! It seems like Glamour Game and Brand New Skates are fine glitters, and Baby It's "Coal" Outside! and Play 'Til Midnight look pretty sparkly as well. A Ruby for Rudolph and Don't Toy With Me look pretty sparkly, but maybe it's just these pictures? The texture of the polish in the bottles reminds me of the old OPI Glitter Topcoats, but I won't know for sure until I see them in person.

One more exciting note: PUMPKIN BUTTER JUICIE. OMGGGGGG

CND Fall/Winter 2008: Neutrals of the Night

I'm working on lots of fun things right now, so I'm just going to do a quick post on this one.

CND's Fall Collection will save you money. It's only repromotes:

Crowned
Deep Velvet
Baroque
Hyde In The Dark
Voodoo
Serenity

No new colors for this collection. They do advertise a custom blend used on the runways- Nordic Grey. A beautiful grey creme that's a blend of Voodoo and Creme Puff. A 'frankenpolish'!

If anyone is curious about the rest of the information and pictures contained in the press release, let me know and I'll post them.

Quick Swatches: Color Club Fall 2008 Glitter Vixen and Dance To The Musique

The Polish Addict already has awesome swatches of these, so I just did some quick 'skittles'.




Glitter Vixen collection (not pictured: Sultry Diva, pure gold glitter. Not enough fingers!)
Thumb to pinkie: Tru Passion, Object of Envy, Magic Attraction, Sexy Siren, Art of Seduction. Bottle is Sex Symbol.

My thoughts? HOLY CRAP I LOVE THESE! These are super-sparkly WOW BAM IN YOUR FACE glitter... Once you step outside wearing these, you're liable to blind someone!
Application was quite nice, Tru Passion was a little thick, but nothing a little bit of Seche Restore won't fix. They are fairly gritty- I'd say medium grittiness- but a coat of Seche Vite took care of that problem immediately. These dry very quickly, and have full coverage in two coats. This is some of the densest glitter I've ever seen. I won't lie- they're a pain in the arse to remove, but that comes with the territory. My glitter removing technique is pretty effective on these: Soak your cotton ball in acetone or remover (remover that contains acetone works better than non-acetone remover) and press it on top of the nail. Let it sit there for 10 or 20 seconds, and then with firm pressure, wipe toward your fingertip. There will be some glitter left on the nail, but once the bulk of it is gone the leftovers are easy to remove.

Now, on to Dance To The Musique:



Thumb to pinkie: Feel The Beat , Slow Jam, Electronica, Groove Thang and After Hours. Bottle is Velvet Rope.

These applied like a DREAM. Perfectly smooth, no bubbles, no pooling, just complete perfection. Color Club's formula is amazingly good.

Feel the Beat is a slight duochrome that reminds me a little of Misa Bojangles. Orange and red type duochrome.

Slow Jam is a fantastic autumn burgundy-brown with lots of depth and shimmer.

Electronica is a gorgeous blueish purple with amazing multicolored shimmer. It looks stunning in the sunlight!

Groove Thang is really cool. It's a beetle-like color, dark blue/black/purple with greenish gold and purple sheen and shimmer. Reminds me of OPI Black Tie Optional, but darker.

After Hours is a charcoal grey with loads of colored shimmer. Far away it looks like just a plain charcoal shimmer, but if you look up close you'll see the multi-colored flecks in it!

Velvet Rope is a red shimmer. Yep. I think I'm really bad at hiding the fact that I'm not a fan of plain reds...


Everything about these collections is perfect. Not only do I love the polishes, but I love all the artwork and promotional imagery used on these collections. The makeup on the models is gorgeous, hell, the models themselves are gorgeous! Color Club really did a great job on these collections- definitely different than what I expected for fall and that makes me really happy!

Also, for Canadians looking for local retailers of Color Club polishes, I was given this information:
Jessica's Cosmetic Nail And Beauty, 39 Orfus Road, Toronto, Ontato. Phone number (647) 435-3856. If you call them they can tell you where to buy Color Club polishes in your area.

And just a little reminder, my Zoya promo code SCRANGIELUV expires tomorrow, so if you have your eye on any of those collections (Pulse, Vibe, Downtown, Uptown) it's a great chance to get some awesome free nail polish!!

Thanks, Color Club!

Awesome Promotion from Zoya! Free Downtown or Uptown Sampler with purchase!

So, you all know by now how much I LOVE Zoya's Downtown collection, right? Well, Zoya loves it too and they want you to have it for free!

Zoya is offering an exciting two-part promo only for my readers!

If you've had your eye on the new Zoya Fall Collections - Pulse and Vibe- here's your chance to get an awesome deal when you order them.

If you order a Pulse collection sampler, you'll get a Downtown collection sampler for FREE!

If metallics and shimmery colors aren't your thing, you can order the Vibe collection and get the Uptown collection free!

Or, if you're like me and love it all, you can order Pulse and Vibe and get BOTH the Downtown and Uptown collections for free!

How sweet is that? All you have to do is add the Pulse and/or Vibe to your cart and use code SCRANGIELUV in the promo code field.

All of these collections are perfect for fall. You get the rich vampy goodness of Pulse and Vibe, the edgy uniqueness of Downtown, and the chic sophisticated colors of Uptown. A lot of variety, and that's definitely a good thing.

Here are the official details:

Exclusive ZOYA OFFER

for Scrangie readers only!

Purchase a Zoya Pulse Sampler (6 - 0.5 oz bottles)…

get a Zoya Downtown Sampler (6 - 0.5 oz bottles) FREE!

Purchase a Zoya Vibe Sampler (6 - 0.5 oz bottles)…

get a Zoya Uptown Sampler (6 - 0.5 oz bottles) FREE!

Get one or both – you decide.

Free items will automatically be added to your order based on your selections.

CODE: SCRANGIELUV

Limit one free uptown and downtown per order.

Offer expires 5PM (EST) Friday, August 22^nd.

Offer not valid in conjunction with other discounts

Special thanks to Zoya for this awesome promo!

Zoya Downtown Collection

This was my first Zoya purchase, and I've been hooked ever since. It's still my favorite Zoya collection, and for good reason. Just look at these fantastic colors! I don't think there's a weak point at all in the collection. I've worn every single one of these colors enough to make a big dent in the bottles, and that's saying something.



Freja. A lovely shimmering charcoal. This is one of those polishes I would have bought just for the name, but the color was so beautiful I didn't have to!


Indigo. A deep, dark midnight blue with just a hint of multicolored glitter. I wish there was more glitter in this one, but it's still beautiful.


Kotori. A very sparkly blue shimmer on a blackish base. It takes three coats to achieve bottle color, but it's worth it. This color is slightly washed out, but it's the best way to show the shimmer. It's a little bit darker in real life.


Lael. The only creme in the collection. Such a wonderful color. Purple creme! There aren't very many purple cremes, but there need to be more. Purple cremes rock.


Rea. Metallic, shimmery, silvery purple. A little bit of a chameleon, it changes from more purple to more silver depending on the lighting.



Suvi. This is a must-have color. A semi-sheer blackened forest green. It takes three coats to achieve bottle color. I can't think of many (if any) dupes for this color.

Every color in this collection is perfect. Application is great, no thick formulas, no messed up brushes, no bubbling. Just pure, dark sparkly awesomeness.

Reader Requests!

Well, it's midnight and I can't sleep, so what better thing to do than to catch up on some awesome reader requests?

Here we go!

For Alison:

One coat of OPI Alpine Snow for tips and one coat of OPI Bubble Bath for the main color. A teeny bit streaky, but you can hardly tell, right? Both of these dry really quickly. This is a very easy look to do!

For Grace:


Thumb to pinkie: Zoya Snow White (3 coats), Rescue Beauty Lounge Underwear (one coat), OPI Alpine Snow (2 coats) , Essie Marshmallow (3 coats), Essie Moon Struck (3 coats). All of them are fairly bright. The brightest is Underwear, followed by Alpine Snow, then Snow White and the least bright are Moon Struck and Marshmallow. Moon Struck almost has a greyish cast to it, and Marshmallow is a nice, soft, squishy 'jelly' white.


Here's one coat of Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom over those whites in the same order.
I really like how it looks over Marshmallow. The translucent look of Marshmallow gives Bikini Bottom a watery quality that's really pretty.


Here's Rescue Beauty Lounge Square Pants over the same whites. So soft and lovely! Man, these colors make my hands look like lobster claws or something... Do they look bright red to you?? Freaky.


Here's a shared request- a few different people were asking for these so I decided to do them all at once!


Thumb to pinkie: OPI Parlez-Vous OPI?, Sephora By OPI Don't Go There, Sephora By OPI Domestic Goddess, Rescue Beauty Lounge Purple Haze, OPI Do You Lilac It?

Why do my purples always photograph so BLUE? Well, imagine that these colors look the same, only, uh, purpler. Purpler. I think I like that.


Thumb to pinkie: OPI You Don't Know Jacques, Sephora By OPI Metro Chic, Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge, OPI Parlez-Vous OPI, Sephora By OPI Call Your Mother.

OMG. I think this could be my favorite mani of all time!! These colors look like they were made to go together. It reminds me of river rocks or something... I am going to wear my nails like this tomorrow!


Currently in the works: OPI Creme de la Kremlin, Silent Mauvie, China Glaze OMG and Kaleidoscope, "car paint" polishes, Konad tutorial, Half-Moon Mani, Red Stallion and Bitches Brew dupes, Rodeo Diva and Downtown comparisons, duochrome mania, Nubar Moodies, China Glaze In The Mood, New York Summer and Sally Hansen Nail Prisms and my favorite polishes.

If you don't see your request in that list, please let me know! And if you have a request, by all means, drop me a line or leave a comment!

Sephora By OPI Swatches!

So the UPS man just surprised me with a box of nail polish from Sephora! I didn't even get a tracking number, they just mysteriously showed up! Hooray, another pleasant surprise!

Swatches first:


Brainiac. Sephora described this as "spiced pumpkin." Whenever I see the word "pumpkin" it's like an alarm goes off inside my brain that says BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY!!! Unfortunately, this doesn't look very pumpkiny to me. It's like a weird muted salmon-coral, or pinkish burnt orange. I still like it, but it's NOT PUMPKIN :(


Cab Fare. I love the color- a bright yellow with yellow-gold shimmer, like Orly Live Wire but not as bright. However... This polish was extremely thick and impossible to work with. See how thick it looks on my nails? That's two coats and it's uneven and lumpy. This was even, dare I say, stringy?


Call Your Mother. Oooh, I like this. Another muted purple. I'm happy that these colors are appearing more often. They're very unusual and I find that exciting!


Charge It! If you don't want to spend $30 on Chanel Gold Fiction, get this! It's not an exact match but the finish is the same. It's a bright, shiny, metallic, polished gold. Love this.


Domestic Goddess. Bright purple creme, woot!!


Don't Go There. Brighter than Call Your Mother, but I don't like it quite as much. It just doesn't do anything for me. Pretty, but meh.


Metro Chic. Another one of these weird colors! I love 'em! Quite similar to You Don't Know Jacques, and I'm perfectly fine with that.


Never Enough Shoes. Not exactly what I was expecting. I had expected more obvious glitter, but this is actually really subtle. I can see red, gold and silver glitter, but it's super-tiny microglitter. I was hoping for something like Petites Black Star.


Run With It. WOO! This is wicked cool! I think they should have named it 'wet cement' because that's what it looks like. It's a muted light grey with the tiniest tinge of red, it looks like. It has a fine shimmer running through it that gives the appearance of concrete- all those little sparkly crushed stones. I really, really love this. A lot. I hope this isn't limited edition!


Truthfully, I wasn't impressed by the quality of these. The main problem I had is that every creme shade I bought has ribbons of unmixed pigment running through it. I normally don't have a problem with this, a little shaking is enough to take care of it most of the time. But, even after a moderate amount of shaking, the ribbons were still there, and worse, created pigmented streaks on the nail!

Formula-wise, about half were good and half were a horrible, thick, gooey, streaky mess.

The brushes are nice, a nicely shaped standard nail polish brush, no Pro-Wides here. I am not a fan of the bottles for three reasons: One, they look like they'll be insanely hard to open if a little bit of polish dries in the threads. Two, they look cheap. And three, they look more like something you'd find in an, um, adult store than a bottle of nail polish.

I'm happy with all the colors I ordered, even if they weren't exactly what I was expecting.

Better pictures: Zoya Pulse Collection

I felt embarrassed about the crappy pictures of the Zoya Pulse collection that I posted, so when I had some sunlight the other day, I snapped a better picture.




Here's Jacy. I think I captured the shimmer a little better this time. If you click the picture, I think you'll be able to see the pretty pink sparkles.


And, the rest:


Thumb to pinkie: Blair, Colbie, Sloane, Rihana, Mikka.

Aren't they gorgeous?

And, a sidenote: I'm working on all of your requests. I know I've been behind in posting lately, but I really love your requests and I'm picky about getting the perfect picture for you! Always feel free to email me (with the word 'request' somewhere in the email or subject line, cause it makes searching my email a little easier ;-) ) or leave a comment with a request. I may not be able to post it right away, but I really enjoy doing them.

If you feel like I've forgotten you, or I'm taking too long, let me know! I don't want to forget anyone! You guys are the best :)

Orly Fall 2008: Gems Collection Swatches

This collection was a surprise to me! I heard nothing about it until I saw it online when I was ordering my France polishes. It's a good surprise, though, it's an awesome collection!

I realized that I don't feature Orly (YARLY.) very much on here... It's not intentional! I really do like Orly, they just don't seem to release new collections as often at the other polish companies. If you can't tell, I'm a sucker for 'new'. I'm always curious about new and exciting polishes, makeup, fragrance, hell, anything 'new'!

The only thing I don't like about Orly is that they take for-ev-er to dry. I always seem to ruin my nails when I'm wearing Orly because I can't wait for them to dry.

Anyway, on to the gems.


Here they are, all lined up. Look, they come with cute rings! They don't fit on my tiny fingers, but they fit the bottle nicely. Star of Bombay, Golden Maharaja, Mandalay Ruby, Sea of Light, Golden Jubilee, Midnight Star.


Golden Jubilee. Bright orangey gold shimmer. Very bright. Sparkly. Mmm.


Star of Bombay, Super deep dark blue with the faintest hint of shimmer. The shimmer is almost invisible on the nail, except on very bright light.


Sea of Light. A peachy-coral-pink kind of color with a blueish-purple shimmer overlay. Almost duochrome, but not quite.


Golden Maharaja. My favorite out of the collection. Gorgeous rich brown with golden shimmer. This bubbled badly seconds after applying. I'm not sure why. Must be an Orly thing.


Mandaly Ruby. Medium red creme. That pretty much says it all.


Midnight Star. Very pretty frosty deep purple. It's like a purple/silver fusion. This one also bubbled very badly just seconds after application. What's up with that?? I bubbled before I could even take a picture of it. Lame! Still an awesome color, though.

Hooray for nice surprises!

On a totally unrelated note, have any of you been having trouble with your China Glaze polishes lately? Every time I try to wear a China Glaze polish, it takes hours to dry. This is happening with old and new formula polishes. The other day I tried to wear Passion In The Pacific with Seche as a topcoat, and eight hours later I could still dent the polish. Same with Side Saddle on my toes. Is it just the weather, or do they really take that long to dry? I didn't have this problem with any of the Ink collection, but every other collection seems to be doing it now. Hmmm...

OPI Fall 2008: La Collection De France Swatches

EDIT: Now with 100% more commentary!
I promised I'd have these up on Monday, and damn it, I am going to post them before midnight!

The odds were against me today. I was supposed to have these on Friday, but UPS decided to reschedule my shipment! So today I waited and waited as all the good sunlight disappeared. No OPIs! I was about to give up hope when I heard the UPS man pull up... at 7:30PM!!! By this time the sun was setting and I had no light for swatches. (I took over 200 pictures of these outdoors in the sunset and not a single one turned out!)

But, here they are, finally, OPI La Collection De France!

I'm tired, so I'll spare you the commentary and let you admire the images without my constant nonsensical babble ;-)

A Oui Bit Of Red
This actually has a bit of fuchsia shimmer to it that wouldn't show up in the picture. You can see the hint of shimmer in the botttle if you look closely. It's your average red shimmer, very pretty, but not something I would wear.

Baguette Me Not
Really odd muted salmon brown sort of color. Another "mom" color, but I really like it. It reminds me of fall. Very soft.

Bastille My Heart
This is a bit more purple in real life. A deep, shimmery, stainy (yikes!) wine shimmer. Pretty, but holy crap does this ever stain.

Crepes Suziette
This is less red in real life. More of a muted burnt orange type of color. Another soft "mom" color that's extremely similar to Baguette Me Not, just a shade darker. In fact, this is a creme version of one of my favorites- Cheyenne Pepper. It's like Cheyenne Pepper without the beautiful golden shimmer.

Eiffel For This Color
Hot. Seriously. It reminds me of Black Cherry Chutney. A deep, dark black cherry color with shimmer. Not terribly unique, but still awesome.

I'm Fondue Of You
LOVE this one. Chocolate brown with a touch of red and gold shimmer. Very 'fall'. It's similar to Rescue Beauty Lounge Noisette, but more subtle (and not quite as pretty!)

Yes... I Can-Can!
Another cherry-colored polish! This says "Moulin Rouge" to me. Vampy, sexy, shimmery dark cherry.

You Don't Know Jacques
This is probably my favorite out of the collection. There aren't too many colors that look like this. It's very unusual! Is it grey or taupe or mousy brown? I'll probably wear this the most often out of all of these.

Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not
Hey, is this Zoya Jacy? Close, but a tad darker. Medium purple/plum with pink shimmer. Gorgeous.

Parlez-Vous OPI?
This is wicked cool. It's a greyed lilac. Like Do You Lilac It's undead zombie sister. This *might* be tied with You Don't Know Jacques for my favorite of the collection. I can't decide. Maybe it's my second favorite.

Tickle My Francey
A coffee with too much cream nude. I don't wear nudes or pale colors, but I really love the way this looks. It's not your average nude, there's just something about it that's unique. It has that Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge feeling to it, but more natural looking. Elegant, for sure.

We'll Always Have Paris
A deep wine cream. Well, maybe not wine exactly, but purple-red-brown. Man, I think I really suck at describing colors. That's what pictures are for, I suppose. Vampy and rich, definitely not unique, but still beautful anyway.

These colors are not what I expected from seeing the promo pictures. I think there are really only three totally unique colors in this collection -You Don't Know Jacques, Parlez-Vous OPI, Tickle My Francey. They are all really pretty, but I feel that OPI played it too safe. What happened to the OPI that released Night Brights? I can see what they were going for in this collection, and I'm sure the average nail polish consumer would love all of these, but for a nail polish junkie like me, I've seen all these colors before. Red shimmer, vampy shimmer, vampy creme, wine creme, ho-hum.

I'm not saying that I don't like these- I think they're all gorgeous- but I think OPI could have been a little more, I don't know, exciting? Look at China Glaze's Rodeo Diva collection! They did a mixture of traditional and non-traditional colors and every single color came out awesome.

Then again, this is just my opinion and I know that I like my polish colors to be more "out there" and over the top- bring on the glitter, the duochromes and the neons! I do love my vampy colors, but the nail polish market is becoming SO saturated with them I'm starting to become bored! At least I have OPI's Halloween and Holiday collections to look forward to.

There.... I made it! I'll add in my comments when I've had some sleep. Enjoy!