Pink Perforated Leather & Diamonds

If your Facebook feed hasn't made it obvious enough: it's Valentine's Day! For my holiday manicure, I chose to go with something sweet and cute but with a little bit of quirk. Enter the perforated leather technique, which I first showcased in my Lacquer Legion post. It certainly looks different in pink, but honestly I am still just as in love with this now as I was then. A silver texture finishes off the look with lots of sparkle.

For the perforated leather nails, I used OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian from the Brazil Collection. I tried to pick a pink shade that would be plausible as leather, if that even makes sense, and I think this one worked nicely.

If you want to try the perforated leather look for yourself, be sure to read my step by step (which I've updated with a few new tips and tricks) to get the details. The matte topper I used is OPI Matte Topcoat.

The accent nails are two coats of OPI It's Frosty Outside, a silver texture from the Mariah Holiday Collection. Honestly, it's gotta be in my top five texture polishes to date, maybe even top three. It glimmers in the light and has the perfect amount of roughness. Without waxing too poetic, it reminds me of a giant pile of thousands of diamonds.

Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine's Day! For those of you without a romantic Valentine, take the day to express your love to your family and friends, and give yourself some love, too! Don't forget, you can always grab one of my Valentines for nail polish addicts and tell them how you really feel.

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Work/Play/Polish's Blogging for a Cause

Leslie from Work/Play/Polish is currently hosting a series of guest posters to benefit the charity Polished Girlz. For each guest poster that accepted, she has pledged to donate $10 to the organization, which hosts nail art parties for kids that are frequently hospitalized or terminally ill. They also tout the benefits of frequent hand washing to reduce infection and hospitalization. I know I'm all for using nail art to spread love and cheer to kids that need it!

I was invited to participate in her guest post series and of course I said yes! Please visit Work/Play/Polish for more photos, details, and chatter about this nail art. Leslie also wrote an introductory post featuring nail art by Alanna, the 13 year old founder of the organization. Please stop by if you have a moment!

Happy Holidays!

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OPI Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection - Liquid Sands

Today, in chapter #857,209 of "Sarah Is Obsessed with Textured Polishes," I have swatches of the OPI Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Liquid Sand shades. I'll be honest: I was initially unsure if I would like these ones. A few of these Sands have metallic finishes, and I've never really gotten excited about standard, nontextured metallic polish. But who am I kidding? We're talking about textured polish here. I ended up loving all of these!

Baby Please Come Home is a dusky purple metallic textured polish. The metallic finish looks really cool when it dries down with the texture - I'm definitely a big fan. I love the deeper tones of this shade. It's very glamorous! Two coats.

Emotions is a black textured polish. It also has some medium black glitter, which caught the light at certain angles! Some of you may be concerned that this one is similar to the "beaded" effect polishes from other brands, but I can report that it wasn't chunky or odd-looking on the nail at all. It looked like carbon to me! Three coats.

It's Frosty Outside is a tinseltastic silver metallic textured polish. This is the first one that I wore in the collection; I couldn't get it out of my mind! It's SO holiday appropriate and the medium silver glitters provided just the right amount of visual interest. Two coats.

Kiss Me At Midnight is a cornflower blue textured polish with silvery white glitters. In addition to the medium glitters, this one also has some larger pieces scattered through (you can see a few on my middle fingernail). It looks really cool dried down, and I was pleased to see this pop of color in the Sands. Two coats.

Make Him Mine is a rose metallic textured shade. I'm actually wearing this one now as I write this post, and have had it on for three days now (PS - no chips to report). It makes me think of wrapping up in a soft blanket and sitting by a fireside, though I'm not sure why! It can look a little paler depending on the lighting. Two coats.

Silent Stars Go By is a champagne metallic textured shade with just a touch of pink. Imagine yourself at a holiday party, holding a glass of bubbly, with this on your nails... It's perfection, no? Two coats.

These shades took me by surprise. While they aren't the traditional red, green, and gold of Christmas, they are definitely holiday appropriate without being in your face. The metallic shades bring just the right bit of glitz and glam, and the long wear time means you can rock them during your busy holiday season without needing to constantly change your manicure.

Mariah Carey Holiday is available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, & ULTA. You can also shop this collection online via ulta.com. Each lacquer retails for for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN).

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31DC2013 Day 28: Textured American Flag

Today's 31 Day Challenge prompt is "inspired by a flag" and I decided to create a variation on the American flag using textured polishes. It's pretty simple in concept and in execution and yet it has a fancy end result!

This look was created by starting with a base of OPI My Vampire is Buff. I figured the textured polishes would get a little faded after sponging them on, so I chose an off-white base to go along with the faded style.

After letting my base dry completely, I placed striping tape going down my nails, creating a sort of half moon shape near the cuticle. Then, I painted OPI Get Your Number and OPI Magazine Cover Mouse on to a triangle makeup wedge. I use it to do two rounds of sponging over the tape, and then removed the tape to reveal the off-white stripes.

TIP: Remember to block off your fingers to protect them from the mess. Dry Elmer's glue, tape, or Liquid Palisade are all great options!

Tape nail art using textured polishes is always really intriguing to me. The combination of smooth and rough in one manicure is so delectable!

More 31 Day Challenge
View upcoming prompts!
My flag nails from 2012!
My flag nails from 2011!

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31DC2013 Day 25: Inspired by Fashion (Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf)

This prompt usually stumps me every year. While I do think that I have a decent amount of style, I'm not so up on exactly what's going on in the world of fashion. HOWEVER! One item I did recall when brainstorming for today's post was the Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf. Well, I didn't recall that it was specifically a McQueen piece, so I googled "black and white skull scarf" and connected the dots from there. See, I told you I don't know fashion!

This is what the scarf looks like for those of you who haven't seen it. Isn't it beautiful? I would love to own one, except for the price of course! Time to go searching for a cheaper alternative...

For my manicure, I started with a base of three coats of OPI Solitaire, a white Liquid Sand polish with small silver glitters. After letting it dry completely, I stamped on a pattern from Vivid Lacquer plate VL001 using Essie Licorice.

This was my first time stamping on a textured polish! It went just as well for me as any of the other stampings I've done, which is to say I had to fill in a couple of spots freehand. I've gotta stamp more often so eventually I won't have to do those touchups anymore.

I do like the way the stamping looks on the textured polish -- very unique.

Collage image, you know the drill!

More 31 Day Challenge
View upcoming prompts!
My inspired by fashion nails from 2012!
My inspired by fashion nails from 2011!

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Red Te-X-ture - OPI Couture de Minnie Nail Art

OPI's newest offering is the Couture de Minnie Collection, celebrating the more refined side of everyone's favorite cartoon lady mouse. The collection consists of three solid shades, a glitter, and a Liquid Sand textured polish. Today's nail art look uses two of the polishes in this collection.

Press Sample

For this look, I began with a base of OPI Innie Minnie Mightie Bow. This red has some shimmer to it, making it look like it's glowing from within (though it's not quite as glowy as its cousin, Danke-Shiny Red from the Germany Collection). I found I got great coverage at two coats, though people that apply their polish a little thicker could definitely get away with just one.

After I let the base dry completely, I used striping tape to block off some Xs on my nails. I added a layer of the Liquid Sand polish, OPI Magazine Cover Mouse, and removed the tape.

The result I got was really interesting. Since both polishes are red, the final look was pretty subtle, though you could definitely distinguish the shiny polish below from the grainy, textured polish on top. Sometimes it would catch the light juuuust right and the effect would be even clearer.

What do you think of this look?

This limited edition collection will be available beginning June 2013 at professional salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

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OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Collection

Continuing with today's Liquid Sand theme, I have the six polishes from the OPI Bond Girls Collection to share! Each inspired by an iconic Bond girl from the James Bond movies, these polishes are unique and fabulous. Be sure to sound off and let me know which ones you are liking the most in the comments.

Press Sample 

Honey Ryder is a pale neutral gold with a sparkly, sandy finish. I was surprised by how much I liked this one - when it dried it looked like the surface of a nugget of fool's gold. I used two coats.

Pussy Galore is a pale pink. When I first checked out this collection I fully expected this one to be a "dislike" for me. I wanted to give it a fair chance though, so I wore it for a full day. I have to say that while I didn't do a complete 180 on it, I did end up seeing the merit! It worked well with my skintone and dried down to a lovely, non-frosty finish. Two coats.

Jinx. JINX JINX JINX. Everyone needs Jinx. It's absolutely my favorite Liquid Sand polish I've tried so far. The coral color is great on its own but what makes it absolutely stunning is the addition of the gold shimmer. I wore this for a day and could not stop looking at it. Two coats.

Solitare is a snowy white accented with small silver glitters. I love white polishes in general, so a white textured matte was a lot of fun for me to wear! I did need three coats for this one, as it was on the sheerer side, and the additional coat meant extra drying time.

Vesper is a really interesting blackened purple base with black glitters. It mostly just looks black here, but in person you can see the purple in certain lights. I put this one on a nail wheel, too, and a day or so later it had dried further and the purple had become even more apparent.

Tiffany Case is a frosty light blue. There's just something cool about this one that I can't express easily. Maybe it's the matte metallic finish that is making it difficult for me? It's icy but still bright and pigmented, not muted at all. I used two coats. Unfortunately I do have to note that I had a little staining when I went to remove this, so apply at your own risk!

I found the formula on all of these to be pretty similar. They are a little thick but easy to control, and the thickness doesn't matter because they dry down quite a bit.

My official Chalkboard Nails picks? Jinx and Honey Ryder. If you are into pinks, Pussy Galore is worth a look, too, though they are all really great and it kind of just depends on your personal preferences. Which Bond girl would you rock on your digits?

Bond Girls by OPI will be available beginning May 2013 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Chatters, JCP Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

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OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand "Stage Shades"

It's time to get Liquid Sand-y up in here! I didn't end up getting the Mariah Carey Collection at its release, but thankfully my talented friend Algae Veronica had my back and gifted me the set. Despite being a little bit late to the game, I thought I'd share the "Stage Shades" half of the collection. It consists of four Liquid Sand polishes. I just love the way these look in photos.

Can't Let Go is a rich purple matte textured finish polish. It is accented by medium size hexes in a matching purple. I needed two coats for the opacity here.

Stay the Night has a textured black base with little glints of red peeking through. It reminded me of lava, with the black crust on top and the molten lava below. It's very pretty -- probably my second favorite in this set. The only thing was that I needed three coats, which did cause the matte finish to take a bit longer to dry. Worth it, in my opinion.

Get Your Number was the first Liquid Sand polish I ever tried and my favorite from this collection. This gorgeous blue is super sparkly and fun, and I love the chunkier pieces. Two coats. It's killer.

The Impossible is a neon red with star glitters. The star glitters were plentiful and went on easily, but unfortunately without topcoat, they were prone to snagging on things here and there. I ended up picking them off, but you may have less of an issue with them if you have flatter nails. I do really love this color though. Two coats.

Liquid Sand is the first and only type of textured polish type I've tried so far, but I've really been pleased with the results. They dried faster than I expected, they felt awesome without being sandpapery, and they really do sparkle fantastically in the light.

Have you had the chance to try out any of these shades? What did you think? Thank you Algae Veronica for sharing these amazing polishes with me!

This Limited Edition collection originally came out in January, so you may still be able to find it in beauty supply stores and salons in your area.

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OPI's Oz The Great and Powerful Collection Swatches and Review

Today I have some swatches of OPI's new Oz The Great and Powerful Collection. This is OPI's yearly Soft Shades offering, just in time to make the transition between winter and spring!

Don't Burst My Bubble is my favorite of the non-glitter polishes in this collection. I was expecting Glints of Glinda to be my top pick, but when I put this one on my nails, I fell in love. This soft white jelly shade is tinted with just a touch of pink, and it makes my nails look so clean. I needed three coats for the swatch below and found the formula to be smooth and glossy. It's. Just. So. Pretty.

Lights of Emerald City is a fantastic glitter. This feels like a venture into the "indie" aesthetic for OPI and I am loving it! This glitter is made up of iridescent squares that shift from blue to orange-gold and larger white squares. It's a pretty simple combination but I think the result is really striking. The glitter density was workable; it wasn't the easiest polish I've ever used but it definitely wasn't actively frustrating to apply. I layered it over Don't Burst My Bubble.

I Theodora You is a light candy pink shade. I wouldn't describe it as a creme but it is a bit more opaque than Don't Burst My Bubble and Glints of Glinda. I still needed three coats, but the final look was more solid. I liked the way this looked on my nails and had no troubles with the formula.

Which is Witch? is the best glitter in this collection, in my opinion! This clear based polish is packed with smaller pieces of silver holographic glitter, including hexes, microglitters, and short bars. Which is Witch has great density, needing only one coat to add a nice amount of sparkle. It shines beautifully in the light and looks great when paired with any of the Oz jellies. I've shown it here with I Theodora You.

Glints of Glinda is a tan jelly shade. While I liked the consistency of this polish, I think the shade was too close to my skin tone for me to go gaga over it. Still though, it's a great polish and I think it would look beautiful on someone a bit more tan or darker-toned than I am! Three coats shown below.

When Monkeys Fly! is a clear based polish with large metallic gold hexes and smaller silver holographic glitters. Unfortunately, this one is a bust for me. As I'm sure many of you have seen by now, the gold hexes curl badly. Not only do they have the appearance of curling when you look at them, but they also physically curl up off the nail. Even after topcoating, they will sometimes still poke out a bit. I appreciate what OPI was going for here, but I think this was a miss. Shown over Glints of Glinda.

(OPI has recently addressed this issue and if you have a bottle you are unhappy with, you can follow the procedure outlined on their Facebook page.)

I took this shot to try to demonstrate the curl. You can see it best on my pointer and ring fingers.

What Wizardry Is This? is the Liquid Sand accompaniment to this collection! This brown shade has a nice bronze shimmer to it. I thought it looked a bit like distressed leather once it had set! I needed two coats for the opacity below.

My picks for this collection are Don't Burst My Bubble, Which is Witch?, and Lights of Emerald City. The Liquid Sand is also nice but I found that I preferred the effect of some of the Mariah Carey Collection Liquid Sands (I'll post my pics soon!).

One thing that did surprise me a bit about this collection is that OPI chose this movie as the inspiration for their Soft Shades release. To me, Oz is an intensely colorful place with so many opportunities for unique and eye catching lacquers. Still though, some of these polishes are real winners in my eyes, and I will continue to wear them despite the disconnect.

This limited edition promotion is available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCP Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

Products provided for review consideration.

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