Nicole... SPOTTED! - Nicole by OPI

It all began with Ulta's summer exclusive OPI launch "Shimmer into Summer."

The day it was launched I was tied up with my gig so I just couldn't spare time to pay Ulta a visit, and plus Ulta had a buy 2 OPI, get a free base/top coat or any of the "Shimmer into Summer" collection, so this collection sell out FAST...

You can view the 4 shades from "Shimmer into Summer" at the polish ahol's blog.

The color that I really wanted to get was "Sparkle Teal Sunrise" which is a nice aqua with plently of shimmers. A photo from the polish ahol:

As with most OPI's chunky sparkly shades, Sparkle Teal Sunrise is no exception with a thick consistency and being very sheer. (3 coats for the picture above from the polish ahol)

But sadly after a few trips to Ulta, there were no restock.

Just when I about to give up with the search, I found a dupe of Sparkle Teal Sunrise and that is Nicole... Spotted made by Nicole by OPI.

You can read more about this dupe alert here at the trace face philes:

Very similar right?

I found this bottle of Nicole by OPI sitting at a corner at the clearance section. I thought I was going to pay full price for this, but when I took this to the check out, the total came out to be $1.99 only! And plus an additional 20% off coupon I had! WOA, now that is a beauty deal...

(Speaking of the original OPI Sparkle Teal Sunrise, I have seen it for sale for $40+ on Ebay... total madness!)

A total of 4 colors are used for this gradation look:

Nicole by OPI: Nicole... Spotted!
OPI: I'm an Aqua-holic (the deep navy), Coney Island Cotton Candy (nude base), and I Juggle... Men (shimmery top overcoat)

Gradation Nails with OPI Nail Polish

I usually put on a new color of nail polish on Fridays so I can enjoy them while going out with my love on weekends.


Last weekend was a special one because it's one of our anniversaries. (haha, we have multiples because we have different a wedding date and reception date!) Last year this time, we were in Hong Kong hosting our reception banquet :)


Lately I have been really into gradation nails. I know I could order Japanese nail gradation liquid online but they do not come cheap. So I just figure I can DIY my own gradation nails using different nail polishes. Since we often have good deals with OPI nail polishes from Ulta, why not make use of this?


This time I used 3 colors,  I Juggle... Men, Last Friday Night, and Happy Anniversary (haha, this is just coincident!)

I Juggle... Men is from OPI's Femme de Cirque collection while Last Friday Night is from OPI's Katy Perry collection. They maybe hard to find in stores now.

After applying a nail base, I coat a thin layer of Happy Anniversary, which is a silvery pearl color to the entire nails. Then I go back to apply a second layer towards the tip of my nails for the silver pearl color to appear more opaque. Next, I apply a thin layer of Last Friday Night on my nail and then go back to apply more nail polish at the tips to build more color intensity and glitter. Last Friday Night is quite sheer in color so it may take 3 more coats to show the color. And I also notice that the glitter collection tends to be a lot thicker than their regular nail polishes so you gotta be patient! Finally I top my nails with I Juggle... Man as a top coat.

And voila:

Nice and subtle^^

Deal Alert!! OPI and Essie deal at your local Ulta^^

Over the past weekend, I was able to get hold of some fabulous deals for OPI and Essie nail polishes at my local Ulta.


Ulta is running a buy 2 get 1 free special for both OPI and Essie nail polishes. Note: brands cannot be mix and matched.


On top of this, Ulta also has a $5 off $10 purchase. They usually have a $3.50 off $10 so this time the deal is even sweeter.

Coupon linky here.


Break down of the total: 
3 OPI for $12+tax
3 Essie for $11+tax


Sweet huh?


Hurry, this special will end on May 7, 2011!!!

Femme de Cirque - Softshades by OPI

While browsing in Ulta for their buy 2 get 1 free special for OPI nail polishes, I came across this new Femme de Cirque collection by OPI set up at the entry area. It's basically a soft pink shade collection that you would imagine yourself using for a nice french nails :)

This collection contains four sheer pinkish shades:

1. So Many Clowns…So Little Time – a pale cream with a hint of pink

2. In The Spot-Light Pink – a soft candy pink

3. I Juggle…..Men – a very sheer translucent white with blue duochrome-y micro glitter

4. Step Right Up! – a sheer pink

I acquired 2 colors from this collection, In The Spot-Light Pink and I Juggle... Man. Since I figured the other 2 colors will be way too light and sheer for me.

Using In The Spot-Light Pink and trying to execute my first attempt of french nails on my nails:

It was harder than what I thought. It takes 3 coats for the nice candy pink to show up. For the white tip, I used Essie's Mashmallow.

The reason doing french nails is because my hubby loves all naturale look on me. Something simple isn't that wasn't to do afterall. 

Ooo-la-la, it looks so shiny! And the micro-glitters from I Juggle…Men is hardly visible, but I was able to find some swatches of the colors from this collection:

(swatches with two coats)

Overlaying I Juggle Man... with the pinks from this collection:

As you can see, this collection is quite sheer and as I mentioned, it took me 3 coats of In The Spot-Light Pink before its real colors is showing through. 

Quoting what other bloggers reviewed about this collection:

Each shade is very sheer and will take three coats before you’ll start to see any real opacity, so if coverage is what you’re aiming for—this collection might not have what you desire. But if you like to see a little bit of free-edge, you’re in luck! I Juggle…Men is an extremely subtle iridescent top coat that makes the nails seem almost dewy when applied over So Many Clowns…So Little Time, Step Right Up!, and In The Spot-Light Pink. What I like about the SoftShades is that they’re natural and clean, and that’s a look that is always in style.

Spring Nails!! OPI and Essie nail polish hauls from Ulta

Seeing MisoJenny hauled some nude nail polishes by OPI and Essie from Ulta, I wanted some nude colors on my nails too!


And the other reason is there was a 20% off your entire order at Ulta. How can I skip that deal??


Actually I didn't buy all of the nail polishes shown above. I am giving most of them away for my 2 friends in Japan. They have longed for OPI nail polishes.... It's not that OPI is unavailable in Japan, it's just that they are crazily expensive, 1890yen per bottle. That's $22usd!! Over twice the retail price! With the discount, each bottle is just $6.8usd...


But the other challenge is I know I am not supposed to mail nail polishes and I have seen posters of prohibited items at the post office before. So I asked MisoJenny what did she do when she listed nail polishes in her beauty blog sale, and she said she just declared it as "cosmetics"... ok, I will try that. They will sure love me!


For this week, I am using Essie's Eternal Optimist and OPI's Katy Perry limited collection "Teenage Dream" for a quick gradation nail look. I am really into gradation nails these days and on my haul list is some gradation nail liquid from Japan. I still need to find out which is a good brand, anyone has recommendations, please let me know!


Glimpse on my nails: