NOTD: OPI Ski Teal We Drop

First time painting my nails after a long long time!

Today's shade is a lovely dark blue green ~ OPI Ski Teal We Drop :)

Photo taken under artificial light, without flash

Same as above

Natural daylight

Artificial light, with flash

Color is very dark, but it's very obviously teal!

O.P.I Pirates of the Caribbean Collection + O.P.I Silver Shatter

O.P.I's latest collection: Pirates of the Caribbean is an AWESOME range ~

I would describe the colours from this range to be 'chalky', as I can really imagine using these colours on the chalk board ~

The formula is good and easy to apply. The colours look 'bumpy' on my nails, not because the formula is streaky or anything, but because my nails are artificial... still haven't removed my gel nails yet. The surface of my gel nails is not exactly even.

O.P.I Pirates of the Caribbean Collection + Silver Shatter

The colours are applied without top coat.

Sparrow Me the Drama, P15

2 coats

Sparrow Me the Drama is a muted purplish pink. I find myself drawn to this the more I look at it =) Any pink lovers would adore this!

Stranger Tides, P17

3 coats, I think 2 coats should do on natural nails.

This happens to be my favourite colour of the lot! Just a glance of it the colour is light grey. But when you look closely, it is actually a greenish grey! This is a really unique colour to me =)

Mermaid's Tears, P18

2 coats

Mermaid's Tears was the first colour that caught my attention. It is a pastel dusty green that looks surprisingly flattering on my nails. The SA told me this is one of the more popular shades in the collection. The colour looks slightly lighter and dustier in real life.

I didn't buy Planks a Lot (dusty medium purple), Skull and Bones (light grey) and Steady as a Rose (light pastel pink). I thought the colours are a little common. I took out some of my own older colours to play with the Silver Shatter.

Thumb: China Glaze Light as Air

Index: OPI Sparrow Me the Drama

Middle: OPI Stranger Tides

Ring: OPI Mermaid's Tears

Little: Nubar Citadel

OPI Silver Shatter

The OPI Silver Shatter is just as cool as the Black Shatter. Just like the Black Shatter, the Silver Shatter 'cracks' into silver pieces on nails after a thin layer is applied and dried. It works best with pastel/ chalky/ dusty shades to give nails a mysterious look (if that is possible...?) So fitting for the Pirates of the Caribbean range!!

With flash

Without flash

With top coat for a glossy finish. I personally prefer the look with top coat.

Nice work, OPI. I am in love with you again.

Review: O.P.I Nail Envy Natural Nail Strengthener for Soft Thin Nails

O.P.I Nail Envy Natural Nail Strengthener for Soft Thin Nails, SGD42

This is a treatment top + boat coat. I have used other "branded" top coats like Poshe, Seche Vite and Nubar Diamont before, and I think the O.P.I wins without a doubt.

First of all, the O.P.I is a treatment base, as well as top coat.... so that's $$$ saved. Secondly, the O.P.I has the thinnest formula comparatively, which makes any DIY manicure look more professional, less thick. Thirdly, the shine of the polish as a top coat is the most lasting. Usually, my manicure "top-coated" with Poshe or Seche Vite will look dull on the second day. Nubar Diamont was slightly better. But for me, the O.P.I one will look fresh for at least 4 days. I am not sure about the anti-chip ability though, as almost ALL polish chip on me on the 2nd day, if not the 3rd. Lastly, this treatment polish has improved the condition of my nails. Although they are still discolored, relatively thin and translucent (eekkks!), they are no longer peeling.

Good shiny finish

Please forgive the horrible look of my nails. My poor nails have been tortured and ill treated by me for many many years ^^"

So, I really recommend this... if you don't mind pricy nail polishes...

OPI Shatter

OPI Shatter E59, SGD19

Ok I know this is not new~ but it's new to me! I discovered this exciting new polish from OPI that "shatters" into uneven "pieces" upon application~

It looks like just a normal black nail polish

I first applied base coat, then 2 coats of China Glaze SCI-FI, a Khrome purplish silver. After the polish is thoroughly dry, I apply one moderately thick coat of OPI Shatter.

The OPI Shatter dries matte in about 30 seconds, and amazingly cracks into intricate irregular patterns! If you apply a thinner coat, you get patterns that are smaller; if you apply a thicker coat, the polish cracks into bigger pieces.

OPI Shatter over China Glaze SCI-FI with glossy top coat.

I experimented OPI Shatter over a few other colors of polish. I think Shatter works best over glitter polish and light, bright colors! My favorite is the pink on my pinkie!

On index finger: OPI Shatter over Ettussai Nail Color N in VI1 and Chanel Nail Color 237 Pepite

On middle finger: OPI Shatter over OPI Amazing Alice A56

On ring finger: OPI Shatter over Zoya Bekka

On pinkie: OPI Shatter over Anna Sui Nail Color N in 318

Quick get your own OPI Shatter and have lots of fun with it =)

My Top 10 Favourite Nail Colours of All Time

I love nail polish and my first purchase of cosmetics was a bottle of Maybelline nail polish in frosty pink (at the age of 14). I have a huge collection of nail polish and I have carefully selected 10 of my favourites from my enormous collection to post here.

A few trusted sites to purchase nail polish (Zoya, China Glaze, Nubar) are Trans Design, Nails de Royale and Head2Toe. But do observe any restrictions in your countries' postal services when purchasing nail varnish.

My favourites (from dark to light):

Chanel Le Vernis in 461 Blue Satin (S$35)
Dark blue shimmer. From afar, you might think this is a black cream. But as you look closely, this is actually a dark blue with very subtle black shimmer!

Orly nail lacquer in Happily Ever After (S$19 approx)
A dark berry red with blue undertone and shimmer! This is simply divine! Flatters my skin tone, makes my hands look fairer.

Anna Sui nail colour in 400 (S$24)
A true red. It looks slightly darker in real life. This is from Anna Sui's old nail colour collection. However, I think there are many other brands selling similar shade of red. Not to be confused with the new collection colour 400 (it's an orange red). This colour makes my hands look fairer too!

China Glaze nail lacquer in Ruby Pumps (US$6.50 approx)
A cherry red with red sparkles! It is not cream or frost or shimmer. It's a jelly sparkle! There is this glass-like quality to it when applied. Lovely! It is funky yet classy.

Zoya nail lacquer in Harlow (Matte) (US$7)
A very sophisticated purple-dark pink. This is a matte with shimmer. You have to see it to understand! I think this is a very unique colour.

Fancl nail colour in 25 (S$15.50)
A pretty mauve with subtle gold shimmer. I still remember seeing a girl wearing a similar shade on the MRT, loved it, and went around looking for a similar colour. Most shades looked either too purple or too pink! Finally, after a few weeks, I found this colour at the Fancl counter. It was one of the last places I looked, as I didn't even know Fancl sold nail polish then (probably 5-6 years ago).

OPI nail lacquer in I42 Elephantastic Pink (S$19-$23.50)
A unique hot pink. This is not just any normal hot pink. It is a super pretty pink with blue undertone! I did a manicure in this colour at the nail salon and I remember I could not stop staring at it.

Nubar nail lacquer in Chocolate Caramel (US$7.49)
I really don't know how to describe this! It looks exactly like the pic above. Exactly like caramel, with shimmer and a little bit of sparkle. I had to keep my fingers away from my teeth as I simply love caramel.

OPI nail lacquer in C89 Chocolate Moose (S$19-23.50)
A very easy-to-wear and match-everything-and-anything kind of cream brown.

Chanel Le Vernis in 257 Perle Rosee (S$35)

I think this was a limited edition. It is a light shimmery+frosty nude pink. There is a similar colour from Paul & Joe which is still available at the counters.

Hope you love some of the colours I love. Do leave some comments here if you want to share your favourite nail colours with me!