OPI Euro Centrale Nail Lacquer in Can't Find My Czechbook

I haven't really been intrigued with any of OPI's collections since Skyfall last November, but when I saw their new Euro Centrale collection for Spring, I was immediately drawn to the brighter shades. Maybe I'm just sick of winter now, but I'm extremely attracted to colours that obviously scream, "Spring!" I was set to pick up a few shades, but I saw that they offered the majority of the shades I wanted in a Mini Lacquer Set, so I picked that up instead to save myself some money. After trying on the ultra-girly Suzi's Hungary Again!, I decided to wear a shade that was more in my comfort zone.


Can't Find My Czechbook is a medium brightened cyan-aqua blue in a jelly-cream finish. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two medium coats. It is dustier and less bright than Illamasqua's Noble and Deborah Lippmann's On the Beach, and lighter and more aqua than Sephora by OPI's Slushied. It seems that every brand has come out with a bright cyan blue in the past year or so, so this is not necessarily a new or unique shade, but it does have a sort of dusty quality to it (which is more obvious in real life than in photos) that makes it slightly different. I wouldn't say this is a must-have if you already have a similar shade in your stash, but if you are looking for a bright cyan blue, this is a budget-friendly option that's worth checking out.

OPI Euro Centrale Nail Lacquer in Suzi's Hungary Again!

I haven't really been intrigued with any of OPI's collections since Skyfall last November, but when I saw their new Euro Centrale collection for Spring, I was immediately drawn to the brighter shades. Maybe I'm just sick of winter now, but I'm extremely attracted to colours that obviously scream, "Spring!" I was set to pick up a few shades, but I saw that they offered the majority of the shades I wanted in a Mini Lacquer Set, so I picked that up instead to save myself some money (and also because I rarely ever use a nail polish more than twice, so the smaller size is actually more ideal). The first shade I decided to try is the most girly, tropical one of the bunch (possibly of the entire collection), and also the one that was the most out of my comfort zone.


Suzi's Hungary Again! is a medium vibrant coral-pink in a jelly-cream finish. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two medium coats. It is slightly darker and more pink than Butter London's Trout Pout, more pink than MAC's Fiestaware, and lighter than Essie's Cute as a Button. There are a lot of dupes for this shade since these bright coral-pinks are often released this time of year for warm weather manicures and pedicures. No surprise, since everything about this shade reminds me of summer: strawberry lemonade, watermelon Bubblicious gum, rainbow sherbet. Coral and bright pink polishes are still out of my comfort zone because I maintain that they look odd against my skintone... but I can see myself embracing them, especially once summer rolls around.

OPI Skyfall Nail Lacquer in Goldeneye

If you've been living under a rock, Skyfall is the latest installment in the James Bond series (and Adele's song for the film has been playing approximately once every half-hour everywhere), and OPI collaborated with the franchise to release 12 shades of nail polish (plus three magnetic shades and one real 18-karat gold top coat). The 12 shades are each named after a James Bond film. I've already tried On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die, and The World is Not Enough, and I am glad to report that the Skyfall nail love is still going strong (and I swear I will watch the movie soon; I'm just waiting for the hype to die down so there are less line-ups). The fourth and last shade I bought from this collection is Goldeneye.

Goldeneye (natural lighting)

Goldeneye (under flash)

Goldeneye is a clear base with medium yellow gold, amber, and copper shimmer and micro-glitter. It is named after the 1995 film of the same name. It leans fairly warm in most lighting, but can take on an almost green cast in certain angles. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has low-medium pigmentation, and will go opaque in three medium coats. I can't think of any close dupes for this; Essie's As Gold as it Gets is much more sheer and has flake glitter, Butter London's West End Wonderland is lighter, cooler, and less vibrant, and Deborah Lippmann's Boom Boom Pow has much larger glitter particles and is less warm. The formula of this one is much more sheer than all the other shades I've tried from this collection, but it is by far the most luxurious. It literally looks like molten gold, and I swear to you, every other person had asked me what I was wearing on my nails.

OPI Skyfall Nail Lacquer in The World is Not Enough

If you've been living under a rock, Skyfall is the latest James Bond film that will be released this coming Friday, and OPI has collaborated with the franchise to release 12 shades of nail polish (plus three magnetic shades and one real 18-karat gold top coat). The 12 shades are each named after a James Bond film. I've already tried On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Live and Let Die, and I am glad to report that the Skyfall nail love is still going strong. Next one up: The World is Not Enough.

The World is Not Enough (natural lighting)

The World is Not Enough (under flash)

The World is Not Enough is a medium-dark shimmery taupe with multi-coloured micro-glitter. It is named after the 1999 film of the same name. It's a very multi-faceted shade, giving off a prismatic effect in different lightings; in natural lighting, the shade seems to take on a cooler, more grey undertone, and in indoor lighting, it takes on a warmer, more plum-bronze undertone. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has low-medium pigmentation, and will go opaque in three medium coats. I can't think of any close dupes for this; A-England's Ascalon is more silvered and much more holographic, and Chanel's Graphite is much more grey than taupe. The formula of this one is much more sheer than the other two polishes I've tried from this collection (including the other complex shimmer shade, On Her Majesty's Secret Service), but this shade is absolutely stunning. It leans both warm and cool, so it will suit all skintones and undertones, and like all taupes, will complement everything in your wardrobe (and make-up, for that matter).

OPI Skyfall Nail Lacquer in Live and Let Die

I've pretty much been obsessed with OPI's new Skyfall collection the moment I saw the swatches online, which was about two weeks before it started rolling out in stores and online. If you've been living under a rock, Skyfall is the latest James Bond film that will be released on November 9 (in North America) and OPI has collaborated with the franchise to release 12 shades (plus three magnetic shades and one real 18-karat gold top coat). The 12 shades are each named after a James Bond film. I was over-the-top impressed by the first shade I tried from this collection, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, so I was super excited to try the other three shades I had picked up. The next one I tried? Live and Let Die.

Live and Let Die (natural lighting)

Live and Let Die (under flash)

Live and Let Die is a blackened forest green with ultra-fine olive, antique gold, and bronze glitter. It is named after the 1973 film of the same name. In natural lighting, it looks more like a true forest green, and in indoor lighting, it takes on a more peacock blue undertone. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has high pigmentation, and will go opaque in one medium-thick coat (a one-coater!). It is comparable to A-England's Tess D'Urbervilles, which has more of a blackened base and emerald green glitter. The glitter in this formula is actually quite subtle — it will "glow" more so in brighter lighting, and look more like a cream polish in dim lighting, so it is potentially office-friendly, too (assuming your office allows dark nail polish). It reminds me of fireflies dancing in the woods at night.

OPI Skyfall Nail Lacquer in On Her Majesty's Secret Service

I've pretty much been obsessed with OPI's new Skyfall collection the moment I saw the swatches online, which was about two weeks before it started rolling out in stores and online. If you've been living under a rock, Skyfall is the latest James Bond film that will be released on November 9 (in North America) and OPI has collaborated with the franchise to release 12 shades (plus three magnetic shades and one real 18-karat gold top coat). The 12 shades are each named after a James Bond film. In a rare act of self control, I ended up buying only four of the eight shades I wanted.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (natural lighting)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (under flash)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a dark metallic blue-based pewter grey with multi-coloured ultra-fine glitter. It is named after the 1963 film of the same name. It's a really complex shade, giving off a subtle holographic effect in certain lighting, and flashing green to blue in certain angles and then gunmetal or pewter in others. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has medium-high pigmentation, and will go opaque in two medium coats, though a thin third coat will make it perfect. I cannot think of any dupes at this time. This is a shade that is really deceiving in the bottle, because it looks so much more majestic and multi-faceted when applied to the nails. This is a truly magnificent shade, and has become one of my favourite releases this fall, if not this year.

OPI Nail Lacquer in Fly

I wanted to take a (short) break from the glitter polishes (mostly because taking it off is rather time consuming), so I busted out OPI's Fly, which is from the Nicki Minaj collection. It's a really fun medium bright turquoise cream. The formula is fantastic, and it gives smooth, even application and goes opaque in one coat. I thought this shade might be easily dupeable, but it's proving to be more unique that I originally thought: Zoya's Robyn and Sephora by OPI's Slushied are much more blue, Illamasqua's Muse and Essie's Go Overboard are way darker, MAC's Ocean Dip and Essie's Turquoise & Caicos are lighter and more green, China Glaze's Flyin' High is less vibrant, and Nails Inc. London's Warwick Way is more teal. Point is, if you like turquoise nail polish, you will love Fly. Whether you like Nicki Minaj or not is a different story. And I promise my next post will not include nail polish!

OPI Nail Lacquer in Save Me

Close-up detail

Is there anything that says New Year's better than shiny, bling-y, glitter? No, there isn't. So, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to bust out OPI's Save Me, from the Nicki Minaj collection (it says "Coming January 2012" on OPI's website, but this collection is already available at Trade Secrets locations). It has a clear base with silver shimmer, blue holographic bar glitter, and silver holographic bar glitter. The coolest effect is actually in the light, which reflects off the silver holographic bars to shine all the colours of the rainbow. It is so pretty. And so appropriate for New Year's! Because of the clear base, it does take a good three coats to get it opaque, but it is so worth it because it is so bling-y. Yes!

Hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's Eve. See you in 2012!

OPI Nail Lacquer in DS Temptation

The moment I saw this new shade from OPI's Designer Series, I snatched it up regardless of the $14.95 price tag (that's $5 more than a regular bottle of OPI, because it's formulated with diamond dust, but I'm not really sure how beneficial that is). It's called Temptation, and it's a deep royal purple with purple, blue, and pink glitter. It needs three coats to get opaque and it is rather gritty so you need a good thick layer of top coat (I just used my usual Seche Vite and it worked great) to keep it from chipping, but it is totally worth it. It looks even better in person than in the photo; I've gotten countless compliments on this shade (possibly more than any other shade I've worn recently) and even more people asking what it is and where I got it (Canadians can get it at most Trade Secrets locations). Conclusion: If you like glitter nail polish, you must buy Temptation.

OPI Nail Lacquer in Swimsuit... Nailed It!

This is the last of the three shades I bought from OPI's Miss Universe collection. Swimsuit... Nailed It! is a bright medium-dark cerulean blue with blue shimmer. It almost looks like a foil when applied. The formula on this one is excellent; smooth, even application, and nearly opaque in one coat. The colour along with the finish definitely makes for a more unique blue polish among a sea of them. I've been getting a lot of compliments on this one, but I find that it can look almost too metallic ('80s tacky) instead of shimmery (chic). It looks great on nice, manicured nails, but it can also look like something a 5-year-old would wear, so make sure you put on a good top coat to keep it from chipping. It reminds me of the blue make-up bags from MAC's Wonder Woman collection earlier this year. If you like blue polishes, this might be one to check out.

OPI Nail Lacquer in It's My Year

I bought a few shades from the Miss Universe collection about a month ago (one of which I've already shown), and while it's meant to be a Fall collection, I just couldn't resist wearing this one now, 'cause it's just so pretty. It's called It's My Year, and it's a deep plum with gold and red micro-shimmer. There's so much micro-shimmer, in fact, that it almost looks duochrome, shining plum in one light and bronze/gold in another. I can't think of another shade that's very similar to this one, but it's kind of like if you mixed MAC's Trax and Star Violet eyeshadows together... in nail polish form. Regardless, it's a pretty nifty shade. I will definitely wear this again when Fall rolls around.

OPI Nail Lacquer in Crown Me Already!

I was deciding on a new nail colour to wear yesterday, and knowing that I was seeing Girl Talk later on at night, I was like, "I definitely need some bling." And in came OPI's Crown Me Already! from their new Miss Universe collection. It has pure silver shimmer, glitter, and hexagonal glitter in a clear base, and goes on completely opaque in two coats. It is similar to Deborah Lippmann's Today Was A Fairytale, but has even more shimmer and a clear base as oppose to a murky blue base. It's almost blindingly bling-y. Needless to say, it is awesome.

OPI Nail Lacquer in Mermaid's Tears

OPI released their Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides collection sometime this past week, and since I'm such a sucker for green nail polishes, I had to pick up the only green shade in this collection, called Mermaid's Tears. It's a lovely mid-tone seafoam green in a cream finish, and goes opaque in two medium coats. A few sites have described it as pastel, but I personally don't think it's light enough to be a full-on pastel, though it does have that milky quality that pastels are known for. It's a nice change from the much lighter, actual pastel shades that are out for Spring right now, though. The most similar shade I can think of is Sephora by OPI's Read My Palm, though Mermaid's Tears is less teal, and has more of a grey undertone. It is limited edition, but if you love green nail polishes, this one is worth checking out. It's definitely going to be the most popular shade from this collection.