OPI Nicki Minaj swatches (Part 1)

This week I'm going to be showing you two fun looks that are created from OPI's Nicki Minaj collection that came out in January. I know it's nothing new for most people, but I missed out on this one and just recently decided to pick up the mini collection when I saw it at my local Ulta. I wasn't too sure if it was worth the money, but as soon as I put these pretties on my fingernails I knew I'd made the right choice! In fact, now I'm wishing I would have grabbed the bigger bottles of a couple of them, because a couple of my coworkers have already asked to borrow them!

So first up is a pretty basic mani with the first two shades from the mini collection, OPI Did It on 'Em, and OPI Fly. Here's a bottle shot of the colors I used:

under indoor light

OPI Did It on 'Em is a bold, bright chartreuse (that means it's halfway between yellow and green!), that is very similar in the bottle to OPI Who the Shrek Are You, although since I don't own the Shrek polish, I can't compare them. However, according to swatches online, OPI Did It on 'Em looks to be a tad more yellow. It's definitely a funky, eye catching color. What you see below is three coats, with OPI Natural Nails basecoat and China Glaze Fast Forward topcoat. The formula was a little thin, it definitely needed all three coats.

in sunlight

OPI Fly is also bold and bright. I thought it would be a bit more pastel, but after swatching it, I discovered that it's a bright, not-quite-teal shade! It's now become one of my favorite blue polishes! For my accent nail on my ring fingers, I did two coats with the aforementioned base and top coats. The formula was a bit better than on OPI Did It on 'Em, it wasn't streaky at all, although if you look closely, you can see a bit of VNL in real life. Three coats probably would have solved that problem.

So...that's it for my first OPI Nicki Minaj manicure, what do you think? Did you buy this collection when it first came out, or did you wait like I did? Feel free to leave me comments below!

Tape Manicure featuring China Glaze - For Audrey

Today's a special day, because I'm linking up with Glitter and Gloss and Just Love.ly Things for their first Mani Monday!!



So the day after I posted my China Glaze - For Audrey swatch last week, I was getting ready to redo my nails. But I loved the For Audrey so much, I decided that I couldn't bear to take it off yet -- so I decided to keep it for another day by trying something new on top. What to try? Well, I have bunches of untested nail polishes, and even more great ideas that I've seen around the internet and on Pinterest. So I decided to try a tape manicure!

Choosing the other color was made easier by the fact that I had just picked up this totally rad set of metallic/shimmer nail polishes in a assortment of earthy colors from Urban Outfitters. I had gone in to see if they carried Model's Own (they do), but spotted these on the sale rack instead. Normally retailed for $20 -- which is still a great deal for six polishes -- but I scored them for only $4.99. O.O

I don't actually know what brand these are, because they don't have labels, or even names for that matter. The box said "Paint Palette" but when I looked online I saw polishes in identical bottles that identified them as "UO Nail Polish." So...it's a mystery. I wish they had names, too...in fact I'm tempted to give them names myself! If they do have names, can someone please fill me in on what they are?

I chose the most glittery gold one and decided to give it a whirl. It had a great formula! It went on perfectly smooth, the brush was excellent, and it only took one coat to cover over the For Audrey and China Glaze Fast Forward top coat that I was already wearing. I also really like the square bottle. It's heavier than most bottles, and I'm not constantly worried that I'm going to knock it over. I'm seriously impressed for a clothing store polish, and I can't wait to test out the other five bottles. If they are as good as this one was, I'll be buying way more polish from UO in the future.

 So here's the colors I actually used for this mani.

To actually do the tape mani was also super easy. I just grabbed a roll of tape and placed it over my nails so that part was uncovered and part was covered. Then I put a coat of polish over it, waited a couple minutes for it to dry, and peeled off the tape. The lines are crisp and clean! I waited a couple more minutes before applying another coat of China Glaze - Fast Forward topcoat because I didn't want to smear the lines, and then it was good to go!

I really like this look, since it's pretty and modern all at the same time--and super easy. It was easy to succeed at, even on my right hand.  It was the boyfriend and mine's six-month anniversary on Saturday, so I wore this manicure on our date as well. In fact, I'm still wearing it now, almost three days later. It's not often that I leave my nails alone for that long! I'll definitely be trying more tape mani's in the future.

Thanks for reading, and I hope I inspired someone to try a tape mani too! Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Love, Juno

China Glaze - For Audrey

I know most people are already fans of China Glaze's For Audrey, but the bottle that I picked up this week is actually the first one of it I've owned. I wanted to see what all the hype was about...and then I discovered. This is a perfect robin's egg blue. It goes on perfect in two coats, and dries to a smooth and pretty creme. I love it every bit as much as everyone said I would. I can't wait to use this in a ton of manicures in the future! 

Also, please excuse the grainy photo. I don't have my SLR with me tonight since I left it at work, so I took this with my cell phone. I also don't know what happened to make the bottom of the bottle look all weird and grayish, because it doesn't look like that in real life! I'm still learning how to do these swatch photos.