SpaRitual Inspired Collection for Fall 2008

Good morning, Dear Reader! Today I had the joy and honor of swatching the SpaRitual Inspired Collection (Fall 2008) for you, which are our pictures for today. Their official release date is September 1, but I was able to get hold of them a little early for you. They will be available this week, prior to their "official" release date, from sparkling*nails on ebay, and there's a link to her store on the right side of this page under nail polish resources. Be sure to tell her Siobhan sent you - she's wonderful!

As has been the case most days here lately, it's another partly cloudy day and my light is inconsistent. I did the best I could with what I had, swatching like a mad woman sitting on the patio on the 25th floor of my building with the wind blowing like crazy, getting whatever sunlight I could. Here are the results of my swatching frenzy, and just to deviate from what's become the norm of alphabetical order, they're in the order that I like them, from greatest to least (with least still being quite a bit).













The only reason the lovely Muse got last place is that it appears that it will be a three-coater (with all pictures showing two coats over a base coat without top coat). Impression came in at number five because no red can trump my beloved Dior Poppy, but quite honestly, this came close. Many true reds show a VNL in two coats, and this did not, so it's definitley one that I will use. Surreal, at number four, is a wonderful blue with a subtle shimmer, but I don't know that it's entirely unique. I don't believe there's one exactly like it, but there are many that are close, so it came in a little lower than it would were there not so many blues available. Primitive is at number three because it's not too far off from OPI's Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not - it's a red plum shade with a great SpaRitual shimmer. Mood landed in second place, much to my surprise, because it's not just a plain charcoal shimmer as I thought it would be. It's charcoal with a deep green cast to it, and is a really unique color. That brings us to my favorite, Solitude, an amazing blue violet purple cream. It's absolutely unique in my collection, and with purple being my very favorite color and blue being in the top few, it was immediately the one I was most drawn to. I'll be wearing this one a lot this Fall, and relishing every minute of it.

In the original version of the post, I did not know the name of this collection and have been since reminded that it's Inspired. Thank you to the Dear Reader who reminded me!

So there you have it, Dear Reader - you now know what you can expect from SpaRitual's Inspired Collection for Fall 2008!

Love and nail polish to you!

Some Random Sephora by OPI Swatches

Good afternoon, Dear Reader. Since this morning's post was as much for me as for you, I thought I'd offer you an afternoon post that's all for you.

These are six random Sephora by OPI (SOPI) swatches, two of them obviously a little older than the others. I did the best I could for you with respect to light on another partly cloudy day, Dear Reader, and hope you will forgive any inconsistencies in lighting. Let's start with the pictures, again in alphabetical order:













My impression again is that the application and deep pigmentation of these polishes is wonderful - two thin and easy to apply coats do the trick, with the exception on Fancy Schmancy, which is a bit sheer. I applied three coats of this one hoping to make it opaque, but still clearly have the dreaded VNL (Visible Nail Line), so I'll have to reserve it for layering. I was surprised at how much I like Caffeine Fix, which is the color of strong black coffee. It doesn't look black, as I was afraid it might, but coffee-colored. Beauty Junkie is a great dried-blood red (the photo is in direct sunlight, brightening it a bit), and will be a great staple color for the Fall. Because I Said So is a lovely red-wine shimmer, and has one heck of a name. That leaves us with On Stage and Call Your Mother, which are quite similar to one another. On Stage is just a little bit darker than Call Your Mother, and I think for most people, would be similar enough not to own both. However, since I am madly in love with the greyed-out shades we're seeing this fall, I'm glad to have both.

So there you have it - my SOPI swatches!

That's all for today, Dear Reader. Love and nail polish to you!

My Day in Color

Good morning, Dear Reader. The last 24 hours haven't been easy, and what's a Nailphile to do? Express her day in color!

A decision was made that I did not care for, and I was a little blue, but it was a consequence of a sin worth committing.



I was a little less blue when I thought of good things, like the fact that I can fit into my skinny jeans.



Then I really, really thought it over, and I realized that the grass is greener on my side.



And before I know it, I bet I'll be happy happy again.



Enough about me, we're here for polish! All of these were two coats, with the exception of Happy Happy which was three. For a yellow, it was surprisingly even and opaque in three coats. My application of the Sephora by OPI Skinny Jeans is not my best ever, as I was working with shaky hands, but I wanted to show you the picture anyhow because it's an amazing color, gorgeous in two coats.

That's all I have for now, Dear Reader. Thank you for your comments and your emails - I appreciate every single one!

Love and nail polish to you!