OPI Mariah Carey Collection Swatches and Review

OPI Mariah Carey Collection Swatches and Review

OPI has partnered with Mariah Carey to bring us 8 fabulous polishes for Spring 2013, 4 Studio Shades and 4 Stage Shades!

I know a lot have been waiting to see what this new Liquid Sand business is, so I will kick off the post with those.  I was personally a bit skeptical when I first heard about these 2 months ago, but after trying them I am pleasantly surprised.  They are NOT as gritty as they appear, but there is some texture.   For those not into texture but loving the colors and glitter, I have added top coat photos along with the Liquid Sand swatches so you can see that as an option to wear!

Ready for some ‘Stage Shades’?

To pay homage to her iconic status, we wanted to launch her collection with something completely new and exciting. OPI Liquid Sand nail lacquer offers a never-before-seen look with a pebbled finish that lightly shimmers with fine glitter particles. Worn without top coat, Liquid Sand lacquer gives nails a unique textured matte finish worthy of a superstar

Get Your Number:

Get Your Number is probably my favorite of the “Liquid Sand” polishes.  Both with and without top coat.   Get Your Number is a vibrant blue jelly base packed with different sized glitters.  A lot of the glitter is silver holo glitters which are visible in the natural “Liquid Sand” form, but when a top coat is added, oh MAN!  It’s dazzles!  I used 3 coats of Get Your Number for this mani.  For the top coat photo, I used 2 coats of top coat to smooth the mani out.

Can’t Let Go:

Can’t Let Go is probably my second favorite!  Gorgeous purple jelly base packed with lavender hex glitter and fine purple glitters.  I really love the look of this one without the top coat.  I used 3 layers of Can’t Let Go for this photo and 2 coats of top coat for the photo on the right! And yes, the song Can’t Let Go is now stuck in my head.

There you are
Holding her hand
I am lost
Dying to understand
Didn’t I
Cherish you right
Don’t you know
You were my life…

Ok moving on!

Stay the Night:

Stay the Night is a black jelly base with small black glitters mixed in with slightly larger red glitter.  I think of Lava Rock when I see this in the photo on the left with no top coat.  I only needed 2 coats of Stay The Night for this photo and on the right, I used 2 coats of top coat to smooth it out for a glossy look.

The Impossible:

For me, The Impossible kind of lived up to its name.  While I find it to be really pretty with and without top coat the stars were an issue for me!  I only got 1 star out doing this manicure. I turned it upside down for a few minutes hoping stars would magically catch on the brush and allow me to use them, but it didn’t work so well for me.  I used 3 coats of The Impossible and got 1 star.  That lonely star is sitting on top of my middle finger.  The points of the star kept lifting without top coat. You can find of see a point sticking up a little in the non top coat photo on the left.  Of all the liquid sands, this one had the least “texture” to it and I really loved the color.    I will still wear it without the stars and maybe one day they will come out and play with me.

Now onto the “Studio Shades”!

Anti-Bleak:

Anti-Bleak is my favorite creme of the collection.  Anti-Bleak is a red toned purple creme.  Application was a dream.  I used 2 coats for full opacity and I am in love with this shade of purple.

Pink Yet Lavender:

Pink Yet Lavender is the perfect pairing for Anti-Bleak!  I actually put this combo back on when I was done swatching all of the Mariah Carey Collection!   Pink Yet Lavender consists of medium light pink hex glitters and small silver holographic glitters in a clear base.  I only needed 1 coat of Pink Yet Lavender for this photo!  Perfect amount of glitter was evenly and easily distributed!

A Butterfly Moment:

A Butterfly Moment is the “soft” shade of the collection!  A Butterfly Moment is a pretty nude pink with lots of gold shimmer throughout.  Formula was really good and easy to work with.  I only needed 2 coats for this photo and a top coat.

Sprung:

Sprung is a mix of copper shimmer densely packed into a clear base.  The shimmer is very fine.  On first coat, you may not be impressed – but stick with it!  I used 3 coats and it was well worth it!  Such a dazzling beauty!  Pictured is 3 coats with no top coat!

Overall, I enjoyed this collection.  The Stage  Shades were much better than I expected when I first saw them on a nail wheel.  Even if you aren’t a texture person, they are still worth getting even if you plan to slap on a top coat.  Who knows?  The non top coat look may grow on you ;)  Removal was no different than other glitters for me.  I wore one overnight to test this and it removed easily by just soaking a cotton ball, holding it down over the nail for a minute or two and then swiping off.  I then had to go back over it to remove any stubborn glitters that didn’t remove in the first swipe.

My top shade from The Stage Shades is Get Your Number and my top shade from The Studio Shades is Anti-Bleak – what about you?  I’d love to hear what you think!

The Mariah Carey Collection will be available beginning January 2013 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for  $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

***Products in this post were provided for review.  All opinions are my own***