OPI's Pink Friday, Metallic 4 Life, and Fly

So, when I first heard that OPI and Nicki Minaj were pairing up for a set of nail polishes, I thought it was a match made in heaven. With Nicki's personas and brightly colored wardrobe, I knew this would be a set to watch out for. I was unfortunately only able to get 3 out of the 6 colors in the set but I am okay with that for now and I will explain in a moment. The colors I got were Pink Friday, Metallic 4 Life, and Fly.

First up we have Pink Friday which is probably my favorite out of the set. I got this because the pale bubblegum pink is a subtle color for everyday. In some lights in my house, it even blends in with my skintone when the pink isn't as apparent. However, with this being a pale color, it is extremely hard to get smooth even after 3 coats or more. In the picture above, you can see Pink Friday used as a part of a leopard print manicure for Valentine's Day as the center of the spots. The base color is Wocka Wocka from The Muppets collection.

Fly is a creme teal color that I originally was going to skip over but I thought of some interesting nail art to do with it. The basic color is similar to Who Let the Dorks Out from Sephora by OPI's Glee inspired line and it is indeed a pretty close match. The main difference being the creme finish of Fly as opposed to the glittery peacock finish of Who Let the Dorks Out. This polish was a simple 1-2 coats and it turned out incredibly smooth. Be on the lookout for a manicure inspired by Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb in the future thanks to this color. ;)

Now we have Metallic 4 Life, a silver glitter polish set in a semi-transparent black gel. This gives it a distinct gunmetal look and this might rival the upcoming Set in Stone from China Glaze's Hunger Games inspired polishes. I like the medium glitter and it is a very basic glitter polish. A little too much for everyday but I can see this working for dressy occasions. The polish applies well and above you can see what it looks like with two coats on a press on nail.

Overall, I was pleased with the colors I got. Pink Friday takes some practice to apply smoothly but works well for nail art where you're only adding a little bit here and there. Metallic 4 Life and Fly are better for special occasions or if it fits a costume or outfit you are wearing. They are 1-2 coat polishes though. I will be trying Metallic 4 Life over 2 coats of the creme Black Magic by Fantasy Makers to see what that looks like as one coat would probably look amazing.

Would I Buy Again? Probably... While not perfect, I can see myself using these polishes when I travel.

James Durbin's Ultimate Fan Site Contest

Hey everyone,

Not really an entry in and of itself but I have entered James Durbin's Ultimate Fan Site contest. What does this mean? I need to spread the love around and I hope you can help me do it. I hope to share videos, photos, and quotes from one of my favorite recent Rock artists.

You can find the fan site: here
James' official site: here

His debut album Memories of a Beautiful Disaster is out now and it's an album that I've seen convert non-Rock fans to fans. A diverse album with slow and upbeat songs.

You can listen to a few of his songs using this widget:

Music Monday: Danceable Music

Okay, so this week's playlist is arguably one of my longest. I love music with a beat. It doesn't matter the style, if it gets me up and dancing, it's usually something I gravitate towards. Whether it's hip-hop or eurobeat, the beat moves me and these are some of my favorite tracks. Some were used in shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and others were ones I heard on the radio but all of them make me bob my head.

Battle for the Beat - District 78 - This was a song I first heard on Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance with Jose Ruiz and Dominic Sandoval as opposing knights bboying it up. It was one of my favorite dance routines of the season.



The above is a live video of the routine that helped me fall in love with the song. As it turns out, District 78 is one of the composers for the music in The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers which you can watch on Hulu here.

Game On - The Cast of The Guild - Although maybe not as good as their original hit, (Do You Wanna) Date my Avatar, I've always had a weakness for Bollywood style music as it's used as an escape. This one even has a geeky gamer twist which gives it a +10 to Charisma. ;)

Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendex and The Black Eyed Peas - A seminal salsa hit but remixed by The Black Eyed Peas so it has a little bit of a hip-hop vibe. It stll keeps the flavor of the original and Salsa is all about having fun.

Stop, Drop, & Roll - Chonique Sneed and Lisette Bustamante - Another SYTYCD song. The routine was an amazing hip-hop routine that featured all of the girls. They were dressed in Japanese inspired outfits which is another passion of mine.

The rest of the playlist is here and as always, let me know if there's anything you might add. Who knows? It may end up in the playlist.

Music Monday: Valentine's Day 2k12

One thing I really enjoy doing is making playlists of some of my favorite music surrounding various themes. I use Spotify for them which is a free app for download at Spotify.com. I thought I would try and share some of my musical finds and this week, I want to put the spotlight on my Valentine's Day playlist for 2012. I thought about most of the songs and while not all of them are the original versions, there is some reason why I love them. I will go through some of the highlights.

Ben - Glee Cast - This is a song that I always used to listen to on cassette tape (that's right people, I listened to music on cassette tapes) and would rewind it back and forth endlessly. The tape was originally either my brother's or my parents'. This is a song from a movie sequel to a psychological thriller named Willard but the song itself is about companionship and friendship which made it a no brainer for a Valentine's Day playlist. When Glee recently did their Michael Jackson episode, I almost cried when Kurt and Blaine sang this song mostly because I have such great memories of it and I was happy that they included music from all eras of Michael's career.

Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgova - I had first heard this song when Elenowen performed it during their blind audition on The Voice season one and the slow ballad as well as the lyrics just touched me to no end. I looked up the original (which is the version featured here) and fell in love all over again. It's from the movie Once which is about an Irish busker who falls in love with a Czech flower seller. A classic boy meets girl love story.

Don't Go Breakin' My Heart - Elton John and Kiki Dee - Do I really need to explain this?

If you want to listen to the rest of the playlist and you have Spotify just follow this link and let me know what you think. Are there any specific songs you would add? I tried to mix both old and new as well as originals and covers.