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.

LotD: Bejeweled and Bedazzled

Okay, with all of the buzz lately about Win or Die from Geek Chic Cosmetics, I knew I wanted to experiment with two of the darker colors in the set. These are also the two colors that I received as full sizes from a friend of mine. Across the Narrow Sea and Born in Fire are two amazing jewel tones that go amazingly well together and with a color such as The Imp also in the same set, you really can't go wrong looking like a bejeweled beauty the next time you go out.

I didn't use The Imp in this look but it still remains one of my favorite colors.

Although the focus is on my eyes in this photo, there's a lot more to this look than just the eye color. First I used Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Porcelain from Laura Mercier. It's not too heavy but gives me some of the coverage I need.

For the eyes, I used a multi-layered technique. First, I primed my eyes with Too-Faced Shadow Insurance and then I went over that with the Caviar Creme Eye Colour from Laura Mercier in Amethyst. Over the creme color, which is a warm taupe, I patted Clinique Color Surge Eye Shadow Trio in the base Lilac color over the base to wash out the color a bit. Then, I took Born in Fire from Geek Chic Cosmetics and blended it into the crease. That's the smoky purple that you see on my eyes. Then, I wet my brush and patted Across the Narrow Sea on just a little of the inner corner of my eye and blended it out.

That's it for the colors on the eye. I lined it in Wet n' Wild Mega Liner in black and just slightly winged it up at the outer edge. I tried to make sure that the wing followed my lower lash line. Then I finished with Full Blown Mascara from Laura Mercier in black and as I applied, I brushed my lashes toward the outer edge of my eye.

For my cheeks, I just barely touched my blush brush into Kingslayer from Geek Chic Cosmetics (which is also from the Win or Die set) and tapped it on each cheek and blended. I didn't want too much as that would wash me out a bit. This just added a little bit of warmth and sparkle.

For my lips, I just used a few swipes of Tokidoki Lip Balm Stain in Pink Martini. It enhances my natural lip color to look more pink and it's not as dramatic as straight up hot pink lipstick.

Product List:
For the Face:

• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 - Porcelain

For the Eyes:

• Too-Faced Shadow Insurance
• Laura Mercier Caviar Creme Eye Color - Amethyst
• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Born in Fire
• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Across the Narrow Sea
• Wet n' Wild Mega Liner - Black
• Laura Mercier Full Blown Mascara - Black

For the Cheeks:

• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Kingslayer

For the Lips:

• Tokidoki Lip Balm Stain - Pink Martini