#31dc2016 part 1

For the 3rd year in a row, I'm attempting to complete the 31 day challenge on instagram. In 2014 I made it to day 22 and in 2015 I only made it to day 5. This will be the year I actually complete it. In an attempt to keep this post to a manageable length I'm splitting my manis into 2 posts. For those of you who aren't on instagram, here is the challenge info:

For days 1-6 I posted swatches that are already posted on this blog so I won't post them again. If you want more information about these manis or the polishes used, please click on the day and you will be redirected to each instagram post. 

Day 7- Black and White Nails

Day 8- Metallic Nails

Day 9- Rainbow Nails

Day 10- Gradient Nails

Day 11- Polka Dots

Day 12- Stripes

Day 13- Animal Print

Day 14- Flowers

If you'd like to see more nail art or swatches, follow my instagram (@sparkleandpolish) as I post there much more often.

Stay Sparkly,

A

OPI Spring 2016 Alice Through The Looking Glass

Super late to the party with these swatches. If you follow my instagram then you've likely already seen these pics, summer got away from me and I really neglected my nails/blog/ig. I didn't do comparison swatches like I normally do for OPI collections, but if you would like to see those let me know in the comments.

I'm Gown For Anything

This is a pale, dreamy purple with a flawless formula. When OPI gets pastel colors right, they get them so right. This has the flawless cream formula that I have come to expect from OPI. 

Fearlessly Alice

This bright blue cream is beautiful! I had to pair it with an accent of the cult classic Absolutely Alice from the Spring 2010 OPI collection.

The I's Have It

3 not so dreamy coats. I love this color, but I did not love the formula. 

Having A Big Head Day

This could absolutely be a one-coater if I used thicker coats, but with thin coats it is 2 easy coats. I had to save my favorite for last. This has replaced Vodka and Caviar as my favorite red OPI polish of all time! The color and formula of this polish is flawless. When I know OPI is capable of making perfect polishes like this it makes it harder for me to forgive the formula duds like The I's Have It :(

What polish from this collection was your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

Stay Sparkly,
A

OPI New Orleans Spring 2016 Collection

Warning, extremely long post ahead! Here are my swatches of the Spring 2016 OPI New Orleans Collection. I know this collection is old news by now, but it is such a good collection that I wanted to share it. OPI dominated when it comes to classic creme polishes and this collection is a great example of what they can do. I've seen this collection pretty recently at my local Ulta and smaller beauty supply stores so if you love any of these colors you should still be able to find them.

She's A Bad Muffuletta! 

This polish is bright and fun, and hopefully not a dupe for the 50 colors I have that look just like this! I wore it for 5 days and had decent results, only one nail chipped horribly, the others just had normal tip wear. 

Just for fun, here are some pics of my mani from when I was recently in New Orleans. 

Rich Girls and Po Boys

This is 3 thin coats. I was most excited about this polish, but honestly I don't love it. The formula was thin and meh, and after wearing this polish for less than a day I had some pretty big chips on 3 fingers. Luckily I didn't have any staining with this polish.

I'm So Swamped

This lush, yellow based green had a great formula. 3 thin coats to bright creamy perfection. 

I Manicure For Beads

Two smooth, perfect coats. I'm not a huge purple polish fan, but the flawless formula on this makes it my new go to purple.

Spare Me A French Quarter

This is so close to being a one-coat wonder! And I know this was part of a spring collection, but I feel like this is the perfect summer to fall transition polish.

Got Myself In To A Jam-balaya

Three thin, easy coats for this swatch. This color and formula are just stunning. When OPI kills it with a pastel neon type polish like this, I wonder why they have some similar polishes with just terrible formulas. Dear OPI, you can do it so well, why sell something that doesn't live up to this reputation?

If you want to see comparisons of any of these polishes, let me know in the comments.  

Stay Sparkly,

A

KBShimmer Swatches

It's no secret that I love KBShimmer polishes, I feel like each one I try is suddenly "THE MOST AMAZING KBSHIMMER EVERRRRR" Here are swatches of some of the latest KBShimmer polishes that I've added to my collection.

Fleece Navidad

Let's Sleigh Together

-2 coats over Sinful Colors Cool Gray

Green Hex And Glam

Stay Sparkly,

A

OPI Retro Summer 2016 Swatches and Comparisons

I only picked up 3 polishes from this collection, but --spoiler alert-- I wish I had skipped them all :( Come on OPI, you can do formulas so much better than this!

Swatches

What's The Double Scoop

 Three kind of meh coats. It is a pretty color, but I don't see myself reaching for it much because the formula is pretty terrible. 

Sailing and Nail-ing

This is three gloopy coats. I'm so bummed on this polish because it is my favorite kind of color. 

SPF XXX

This is 3 coats. The first time I wore this polish, it applied it over a sticky base coat and the mani was a gloopy mess. When I applied it for this swatch photo I used a regular base coat and it applied so much better. But my bottle has some random black specks in it, there is a small speck on my pointer finger here, but when I wore this as a full mani there were multiple fingers with little black specks.

Comparisons

OPI What's The Double Scoop vs China Glaze Spring In My Step

OPI is on pointer and ring finger, ChG is on middle and pinky. These are definitely not dupes, but to be honest both have pretty crappy formulas. If you love this kind of color, I would recommend the ChG over the OPI just because of the color.

OPI Sailing and Nail-ing vs OPI It's A Boy vs OPI Gelato On My Mind

Sailing is on my middle and pinky fingers, Boy is on my ring finger and Gelato is on my pointer finger. These all look similar in the bottle, but clearly they aren't dupes. I love this color so I think they are all different enough to own, but formula wise Gelato is my favorite.

OPI SPF XXX vs OPI Can't Afjord Not To vs OPI Toucan Do It If You Try

SPF is on my middle and pinky fingers, Afjord is on my ring finger, and Toucan is on my pointer finger. These are all crazy close, but not exact dupes. SPF XXX has much more white in the base, Toucan is a bit more pink toned, while Afjord leans more orange than the others.

Stay Sparkly,
A