The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash. It’s the last day of April and therefore it’s time for the last Rainy Day Blue. Since it’s been a mix of sunlight and rain the past few days, I thought it was apropos to get the best of both worlds by wearing a holographic polish. I chose OPI Designer Series Glamour so my “April showers” colored tips can sparkle in the sun.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why OPI discontinued this shade. If someone can solve that riddle, could you let me know? Glamour was part of the 3rd Designer Series release in January ’07. It was the blue holo I’d been waiting for. A gorgeous cornflower hue with a hint of amethyst, Glamour still reigns supreme over all the Designer Series shades I own.

And the formula… WOW to the formula. OPI’s exclusive diamond dust formula is highly pigmented and glides on like buttah. It’s a damn shame the new perm DS polishes aren’t filled with holo goodness like this baby.
With a little hunting you can still find Glamour online. The Designer Series polishes retail for $12.50 but you can find them for less on the web.

Here are some comparion pics of the new Designer Series polishes. Just trying to save you all a few dollars in case you already own some of these.

To my eye, Amethyst is a bit more pink than Sand-erella and has way more holo bling.

Glamour is truly unique and I couldn’t think of a color combination that would come close. The burple (bluish-purple) base is very unique.

Passion is more rose toned than Elegance. I thought for sure that they’d be twins. Passion is definitely a more muted pink than Elegance. As much as I was initially unimpressed with it, I’m now happy to have it based on this comparison.

Desire is Design’s darker, more bronze, winterish sibling. Because of the amount of holographic shimmer in Desire, it’s hard to catagorize it as a warm or cool color. The base is definitely warm but when the light isn’t causing the holo to show off it’s rainbow beauty, the shimmer looks silver.

For anyone that hasn’t tried this line, the glitter is as smooth as the diamond dust formula is to apply. I love that it’s easy to remove and doesn’t give you that nails on a chalkboard feeling as you rub it off, like with a lot of glitter polishes.

I have to leave for Columbus but I wanted to leave you all with some new pretties to stare at. There are the new Designer Series polishes from OPI and they’re HOLOGRAPHIC!! Just like the original 12. Love them! Glamour will definitely be the first one I use.

Colors (l-r): Amethyst, Passion, Desire, Glamour