Matte
Zoya Matte Velvet & Truth or Dare Collection Teaser
 Happy Friday Fanatics!! I have a little treat for you to start your weekend. A peek at the Zoya Matte Velvet and Truth or Dare polishes. To wet my overly curious appetite and yours, Zoya sent out sample palettes of the colors as a teaser of what’s to come. Check ‘em out! |
Sample nails aren’t the easiest to photograph accurately because of all the different colors but I did the best my little point and shoot could manage.
First up, the Truth or Dare collection for Fall.
Truth‘s Penny, Kalmia, Salma, Isla, Anaka and Drew are all metallic shimmers and based on the samples, Anaka just jumps off the palette. The sparkle is electrifying. I can’t wait to see it on the nail.
Dare‘s Ibiza is the lone shimmer accompanying cremes Envy, Pinta, Demi, Clara and Vanessa. The burple-y Pinta, mossy green Envy and sapphire Ibiza are the standouts in this crowd.
Next up, Matte Velvet, Zoya’s entry in the incresingly popular matte trend.
I can already tell I’m going to love these more than the OPI Mattes because they have that same great shimmer quality that I loved about La Paz-itively Hot Matte. Loredana, Dovima and Posh all have a finely dispersed shimmer that makes them a bit satiny rather than flat matte.
I’m hoping to have my hands on the real deal very soon so stay tuned for real live swatches!! In the meantime, does this change your opinion on mattes? Are you loving Truth or Dare so far? Sound off!
OPI Matte Collection Review, Swatches & Comparisons
 When I got my hands on the new OPI Matte nail polishes, I immediately started swatching them on my fingers. This was my first time using a true matte polish and all I could say was, “Wow, that’s MATTE alright!” I’ve never seen anything like these before. Think about dipping your fingers in flat wall paint and that’s the look we’re talking about here fanatics. Not at all like the satin-esque finish I got from using Orly Nails For Males top coat for my matte & glossy nail art experiment. It’s like the black hole of nail polish, no light lives here.
I’ve got swatches, a full review and comparison shots for you after the jump! |
It states that you should NOT use a base coat, top coat, drying drops or hand lotion. According to OPI, “because of the different formulation of the OPI Matte Nail Lacquers, it is best to wear it without a base coat and to stay away from lotions to get the best, most fabulous matte look possible.” My theory… hand lotion will affect the finish, making it more satin looking and a base coat affects the application (streaking, unevenness, etc). Application – This formula dries FAST. Like lightening fast so you must work quickly and meticulously. Any hesitation in your brush stroke will show as will any imperfections in your nail bed, like ridges. The polish is thick and highly pigmented but because of the difficulty in getting it smooth, I needed to do three coats of each shade.
By the following day I already had two chips on my index and ring fingers, by day five, well you can see the disaster they were. Going out to dinner with nails like this was, um “fun.” The boyfriend just shakes his head at this point. Meanwhile, the nails with base coat showed normal tip wear, nothing drastic. While OPI doesn’t suggest using base coat, I highly recommend it for two reasons: 1. So you don’t feel like you wasted your money on a polish that only lasts two days. 2. To avoid staining. The dark colors do stain! It may mean trickier application but it’s worth it for longer wear. Now let’s move on to the colors Alpine Snow Matte is the polish version of painting Wite-Out to your nails. It’s chalky and blindingly bright. I know you’ve weighed in on the matte look but what do you think about OPI’s version? Will you be running out to buy them?
Every bottle of OPI Matte comes with a little tag that explains the nature of the formula, rules regarding application and suggestions on how to wear it (i.e. matte nail w/glossy tip).
Wear – I experimented with the no base coat rule when I did my five day wear test. I buffed then prepped my nails using Seche Prep to make sure they were free of any oils. I applied CND Stickey base coat to three nails (thumb, middle, pinkie) and left the other two bare. I noticed that the formula didn’t flow as nicely over the nails coated with Stickey.
Even though original Alpine Snow is used as a french tip shade, next to the matte version it looks almost off white. Now because Orly Matte has a tinge of color to it, it altered the color of Alpine Snow making it more creamy.
Gargantuan Green Grape Matte is also very chalky and as much as I love a green, I’m not in love with this. It reminds me of a faded dried out pressed leaf. Unfortunately I don’t own the original version (I know, I know sacrilege) so I can’t compare them for you.
As much as I’m not a pink girl La Paz-itively Hot Matte is my favorite polish in the collection. It’s the shimmer in it that gets me, making the finish a bit more satin than the rest.
As you can see La Paz Matte is NOTHING like the original. La Paz is a hot pink but the matte version is more rosey and deeper in hue. Both colors are actually more vibrant in person but my camera just can’t capture that.
I showed you You Don’t Know Jacques Matte in my second matte/glossy nail art experiment but here it is on its own. Is it just me or does it look like I rubbed dirt on my nails? I don’t hate the color but the finish just isn’t doing it for me. It doesn’t have the same uniqueness as the original (below).
Lincoln Park After Dark Matte is the same almost black plum that the world has come to know and love. In most light it looks pretty black, in natural/sunlight you can see the purple undertones. It’s warmer than a flat black just like it’s shiny finish sister.
Now after seeing La Paz Matte I had high hopes for Russian Navy Matte, expecting that same slightly satin, shimmer-filled finish. But that’s not what we got. Instead it’s a lifeless blue-black hue.
In this case, I much prefer the satin version using Orly Matte.
The OPI Matte collection officially goes on sale in July and can be found online at our fave e-tailers and in professional salons like Regis, ULTA, Trade Secret, JCPenney.
OPI You Don’t Know Jacques Matte & Glossy Nail Art
 After experimenting with the whole concept of mixing matte & glossy finishes to create nail art, I got the new OPI Matte polishes in to test and review. When OPI said MATTE, they weren’t kidding. This is my first experience with a true matte polish so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m currently testing the wear of the formula and a full review is coming, I promise!
In the meantime I wanted to see how a modified french manicure would look using these different textures and I chose OPI You Don’t Know Jacques to play with. Check out my attempt, after the jump! |
First, let’s not play here. I’m no expert in nail art and my tip lines need some serious work. So ignoring that, let’s discuss what I did here. Using YDKJ, YDKJ Matte, CND Super Shiney top coat and Orly Nails for Males top coat I came up with four variations on the idea.
Index – OPI YDKJ base with OPI YDKJ Matte tip.
Middle – OPI YDKJ base topped with Orly Nails for Males with OPI YDKJ tip
Ring – OPI YDKJ Matte with OPI YDKJ tip.
Pinkie – OPI YDKJ with Orly Nails for Males tip.
Obviously the two involving the OPI Matte polish are the most contrasting while the ones using the matte top coat are more subtle. You can also see that these new matte polishes are WAY different than just slapping a matte top coat on the old version of the color.
Honestly, I don’t know that I’m loving this look. It could be my shoddy workmanship but I prefer the stripes I did previously and, with Steph‘s encouragement, I’m trying dots next.
What do you think fanatics? Can you look past my uneven tip lines to see the possibility of a cool concept or are you just not feeling it as well? Sound off!
Sneak Peek – Zoya Matte Velvet Collection
Here ya go fanatics… it’s our first look at the Zoya MATTEVelvet collection bottles. Note the frosted/matte finish to the bottles and caps. Very cool! As I posted previously the shades are:
Loredana – gunmetal gray matte shimmer
Dovima – black matte shimmer
Posh – wine matte shimmer
They launch July 1st. Are you getting excited??
Coming Soon – OPI Matte Collection
Get ready glossy nail lovers, for it looks like matte is the emerging trend for fall. When OPI is on board, you know it’s gonna blow up. I bought my matte top coat (Orly) back when I saw CND buffing a matte finish on nails at NYFW and now more and more companies are catching on to the trend. Set to launch in July, the OPI Matte collection takes six popular existing shades and mattifies them for a unique look.
OPI unveils a new look in nail color รขโฌโ an edgy new matte finish that is daring, trend-setting, head-turning! New OPI Matte features six of OPIรขโฌโขs most in-demand shades in this must-have new look.
Get the full deets after the jump!
รขโฌลOPI Matte is cutting edge for nails in terms of sophistication and style,รขโฌย says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. รขโฌลAn all-matte nail is fresh, confident, and very fashion runway, and OPI Matte is meant for those moments when you want to make a major fashion statement. OPI Matte does not wear as long as original OPI Nail Lacquer รขโฌโ but its impact is long remembered!รขโฌย
Suzi also suggests wearing OPI Matte together with the traditional gloss formula of the same OPI color. รขโฌลYou can do a matte nail with a matching gloss tip, or a gloss nail with a matte edge. Itรขโฌโขs like mixing different textures of the same color in an outfit.รขโฌย To maintain the OPI Matte finish, do not use any base coat, top coat, drying drops, or hand lotion when wearing these lacquers.
OPI Matte is available in six iconic OPI shades:
Alpine Snow – A fresh crisp white.
Russian Navy – Wait until you see this deep-sea indigo!
La Paz-itively Hot – A hot pink perfect for when youรขโฌโขre Bo-livia la vida loca.
You Donรขโฌโขt Know Jacques! – If you donรขโฌโขt know how trendy this taupe is!
Lincoln Park After Dark – Where midnight meets purple.
Gargantuan Green Grape – Green kissed by the summer sun.
I REALLY love Suzi’s tip about mixing the textures. It’s a new twist on the funky french. It reminds me of the black on black nails the CND team created to show Kimora Lee Simmons for her Baby Phat show a few seasons back.
I know the MUA girls have been all over matte polishes but will you buy or just mattify the polishes you already own? Since these can’t be worn with a base, top or treatment product I do wonder how they’ll wear. Thoughts?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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