One of the most anticipated collections of the season, OPI Hong Kong takes us to the far east and I don’t want to come back.  Following what I consider a pretty boring year for OPI (I just didn’t LOVE Spain & South Beach) they’re already off to a great start with Alice in Wonderland and Hong Kong.  I hope the momentum keeps going throughout the year. Of course I’ve been geeked over the idea of a new OPI green so Jade Is The New Black has been on my mind for months and it did NOT disappoint.  I dare say it may take down Rainforest as my all-time fave OPI.  That’s a huge statement people! I’ve got the first half of the collection for you today so check out Jade Is The New Black, Suzi Says Feng Shui, Meet Me On The Star Ferry, Bling Dynasty and Pearl of Wisdom after the jump!

OPI’s formula continues to please me.  The cremes just apply so perfectly smooth and my wide nail beds love the brush.  Though it’s like I forget how good the polish is because when I put these on I was like, “DAMN, why can’t all brand be this good?”  You all know how much I love me some China Glaze but their formula just hasn’t been as great as of late whereas OPI just seems to be getting better.  All the polishes shown below applied flawlessly in two coats.

Jade Is The New Black is an understatement.  Jade is the new JADE and I’m talking about Chanel Jade.  I still love the mint polishes but this is the hotness!  Like a lot of gemstones, Jade comes in a range of hues and Jade Is The New Black is on the opposite side of the spectrum from Chanel Jade.  Slightly muted yet vibrant with a blue undertone, it’s one stellar color and a total MUST HAVE!

I know the color comparison requests will come piling in but I truly do NOT have a polish that dupes JITB so I thought I’d show it next to a bunch of other mid-tone greens so you can see how it stands out.

Suzi Says Feng Shui is bright cobalt creme.  Barry M’s Cobalt looks similar in the bottle but on the nail they couldn’t be more different.  This color is lighter and brighter.  FYI, Cleveland’s weather has caused me to rely on my indoor lighting equipment so the rest of these shots (with one exception) are in artificial light.

Again, I thought a bottle lineup would be useful as I have no exact dupe in my stash.  I pitted SSFS up against, OPI No Room For The Blues, Orly Calypso Breeze, Color Club Gossip Color, Barielle A Bouquet for Ava and Illamasqua Muse.  As you can see, it doesn’t have the teal undertones of the shades on the right and it falls somewhere between the two on the left.

When I saw Meet Me On The Star Ferry, I thought, “what is this color doing here?”  It seemed out of place and not that exciting.  On the nail it wowed!   Packed with golden micro-glitter this rosey mauve is extremely eye-catching.  I really have nothing to compare it to.  I thought perhaps Zoya Flowie (too gold) or Rhea ( too purple/cool) and I pulled my bottle of  OPI My Big Break that doesn’t have this type of sparkle.  It’s a winner!  Oh and I had a few seconds of light so I could show it to you in natural and artificial light.

Bling Dynasty is a burnished old gold with metallic shimmer and micro-glitter.  It’s definitely got an aged feel to it like if you dug up some ancient queen that wore real gold nails, this is how they’d look now.  Morbid but that’s where my mind went.

Bling Dynasty is deeper than the other golds in my collection.  As you can see compared to Duri Golden Nugget, Sally Hansen Salon Tassel, OPI Curry Up Don’t Be Late and Orly Gold Rush, BD is darker and richer.

Pearl of Wisdom is a sheer iridescent white with pink-ish pearlized micro-glitter.  This is not a buildable sheer so I’ve shown it with two coats.  I’m not a sheer girl, for obvious reasons (hello short nail beds!) so this one is a pass for me.

The OPI Hong Kong Collection officially launches in February though I’ve seen it for sale online already. OPI is available in salons nationwide including chains like JCPenney, ULTA, Trade Secret, Beauty Express and Regis.

Disclosure: A product sample was furnished to me by OPI. For further information view my Disclosure Policy.

The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash. I was chatting on Facebook with a reader from Croatia who asked me about the OPI polish worn on the model in the Beyond Chic collection ad (below). Even though she’s more of a dark, vampy gal, she called the color “classy” and a great change of pace. The model’s soft opaque white tips appealed to me and totally inspired this week’s ALU Archives shade choice.

Being that my go-to white is the uber-fab China Glaze White Kwik Silvr I decided to try something different. I still wanted some sparkle and it HAD to be opaque but not white-out white. As I dug through my white/black/gray drawer I came across a lacquer that’s been sitting in my stash unused and unloved, Orly Gogo.

Gogo was originally released with the Manicure Miniatures and due to the popularity of the collection, Orly eventually brought them out in full size with the Hot Stuff collection of brights.

I’m somewhat on the fence with this one. I love the hue because it’s not mod stark white yet it still feels fresh and edgy. My issue is with the glitter and application. Like a lot of light colors, this one goes on a bit streaky so I needed three coats to get it even. And the smooth silver micro-glitter is fantastic in the light but in shade it looks like small grey specks. I’m calling it a keeper but putting it in my pedi-only pile since whites look so amazing next to a faux summer glow. I think the glitter issue would drive me nuts on my fingers but wouldn’t be as noticeable on toes.

Orly Gogo is available on Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com in both the mini ($1.79-1.99) and full size ($3.19-3.50) bottles.

Jessica Cosmetics is the nail care brand founded by Jessica Vartoughian, the woman the New York Times dubbed “The First Lady of Nails.” Since 1969 when the Jessica Nail Clinic opened in LA, the brand has practiced natural nail treatments including use of their signature nail polish, a 3-free line of colors.

For Holiday 2008, the brand put together two mini nail polish sets from both the Jessica & Jessana lines; Nutcracker Sweet and Sweet Treats. Each set includes three mini .25 oz bottles of nail color, base coat and top coat. I had the opportunity to test out the Nutcracker Sweet set.

Previously I’ve only seen Jessica products at TJ Maxx and like all the beauty products they sell, the quality can be sketchy. I once bought a Barielle treatment only to get home and find the bottle half empty, dried up and open. Lesson learned, always open the boxes before buying. Anywho the Jessica sets I’ve seen at the Maxx are usually sheers or french mani kits, not my thing, so I never bothered but the colors in Nutcracker Sweet, totally me.

Even though the bottles are small, the caps are still nice and long, easy to handle. The brushes are full size as well so application was a breeze. I really like the medium viscosity formula and high pigmentation. They’re able to pack in a ton of color without making the formula goopy. It dries relatively fast as well. I could touch each shade after a few minutes.

Lilac Snowflake is not what I’d think of as lilac. It’s more fuchsia to my eye with pink and silver shimmer giving it a metallic look without the brush stroke downside of metallics.

Crimson Dew Drop reminds me a lot of OPI Midnight is Moscow only with way more glitz. It’s a black based, uber-dark red with a ton of duo-chrome micro-glitter that reflects both red and gold depending on the light. And because the glitter is so small, the polish dries smooth and glossy. No matte finish here!

Sugar Plum Fairy on its own is reason enough to buy this set. It’s the color that immediately drew me in. A blue based purple, it has the same amazing micro-glitter that’s in Crimson Dew Drop. Believe me, it’s WAY better in person.
The Jessica Holiday Petites are available on the Jessica Cosmetics website. Nutcracker Sweet retails for $16.50 and Sweet Treats is on sale for $12.50.

Who’s a Jessica fan? What colors do you recommend for a Jessica newbie?

Toy land, toy land
Li-ittle girl and boy land
While you dwell within it
You are ever happy there
-Toyland lyrics by Victor Herbert

Blocks, Nutcrackers, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs. Visions of old school playthings dance through my head at the mention of the word Toyland.

I think of the workshop from Santa Claus The Movie starring John Lithgow and the late Dudley Moore. Tell me, I’m not the only one who remembers it. How I wanted to play in that toy shop with all the wooden handmade presents. And who didn’t want to be one of the elves? Living off sugary treats, spending their days singing, dancing and playing. What a life, no?

However, even though OPI’s Holiday in Toyland collection has an old time-y theme, the colors are anything but. Suzi has totally hit the mark with the Darks & Neutrals. So on trend with the grays and metallics. Totally “me” right now!

You’re A Doll! – Is a pinkish nude shimmer with very subtle reddish sparkles sprinkled throughout. Not really my deal.

“Sheer” Your Toys! – Is the color I was most excited for. I’m on board with any light gray and this one, with it’s slightly pink tint, is pretty neutral. The only issue, the application. Hello problem child! It was kind of thick and didn’t flow very well. For a polish with the word “sheer” in the title I’m sure this baby wasn’t meant to be worn opaque but I wasn’t feeling it. So three coats later and you get a great opaque, slightly silvery gray.

Glamour Game – is champagne metallic duochrome. In the bottle the shade looks more pewter and on the nail, more gold. Unique but, like most metallics, not the easiest to apply.

Brand New Skates – is an oddball gray sparkler. Its jelly-like formula spreads like the China Glaze glass flecked polishes though it isn’t overly opaque so you need three coats. The micro-glitter give off a warm cast to what would normally be a smokey gray.

Play ‘Til Midnight – well what would an OPI collection be without a dark blue? It seems like Suzi just can’t resist the blues. This one is a jeweled burple with fine pink, purple and blue shimmer. Very similar to Russian Navy. The only difference is in the base color. While RN’s base is blue-green like Glacier Bay Blues, Play ‘Til Midnight is a deep cornflower.

Baby It’s “Coal” Outside! – is my 2nd runner up for best of the collection (behind “Sheer” Your Toys!). I was expecting it to be just another black/gunmetal shimmer. But there’s something about how opaque and pigmented the color is despite the high level of shimmer and multi-colored micro-glitter that attracts me.

The OPI Holiday In Toyland Collection hits shelves tomorrow, October 1st. You can find OPI in salons and stores like JC Penney, ULTA, Trade Secret and online at 8ty8Beauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com

It’s a really good thing I work in an environment that allows me wear crazy colors. Let’s here it for working with family. Crazy nail colors are one of the perks. So today I’m wearing Yell-O-Neil from the China Glaze Surf Summer collection. I still can’t believe I’m wearing yellow… on my nails. I’ve gotten puzzled looks and avoiding glances all day. And then there’s my dad who says, “My nails looked like that on Sunday after working in the yard but, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

So ok, I never thought I’d love a yellow. I certainly never thought I’d own two. Yet I am so drawn to them at the moment. Maybe it’s the tease of spring/summer I got this past weekend while doing some wine tasting in Amish country. I know the whole wine in Amish country thing sounds odd but it’s oh so right and intoxicating. Anywho, I saw this crazy glassy yellow from China Glaze and I haven’t been able to stop staring at it. It literally has been sitting on my desk since it arrived. And it’s not just me. The gals on the Makeup Alley nail board are drawn to it as well. So, what’s going on? Are we just so sick of the typical spring colors that we’re fiending for something new? Any theories?

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner!! Finally a sheer I not only like but love. Zoya Bailey is a perfect pink sheer with silver micro-glitter and pearly shimmer.

The application was smooth and even. Zoya’s formula is slightly thick but it spreads well with no streaking. I was a bit rushed this morning when I applied it but that didn’t affect the outcome. Even in person, my mani looks as close to flawless as I’ve seen my tips in a while.

With my “Dare Week” coming to a close, I realize that I enjoyed this challenge much more than I expected. Even though my first pick wasn’t a winner, it lead me to here. I now have a color that I can slap on when my nails are bare and I don’t have time to deal with applying my usual bright/dark colors.

In honor of the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team, I decided to go BLUE! I’m going to see them play the Detroit Red Wings tonight at Nationwide Arena and wanted to show my team support. Don’t tell the Blue Jackets but I’m really a Red Wings fan at heart.

So, I love the color and the silver micro-glitter but there’s something about the formula used in the We Adorn You collection that’s not working for me. I had this same problem with Soft Sienna Silks from this collection. It doesn’t apply as evenly as my other China Glaze polishes. And application, in addition to color range, is one of the things I love most about China Glaze.

Drinkin’ My Blues Away from the Spring ’06 Tequila Toes collection is very similar to this color. But, unlike Eyes Like Sapphires, it has that jelly, glaze-like consistency that I’ve come to know and love about China Glaze polishes. I also got some bubbling from this color and I don’t know if it’s my technique or the polish that caused it.

On a side note, it is freezing here in Ohio. The snow is coming down and I’m not looking forward to driving to Columbus this afternoon. In the middle of all this weather there’s me, outside with my camera taking pictures of my hands, trying to avoid getting snow on the lens. The lengths I go to for a good pic. I can only imagine what my neighbors think. I wonder if I’m the crazy neighbor lady that everyone talks about. Oh my, I hope that’s not me.

So, what’s on your nails today? Is it a keeper?