Who’s excited for OPI’s Starlight Collection? I know I am!!! Miraculously, this one came out in Belgium only a week or so after the UK, so I didn’t have the dreaded month-long wait that I had for the OPI Venice Collection, woop woop!!!

OPI in Ce-less-tial is More (Starlight Collection)

OPI - Ce-less-tial is More (Starlight Collection - Holiday 2015)

Let’s start with the one which I think is the quintessential polish of the Collection Ce-less-tial is More. This is a gorgeous rose-silver polish very similar in colour to OPI’s Designer…De Better! (comparisons below) but with a micro glitter/sand finish and added flecks of slightly bigger multi-coloured glitter dispersed throughout. Basically, stardust in a nail polish…stunning!

APPLICATION

This is a very thick glitter, be warned! There isn’t much base to the formula, the glitter is densely packed and feels almost gloopy, but this means that you get a very good coverage from the first layer onwards. Since Ce-less-tial is More has quite a sandy texture it’s a very fast dryer and surprisingly the thickness doesn’t translate on the nails as much as you would think from the formula. Multiple layers even out any glitter gaps (which are bound to happen because of the clear base, even if there isn’t much of it) without adding any bulk to the nail.

- 3 coats on top of Orly’s glue basecoat, for easy swatch removal.

WEAR

I can’t talk about lasting power since I’ve only swatched it.

REMOVAL

Nor can I talk about removal without glue basecoat, which by the way I’m not at all impressed with Orly here, it only lasted a couple of hours on my nails before peeling off (because I did try to wear it as a manicure, I just haven’t been able to face the removal that would ensue without a glue basecoat), but maybe that’s user error, admittedly I could have let the basecoat dry longer. But I think that since the polish has such a sandy texture the downside is the inevitable snagging (as with all these types of polishes) and hence this probably contributed to the whole peeling palooza.

But basing myself off the only other sand polish I’ve owned prior to this one, Essie’s Lots of Lux, it’s probably going to chip easily, because of all the snagging mentioned above (however the texture of sand means that it’s very easy to repair chips as the texture automatically blends any edges you would normally have with creams) plus you could add a top coat to change the texture if that’s what you really wanted, it would last longer. But for me the texture and glitter is all part of the fun, and the whole stardust-y aspect despite the (assumed) pain in the backside removal.

OPI in Super Star Status (Starlight Collection)

OPI - Super Star Status (Starlight Collection - Holiday 2015)

Next we have Super Star Status, and this polish really is fit for the red carpet. Like Ce-less-tial is More, it has a silver micro glitter/sand colour with added flecks of slightly bigger gold glitter this time. It has a bit more clear base to it than Ce-less-tial is More but not by much, it still acts a bit gloopy, but again this just means greater densely packed glitter. Honestly this polish looks stunning both as just one layer over a nude polish, for a fresh-sparkly look and as I have it here, the “Full Monty”.

APPLICATION

Now although very similar texture to Ce-less-tial is More, the application for this one is different and comparable to the technique used to apply Baroque…but Still Shopping! (as mentioned in my previous post, plus it also has the whole silver and gold thing going on).

That is to say, for the first layer worry about getting the silver micro-glitter over the whole nail, ignoring the bigger gold glitter’s distribution for the moment. In the second layer fan out your brush by applying slightly more pressure so that you are effectively scrapping the bigger gold glitter on there, and there you have it!

- 2 coats on top of Orly’s glue basecoat.

I haven’t worn this as a full manicure, so I’m just assuming it will act like a sand too (except if you only have one layer, then it’s less snag-y because it’s thinner and will act like a glitter). And of course, be a pain to remove if you aren’t a cheater like me. Which by the way, if any of you have a good trick to remove glitter, or a great base, I need to be made aware of it. (Don’t be shy, put it in the comment section!)

OPI in Cosmo with a Twist (Starlight Collection)

OPI - Cosmo with a Twist (Starlight Collection - Holiday 2015)

Cosmo with a Twist was definitely the one I was most excited about. Now although I’m not a fan of navy blue on my nails, this one is just exceptional. It’s like a galaxy on your nails, which is just so fitting for this Collection…"n’est-ce pas"?!

Now if you follow nail polish news like I do (why do we not get our own newspapers…huh!) you may be aware that Essie is bringing back its very popular polish in Starry Starry Night (The Art Historian in me LOVES that name) which although gorgeous (I will be getting my hands on it when it come out) it has nothing on Cosmo with a Twist when it comes to the representation of starry night skies in nail polish format.

Cosmo with a Twist is a very VERY dark aubergine cream base with a duo-chrome micro-shimmer in blue and pink, and I’m really happy my camera was able to pick this up so accurately, although as with any photo the real thing is so much more outstanding!

APPLICATION

The consistency is quite jelly-like and the first coat goes on extremely thin and streaky, but the second coat deepens the aubergine colour to an almost black and leaves zero streaks. I did 3 coats, because I’m fussy and I wanted to see if the colour deepened up more (answer = not noticeably).

It’s quite fast drying because of the micro-shimmer I’m assuming. But this means it doesn’t have much manipulation time. It dries with a tiny TINY bit of texture that is not that noticeable as it’s mostly smooth. Also, it dries a bit dull, but the micro-shimmer gives it all the pizzazz it needs! Plus, you could always add a top coat to fix both issues if you really wanted.

- 3 coats, Orly glue basecoat for photos but normal base when I wore it as a full manicure.

WEAR

This one I have worn as a full manicure…twice (I told you I was excited) and it has excellent staying power. I had minor chipping on day 3 after much manual labour (setting up artificial Christmas trees and decorating them)

REMOVAL

Pretty easy, no harder than a dark cream polish usually is.

All in all, Cosmo with a Twist is exactly what I had hoped it would be and more!!! So perfect for the lazy girl that doesn’t want the faff of glitter removal but still wants something sparkly on the nails.

P.S. I know what I’m wearing for New Year’s Eve!!!

OPI in Let Your Love Shine (Starlight Collection)

OPI - Let Your Love Shine (Starlight Collection - Holiday 2015)

Finally, we have the true Christmas classic/standard of any Holiday Collection really, and what is currently featuring on my nails this Christmas Eve, Let Your Love Shine. A gorgeous deep red with red micro-shimmer.

APPLICATION

The first coat applies quite streaky though nothing quite like Cosmo with a Twist. The second coat deepens the red quite a bit from a bright ruby red to a dark garnet colour (yes there is a difference in stone colour here). It’s opaque at 2 coats, but I’m fussy and I applied 3 (again didn’t deepen the colour anymore).

Very easy application thicker than normal OPI polishes such as Tiramisu for Two (mentioned in previous post) almost jelly-like like Cosmo with a Twist, but not quite as fast a dryer. Leave this one to fully dry between layers otherwise you get dragging (mind you that was with the glue basecoat, I didn’t’ have this issue with my normal basecoat)

- 3 coats, Orly glue basecoat for photos but no base when I wore it as a full manicure and currently testing it with my normal base.

WEAR

Sadly this one chipped after two days of wear with no base (to be fair I was wrapping a heck of a lot of presents), so I’m trying it out with a base this time and hopefully it will last longer :D Although coincidently I’m unwrapping presents tomorrow, as the true scientist that I am I have (albeit unintentionally) replicated the conditions of the experiment perfectly. To be continued… Update: Unfortunately, this polish did chip on the first day of wear (I put my polish on before bed), even with a base coat on. So don't expect longevity from this one :/

REMOVAL

Easy removal, no harder than any other red cream I have come across!