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Friday, February 1, 2013

OPI Mariah Carey Collection, Part 2

As promised yesterday, now it's time for me to share the Liquid Sand polishes, also known as the other half of the Mariah Carey collection. There are four of these textured matte glitters; there's a hangtag attached to the bottle explaining that one should use two coats and not add topcoat.





The Impossible is a deep watermelon pink glitter; most of the glitter particles are small, but there are scattered larger hexes and holo stars as well. Getting the stars out of the bottle required some fishing; my impatience with that is why you don't see that many stars on my nails. This swatch is two coats.





I know these are designed to be worn matte so the texture can show, but I also know that won't necessarily work for me, so I did some experimenting with adding topcoat. Left to right below, it's no topcoat, one layer of topcoat, two layers of topcoat, one layer of Gelous plus two layers of topcoat. One layer of topcoat is definitely not enough to smooth this out. Two is okay, but the Gelous plus two approach makes it really smooth and shiny.



Get Your Number is a blue glitter densely packed with small to medium glitter particles, including some holo ones. This was also two coats for me.





Here's Get Your Number topped with one coat of Gelous plus two layers of topcoat:



Can't Let Go is a purple glitter. This has a nice tone on tone effect, with lighter purple glitter in a darker purple base. Two coats for this one, too.





I needed a break from layering topcoat at this point, so moved right on to the last Liquid Sand, Stay the Night. This has a black base with small pinkish red glitter throughout.





Since I'd taken that break from topcoat, I was ready to try it on Stay the Night. Adding the by-now-usual three layers (Gelous plus two regular topcoat) made this one quite squishy and glowy.



I am not big on textured nails, at least not on me, so am not really in the target market for Liquid Sand. I do like how they look; it's definitely a different, interesting finish. So far I haven't gotten comfortable with wearing them matte for any signficant length of time. I tried Can't Let Go as a full mani and didn't like waiting for it to dry (I'm spoiled by quick dry topcoats, so even the 15 or 20 minutes this took seemed like an eternity). I also found it disconcerting when the gritty texture would rub against my sheets and clothing. It just feels weird to me. Maybe I'll get used to it if I try it another couple times or maybe I'll just topcoat the heck out them.

The polishes shown in this entry were provided free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider.

27 comments:

  1. Love them all! I am also worried that maybe I won't love the feeling of the texture as much as they look, but they're on their way to me so I can't back off!

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  2. Great swatches! I love the texture, but I can totally see why it isn't for everyone. I really need to try these with topcoat. Stay the Night looks great!

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  3. I'm not too keen on this range matte but with a topcoat they look incredible!

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  4. I'm not sure how I feel about the Liquid Sand polishes. I don't know if they're for me, but they are definitely cool.

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  5. I like them with topcoat. Without top coat I'm not a fan:)

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  6. I think they are cool but I also like matte polishes. However I'm not sure if I'll like the texture.. I'm thinking of buying "stay the night" but I'm not sure.

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  7. Really like and want them, but with topcoat on? :O destroying all that shiny glitter ;)

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  8. I like them all. I wasn't sure about the two reds to begin with, but the more I see them, the more I like them :)

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  9. Thinking about that... I'm not sure I will feel comfortable with "sandpaper nails" rubbing against fabric. I haven't decided whether I really want them or not :-*

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  10. OMG It sucks out loud that they only put stars in the red one. :( I like the blue and purple, though.

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  11. I really like them all, but especially Get Your Number :)

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  12. I haven't tried any of the textured nail polishes simply because I'm uncomfortable with the idea of them. Having something rough on my nails makes me feel kinda squicky. The two you put topcoat on sure were pretty, though!

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  13. What topcoat did you use for these? I always struggle with topcoating bumpy glitters. One layer of Gelous plus SV definitely left Can't Let Go a little scrape-y on my toes...

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    1. BeckBeck, I let the Gelous dry for a minute or two and then used regular OPI topcoat (not their quick dry), letting the first coat of that dry off for another minute or two before I put the second coat on. It was definitely a more involved process than my usual topcoat routine.

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  14. I'm not really into the matte thing either, but they do look great with top coat!

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  15. I'm not a fan, the more I see them, the less I am - and I would end up using top coat on them, so yay money saved ;)

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  16. Nice swatches! The textured finish is definitely different.

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  17. I'm not at all a fan of texture on my nails but I did buy Stay The Night because it's completely gorgeous with topcoat!

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  18. Amazing swatches but I really dont think Il ever get myself to like these! They look great on you though :)

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  19. I love these polishes! They are so pretty with and without topcoat!

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  20. It's a really pretty set, but the texture definitely takes some getting used to.

    ~ Yun

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  21. I actually really like the way the textures look :)

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  22. Wow, I could not do the texture. I recoiled just imagining the feeling. So clearly, I'm also not their target market. SMOOTH SHINY NAILS 4EVA, lol.

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  23. I love them and I like how they look on you! I have to get Stay The Night!

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  24. I'm not sold on this texture. I might have to try it some day to see if I like it. I find in funny that for the longest time people were trying to get rid of glitter texture. Then OPI called it something new and suddenly people love it.

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.