Sephora by OPI Celibacy Club and Sue vs Shue

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have a manicure using two of the Sephora by OPI Glee mini set exclusives, Sue vs Shue and Celibacy Club.  I got the mini set on Valentine's Day when Sephora was giving out a free bottle of Sephora by OPI Access 24/7 with any order - I've had my eye on that one forever, and I was interested in the minis, so now they're here.

When I opened the set's box to check out the polishes, I noticed Celibacy Club, described by Sephora as a diamond top coat.  That was the one I was least interested in before seeing them in person - I figured, another fine silver glitter top coat can't be too different than any other.  It looked like it might be holographic when I was sizing it up, so I set it aside to try out.  I looked at what to put it over, and I chose Sue vs Shue, a pretty standard navy blue shimmer (which I wouldn't be astounded to hear was just the regular $OPI navy rebottled).

Sue vs Shue applied very well, with one coat being just shy of enough for even coverage.  I used two coats, then added one coat of Celibacy Club before finishing it off with a coat of Poshe.  For this, I wish I had sunlight, but I don't.  I took about seven billion pictures to get one that would even hint at the glory that is Celibacy Club, and this is as close as I could get in artificial light.  It's pretty impressive at full size, so give it a click to see a full screen version.

Sephora by OPI Celibacy Club over Sue vs Shue, Glee Mini Set Exclusives

Here's a blurry picture from the same batch that shows the colors reflected by the glitter pretty well.

Sephora by OPI Celibacy Club over Sue vs Shue, Blurred to Show Glitter

The real kicker is that this is how the manicure looks in regular indoor light.  Truthfully, I'm a little bummed that Celibacy club isn't offered in full size.  It's the coolest polish I've seen from the Sephora by OPI line (and I'm a fan of $OPI despite the price tag), so selling it only as a limited edition mini seems like a waste of a dang good polish.

That's the scoop for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Sephora by OPI Hell to the No

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I needed a little change of pace and wanted to wear a good shimmer, and Sephora by OPI's Hell to the No from their Glee Collection fit the bill perfectly.  Hell to the No is a beautiful medium purple with a strong gold shimmer.  I'd wanted to pass on all from this collection, but after seeing a few sets of swatches, things didn't quite shake out that way...

The application of Hell to the No was very good, with the polish being a bit thick but easy to control and two thin coats providing excellent coverage.  Here it is in the sunlight.

Sephora by OPI Hell to the No Nail Polish, Two Coats

Hell to the No really melts my heart - it's spectacular.  I love purple combined with gold, but there just aren't that many polishes like that, so I sprung for this one and it's perfect.  Well, the polish itself is, the name, not so much...

My impression is that whoever names $OPI's tries hard to be cute and punny and edgy at the same time, but is lacking a good bit of sense.  I recall a lot of women being offended by the contender for Pro-Ana Color of the Year 2010, Iris I was Thinner, and it strikes me that as far as potential to offend, Hell to the No is right up there with it.  Although the word "hell" doesn't harm my delicate ears, I have quite a few friends roughly my age who are active members of very conservative faiths who are offended by the word - I've been told so after using it.  I'm not a proponent of the super politically correct ways that would have everything so universally inoffensive that it's watered down and indistinguishable from anything else, not at all, I just don't think the name Hell to the No is good enough to use when it is likely to offend many.  If it were as funny as Tickle My Triangle, likely more offensive to more people and probably my all-time favorite nail polish name, I wouldn't have a complaint since that's well over the line of funny enough to keep no matter what.  It's not a huge deal, but I didn't want to just ignore the name.

Hell to the No is a gorgeous polish in every way except for that pesky name.  Good thing that in real life, I never have to mention the name so it doesn't matter in a practical sense and I'm going to enjoy wearing it.

Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Sephora by OPI Glee Collection

Hello again, Dear Reader.  Just as I finished posting, I received a press release that seemed noteworthy about the Sephora by OPI Glee Collection.

Here's what it tells us:

Gleek out with the new Sephora by OPI goes Gleek Chic collection, available February 2011, a limited-edition range of ten new nail colour shades and three Chic Prints nail design appliqués inspired by your favorite characters from FOX’s hit show, GLEE. With signature names, colors and styles developed in conjunction with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, the set list for the Sephora by OPI GLEE Collection has a little something for every Gleek, from the infamous slushie blue to a Gleek Out green- the new GLEE line will make you feel like part of the GLEE club.

Seven new Sephora by OPI GLEE Collection Nail Colours are available individually ($9.50) or as a mini set of six with three additional exclusive colours ($22). All are Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP),Toluene and Formaldehyde-free.

Slushied – There’s no need to duck from this opaque blue 

Hell to the No – This purple shade might as well be considered liquid-pizzazz 

Gleek Out – A lime, glittery green that will have everyone singing your praises 

Diva-in-Training – Step aside Rachel Berry. The next solo is yours with this poppy pink hue 

Who Let the Dorks Out? – All the cool kids aren’t doing it! Express your individuality and    inner-Gleek with this statement peacock green

Miss Bossy Pants- A rich raspberry as show-stopping as Rachel herself

Mash-Up – Whether your style is sporty or goth, this pearlescent green gray pulls it all together for a pitch-perfect look

Celibacy Club (mini set exclusive)- Even if it’s only part of the show, express your inner angel with this glimmering, diamond top coat 

Express Yourself to Yourself (mini set exclusive)- Even more entertaining than Sue Sylvester in a music video, this coral shimmer shade will have people talking 

Sue Vs Shue (mini set exclusive) – Capturing the rivalry by this rebellious navy blue 

Sephora by OPI GLEE Collection Chic Prints for Nails Design Appliqués ($15) are easy-to-apply, precut strips of varying widths available in three different GLEE-inspired designs, Showstopper (gold stars), Berry Special (navy polka dots) and One Hit Wonder (music notes). Appliqués last 2 days on either fingers or toes and provide a fast and fun way to update your look instantly.

Sephora by OPI Nail Colours and Chic Prints for Nails Design Appliqués will be available February 2011 ($15 each) in all in all Sephora stores, as well as by calling 1-877-SEPHORA or logging on to sephora.com via computer or smartphone.

One thing I noticed right away is that the price for the polishes will be $9.50, so either this collection is $0.50 more (which would be a very Chanel move!) or else there's a price increase (also a very Chanel move, now that I think of it).

This time, that really is it!