O.P.I Fiji Collection

Today I have six polishes from O.P.I's Fiji collection to review.

First up I have "Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet", a gorgeous dandelion yellow polish. This polish was opaque in two thin coats. Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet applied effortlessly to the nail and self levelled well. It had a great brush size and dried very quickly. 

This polish reminds me of spring flowers, like sunflowers, daisies and dandelions. I love it!

This polish is available at selected Salons, Myer and David Jones.

Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet

 

 

Next I have "Living On the Bula-vard!", a lovely bright orange polish. This polish was opaque in two thick coats. Application was effortless due to the great formula which self levelled well and dried very quickly. Living On the Bula-vard! also had a great brush size.

The colour orange (in general) doesn't usually tickle my fancy, however I think this colour may be my favourite out of this collection! It's so bright, yet unique - I don't have an orange too similar to this one.

This polish is available at selected Salons, Myer and David Jones.

Living On the Bula-vard!

 

 

Next I have "Two-timing the Zones", a stunning bubblegum pink polish. This polish was opaque in two thin coats. Application was effortless, courtesy to the great brush size and formula which self levelled well. Two-timing the Zones also dried very quickly. 

This polish is very similar to a Barry M polish I own, Sugar Plum. 

This polish is available at selected Salons, Myer and David Jones.

Two-timing the Zones

 

 

Next up I have "Suzi Without a Paddle", a light powder blue polish. This polish was opaque in two thin coats. Suzi Without a Paddle applied effortlessly to the nail and self levelled well. It had a great brush size and dried very quickly. 

This is such a stunning blue colour, I can definitely see myself using it a lot in the future.

This polish is available at selected Salons, Myer and David Jones.

Suzi Without a Paddle

 

 

Next I have "Is That a Spear In Your Pocket?", a gorgeous dark teal polish. This polish was opaque in two thin coats, however you could easily get away with one. Application was effortless, courtesy to the great brush size and formula which self levelled well. Is That a Spear In Your Pocket? also dried very quickly. 

I couldn't not mention how much I love the name of this polish! You've got to love O.P.I and their creativity and humour!

This polish is available at selected Salons, Myer and David Jones.

Is That a Spear In Your Pocket?

 

 

Last I have "I Can Never Hut Up", a grey polish with a subtle green shimmer. This polish was opaque in two thin coats, although you could just do one. Application was effortless due to the great formula which self levelled well and dried rather quickly. I Can Never Hut Up also had a great brush size.

This polish is so unique! Although I'm not super fond of the colour, it did presently surprise me. It's not RIGHT IN YOUR FACE, yet I still think you'd get quite a few compliments if you wore it (which is always great!!).

This polish is available at selected Salons, Myer and David Jones.

I Can Never Hut Up

 

 

O.P.I have not failed to impress me! This collection was amazing... the formulas were faultless! These polishes also dried incredibly fast, faster than any other mainstream polishes I own. As far as I could see, these polishes were chip resistant, however I didn't wear one of those polishes for more than three days so I don't know exactly how long they'd last. My favourite from this collection would have to be Living On The Bula-vard, closely followed by Two-timing the Zones and Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet (I couldn't pick just one!).

Which polish was your favourite? Let me know in the comments or on my Instagram page! 

You can purchase these polishes in selected Salons, Myer and David Jones.

Links:

O.P.I Australia's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/opiaustralia/?hl=en

My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/nails.by.hayley/

* Disclaimer: Coty PR Australia kindly sent me these polishes to review with my honest opinion.

Opallac Review

Today I'll be reviewing the starter kit and polishes I received from Opallac Australia. 

It would be an understatement to say I was overwhelmed when this package arrived at my door. I recieved their starter kit, 20 polishes and some extras to help me with swatching. 

Today I'll be mixing up my blog a bit, instead of reviewing each polish I'll be reviewing the system altogether and giving you an outline of my thoughts on this brand. 

Starter Kit

The starter kit, which retails at $99, includes a 7Watt UV LED Lamp, 3 x Gel colours (Cosmolicous, Seductress & High Tea), 1 x Gel Base Coat, 1 x Gel Top Coat, 1 x 2-in-1 Shine & Soak Sollution and 1 x 30pk Remover Wraps. 

 

Note: The three coloured polishes pictured are not the polishes included in the starter kit.

7Watt UV LED Lamp

The 7Watt UV LED Lamp is what makes gel polish so easy. You simply plug it in, turn on the switch and leave your hand underneath the light for just 90 seconds. There's no skill to mastering gel polish, it's truly as simple as that! 

 

My thoughts  

I know from experience that a lot of people are scared and try and stay away from doing gel nails at home. To be honest, I was a little intimidated by the idea. I'd heard rumours that it's impossible to apply and was overall just a huge hassle and waste of time. Those rumours couldn't have been more wrong, at least not when we're talking about Opallac. Opallac's gel polish is simple, it's as easy as applying normal nail polish! I have a tutorial up on my Instagram account showing how simple it is. Click here to be directed to it. The polishes self levelled perfectly. All of the regular polishes (not glitter polishes) applied effortlessly. I had no problems whatsoever. The only polishes which were a little hard to apply were the glitter ones, as you had to put in a bit more effort to get the glitters on evenly across the nail. The only difference between normal nail polish and Opallac's gel polish is that gel polish is thicker, however not that thick to the extent it's hard to apply.

🌟Easy to apply

🌟Self levelled well

🌟Opaque

🌟Non chip / long lasting

🌟Good brush size

Steps

Here are the 10 easy steps to achieve the perfect long lasting gel mani using Opallac's gel system:

1. Make sure your nails are completely nail polish and oil free. 

2. Apply a thin coat of gel base coat.

3. Cure for 90 seconds.

4. Apply one thin coat of any Opallac gel colour.

5. Cure for 90 seconds.

6. Apply another coat of the same polish.

7. Cure for 90 seconds.

8. Apply a thin coat of top coat.

9. Cure for 90 seconds.

10. Gently wipe the top of your nail surface with the 2-in-1 Shine and Soak Sollution to reveal that glossy shine. I used a makeup pad.

 

Removal

As I was swatching these polishes, I used a peel off base coat most times so removal was a little quicker. However, normal people would be using these polishes for the long lasting formula. In that case, you wouldn't use a peel off base coat, you'd remove the polish using Opallac's 2-in1 Shine & Soak Solution and Remover Wraps. The steps are simple:

1. Lightly buff the polish.

2. Cut off a small strip of the remover wrap and saturate it in the shine & soak solution.

3. Wrap the wrap around your nail. It will automatically stick. Repeat on all of your nails.

4. Leave them on for 5-10 minutes. The polish should've lifted enough for you to peel it off. Opallac recommends 5 minutes, but I found it was a lot easier to remove if you left the strips on for a further 5 minutes. 

5. Peel the polish off. If you need a bit more force I recommend using a cuticle pusher to lightly pull the polish off. If this doesn't work, soak your nails for a further 5 minutes.

After this I recommend applying cuticle oil as your cuticles will be left quite dry. Sally Hansen has a few cuticle products to chose from which are also available at Priceline.

 

Does gel polish ruin your nails?

A common question people ask is, "Does gel polish ruin your nails?". In my experience, it didn't ruin my nails as I removed it properly. However, if you don't remove it properly and try picking it off, it will badly damage your nails. I did find that at the end of swatching all of these polishes my nails were a bit weaker and snapped easier. I'm not sure if you'd have the same outcome if you wore it normally and didn't constantly remove then apply the polish. 

How long does it last?

As I'm constantly swatching and I can't keep a polish on for more than a couple of days, I didn't get to test if these polishes truly do last as long as Opallac suggests. However, I asked a friend if she could do me a favour and trial this for me. I prepared and painted her nails exactly as I listed at the beginning of my blog post. I didn't get any pictures, which I highly regret, so you're going to have to trust my word. The polish lasted the whole 14 days without chipping! Tip wear was slightly evident, nothing obvious though. The polish lost a bit of its shine, but that's expected after 14 days. I was truly amazed.

Conclusion

Overall, I highly recommend Opallac's products. I know you won't be disappointed, it's definitely worth the $99 investment. You could do your nails in the comfort of your own home, what more could you ask for? Opallac has a large range of polishes, ranging from cremes, to glitters, to colour changing polishes. Yes, that's right, colour changing polishes! 

 

You can purchase the starter kit and Opallac's other products online and in select Priceline stores nationally. https://www.priceline.com.au/brand/opallac

Other links:

Opallac's Instagram page: 

My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/nails.by.hayley/

* Disclaimer: Opallac kindly sent me these polishes to review with my honest opinion.