OPI Suedes - Ink & Russian Navy

At the time of this writing, these are the *last* suedes I own. Who knows if I'll find more lovelies in my future?

This is OPI Ink Suede.  Out of all the suedes I've swatched, only the OPIs were different in their application.  For one, here's where that Pro-wide brush comes in handy.  You have to work fast in order not to drag polish, and these brushes just cover more area.

I did find that these were a little streakier on the first coat than other suedes, but they filled out nicely on the second.  As long as you didn't panic and allowed the first coat to dry before applying the second coat, application was just fine.

So, with three purple suedes, do you think any were dupes?  Nope!  I did stripes with the OPI Ink suede on top, Avon Soft Violet in the middle, and Julep Nora at the bottom.  Together, it makes the OPI look blue and the Julep look grey!

Next is OPI Russian Navy Suede, a beautiful dark blue.

I've replaced one of the OPI suedes with Avon Blue Royale.  In this pix, the thumb does look a *tiny* bit darker, but in Real Life, I couldn't tell the difference.  For all intents and purposes, the Avon Blue Royale is a dupe for OPI Russian Navy Suede.

I made s stripe down the middle with Pure Ice suede Blue Midnight just to see how different all the blues were.  These are really different!  Definitely worth getting both if you're a blue lover like me.

I hope you enjoyed all these suedes as much as I did!  Which ones are you going to add to your collection?

Four Julep Suedes

Ok, so the 'Week' of suedes has become sort of a bakers' dozen... I'm sneaking in a couple more days because I just can't resist! 

When Julep announced a matte topcoat would be part of the November Maven's box, the polish world went a little nutty, hoping against hope that Julep would be coming out with their own line of matte suedes, and so they did.  I picked up 4 of them.

The first is a light green suede called Hailee.  This is so very different from Femme Fatale.. this one doesn't even read true green, but more of a hint of sage green.

Formula was the same with all the Julep suedes - just fine.  I don't think there is any appreciable difference in the application of the suedes between Avon, Pure Ice, or Julep. 

I was really looking forward to Julep Nora.  This is a unique purple in my collection.  It's very nearly a steely grey.

I decided to paint one stripe of Above the Curve Don't Call Me Sugar, a lilac holo, right down the center of each nail. 

I love how it almost gives the suede a duo-chrome feel.  If you didn't know it was two different polishes, would it just look like a trick of the light?

Next up is Julep Amber, a champagne gold suede.  I much prefer champagne gold to orange gold tones with my skin color.  This is almost a nude on me - it makes me look really, really pale, but I like it.

The last Julep I bought was Minka.  What a pretty color, somewhere between rose gold and copper.  This is also unique to my stash, and one of my faves of the suedes.

I thought a cloud mani with Amber, Minka, and Hailee would be really pretty.  It's almost a southwestern color palette, but very muted.  I love this combo.

Will you be picking up any of the Julep matte suedes?  At $14 each at Sephora or Julep, I suggest you get a Maven to pick one up for you for $5 when added to her Maven Box, though I don't know how long they will be available.

What do Pure Ice and Zoya have in common?

Maybe one of the most sought-after Zoya colors...

This gorgeous green suede is Pure Ice Femme Fatale... or is it?

We have secretly replaced one nail of Pure Ice with Zoya Veruschka.  Can you tell the difference?

Can you tell now?  I couldn't.  The thumb nail is actually painted with Zoya Veruschka.  The rest of the fingers are Pure Ice Femme Fatale.  The Zoya is discontinued and HTF.  I paid about $10 for it.  The Pure Ice is less than $2.  SIGH!!

I couldn't bear to paint over this beauty, so I just accented with one green and one yellow pearl on each finger. 

 

This is all fingers painted with Zoya Veruschka.  It is gorgeous, I love deep greens, and the frosted bottle is pretty.  Certainly worth the extra... $8 or so.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Look how pretty it is with topcoat, too.  That richness that a suede has really comes through.

Have you found any other cheap dupes for original HTF polishes?

Pure Ice Suedes - Blue & Black

I am old enough to remember when there was either no such thing as blue nailpolish, or if you wore it, it was a subversive thing.  Now, I love blue polish, and I can't seem to get enough.

I really like this Pure Ice suede, Blue Midnight.

Nice formula, like all the others.  It's the only cobalt blue suede I've come across, though.

I wanted to try a gold tip and stripe using another Pure Ice suede, Over The Top.  Obviously, my freehand stripes need a little work!

Another 'subversive' color of polish - black.  Now, it's everywhere, and I love to wear it, too, though not often all by itself.  I love layering with it or using it for nail art best.  It's hard to cover up such a neat texture, though!

Pure Ice Black Velour didn't have a clear suede finish - it's almost a 'rubber' or 'soft touch' finish - not quite matte, but lacking in the silver particles of the suedes.

I told you I need practice striping!  I tried 5 different types of stripes with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  This polish made a huge splash when the Spiderman collex hit - it's not a true white, nor is it really grey. It's just a touch off-white, like an eggshell.

How do you like to wear your suedes?

Pure Ice Suedes - Purple and Gold

Pure Ice Touch Me Softly...

....and then forget to take a picture.  It was probably too intimate or something.  It's a red-purple suede.  You can see it in the background of my dotticure..

I used Color Club Harp on it, a holographic polish, but over the suede, it took on more of a suede finish!  I also dotted with other Pure Ice Suedes, including Blue Midnight and Stunning.

Next suede is Pure Ice Over The Top.  I don't usually buy gold polishes.  I only bought this one because I was curious about the gold suede, and it was less than $2.  It isn't a color I find terribly flattering on me.

I do like it as undies for this Perception Nail Lacquer Fall Breeze, however.  It lightens up the brown and gives it a glow.  Really makes that scattered holo come to life!

 Too bad Perception closed up shop.  She made nice scattered holos.

Right hand:

 

Have you fallen for an Indie that's closed up shop?

Pure Ice Suedes - the Pinks

Who would have thought that Pure Ice would come out with some very cool LE Suedes?  I guess when Revlon bought them, they stepped up their game.

This first suede is a lovely dusty pink with the gross name - Grunge.

These are half the price of the (sale) price of the Avons, at $1.97 at Walmart.  You'd never know how inexpensive they are, though - they apply and look like the big brands..

Forever 21 had a 99-cent sale on some of their Love & Beauty polishes, and I thought this purple/multi glitter would look good paired with Grunge.

 Pure Ice Stunning is just that!  A bright fuchsia that pops.

I took another Forever 21 glitter in Faded Rose that is supposed to be a dupe for OPI I Lily Love You, I think, and made horizontal stripes across the nail in different lengths.  Not that you can tell.  It just looks like globs of glitter.  Not every glitter works well with nail art, but I keep trying...

 Are you into the suedes yet?   More, MOAR to come!