Sephora by OPI Metro Chic

Just re-did my nails with Sephora by OPI in Metro Chic, which is a popular shade among beauty bloggers. When it was first introduced on Sephora.com, it kept selling out quickly and then going for inflated prices on Ebay. I picked this up during my honeymoon in Honolulu back in March. Yes, it takes me awhile to get around to trying out my new purchases sometimes. I still have yet to try out the NARS Purple Rain nail polish that I bought on that trip too.

The Sephora by OPI range is very affordable at US$9 for a 15ml bottle. The formula is free of DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde. Sephora describes it as an "opaque dark smoke with a hint of purple". On me, it looks like a purple-toned grey. I found the Metro Chic formula to be slightly watery and it needed three coats instead of the usual two for a truly opaque finish. The first coat was highly translucent unless you don't skim off the excess nailpolish against the bottle opening before applying. Nevertheless, it does apply smoothly and even when I was layering on the third coat, there was no uneven clumping.

Metro Chic looks similar to Chanel's Particuliere and You Don't Know Jacques from the OPI line-up. I don't own Particuliere and Jacques and so can't really compare the three but I'm sure you can find shade comparisons on other blogs.

Sephora by OPI Teal We Meet Again

Having a huge weakness for teals, when I first spotted the new Teal We Meet Again nailpolish, from the Sephora by OPI range, I snapped it up without any hesitation. At just US$9 for 15ml, the Sephora by OPI range offers excellent quality at an affordable price. The formula excludes DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde, which is another plus.

Teal We Meet Again is from the Havana Nights collection. Although there is a Havana Nights set of four minis (US$18), I didn't think it was worth investing in as the only shade that appealed to me was Teal We Meet Again. I tried it out today over Paul & Joe Nail Base Coat, which glided on very easily and made even application of Teal We Meet Again a real breeze without any glooping.

The pic below was taken after applying one coat.

Two coats produces a nicely opaque finish with a rich metallic shimmer. It is not super glossy or shiny (you would need a separate top coat for that) but the shade itself is definitely intense. I was impressed by how quickly the nailpolish dried completely in less than 20 minutes and I can run my fingertips over the nail without the polish budging at all.

It was quite difficult to get an accurate close-up shot. The shade has more of a green tint than it appears in the pic below.