The OPI Mariah Carey Collection for Spring 2013 includes eight OPI Nail Lacquers ($8.50 USD / $10.95 CAD each) inspired and hand-picked by the one and only Mariah Carey. The entire collection features beautiful feminine shades as well as bold, sparkly textures (come on- you wouldn’t expect any less from Mariah)!

Four of the shades are formulated with a new OPI Liquid Sand technology, which produces a unique, matte texture with reflective sparkle that really looks and feels like fine sand. This limited-edition collection will be available in January 2013 at select spas, salons and other OPI retailers.

OPI Nail Lacquers in (L-R): A Butterfly Moment, Sprung, Anti-Bleak & Pink Yet Lavender

OPI Nail Lacquers in (L-R): Stay The Night, Get Your Number, Can’t Let Go & The Impossible

The shades include…

• A Butterfly Moment: A shimmery, nude pink; I really love this shade and I think it’s quite unique! I think I’ll be wearing this cute, feminine shade a lot this spring.
• Sprung: A warm, shimmery copper. This one was the least pigmented out of them all, but the final result is quite nice!
• Anti-Bleak: A deep, creamy purple; the only cream polish in the collection! Pretty- but not too unique.
• Pink Yet Lavender: A clear base with pink glitter and lavender shimmer; very pale, and looks stunning on top of a deeper color.
• Stay The Night: A matte black Liquid Sand base with red glitter; deep and vampy!
• Get Your Number: A matte blue Liquid Sand base with multi-color sparkle; I don’t know what it is about this one but I love it! It reminds me of icicles!
• Can’t Let Go: A matte purple Liquid Sand base with multi-color sparkle; another really beautiful shade. I found the texture to be a little more flat than the others.
• The Impossible: A matte fuchsia Liquid Sand base with multi-dimensional sparkle and star confetti; I have to admit, I thought this one was going to look awful- but I quite like it! It’s fun and playful with the star confetti.

I was totally excited about this collaboration when I first heard about it- I knew that Mariah Carey would create some beautiful nail lacquers… what I didn’t know was that some of them would be a matte sparkle!  All of the shades in the collection required only 2 coats for an opaque finish, and I must say that there are some pretty unique shades! Some of my favorites include A Butterfly Moment, Pink Yet Lavender and Stay The Night.

OPI polishes usually last about 3-4 days without chipping and I find are the easiest to apply because of the extra-wide brush (its wide, but not too wide for my petite nails). I found that the liquid sand shades actually lasted longer, about 4-5 days without any chipping, The texture really is unique, it feels gritty, yet still sparkles… very much like sparkling sand on the beach. It goes on easily as a liquid, but as it dries, the gritty texture is revealed.

I think people will either love or hate the Liquid Sand texture… I think it will be a short nail art fad (just like the shatter, magnetic and caviar manicures were); I still prefer plain glitter or cream polishes, but it’s fun to try one or two! I’m excited to see what other shades OPI releases in this texture in the future.

As a collection a bit smaller than typical releases, I’m quite pleased with this one!

OPI Nail Lacquer in A Butterfly Moment

OPI Nail Lacquer in Sprung

OPI Nail Lacquer in Anti-Bleak

OPI Nail Lacquer in Pink Yet Lavender

OPI Nail Lacquer in Stay The Night

OPI Nail Lacquer in Get Your Number

OPI Nail Lacquer in Can’t Let Go

OPI Nail Lacquer in The Impossible

Summary

• Price: $8.50 USD / $10.95 CAD for 0.5oz / 15 mL
• Availability: OPI Salons, spas & retailers
• Overall: I think this is a fairly good collection overall; quite a few unqiue shades while still maintaining consistency and quality. The Liquid Sand texture is interesting, and while I think it will be a short-lived fad, I’m not opposed to it! It actually lasted longer on my nails and creates a unique 3D effect.
• Rating: A-