Stars in the Snow: An #OPIStarlight Review & Giveaway

No marble countertops or sheepskin rugs for this girl, it's all about freshly fallen snow (Granted, if I had either of the first two things, I might just've used them) !! It's called using what you have and making it work, à la Tim Gunn.      When I received this set of absolutely stunning polishes from OPI's Starlight collection to review, I was as thrilled as a child on Christmas morning.  I love shimmer, glitter and rich colours in winter and this range did not disappoint in the least.  There are a bunch of winners, and I may just have discovered two of my favourite colours of the season.  That said, there were also a couple of disappointments. In spite of that, I think this is a fantastic collection, for real.  I will say though, that if unlike me, you are not a fan of metallic shades, this may not be the collection for you.     I tried literally every single shade in preparation for this post, and I can say that the vast majority of these polishes went on smoothly, with minimal coats (usually two, not the usual three I sometimes have to do), lasted well, and looked beautiful on the nail.  I think that Jen at The PolishAholic has done a great complete selection of swatches and quick reviews, but I still wanted to quickly share my thoughts on my top picks as well as the few I wouldn't recommend.     Top of the Class...      Let Your Love Shine - Oh my goodness, this rich, shimmery red is absolutely incredible.  I absolutely, positively, utterly adored it.  I almost never wear red shades on my fingernails (I generally save bold colours for my toes), but I will definitely be reaching for this one again and again.  It is truly stunning, and a surprise favourite for me.      Press * for Silver - I do love a good metallic, and this pinky silver was right up my alley. It is one of the few shades that I think, due to the softness of the colour, will also translate well through to spring. It does show brush strokes if you aren't careful, but the extra care is absolutely worth it.       Cosmo with a Twist - I think I was feeling nostalgic about the iridescence of my long-ago prom dress, I surprised myself with a love for this darker polish.  It is dark purple with a blueish sheen, and shimmers in a beautiful way.      In the Middle...     Ce-less-tial is More - When I looked at the bottle I gasped in delight, the glittery rose-gold colour looked so gorgeous.  I put it on, it went on easily, and looked totally incredible.  However, it started to chip more quickly than any of the other polishes, and I basically gave myself carpal tunnel syndrome trying to take it off: an absolute nightmare.  Wearing this polish takes serious commitment, and when you want to take it off, definitely set aside some time to do tinfoil wraps and essentially chisel this stuff off the nail. Beauty is pain, friends.      And the Back of the Pack...     Two Wrongs Don't Make a Meteorite - This glitter looked so promising and pretty in the bottle, and with unique, almost chevron-shaped metallic glittery pieces, I was hopeful.  I found that this was really heavy on the base, and that I was fighting with the brush to get the glitter off.  My sister shared this sentiment when she attempted to layer, summing it up with her description of this polish as "not worth the effort for suboptimal results".       I'm in the Moon for Love - I was initially super excited about this colour, a deep, dark oxblood that I felt would be great for winter and especially perfect for fall.  But when I put on the first coat, it had an almost sheer, jelly-like formula, when I was expecting a rich cream.  It was the polish that took the most coats to achieve the look I was going for, and I was generally disappointed with it overall.     

    Now for the good news! I'm doing a giveaway for two sets of minis from this collection - featuring one of my favourite (and sold-out) colours, Press * for Silver, and some other great picks from the range.  It will be open for a week and a half, until next Wednesday, January 13th. There are a number of ways to enter, you'll simply need to check out the widget below for details!    

a Rafflecopter giveaway
   

Note: If you live outside of Canada and the US, I'll still gladly ship one of these to you, it will simply take a bit longer to arrive as it will have to come via me first, since Nail Polish Canada doesn't ship internationally. Follow