Dividing this fairly extensive collection into three groups was the easy part; ‘the reds’ (reviewed here), the Liquid Sands (coming soon), and this group here that I’ve named ‘the sparklers’, although it should technically be ‘the 5 sparklers & a metallic’, but that just looks weird in a title, no? These six lacquers all have something unique and totally eye-catching to offer – brilliant, sparkling and festively extravagant.

OPI – Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection

Ski Slope Sweetie – a sheer milky base hue filled with finely ground iridescent/pearlized shimmer that flashes predominantly gold, with pink and green glints seen as well. While the formula leans a bit on the thick side, it still applies ridiculously easy, staying exactly where placed, brush stroke-free and self-levelling (this can also be layered over a similar colour for more depth). Gleaming at the finish, I swear that there’s a magical look to this shade – makes me think of unicorns. Love unicorns. Note that there could be some shimmer migration upon removal. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

OPI – Ski Slope Sweetie

OPI – Ski Slope Sweetie

My Favorite Ornament – a clear base loaded with ultra fine platinum and silver micro glitter (doesn’t it look like teeny-tiny crinkled up pieces of foil?), that’s almost opaque by the first coat — it’s THAT densely packed. With its antiqued/tarnished effect, this shade is insanely brilliant and absolutely spot-on as the perfect festive lacquer. You will probably need a couple of layers of top coat to smooth out the slightly gritty finish – totally worth it, however. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat (2 layers)

OPI – My Favorite Ornament

OPI – My Favorite Ornament

Wondrous Star – a clear base filled with the same platinum & silver ultra fine micro glitter of My Favorite ornament, but slightly sparser and in a thinner flowing formula, as well as the addition of tiny black hexagonal glitter pieces in the mix. Definitely best if layered to bring out its full effect, this shade is ridiculously brilliant as well. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

OPI – Wondrous Star

OPI – Wondrous Star

All Sparkly and Gold – a smokey semi-sheer taupe base hue filled with bronze ultra fine glitter (the warmer and more golden version of My Favorite Ornament). The gritty feel at the finish seems more Liquid Sand to me, but not as dense, and really benefits from top coat to enhance every brilliant facet. I absolutely LOVE how the glitter seems suspended at the surface level. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat (2 layers)

OPI – All Sparkly and Gold

OPI – All Sparkly and Gold

Warm Me Up – the odd man out of the group shown here, but still part of the same overall colour family, this is a metallic taupe/mink brown hue bearing a silvery/pearlized shimmer throughout. A totally unique colour (at least in my fairly vast collection), this shade is a chameleon – looking pewter in some lights, bronzey-grey in others. Self-levelling, no visible brush strokes and shiny at the finish, it’s also non-staining upon removal. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

OPI – Warm Me Up

OPI – Warm Me Up

I Snow You Love Me – the “pièce de résistance” of the collection (and you HAVE to love the name!), this is a slightly milky (and relatively thick) base, filled with large round holographic glitter. As this shade is best when layered, I’ve shown it (1 coat only) over 3 distinct finished: over a crème (Visions of Love previously reviewed here), a shimmer (Ski Slope Sweetie), and a metallic (Warm Me Up). Some tips for application:

• start by keeping this bottle stored upside down, as the glitter is heavy and tends to sink to the bottom
• don’t try applying this the usual way – you’ll only wind up with the base and no glitter
• instead, use the “drop, dab, & swoosh” method and work quickly to avoid an uneven surface
• Bonus: glitter placement is quite easy to do, although you may need to fish some pieces out of the bottle in the first place

OPI – I Snow You Love Me (over Visions of Love)

OPI – I Snow You Love Me (over Ski Slope Sweetie)

OPI – I Snow You Love Me (over Warm Me Up)

I’m not even a glitter person, and yet I am so totally drawn to (most of) these shades. My favourites here are I Snow You Love Me (portable disco balls!), Warm Me Up (you already know how I love these moodier-type shades), All Sparkly and Gold (sophisticated bling, in my eyes), and My Favorite Ornament. I can see Ski Slope Sweetie as a pedi shade, a colour that will translate well even for the warmer season, but Wondrous Star didn’t do it for me – something about the darker bits looked too much like debris for my liking – maybe it just needs to grow on me *shrugs*.

The six Liquid Sand polishes of this collection will be shown in an upcoming post.

The OPI Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection is limited and available now. For all updates, feel free to follow via: website/twitter/facebook

*Disclosure: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration