OPI Designer Series 2011

Hi friends :) Today I have the two newest OPI Designer shades, released in 2011. These are straight glitters, and unlike a lot of the Designer Series lacquers, not holographic. I think a lot of people aren't happy about that because the DS line has "diamond dust" in them so that equates a higher price and for that people expect something a little extra. However, just because these aren't holo doesn't mean they aren't lovely.

This is DS Temptation, the definition of a glitterbomb! Purple in overall shade with some blue tonality. This has lots of large and small glitter pieces. Really a gritty glitter, you definitely need the Seche Vite for this one to create a smooth surface. Thick but not terribly hard to work with like I've heard from others. This is three coats plus topcoat.

And this is DS Bold, a jelly red base with medium silver and red glitter. This is less dense than the previous glitter but still nicely packed. Very pink at some angles. This is a basically a dupe of China Glaze's Mrs. Claus from their 2010 Christmas collection. This is three coats.

What do you think of these two glitters? How do you feel about the Designer Series in general? Are they worth the price hike?

Products provided for review.

opi ds reflection

this polish i got in a swap from the lovely and talented miss gildedangel of naive nails. go check her out if you haven't already, cuz she's AWESOME possum and super sweet. i felt like maybe i was pulling the wool over her eyes a bit when i fished this out of her swap bag when we met up last winter (although there is still snow on the ground here, so it might still technically be winter). did she seriously put an OPI DS series polish in a swap bag??! seriously? dope! i even double checked and yes indeed miss samantha did not care for the polish so it quickly became my little treasure. idk about you kids, but $12 for an OPI is a bit much. and i freaking love OPIs. i will pay it for a really spectacular amazing DS polish (a series OPI calls "designer" and has diamond dust in it) but honestly i could really pass on a lot of them. so yeah i felt special and lucky to get this pretty lady!

ds reflection is a beautiful berry coraly pinky reddish color with tiny holo glitter sparkles. there's also a hint of gold duochrome in the bottle, but i couldn't see it very much on the nail (however the flash pictures pull it out a bit). very smooth, even and opaque coverage! this is two coats.

sun to show more sparkles

more direct sun

this mani was very glam in my opinion, very old hollywood. which usually seems more dark red or whatever, but this looked really classy against my skin. i adore it, thanks again samantha!