Nightlife Sparkle

I wasn't sure if I was tiring of glitter polishes when OPI Polka.com came out from their Spring 2013 Euro Centrale Collection. After buying all the polishes from the limited edition Face of Australia Glitterati Collection, I felt a bit over glitter (shock, horror). There was something cheap, tacky and increasingly unimaginative about them — not to mention being a total nightmare to remove. David Jones recently had a buy one, get one free offer on OPI nail lacquers. The last time they held the same promotion, my friend and I selected a polish each for half the normal price and I picked the nude OPI Loves David Jones. This time around (possibly inspired by Mishelle's picks), I felt a strong pull back towards my glitter roots.

Polka.com consists of turquoise, hot pink and royal purple hexagonal glitter of uniform size with royal purple glitter dots in a clear base. Here, I chose to pair it with a dark navy base (two coats of Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish in Aye, Aye, Sailor). I wanted a more indigo, slightly brighter (but still deep) blue, but the inky Aye, Aye, Sailor was the next closest thing.

I'm often immediately drawn to how a glitter polish looks like in the bottle and want to replicate the same effect on my nails. For that reason, I often prefer to wear glitter polishes on their own, even if the process calls upon a great deal of patience in painting multiple coats to achieve the density of glitter required. Polka.com however, seems more suited to being a glitter top coat. Its unique mix of coloured glitter can subtly transform the look of an entire manicure depending on what colour is selected as the base. I feel darker colours really complement and harmonise with Polka.com, giving the illusion of depth, compared with lighter, more pastel colours where the glitter appears disjointed, busy and very flat on the nail.

I've always been impressed with the superior quality of OPI glitter polishes (Teenage Dream, The Living Daylights and Lights of Emerald City are some of my favourites) and Polka.com is no exception. It may be a random observation, but the polish paired with Aye, Aye, Sailor brought to mind the bokeh-inspired packaging of the Revlon Lash Potion by Grow Luscious mascara (minus the green). It's a glitter concoction that recalls the energy of modern nightlife and the multicoloured lights of the city after dark.