Crystals and Jam

Following my review of Get Your Number from Mariah Carey's first collaboration with OPI, I'm finally posting about another polish from the Liquid Sand minis set I was given for my birthday last March, Stay the Night. Despite looking moody and alluring in the bottle, a jet black base packed with gleaming cranberry glitter, most swatches I'd seen were a letdown. It resembled red-flecked pebbly tar, like charred muck stuck onto the nails with generic sparkly bits peeking through.

With Stay the Night, I'd have to wholeheartedly agree with Cassie's review that only loads of topcoat salvages things. One coat isn't even enough to bring the polish alive, I find I need at least two. Even then, it's still relatively bumpy and uneven in texture. The actual look however, is transformed from ugly and dull to eye-catching and complex, like crushed up ruby crystals in semi-set black jam. The contrast between the colourful, dense glitter and the dark base is amped up, accentuating the appearance of partially translucent layers that give the illusion of depth. The effect was enough for me to describe it as "alarmingly pretty" the first time I wore it, particularly in direct sunlight.