Swatch & Review - OPI Mariah Carey Collection Part 2 Liquid Sand

There are a few new things you may notice with the blog. First is the watermark in my photos, I've learned how to do the curved watermark! Also, I've changed the colour from purple (my fav colour) to white, since it goes with everything and won't take attention away from polish colour. Second, I decided to try putting photos together side by side to avoid a post being super long. Of course I am only using this method to showcase comparisons and what not. So the pictures might be on the smal side, just click and enlarge them. Let me know what you think of these new features and changes!

Finally I caved in and decided to get the second half of the Mariah Carey collection, the liquid sand polishes. I only got the mini set because I was still unsure about whether I'd like the finish. So here it is liquid sand ladies and gentlemen!

Liquid sand is a new polish texture that dries matte with some texture (bit like fine glitter), but allows the sparkles in the polish to shine through to avoid making the polish look dull. When you're putting on the polish, you can see the tiny little beads that give the polish its sand-like texture.

Below I have done a few comparisons to compare 1 coat vs. 2 coats, as well as top coat vs. no top coat. For the top coat, I applied 2 VERY generous, VERY thick coats. And you know what? It probably could have gone for another coat. Yes, these guys are THAT hungry for TC.
Edit: adding TC darkens the colour of the polish, making it more true to bottle colour.

Can't Let Go:
Purple base with small purple glitter and large purple hex glitter. One of the more opaque/pigmented of the four.

Comparing 2 coats (index) vs. 1 coat (middle)

Left is with flash, right is without flash

Comparing no TC (index) vs. with TC (middle)

Left to right: no flash, flash and no flash at an angle to better show difference

Get Your Number:
Blue jelly with holographic glitter and tiny holographic sparkles. Formula is thinner for this guy.

Comparing 2 coats (ring) vs. 1 coat (pinky)

Left is with flash, right is without flash

Comparing no TC (ring) vs. with TC (pinky)

Left to right: no flash, flash and no flash at an angle to better show difference

Stay The Night:

Black jelly with fuchsia glitter and small silver sparkles. Formula on this one was surprisingly thin (thinnest of the 4), prone to bald spots; therefore, probably need 3 coats. 

Comparing 2 coats (index) vs. 1 coat (middle)

Left is with flash, right is without flash

Comparing no TC (index) vs. with TC (middle)

Left to right: no flash, flash and no flash at an angle to better show difference

The Impossible:

Pink jelly with pink glitter. There are no star glitters in the mini bottles, so if the stars are the reason you wanted to get this polish, get the full size not the mini set. I heard the stars are rather tough to fish out anyway, so I'm ok with these not having stars. The pigmentation on this was surprisingly good! I had expected this guy to be sheer, but nope. This was a surprise favorite for me!

Comparing 2 coats (ring) vs. 1 coat (pinky)

Left is with flash, right is without flash

Comparing no TC (ring) vs. with TC (pinky)

Left to right: no flash, flash and no flash at an angle to better show difference

Specifications:
The finish on these were rougher than I expected. From what I read on other blogs I expected it to be smoother than dried glitter, but it felt just like dried glitter. More specifically it feels like the fine glitters that China Glaze was making last year (eg. Glistening Snow, etc). I probably would not put on delicate clothing made of satin or other materials that might become fuzzy from rubbing with the gritty texture. Dry time was REAL long for the full liquid sand effect to come about. I waited at least 10 minutes per coat to avoid bubbles and what not. Removal was surprisingly easy. Bonus! It's still harder than removing creams, but much easier than glitter or foil polishes.The colour becomes darker (more true to bottle colour) when you apply top coat.

My favorites were probably The Impossible and Get Your Number.

Overall, I'm still not sold on the liquid sands...sadness I know. I really wanted to like them, so I'm glad I just got the mini set instead of 4 large bottles. Maybe with some time they will grow on me. Or maybe the gold liquid sand from the Oz collection will change my mind. Have you guys tried out this liquid sand finish? What do you think of it?