Friday, January 13, 2012

OPI Give Me the Moon brings to mind Wallace and Gromit

When you were little, did you ever think the moon was made of cheese? Being a big fan of cheese myself, I did wonder for a time although I might have eventually dismissed the idea. The moon just didn't look quite yellow enough to me to be a processed dairy product. But I got to thinking about it again when I saw the clay animation movie A Grand Day Out. It starred Wallace and Gromit, a man and his dog, two die hard cheese fanatics who decided to build a rocket and head to the moon (to eat it!) when they run out of cheese. (If they look familiar, you might have seen them in the 2005 Dreamworks Animation movie The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.)

Wallace and Gromit enjoying a picnic of moon cheese and crackers!

I was young enough at the time to think it was real and it might have been the cause behind my wanting to become an astronaut when I grew up (didn't everyone else?). It's a much beloved movie from my childhood so it's always a good thing when simple things like nail polish bring back fond memories.

Blue cheese inspired, perhaps?



The Quick Take

Brand/Name: OPI Give Me The Moon
Color: Pale grey with icy blue shimmer
Finish: Shimmer bordering on metallic
Price: $10 CDN for 15mL
Seen at: Nail Polish Canada (currently not stocked, though)
Note(s): Give Me The Moon came out in late 2006/early 2007 with the Night Brights Collection, along with other OPI favorites My Private Jet and Ink. Availability might be an issue.


The Fun Facts

Token bottle shot.

Back of the bottle.

Ingredient list: notice that it's not Big 3 Free.

The OPI wide brush.

Love that blue shimmer!

I love a great grey. I find it's an edgy neutral that's not too loud nor too demure. A great in between, so to speak. It's also a great palette cleanser after weeks of sporting in your face colors. Give Me the Moon happens to be one of my favorites. What makes this otherwise drab grey stand out is the blue shimmer that transforms this polish into something special. It's a strong shimmer, too, as you can easily see it from most angles and lighting. In that respect, it feels somewhat like a duochrome (grey to blue) and also much like a softer, more wearable metallic. Brushstrokes aren't obvious except in very bright light, but all the same, it would be a good idea to apply this polish carefully.
***All nail swatches were done with Nail Tek II Foundation Base Coat and two coats of OPI Give Me The Moon unless stated.

Natural light/No top coat/No flash
Nice and fresh looking, with a teeny tiny hint of blue!

Natural light/No top coat/Flash
The blue shimmer comes out to play more in bright light.

Sunlight/No top coat/No flash
Noticeable brushstrokes but luckily none too distracting.

I'm not entirely sure but this could well be the precursor to the pro-wide brush that most OPI polishes in the recent releases come with. I had no qualms with it except my left hand thought it was just a bit trickier to use (I'm a righty) and really get into edges and corners. Not really much of a big deal as the bristles are a lovely pliable sort that fan out wonderfully for an even easier application. The formula is top notch -- exactly what you'd expect from an OPI polish. A bit sheer, I could've probably used another coat as I think I can see the ghost of my nail line in the swatch photos. But the funny thing is, I only noticed it in the photos themselves and not in person. Note that this is also self-leveling so you don't have to worry about uneven spots. As far as brushstrokes are concerned, that's another matter altogether. Since this is a bit on the frosty/metallic side of the spectrum, you do have visible brushstrokes even after the polish has dried. It's not very obvious unless you really look at it, and mostly in very bright light so it's not exactly a deal-breaker. Give Me The Moon dried well within the average of about 3-5 minutes after application.

Natural light/Top coat/No flash
Finally. A polish that shines with a bit of top coat lovin'.

Natural light/Top coat/Flash
Hammie says: Ooooh. More pronounced blue shimmer!

Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash
Hammie sings: "Blue Moooooon/You saw me standing alone/Without a dream in my heart/Without a love of my own..."

As with most polishes, top coat generally adds more shine to an otherwise flawless (except for the brushstrokes) finish. Hammie thinks top coat upped the metallic aspect of Give Me the Moon.


The Lowdown


Seeing as Give Me the Moon came out much earlier (2006/2007), availability can definitely be tricky. I haven't seen this in stores and as a case in point, I got my own bottle when Nail Polish Canada had all their OPI polishes on sale (they were phasing out OPI in their line up but eventually brought it back). I've seen this sold in other e-tailers but none of them I've tried so I'd rather not link to them. If you really have a hankering for this shade, I have a couple possible dupes. First up is Maybelline Express Finish Blue Chill. Again, this might be hard to find but I've read that some have seen it in bins at your local dollar store. Also, Blue Chill looks a whole lot more frosty (brushstrokes galore!) and blue. It doesn't really lean grey much, more just a pale blue. The second is Essie Main Squeeze. I know that Main Squeeze is supposed to be a lilac shimmer. But it's the closest I could find in finish and base color. Obviously not dupes at all, as Main Squeeze lacks the grey base of Give Me the Moon although both look like they might have the same blue(ish? for Main Squeeze) shimmer. Luckily, Main Squeeze might be easier to find as it was a 2010 release with the Wedding Collection. If you're still not satisfied and really want this grey with blue shimmer, try the other e-tailers..or the dreaded eBay. Just keep in mind that I wouldn't pay anything more that $10 for a bottle.

This grey is right up my alley. The blue shimmer makes this blue lover very happy indeed. But the non-big 3 free formula is a no-no. It's not a deal breaker but it certainly will make me hesitate some. As I got this on sale (I've forgotten how much exactly, maybe $7- $9?), value for price is pretty good considering this is easily one of the harder to find polishes out there. I never really appreciated this polish until I saw my photos of it. Why have I not worn this more often?

Hammie likes the pretty blue shimmer as well. But he's not a fan of the sheer-ish formula or the formaldehyde in the formula. The brushstrokes are a big no-no for this finicky hamster! In the end, Hammie scored Give Me the Moon:
 
7 Hammie Points!

Do you agree with how Hammie scored this polish? What's your favorite kind of cheese? Will you try to track down Give Me the Moon or do you already have it lounging around in your collection? Happy Friday! How's your weekend shaping up? Alena Baby (my niece) is moving in for two weeks on Sunday so everyone's excited! Should be another busy weekend for us.

5 comments:

  1. This is so pretty!! I love how delicate it is.

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  2. This is such a pretty polish!!

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  3. Thanks, Marisa! I keep forgetting how much I like this that I'm shocked every time I wear it. If I had a dollar for every time I'd say "I can't believe I haven't worn this more", I'd probably have a whole lot more polish in my stash! lol!

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  4. Cristina ImpoverishedFebruary 4, 2012 at 1:42 p.m.

    Your post inspired me to finally break out this untried. It's really quite lovely, and it seems to be part of the core collection because it's on the OPI web site. I'll be posting about it soon. :)

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  5. It doesn't really look like much in the bottle but once it's on the nails it has you wondering why it took you so long to wear it/why you don't wear it often enough. ;) I didn't even see that, thanks for the head's up, Cristina! :D

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