Tag Archives: OPI

OPI The Show Must Go On! nail polish review

Posted on March 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

I seem to have been on a bit of a roll with OPI lately – my recent-reviewed Not Like The Movies, Miami Beet and most of all, Parlez-Vous OPI, now rank as some of my favourite polishes period. So let’s usher in another OPI instant classic – The Show Must Go On!

I’ve read lots of posts comparing The Show Must Go On to Mac’s Bad Fairy from its Disney-themed Venomous Villains collection, a magical glittering red-orange-pink concoction in everyone’s photos yet, from when I tried it at a Mac counter, a streaky gritty hellish mess to apply. Whilst The Show Must Go On and Bad Fairy are certainly not identical judging from the pictures, by my reckoning, The Show Must Go On is a simply beautiful colour in its own right.

Not that OPI would have you know. Never have I seen bottle pictures more inaccurate. Google Image this baby and you’ll more than likely see a bright but boring fuchsia staring back at you. The bottle photo at the top of this post is slightly more accurate but still doesn’t nearly capture the depth and brightness of colour, nor the brilliance of its foil-like sparkle.

The Show Must Go On is primarily a metallic pink-based red, with a gorgeous shimmer that seems to come bursting from within the polish itself. It has a fantastically clean and bright finish, jumping straight off your fingers to instantly work its way into any nail polish lovers’ heart. But what makes this polish truly incredible are the subtle shifts in colour that flash at you throughout the day. Red, scarlet, coral, pink, copper, orange, gold – practically every colour from the warm end of the spectrum is there, winking at you like you’re sharing a particularly juicy secret. Needless to say, I couldn’t capture it in photographs, though I’ve tried to compensate with quantity over quality for the sake of this review (though I urge you to click and check them out close up)!

I was also quite impressed with the formula, despite a thin first coat that gave me bald patches all over. Somehow, it worked out its problems by the second coat to give me a truly flawless finish, as clean bright and shiny as a child all smartened up for her first day of school. Sadly, it did the trademark OPI thing of chipping slightly by the third day of wear, but I find their polishes self-levelling enough to fix relatively easily.

This is definitely one of my favourite polishes so far. It’s slightly reminiscent of Zoya’s Gloria, except warmer-toned, multi-coloured and with a more low-key approach to glitter (so not that similar at all then!). Whilst The Show Must Go On definitely boasts a certain shimmer, it doesn’t feel like an additional ingredient, more that it was an inseparable part of the polish all along. It’s festive without being singularly so and unusual enough to distinguish it from the stocking-load of other red foils out there.

Like a flickering flame of the most entrancing candle you’ve ever seen – we’d all be moths if flames were this gorgeous! – The Show Must Go On is a must-see. Get your tickets now!

Looks good with: your inner diva
Drying time: 5-7 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: 3 days

OPI The Show Must Go On nail polish, Winter 2010 Burlesque Collection, $168 for pack of four Mini Teasers, selected Mannings

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OPI Teenage Dream nail polish review

Posted on March 21, 2011 | 3 comments

My rant about the anticlimactic OPI Katy Perry collection over (see here for the colours that should have been), it’s time to deliver a nail polish review proper. Namely, OPI’s Teenage Dream.

Not Like The Movies, a shimmering silver chameleon is definitely the star of the collection (alas, definitely not the star of the album itself!) but from other bloggers’ photos, I thought that Teenage Dream might give it a good run for its money. A dreamy glittering pale pink, it captures the rose-tinted romance from the song itself with oh-so-pretty results.

Too pretty, in fact. The near-translucent peachy pink base of the polish is such a girlie colour to start off with that once you start tipping in sparkly silver micro-glitter, never mind the further dose of twinkle supplied by a scattering of larger round iridescent pieces, that it begins to verge on children’s party territory. Think Hello Kitty, unicorns and the girls clothing department in Mothercare and you’re pretty much there.

In Teenage Dream’s favour though is that, for the many lovers of glitter polishes out there, this is definitely one of the best formulas around. Usually, coloured bases of glitters are so sheer that by the time you’ve layered it to any semblance of opacity, your nail is almost as thick as the Yellow Pages. Not so with Teenage Dream. I was amazed when the pink became perfectly lovely in two – yes, TWO – coats. That’s opaque enough to ensure no Visible Nail Line (i.e. being able to distinguish the white tips of your natural nails), yet not so opaque that the delicate wistful qualities of this unusual pale pink are completely lost.

Secondly, the amount of glitter has been calculated to professor-like levels of precision. It’s easy for glitter to be either so sparse that you once again end up with more layers than a wedding cake or so dense that your nails look more bling-heavy than J.Lo’s jewellery box but Teenage Dream’s clever mix of a wash of peachy silver micro-glitter with the occasional bigger rainbow-reflecting piece floating through makes for a lovely multi-dimensional effect that’s both dazzling yet still reasonably subtle. As subtle as a glitter polish can be, that is.

Like most glitters, it’s anything but a dream to remove, but I expect you all knew that already. And whilst I was impressed by the formula, finish and staying power of Teenage Dream, it’s just not the colour for me (I also have very pale skin, meaning these pale pinks tend to blend in with my fingers!). My eight year-old self, however, would have been all over this like it was the latest princess Barbie. So if you have a pink-loving eight year old crying to get out or simply can’t get enough of glitters, Teenage Dream might just be your year-long Valentine.

Looks good with: sugar, spice and all things nice
Drying time: < 3 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +5 days

Read my reviews of the rest of the OPI Katy Perry Collection:
     • The One That Got Away
     • Not Like The Movies

OPI Teenage Dream nail polish, Spring 2011 Katy Perry Collection, $168 for pack of four minis, selected Mannings

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OPI Parlez-Vous OPI nail polish review

Posted on March 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

My last nail polish post saw me declaring China Glaze’s Sea Spray as the perfect grey-blue. Well, strike me down if I’ve not just found the perfect grey-purple too. Step (or should that be nonchalantly stroll) forward OPI’s Parlez-Vous OPI.

As part of Fall 2008’s France Collection, it’s an oldie but a goodie, but one that feels especially current since the fashion world went gaga for grunged-out grey hybrids all last year, thanks to Chanel’s Particuliere (see OPI’s Over The Taupe and Zoya’s Kelly for further details). Parlez-Vous OPI is pretty much the most grey a purple can go whilst still remaining obviously and very much purple – which, for me, makes it the loveliest ‘grurple’ I’ve come across so far.

As a result, it’s a muddied muddled lavender but one that feels soft and lush as opposed to resembling the dregs of a dirty puddle. I’m pretty certain I used to own a cashmere jumper this colour, which of course, makes Parlez-Vous OPI an instant winner.

This was also one of the best formulas of OPI I’ve used so far – creamily consistent and opaque in two easy coats. For once, I didn’t find their trademark fat brush too cumbersome (whether this older brush was indeed slightly different or I’ve just got used to it remains to be seen!) and, clearly on a roll from their other star performer Miami Beet, it dried relatively quickly and didn’t chip too easily either.

But back to the colour, which is too insouciantly dreamy not to write more about. As befits a member of the France Collection, there is something quietly chic about Parlez-Vous OPI and it’s one of those perennially flattering shades that seems to go with just about everything and work for just about every situation. My purple obsession has been well documented but this may just be my favourite yet.

Pretty but edgy, soft but grown-up, perfectly purple and yet so much more… Parlez-Vous OPI will be my ‘It Colour’ for several seasons to come!

Looks good with: everything (but I may be biased)
Drying time: 3 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +5 days

OPI Parlez-Vous OPI? nail polish, Fall 2008 France Collection, $90, Cher2

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OPI Miami Beet nail polish review

Posted on February 21, 2011 | 1 comment

OPI’s Miami Beet was another result of my abortive attempt to buy some colours from their new Texas Collection (abandoned as the ‘sorbet’ finish being too sheer for my liking). OPI are apparently famed for their berry cremes and chucking one or two out with nearly every collection – and if Miami Beet is anything to go by, I can see why!

I applied Miami Beet at night and was concerned that it looked too much like Essie’s slightly dull Rock Star Skinny. Thankfully, Miami Beet is much more a morning lark than a night owl and came gloriously alive (if not quite chirping!) in the daylight. The very definition of a rich raspberry, it’s the ideal half-way house between dark cerise and beetroot purple (and not as bright or as magenta as the bottle appears either).

It was also one of the best formulas I have rocked from OPI in a loooong time (don’t be fooled by that watery first coat!). Glassily glossy, creamily smooth and opaque in an even two coats, it dried quickly and stayed chip-free.

Having wanted to nibble at my nails all last week thanks to China Glaze’s delicious Heli-Yum (my other anti-sorbet purchase), Miami Beet was just as edible. We seem to be in the midst of a frozen yoghurt craze here in HK and I could barely look at my nails without thinking ‘Mmmm… Very Berry’! Mulberry, raspberry, loganberry, cranberry – take your pick! (Or, if you want to go for fruit in a slightly different state… claret, burgundy or sherry!)

It’s muted and mature enough to work for work but not so dull that it fades into the background. It also transcends seasons – warm and rich enough to fit in with velvety fall shades but light and bright enough for summer too (and it was actually released in spring!).

Like Essie’s Silken Cord, a red so perfect I’ve not felt the need to have any others in my collection, Miami Beet will definitely be my go-to berry shade for the foreseeable future. And not a ‘sorbet’ finish in sight!

Looks good with: just about everything
Drying time: 3-5 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +5 days

OPI Miami Beet nail polish, Spring/Summer 2009 South Beach Collection, $70, Cher2

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OPI Not Like The Movies nail polish review

Posted on February 13, 2011 | 4 comments

Remember when I said that China Glaze’s IDK nail polish reminded me of what you imagined butterflies’ wings to be when you were little? Well, we can also file OPI’s Not Like The Movies into the Ethereal Wings Collection. Except that its iridescent mix of shimmering silver, pink, green and purple is clearly a fairy’s wing instead.

Alas, no nail polish company has actually created an Ethereal Wings Collection (though they can bill me for it later!). Not Like The Movies is instead part of OPI’s much-hyped collaboration with Katy Perry, who is at least famous for her colourful and crazy nails, as opposed to another of their recent tie-ins Justin Bieber, who is not. Since this is my first post about one of the Katy Perry colours, I’m going to give in to my rant about how uninspiring this potentially exciting range ended up.

The four colours in OPI’s Katy Perry line are named after songs from her second album – Teenage Dream (a soft pink glitter), Last Friday Night (a blue glitter), The One That Got Away (a bright fuchsia) and Not Like The Movies (silver). Firstly, when you think about the rest of her album, you can instead mourn for the colours that could have been (as invented by me and if KP does another line, she can mail me the royalties later!):

  • California Gurls (bright Smurf blue, like her hair in the video, or vibrant beach-y yellow)
  • Firework (multi-coloured sparkly glitter)
  • Peacock (blue/green peacock’s feathers)
  • Pearl (barely-there pearlised shimmer)
  • Hummingbird Heartbeat (tropical coral or turquoise)
  • Who Am I Living For (angsty edgy blackened purple)

Secondly, the existing colours are ALL WRONG. Although the pale pink glitter does suit the romance of Teenage Dream, the mention of ‘skin-tight jeans’ (plus shots of frolicking in the sea in the video) means it should have been the blue glitter, which applies much paler and dream-like than the bottle colour anyway. This opens up the pale pink glitter for The One That Got Away (which is basically Teenage Dream Part 2 and therefore does not suit a bright colour at all), leaving Last Friday Night to morph into a party colour befitting its feelgood vibe – the fuchsia if you must, yet anything bright and glittery would do. This means the only one OPI actually get right is Not Like The Movies – and get it right they most certainly do!

It’s a wistful shimmering silver that OPI’s PR and photography department aren’t doing any justice to whatsoever. They’re labelling it a ‘sultry silver’ with photos that make it look like your average gun-metal grey. Which it most definitely is not.

With a spectrum of colours almost as difficult to capture as a fairy itself, it’s a beautiful blend of dreamy shimmers and glimmers that casts a spell on all who look at it. It’s rather sheer, taking three to four coats to build up opacity, and since I bought the mini nail lacquer set, I found the simultaneously tiny-yet-fat brush really hard to work with. But it was very much worth it.

A pale iridescent silver flecked with tiny sparkles of silver micro-glitter, it also becomes a romantic pink, a metallic lavender and a sea-foam green whenever the mood takes it. It’s an absolutely enchanting effect that shows up better in the bottle than on my nails in some of my photos but it’s ridiculously captivating in real-life.

The only possible explanation for it so beautiful? Well, I’m settling for a sprinkling of fairy dust, of course!

Looks good with: princess dresses, pretty things, believing in magic
Drying time: 5-7 minutes
Coats required: 3-4
Chips: +5 days

Read my reviews of the rest of the OPI Katy Perry Collection:
     • The One That Got Away
     • Teenage Dream

OPI Not Like The Movies nail polish, Spring 2011 Katy Perry collection, $168 for set of four minis, selected Mannings

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OPI Suede You Don’t Know Jacques nail polish review

Posted on February 11, 2011 | 1 comment

The only problem with OPI’s Suede Collection? Once you wear one, you’ll never want to take it off. And such was the case with You Don’t Know Jacques.

A soft velvety take on mink with that trademark matte micro-glitter finish, You Don’t Know Jacques in Suede is yet another winner from the collection. C’mon OPI – this 100% hit rate is getting boring! It’s a tawny taupe transformed into a muted muddied copper thanks to that dense shimmer effect, and it’s the perfect matte take on the whole greige trend. I absolutely adore it.

This is the third Suede I’ve reviewed now (following the stunning Lincoln Park After Dark and Ink) and all the pros and cons are still exactly the same. Super speedy drying, excellent coverage from just one coat, a fat brush that is impossible to use on my pinkie and more chips than you’ll find in the deep-fat fryer at McDonalds. Seriously, it’s ridiculous. 12 hours spent lying flat in bed and you’ll probably still have some chips to show for your efforts.

Of all the drawbacks to have, chipping quicker than an Olympics 100m race is a pretty big one, but somehow OPI Suedes still have me coming back for more. You Don’t Know Jacques is no different – it’s a really subtle soft but sophisticated shade, highly versatile and a contender for a different take on work-wear nails. It looks really dreamy matched with pastel pinks, greys and creams yet also looks ultra-haute against black. I’m going goo-goo eyed even thinking about it.

There’s just something about that suede finish that is, as my good friend Alex Perry would say (with strong Aussie accent for best effect), ‘expensive’. You Don’t Know Jacques might just be the most expensive of the lot.

Looks great with: soft pastels and neutrals, workwear, luxury
Drying time: <1 min
Coats required: 1
Chips: <24 hours

OPI You Don’t Know Jacques nail polish, Fall 2009 Suede Collection, $70, Cher2

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OPI Suede Ink nail polish review

Posted on December 15, 2010 | 2 comments

So here’s the rub of falling in love with a nail polish (OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark Suede for those who’ve forgotten) – you feel compelled to buy the whole damn collection!

As soon as I’d fallen for the rich velvety finish and gorgeous glitter effect of Lincoln Park After Dark Suede, I found myself in Cher2 snapping up the rest of the set quicker than the varnish dries in the first place!

If Lincoln Park After Dark was the awesome amethyst in Suede’s crown, than Ink is the sparkling sapphire. If as a child you wondered exactly what indigo was and why this strange colour that was neither blue nor purple somehow deserved a place in the rainbow over pink, Ink is your answer. The exact in-between of those two colours (in a way that doesn’t quite come across in photos, where it looks much more blue), it’s practically the living definition of the shade.

A cloudy steel blue mixed with a deep royal purple, it’s another sophisticated yet stunning addition to the Suede collection. The muted metallic matte effect combined with the shot of shimmer makes it glitter with a grown-up glamour. Although I didn’t fall as instantly in love with it as I did with Lincoln Park, the interesting indigo shade subtly sucked me in over a few days of wear.

The same pros (quick-drying, great consistency, easy application) and the same cons (chips quicker than a Primark teacup) are still evident and, in common with many blues and indeed many glitters, it took a bit more elbow grease to remove.

As a more unusual colour, Ink may be a little difficult to match with other colours but you get your just rewards when it hits direct light. This mysterious murky indigo suddenly transforms into a sparkling night sky studded with silver stars and the results are dazzling. Twinkle, twinkle, indeed!

Looks great with: muted shades, tweed, glamour
Drying time: <1 mins
Coats required: 1
Chips: 1 day

OPI Suede Ink, Fall 2009 Suede Collection, $70, Cher2

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OPI Suede Lincoln Park After Dark nail polish review

Posted on November 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

I’ve found ‘it’. The elusive colour you put on and know is you all over. Hello OPI Suede in Lincoln Park After Dark.

Given that I hunt down nail varnish colours from music videos and rogue snapshots from years gone by, you know I’m a picky one. But Lincoln Park In The Dark Suede was almost enough to turn me into a one-colour woman.

It’s from OPI’s range of nail lacquers with a matte finish that they’ve rebranded as ‘Suedes’ – which, let’s face it, is a much more appealing term than matte, which sounds like a dullard DIY word. Instead, suede conjures up images of rich velvety colours perfect for wintry walks in the park and the OPI range more than justifies such plush fantasies.

Lincoln Park After Dark in its normal maroon guise is the furthest you can get to black without being black. But in its Suede incarnation, it’s a luxurious muted plum, packed to the hilt with a dense silver glitter. And I know my hostile thoughts on glitter have been previously well-documented but this liberal scatter of silver turns the shade into an expensive metallic shimmer, stopping it becoming a flat energy-zapper, like many other mattes I’ve seen on the market. It’s also ridiculously versatile – like the village tart, it just goes with everything!

Unfortunately, OPI weren’t joking when they say in their literature that Suede ‘does not wear as long as original OPI lacquer’. Count yourself lucky if your talons last 24 hours. Given that I’m currently sans employment and my most strenuous activity is deciding which side of my bed to sleep on, this stuff really does chip without the slightest provocation! At least OPI’s fantastic self-levelling properties ensure you can tidy up the chips relatively unobtrusively, although it’s a near Sisyphean task keeping them pristine for any great period of time. OPI also sternly tell you not to use hand cream if you’re wearing Suede but since my hands are still ravaged by a year of dealing with snotty kids, adhesives and constant disinfecting, I couldn’t not use lotion and can’t say I noticed any ill effects.

There are still plenty of pros. This is by far the quickest drying OPI polish I’ve come across, one coat provides excellent coverage and for once, I found the brush easy to work with, ensuring a solidly smooth finish (although it’s worth noticing that it can feel a little gritty to the touch, if that bothers you). And the colour really is beautiful – a grown-up metallic amethyst that’s totally striking without being attention-hogging. It also looks fantastic under different lighting (I’ve shown it with flash here to try and capture how under artificial light, it really looks like you’ve dipped your fingers into some mauve mercury) and, as I’ve mentioned, with any colour, any pattern, any time, anywhere.

The highest recommendation I can give to Lincoln Park After Dark Suede is that as soon as I’d applied it, I rushed out to buy the rest of the range. Apologies to your bank balance in advance… but one try and you may well find yourself doing the same!

Looks great with: possibly easier to say what it doesn’t look great with. In which case, let me know once you’ve found something!
Drying time: <1 min
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: 1 day

OPI Suede Lincoln Park After Dark nail polish, Fall 2009 Suede Collection, $70, Cher2

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China Glaze Light As Air nail polish review

Posted on November 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

Sorbet shades were all the rage this summer, so as usual I’m one step behind and sporting the look in autumn, thanks to China Glaze’s Light As Air.

You may remember my dubiousness at the whole ‘pre-school’ pastel polish thing circa my Essie Turquoise & Caicos review and I stand by this to a certain extent (the day you see me wearing baby pink is the day you know I’ve bought nail varnishes in every single other colour). However, lilac was always my favourite pastel shade and Light As Air is a great interpretation of the colour.

If it’s pink-based, or even too blue-based, pastel purple could easily verge on the sickly-sweet, more reminiscent of a Care Bear than a shade you’d happily sport on your nails. But here lies Light As Air’s trump card – it’s actually tinged more with grey, making it surprisingly subtle and actually (incredibly!) sophisticated. Having said that, it’s still pretty delectable for those with a sweet tooth as it’s almost exactly the same colour as Swizzels’ Parma Violet sweets, which I remember scoffing at parties as a child.

Light As Air marked my first foray into China Glaze nail polishes and the results were mixed. Both the bottle and brush are more from the OPI school of chunkiness – the brush is slightly thinner than OPI’s but nowhere near the Essies and Zoyas of the world (which, as you already know by now, I find much easier to use). The colour was even, soft and creamy but I found the consistency a little gloopy and the finish downright terrible. Although the pigmentation was strong enough to mean only one coat alone achieved a gorgeous colour, I had huge problems getting a smooth finish and ended up doing three on some nails! Even then, as you can see, the results were still a bit bumpy and it was nowhere near self-levelling enough, with the layers clearly visible in some places. Like the brush situation, durability was also pitched somewhere between chip-happy OPI and iron-clad Essie and Zoya but it was peeling rather than chipping which proved to be Light As Air’s undoing.

It’s a feather-light colour that, although more tea party than rock concert, is a categorically classy choice. It doesn’t sit well with brights but looks fabulous played against other purple tones, hence why it looked really cute mix and matched with OPI’s Pamplona Purple. Light As Air is more a Betty Draper than a Joan Holloway and would look great worn an air of elegance, a chignon, kid gloves and a 50s style floral dress. But if you don’t have any of those ingredients, don’t worry. It’s just as great at bringing out your inner lady, no chignon required!

Looks great with: other purples, other pastels, pretty dresses, a sophisticated smile
Drying time: 5 mins
Coats required: 1 for colour, who knows how many for finish
Chips (or rather peels): 3-4 days

China Glaze Light As Air nail polish, Spring 2010 Up & Away Collection, $60, Cher2

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OPI Pamplona Purple nail polish review

Posted on November 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

If you thought my colour reference for Zoya’s Bekka nail polish was weird, be prepared for things to get even more neurotic. My purchase of OPI’s Pamplona Purple was inspired by this…

Yes, a rogue finger in a photograph. Back in the days when nail varnish barely registered on my radar, I actually commented on this photo on Facebook with ‘I like your nail polish!’ I liked that it was a pink-based rather than blue-based purple, that it popped without being garish and that it lay dead in the middle of the ‘light purple-dark purple’ spectrum. And Pamplona Purple is all those things and more!

It’s simply a delicious-looking aubergine, that manages the subtle trick of being bright but without blowing your socks off.

As I’ve got more used to painting my nails, OPI’s fat brush caused me fewer problems but it’s still my least favourite brush amongst the brands I’ve tried. Consistency, coverage and finish were amazing; I love the ultra-smooth, high-gloss effect that OPI specialises in. The colour was deep, rich and intense, with even one coat giving a slightly pinker magenta shade, building to the two coats shown in my photo. However, in my experience, although OPI polishes give by far the smoothest, most streak-less finishes that are impossible to scratch, dent or mark, they also chip the easiest. The pro to that con is that OPI’s are also the most self-levelling, allowing for the most painless of repair jobs to fill in the chips near-seamlessly.

Pamplona Purple feels modern and hip but without being enslaved to fashion and its ‘must-have’ shades. Simply, it’s just always been this cool – even as a blurry rogue finger in a photo!

Looks good with: denim, mini-skirts, grey, hipster style
Drying time: 5 mins
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: 2 days

OPI Pamplona Purple nail polish, Fall 2009 Spain Collection, $70, Cher2

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