It’s been a while since a nail polish review right? Well, let’s get back on the Pirates Of The Caribbean galleon with OPI’s Planks-A-Lot.
Firstly, what a name! Fun and tongue-in-cheek enough not to feel like you got dumped with a huge side order of cheese.
Planks-A-Lot is probably the brightest colour in the Pirates Collection, which mostly specialised in muted muddied pastels that weren’t at all what you’d associate with the gypsies of the seven seas. It’s a medium perfect purple, veering slightly to the lavender side yet still bright enough to not quite sit at home amongst pastels. It does have a touch of dustiness to it too and is noticeably darker than the pale lilac of the bottle, but nothing near as greyed-out as the grurple explosion (best exemplified by all-time favourite, Parlez-Vous OPI). And obviously, I love it.
You know this. I love all purples. Grey purples. Matte purples. Flakie purples. Holo purples. Glittery purples. Rock star purples. Purple, purple, purple (thought I’d just say it a few more times to make sure). So it’s no surprise that I now love Planks-A-Lot, a fairly straightforward lavender purple crème, too.
What I didn’t love was the formula. I had similar problems with OPI’s Mermaid’s Tears and Planks-A-Lot was even worse. Thick, gloopy, uneven first coat… and once again, I tried to over-compensate, forgetting about OPI’s self-levelling properties, meaning I didn’t get quite the lovely smooth finish I hoped for. But even then, Planks-A-Lot is still super-glossy, lushly creamy and just a gorgeous dreamboat of a colour through and through.
So I know I’m not surprisingly anyone by declaring my outright love for Planks-A-Lot, but she really is a beauty. Yo ho ho and all that too.
Looks good with: muted crèmes, florals, grey
Drying time: 10 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: +7 days
OPI Planks A Lot nail polish, Summer 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, $70, Cher2
Through The Looking Glass 