OPI has a new free iPhone app in the App Store that includes hundreds of OPIs Classic colors and a large handful of limited edition and special-collection colors. You can scroll through all the shades available to see what appeals to you, and you can even change the skintone of the model hand to see which colors will flatter your particular skintone.
Right now there are no representations for glitter, or shimmer finishes, but OPI says they're coming soon. In the meantime, the only difference in finish you will see are between regular, matte, and suede finishes.
As you can see, Matte looks shinier than Suede, which is weird if you ask me. Click to see more pics and read the rest of OPI Nail Polish iPhone App
Index to pinky are: Orly Gumdrop, Essie Mint Candy Apple, China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint, OPI Hey Get in Lime
Orly Gumdrop - this looks like mint till you get it near other mints, then it looks blue. Check below for a comparison to China Glaze For Audrey, they're very similar.
Essie Mint Candy Apple - the application on this is quite opaque just like Gumdrop, but it's much more green and drastically lighter.
China Glaze Re-fresh Mint - This is about the same depth as the Essie but it's a bit more yellow. This is probably the mintiest of all the mints here.
OPI Hey Get in Lime - this is so sheer, and it's the only jelly-based shade here. It's got the most yellow of all as well. It's my least favorite of all of these. To be honest, I'm not incredibly fond of it.
Click for the For Audrey comparison
OPI Pink Me I'm Good $8.50 at Ulta
I have no idea what the heck the name means, but it's cute, right? Evidently it's an Ulta exclusive that's part of a collection in which every single other shade is a core-line polish. I only remember La-Pazitively Hot off the top of my head, but every single other polish in the display was old news. This particular polish is a SUPER-super-sheer warm hot pink with golden glitter. I don't like the look of it alone on my nails, there's just something about sheer pink on my nails that doesn't sit right, it's not flattering. So I decided to layer two coats of it over another pink, in this case 1 coat of OPI DC Cherry Blossom, though I think it would be amazing and perfect over OPI Elephantastic Pink as the base color of the glitter is a dead ringer for the warm pink creme.
$8.50 at Ulta and Trade Secret, also available online at transdesign.com and 8ty8beauty.com for around $5
Suzi Says Feng Shui is one of two polishes that jumped out at me from the new Hong Kong collection for Spring/Summer 2010. I'm always interested in any new blue and this one doesn't disappoint me. It's got a slightly washed out dusky quality and a hint of green as well. I don't have any other polish in my massive collection of blues quite like it. I wish that my camera was capable of capturing that hint of dusty green, but it's just a hard shade to capture. I think that if you're a fan of blues and/or the dusty, slightly off shades you're going to love this one. The application was pretty easy, especially with OPI's ProWide brush. The formula is slightly thick and streaky, but it self-levels into perfection in a couple coats. I used three coats here, as is my customary technique, and then I used a coat of Seche Vite topcoat. It wore well for a couple days until my daughter's bowling party at which I chipped 3 nails. Booooo! I will say that they were getting a smidge long and needed a bit of a filing anyway.
OPI Jade is the New Black is part of the Hong Kong collection for Spring/Summer 2010 and can be found at Trade Secret, Ulta for $8.50, and online at transdesign.com and 8ty8beauty.com for around $5.
Jade is the new Black, or JITNB, as it's being referred to by the hordes of polish aficionados and bloggers, is an amazing muted-yet-rich green that is the star of OPI's newest collection. You probably know that I'm not the world's biggest green nail polish fan, but there are some that I love, and this is near the top of the heap. JITNB is about as close as you could come to a proper sophisticated green. Obviously, green nail polish is becoming a little more mainstream, like black and blue before it, so don't be afraid, drink the punch. Gorgeous jade-enhanced Chinese figurines come to mind when I look at it, so I think it's pretty aptly named. The application was on par with most of the new formula OPI; slightly thick and streaky, but pigmented and it self-levels well. I used three coats here and let each dry for a couple minutes before applying the next, which is pretty standard for me. I applied a coat of Seche Vite as my topcoat. Overall, this is the big one for me from this collection. I also purchased Suzi Says Feng Shui, because come on of course I did, it's blue! I will be reviewing that one as well shortly.
Which OPI Hong Kong polishes are you getting? Will you buy any of them? How do you feel about green nail polish in general?
Click for another pic!
Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday for getting girly, so here are a dozen of Beautopia's picks for the best nail polish for that special night.
Read on to see each of Beautopia's picks!
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE IN FULL-SIZE!
I thought perhaps Mad as a Hatter might be my favorite of the AiW polishes, but this has changed my mind. Absolutely Alice, from OPI's new Alice in Wonderland tie-in collection, is a clear base with blue and gold microglitter. The blue is the dominant color here with glistening shots of almost-3D-looking gold specks. This is four coats of Alice, topped with two coats of Orly Glosser and one coat of Seche Vite. Because the shade is almost completely comprised of glitter, this polish dries fast and creates a super-hard coating for the nails that really hangs on and does not chip. I found that the coats of Orly Glosser dried fast, and helped keep the Seche Vite from completely sinking in between the glitter and helped the polish to appear more glossy, even hours later. This beautiful midtoned sparkling sweet blue is going to be a big Spring favorite for me, and will surely get some wear when my beloved blue-and-gold Mountaineers begin the next football season in Fall. I highly recommend this polish for blue fans, glitter fans, OPI fans and collectors.
Click for more photos!
Click the photos to view them at full-size!
OPI Mad as a Hatter, a lovely glitter polish from the new Alice In Wonderland collection, is full of glitter of every shade. At arms-length, this polish appears as a blingy gunmetal, but up-close you can see the amazing array of shades in the clear base. This is four coats over China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat, plus a coat of Seche Vite.
Click for more photos!
OPI Hong Kong Collection, Available for Spring/Summer 2010
Colors in this collection:
- Bling Dynasty : A Char-"ming" gold that shimmers and glimmers
- Red My Fortune Cookie : And this rich red is in my future
- Hot & Spicy : A Sizzling coral that's a kung pao wow!
- Dim Sum Plum : A berry delectable delicacy
- Jade is the New Black : The vibrant green is the new fashion vibe
- Suzi Says Feng Shui : A serene cobalt to balance your yin yang
- A Good Man-darin Is Hard To Find : But you've found it - in this zesty red orange!
- Lucky Lucky Lavender : Be pretty and prosperous in this luscious light purple
- Meet Me on the Star Ferry : A Kow-loon lit, moonlit violet
- Panda-monium Pink : Lend a Panda a hand-a in this uproarious light pink
- Pearl of Wisdom : Smart girls choose this lustrous pearl shade
- Chop-sticking to My Story : I Mean it. "Pick Up" this warm caramel shade
OPI Alice in Wonderland, Available January 2010
"When January and February find you buried in a mountain of cupids and hearts, OPI and Disney will take you Underland to a world of wild imagination and color. It's Fantastical! OPI ties in with the Disney release of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland - one of it's biggest movies of the year featuring an all-star cast including Johnny Depp (as The Mad Hatter!)"
Colors Include:
- Off With Her Red! - A glowing, empowering hot red
- Absolutely Alice - An absolutely amazing blue glitter
- Mad as a Hatter - A madly marvelous multi-black glitter
- Thanks so Muchness! - For this "Much-have" red shimmer
