At Your Quebec and Call

From the Canadian collection.
I'm still very unsure about this colour. A bit of a swamp green, it's one of those which I guess is a bit Marmite - you either love it or hate it. It's a slightly murky, shimmering green shade with a hint of beige/brown. Application was good even with the old style brush and the picture shows two coats.

International Date-Line

This is a pretty old colour as far as I can make out as there don't seem to be many other pictures of it online. It is a deep burgundy colour with some cool tones to it. It's a cream finish with no shimmer or frost. Very flattering. Despite the fact that it's been in my collection for years, the application was good and completely opaque with two coats. 

Fee Fi Fo Plum

From the British collection. I found this shade to be a little bit insipid. A light purple cream colour. It's not that vibrant and is sort of just... 'there.' Needed three coats to be totally opaque.

Yodel Me On My Cell

From the Swiss Collection. A gorgeous shimmery medium blue shade which is opaque in two coats. Good even application and staying power. 

Route Beer Float

From the Route 66 collection. I like this colour more on the nail than I do in the bottle. It's a dusky brown/purple with a pinky damson tinge to it in certain lights. Subtle and interesting. Application was good with this showing two coats.

Wing It!

From the Summer Flutter range. This was the shade I was most excited about from this collection. This shade was so difficult to photograph! In the bottle it appears to be a gorgeous sparkly duochrome of pink and blue/purple. However this doesn't translate quite as well on the actual nail. It's still a pretty shade, but just not as duochrome as it appears in the bottle. It's very sheer and even with three coats isn't totally opaque. In some lights it looks pink and in others it almost looks orange, but the blue can only be seen very rarely.

You Don't Know Jacques!

From the French collection. I had high hopes for this polish after the rave reviews it seems to have received from everyone else. However it did absolutely nothing for me at all and people commented on what a strange colour it is. Browny/grey and almost like wet cement. I can see how it would suit some people but this one isn't for me I'm afraid. Application was good and smooth however and this picture shows two coats.

Vodka & Caviar

A gorgeous bright red. It's got blue tones to it so this is quite a cool colour. I would describe this as a jelly as this is three coats and it still isn't 100% opaque. Application was good and smooth and polish dried quickly.

Not Like The Movies

From the Katy Perry collection. I had to include so many pictures as this shade looks completely different everytime you look at it. I duochrome colour of silver, purple, green and grey with tiny microflecks of silver glitter. It's very sheer and the pictures show four coats. A very interesting colour!

Princesses Rule!

A beautiful shade of glittery, frothy pink girly loveliness. A sparkly candyfloss baby pink. It's VERY sheer so this is two coats over the top of 'Pink-ing Of You' and it still isn't opaque, but it's gorgeous.

Brand New Skates

From the Christmas/Holidays in Toyland collection.

This is a silvery/grey colour that has an ever so slight dusky blue tint to it. It's a shimmer which comes from the tiny micro pieces of silver, copper and green glitter. I would describe it as a less intense and less sparkly version of 'Lucerne-tainly look Marvellous' from the Swiss collection. It applies very sheer, but builds up quite easily - these pictures show three coats.

Yaar me hearties! Pirates of the Caribbean Collection

So which colours are you looking forward to? Personally I'm not overly enamored with this collection, although I do like the look of the purple, 'Planks-a-lot' and of course, the silver shatter which I think will look great over dark colours.

Flashbulb Fuchsia

The colour is actually a bit deeper than the photo suggests. The colour is a deep fuchsia shimmer and the picture shows two coats. The consistency of this polish is a little thick which made application a bit more fiddly than usual. A pretty colour, but not one of my favourites.

I'm Indi-a Mood For Love

From the India collection of Spring /Summer 2008. I only recently acquired this shade and tried it for the first time yesterday. I love it! A gorgeous bright fuchsia pink creme that applies like an absolute dream. The picture shows two coats which gave perfectly even and opaque coverage. Now one of my favourite pinks I think.

VAT free day!

Am off to my local wholesalers for the long awaited VAT free day of the month. My wallet is quivering with fear already! Hoping to get my mitts on a few of the Texas collection...

Diva of Geneva

From the Swiss collection. This was the colour I was most excited about from this collection and whilst it didn't disappoint, my unexpected favourite ended up being Cuckoo For This Colour. Diva is a gorgeous deep and shimmery plum with a slight magenta undertone to it. Great smooth application and totally opaque in two coats.

Pink-ing of You

Once again, like Bubble Bath, this is another shade that has mysteriously changed colour and formula somewhere down the line as the old bottle I had is nothing like this one! This one is much nicer though and applies far more evenly. The colour is a yummy soft and sheer baby pink and this is three coats and the nail line can still be seen. Great for a pinker version of a French manicure or as a subtle stand alone shade.

Black Tie Optional

Another classic OPI shade for me. A really deep almost black purple shade with hints of other colours so it looks different in every light. Not quite as duochrome as it appears in the bottle, but still gorgeous.

Teenage Dream with Black Shatter

Both from the Katy Perry collection. Teenage Dream is a beautiful ethereal pink glitter with larger pieces of iridescent glitter thrown in for extra sparkle. It takes a good three coats to achieve the true colour, but it's well worth it. It has fast become a favourite with my clients - although less so to remove! The Black Shatter adds a whole different twist, giving a dreamy glitter an edgy and urban vibe. The Shatter takes a few practices to get the hang of application, but the trick is to be quick with one good sweep of the brush. A top coat is necessary to seal the colour as the matte finish isn't so great and can flake off.

Lucerne-tainly Look Marvellous

From the Swiss collection. A beautiful dark gunmetal, silvery grey shimmer. I wasn't sure about this one in the bottle, but it looks fab on and the application is great in two coats. Fast becoming a favourite with my clients.

The Show Must Go On

From the Burlesque range. An interesting duochrome shimmer colour which looks pinky/red in some lights and orange in others. This makes it very difficult to photograph!Good application and two coats were pretty much opaque.

A Man In Every Port-ugal

This is one of my all time favourite OPI colours. Alas my bottle is on its way out and it's been discontinued! Any suggestions as to anything similar? I've seen swatches of Mrs O'Learys BBQ which looks pretty close...?
It's a beautiful deep red/burgundy creme with a slightly brown undertone which goes with any outfit and any length of nail. Gorgeous.

Bubble Bath

Having gone to use my old bottle of Bubble Bath, I realised it was beyond saving so had to go down to my wholesalers to restock. When I got home, I was a little bit miffed to find that the colours of the two were totally different and OPI have obviously changed the formula. The old Bubble Bath was more of a whitish creamy colour and the new one is a very sheer pink. The application of the newer colour is much better and far less streaky than the old one. It's a good nude colour or as a French manicure colour as seen above. The application  is still a litle streaky though and would take three good thin coats to be completely even.

Show It & Glow It

One of the glitters from the Burlesque range. I used this on one of my clients. We started with 'Diva of Geneva' as a base as the glitters aren't totally opaque on their own and this removed the need for so many layers. A beautiful glitter which is predominantly purple with hints of other colours.
The only problem with these glitters is removal! Soaking in acetone helps, otherwise you'll be scrubbing for hours!

Conga-Line Coral

From the South Beach collection. I'm not a big fan of oranges as they don't really suit my skintone, but a lot of my clients are fans. This is an orange coral with a slight rose tint to it and a shimmer. Application is very smooth and completely opaque in two coats.

Tease-y Does It

From the Burlesque range. Love, love, LOVE this colour. One of my absolute favourites. A deep, gorgeous browny/aubergine with brown glitter. Sounds hideous, but looks stunning and classy. Vampy without being too angsty or gothic. Application is quite thick but two coats is more than enough. Photo doesn't do it justice!

Starring the Rockettes

A gorgeous glittery and sparkly pink colour that applies exactly as it looks in the bottle. Very difficult to photgraph as it seems to end up looking matte, but it's very twinkly! Doesn't suit very short nails as the glitter in it can make the application look messy if not done very carefully.

Koala Bear-y

Another of the Austalia collection and one of my favourite pinks. A deep, bright, juicy and vibrant jelly colour with smooth and even application. Great for summer of perfect for brightening up dull winter days.

Charged Up Cherry

A great creme almost neon light pink. Took three coats to make it totally opaque. Fabulous summer colour.

Red Hot Ayers Rock

I love this red. It's almost jelly-like in its finish and the picture shown above is using three coats. It's a warm, juicy colour and is very flattering. It doesn't have any blue tones which stops it being too cold and the hint of coral adds warmth without making it orange. Gorgeous!

Nomads Dream

This was actually the first OPI polish I bought over 5 years ago and whilst it needed a tiny bit of polish thinner last time I used it a few weeks ago, the consistency was still great.

A sheer nude/beige colour which is a lot more attractive on the nail than it is in the bottle. Great on all nail lengths and flattering on most skin tones. 

Outback Aphrodisiac

I love this colour. A deep, rich pinky plum creme with no shimmer. Application was good and even, but needed three coats to completely cover a white mark on one of my nails.

Hi and Welcome!

Hi there! I'm new to this blogging malarky, but thought that rather than cluttering up Facebook with pictures of my OPI swatches for prospective clients, I can use a blog to showcase and review the colour and application of them which can hopefully be of help to others. Genius! 
As a part-time mobile Beauty and Holistic therapist, my interest in OPI is both professional and personal. No other brand has yet come close to having the range and quality for me, although I do have a few sneaky China Glaze polishes in my box. My collection currently stands at a fairly impressive hundred or so polishes, so I have a few to get through! Feel free to post questions and comments - I'd love to hear from you :)
Nic
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