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Hello friends! I am so excited to share this blog post with you all today. Earlier this year, I told myself I wanted to start branching out on which nail polish brands are featured on Nicole Loves Nails. For the first year, my blog (and all of my socials) HEAVILY featured indie nail polish. So I’m sure you have noticed that this year, I have been trickling in more reviews of mainstream brands like China Glaze and Orly.
Well, one of the changes coming to Nicole Loves Nails for the new year is NEW BRANDS! Well at least, new to the blog brands. The “new brands” have been around for a while, it’ll just be the first time that I talk about them here. And the first of those new brands, is OPI. I saw pictures of their holiday collection on Instagram and decided that I needed to swatch them.
I own a fair amount of OPI polishes but this was my first time purchasing an entire OPI nail polish collection. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect as I usually watch/read reviews before I buy any OPI so going in blind was a little scary but exciting!
Ok, I will shut up now and just get into the swatches. As per usual, links and sale deets (including a coupon code!) will be at the end of the post. I will also throw in some comparisons because a couple of these reminded me of other things I swatched recently.
Live Swatch Video
OPI is a US based mainstream brand. Their polishes are in 15ml bottles and 3 free.
Bring out the Big Gems
Description: red-brown shimmer nail polish
Bring out the Big Gems had a fantastic formula. I surprised myself by LOVING how this one looks on me. It’s dark, vampy and the shimmer is really just stunning. You do not get any brush strokes through it at all.
I am not a red polish person but colors like this make me think that I should be. I would say the base color is a burgundy which I supposed could count as a “red brown”.
My photos show Bring out the Big Gems in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. I was concerned about this one staining, but one coat of tacos seem to do me all right it is a bit more pigmented, so I would caution against wearing this long without any basecoat
Charmed, I’m Sure
Description: a rich fuchsia shimmer nail polish
Charmed, I’m Sure had a really good formula. This is another sheerer polish so you will want to build it up to get the most opacity. The shimmer is strong and glowy with minimal brush strokes.
I found this polish a little boring but I can see how someone else would like it. It leans a little bit too much pearly for my tastes.
My photos show Charmed, I’m Sure in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Decked To The Pines
Description: a metallic green nail polish
Decked To The Pines had a beautiful formula. The shimmer is a more brush stroke prone shimmer so while most of them do disappear as the polish dries, they are visible with the naked eye.
I do kinda wish the shimmer was either stronger (less metallic maybe?) or color shifty, but it does look nice in this greenish kinda teal base. One thing I found interesting about this polish was that when I removed it, my cotton was blue and not green/teal!
My photos show Decked To The Pines in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. I didn’t experience any staining with this polish but I could see it happening so make sure to wear base coat!
Feelin’ Berry Glam
Description: a deep red crème nail polish
Feelin’ Berry Glam had a really great. It was a little bit on the thicker side but I found it very easy to work with. It self leveled like a dream.
I honestly don’t understand why OPI didn’t just call this one a berry toned polish when we can clearly see that it isn’t just a “deep red”. But at least berry is in the name so there’s that.
This color is not personally for me but I do think it is a nice color. It’s not quite a one coater but it’s really close.
My photos show Feelin’ Berry Glam in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
It dawned on me while editing that someone might find this polish kinda similar to Zoya Dagmar (Classic Leathers Fall 2022 collection). They’re not all that similar to be honest
Go Big or Go Chrome
Description: a metallic silver nail polish
Go Big or Go Chrome had a fantastic formula. After swatching, Sleigh Bells Bling, I thought this would be the silver version of that (ie: opaque) but it was pretty sheer. I ended up needing 3 coats and still had some VNL peeking through.
This is a pretty basic metallic silver polish. It didn’t have a ton of brush strokes which was nice but this didn’t really wow me any. The shimmer particles do make for a messy cleanup and removal.
My photos show Go Big Or Go Chrome in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
I Pink It’s Snowing
Description: a hot pink glitter nail polish
I Pink It’s Snowing had a good jelly formula. I can’t recall the last time I tried a glitter polish by OPI or what I thought of it so I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this polish. There are silver hex glitters in 2 different sizes and a larger particle pink shimmer (maybe it’s a super tiny micro glitter?) in a magenta pink base.
All of the glitters spread out pretty evenly without giving off very much texture. If you have longer nails with a pronounced C curve, be mindful of the glitters that end up on the sides of your nails. I had a glitter poke up on the side of one of my nails.
In three coats, you will have some VNL with this polish. Coverage is pretty good though, I would say it’s at like 90% opacity in 3 coats.
Out of all of the glitters, this was the one I was most excited about. I do think it’s really pretty and I like the amount of sparkle.
My photos show I Pink It’s Snowing in 3 coats plus 1 coat of glossy top coat. Depending on personal preference, you might want to add a second coat of top coat for a *perfectly* smooth finish.
Merry & Ice
Description: pale pink shimmer nail polish
Merry And Ice had a good formula. It applies pretty unevenly which isn’t really a surprise given how light of a base color it is. The light pink is the type of shade that I think of when I think of popular OPI colors.
The shimmer effect was fairly subtle. I had hoped it would be a tiny bit stronger but it does add to the soft and delicate vibe this color has. Since it’s a shimmer, it does not dry textured but you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
My photos show Merry And Ice in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Since this goes on so unevenly, I do think it wil likely be a solid 3 coater just to get an even finish.
OPI’m A Gem
Description: a sparkling black glitter nail polish
OPI’m A Gem had a good but thicker formula. This polish is in a black jelly base with the same silver hex glitters we see in the other glitter polishes in this collection. The biggest difference between this one is that there is also a sparkly shimmer that has a teal, blue to purple color shift.
The glitters do give this polish a lot of texture. I opted to pair this polish with a glitter smoothing top coat (KBShimmer’s Smooth Moves) before going in with my quick dry top coat. That combination made everything perfectly smooth.
I wanted to love this polish. I think it’s fun and pretty interesting especially for a mainstream brand. But there was just something about it that I couldn’t vibe with completely. Like I walked around my house to see it in different lighting trying to decide how I really felt about it.
Would I reach for this again? Probably now. Do I hate it? No, I just feel indifferent.
My photos show OPI’m A Gem in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. I did have some VNL on the clear part of my nail but I don’t think it will be as big of an issue for those of you with long natural nails. Removal will of course be on the more difficult side due to all of the glitters.
Pink, Bling, and Be Merry
Description: a pearlescent hot pink nail polish
Pink, Bling, and Be Merry had a great formula. It starts off fairly sheer but builds up really nicely. I did still have some VNL, so I would say opacity is at like 80%.
The shimmer is really beautiful. It’s not color shifty but pretty nonetheless. The base color on this polish is one of the few shades that I can look at a pearlescent/metallic shimmer and not automatically dislike it. I do with this one was a little bit more opaque.
My photos show Pink, Bling, and Be Merry in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Pop the Baubles
Description: a gold and silver glitter nail polish
Pop the Baubles had a fairly thick formula. I didn’t have any issues with the application but I did end up adding some thinner just to see if that made the application a tiny bit better. Slightly but not by much.
The gold and silver glitters are in a clear base so all of the opacity comes just from the glitters. You will be able to see your full nail between the glitters. I thought it was going to be a lot more full coverage than it ended up being. I also thought there was going to be more gold involved.
Honestly, I think this polish would work best as a topper. I do not like it on its own. I had hoped that in 3 coats it would look better to me but I wasn’t a fan of it.
My photos show Pop The Baubles in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. The glitters do dry down with texture and removal will be on the more difficult side.
Rhinestone Red-y
Description: a bold pearlescent red nail polish
Rhinestone Red-y had a great formula. It does have that jelly/crelly feel that reds tend to have so you will want to build it up to reach full opacity.
There are teeny tiny silver micro flakies or possible flecks in this polish that give it an interesting look. I wouldn’t call this a pearlescent finish, more like a flakie finish. They are very messy to clean up and I made a real mess with my cuticle area trying to clean this polish up.
This wasn’t my favorite from the collection and the color itself doesn’t really do anything for me. This polish reminded me of Holo Taco’s Favourite Sister. They’re not dupes but they are similar.
My photos show Rhinestone Red-y in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I think this will be a 2-3 coater depending on personal preference. The third coat does deepen the base to what you see in the bottle.
Comparison to Holo Taco Favourite Sister. FS has larger flakies in it but these two are pretty similar!
Sleigh Bells Bling
Description: a metallic gold nail polish
Sleigh Bells Bling had a fantastic formula. Since this is a metallic polish, there are brush strokes a plenty! I found out this month that apparently the one exception to my “I don’t like metallic polish” rule is GOLD. And sometimes blues and pinks but mainly just gold.
I thought this polish was really beautiful. Is it the most unique? No, but I thought it was beautiful nonetheless. I made a mess of the bottle for this polish when I was doing a nail art live stream.
My photos show Sleigh Bells Bling in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Snow Holding Back
Description: a sheer white shimmer nail polish
Snow Holding Back had a great formula. I expected this to be a bit more opaque than it ended up being. You will have obviously VNL with this polish in 3 coats. And it is sheer enough, that it will work well as a topper.
The shimmer is very sparkly and by that nature, is messy during cleanup and removal. It is however not at all textured or gritty so 1 coat of top coat made everything nice and glossy.
My photos show Snow Holding Back in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
This polish did remind me a lot of the Orly polish Ephemeral from last year’s holiday collection. This polish seems to be a bit sheerer than Ephemeral but overall I would say they are close enough that you probably don’t need both.
Tealing Festive
Description: a bold blue shimmer nail polish
Tealing Festive had a fantastic formula. This polish was a little bit on the thicker side but I found it very easy to work with. Along with being thicker, this polish was almost a 1 coater. If you go in for thicker coats, it will be opaque in one.
The base color on this is a true teal. Why OPI called it a blue shimmer but named it ‘Tealing’ is beyond me but maybe that happens a lot with OPI? I found this to be a very metallic looking teal. There were some brush strokes when the polish was wet, they all seem to disappear as the polish dried.
My photos show Tealing Festive in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
The Pearl of Your Dreams
Description: a baby blue pearl nail polish
The Pearl of Your Dreams had a beautiful formula. This was one of the polishes that I was looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint. I am not generally a baby blue polish kinda gal but I just thought this looked so beautiful!
The flakies in here are similar to the other flakie polishes so they are a tiny silver flakie or possibly a fleck? They are pretty messy but are not at all textured. Cleanup and removal will be *very* messy.
My photos show The Pearl Of Your Dreams in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Final Thoughts
Overall I would say this was a pretty nice collection. Most of the polishes weren’t things that I would have likely picked out for myself to wear. I do think all of the colors were beautiful and the color story fits the season pretty well. I feel like OPI covered all of the major holidays for this time of year.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of the post. This was my very first time EVER buying an entire OPI collection. All in all, no real complaints and I can see why people love this brand so much. All of the formulas were top notch and my complaints are just based on my own personal preferences.
That said, my favorite polishes from this collection were The Pearl Of Your Dreams, Tealing Festive and Sleigh Bells Bling.
OPI
15ml, 3 Free
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Sale Information
The Jewel Be Bold collection is available right now in all of the places OPI is sold. OPI is available on Amazon, Walmart, Sally Beauty and Ulta.
If you would like to pick up the collection at a discount, do consider shopping on BeyondPolish.com with code NicoleLovesNails. Using my affiliate code with BeyondPolish will save you an extra 10%!
