[Purchased by me, affiliate links used]
Hello my friends! While summer is in full swing in my mind, the weather here has NOT been cooperating with me. We are on week 2 of nothing but clouds and rain.
In case you missed it,I posted a new vlog on my channel last week. If you are into gardening, homesteading or are just curious about my life outside of nail polish check it out! I’ll be posting more non-nail related videos and blog posts this year 😉
Anyhoo, today’s blog post is for the newest collection from OPI. This is the first of 2 collections we’re getting for summer 2023. I believe this is their main summer 2023 collection and it is called Summer Make The Rules. We have 12 bright pastels, some with pearl finishes that all dry down to a semi-matte finish. The polishes are not being promoted as mattes so I did add top coat to all of my swatches.
If you would like to pick this collection up at a discount and support my blog, I’ll point you to BeyondPolish where I have an affiliate code, NicoleLovesNails. This selection is starting to pop up at online retailers so I will have some more links at the end of the post.
Live Swatch Video
OPI is a US based mainstream brand. Their polishes are in 15ml bottles and 3 free.
I Quit My Day Job
Description: a bubblegum pink crème
I Quit My Day Job I wanted to love this color. I LOVE bright bubblegum pinks but sadly this polish was very streaky and had difficult application.
It dried down SO quickly, trying to get even coverage was difficult. It looked ok in 3 coats but there were still some visible imperfections to the naked eye in person.
My photos show I Quit My Day Job in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Makeout-side
Description: a bright pink crème
Makeout-side is such a beautiful color but alas, it applies very streakily but coverage is passable in 2-3 coats. You just need to work very quickly.
Self leveling isn’t great but again, passable. This color is
My photos show Makeout-side in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Depending on your application, this might be passable in 2 coats.
I know you’re thinking this looks exactly the same to I Quit My Day Job. It is cooler in tone and not a dupe. They are very similar though.
Flex On The Beach
Description: A bold coral crème
Flex On The Beach was a strange color. In the bottle, it looks like a pink leaning salmon color. On the nail, it is much more orange. I did find out in natural lighting the salmon-y-ness came out but indoors in my house it looked very orange.
Sadly this was also very streaky and even with floating my coats on I still have dark spots in 3 coats. I had hoped that I was going to like this one but the application was just so frustrating!
My photos show Flex On The Beach in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Sanding In Stilletos
Description: A pearl nude
Sanding In Stilletos the official description for this color is a little misleading unless you consider the shade orange a nude. I personally do not consider orange a nude. I would describe the color of this as pale creamsicle orange.
Since this is a pearl finish, there are a lot of obvious brush strokes with it. Sadly the fast drying nature of these polishes make evening out those brush strokes really difficult. I wasn’t a fan of this color.
My photos show Sanding In Stilletos in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Sunscreening My Calls
Description: A pearl yellow
Sunscreening My Calls I have the same complaints about this color as I do the other pearls, it just was not fun to apply!
On top of being a pain in the butt, it was also a really bad stainer. It stained both my natural nails and my overlay. And yes, I was wearing base coat.
My photos show Sunscreening My Calls in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Stay Out All Bright
Description: a vivid yellow crème
Stay Out All Bright from arm’s length away, this looks really beautiful. I love this almost sickly shade of chartreuse. However, the formulation is very thin and very streaky.
It was so thin that by trying to float my coats on, I made a huge mess in my cutlce crevices. After all of that, coverage still wasn’t even in 3 coats.
My photos show Stay Out All Bright in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. This is another stainer!
Sunday Monday-Fridays
Description: A bright green crème
Sunday Monday-Fridays had the same quick drying, streaky and a little disappointing formula as the other polishes in this release.
This is a vibrant lime green that is a little brighter than say a Kermit the frog green but too bright to be a pea soup green.
Make sure to wear base coat, or even double up on your base coat, with this polish. I had to scrub my nails with acetone to get all of the green traces off. And I had a couple of spots on my natural nail that were still a little green tinged after all of that scrubbing.
My photos show Sunday Monday-Fridays in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Another stainer.
I’m Yacht Leaving
Description: an electric turquoise crème
I’m Yacht Leaving was particularly disappointing because I LOVE this shade of turquoise! Sadly, this had the same streaky, thin, dries too quickly formula as the others.
My photos show I’m Yacht Leaving in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I did have some unevenness on the nail with this one in 3 coats but at least it didn’t stain.
Surf Naked
Description: a pearlescent sky blue pearl
Surf Naked I don’t have much to say about this as it has the same formula as the other polishes. It does show brush strokes due to the pearl finish.
My photos show Surf Naked in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Charge It To Their Room
Description: a deep periwinkle crème
Charge It To Their Room built up pretty nicely. I was able to get full even coverage with this polish in 3 coats.
This is a beautiful periwinkle shade, that leans a little purple.
My photos show Charge It To Their Room in 3 coats. Depending on your application, this will be a 2-3 coater. I initially thought I was good in 2 but found I had a lot of dark spots so I added a third coat.
Bikini Boardroom
Description: a pearl lavender
Bikini Boardroom here’s a shocker for you, I actually liked this one! Out of all of the pearls, this one applied the easiest for me. I still have to be careful but it was manageable.
My photos show Bikini Boardroom in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This was the only polish that I was able to get opaque in 2 coats.
Skate To The Party
Description: a bright violet crème
Skate To The Party once again, streaky, tricky formula but with this one I did like how it looked on me in 3 coats.
If the formula and application was better, I would have given this polish a pass for being a 3 coater. It is a light shade so 3 coats isn’t unheard of. But 3 difficult coats just isn’t for me.
My photos show Skate To The Party in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Final Thoughts
I can’t remember the last time I had such a big collection full of so many polishes that I just didn’t like. I like to think that I am usually pretty easy to please but these polishes all made me feel like I do not have any clue on how to paint my nails! There was SO MUCH STRUGGLE.
I would like to think after 3 years of blogging hundreds of polishes that I know how to paint my nails. But between the quick dry time, uneven application and just not being able to smooth my coats with the brush, it was just not fun.
I will admit, I was disappointed by this color story when I first saw it but I had hoped that the formulas would be good so I could at least appreciate that. Sadly that just was not the case.
I won’t be picking a top pick this round. If you would like some bright pastels, check out the Lite & Brite collection from Night Owl Lacquer.
OPI
15ml, 3 Free
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Sale Information
The Make The Rules collection for Summer 2023 is available right now in all of the places where OPI is sold. This collection is available in OPI’s regular nail polish, infinite shine, gel, and dip powder lines.
If you would like to pick up the collection at a discount, do consider using my affiliate code, NicoleLovesNails on BeyondPolish.com. The collection is not yet live on their page but when it is, here is a direct link to the collection.
OPI is also sold at the following retailers: Amazon, Ulta, Target & Walmart. These links are affiliate links. Using my affiliate links/codes helps me keep purchasing all of these collections to review but as always, no pressure to use them!
