Collection: OPI 2015 Spring, Hawaii

It’s been a while since I’ve swatched an OPI, and if I’m honest, I haven’t bought too many OPIs ever since their introduction of the Pro-Wide brush. I realize it works well for many others, but it’s just too wide for me. It’s especially a pain for my pinkies, as the brush is actually a little wider than the nails on those fingers. I have to tilt the brush a little to use its corners instead, and still the polish threatens to go where it shouldn’t.

However, I was just in Winners and I saw this polish from the recent Hawaii collection! It’s a shimmery grass green, which is my favorite shade of green, and in the bottle it has a curious, burnished copper sheen.

But, in My Gecko Does Tricks, I am simultaneously reminded of why I used to love OPI polishes so much, and why I am no longer as enamored of such a popular brand.

The color itself is fantastic. The interesting coppery sheen shows up at certain angles, and it’s a gorgeous contrast against the lush, light grass green, pearly shimmer. I imagine OPI was inspired by geckos like this one which can be found on Hawaii.

Sadly, the formula leaves a bit to be desired. It’s thin, and reminds me a little of cheap, random dollar store polishes. The pigmentation is better than that, though, thank goodness, so the color applies fairly evenly. It’s just sheer and feels runny. Three coats is absolutely necessary for opacity, though I’d be inclined to use four. I suppose it’s possible that OPI meant for this shade to be sheer, but seriously, where’s the fun in that?!

So, I end up both happy and disappointed with this OPI. It makes me a little sad, because OPI is one of the brands that first got me into nail polish in the first place, all those years ago. I do still have more Pro-Wide’ed OPIs that have remained untried, so I hope that they will fare better than this newest one did.

OPI Nail Lacquer retails for about US$9.50 / higher in CA$ (I see a range of prices; I purchased mine discounted at Winners for CA$7.99) and is 0.5 US fl oz / 15 mL. OPI nail polishes are free of toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and camphor, and are made in the USA.

OPI has been owned by global beauty company Coty Inc. since 2010.