Collection: OPI 1993 Fall/Winter, Alpine

I’m not sure how long OPI kept producing this color after its initial release in 1993, but this is certainly one of my oldest OPIs in terms of collection year.

The Alpine collection consisted of polishes with fun names like Banff Boogie (being in Canada, I’d love to find this one!), Chilly Chile, and Taos Twist. Deer Valley Spice (NL A90) is, unfortunately, the only polish I own from this collection.

It’s a surprisingly warm, midtoned fuchsia shimmer that I find really wearable. On my yellow-toned skin, I usually shy away from hot pinks, but Deer Valley Spice somehow just works! I’d guess it’s because it leans more red than pink. I’d really recommend this for all skintones.

Coverage is good; I get just a hint of VNL from two very smooth and even coats. I liked three coats better, so that’s what you see in the swatch. If you’re in bright sunlight, the magenta shimmer pops more; otherwise the shimmer is subtle and gives the finish a really pretty, pearly gloss look.

Honestly, OPI’s old formula is phenomenal! If this polish really dates back to 1993, you could not tell at all. Keep in mind, however, that I may have added a bit of polish thinner to this bottle at some point; I simply cannot remember.

I’m sure this polish is pretty hard to find, and it’s not like fuchsia shimmers are hard to come by, so it’s not exactly a must-have. But, if you happen to come across this in a dusty nail salon, I’d recommend snapping it up!

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OPI Nail Lacquer retails for about US$9.50 / CA$12 and is 0.5 US fl oz / 15 mL. OPI nail polishes are currently free of toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and camphor. (Since this polish is pre-2007’s reformulation, it is not 3-Free.) They are made in the USA.

OPI Products Inc. was originally Odontorium Products Inc., a dental supply company. It was purchased in 1981 and soon the company’s focus switched to selling acrylics to nail salons. Nail lacquers were introduced in 1989. OPI has been owned by global beauty company Coty Inc. since 2010. The company is based in North Hollywood, CA, USA.