Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Nail Polish Review: OPI Suede Collection


The OPI Suede collection hit stores earlier this month but I finally had a chance to check them out in real life. You might remember me mentioning the growing trend towards Matte Finish nail polish earlier this year. And sure enough OPI did come out with some Matte Finish shades but it was Essie, not OPI that released the Matte About You finisher that takes your regular nail polish into Flat Shades! I still need to pick up a bottle but didn't spot it at Ricky's today.

Anyways OPI launched 6 shades of their best selling colors in a Matte Collection, but after testing it out, I wasn't sure I loved the completely Flat Chalky finish! Fortunately if you want the Matte look with just a little bit of shimmer texture effects, OPI also launched 6 best selling shades as part of the Suede collection including colors: You Don’t Know Jacques, Russian Navy, Lincoln Park, OPI Ink , We’ll Always Have Paris, Suzi Skies In The Pyrenees.

I wondered if I should get the shade You Don't Know Jacques (the infamous greyish brown shade of last F'08) but it looked more golden toned than grey so I gravitated towards getting the We'll Always Have Paris Suede. It's a great purplish/pink that reminds me of Jem and the Holograms that I'm sure will be perfect for fall. What do you think of the color?

The polish goes on smooth and actually dries super quickly. It took 2 or 3 coats to get even coverage, but is actually faster to do than regular nail polish as there is hardly any lag time between coats. The nail polish came with a warning tag that noted it will not wear as long as original OPI Lacquer that I can usually make last for a week. It also says not to use top coat or use hand lotion. I understood the top coat part and even tested it on my pinky nail. It actually makes the color look more like regular opalescent nail polish and takes away the matte finish. But it was the warning about lotion that freaked me out because as the weather gets colder, the more I need lotion. I tested out 2 hand creams subsequently and did not notice any adverse effects to the finish, so I think it should be fine to use lotion.

Overall I really like it as it feels almost like quick dry and I am in love with the matte textured look. We'll see how well it holds up to regular wear and tear though as the week progresses.

3 comments:

Debie said...

I love the color! But why doesn't it last as long and no lotion allowed?

Erin said...

sorry for the delayed response but I think because the color is more soft pigment rather than a hard lacquer finish it doesn't last as long. To counteract that though it does dry faster! I think the lotion is just to prevent the color from getting too shiny looking!

Anonymous said...

This suede formulation is terrible. I applied it on Thursday night and by saturday morning, the polish was peeling off in chunks!

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