OPI’s Designer Series collection review

Posted on Sunday, at bought • 1056 views

  • Manufacturer: OPI
  • Availability: collection is permanent, but colors change periodically; available from salons, retailers, and some etailers
  • Description: over a dozen holographic nail colors, a base coat and a top coat
  • Cost/Amount: USD$12.50 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
  • Would you purchase again: yes
OPI’s Designer Series collection

OPI’s designer series is like the sober-hued counterpart to China Glaze’s Kaleidescope collection: tans, beiges, some pinks and peaches (and silver), all with scattered-holographic effects. While blues and purples are periodically introduced, they don’t seem to stick around very long. (Or possibly they just run out faster because they’re more in demand?) I have no idea when this collection was first released; but I do know that it’s been available since at least 2005 and that periodically new colors are added, generally in the fall.

I have about a dozen of these polishes. I could pay to get Glamour off of Ebay, which does look kind of interesting (duochromey blue-violet) but I expect that something similar will be introduced somewhere at some point, and I can keep my $25. From my Googling, I know that there have been other polishes in this line that I haven't listed here (thank you, Australian nail polish sites!) but since they're no longer available except for through a few Aussie sites I haven't listed them here. I also suspect that there are more colors that I haven't found evidence of; so this is by no means a complete listing.

This collection includes / has included:

  • Amethyst — light purple holographic shimmer (discontinued)
  • Classic — golden beige holographic shimmer
  • Coronation — platinum-silver holographic shimmer
  • Diamond — icy lavender holographic shimmer (introduced fall 2007)
  • Elegance — pink holographic shimmer (discontinued)
  • Extravagance — lush magenta holographic shimmer
  • Fantasy — sapphire-blue holographic shimmer (introduced fall 2007) (discontinued)
  • Glamour — blue-violet duochrome holographic shimmer (discontinued)
  • Glow — burnished gold holographic shimmer (introduced fall 2009)
  • Illuminate — warm medium brown with green iridescence and holographic shimmer (introduced fall 2008)
  • Jewel — mauve-wine holographic shimmer
  • Magic — navy blue holographic shimmer (introduced fall 2010)
  • Mystery — deep violet holographic shimmer (introduced fall 2009)
  • Opulence — mauve holographic shimmer
  • Passion — deep pink-mauve holographic shimmer (discontinued)
  • Radiance — metallic silver holographic shimmer (introduced fall 2010)
  • Reflection — bright ruby red with holographic shimmer
  • Reserve — dusty coral pink holographic shimmer
  • Sapphire — pale blue holographic shimmer
  • Shimmer — pale silver holographic shimmer (discontinued)
  • Signature — mauve-pink holographic shimmer
  • Tapestry — deep rose holographic shimmer
  • Treasure — golden coral holographic shimmer

The collection also includes a base coat and top coat, which are made with diamond dust (like the other colors in this line) and supposedly help strengthen nails with continued use. I have no idea if they actually do that or not - I'm always a tiny bit leery of claims like this, though, especially the "strengthen nails with continued use" bit. Using a base coat will help the longevity of a manicure, and I suppose it could help seal the nail against some staining, meaning you'd have to use less nail polish remover between manicures; but that's how pretty much any base coat works. Since this base- and top-coat are roughly the same price as the ones that I purchase constantly, I did purchase one of each and used them for a bit. I didn't notice anything outstandingly bad or outstandingly good...but as with all products, your mileage may vary. I think it would have been kind of nice for OPI to include some holographic shimmer in the top coat, because this top coat does what every top coat does to holographic polishes: mutes the effect.

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