OPI Germany collection
First photo, left to right: OPI Berlin There Done That, Danke-Shiny Red, Deutsche Want Me Baby, Every Month is Oktoberfest, Don’t Pretzel My Buttons, Don’t Talk Bach to Me
Second photo left to right: OPI German-Icure by OPI, My Very First Knockwurst, Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!, Schnapps Out of It!, Suzi & the 7 Düsseldorfs, Unfor-Greta-bly Blue
OPI launches many, many collections each year (this summer saw some inspired by “The Amazing Spider-Man” film and Minnie Mouse, for example), and this fall, the theme was Germany, with shade names inspired by the country. I’m not sure, really, if the colors matched with what I imagine when I think of Germany (I personally expected more steely blues and greys, something a bit more totalitarian or authoritarian, for some reason), but there are some real gems here.
Let’s take a look at them (somewhat) alphabetically. Berlin There Done That is a very subtly purple-tinged grey crème; Danke-Shiny Red is a super-rich, metallic red, perfect for Christmas; Deutsche Want Me Baby is a shimmery, metallic, rich rust orange; Every Month is Oktoberfest is a deep eggplant purple metallic with red and gold shimmer; Don’t Pretzel My Buttons is a neutral and pale beige crème; and Don’t Talk Bach to Me is kind of a dusty spring green with gold shimmer, a very nicely weird shade.
The final six shades are: German-Icure by OPI, a shimmery, more brown-tinged metallic deep red; My Very First Knockwurst, a slightly pink-tinged grey crème; Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!, a dusty emerald green crème; Schnapps Out of It!, an orangey brown shade with slight silver shimmer; Suzi & the 7 Düsseldorfs, a mid-range royal purple that reflects slightly red under certain light; and Unfor-Greta-bly Blue, a medium blue shimmer.
In terms of quality, these were all up to the OPI standard: smooth, opaque color with two coats, but you could probably get away with one coat for the deeper metallic shades like Danke-Shiny Red or Every Month is Oktoberfest or three for the purples and blues, like Unfor-Greta-bly Blue. But overall, a very interesting collection, full of metallic shades perfect for the holiday season.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY: $8.50 per bottle, at OPI retailers like Ulta and Dillard’s store locations.
Nicole by OPI Target exclusives
Left to right: Nicole by OPI For Gold Time’s Sake, If the Blue Fits…, Iris My Case, Just Busta Mauve, Mer-Maid for Each Other
Nicole by OPI is supposed to be the little sister of OPI, with a more youthful, trendy set of nail polish shades—and with their Target exclusives this fall, that’s a good thing, because it means the duochrome finish. How to explain duochrome? It means the shade looks one way in one light, then like another in a different light; green can move to blue, while orange can move to red, or red can move to purple. In the sunlight, the effect can be dazzling.
And with these five shades, Nicole by OPI gives us duochrome in grand doses. For Gold Time’s Sake, a somewhat sheer mix of gold, green, pink, and other multicolored glitter you can build to greater opacity; If the Blue Fits…, a very deep, indigo blue shimmer that flashes grey and green; Iris My Case, a violet shimmer that flashes gold; Just Busta Mauve, a sheer rusty brown with orange shimmer and blue glitter; and Mer-Maid for Each Other, a light green that flashes gold and blue.
Although Iris My Case and Mer-Maid for Each Other seem familiar and aren’t the most unique duochrome combinations, the other three shades in this mini collection are seriously amazing. I’m thinking about buying backups, personally. But that’s just my specific breed of nail polish crazy.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY: $7.04 per bottle at Target stores and Target.com.
