Thursday, January 22, 2009

OPI South Beach Collection Spring/Summer 2009

OPI South Beach Collection - Spring/Summer 2009. Release date is February 4th.

Pics first, opinions second :)


Bronzed To Perfection. A warm reddish-bronze with awesome flaky shimmer. Very strange shade choice for spring, but I'm digging it. The shimmer in it is what makes it stand out to me- instead of tiny, round particles it has itty-bitty little irregular shaped shimmer.


Clubbing Til Sunrise. Shimmery, orangey gold. Reminds me of maybe a cross between OPI 18k Ginza Gold and OPI Live From NY... It's OPI!



Conga-Line Coral. Shimmery reddish coral. I like the shimmery finish, but I can't say I really like the shade. It's too in-between for me. I need something that stands out.



Done Out In Deco. Pale lilac that leans a little bit blue. I love this one. Very spring-appropriate, another "Easter Egg" type shade. It's a lot lighter than I had expected it to be, and it is somewhere in between lilac and periwinkle.


Feelin' Hot-Hot-Hot! Bright pink creme. I know that a lot of people will really love this color, but it's just not for me. First of all, I hate the name- it instantly brings to mind that incredibly irritating song that drives me insane. Second, this could easily be mistaken for a dozen different OPI polishes... Elephantastic Pink comes to mind first. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the color itself, it is a very pretty hot pink. It's just that it feels done to death.



Miami Beet. Rich beet-purple creme. Whoa, this one was a surprise! it looked really uninteresting on the promotional shot, but I love this on the nail. Just goes to show me that I can't always judge my favorites based on the promo pics. This is a little more of a vibrant purple in real life, my camera couldn't pick up the richness of this shade.


OPI On Collins Ave. Very bright orange-red. Maybe more orange than red. This is a really cool color- for some reason it reminds me of shrimp. OPI Cajun Shrimp maybe? I want to do a pedicure in this color. I've really been drawn to near-neon orange-reds lately.


Overexposed In South Beach. Shimmery purple. My favorite out of the collection! Again, looks nothing like I thought it would from seeing the promotional pictures. It's saturated and shimmery and reminds me a lot of OPI Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not.


Paint My Moji-Toes Red. Muted red creme. Very muted, actually. So much so that it looks almost mauve in the bottle. I know that the use of the word "mojito" in the name is just so they can make a toes pun, but I really think that this should have been green. Mojito says green to me! Again, this color will probably be really popular with the average salon client, but I can't see a whole lot of nail junkies being excited about another red polish.


Party In My Cabana. Bright pink creme. Wait, didn't I just see this color? Zzzzz, booooring. Okay, I'm being harsh. Again, nothing wrong with the color, but it's been done to death.


Sand In My Suit. Shimmery, sandy nude. This really does remind me of sand. This is not my type of color at ALL, but I have to admit, I actually like it. At first I thought it was ugly, but then I put it on and it really grew on me. I like the silvery shimmer.



Suzi & The Lifeguard. Shimmery light pink. The shimmer in this baby-pink shade is very fine, almost to the point of being a frost. Very cute, very sweet. It reminds me of seashells.


I have very mixed feelings about this collection. Nothing in this collection really excites me. On one hand, it's all very work-appropriate, conservative and feminine and will most likely be a well-loved collection by a lot of women. On the other hand, it's too safe and there's really not a unique shade in the whole collection.

I do really like a few of the shades- Overexposed In South Beach, Miami Beet, Bronzed To Perfection, Done Out In Deco, OPI On Collins Ave. Wait... that's almost half the collection, isn't it? Okay, I like half the collection. That's reasonable. I was just hoping to really love the entire thing, like I have with so many OPI collections in the past.

I will admit that I know absolutely nothing about South Beach. The only thing that comes to mind when I think of South Beach is the South Beach Diet. I can picture the cover of the book, a metallic shade of green and aqua. Sparkling sea water. And that's what I think is missing from the collection. Water! South Beach is still a beach, and beaches have water, right? This collection could have used a seafoam green, an ocean blue, even a turquoise or a mother-of-pearl seashell shade. When I think of beaches, I think of fun, lively colors- swimsuits, sparkling water, beach balls, tropical drinks, sunshine. The OPI South Beach seems like a sleepy, vacant beach next to a retirement home. The colors look weathered and washed out, like they need a new coat of paint.

I know, I'm probably in the minority here, but I feel like this collection is missing something.

That being said, I'll move on to application issues. There are none. These polishes apply amazingly well, they're silky smooth and most shades only need two coats for complete opacity. Even with one coat, these colors aren't streaky or uneven at all. OPI must have really been working on their three-free formula, because this is a huge improvement! No running, no globbing, no overly thick polish. Just perfect. Dreamy, even.

That's my take on it. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It's just okay. I wish they would have been a little more 'risky' in the color choices, or at least had a little more variety within the collection. Red, red, pink, pink, pink, nude, brown, purple. Maybe OPI has something really super-exciting planned for us in upcoming seasons. What do you think?

35 comments:

  1. I think if we think OPI's got exciting stuff planned, we may be fooling ourselves :) Though I do admit I'm a bit more excited about this collex after seeing your pics...TY Scrangie!

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  2. Thanks for the first great swatches I've seen, Scrangie!

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  3. It looks better in your pics than it did in the ads. Your comment about it reminding you of a beach near a retirement home is rather apt, considering how many retirees live in Florida. However, Miami has a large Cuban population, so I envision lots of hot and spicy shades offset by beachy blues. Too bad it didn't pan out that way.

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  4. Fantastic review. I love your honesty and I couldn't agree more! Suzi missed yet another chance to wow us. Thank you ♥

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  5. Could you do a comparison between Done Out in Deco and ChG's Secret Peri-Winkle? Thanks!

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  6. Great photos. There was a lot of potential here with the theme that wasn't utilized. Miami Beach is famous for its pastel art deco architecture. This collection should have been a full range of pastel shades mixed with some brights. Not unattractive, but nothing exceptional here.

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  7. Beautiful swatches yet again, Scrangie! Thanks so much.

    Could you please do a side-by-side comparison of Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not and Overexposed?

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  8. Wow- these look great! Thanks for posting them!

    Id love to see a comparison between LMLMN and Overexposed in SouthBeach, Im curious to see how close they are.

    I'm with you- I like about half- I will definitely grab Sand In My Suit, Clubbing Till Sunrise, and Bronzed to Perfection....nothing else really sparks my interest.

    Of course, they all look beautiful on you- even the ones you don't like. ;)

    -Deborah

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  9. Great swatches!! Surprised, your Bronzed to Prefection looks way more reddish than mine does. Such a difference that I would have a hard time attributing it to different cameras, lighting, etc. I wonder if there could be a difference in the formulas? I know it has happened in the past.

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  10. You're definitely not in the minority! I've never been to South Beach either, but when I first say the promo images I kept thinking "there ought to be a turquoise here." I don't know why but when I think Miami I think aquas, sea greens and warm pinks. I guess they got the warm pink part in, but that's the color they already have represented several times over in their line!

    I think I might pass on this collection completely. The only colors that caught my eye in this collection kind of look like colors I could get elsewhere or might even already own.

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  11. I am loving your blog! I just found it yesterday and spent an hour looking at all your lovely swatches. Thanks for making the effort!

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  12. ITA agree w/ u a meeelion times! opi just threw up a bunch of recycled colors. nothing of what i think south beach would be. nothing new, opi keeps throwing out collections with colors that dont seem to match the themes. *lesigh* even the re-releases of old colors is a bunch of pinks,reds and corals. oh an one blue-pretty weak. i might get sand in my suit, just because i have an obsession w/ nude beige colors. ah well....maybe next time...

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  13. I love your commentary, it's honest with the right amount of sass. A blue(s) or green(s) would have made this a lot more interesting, especially considering some of the fashion trends that are developing this spring. Oh well, thank goodness there are other nail polish companies.

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  14. Thanks for the great swatches. I like the Done Out In Deco and Overexposed In South Beach. How does OPI On Collins Ave compared to Girls Just Want to Play? They look similar...

    :) waiting them to be released in Feb...

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  16. Thanks for the great swatches. Do you know if OPI's Italian Love Affair (NL 127) from the Italian Collection a few years ago is similar to Suzi and the Lifeguard. They look like pastel pink shimmers. I bought ILA for the name, because it reminded me of a trip to Italy, but it isn't the best colour on me.

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  17. Yup, this collection is half-arsed. It's summer here, and these colours make me feel stiffled. Beaches are all about water, to me, having lived near them my whole life. The lack of blues and greens makes this a beach collection for people who shun the beach.

    "I know it's there, but I'm staying indoors to play Keno!"

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  18. Thanks for the application info and beautiful pics!

    I agree that this collex is missing something [interesting]. I think I'm only going to buy Overexposed, but even that is a maybe. I'm holding out for China Glaze this spring.

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  19. thanks again Scrangie for posting new nail varnishes. it's so amazing that you can avail these products before they sell it out. how do you do it ?

    anyhow, my faves are :
    Opi on collins Ave.
    Done out in Deco
    Clubbing til sunrise
    Paint my mojo toes red
    sand in my suit..

    scrangie, where do you purchase your nail polishes like OPI's and the likes ???

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  20. I think I like the same choices as you, and I so agree that it is missing the water part of South Beach. I nice teal would've been good. It's also lacking the sun. A nice frosted yellow could've made me think that this collex is AWESOME!! But no, I have no urge to splurge here, these are all choices I can live without for now.. I will linger on your lovely swatches instead for now :)

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  21. I totally agree with your assessment of the collection. It's not terrible, but no unique shades to run out and buy. I am passing on this collection.

    Thanks so much for your swatches--awesome as per usual!

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  22. On Collins Ave. is my mom's perfect color- I'll have to tell her about it.

    Thanks for the beautiful swatches!

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  23. It's nice, but not killing me with it's beauty. There's nothing here that I HAVE to get. There's very little there that I feel like I couldn't find if I dug around in the drugstore long enough. I think it's because I'm on a dramatic Nail polish kick.

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  24. thanks for the swatches Scrangie! It seems like I may only get Sand in My Suit and maybe also Miami Beet

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  25. As always, I LOVE your fantastic swatches. I'm kinda meh about the collection, though i'll probably get Miami Beet...and maybe one or two more.

    -MKT

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  26. Hello!

    I have a request. Can you please compare OPI Miami Beet, Zoya Moxie, Essie Foot Loose and Essie Style Berry(LE). It would be really helpful for me to make a decision.
    Thank you very much!

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  27. Great pics Scrangie. They look much better on the nail than the promo pics fo sho! There are definitely some of these I want in my collection.

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  28. The top three swatches, to me, lean more fall. DOID is very pretty. The next group seem more summery:
    Hot is hot, M Beet is a very rich dark red worthy of tasting, Collins and a tan-sexy, Exposed South Beach is so money, baby, MojiToes is pretty-can't help it, Cabana Party is pretty and common, but pretty-the world needs more 'pretty'-so the more of this shade out there...

    Sand Suit and Lifeguard Suzy are both very pretty, I guess I'm on 'gorgeous color overload.'

    Collins Ave is my pick of the show. I'm a sucker for orange/reds in the summer.

    Thanks for posting. Your dedication is appreciated.

    Scott

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  29. Awesome! I thought the promo pictures were SO boring, but.. I was surprised to see that I actually found three polishes I want! Two that I need, one that will come along for the company. Miami Beet is my favourite of the bunch, hands down. I'll also get OPI on Collins ave and Overexposed in south beach. Maybe, maybe, maybe I will get the moji-toes one too.

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  30. OMG,I <3 Suzi & The Lifeguard :)

    Thanks for swatches!

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  31. first off, I really want to thank you for taking the time and making the effort to take the time to do these OPI swatches!! Thank you!

    With that said, I must admit that I am so...incredibly disapointed!
    :( what the hell was that? Suzi, huh? :( Oh well. Next summer...
    I think I'll just head over to the Brights! Collection for this summer.

    I actaully had a question though; for the Lippmann PYT color, is it anything like Zoya's Lulu/ Laurie?
    Oh! And one more question - do you know of any good "denim" colors?

    Thank you so much! I love your blog!

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  32. How close are the colors On Collins Ave to OPI's Brights Power?

    I'm getting tired of my dups!

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  33. could someone please tell me if Done out in Deco is too close to Do you Lilac it to warrant picking it up? I have 2 bottles of DOID and have a chance to pick up Lilac.

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  34. Hi! i wondering if you could do a comparison between CG's agent lavender and opi's Done Out In Deco?! I have AL and i was wondering if it was worth getting DOID.
    Thanks :)

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  35. yes finally someone who likes sand in my suit i love it but everyone else hates it:(

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