Monday, March 23, 2009

OPI Princess Charming Collection

In my post about the Essie Bridal Collection I mentioned that there was a collection of sheer pinks and whites that I actually like. Here it is- the OPI Princess Charming Collection.

This collection is already a few years old, but it still holds the title of "Only collection of soft shades that I like." The difference is that these soft shades have personality. Observe:




Got A Date To-Knight! A light petal pink creme with a shiny, jelly-like texture. You know me- you know I never wear these colors! But I have actually worn this. Twice. Because I wanted to. There's just something about it that I like, I'm not quite sure what. It's just so... cute...?




I'm A Princess, You're Not! A sheer shimmery iridescent shade that flashes green, pink, silver and soft gold. It's sheer, yes, but it's a duochrome! If you haven't noticed, I use the term 'duochrome' loosely- there are often more than two colors present but I don't feel like counting how many. Would that make this a quadrachrome? See, that sounds weird. Anyway, this color is really pretty on its own, but it's also really cool over black.




My Daddy's The King! A soft, pearl-finish peach. One of the few peach polishes in my collection, actually. I can't believe how much I truly like this. The unique shade and the pearly finish make me love it. That, and it just looks so nice on me. (Wow, I sound like a total narcissist!)




Princesses Rule! A sheer pale pink shimmer. If you do not have this polish, run, do not walk, to the nearest nail polish store and get it! It's the pink version of OPI Hollywood Blonde... well, I guess Hollywood Blonde came out later so maybe Hollywood Blonde is the gold version of Princesses Rule!. Also looks hot over black. One of the things OPI does very well are these sheer crystal polishes. I always look forward to them. Some other examples besides Hollywood Blonde and Princesses Rule! are Up Front And Personal, Pink Before You Leap, Pink Ulta-Matum and That's All Bright With Me (just to name a few.)




Who Needs A Prince? A soft white jelly with red pearl. The red pearl in this shade gives the illusion that the polish is pink. At a distance it looks like shimmery pink, but up close you can clearly distinguish the white and red. So cool.





Your Royal Shyness. Very delicate light pink with a pearl finish. This is a very pale pink. This is the only one in the collection I'm not completely crazy about. It's pretty, yes, but it's so delicate! Delicate colors just aren't my thing. I love the pearl finish- it's not frosty and it's not shimmery, it just looks like a real pearl. It's hard to find polishes that are truly pearl and not frost. This one looks smooth and shiny, even without topcoat.


These polishes used to come with a really fabulous crystal flower toe ring with an invisible band. I think I have one or two of them, but most of the time people just stole the toe rings of of the bottles so I couldn't collect them all. Boo, thieving bastards. You suck.

The formula on this collection is excellent. I am pretty sure it's old-formula OPI, but I don't remember old-formula polishes having the Pro-Wide brush. The label on the bottom is black, so I can only assume it is. They all apply smoothly with no notable issues and they all dry very quickly and to a shiny finish, even without topcoat.

I really do not like sheers, pinks, soft colors, neutrals, what have you- but this collection is too good to resist. They all have character! They're interesting! They all remind me of fairy colors or something. Fairy-tale, for sure. And the names... how could you not like the names? Okay, I'm not into princess stuff at all, but Who Needs A Prince? Genius!

I'm almost positive that this collection is still available, and I've even seen it with green-label new formula bottles, so some of the shades might even be Classics now. If you're in the market for ladylike colors with character, you might really like these. I do.

*watches a pig fly past the window*

31 comments:

  1. I just bought Who Needs a Prince yesterday and it is so pretty! Love the formula, but I like my polish pretty opaque and it took me a solid four coats to get it, but when I did...gorgeous!

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  2. Love your blog and your pics Scrangie...but I was wondering, how many coats are these? I have Princesses Rule but have shied away from the others because I like the other comment like my polishes opaque.

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  3. I love these too! And I re-bought some of these recently to gift to a bride-to-be. His Royal Shyness is a great base color for layering sheers--I prefer it to using white. Princesses Rule is an awesome pedi shade too.

    Although I am shocked that you like them =P

    I need a sea green equivalent of Princesses Rule. That is my pedi dream!

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  4. i love them all. but im broke :(

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  5. I'm a Princess, You're Not is so pretty! When I make my long-overdue trip to Trade Secret, I'm definitely looking for it.

    Scrangie, how do you keep your nails so pretty? They're always perfectly shaped!

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  6. Thanks Scrangie..BTW your nails are looking great!

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  7. I want Who Needs a Prince so badly!!

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  8. Love all the colors on you! Btw, do you have swatches of the OPI Fairytale Bride collection? Are any of the colors from the new collection similar to the Princess Charming collection?

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  9. They're all so pretty on your nails. My kind of sheers! I have Princesses Rule. Might have to get some of the others now!

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  10. These are so pretty!
    I have My Daddy is the King coming in the mail, and I wasn't sure about the color when I ordered it, but now that I've seen the swatches I'm convinced I'll fall in love as soon as I open the package :)

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  11. Lindsay, it's so beautiful, isn't it? :D

    Jessica, thank you! These are all three coats. You could use one coat over a coordinating base color if you want them to be opaque in two coats total :)

    Firepail, I'm as shocked as you are lol but they're so pretty! I totally agree with the sea green Princesses Rule, that would OWN!!!

    Ty, awwe, don't buy them if you're broke!

    Sprinkles, Thank you :) I use a lot of cuticle oil (it helps your nails as much as your cuticles) and use a glass file once a week :)

    Diann_co, thank you! :D

    Erin, pretty but also professional!

    Anonymous, I'll have them soon :) I'm not sure yet, but it looks like they'll be similar!

    Velvet, thank you :) I can't believe I like them!

    Vanessa, I bet you'll love it!

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  12. Thankyou so much for reminding me I have the gorgeous I'm a princess, you're not in my stash! I'd completely forgotten about it and I used to wear it a lot! I have been umming and ahhing over princesses rule since this collection came out and now after seeing your pics must satisfy my lemming! I love hollywood blonde so am sure I'll love a pink version.

    Is my daddy's the king similar to Chanel django? It looks similar, perhaps a shade darker?

    Thanks for the amazing swatches!

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  13. I've had Princess Rules for a while now and I just love it. Thanks for the swatches of the rest of the collection. I have my eyes on a few of them

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  14. Princesses Rule is my favorite nail polish of all time! I actually need to buy a new one! I use it all the time on either my toes or nails.

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  15. Gorgeous swatches Scrangie! I've never really paid attention to this collection but you really changed my mind about some of those colors!

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  16. I have Princesses Rule and love it. My Daddy's the King is so pretty on you. I think I'll have to pick up more from this collection!

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  17. I really think Got a Date to-Knight is the prettiest pink I have ever seen. (chances are good, I'll say that again) To me, very girlie. I dig girlie. I will look for it. Others are pretty, too. Wow, you ROCK!

    Scott

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  18. Wow, I really like My Daddy's the King and I was just looking for a nice peach polish last night but ended up ordering without because I couldn't find one I liked! D'oh :)

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  19. Got A Date To-Knight! and Princesses Rule! are screaming my name...ahh, I don't need anymore lemmings!!! This is how a "traditional" collection should be!

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  20. love got a date to-knight, who needs a prince, and royal shyness

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  21. Hi Scrangie!
    I have given you a Kreative Blog Award on my blog. Your blog is one of my seven prefered blog!! :-)
    Many thanks for all your beautiful post!!!
    Astasia

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  22. I love Princess Charming collection, Princesses rule! is so beautiful :)

    I really love your blog!

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  23. Can you maybe show us some of these over black? I'm all curious now.

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  24. oooh! I agree these polishes are not just pinks/sheers in the bunch, they really have personality.
    I think I really want some of them now, cool huh:P
    Your nails look amazing. I think beacuse of the the weather, Suddenly my nails are a dry, peeling mess:/

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  25. Scrangie I sat down at my computer and looked out the patio doors. Imagine my shock at seeing flying pigs! Even funnier is that Pink Floyd was on the radio. Hope you ge the reference! I own Princesse Rule. I bought it because of the shimmer. All of the collection looks beautiful on you. I can certaintly stand this collection more than that Essie mess.

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  26. Princesses Rule! is one of my favorite layering polishes period. It looks hot with everything. I love it over ChG For Audrey! It's a polish I never expected to like as girly pinks aren't my thing and I hate sheer polishes, but this one is a must have for me. It's so awesomely sparkly and versatile.

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  27. I SO agree with you!!! This is THE collection for those of us who don't do pretty pale np, and the names have a wonderful kick-ass quality :)

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  28. Alison, ooh, good question! I'm really not sure- I have only seen a couple pictures of Django... Django seems lighter and less peach? Sorry I'm not more help!

    Shadowy Lady, it's a beauty for sure :D

    Colette, it's so beautiful, I hope they never discontinue it!

    Karman, awe, thank you! :D I actually paid full retail for all of these when they came out, can you believe it??

    Body And Soul, thank you! I think these will always be beautiful :)

    Scott, haha, a true pink fanatic! Very cool :)

    Laura, d'oh! :D It will be around for a while, I'm sure of it :)

    Shibong Quisha, I LOVE SHIBONG QUISHA!!!!!! Hell yeah!!!!!!

    The Asian Girl, I completely agree!!

    Miss Yaya, very cool :)

    Astasia, awwwe how sweet! Thank you so much! I will check it out as soon as I can :)

    Charming Nails, awe, thank you! I love yours too :)

    Felis, it might take me a while but I can definitely do that!

    Sanna, thank you :) I think the weather was affecting my nails too, but now that it's a little warmer and less dry I think they're back to normal :) <3

    Lucy, LOL!!!! Ahh, that's so awesome, thank you! Love the Floyd reference :D Rock on!

    Diana, over For Audrey?? That's an awesome idea, I need to try that IMMEDIATELY!!! Thank you so much for the tip!

    Anonymous, thank you :) I love it!

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  29. love you're royal shyness, and my daddy's the king is the perfect peach shade, I have been looking everywhere for a peach like this!

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  30. I adore big time, Princesses Rule! for pedis! With all the sheers, neutrals and what not in big time this year, I am having fun revisiting this collection. Know these are as you say, not your thing for colors. But this is one of the best sets of soft shades ever done by OPI IMHO. FYI, these have been re-made in the new OPI formula with the green lettering on the bottom label.

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