Thursday, January 28, 2010

OPI Hong Kong Collection Spring 2010

My Bling Dynasty bottle broke in transit so I wasn't able to swatch it at the same time as the rest of the collection.... I'll upload it here as soon as I get a pic :)

Lots to cover here... on to the pics!


A Good Mandarin is Hard To Find. A bright summery looking orange creme. Very saturated, not a faded or pale orange by any means.



Chopsticking To My Story. This is more of a burnt orange creme. This seems like a fall-caramel-pumpkin pie color to me, definitely unexpected for spring! I rather like it. It's a little bit like Ginger Bells... I did a little comparison.



Index: Chopsticking To My Story
Middle: Ginger Bells
Ring: Out Of This World
Pinkie: OPI And Apple Pie



Dim Sum Plum. The sunlight kinda warps and washes out this color. It's really not what I'd call plum, maybe plum blossom instead? It's a purple-berry kinda magenta creme. Not totally unique but I like this version because it's cooler and goes better with my skin tone.



Hot And Spicy. Somehow I forgot to take an indoor picture of this! I'll add one when I add Bling Dynasty. Anyway, this is a light orange creme. Reminds me of shrimp. Very pretty. I love orange.



Jade Is The New Black. The star of the show. This is a very unique green. I don't have anything else in my collection quite like it. It's a very blue based dusty green. Not so dusty that it looks grey, but it is more 'faded' than 'fresh' looking. Love.


Lucky Lucky Lavender. The sun really does weird things to these violet-pinks! Anyway, this one is a pale pastel violet-pink. It says lavender, but it's more pink to me than lavender. Pink with a kiss of lavender. It's a little softer and not as stark looking as, say, Mod About You. Little bit like Essie Neo-Whimisical from the spring collection too.



Meet Me On The Star Ferry. Shimmery warm red-purple with a little gold frost. Very complex finish- it's not straight shimmer and not straight frost. Has a few little flecks of foil mixed in. Reminds me slightly of Queen of West Web-erly from last spring. Not matches, though, just slightly similar.



Panda-monium Pink. A cool pastel baby pink creme. It has a little bit of lilac to it, it's not straight pink. It's also dense but not as stark as some other similar 'mod' type white-pinks. Looks springy to me, like the flowers that grow on my neighbor's tree in spring.



Pearl of Wisdom. Ooh! Surprise coolness. It's an iridescent/duochrome sheer shimmer shade, very cool looking. The main color is pink, but it also flashes green, purple and a little silver and gold. Looks nice alone, but it's AMAZING over black. The shimmer in this is really nice too. (This color might actually be a re-release, I'll have to see if I have the original)



Pearl of Wisdom over black. See how all the colors come out? You can see the green and pink and purple but you can also see the little flecks of shimmer scattered on the nail too.

Red My Fortune Cookie. BRIGHT red creme. I think this is the kind of red I like. I'm not really drawn to medium reds or dark reds in creme or shimmer, but I love reds like this. It's bright and happy and kinda retro looking. I want to say this is a little on the warm side because it has a slight orange undertone.


Suzi Says Feng Shui. Dusty blue! I know it looks really bright in my pictures, but it has a definite soft and faded look to it. Again, pretty unique, I can't think of another dusty blue quite like this. Love love loooooove


The formula on these was great. Consistent. A little on the thin side, but pretty standard for OPI. I had no trouble with any of them. I did two coats of all, except for Pearl of Wisdom which is three. Good opacity, no streaking, good wear. Great dry time, too. The one odd thing I noticed about these is that they smell WEIRD. They don't have a nail polish smell like I was expecting... It actually smells like Sharpie to me! Permanent marker. Very odd. The smell doesn't stick around long after it dries, but you can definitely smell it when it's wet. I wonder if they changed formula again? Hmm....


As for the theme of the collection (Hong Kong)... I don't have a clue! I don't know if these are typical Hong Kong colors or not. When I think of Hong Kong I think of red and gold, and this collection is surprisingly easy on the red! Not a bad thing, just surprising cause OPI always does lots of reds. One red and one gold in this collection. The other thing I think of when I think of Hong Kong is neon signs. Yellow, green, red, orange. I'm surprised there wasn't a yellow in this collection too! But, overall, not bad, I actually like all the colors. No duds. And this time they did a green and a blue! Big improvement over South Beach from last spring which didn't have too much color variety.

Another surprising aspect of this collection besides the amount of red is that they're almost all cremes. Only three shimmers. I like cremes so this is not a flaw to me, but it is surprising because it seems like they always do half-and-half with collections. Six cremes, six shimmers. But I'd rather have a red creme than a red shimmer and an orange creme instead of an orange shimmer... so I'm happy. There's green, there's blue, there's orange, there's a duochrome.... Pretty good for spring!


I don't know the exact release date of these, but I'll check and update when I have the date. Early-to-mid February is my guess.

(These were sent to me for review.)

73 comments:

  1. My pro-supplyhouse has them available Feb. 3. I'd expect salons to be getting them right around then too. Hope that helps

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  2. some gorgeous colours there, loving the blues and greens

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  3. Jade is the New Black is pure hotness.

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  4. Jade is the New Black will be mine! It is so unique!

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  5. When I first saw all the orange at the beginning I was a little scared to scroll down because orange really isn't for me. But... Love Jade is the New Black and Pearl of Wisdom! Can't wait for these. Might pick up a few others also :)

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  6. Jade is the New Black is gorgeouusss!

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  7. Most of this collection is a bit well boring. Nothing really catches my eye

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  8. Ooh, I love Suzi Says Feng Shui. I bet it would look great with some white Konad.

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  9. Oh yes. There will be purchases.

    Usually when OPI comes out with a collection I'm only jazzed about one...MAYBE two of them...but I got a love for a good solid half of these.

    Thanks...for the swatches...and making me broke. =D

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  10. Red My Fortune Cookie and Suzi Says Fung Shui are calling to me. You make them all look great!

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  11. I'm not surprised there's no yellow...it's an unlucky color in many asian cultures!

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  12. I like Jade is the New Black. I think I have the old Pearl of Wisdom, and I don't think that it has any pink duochrome in it...

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  13. I always like OPI's names. "Pearl of Wisdom" reminds me of the other OPI pearl polish I have called "Pearls Night Out" - don't know if they're the same one or not just with a different name. Then again, they might be different because "Pearls Night Out" is just iridescent, not so much duo-chrome.

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  14. Oooo I like a whole bunch of these! I think this is a great collection for OPI. I've been down on them lately with the 9,006 reds released lol, but this redeems them. Jade is the New Black is freakin hot!

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  15. I wasn't sure about all of them, but after seeing this swatch I'll sure order them all. They are great, especially the Jade is the New Black.

    They will be available for purchase from Trans Design from the 5th of February.

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  16. I am drooling over Jade is the New Black!

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  17. I really, really love Panda-monium Pink!

    Your blog is great and such a huge help!!

    xo

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  18. Thanks Scrangie! Not only your swatches are always the best on this planet, but you really are an excitement conductor... WANTWANTWANTWANT

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  19. huh- i first thought that I'm not going to buy anything from this collection but now seing pearl of wisdom layerd over black- a stunner

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  20. Thanks for the swatches you nails are as lovely as ever. Sadly this collection leave me a bit cold. Maybe the Green & Blue are in my future, but nothing I'd go out of my way for. Which is a blessing really as my collection is getting out of control and I must have the new holos.

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  21. Thank you - you are the most fabulous person for tirelessly swatching for us all.

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  22. Glad there weren't too many shimmers as that's my weakness. I've been buying wayyyy too much based on swatches in your blog. Nice colors though.

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  23. My hear started to beat very fast, when I saw Jade is the New Black. LOVE IT!!! Thank you for the swatches!

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  24. Jade Is The New Black(!) and pearl of wisdom are must haves for me! Hope you're doing great!
    hugs

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  25. A bit heavy on the cremes, but a nice assortment nonetheless. I noticed that the holiday OPIs smelled weird compared to my colors from previous collections as well. Perhaps I am just sensitive to smell, but it was a tad unpleasant to me.

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  26. Is the Meet me at the star ferry similar at all to BB Couture's Wire stripper?

    Thanks!

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  27. thanks for swatchs !!!! i know what color buy now !!! all !!! lol

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  28. I agree wit you, not very "Hong Kong-ish"

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  29. hey! the release date is feb 3rd :)

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  30. There a lot of similar colors for the spring collection from OPI, Essie, China Glaze and other brands. Like peach, liliac, purple, pink, and red. Can you please do a side by side comparisons for those coloars? Thanks!
    Dechn

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  31. Jade it the new Black is my favorite of the bunch :-). But I loooove what you did to pearl of wisdom!

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  32. My opinion on a collection is never official until I see your photos. Best of them all.

    That being said you are also my biggest enabler. I'm gonna need almost all of these.

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  33. Scrangie--I don't know if you have this color, but could Hot & Spicy be a close dupe to OPI's Year of the Dragon?

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  34. The colour is ok but the names are not so good. As a Hong Kong people I dun think there is any linkage with the colour, name and Hong Kong. Why dun they call this a China collection LOL.

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  35. I really like a lot of these -- I want more of them than I thought I would when I saw the bottle pics! Definitely I need the blue, green, gold, and Meet Me at the Star Ferry, but I also need the three orangey colors, and I didn't think I would. But I'm disappointed in Dim Sum Plum. I was thinking it would be plummier, and I think it's more magenta. Still, a winner!

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  36. Thanks for the swatches! :D I knew I was going to want Jade and Feng Shui from the start, but now I want about half of them, LOL.

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  37. I'll be honest- as a person from HK, I really don't think the names are reminscent of Hong Kong. These sound like a stereotype of simple Chinese objects. HK is way too metropolitan to be associated with Feng Shui. Afternoon tea, perhaps would've been a GREAT option. My heart still jumps for Jade Is The New Black and that shimmer over black is GORGEOUS.

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  38. Maybe they didn't do a yellow color because of it's racial connotations? That's the only thing I can think of....

    Great swatches as always! I'm not too keen on this collection, maybe the blue, green and pearl shade, but other than that it doesn't impress me too much.

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  39. could you do a comparison of suzi says feng shui and china glazes shower together?

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  40. JITNB and Suzi Says FS are really nice! Also Lucky Lucky Lavender and Panda-monium Pink seem just perfect for the coming spring (I love both dark and pastel colours ;-))

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  41. Yes!! I've really been looking forward to seeing swatches of these - thanks Scrangie :)

    I really like Dim Sum Plum (and I expected I would) but Jade is the New Black surprised me. I wasn't expecting to like that one, but I actually really do!

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  42. OPI where have you gone? I am sorry but this collection is for my grandma! Grade: D+

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  43. Its available here in Sg alr! Since mid Jan.

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  44. Sweeet! I especially love Jade Is the New Black and Red My Fortune Cookie.

    How does Panda-monium Pink compare to China Glaze Something Sweet? (Which has, against all odds, become one of my favorite polishes of the moment.)

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  45. I lived in Hong Kong for a while and the names here are terrible! The Mandarin one is the WORST because they primarily speak Cantonese in Hong Kong... I live in China now and we speak Mandarin where I live, but in southern China & HK it is Cantonese.

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  46. Maybe I'm "old school" but these spring colors seem very fall/autumn-esque to me. The green (LOVE that green), the ginger, the chopstick - all seem like perfect fall colors. In addition OPI's fall-2009 colors were all light and pink and seemed very spring like...

    Strange!

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  47. *dies and goes to nail polish heaven*

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  48. i actually really like the way all of those oranges look together. Haha you could totally pull off manicures with different shades of the same color on every nail. i like it.

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  49. Jade is the new black looks exactly like Misa Dirty sexy money on my monitor. Could you possibly do a comparison?

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  50. I will get "Meet Me..." straightaway and then "A Good Man-" when I start tanning

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  51. Hi Scrangie, I know you get a lot of requests but if you are doing a comp post anytime soon, I'd love to see Essie Neo-Whimsical, OPI Pandamonium Pink and and ChG Something Sweet side by side. They have all been described as pink with a touch of lilac/lavender and I don't know which one to buy!! or maybe a recc on which one you found easiest to work with?

    Thank you so much for all the swatches - I have a loooong list of lemmings now!

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  52. Thanks for all of the beautiful swatches. To my amazement i thought the collection was coming out sometime during the first week feb. Then when i saw the collection at Regis today, I grabbed Jade Is The New Black without thinking. It is gorgeous. It Must be my new favorite green!

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  53. the 1st bottle pic makes it look like the glass base is gold - so pretty and would go great together with it! Also lovin the jade!!

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  54. Hey, where's your swatch for Bling Dynasty? I was really curious about that one.

    Also...Jumping on the swatch comparison bandwagon: OPI Panda-monium Pink vs. ChG Something Sweet vs. Essie Neo-whimisical? Pretty please!

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  55. Hey Scrangie! I nominated you for a best nail blog award! http://lacquerholic.com/2010/02/01/its-an-honor-to-be-nominated/

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  56. Sad to hear Bling Dynasty got broken on transit. But overall, the colors are beautiful and Jade Is The New Black is definitely my first choice. I don't mind cream based polish as they look really elegant on nails, especially yours. I was drawn to your swatch on Espana Collection and am so happy to see you pull off Hong Kong Collection. Overall the collection is a winner and I am going to buy them all. As for the names, I just wish that there would be more special tourist places be used. Anyway, great collection. Thank you scrangie of taking us to a fantasy world of nail polish. Love you.

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  57. OPI has finally done it! I really liked the Russian Collection, and this is the first one in a long time where I thought I could buy at least half of the collection and be happy with it. I love Jade and MMotSF, and all of the oranges. I will be stalking my Trade Secrets in the next week or so to pick up my lemmings.

    Thanks for the lovely swatches! I am curious to see your shorter nails...your tweets are such a tease! :)

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  58. I need to order Jade is the New Black! I can't wait anymore!!

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  59. such a great review! thank you so much for this. i just bought panda-monium pink... and you're right they smell a little different. to me they smell like drugstore polish from the early 90's!

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  60. Hey Scrangie, nice swatches! Could you please compare Dim Sum Plum to Ate berries in the Canaries? That last one is my favourite color and they look SO much like each other, I was wondering of there is a difference and what it is? Thanks!

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  61. Thanks for the swatches :) Just wondering - how does A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find compare with OPI on Collins Ave? I have OPI on Collins, but am thinking that they might be too similar to have both.

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  62. I totally agree that the names are not very Hong Kong, except the Star Ferry. The rest are definitely more China!

    I LOVE Jade is the New Black, though.

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  63. So boring it is tragic! OPI is becoming very same same they need some oomph!

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  64. when I first got infor on this collection I was very excited until seening them in person I think most of them beside 4 of the colors look more like they have already, I did get jade is the new black which is soo pretty on

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  65. Thank you! Now I KNOW I want Ginger Bells. JITNB is really pretty and I'm digging Red My Fortune Cookie too, but not soe sure I gotta have any from this collex.

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  66. i think OPI is 'rationing' the greens, only releasing one per collection just to.... keep us on the edge of our seats.

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  67. Jade is the new Black looks awesome. I'm wearing it as I write this. I typically don't wear green's, and I wouldn't have bought it if Scrangie hadn't reviewed it.

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  68. Zoya's Dana and Jolene are very pretty! As is China Glaze's Towel Boy Toy. I'll be wearing them all soon enough. RC's Oasis of the Seas, April 24th. I'll be in their salon every other day. Gotta flash/flaunt my nails and toes!!! Thanks for the suggestions, Scrangie.

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  69. Do you think that 'off with her red' is similar at all to 'red my fortune cooke'?

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  70. I think you missed "Bling Dynasty" the gold one. Don't worry I think it's because you have polish overload in your house. Lol XD

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  71. Once again, Scrangie had a bad influence on my budget. I mean this swatch is 3 years old and I am buying some of the nail polishes still available! You are my number one!

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