OPI – The Holland Collection: Part 2 ‘The Shimmers’ (swatches & review)

 

In my previous post, I brought you the five utterly luscious crème shades of OPI’s Holland Collection (reviewed here); today, get ready for the remaining lacquers – seven simmering shimmers! (Holy Alliteration, Batman!) From earthy tones all the way to blues reminiscent of famous Dutch Delft pottery, if ‘The Crèmes’ didn’t do you in, the ‘The Shimmers’ will certainly take care of that! All swatches are with base and top coats.

 

- Hidden Tulips by Cid Palacio

There’s a unique beauty to this painting, that not only perfectly capture the vivid life in each flower, but pulls you into all that colour!

‘Pedal Faster Suzi!’ is dusty ballerina pink hue, absolutely filled with silvery-looking glass flecks. The formula was at once slightly sheer, and a touch on the thick side, which meant that I preferred to apply three coats – as thinly as I could – in order to reach full coverage. Beautifully self-levelling, the gloss at the finish, while not as mirror-like as the crèmes of this collection, was still quite shiny.

 

in sunlight

with flash

‘Gouda Gouda Two Shoes’ (I love repeating this name!) reminds me of faded roses on antique wallpaper; this is dusky damask rose hue with the most ultra-fine golden shimmer that shyly peeks through.  The easy flowing formula here was simply fabulous, and two coats were more than enough for full opacity. I was surprised to note how incredibly glossy it was at the finish – not common in shimmery shades, but very welcome!

 

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Wooden Shoe Like To Know?’ (not a bad play on words, eh?) is a taupe-leaning prune hue in a slightly thicker formula than ‘Gouda Gouda Two Shoes’, but still applied in an excellent manner, made so unique by being filled with ultra-fine copper, pink, and golden shimmer. Once more, two coats gave full coverage and the glossy finish was amazing.  It must be noted here that all of these shimmering shades were each and every one perfectly smooth to the touch when dry.

 

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Dutch’Ya Just Love OPI?’ – this name does NOT roll off my tongue, for some reason, but I can’t resist this colour! This is an intense amethyst hue, absolutely brimming with coppery shimmer – STUNNING!! The formula was slightly runny compared to the rest, although two coats ended up being enough for full opacity. Perfectly self-levelling, you shouldn’t skip the top coat here if you wish this lacquer to really stand out.

 

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘I Have A Herring Problem’ (admit it: you laughed!) is a faded looking and slightly green-tinted delft blue shade, in that same sheerish/thicker formula as ‘Pedal Faster Suzi!’ – all which meant that I once more applied three coats here (as THINLY as I could) in order to reach full coverage. This hue is just simmering with ultra-fine gold and silver shimmer that reflect beautifully off the surface.

 

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘I Don’t Give A Rotterdam!’ (may have just become my new favourite expression) is the second blue of this collection, a muted and dusty looking cornflower hue filled with that same exceptionally fine gold and silver shimmer (but with some sparse black specks thrown in), bearing a similar formula to ‘I Have A Herring Problem’.  Apart from the base hue, where they differ is that with this shade you need to take care during application to avoid any potential bald spots – three coats were thinly applied here for full opacity. Interestingly enough, this shade left a wonderful high gloss finish at the end, with the shimmer appearing like so much diamond dust across the nails.

 

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Vampsterdam’ – even the name is absolutely sublime! is my hands-down favourite from this ENTIRE collection, and with good reason! This is a broodingly deep raisin hue, made so much more unique by its plummy/brown undertones, and the ribbons of pearl-like shimmer throughout.  The formula flowed like a dream, being neither too thick nor thin, and I opted for three ultra thin coats here for 100% opacity.  The dust-fine shimmer gives silvery undercurrents to this shade, and the gloss at the end was nothing less than amazing. Note that any brushstrokes you see in the photos are NOT visible to the naked eye. PURE LOVE!!

…and yes, this shade really does deserve all these extra photos!

 

‘Vampsterdam’ is spot on colour-wise, for this “Queen of the Night” Tulip

in sunlight, angled

in sunlight, full on

closeup

indoors, first view

indoors, second view

with flash

Final thoughts: There’s this wonderfully warm feeling of satisfaction when one is proven right, right?! That’s the feeling I have been experiencing with this entire collection. There is not one of these twelve shades that didn’t have a great formula to work with, and while the crème shades may not have been the most original colour-wise, they made up for that in quality & gloss. These seven varnishes here, however, have definitely been made unique by the diverse shimmer they each hold – beautiful! OPI has definitely hit it out of the ball park with this entire collection, something they haven’t exactly succeeded with the last few they’ve released, and no matter which shade & finish floats your boat, you will not be disappointed!  Available early February, this is collection is a treat for winter-weary eyes (and hands)!

 

 

- Tulip Fields by Claude Monet

 

 

 

*Image credits 1, 2

*Disclaimer: Products samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration

Category : OPI
Tags : , , , , , , , ,