When I originally brought you the first of the Serena Williams Grand Slam duos (reviewed here), I also mentioned that there would be more collaborations forthcoming, and today I’d like to share the latest with you.  Each duo includes a new shatter: ‘Rally Pretty Pink’ with ‘Red Shatter’ and ‘Spark De Triomphe’ with ‘White Shatter’.  At first glance, the colour combinations seem like they shouldn’t work, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did go together…guess the folks at OPI know way more about colour than I ever will!  All swatches are with OPI Natural Nails Base Coat, three thin coats of base lacquer, one coat of Shatter, and OPI’s Start To Finish Top Coat.

‘Rally Pretty Pink’ is definitely not a shade I would normally gravitate towards, but I admit to being totally wowed by it nonetheless.  This is a shimmery mauve based dusty rose shade, loaded with tons of exceptionally fine antiqued gold glitter.  There seems to be hints of chartreuse in the glitter, giving this polish a unique duo chrome cast.  Seen in full sun (top photo), there is a definite golden presence, but when viewed in shaded light (bottom photo), the muted mauve becomes much more prominent. If worn alone, you would probably need three thin coats to achieve opacity, but if the shatter is to be layered on top, two coats of polish is more than sufficient.

‘Red Shatter’ was a total surprise; I was expecting it be much like the other shatters I’ve tried to date, and while the application process is the same, I was pleased to see a few differences.  First of all, the formula seemed a touch thinner in consistency. Secondly, it was somewhat sheer and jelly-like in texture, which means that more of your base colour will be visible…a plus if your base colour has glitter that you don’t necessarily want all covered up. It spread easily and because it didn’t seem to dry as quickly as other shatters, you don’t have to rush the application. I absolutely love the deep red of this shatter, and look at how candy-apple glossy it transforms with a top coat!

‘Spark de Triomphe’ is the equivalent of fireworks for your nails! This is a polish that’s densely packed with both yellow and pale golden glitter, as well as larger hexagonal gold glitter pieces throughout.  The base itself is somewhat sheer, requiring three coats for decent opacity, but again, if you are to layer the shatter over it, two coats will more than suffice. The formula is of a suspension consistency, much like that of  OPI’s ‘Last Friday Night’ from the Katy Perry Collection (reviewed here), giving it a thicker, almost jellyish spreadability. I love how intensely it glimmers, regardless of the light it’s viewed in and that the two shades of glitter keep it from ever coming off as brassy.

I was a little concerned that ‘White Shatter’ would come across as too “liquid paper-looking”, and while it has a similar chalky look at first, I ended up really liking the look of it layered over ‘Spark de Triomphe’.  Thicker in consistency than ‘Red Shatter’, it nonetheless applied easily, cracked well and was a wonderful counterbalance to the blingy-ness of the base lacquer, letting just enough glittery pieces show through, to keep things interesting.  My first thought  upon seeing the two shades together, was that it reminded me of something…and it did! I pulled out this eye shadow compact from MAC’s 2007 Antiquitease Collection…see what I mean?! Pretty cool, no?!

Final thoughts:  Even though these sets come as pre-packaged duos, you’re not committed to using them only with each other, but I love how the decision making process of trying to figure out what to pair with what, is made one step easier this way…it doesn’t hurt either, that these combos really work well together! Remember that to achieve the best pattern, you need to apply the shatter over a completely dry base coat, else you run the risk of needing to start from scratch. Personally, these duos are a complete WIN for me, and I’m thinking that I may want to try either one as a summertime pedi — something really out of the norm!

*Disclaimer: product samples were provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration.