Nicole by OPI ‘Holiday Glitters’ (swatches & review)

Nothing says festive quite like glitter, and these four multi-hued sparkly lacquers from Nicole by OPI will ensure you keep the holiday spirit alive long after the last bottle of champagne’s been uncorked! All swatches are with Essie’s All In One Base coat, and in order to achieve a smooth surface, two coats of Essie’s Good to Go Top Coat were applied.

‘Glitter In My Stocking’ is an antique-gold glitter beauty, with some sparser red particles thrown in for depth and visual interest. The suspension-thick formula, while quite densely packed with the glitter, was nonetheless easy to work with, and two coats gave excellent coverage as well as full opacity. Even though this varnish doesn’t finish off with a high gloss it still bears an almost foil-like gleam, but its multitude of ultra-fine glitter means that removal can be a touch stubborn … elbow grease definitely required here.

Sunlight lends a bronze-y cast to this shade, and serves to bring out more of the red flecks, giving it an overall russet-like hue.

In this closeup view, you can clearly see how beautifully the gold and red glitter work together.

Indirect light certainly adds a cooler vibe to ‘Glitter In My Stocking’, and gives a yellower tint to the golden particles.

Shaded light gives this shade an almost beige-like cast as a result of the perfect melding of the two shades.

A final view taken with flash serves to give this shade its brightest golden gleam…very luxurious-looking!

‘Snow-Man Of My Dreams’ is a slightly sheer pale blue jelly-like base colour, filled with multi-coloured micro glitter, predominantly blue. Definitely not as densely packed as ‘Glitter In My Stocking’, is still gives decent coverage with two coats (applied here), but would need a third coat for a deeper opacity. For some reason, only this shade among the four needed the longest wait time between coats, however it made up for that by being much easier to remove.

I love how sunlight makes the nails seem almost jewel-encrusted, with the light reflecting off the varied colours.

In this closeup view, you can clearly see the many individual colours that make up the body of this lacquer.

Indirect light not only cools ‘Snow-Man Of My Dreams’ down several degrees, but also drapes it with a silvery glow.

Shaded light lends a gorgeous 3-D effect to this shade, with every facet appearing so incredibly vivid.

A final view taken with flash reveals a hint of the natural nail underneath, but also emphasizes this shade’s amazing sparkle.

‘My Sleigh’s In The Shop’, a sheer purple jelly-like base, filled with purple micro-shimmer and sparser golden particles, also happens to be the sheerest of the four. While I applied two coats here, this varnish could certainly have used a third coat for a more opaque look, but I actually preferred it this way. Interestingly enough, while this lacquer had the dullest finish (nothing that top coat couldn’t help), it was also the easiest to remove.

Sunlight emphasizes the more pinkish side of this lacquer, all embedded within its magenta-like base hue.

This closeup angle once more serves to display the lovely pairing of these two shimmery hues.

Indirect light, while adding a silvery overall cast to ‘My Sleigh’s In The Shop’, also brings out more of the golden pieces.

Shaded light gives such life to this shade, and makes it appear easily the most wearable of the four.

A final view taken with flash displays some transparency to this shade, but does not detract from its totally feminine vibe.

‘Orna-Ment For Each Other’ seems to be the reverse of ‘Glitter In My Stocking’, bearing sparse golden particles in a sheer and jelly-like red base, simply filled with bright red ultra-fine glitter. Even though the formula was on the thinner side, the incredibly densely packed glitter left it looking nicely opaque with just two coats, but it must be noted that removal needed a bit more effort for this shade as well.

Sunlight adds an almost fiery glow to this shade, with the golden pieces helping the overall colour lean towards orange.

In this closeup view, you can make out the individual glitter particles that add such depth to this shade.

Indirect light brings about a deep ember glow and highlights ‘Orna-Ment For Each Other’s’ red nature.

Shaded light not only adds such a beautiful depth to this shade, but seems to single out each individual golden piece.

A final view taken with flash is like looking at Dorothy’s glittering ruby slippers….and just as magical!

Final thoughts: What I love about this little collection, is exactly that: it’s only four shades – enough to play with, but not enough to overwhelm. The glitter is fine and covers the nail surface very well, and while removal can be a bit of an issue, it’s not enough to scare one off. I absolutely love ‘Glitter In My Stocking’ for its sophisticated glitz, while ‘Snow-Man Of My Dreams’ can literally be paired with everything and every colour. We can all use a little bling to pump up the volume in the heart of winter … and this limited edition collection certainly meets that challenge!