Nicole by OPI – Shopper’s Drugmart and Target Exclusive Collection (swatches & review)

Launched late Spring 2011 and created as Shopper’s Drugmart (Canada) and Target (US) exclusives, Nicole by OPI brings us 13 new lacquers in varying fun and exciting new shades. According to Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director,

“Glitter is a huge trend right now and offers a great textured effect for nails and toes. From more defined sparkles to micro-fine metallic micas, these colours can add elegance, glamour, or flash to any outfit”

Apart from glitters, this collection also had some interesting surprises in the form of two richly pigmented crèmes hues, several subtle shimmery shades as well as a few with an iridescent flash to them. The formulas were varied as well, from thin and easily flowing to thicker and more jelly-like which meant the amount of coats applied needed to be adjusted accordingly. In order to make my review more cohesive, I’ve grouped the shades with similar finishes together. All swatches are with Sèche Natural base coat, lacquer and OPI Start to Finish top coat.

The duo-chromes:’ Iceberg Lotus’ and ‘I’m A Pool For Love’.

Described as a “refreshing green”, ‘Iceberg Lotus’ is in fact a slightly sheer, but absolutely stunning aqua-leaning green with fine blue shimmer and a violet flash to it. The swatches above are with three coats of lacquer and while you can still see some visible nail line, it doesn’t detract from the mesmerizing effect of this hue. I’ve included a closeup (center photo) for a better look at its iridescence.

Calling ‘I’m A Pool for Love’ a “deep, dark grape” does not do it justice; this is a mysteriously dark purple shade with blue and violet ultra-fine shimmer that lend it such a depth of tone. Highly pigmented, two coats were all that was needed for perfect opacity. My photos fail to capture the utterly riveting inky depths of this shade, but when seen in full sun (top photo), it comes alive in all its sparkling glory!

The shimmers: ‘Shell Me The Truth’, ‘You’re S-Teal The One’ and ‘Call Me Classy’.

‘Shell Me The Truth’ almost borders on the duo-chrome category as a result of its inner sparkle! This is a delicate and unique greyed-out pale pink shade loaded with very fine golden shimmer, giving it a pearly flash. Easily the most neutral shade of this collection, it has a very feminine vibe and bears a seashell mother-of-pearl look to it. As it’s quite sheer, I applied three coats here, but it will also make a lovely layering polish.

‘You’re S-Teal The One’ should by all rights be in the duo-chrome grouping, but what’s interesting is that while not easily visible to the naked eye, there’s a violet flash that comes into play when certain light hits it. Rather sheer, this is an eye-catching oceanic blue shade with ultra-fine shimmer swimming throughout and seems to have an almost living vibrancy to it!

A blue based red, ‘Call Me Classy’ is a jewel-like and rich garnet shade, filled with exceptionally fine shimmer. This is a polish with a vivid inner fire and while these types of reds are usually more suitable for cooler skin tones, I love how it has a sophisticated yet sexy siren look to it, making it easily worn by warmer toned types. Fully opaque in two coats, the only issue is that this one tends to dry with a satin finish, making a top coat necessary for some glossy shine.

The Crèmes: ‘Daffy Dill’ and ‘The Grape Debate’.

Not quite a neon, ‘Daffy Dill’ is one of those odd shades that defies description. Neither lime nor chartreuse, it falls somewhere in between and what saves it from being gaudy is its slightly dusty quality. I love the “new green growth” look it has when seen in shaded light (bottom photo), yet how Summer perfect it appears in sunlight! Surprisingly, I needed three coats to reach a smooth opacity, as it was a touch streaky, but the high gloss shine made up for that.

‘The Grape Debate’ is the second crème of this collection, a rich eggplant shade of purple, but with a prune-like tinge in its base. Needing just two coats and it was wonderfully smooth, this was hands down the best formula of this entire collection. Self-levelling, easily flowing and drying to the glossiest shine of them all, I love how no matter what light its viewed in, it always remains “the best purple ever. Enough said”!

The Holographic Glitters:’ Make A Comet-Ment’, ‘Sensational Scarlet’ and ‘Such A Go-Glitter’.

My first silvery holographic polish, ‘Make A Comet-Ment’ is quite unique in my stash. This shade has tons of micro-holographic particles suspended in a thick jelly-like clear base. As there is a lot of dense ultra fine silver shimmer as well, it lends this colour a grey cast, but that is just an illusion. While this shade tends to be rather forgiving of mistakes, the application was a touch strange due to the thickness of the formula, but easy to apply nevertheless ( three coats here). I noticed that it dries almost matte, so you definitely need at least 2 layers of top coat for a nice gloss (the first layer of top coat seemed to get absorbed into the polish!). Unfortunately, my photos do NOT do this polish justice: the prismatic effect in sunlight is absolutely dazzling!

The one shade that I couldn’t properly capture in pictures, is ‘Sensational Scarlet’, a gem-like magenta smorgasbord of textures. This shade had a thick, suspension formula as well, and required three coats for decent opacity, but the depth of tone was incredible. Sadly, my photos make it look like a lumpy mess, but in reality it does not have a textured looking appearance at all. Definitely needing a top coat as the glitter dries a little rough, this one really comes into its own when viewed in full sun.

‘Such A Go-Glitter’ was a complete surprise; A clear based polish with royal blue glitter pieces, I did not expect how sheer it would turn out to be, nor how sparse the glitter. Even with three coats applied, it never becomes dense enough to cover the nail, making it more of a layering polish than a stand-alone shade. The bottle gave me the impression it would be a blue version of ‘Sensational Scarlet’, and while you can clearly see the holographic particles in the bottle, they’re few and far between once applied. Not a bad shade if you’re into a more simple take on glitter polishes, however!

The Metallic Glitters: ‘Nicole’s Nickel’, ‘Brilliant Idea’ and ‘Twist of Fate’.

I had to show you this creature in every possible light; ‘Nicole’s Nickel’ is a gleaming, glittering mass of silver and gunmetal and utterly gorgeous! A thick formula as well, it has a sheer pewter base densely packed with varying sizes of glitter and can be quite opaque with two coats, although I layered three here. The third photo (taken with flash) shows it’s true scintillating personality, while when viewed in sunlight (top photo), you may require sunglasses! The end result is rather rough feeling so I would recommend at least two layers of top coat for a smoother top, but…just look at it!

What I didn’t notice in the bottle, was that apart from the tiny golden/lime glitter that ‘Brilliant Idea’ has, there was also larger hexagonal pieces strewn throughout the base. As you can clearly see, this is a sheer polish as well but the formula was slightly thinner than that of the other glitters. The base shade is a delicate lime green and I applied three coats for these swatches, but found that you definitely need patience between each layer for even glitter placement. On the plus side, the glitter dried flatter and smoother than any of the rest.

The final lacquer of this collection, ‘Twist of Fate’ is a cool toned golden glitter party, in a sheer base. Much more densely packed than ‘Brilliant Idea’, you need a light hand in application so that you can ensure an even distribution of the glitter pieces, which are all one size. Knowing that too much gold can look tawdry & cheap, I applied three coats here and was surprised by how much I liked the end result…at once bold & delicate.

Final thoughts: While this is a larger collection than I’m used to seeing, I found it less overwhelming by grouping the polishes with similar textures together and found that it made for an even easier review that way. Free from all harmful toxins, this is a brand that has been steadily growing in appeal with the younger set, but knowing that OPI is behind the line, ensures the formula won’t fall short. On another note, while most glitter polishes can be totally frustrating to remove, I actually found these polishes to be slightly less painful in that regard….a plus! This collection is both fun and glamorous with shades that will appeal to a wide range of personalities….my personal fave? Toss up between ‘The Grape Debate’ for its formula, ‘Nicole’s Nickel’ for its wicked bling factor and ‘Call Me Classy’ for its brazen allure! Available now but not for long, you better get ’em while you can!