OPI – Holiday 2011 Collection Inspired by The Muppets! ‘The Glitters’ (swatches, review & comparisons)

Rounding off OPI’s Holiday 2011 selection, I present you with the last six shades of the collection: ‘The Glitters’ (the ‘Reds & Neutrals’ previously reviewed here). The more obviously “glitzy” hues of this launch, they all nevertheless so perfectly capture the essence of ‘The Muppets’ – vibrant, glittering, over the top, and brimming with so much character! While these lacquers can all be layered for exciting new combinations, I opted to show them in their natural state, and wanting to give you the most thorough review possible, each shade (with the exception of ‘Excusé Moi’) will be shown in two formats: with two coats of lacquer/no top coat, immediately followed by a photo with three coats/plus top coat. All swatches are with Deborah Lippmann’s 2-Second Nail Primer, Rehydrating Base Coat, and Addicted to Speed Top Coat (where indicated).

A promotional poster highlighting some of the iconic cast members….I never realized exactly how much smaller Kermit was than Miss Piggy – I guess it’s true, that size doesn’t matter!

To underscore that I really was a true fan of ‘The Muppets’, the above photo is vintage Halloween proof, circa 1982: that would be me in the Kermit costume (which my mom made for me!), and yes…I am grabbing a certain anatomical part of “Miss Piggy” aka: my sister-in-law! Not exactly fit for the kiddies, but I guess I was trying to channel another side of that loveable amphibian!

‘Excusé Moi’ is the most pigmented shade of the six, and the only one I am showing at only two coats. A deep carnation pink hue, it’s not only filled with fine pink and silver micro glitter, but also loaded with larger hexagonal multi-coloured glitter pieces throughout. The formula flowed easily and well, being the thinnest of the set, what I really liked was that the glitter pieces distributed evenly upon application. Smooth to the touch with just one layer of top coat, this shade has such a dainty and feminine look to it, despite all the glitter. Fun fact: “excusé moi” was Miss Piggy’s most famous expression!

Sunlight not only glints brilliantly off all the glitter pieces in this shade, but adds the prettiest rosy cast to it.

When seen in indirect light, the finer glitter seems to give the most amazing depth to ‘Excusé Moi’, seeming to add multi-dimensional layers overall.

While shaded light adds a lovely warmth to this shade, it also serves to highlight the colourful larger glitter pieces.

A final view taken with flash not only increases the sparkle factor of this shade, but so beautifully shows off its true pink hue.

‘Fresh Frog of Bel Air’ is a vivid, grass green glitter filled polish, with larger silver hexagonal pieces swimming throughout in a clear base. With an easy flowing formula that was somewhat thicker than ‘Excusé Moi’, you still may need to wait a couple of minutes between coats, in order to ensure a more even distribution of the glitter. I also noted how exceptionally smooth the nail surface felt with just one layer of top coat.

The one, the only, “Kermit the Frog”! Enough said!

In sunlight, at 2 coats

In sunlight, at 3 coats and top coat

Indirect lighting, at 2 coats

Indirect lighting, at 3 coats and top coat

In shaded light, at 2 coats

In shaded light, at 3 coats and top coat

With flash, at 2 coats

A final view taken with flash, at 3 coats and top coat

‘Divine Swine’, is basically the purple version of ‘Fresh Frog of Bel Air’, bearing a similar clear base and large hexagonal silver glitter pieces as well. There’s a slight suspension feel to the formula, but it still flows rather well and any thickness certainly helps with the dispersement of the glitter. Once more, wait time between coats is definitely recommended, as well as a top coat to seal everything in and add a lovely glossy finish.

In sunlight, at 2 coats

In sunlight, at 3 coats and top coat

Indirect lighting, at 2 coats

Indirect lighting, at 3 coats and top coat

In shaded light, at 2 coats

In shaded light, at 3 coats and top coat

With flash, at 2 coats

A final view taken with flash, at 3 coats and top coat

‘Gone Gonzo!’ is a sky blue ultra-fine glitter party, with the ubiquitous larger silver hexagonal glitter pieces in a clear base (much like the two previous lacquers), and may well be one of my favourites of the six presented here. The tone of the blue seems to be one that will flatter every skin tone across the spectrum, while never coming off as too school girl-ish. I noted that this shade was perfectly smooth to the touch with just one layer of base coat, and also seemed to be the easiest to remove overall…a definite plus when dealing with glitters!

Somehow, I always felt a little sorry for “Gonzo”; he was always the butt end of jokes, and was constantly being fired out of a cannon to land God knows where! No one, to this day, knows what type of creature he was, as it was never clarified, but hey….he’s blue, and cuts a mean figure in a dinner jacket!

In sunlight, at 2 coats

In sunlight, at 3 coats and top coat

Indirect light, at 2 coats

Indirect lighting, at 3 coats and top coat

In shaded light, at 2 coats

In shaded light, at 3 coats and top coat

With flash, at 2 coats

A final view taken with flash, at 3 coats and top coat

‘Gettin’ Miss Piggy With It!’, a true red ultra-fine glitter shade, bearing a similar formula to the previous, as well as the requisite large silver hexagonal glitter pieces, differs slightly in that the overall glitter seemed to apply the sparsest of them all (with the exception of perhaps ‘Rainbow Connection’). Paradoxically, I also noted that its finish seemed to be the most satiny of the six, which surprised me as I didn’t think anything with glitter could be anything less than utterly brilliant.

The legendary “Miss Piggy” – you either loved her, or hated her…but you never forgot her! One of her best characters for me, was “First Mate Piggy” from the “Pigs In Space” segments on the show — she outshone the stars and literally stole the show every time!

In sunlight, at 2 coats

In sunlight, at 3 coats and top coat

Indirect lighting, at 2 coats

Indirect lighting, at 3 coats and top coat

In shaded light, at 2 coats

In shaded light, at 3 coats and top coat

With flash, at 2 coats

A final view taken with flash, at 3 coats and top coat

‘Rainbow Connection’ is a veritable glitter explosion; multi-coloured and multi-sized glitter pieces, all jostling for attention in a slightly thicker clear base. The glitter seems to apply quite sparsely with the first layer, and waiting between coats is a must, else you risk the larger pieces all clumping together as opposed to spreading out. What I did not expect, was how much denser the entire look became by the third coat, although I personally prefer the look with two coats, as I find it easier to pull off. A perfect layering polish, it would be interesting to try this over a creamy single hue as well.

In sunlight, at 2 coats

In sunlight, at 3 coats and top coat

Indirect lighting, at 2 coats

Indirect lighting, at 3 coats and top coat

In shaded light, at 2 coats

In shaded light, at 3 coats and top coat

With flash, at 2 coats

A final view taken with flash, at 3 coats and top coat

Naturally, the first thought that came to mind upon hearing of ‘Rainbow Connection’, was how it would compare to Deborah Lippmann’s ‘Happy Birthday’, the original lacquer of this type. I also realized that I had one more to add the the party: Nicole by OPI’s ‘Rainbow In The S-Kylie’ from the upcoming Kardashian Collection (review coming soon!), and here are the results. The following swatches are all with three coats of lacquer, and in the order of: index finger – ‘Happy Birthday’, middle & pinkie fingers – ‘Rainbow Connection, and finally ring finger – ‘Rainbow In The S-Kylie’.

‘Happy Birthday’ – a medium thick formula, bearing more red glitter than the rest
‘Rainbow Connection’ – the thickest formula, with the most densely packed glitter which gave the most opaque coverage
‘Rainbow In The S-Kylie’ – the thinnest formula, with the most sparsely dispersed glitter

Seen in sunlight, the similarity of the glitter sizes is in clear prominence, however there appears to be more of the larger pieces in ‘Rainbow Connection’.

Indirect lighting serves to highlight how ‘Happy Birthday’ is the only one with more red hued glitter in the base.

Shaded light emphasizes how similar in overall tone the OPI and Nicole by OPI are, and yet there’s such a disparity in the coverage between the two.

A final view taken with flash seems to add a more pink cast to ‘Happy Birthday’ than the other two, which seem to be more orange tinted, yet they all shine brilliantly.

Final thoughts: Thus, we come to a close of OPI’s Holiday 2011 Collection, twelve cheerful and festive shades, guaranteed to put a smile on your face and perhaps put you in a party mood! With any set of glitter polishes, the biggest drawback is the removal; here’s where patience and perseverance pays off, but the way I see it, a little elbow grease is more than worth it, especially if you’re a fan of bling! Something tells me that the folks over at OPI must have had a blast putting this collection together; just think of that zany cast of characters and all the endless possibilities for both colours & wild names!

The following music clip is from the original 1979 release of “The Muppet Movie”, where the song “Rainbow Connection” written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, was actually nominated for an Academy Award! This iconic song, has come to fully represent what ‘The Muppets’ were all about, much the same way “When You Wish Upon A Star” symbolizes Disney. Enjoy!