OPI – Holiday 2011 Collection Inspired By The Muppets! ‘The Reds and Neutrals’ (swatches & review)

*Check out the details on my fab Birthday Giveaway – Week 2 here!

When the first whispered rumours started circulating about a “Muppet” themed collection by OPI, I must confess to actually emitting a girly scream of pure delight! While I was already well into my teens by the time The Muppet Show began airing on tv, it nevertheless never stopped me from not only tuning in every week, but singing out loud to the theme song – each and every time! To this day, I still remember all the words and the general feel-good feeling that show of zany characters created in me.

OPI’s Holiday 2011 Collection inspired by Disney’s ‘The Muppets’, is nothing short of twelve whimsical and fun-loving shades, and to better appreciate these lovelies, I have broken it down into two parts: ‘The Reds and Neutrals’ which I bring you today, with ‘The Glitters’ forthcoming. All swatches are with Deborah Lippmann’s 2-Second Nail Primer, Rehydrating Base Coat, and Addicted to Speed Top Coat.

The entire cast of The Muppet Show, encompassed creatures of all shapes and sizes, with some more familiar faces such as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy – from their start on ‘Sesame Street’, to newer additions such as Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and my personal favourites, Waldorf & Statler, those two crotchety old men up in the balcony, who never failed to have THE best one-liners of the show!

‘Designer De Better’ is an almost delicate looking metallic hue, made somehow softer by the addition of coppery-gold flakes in a pale pewter base. The formula was slightly thick, with a suspension-like feeling, but while two coats gave decent coverage, it surprisingly needed three coats for full opacity. As this is a shimmery metallic shade, it’s better to wait slightly between coats to avoid any visible brush strokes. A final layer of top coat lends this lacquer a superior gleaming shine.

Sunlight seems to draw out more of the golden warmth inherent in this shade’s base, and appears to gild the nails with reflected light.

While indirect light takes ‘Designer De Better’ back to a cooler realm, it also serves to send the golden flakes back to a less prominent role.

I love how shaded light emphasizes both halves of this shade: the silvery base, as well as the coppery glints deep within.

A final view taken with flash turns this shade into a shining platinum hue, made even funkier by its swirling golden flecks.

Fozzie Bear!

‘Warm & Fozzie’ is the shade of this collection, one that almost defies description; a metallic hue bearing both shimmer and ultra-fine glitter, it holds such a seething variety of colours – all coming together in one glorious Autumnal-like hue. The formula, while thinner than ‘Designer De Better’, was easy flowing yet still thick enough to have great substance for application. Two coats gave fairly good coverage, but I loved how much more intense this lacquer became by the addition of a third coat. Top coat is a must for this shade, in order to bring out its every spectacular facet. Taking inspiration from its namesake character, I love how ‘Warm & Fozzie’ the polish represents the warmth of the ‘real’ “Fozzie Bear”!

Sunlight tends to bring forth a warmer, more earthy side to this shade, lending it an almost bronze-y cast.

In this deliberately blurred photo,you can better appreciate the various hues that makeup up this intricate shade.

Indirect light not only lends a cooler semblance to ‘Warm & Fozzie, but interestingly enough seems to deposit a green-tinted halo about the edges of the nails.

In this first shaded light image, note how the light brings out this lacquer’s browner side, yet still manages to maintain a golden warmth.

This second shaded light photo not only shows off the true magnificence of this shade, but brings the colours all together to form a sumptuous Fall-like tapestry..absolutely stunning!

A final view taken with flash displays everything that makes ‘Warm & Fozzie’ so unique, highlight all its myriad hues into a spectacular bronze show.

Animal!

‘Animal-Istic’ is a vivid coral-red glimmering shade, filled with hot pink micro shimmer and glassy flecks, and some hints of orange deep within its base. Bearing a medium formula in terms of thickness, it nevertheless flowed very well and was so highly pigmented that total opacity was reached with just two coats. I also noticed that this seemed one of the glossiest of the six shades here, and that it surprisingly left no staining behind – rare for a hue this colour saturated. As you can see from the above photo, ‘Animal-Istic’ perfectly captures that melange of red-orange-pink that make up wild & crazy “Animal’s” hair!

Full sunlight does magical things to this shade, drawing out its inner pink heart from its fiery coral base to dance upon the surface of the nail!

Something about indirect light showcases that amazing “lit-from-within” look of this shade, and gives it such an incredible depth of tone.

I was completely mesmerized by this view of ‘Animal’Istic’ taken in shaded light, and how the shade seemed to almost be brimming with a pink fire.

A final view taken with flash, once more highlights the pink shimmer of this lacquer, surrounded by such a vivid coral-like base.

‘Wocka Wocka!’ (how can you say this and not smile, I ask you?!) is a blue based berry red, just brimming with magenta-hued ultra fine “secret” shimmer. The formula here was the most amazing of the six, flowing silky smooth across the nail and leaving nothing but a level surface behind. Highly pigmented as well, two coats were all that were needed for full opacity but as its finish was not as glossy as that of ‘Animal-Istic’, a top coat is a definite must here. It must be mentioned that there was some very slight staining left behind, although a second & more thorough swipe with remover should easily resolve that. Fun Fact: “wocka wocka” was Fozzie Bear’s catch phrase…in case you were wondering!

Interestingly enough, sunlight seems to draw out a warmer side to this shade and brings its pink-hued shimmery secret core to the surface.

While indirect lighting deepens the base shade and definitely cools it down, I love the tantalizing view of its inner fire that is revealed.

Taking on a more cherry-red tone in the shade, ‘Wocka Wocka!’ has an almost “fresh” look to it, all plump and juicy on the nails!

A final view taken with flash gives this shade a glimmering surreal look and provides an almost 3-D effect to the nails…so cool!

Beaker!

‘Meep-Meep-Meep’ (say that fast 5 times!) is a brilliant red bordering on magenta, and just oozing with ultra fine glitter, glassy flecks and even some flake pieces. A formula that was more on the thick side, something about all the bits that make it up gave it a rather chunky feel in application, yet on the plus side, its high pigmentation means that two coats are all you need to get it fully opaque. A top coat here is an absolute must, not only due to the semi-gloss finish, but to its slightly rougher surface. “Beaker” (pictured above), whose catch-phrase this shade is named for, said it best: “meep-meep-meep” !

When seen in sunlight, this shade seems to be almost writhing with movement, and embuing it with an intense pink-ish glow.

Indirect light highlights what looks like several different levels of tone & colour to this shade, lending it a hypnotic depth.

I was completely stunned by how ‘Meep-Meep-Meep’ looked in shaded light; a mix of pink, berry and orange flames seemed strewn across the nails…incredible!

A final view taken with flash seemed to bewitch and bedazzle my camera, with the glass flecks of this shade glittering wildly about.

‘Pepe’s Purple Passion’ is a highly pigmented burgundy-raisin hue, loaded with ultra fine pink shimmer and larger golden glass flecks throughout. The bearer of an excellent medium-thick formula, it is totally self-levelling and even though it’s filled with a glassy inner core, its semi-gloss finish definitely requires a top coat to especially highlight its beauty. For a Muppet fan like myself, I’m actually rather embarrassed to admit that I don’t even remember Pepe, the character for whom this lacquer is named…let alone the fact that he was a prawn aka: overgrown shrimp!

I love how sunlight not only spotlights the jewel-like richness of the base shade, but calls forth the fiery golden glass flecks from its depths.

Indirect light throws a much cooler veil over ‘Pepe’s Purple Passion’, and gives it such a rich and velvety appearance.

Looking almost sinister in shaded light, this shade’s deep background shade is only enhanced by the subtle appearance of the glass flecks and shimmer.

A final view taken with flash serves to paradoxically lighten this shade, but still manages to stay true to its burgundy leanings.

Final thoughts: The first half of OPI’s Holiday 2011 Collection has definitely impressed me; it’s not surprising that there were no crèmes in sight, as the creatures which inspired this collection, were nothing if not colourful and flamboyant – perfectly captured in these six hues. Something about adding glass-like flecks to a polish, just seems to add a multi-dimensional look which I love, and gives such incredible visual appeal as well, especially considering that four out of the six are red-based lacquers. The two neutral tones are a nice counterpart here, but ‘Warm & Fozzie’ has stolen my heart (much like the bear himself has!); apart from how unique this shade is, take a look at it again and tell me it doesn’t remind you of all the colours of Fall! Stay tuned for my forthcoming review on the second half of this collection, ‘The Glitters’.