OPI: US Open Glam Slam Duo – ‘Love Is A Racket’ and ‘Pros & Bronze’ (swatches & review)

Bringing to a close OPI’s collaboration with tennis great Serena Williams, the final instalment of the series celebrates the upcoming US Open with two incredibly vivid and glam-tastic shades: ‘Love Is A Racket’ – an almost searingly bright hot cherry red, and ‘Pros & Bronze’ – a glitter filled peachy/golden wonder. All swatches are with Seche Base Ridge Filling Base Coat and Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat.

A cross between red and hot pink, filled with ultra fine blue, gold and even pink shimmer with some glass flecks thrown in for good measure, ‘Love Is A Racket’ has so much going on, I hardly know where to begin! While I’m not normally drawn to bright pink/red tones, this lacquer has such a lovely depth and jewel rich tone, that it immediately drew me in. However, not everything was “rosy” (sorry!) with this polish; the formula was exceptionally thick and rather gloopy making application somewhat challenging, yet it did level out quite well and left no brush strokes behind. Unfortunately, I experienced serious staining upon removal, which was so disappointing as I have really fallen for this colour. Perhaps by adding a second, or thicker layer of base coat, the staining may be kept to a minimum, but it’s no guarantee. All swatches are with two coats of lacquer.

Seen in sunlight, what struck me is the vivid coral leaning of this shade which serves to add such warmth. Interestingly enough, while the finish is actually quite smooth, the glass-like flecks in the base give the appearance of a bumpy surface, but I assure you that it’s just an optical illusion.

By clicking to enlarge this closeup view, you will get a better look at the delicate shimmer dancing all across the surface of this polish.

This angled view highlights not only the blueish glow from the shimmer, but reveals delicate golden glints as well, while giving the base colour a more maraschino cherry-like tone.

A view in indirect lighting shows ‘Love Is A Racket’s’ more reddish nature, with the shimmer shown just tantalizingly under the surface of the nail.

Shaded light spotlights the darkest version of this lacquer, while magically transforming the blueish flecks into golden pieces and giving it that “lit-from-within” look I love so much.

A final view taken with flash highlights two distinct features: the intensely saturate bright pink/red/coral hue of this shade, as well as the glimmering gold and blue shimmer.

‘Pros & Bronze’ is so unique, in that it has three colours of complimentary-hued glass glitter flecks, all working in such harmony to create such a special shade. Golden, pink and amber glitter flakes all merge to form this vibrant copper shade, without ever coming off as too orange, but rather staying close to bronze. The formula was of the thicker, more jelly-like suspension variety with the glitter flecks densely packed in a clear base. Personally, I prefer this formula for glitter polishes, as I find that it makes it easier to apply even coats this way, with equal amounts of glitter dispersed across the nail, plus the fact that there’s little chance that the polish will run into your cuticles, thereby making this basically goof-proof. The following swatches are with three coats of lacquer, as I found it still rather transparent with only two coats applied.

Brilliantly dazzling in the light, sunlight brings out the more golden nature of this polish and relegates the pinkish tones to a more secondary role.

In this closeup view, you can clearly see the various coloured glitter pieces quite clearly, and how beautifully they all mesh together.

Once more, an angled view of ‘Pros & Bronze’ displays the most accurate depiction of the bottle shade, as well as bringing out the best of its gleaming highlights.

Indirect light lends a much cooler air to this lacquer and allows the subtle pink tint to take on a more prominent role.

A view in shaded light spotlights not only a much warmer tone to this shade, but casts a bronze-y aura over the entire nail, looking very much like molten gold….so stunning!

A final view taken with flash is where the entire brilliance of this lacquer is fully appreciated…just look at that sparkle!

This quick video clip (courtesy of my new youtube channel – would love to have you subscribe!) gives you a wonderful visual of this shade’s full range…enjoy!

Final thoughts: Interestingly enough, I was intrigued by this colour combination; ‘Pros & Bronze’ felt to me like a perfect-tribute-to-Fall shade, with it’s mix of bronze & pink hues, but ‘Love Is A Racket’ was a surprise (unless you attribute the colour to the word “love” in its name!). While I absolutely loved ‘Pros & Bronze’, I’m afraid that ‘Love Is A Racket’ was a slight let-down, but only as far as the thickness of the formula is concerned, as well as the staining. I’m not giving up, however, as I SO love this colour — I will attempt it again with a different base coat and/or more base coat layers, and report on what happens. And so, the series of lacquers that began with the Australian Open (reviewed here), moving on to the French Open (reviewed here), continued to the British Open/Wimbledon (reviewed here), has finally ended with this collection….a complete grand slam!