OPI's Tour de Force for Fall
By Melanie Parker

What do Sephora and France have in common in the beauty world right now? It's the mad love bestowed upon them by OPI through exciting nail color collections this season. There are so many new colors to choose from since they've picked France for their Fall collection inspiration and they are offering a new line at Sephora stores.

Sephora by OPI

Sephora has partnered with OPI to offer 54 exclusive polishes online and in their stores. The colors range from girly pink glitters (Shopping Frenzy) to deep autumnal hues (Meet for Drinks). And for any makeup and polish collector, some of the sassy names are enough to drop $9 on a bottle of polish. As with all OPI lines since the Australia collection in 2007, these polishes are Big 3 Free (no DBP, Toluene, and Formaldehyde). Overall, I really do not think these OPI by Sephora polishes are worth more that the regular salon line. I think they would have done better to offer them at a $5 price point. But that may be because the bottle shape reminds me of the Jane polishes I used to buy at the drug store for $1.99. In fact, the ladies of Makeup Alley have nicknamed this collection $OPI instead of typing out Sephora by OPI based on the higher price (which is still half of what a Chanel polish costs). These polishes also have a smaller brush and come shrink wrapped. While I'm glad this prevents the shoppers of Sephora from sampling my goods off of the shelf, the wrapper makes it harder to tell what the true color is. None of this deterred me from trying three of them.


Sephora by OPI Metro Chic was the first color in the line introduced on the Sephora blog, which created a lot of buzz. This smoky plum creme is sophisticated and unusual. It can sometimes appear khaki and other times gray--it's perfect for a rainy day in the city. With the pink tone in my skin, it throws a lot of purple on me. It covered well in 2 coats and dried several shades darker than it appears in the bottle. Since the line launched earlier this month, this color has sold out online twice

Sephora by OPI Run with It! is a fantastic shimmery dove gray. Unlike OPI's Moon Over Mumbai, which is a jelly-finished dove gray introduced in the India collection last Spring, Run with It! is opaque and scintillating. I usually do three thin coats of polish to try to get it true to the bottle color, but Run with It! was thick and covered well in 2 coats. It's hard to describe the sparkles in this. It almost looks like there are both silver and gold flecks. It dries perfectly smooth, but the darker shimmer gives it the look of cement. It's the perfect neutral for those working in the concrete jungle and like to have a non-traditional flair. Readers of the Twilight series might even feel it is inspired by Edward Cullen himself sparkling in the sun like a statue.

Sephora by OPI Brunette on the Internet was not what I had hoped it would be. I've always felt I missed out on the Bobbi Brown Chocolate Cherry polish, so I wanted this to be browner. It's actually a lovely deep red like Lippmann Collection's Just Walk Away Renee. I would have named this one Cherry Chapstick. Of course, OPI probably doesn't want to get sued or pay royalties to Chapstick, but I just don't think it conjures the image of a brunette. Honorable mention goes to the black sparkly Never Enough Shoes, Because I Said So, Mr. Right Now, I'm with Brad, and Queen of Everything. You can peruse these new OPI product offerings at the Sephora Web site: http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P217311&categoryId=RVP. While you are there, check out the Givenchy limited edition blue Dandy Moiré lacquer. It looks edgy and chic, but I'm not quite $15 curious about it yet.

OPI France? Oui Oui!
OPI's line is inspired by France this season. The punny names might make you groan, but over all the subdued color story is a welcome departure from their last few releases. Plums and grays dominate the line. I'll be reviewing four of the new colors.

OPI Parlez-vous OPI? is a smoky violet creme polish. It's brighter than the $OPI Metro Chic, and works especially well on a variety of skin tones. If you like purple, this is the one color from the collection that you have to have.


The sleeper hit of the collection for me personally was OPI Tickle My France-y. In the bottle it may look like coffee with creme, but this shade also has a plum hue to it. It's opaque and elegant, and works well at the office or around the house. It's nearly a doppelganger for my beloved Paul & Joe Nougat polish, which has become hard to find. I actually might like Tickle a wee bit better.


OPI We'll Always Have Paris is a deep dried blood red. It's red enough that you never think it is black, but it just doesn't thrill me. I like Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ and Marooned on the Magnificent Mile from the Chicago collection better.


Lastly, I tried OPI Eiffel for this Color, which is a deep eggplant shimmer. In some light this does look black, but in the sun light the purple hue is unmistakable. I tried to capture that with my photo, but in most lighting conditions it looks darker. It was goopy and streaky, so it requires great patience to apply. I fell in love with OPI Black Cherry Chutney from the India collection earlier this year, and while Eiffel looks very similar to it in the bottle, I prefer Black Cherry Chutney's red tone to this. I do not have a swatch of it, but the most unique color in the collection is OPI You Don't Know Jacques. Not only does it get an honorable mention for the funny name, but it also was brave new territory for OPI. It looks like wet cement mixed with mud. That doesn't sound like something you'd want to wear on your finger tips, but the high gloss creme finish is so elegant that the color comes off as urban and cool. I decided to skip it because I already have butter LONDON Fash Pack, which is another unusual mushroom creme polish. Overall, I'm thrilled to have so many new OPI polish choices this season. Merci, OPI! Tu as bonne mine.

Disclosure: All products mentioned in this review were purchased by the reviewer.