Of Life and Lacquer

As a huge Gwen Stefani/No Doubt fan, I have been patiently waiting for this collection to come out so I wasted absolutely NO TIME in getting it swatched. There is a degree of excitement surrounding this collection precisely because it’s tied to Gwen whom I have always loved. Being born and raised in Orange County, I can remember watching No Doubt explode and feeling proud of my fellow OC’ers. When I first got the press release for the Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection, I was so freaking excited that I am sure I annoyed a few people. Why is it that some people can’t understand how awesome this collaboration is??? My poor nail guy pretty much felt harassed by my multiple weekly calls to ask him if he had received this collection yet. Imagine my elation when he finally told me they had come in! I raced there after work and grabbed everything so I could come home and play with them. Are you ready for GS awesomeness?

It’s no secret that I am a rabid lover of hot pink polishes, so you’re not really going to hear me complain about OPI Hey Baby…well, not much anyway. This pink is the kind of color that I like to sport because it’s super bright and looks great on my skin tone. Any time I wear a pink like this, people always comment on my nails. I do love the color, but the formula was a little bit of a pain because it was so darn streaky. After two coats, I could still see a lot of uneven coverage so I applied a third thick coat to smooth it all out.

OPI I Sing In Color is one of those colors that can look almost black. It’s a dark brownish red with an outrageously glossy finish. The finished look of it makes my creme loving heart beat faster. The formula on this was a little thin, in my opinion, so you have to let each coat dry a few minutes before going back over it. I created a lot of bald spots with my second coat so I applied a third coat to even out the coverage.

Are we all silver/holo glittered out? I have so many versions of OPI In True Stefani Fashion that I wasn’t super excited about this. It’s just a lot of small silver holo glitter with some squares thrown in. My lighting doesn’t really show how pretty this looks in sunlight because it really does shine.

I think I’ve said plenty of times how much I DON’T like gold polishes, but OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby is actually my favorite polish from this collection. It’s not an obnoxious ghetto gold, but rather a delicate and classy version that I am totally in love with. This polish has a satin finish so you should not apply top coat to keep the satin effect. Let me tell you about the formula on this baby: it’s creamy like butter and applies beautifully. It looks a little sheer at the first coat but it’s fully opaque at two coats. This is like the gold equivalent of This Gown Needs A Crown from the Miss Universe Collection.

My second favorite from this collection is OPI 4 In The Morning. I really do like black polishes and this one seems a little unusual with its satin finish so don’t apply top coat to keep the soft effect. I also loved the formula on this baby as it was super opaque and easy to apply.

Let’s be honest here: how many of us are dying for a polish that accentuates and magnifies every single ridge and imperfection on our nails? Me, me, me…NOT! Well, OPI Push And Shove does just that if you don’t buff your nails and/or use a good ridge filling base coat. In fact, this polish comes with a mini “Lay Down That Base” base coat that is recommended before applying Push And Shove. I don’t think that I have any polish quite as reflective and metallic as this one, and I was beyond surprised that it wasn’t as brush stroke-y as I feared. The funky thing about this polish is that the packaging states that it is a one night only polish which I guess means that it will start to chip/flake almost immediately. Personally I don’t have a problem with this since I change my polish so often, but I thought it might be important to note.

So, let’s get down to it. Did I love this collection? Meh. If it wasn’t a Gwen Stefani collaboration, would I still purchase these polishes? Not all of them. And that, my friends, is the genius of marketing. This whole collection does not scream Gwen Stefani to me, and I’m a little disappointed. For those of you who are wondering about why there isn’t a red here considering it’s Gwen’s signature lip color, there is a red in the collection called Over & Over A-Gwen but it comes in a special boxed set that wasn’t available when I picked these up. If you’re as polish obsessed as me, I’m sure that you’ll run out to get these as soon as they are available–especially if you’re a Gwen Stefani fan. Overall, I love Love.Angel.Music.Baby and 4 In The Morning. Shockingly, I also like Push And Shove even though it’s a chrome. I just like how reflective it is and I can definitely see myself wearing it for a special occasion.  The Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection will be out next month sometime and you will be able to purchase it at the usual OPI retailers such as Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA.

And here is my question: What do you think of this collection? If you’re not a huge fan of the colors, will you purchase it just because it’s Gwen Freaking Stefani? I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on this so let me know. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

*Edit: I’m selling these: 37.25 for the 6 polishes including priority shipping in a box.* email me if you’re interested.