7 OPI shades to wear in winter (or just all year round)

Is it sad when your favourite thing about a season is the change in nail polish shades? I hope not (asking for a friend). On this freezing cold Sunday, I’ll share my favourite OPI shades for the season. Another post will go up soon to share a few other brands for fairness sake. OPI are one of my favourite nail polish brands, as I find them consistently superior in terms of beautiful colours, varieties of finishes (even if I only ever buy one) and excellent formulas. They are also pretty affordable, after the fairly recent decrease in price. I think they are $18 each at Farmers, with pretty frequent specials.

When I think winter, for some reason my mind goes straight to rich, jewel toned cremes, luckily this is a colour family that OPI excel at. For interests sake I threw in the only glitter I consider fussing about with, you can thank me later. A heads up, nail polish is a bitch to capture in photos, and although these all look stunning they tend to look a little brighter in the photos than real life. Imagine them a smidgen darker and dirtier (in a good way?). All the OPI cremes below have a really similar formula, smooth and easy to apply, opaque in two coats (that’s part of why I love them so much).

L-R: The Living Daylights, Tickle My France-y, Skyfall

The Living Daylights – This glitter was released with the James Bond collection and I have no idea whether its part of the normal line, but its such a perfect winter/autumnal option. It features chunky little hexagons in blue, copper and silver and I haven’t seen anything else like it. Its almost worth the gruelling removal process. I love to layer this over other shades, pretty much any of the cremes in this post look even better with a couple of accent fingers (I don’t care if these are still in trend or not, I love them). If you want this one alone, be prepared to do a fair few coats to get an even coverage.

Tickle My France-y – Everyone needs a good nude/my nails but better shade and this one is my choice for this time of the year. Unlike the photo above, its a darker muted pink with a touch of brown. Its a really flattering shade and the perfect palette cleanser after wearing dark shades for weeks on end.

Skyfall – Another James Bond feature, and possibly my favourite out of them all, this dark blood red is pure winter perfection. Again, a touch of brown just to make it a little different, and its just the ultimate accessory to a put-together outfit (also looks real nice with pyjamas, lets be honest).

L-R: Miami Beet, Skating on the Ice-Land, Jade is the New Black, Dark Side of the Mood

Miami beet – A beautiful rich berry shade, in-between a purple and a red (and not as pink as it looks). This one I love because its dark and subdued in the shade/indoors but in the sunshine the bright tones come to life. Adds a pop of colour to my usually rather dreary clothing/attitude. This one has been a staple for years now.

Skating on the Ice-land – One of my new buys, this beautiful purple shade is from last years Nordic collection. This is described a blackened cherry purple (there’s a hint of red, but mostly its just a dark, rich plum shade). Its dark on the nails but not one of those shades that looks black except for when you stick your fingers directly under a lamp. Its a nice alternative to my usual winter navy shades.

Jade is the New Black – This doesn’t need much introduction, it’s one of the cult favourites for OPI, and for good reason. This is a ridiculously flattering green creme, dark but still colourful, green without being too weird or unusual. Nowhere near as bright as the photo, but its just a beautiful dulled dark shade. I love it.

Dark Side of the Mood – I know we are all supposed to hate anything 50 shade related, but I love a good grey polish, and its one I have been missing from my slightly extensive collection. Plus, the name kind of sold it. This is definitely as dark as a grey can get without just looking straight-up black on the nails. I really like this, its classy and looks amazing on shorter nails (as do most of the darker shades). It has a ridiculously subtle shimmer, but just pretend its not there because you’ll never see it.

Do you own any of these shades? Let me know what you tend to gravitate towards around this time of year!