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!
So here are 12 of my favorite colours for summer
First up is another huge favorite on the internet, Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. This is one of my favorites and the reason why I don’t bother with lemony flutter. This cuticle balm (not a cream as in the name, much more of a solid oil based product) is moisturizing without being overly greasy and I love the scent! It smells like fresh lemon juice, subtle and citrusy. This is a handbag staple for me. Also a little goes a long way so despite the slightly higher price tag compared to the others I think the value is still pretty good. My only negative for this product is the lid can be a pain in the ass to get off and sometimes it is hard to get enough product on your finger to rub on the cuticles.
Orly’s Cuticle Oil is another product I would repurchase as soon as it runs out. This is what I tend to use when I am doing nails at home or putting oil on near all my nail polish stuff as it’s not so easy to carry around in a bag. This is just a liquid oil which has a brush like any of their other nail care products, making application very easy and hassle-free. I love the smell of this, a soft and sweet citrus scent! And its great for massaging into the nails and cuticles, providing quite long lasting moisture. I believe this retails for around $9 at places like Farmers which I think is quite reasonable as I have had this for ages and use it all the time but it is still half full.
Badger Cuticle Care Balm: This is a similar product to the Burt’s Bee’s in that it is an oily formula in a tin that is easy to chuck in the handbag. The differences for me are that this product is a little less solid and more oily which means I feel it moisturizes better but also is greasier so I tend not to use when on the go/in a rush. It is a lot easier to get product out as it is a slightly softer texture. I love this brand as all their balms are full of organic ingredients! Keep an eye out for one of their products coming up in November favorites! I would rate this above Burt’s Bees purely because it is cheaper and yet bigger in size. Also I think I slightly prefer the smell (a fresh, lemongrass scent) however it is a lot stronger so maybe not so great for those sensitive to strong smells. Definitely recommend giving this or any of their other products a try.
Last up is the newest addition to my cuticle care range: Sally Hansen Cuticle Cream. I picked this up as it was only $8 from the local postie plus. This is definitely a cream, not a balm and I like that it isn’t to greasy and feels quite moisturizing. The smell is pleasant and not too strong and there are lots of oils and what nots to keep the nails healthy.However, of all 4 this is my least favorite and the only one I probably wouldn’t bother getting again. Firstly this was pretty much the contents of the pot when I opened the packaging and to me that is a pretty pathetic amount of cream (whereas the Lemony Flutter cream despite being expensive has a lot more product and would last a lot longer). Its possible I got a dud but who knows. Secondly I prefer some of the other organic products over this as they feel better on my skin in the long term whereas the moisturizing qualities of this wear off pretty quickly. Lastly…well I probably have enough products and don’t need one that I don’t think is quite up to the standards of the other three (might save up for Lush instead). Not a bad product, just not a favorite.
