OPI Fall 2011: Touring America

Bravo, OPI, I love your fall collection. I don’t know how many of you will feel compelled to buy the full set (maybe the polish collectors), but I think Touring America has something for everyone.

For me, these 12 polishes fall into three categories. First there are the “classics,” reds and pinks that anyone can wear (and they make great colors for toes, too).

All of the “classics” have tiny, deep-set shimmers. The shimmer is visible in sunlight; less so indoors. Are We There Yet? is coral-pink/peach-pink with tiny gold and pink sparkles. I Eat Mainely Lobster (which is really not lobster-colored at all) is warm hot pink with pink and gold sparkles. Color to Diner For is cranberry red with dense fuchsia and gold sparkles (it’s the sparkliest of the group). My Address is “Hollywood” is a rose pink with pink and gold sparkles.

I also swatched these on my nails.

And I wanted to give you a second look at Are We There Yet? and I Eat Mainely Lobster. They’re both bright, so they can look similar in a picture. Hopefully this photo better shows the differences between them. Are We There Yet? is definitely peachier; I Eat Mainely Lobster is more pink. (Click the photo to view at full size.)

The next group is what I’ll call the “avant garde” shades. As polish has grown more and more popular in recent years (and addicts need a new thrill for their nails), we’ve seen a lasting trend for edgy neutrals.

A-Taupe is a Particuliere-esque chocolate taupe (I can never resist any iteration of this shade). Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window (oy! What a visual!) is a very muted, swampy army green. Suzi Takes the Wheel is an industrial, concrete blue-grey (though it looks almost green next to French Quarter). French Quarter for Your Thoughts is a warmer, softer, foggy, kitten, purpled grey. These shades are all cremes.

Here are your on-nail swatches:

And I thought you might need a closer look at the difference between Suzi Takes the Wheel and French Quarter for Your Thoughts (click to view at full size):

The final group is the “vamps,” your typical deep fall/winter shades.

Get in the Expresso Lane is a very dark cool brown (and I feel compelled to mention that espresso the drink is spelled with an S, not an X). I Brake for Manicures is a dark, muted, dusty plum (even dustier, I think, than Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Recherche). Honk If You Love OPI is a deep, rich plum purple — more red than I Brake for Manicures. (And in one coat, Honk is more sheer than the others, but it builds just fine). Roadhouse Blues is a deep, perfect blue-purple (blurple). I actually thought the vamps swatched even darker than they look in the bottle.

And I did these on-nail, too:

I was super excited about Roadhouse Blues, because for ages, I have wanted an OPI polish called Madewell to Order. It was a limited edition shade, (created with clothing brand Madewell) the exact blue-purple of their logo. I will probably never find it. Roadhouse Blues looks a little darker and maybe bluer than Madewell, but I think it will satisfy my long-held desire.

OPI polishes are $8.50 each. These polishes were provided by OPI for swatching purposes.