We finally made it through Winter collections! And before the first day of Spring! That was really my main goal. I planned on having this up earlier, but I was hosting visitors at my apartment last weekend, and then was recovering from that, while simultaneously having a super busy week where I was barely home.

But now, now I’ve had time to sit down and work through some posts. I’ve got this one, as well as the OPI Lisbon collection, the Wet n Wild Goth-o-Graphic collection, and the new Sinful Colors core shades coming your way, so lots of good reviews for now.

But for now, like the random cold snap we’ve been having over here, we’re going back to Winter. Specifically the last Winter collection that had been hanging out in my home unloved.

It’s been a while since I’ve swatched an Orly collection – I skipped out on the summer collection. I was already behind season in swatching for those, and wasn’t interested in the neons by the time I got around to it, so I just passed. But that by no means I don’t love Orly. I missed them truly, and I’m glad to have some bottles in my hands again. And lemme tell you, they really found their way back in my heart again, and made me regret putting them off so long. But don’t worry, they’re getting their day now.

This is called the ‘Darlings of Defiance’ collection, and it’s a standard 6 bottle collection. Lemme tell you how much I love 6 bottle collections – I can crank them out in one weekend night, and its just a lot less overwhelming than a 12 bottle one. #NailBloggerProbs

I normally have been buying my Orly off of transdesign.com, but they’re suddenly up to $8+ a bottle, instead of the normal $4 I’ve got them before! I’m not sure what happened, but I can no longer find them for discount anymore. Of course, I’ll still be reviewing them, this just means I’m going to buy the Orly color pass – that’s where you pay one fee up front to Orly, and they send you the 4 collections for the year each season – and calculating it out, it’s really down to $4-$5 a bottle. I’m not sure why I haven’t done that before, but here I go. If you love Orly, it’s a good deal for sure, and something to look into! Check it out here.

ANYWAYS, this is definitely a winter collection, and might not work too well in the upcoming spring time. But if it’s still holding on as chilly where you are like it is for me, sometimes you want a dark shade to match your mood at being cold. Just me?

But spoiler, the formulas in this collection really surprised me. Like they were stunning and there was nothing I could complain about. So if you see a color that still strikes your fancy here, I definitely recommend it. I need to stop rambling and writing this novel, let’s get into the swatching.

First up is the light nude shade of the collection. This is ‘Faux Pearl’. It has subtle gold shimmer in it, but it’s pretty well lost on the nail. It had a pretty good 1st coat for being a light nude. It had some streaks, but those were all covered up in two easy coats. It felt super smooth and easy to control. Honestly a very lovely nude.

This next shade is in a finish that divides polish fans alike. This is ‘Once in a Blue Moon’ and its a light, super frosty shimmery blue color. This had a really good 1st coat, and could almost be opaque in 1 thicker coat. Otherwise, it’s 2 easy thin coats. It’s a shimmery one, so there are going to be brush strokes, but they’re honestly not the worst I’ve ever seen. Another beautiful formula.

Now, with the frostiness, not everyone will love this color. But I love it. It seems to glow on the nails. Maybe this seems outdated, but give me a flowered couch and this nail color and I’ll be set.

Up next is a pretty standard gold shade. This is called ‘Champagne Slushie’, and it is more of a white gold shade. It’s honestly opaque on 1 thin coat, but all of the ridges on my very ridgey nails show. Even with 2 coats, she’s pretty brush strokey, so something to keep in mind.

She has a great 1-2 coat formula, so if you’re looking for a white gold, this is a good one to add to a collection. Otherwise, she’s a pretty standard gold. She’s not unique, but she’s still pretty.

‘Stiletto on the Run’ is a crelly red formula. Depending on how white and obvious your nail line is, you’ll be good on 1 coat of this squishy formula. Here to cover up my nail line, I used 2 coats, which also deepens up the color more and just makes it richer on the nails. She’s a good crelly red. Again, not super unique, but if you’re looking for one, this won’t disappoint.

Now, this next shade is the fan favorite. And I understand why.

This beautiful, rusty red-orange is called ‘Penny Leather’. She’s the most unique color of the collection, and definitely unique for me, even in my large collection. The 1st coat did have some uneven spots. It can be a little harder to control, just with such a deep color, but if you go slow, and paint carefully, you’ll get her opaque in 2 perfect coats without too much cleanup.

Definitely more of a fall color, but who doesn’t love just looking at this beauty all year? Absolutely stunning, and my favorite.

Last but certainly not least, we have ‘Secondhand Jade’. Being called ‘jade’, I really expected this to be more green? I mean, jades are really bright green? Just saying.

Names aside, this is a deep, blue toned gray shade. You can get this opaque in 1 thicker coats, or 2 thinner coats covers up any uneven areas. Another smooth, easy to control formula, and no complaints.

So there’s your Orly Winter 2017 collection! Unf, this collection had such beautiful formulas that it really just renewed my love for Orly. Like, I’M SORRY I WAS APART FROM YOU FOR A MINUTE. I’M BACK, BAE.

Honestly, I think Orly is really underrated, and has fantastic formulas. And I mean, they’re bigger bottles, so more bang for that buck.

Overall, my absolute two favorites of this collection are ‘Penny Leather’ and ‘Once in a Blue Moon’, based on their unique colors. I will admit, the rest are pretty standard colors that I have multiples of in my collection. But if you’re looking for that certain color, I would definitely recommend these from this collection, because of their stunning formulas. Can’t complain.

So I’m finally done with winter collections! Who’s excited for spring?? I will not lie, I am definitely ready for more sun and warmer temps. It’s been hanging out in the 30s and 40s still here, and I’m ready for even 50s. Is that too much to ask?

 

Stay tuned for lots of exciting reviews coming up! I’m still steadily working my way through my backlog and finally getting to tell you about products I’ve been loving for quite a while. Be sure to check back in to not miss a post.

 

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