Listen, has it been over a month since I posted a blog post? Yes, but we’re NOT going to ruminate on that today. I think I have this exact same spiel each time I come crawling back here after not posting regularly, and I have no excuses. I’ve still been swatching up a storm on my Instagram (plug here to follow me there), but I neglected you all over here, my heart and soul, my regulars, the ones who continue on even with no algorithm, steady through any storm.
But I digress. Let’s not pause and stay on the negative, and let’s just discuss what we’re all here for: nail polish. And I know most of you are here ESPECIALLY for new OPI nail polish. That’s right, I see my stats, and I know no matter what I’ll always be posting up the OPI seasonal reviews, don’t you worry. Even if I only put up 4 posts a year, it’ll just be the seasonal OPI releases. OPI keeps us all going. So let’s look at this newest release.
This is the ‘Jewel Be Bold’ collection for Winter 2022, and it features the traditional 12 bottles, along with 3 glitter exclusives. So 15 shades total. That’s right, we got a lot of polish so I won’t be too wordy, and I’ll let the photos do all of the talking (she says while still being wordy).
We have just 1 cream shade, and then 14 shimmery and sparkly and glittery shades. So if you’re a lover of sparkle this is the set for you. As always, I purchased from my favorite place, polishpick.com. They always have the best prices and incredibly fast shipping. Highly recommend!
Now, enough talking, let’s just get right on into the swatches!
This first one is ‘Snow Holding Back’, a shimmery white, almost pearly shade, with a golden shimmer all throughout. Since it’s more of a dense shimmer, I built this up with 3 thin coats. You can see a tiny amount of nail line peeking out at certain angles, especially if you’re using thinner coats. But the shimmer and sparkle distracts from it and it’s just gorgeous! It’s so fitting for a winter collection, just feeling like sparkling snow.
Snow Holding Back – Live Swatch
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Next up is the pink version of the previous shade. This is ‘Merry & Ice’ and it’s a soft ballerina pink shimmer with that same golden flash to it. Again, more of a dense shimmer formula, but this felt a touch more opaque than the previous one, though it very much had that same dense shimmer formula.
You can see some of the ridges in my nails causing a touch of streaks, but you can use a ridge filling base coat to help. If you have smoother nails, you should be good with 2 thicker coats or 3 thinner ones.
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‘Pink, Bling & Be Merry’ is a bright shimmery fuchsia. It shifts from a deeper, almost berry shade to a bright pink purple flash. Formula-wise, this was a touch more sheer than I would have expected from previous OPI shimmer formulas, but I was still able to build it up with 3 thin coats, and it was smooth and easy to paint on.
Pink, Bling & Be Merry – Live Swatch
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Continuing right along, this next shade is truly the holidays in a bottle! This is ‘Rhinestone Red-y’ and it’s a shimmery metallic red base with shimmery red flakes all throughout. This had a lovely formula as well and it was an easy 2 coats and fully opaque! I’m not normally the biggest red fan but I just might to pull this one out in the winter months!
Rhinestone Red-y – Live Swatch
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‘Sleigh Bells Bling’ is a perfect metallic shimmery gold that anyone could use for the holiday seasons. Formula-wise, it was an easy and pigmented 2 coats to fully opaque.
Since it is more of a metallic shimmer, you can see it does dry with some brushstrokes. I suggest painting as straight as possible to help those out. They’re not super noticeable unless you’re looking as closely as my camera, but if you’re really feeling particular and ambitious you can sponge on the final coat for a totally smooth result.
Sleigh Bells Bling – Live Swatch
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This next one is definitely one of my favorites! This is ‘Decked to the Pines’ and it’s a more muted, almost olive toned shimmery green with a golden shimmer all throughout. It’s like a snow-covered pine tree just shimmery in the sunlight. What? You can’t see that? Just me?
And for formula, it’s just fantastic! Just 2 easy and smooth coats and it just glides onto the nail so nicely. It has fewer noticeable brushstrokes than the gold above, and it just sparkles so nicely on the nails.
Decked to the Pines – Live Swatch
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Now this next one is a fan favorite, and I can understand why! This is ‘Tealing Festive’ and it’s a bright shimmery teal metallic foil shade. There are definite green tones to it, bringing it over from a true blue. And this has a GORGEOUS formula, let me tell you! This was practically opaque in just 1 coat and so smooth and stunning. If you need a quick nail look, slap on one coat of this and you’re out the door!
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Next up we have ‘Pearl of Your Dreams’. This is an almost jelly base filled with tons of silvery flakes and shimmers throughout layering up to give it a nice foiled look. It was more sheer and uneven on the 1st coat with the glitters laying down wherever the brush came through. I built this up with 3 thin coats, with the 3rd just to cover one last patch at the end of my nails. Most will be good with just 2 coats, and the shimmers layer up to give a sparkly snowy look.
The Pearl of Your Dreams – Live Swatch
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Now to the one lone cream of the collection. This is ‘Feelin’ Berry Glam’ and it’s a pink-toned berry purple, and it really can be worn all year round! And this formula is also stunning! A true OPI cream that I’ve come to love, it was practically opaque in just 1 coat. So smooth and just glides on so nicely.
Feelin’ Berry Glam – Live Swatch
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‘Charmed, I’m Sure’ takes us back into the shimmers. It’s like the shimmery version of ‘Feelin’ Berry Good’ above, a bright fuchsia purple. Now, unfortunately this felt like the most sheer of the whole collection, and almost like a jelly – again not what I would expect from an OPI shimmer. Especially on the first coat it was more uneven than I would like.
I ended up using 3 coats to fully cover the nail and make it opaque and I wish it was even deeper and more pigmented like we see in the bottle. So overall not my favorite, just compared to the other formulas in this set, and OPI formulas in general.
Charmed, I’m Sure – Live Swatch
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‘Bring Out the Big Gems’ is a deep, wine red, almost black-brown base with gorgeous sultry red shimmer all throughout. It’s vampy yet still sparkling holiday! Luckily we go back to the easy 2 coat formula with this one. It was a touch uneven on the 1st coat, but a 2nd easily covers and makes it all opaque.
Bring Out the Big Gems – Live Swatch
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And the last shade of the main 12 bottle release is ‘Go Big or Go Chrome’ and it’s truly a big way to go out on the main collection! This is a STUNNING silver metallic foil, and truly if you don’t have one in your collection yet, this is a great option. The formula is more of a dense shimmer so I chose to build it up in 3 thin coats, though for most it’ll likely be good in just 2 coats depending on your preferences. I like the dense shimmer formula, as it gives the metallic almost chrome look without the brushstrokes. Gorgeous all around.
Go Big or Go Chrome – Live Swatch
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And now we’re onto the 3 glitter exclusives! Usually with their holiday collections, alongside the typical 12 shades, OPI will also release 3 glittery extras. These are sometimes toppers, or for this year we have 2 more opaque shades with 1 glitter topper. You can see them quick swatched in the video below, and then swatched out individually after!
Glitter Exclusives – Live Swatch
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First up we have ‘I Pink It’s Snowing’. This is a shimmery fuchsia pink jelly filled with larger pink and silver metallic hexagon pieces. I built this up with 3 thin coats – I preferred thinner applications as I found with this thicker jelly formula it could feel almost too thick and goopy on the nails, and take a while to dry. Otherwise the pieces pick up easily and distributed well on the nails and layered up nicely.
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Next up we have ‘OPI’m a Gem’ and it’s black version of the shade above. This is a black jelly base with blue shimmer all throughout and larger silver metallic hexagon pieces. Again, I built this up with 3 thinner coats – this one felt even thicker than the shade above, so thicker coats definitely felt goopy on the nails. So take time to smooth out the coats and really let them dry before applying the next one. Otherwise it’s a gorgeous look on the nails and a unique addition to my collection.
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And last but certainly not least, we end up with a glitter topper. What’s a holiday season without more glitter? This is ‘Pop the Bauble’s and it’s a clear base with golden glitter pieces and larger silver hexagons. Since it’s a clear base it’s meant as a topper and here I have it as 1 coat over ‘Feelin’ Berry Glam’. The pieces pick up easily and distribute well without too much placing, and it’s a fun little topper for any base!
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WHEW. WE MADE IT TO THE END. That was a lot of polishes and a lot of glimmer and shimmer and sparkle, and there’s a little something in there for any sort of holiday season. Overall I enjoyed these shades and there were some great formulas here! And it truly feels like a holiday collection here! There were just 2 shimmers that were a little more sheer than I would have liked, but they were still workable, and I can’t complain otherwise!
Do any of these shades catch your eye?
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Upcoming Posts
Glam Polish Dungeons & Dragons shades • Essie Wrapped in Luxury Winter 2022 • Orly Futurism Winter 2022 • Mooncat Expedition: Atlantis collection • Holo Taco Magnetics collection • KB Shimmer Northern Exposure
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