OPI recently released 8 new shades in their Nature Strong line. I’ve never tried the line, so I figured this was a perfect time (and excuse) to pick up the shades and see what it’s about! And I’m sure you’re curious as well, as anyone is when a brand has separate lines going on.
Now the ‘Nature Strong’ line is just what it sounds like. It’s OPI’s first “natural origin nail lacquer”, made from “plant based ingredients sourced from nature”. They say it’s vegan, cruelty free and 9-free, while still being long lasting and drying with a high shine finish. Plant based nail lines are a new trend, with China Glaze and Essie also hopping on and releasing their own versions as well. Now, I have no idea what percentage of these formulas are the natural plant based ingredients, I’m just reading those claims for ya here.
Of course, with any of these I don’t wear the polishes long enough to speak to the wear time claim – and that time can vary from person to person as well, based on their specific body chemistry – but I am here to talk about the formula and application!
These specific 8 shades, as well as the previously released shades are all available Polishpick.com. They’re also available from Beyond Polish as well (code: GingerlyPolished gets you 10% at BP. It is an affiliate link/code, so I will earn a small commission from any purchase, no pressure as always!)
Alright, let’s get on into the swatches!
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This first shade is ‘Kind of a Twig Deal’. It’s a gorgeous rosy, mauve-y neutral cream shade. Perfect for just a little something on the nails, but nothing too much.
Formula-wise, this was an easy and smooth 2 coats. It painted on well, and I had no issues. I truly didn’t see anything different from their normal lacquer line – so it’s just about the claims and formulations.
Kind of a Twig Deal – Live Swatch
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Next up is ‘Kick in the Bud’, and it just has to be my favorite of the shades. It’s a super bright, squishy coral-pink shade. I know it’s a crowd favorite, and I especially love these shades for the warmer weather. It just feels like summer on the nails.
There is a touch of squish to this one, just the tiniest bit of jelly but even with that it’s an easy 2 coats to opaque. That jelly just gives it a rich and glossy look on the nails.
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Next up we have ‘Bee the Change’, and it’s a bright macaroni yellow cream shade. It’s got tinges of orange to it, swinging it over from a true primary yellow.
Now unfortunately I didn’t love the formula on this one. I found even after 3 coats, it was still uneven and streaky on me. Now I do have very ridged nails, so I do have to add a 3rd coat more often. So if you have smoother nails, you might be set at this point, as always I’m just showing how a shade performs on my own nails. I do just have yellow formulas that perform better than this one, and that I prefer, so I think this one is a pass – unless you’re specifically looking for that “natural” polish.
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Next up we have ‘Leaf by Example’ and as you can imagine, it’s a green. This one is a deep forest green cream shade.
And luckily this has a much more pigmented formula than the yellow above! This one is absolutely stunning – practically opaque in just 1 coat. It paints on so smoothly and richly, and it’s lovely. Gorgeous green to add to a collection if you’re looking for one!
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And the final cream of this set is ‘Big Bluetiful Planet’, a lovely light sky blue.
Now this one felt a touch thinner than the shade above. I was able to get it pretty well opaque with just 2, though my ridges were peeking out a touch so I did add a 3rd. Most with smoother nails will be set with just 2 coats.
Big Bluetiful Planet – Live Swatch
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Now we’re onto our 3 shimmery shades! This one is ‘Glowing Places’ and it features a mix of platinum gold and rose gold shimmers in a clear base. This one’s a smoother shimmer, giving us a lovely transition from the cremes into the chunkier glitters following.
Since this one is a dense shimmer, it’s just about building up that shimmer to full opacity. But since those shimmers are so small, I was able to build it up with 3 thin coats, without it feeling goopy or too thick. Those smaller shimmer are smooth as well, with the clear base covering any texture you have. This could be one to use a peel off base coat for – not because it’s difficult to remove, but because you can end up with very glittery fingers after removal.
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These last 2 are very similar, being larger glitter toppers in a clear base. I swatched them up in one swatch video, both over a black base.
First, ‘Mind-full of Glitter’ is just what it sounds like. This is a clear base filled with a dense shimmer, that flips from purple to gold, as well as larger scattered gold and silver pieces.
As mentioned, these are more sheer, so I chose to wear them as 1 coat toppers over a black base. That deeper base color really brings out that dense shimmer, and I love the way it contrasts. It picks up easily and paints on smoothly over the base color.
Mind-full of Glitter • Eco For It – Live Swatch
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Last but certainly not least, we have ‘Eco For It’. It’s the same style as ‘Mind-full of Glitter’ above, but in different colors. Instead, we have a dense blue shimmer with larger silver pieces. And like I said, I swatched this 1 coat over a black base so those shimmer really contrast against the deeper base. Again, it picks up easily and paints on smooth – as you can see in the swatch video above.
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And that’s the set! Obviously we have some “basic” cream colors here, but that’s normal when a brand is building up the range of colors in a new line. I did really love the glitter toppers as well, they’re cute to add a little fun to any polish underneath.
Like I said I can’t speak to any of the other claims, but overall I liked these shades and their formula! The only one I had issues with ‘Bee the Change’, but yellow formulas can be more finicky, and it could have something to do with the more natural ingredients. The rest are smooth and easy to work with, and can be great additions to a collection.
Have you tried any Nature Strong shades?
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