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When Orly sent out the preview for this collection I was just sent BACK IN TIME. Back to listening to the entire “For Your Entertainment” album as a freshmen in high school, most likely leaning my head against the car window and imagining I was in a music video. You know, things we all did. So of course I was excited for this full circle moment as a 28 year old.
If you can’t tell by the album mentioned above, this newest Orly release is a collaboration with Adam Lambert. If you’re not familiar with Adam, he was the runner up of season 8 of American Idol, way back in 2009. Since then he’s been consistently releasing music, as well as touring with Queen as their fill-in lead singer (my mom and I will be seeing them in October!).
So now, as Adam is releasing his newest album, ‘High Drama’, we have the Orly collaboration to celebrate. It’s also called the ‘High Drama’ collection, and takes inspiration from the album and cover itself for the color palette.
We have 6 shades in this set – with 1 entirely new shade created by Adam himself, and then 5 previously existing shades that he loved. I mention further down when each of those 5 shades was previously released, and whether it was in the regular lacquer or the Breathable formulation. This is all to make sure you don’t get any accidental overlap if you already own those shades.
These are available from the Orly website, both in a bundle, and individually. So let’s get on into the swatches!
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We start on off with the one new shade of this set, created by Adam himself. This is ‘Berry That’ and you know, I’ll say it, not the color I normally think of when I hear “berry”. Maybe nail polish has me too conditioned to automatically think of pink with berry. Maybe we’re just going for a blackberry here… ANYWAYS. This is a deep blue, almost black base filled with very shifty shimmer. In this angle and my brighter lights, that shimmer is only showing as a bright blue, but in more indirect lighting you can get a warm purple as well, that you see at the very bottom of the bottle.
And this had an absolutely fantastic formula, which I did expect with such a deep color. It was practically opaque in just 1 coat – with a 2nd coat covering any last patches I had at the end of my nails. It’s so smooth to paint on, and what a gorgeous start.
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Now for the rest of these shades, they were all previously existing shades Adam loved, and then curated into this set – with 2 being brought over from the Breathable line. Like I mentioned above, I’ll note which previous collections they came from, in case you didn’t realize you had already picked them up.
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First up we have ‘Hero Worship’. Orly notes this was originally ‘In the Maize’ from their “In the Spirit” Breathable release for Fall/Winter 2022. So they brought it into the regular formula and then renamed it for this curation.
This is a warm gold metallic shimmer. It’s not too yellow, and not quite platinum, just right in the middle of golden tones. It’s definitely looking much more coppery on the Orly website than it swatched out for me. (And if you’re curious about this compared to the gold from the NASA release: this one is much less yellow toned in gold).
We have another gorgeous formula with this one! It was practically opaque in just 1 coat – though of course I always use 2 coats for all of my swatches and manis. That 2nd coat just evens it out even more and brightens up that color. Since it is a metallic shimmer, there will be more visible brushstrokes, so I suggest painting as straight as possible to minimize them
Now when I tried out the Breathable formula with their Spring/Summer 2023 release, I didn’t notice any difference in feeling between their regular lacquer formula. Though they claim there are more nail nourishing ingredients in the Breathable finish, I think if you already have this shade in the Breathable formula, you don’t need this new regular lacquer one as well. I can’t attest to how it paints on with the Breathable formula, but I’m sure it’s very similar.
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Next up we have ‘Fluidity’ and this was originally released as part of the ‘Futurism’ collection for Winter 2022. This is a dense silver glitter shade with holographic sparkles all throughout.
Since it’s a dense shimmer it can take more building up, but I was able to get it fully opaque with 3 thin coats. It builds up nicely, and that sparkle is so gorgeous! (And it was gorgeous for the holidays as well).
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‘In the Moonlight’ was originally released for the ‘Metropolis’ collection for Winter 2020 (Adam sure loves a winter set). This one is a black jelly base filled with larger silver glitters.
With any jelly formulas, it’s about building up the base color, and that’s true for this one as well – but since it’s a deeper shade it does build up to full opacity. It’s pretty well opaque with just 2, but I did add a 3rd to cover up some patches I had at the end of my nail. I do love the jelly base with this, as it layers so well over the glitters and just creates so much depth and sparkle. I see why Adam loved this one!
In the Moonlight – Live Swatch
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Next up is ‘Flight of Fancy’, which also released in a winter collection. This was part of the ‘Momentary Wonders’ collection for Winter 2021, and it’s a bright, warm toned shimmery purple.
And another gorgeous formula on this one, being practically opaque in just 1 coat! The 2nd coat really deepens and builds up that color, and it’s stunning. I am a big fan of this one!
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And last but certainly not least, we have ‘Adam’s Apple’. (With the name I did think this was the new shade he created himself, but it’s an existing one that was renamed). This was originally a shade called ‘Simply the Zest’, and it was released in the “Island Hopping” collection for the Breathable line for Spring/Summer 2022. They then created it in the normal lacquer formula, and renamed it. As I said with ‘Hero Worship’ above, I hadn’t noticed much of a difference between the Breathable line and regular lacquer, so if you already have that first release of this shade, you won’t need a repeat.
This is a cool toned lime green jelly base filled with the most delicate of silver shimmer. It was such a unique shade to add to my collection – so I was happy to receive it. With that jelly formula and lighter color, it was more sheer and uneven on that 1st coat. But it builds up well with a 2nd coat. With my super ridged nails I did have to add a 3rd to cover up any last patches – but for most you’ll be set with just 2 coats.
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And that’s the set! When I first received this, I hadn’t realized so many of the shades were pre-existing, so I did have some overlap with previous Orly collections in my stash. I know that’s really only a problem if you’re a more extensive collector like me, but something to keep in mind if you’re looking to order! At least these shades are all available individually so you’re able to pick and choose as you please.
Overall the formulas were lovely and I had no complaints. I do think they curated well to match the vibes of the album and Adam himself.
Do any of these shades catch your eye?
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PR Disclosure: Though the shades in this post were sent to me, I was under no obligation to post from the brand. I never guarantee positive reviews, and all thoughts and opinions are my own. I review these shades thoroughly and in the same manner as I would with any polishes purchased with my own money.
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