It’s a new YEAR and a new SEASON of OPI and we’ve finally caught up to the current year of releases!! (At least with OPI, we’re getting there, okay. Yes I WILL continue to reference my big blog catch up on every single post, thank you). It somehow doesn’t feel like a new polish season until I’ve swatched up the newest OPI collection, and it’s now been that way for TEN years. That’s right, I’ve been swatching OPI collections and shades for ten years now on this blog. It started back then with just the 3-4 shades I liked most from a collection, because on a college budget I couldn’t yet afford full lines. And now here we are in 2026. I’m now married with a dog and a condo and life is so different, but OPI continues right along, and continues always being the most popular and most read posts on the blog. It’s the foundation of it all and I’m still enjoying swatching the newest releases. And while it’s only been 10 years of swatching for me, it’s been FORTY-FIVE years of existence for OPI!
So for their 45th anniversary and newest Spring collection, OPI decided to take a look back, and take inspiration from their bestselling and classic shades from the past decades. They then used that inspiration to release 12 new “remixed” shades. That’s right, remixed, so don’t worry, they’re not re-releasing your favorites and changing them but instead making new modern counterparts to pair along with them. I always love a brand taking inspiration from their past, and it was so fun to learn about their history as I researched every iconic shade.
As always these polishes are available from Beyond Polish (code GingerlyPolished gets you 10% off if you shop there. I would earn a small commission if you use that code, so no pressure as always!). They’re also available on PolishPick.com, another place I love to buy from.
Let’s get on into these swatches!
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We’re starting right off with the most popular shade of the release, which is called ‘OPI’m a Bubble Bunny’. This shade was born from not just one iconic OPI shade, but rather from two, from the popular trend of layering the two classic OPI shades ‘Funny Bunny’ and ‘Bubble Bath’. ‘Funny Bunny’ first released in 2007 in a soft shades collection called ‘Garden Party’ and it’s a sheer white polish. ‘Bubble Bath’ released in 2002 in a ‘Sheer Romance’ collection and its an even more sheer sandy shade. When these two are combined and layered, it creates a softer, very neutral look on the nails with a little more pigment and color than ‘Bubble Bath’ on its own. More sheer shades, especially milkier ones, can be harder to wear on my ridged nails, so I hadn’t tried either of the two before this.
The new shade, ‘OPI’m a Bubble Bunny’, is a softer, almost more pink toned sheer white shade. It’s that same sheer white as ‘Funny Bunny’ but with a touch of pink to it. That touch of pink makes it cooler and rosier than I think it would be with ‘Bubble Bath’ underneath it. Does all that make sense? I think if you were a die-hard fan of the combo you would get the gist.
Now for formula, I’m going to tread lightly here because this is a beloved shade and I’M SURE IT LOOKS FINE ON SMOOTH NAILS, OKAY. But man, as an ambassador for my fellow ridged nails-havers, I’m here to say I did not like this shade on my own nails. You can see from my swatch video that I was truly working hard to give this the best chance it could have, and it was still streaky on my nails after 3 coats. I even retried and re-filmed my swatch THREE times, babying it more and more each time to get the best finish and making sure it wasn’t just an application error. I was floating every coat as delicately as I could, and even tried thicker coats and it just wasn’t even and after 10 years of swatching, I know what I’m doing and I’m not ever wanting to do this much work for a shade!!!
If you have smooth nails, I’m sure this shade is great and would work just fine for you, and be a great little shade!! But I can only ever talk about my personal experiences, and if you have ridged nails, this is just too much to work with. I’ve had sheer shades with better formulas than this.
OPI’m a Bubble Bunny – Live Swatch
Also in case you didn’t know previous, we’ll look at some official swatches from OPI so you can see what the two inspiration shades look like! So I can agree it does look like a good combo of the two, but it just needed to be better in formula all around.
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WHEW, WHAT A START. Okay, well, I’m sorry to say bath time isn’t quite over yet. Our next new shade is called ‘Bathtime Bubbly’ and this one is still a spin off of ‘Bubble Bath’ but this time only ‘Bubble Bath’. The inspiration shade is much more sheer and warmer toned, while this new shade is more of a medium bubblegum pink with a lot more pigment to it. This can definitely be one that’ll pull differently depending on your skin undertones, as on others I feel it’ll look less pink and more warm and peachy.
Now I’ll admit the formula of this one confused me a touch. OPI themselves call it a creme formula, but it feels more squishy and almost crelly like than their normal creme formulas, and maybe that comes from the inspiration shade. Especially in the first coats of my video, you can really see that more uneven application. It was patchy through the first and 2nd coats, up until I added a 3rd thicker coat which pretty well smoothed it out. But it was those same issues as ‘OPI’m a Bubble Bunny’ above and it ended with a still uneven finish. It’s a touch confusing, as it’s almost too pigmented to be a sheer shade, but that touch of jelly to it made it more uneven than a regular creme. Overall it’s another shade that could be gorgeous on smoother nails, but wasn’t passing for my own standards.
For each swatch, I’ll continue show the new shades next to their inspirations side so you can see how they differ and how match up. ‘Bubble Bath’ on the right is much more sheer and neutral, while ‘Bathtime Bubbly’ adds more of a pinky tone as well as more pigment.
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I SWEAR I’M GOING TO LIKE A POLISH, I LIKE THIS NEXT ONE. Of course when we’re talking about a collection of iconic OPI shades, it absolutely has to include a red. I’ve said many a-time on reviews that OPI knows how to formulate a red, and there have been many recent red releases that have been gorgeous. But the one to start it off was ‘Big Apple Red’ originally released way back in 2000. And our new remix of it is called ‘Big Apple Energy’ and chooses to bring in a little sparkle to differentiate it from other reds. It’s a cherry red jelly base filled with a gorgeous pinky-silver glitter.
It also gives us a welcome break from the sheer shades and instead has some PIGMENT. The first coat gives a bright pop of red, with a 2nd coat coming in to further brighten up the colors and cover any last streaks. Of course I knew OPI would come through with the red, I never doubted.
Big Apple Energy – Live Swatch
And of course let’s compare! ‘Big Apple Red’ is an icon for a reason, being a rich sultry cherry red cream shade that released in 2000 in, of course, a New York themed collection (grateful to this page on The Polished Garden that lists out all of the OPI shades and collections by year!). It’s very cool toned, and it feels very New York on the nails. ‘Big Apple Energy’ is a perfect little companion, using that same cherry red base.
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‘Pompeii Pink’ is a bright almost coral pink shade filled with a delicate silver shimmer.
This has another lovely formula! Yay! It is more squishy and jelly, like ‘Bathtime Bubbly’ above, but it’s more pigmented and builds up well! It has some streaks on the first coat but the 2nd coat easily covers and makes it fully opaque. That base is so warm and cozy on the nails and that silver shimmer just gives it a nice little glow.
Our inspiration shade, ‘Pompeii Purple’, first released all the way back in 1991 for a spring collection called the ‘Carnival’ collection. It just might be our oldest inspiration shade here. And while that inspiration brings up “purple” it’s definitely looking more pink on the nails, instead being a very bright fuchsia shimmery shade. The new shade is warmer and even more pink but still gives a slightly more subdued moment than its cousin. But I think they’re a perfect little pair and connect well.
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Continuing right along we get BRIGHT for this next shade. This is ‘Shrimp Cocktail’ and this shade is a super bright, almost neon coral orange. It has pinkier tones that shifts it on over slightly from being that primary orange.
This was a touch of a thinner cream formula, something I’ve noticed in OPI’s more recent cremes, but it was still pretty well opaque in just 2 coats. I did end up adding a 3rd coat to cover up any last patches from the ridges in my nails, but that thinner formula does dry quickly, so those 3 coats go by. I also loved the shinier finish this one has even without a top coat.
Of course it only makes sense that our inspiration shade is also BRIGHT. ‘Cajun Shrimp’ is a fiery orange-red cream shade. I was doing all fo the googling trying to find the first release of ‘Cajun Shrimp’ and I’m only seeing a brief mention of it being in a Spring/Summer collection from 1990. Either way, it’s been around in OPI’s line for quite a long time. So this comparison is obvious as the two shades have the same level of saturation, but ‘Shrimp Cocktail’ is the new orange companion.
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Now listen, I was very suspicious of this next shade after all of our -time- with the sheers above, but I’ll say it did pleasantly surprise me. This is ‘Queens Rule’ and it’s a more sheer creamsicle orange base filled with a silvery shimmer all throughout.
Like I this one surprised me and was just so smooth in finish overall, even on my ridged nails. This is 3 coats built up, and unlike those other milky cremes and jellies, this one had a smooth finish, even on my ridged nails. See it’s not too much to ask for! It gives a little subtle nail moment and who doesn’t love a sparkle.
All of these names are very similar, so you might’ve guessed that this one comes after ‘Princesses Rule’, and they definitely come from the same family. ‘Princesses Rule’ is a lighter warm pink, but it matches that soft, more sheer shimmery formula. ‘Princesses Rule’ originally released in the ‘Princess Charming’ collection from 2006.
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We have one more appearance of the Bunny, and listen I’ll say it, I’m over it because spoiler it wasn’t good on my nails. I normally love bunnies, but these ones are fully bringing the collection down. This final bunny shade is ‘Sunny Bunny’ and it’s the pastel yellow version of ‘Funny Bunny’.
This seems to have more pigment and is not quite as sheer as ‘Funny Bunny’ but that additional pigment just seemed to give me more issues. It was still just streaky in every coat, and even with a thicker 3rd coat I was having issues getting it fully smooth on my ridged nails. I’m a broken record, but here to repeat “I’m sure it would be fine on smoother nails, but not on my ridged ones”. This formula is just too finicky and hard to work with, and I can’t recommend it personally.
As mentioned, here it is compared to ‘Funny Bunny’. It’s that same soft look, but instead in a yellow, and oh I so wish I loved it because it is very cute.
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ALRIGHT, we’re past the bunnies and the baths and I promise it’s smoother sailing now. To continue on, we’re looking at ‘Mod About Me’, a soft almost pastel purple shade on the nails. It’s so delicate, with just the tiniest bit of warmth to it that makes sure it’s not too stark or cold on the nails.
This first coat was a touch streaky, and I did have a moment of fear after all of the sheer shades above, BUT this came in and turned it around and really covered well with a 2nd coat. Because of OPI’s thinner cream formulas I did add a 3rd coat, not to cover any patches, but to further smooth out the texture of my ridges. It’s a soft and lovely shade on the nails, and I’m glad I was allowed to love this one.
This is inspired from ‘Mod About You’, a classic pastel pink creme. That shade first released in a Summer 2006 Brights collection called ‘Brighter by the Dozen’ and I am very much enjoying learning about these classic OPI shades, as I definitely wasn’t collecting when they first released. (I was 11 and I had no money in 2006, sorry to anyone that feels old with that note). This new one, ‘Mod About Me’ is a perfect little counterpart, being that same level of saturation and softness.
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Now this shade, just wait until you see that swatch video, it’s just what we’ve been waiting for after all of these soft and sheer shades. This is ‘Strawberry Cosmo’ and it’s a brighter medium berry pink shade. It’s a classic berry color that has been released before many times, but if you somehow don’t have one in your collection, this would be a lovely choice.
And this formula is incredible. It’s so pigmented and smooth, and just watch my swatch photo to see how it just glides and how beautiful it was. I always do at least 2 coats, so I added that 2nd just to smooth out my ridges more. Overall I was blown away, and this was absolutely the best cream of the set. If you’re only grabbing one shade, I can recommend to make it this one.
Strawberry Cosmo – Live Swatch
This shade is inspired by ‘Strawberry Margarita’, which originally released for the Mexico collection in 2006. It’s a bright almost watermelon pink shade, while ‘Strawberry Cosmo’ is still a bright shade, but feels a touch muted and wearable on the nails. I’m also noticing a lot of these icons seemed to first release in 2006. That was clearly their year.
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Now ‘Lincoln Park After Dark’ feels like the most well-known OPI shade to me, taking over nails and pages and Pinterest every single fall season. So it only makes sense that we had to have a reference to it in a collection of icons. This new shade is called ‘Lincoln Park After Brunch’ (I also live in Chicago now right above the Lincoln Park neighborhood, which makes me appreciate this shade even more. There are times I consider hunting down the old Chicago collection) and it’s a berry purple jelly base filled with scattered purple shimmers.
In that first coat, you can really see the warm berry purple base and I would love another shadethat stays that color. But with this one being a jelly, it starts more sheer with the 2nd coat coming in and deepening that base color quite a lot to an almost blackened purple. It only needed 2 coats, and it makes sense that the final look would match the vampiness of the inspiration.
Lincoln Park After Brunch – Live Swatch
‘Lincoln Park After Dark’ originally released in a Chicago-themed collection way back in 2005. It looks basically black on the nails, while the new shade, ‘Lincoln Park After Brunch’ is softer, both from the sparkle all throughout and the slightly lighter purple tone. It adds to the vamp, it doesn’t take away from it.
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To finish out this collection we have 2 more neutral shades. First up is ‘You Don’t Know Suzi’ and it’s a soft taupe, almost gray based cream shade. (If you’re unaware, Suzi is the founder and main face of OPI. So when you see the various Suzi themed names, that’s who they’re referring to).
This was another lovely cream formula, with just a few streaks after the 1st coat. The 2nd coat comes in and easily covers fully and makes it all opaque. Super gorgeous, and it’s perfect to wear year round.
You Don’t Know Suzi – Live Swatch
Its inspiration shade is ‘You Don’t Know Jacques’, which originally released in their France collection way back in 2008! ‘Jacques’ is definitely much more saturated and fully brown on the nails, but still with that taupe tone. ‘Suzi’ is just the softer version, and these feel the closest, being two steps in the same color line.
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Last but certainly not least we have ‘Put it in Airplane Mode’. This final shade is a warmer almost sandy brown sheer shade.
Yes, this one is a sheer, BUT it’s smooth and even pigment, no matter how many coats you choose to wear. And that’s the difference and what makes me like a sheer shade or not. I think a lack of any sort of white pigment will always help it out. After 3 coats there is still some visible nail line on this one, but it evens out the nails and gives you a subtle, elevated look.
Put It In Airplane Mode – Live Swatch
This shade was inspired by ‘Put it in Neutral’ which is a very sheer soft pinky shade. It’s the most modern inspiration shade, releasing in 2015 right before I started swatching fully. The new shade, ‘Put it in Airplane Mode’ has a touch more color and is much warmer and sandier on the nails. They really fit two different moods and wants for sheer shades.
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WHEW that’s the set! Now I’ll admit there were clearly some shades that gave me grief in this one and I didn’t hold back. If you have ridged nails, some of these more sheer shades just won’t work and that’s okay!! There’s more than enough nail polish in the world, and I can easily pass these along to others with smoother nails. Luckily it wasn’t all misery and I liked a good amount of these formulas and releases. I haven’t tried most of these inspiration shades, so for those that have what do you think? Do you think they nailed the remix, and the new shades make sense? Let me know!
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OPI The New OPIcons Infinite Shine Spring 2026 • Holo Taco Bon Voyage collection • Holo Taco 7th Anniversary collection • CoverGirl Trublend Skin Enhancer Blush sticks • Mooncat Baroquen collection
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