summer 2023 – GINGERLY POLISHED

OPI collection reviews are always the most popular posts for this blog. They’re always topping the stats, and clearly everyone else is just as interested in the newest OPI release as I am. After all, it was a couple of random OPI bottles hidden away in the corner of a drawer that truly started my nail polish collection, so I’ll always feel an emotional connection to my “roots”.

Which makes a bad collection from OPI hurt so much more.

Sorry, I’m jumping ahead here. Let’s start off by introducing this newest collection. Yes, it’s SUMMER here in nail world. (And maybe wherever you live too, it’s FINALLY getting consistently warmer over here in the windy city). And I always dive into the new seasons with the OPI release. For Summer 2023, OPI’s release is the ‘Summer Make the Rules’ collection. As always it features 12 shades that as OPI says “let your nails be as bright, bold and carefree as you feel this summer”. We’ve got names themed around laying around the beach, lounging in the sun, and just living your best summer life.

These shades range in a rainbow of pastel, yet bright shades, from bright pinks, to corals, teals and lilacs. We have 8 cream shades and 4 shades in a frosty, pearly shimmery finish. They were a little something different to normal shimmers, and I always love something new in a collection.

As always, these are available from my favorite polishpick.com, or also at beyondpolish.com (affiliate link). Now, as I hinted to up above, the colors are just so pretty, while the formulas for a majority just … aren’t pretty. I struggled with quite a few streaky creams here, and that’s so unusual for OPI. Things lift up a touch in the back half of the set, but it was quite the journey to get there. I’ll let the individual swatch photos and videos speak for themselves now, but I wanted to make sure you were starting this post with the right expectations. Let’s dive in.

PR SAMPLE

Being lucky enough to receive PR from a brand means I’m able to try products that I normally wouldn’t purchase on my own – I’m already trying so many other products, some shades are just outside my budget, so they were outside of the blog scope. And that includes this lovely little candy-coated and inspired set of shades from Orly!

This is the ‘Sweet Retreat’ collection, and it’s the Breathable release for Spring/Summer. It seems instead of 4 seasonal releases, the Breathable line doesn’t release as often, and just goes with 2 collections a year. And this newest release features 6 lovely cream shades, all in bright and warm colors! Perfect for the sweet candy theme.

As mentioned, this collection is within the Orly ‘Breathable’ line. For what the difference is between the Breathable line, and their regular lacquer line, Orly says “our Breathable formula is a 1-step nail color, no base or top coat needed! It prevents chipping and peeling for and is infused with Argan Oil, Pro Vitamin B5 and Vitamin C longer lasting manicures and stronger, healthier looking nails.” So you’ve got some more nourishing nail ingredients there, as well as the idea of a “1-step nail color”. With these “extra” ingredients, these retail for 50 cents more a bottle on the Orly website.

Now, I never wear my polishes more than a couple days with all of the swatching I do, so I can’t speak to any of the claims on longevity or nail health. Today, I’ll just be speaking to the formula and application of the shades themselves. Though I’m curious if anyone else has tried these for longer and can comment on the claims!

These are available on the Orly website – both in a nice little bundle or individually.

Let’s get right on into the swatches!

GINGERLY POLISHED

Tag: summer 2023

OPI ‘Summer Makes the Rules’ Summer 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

Orly Breathable ‘Sweet Retreat’ Spring/Summer 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review