wicked – GINGERLY POLISHED

No you’re not experiencing Deja Vu. So that means, yes, we have more OPI x Wicked nail polishes to talk about today. I told you there was a little OPI backlog to work through – but we’re almost there, just one more after this next post (OPI x Hello Kitty), and then we’ll be diving full on into OPI SPRING.

But for now, let’s focus on Winter. Starting with their Fall 2024 collection, OPI has been doing a new little thing where they release both a regular lacquer collection, as well as a companion Infinite Shine set. That means anywhere from 21-24 polishes per season, and you know, as a nail blogger, who doesn’t love more polishes. New OPI releases are always the most popular posts on the blog, so I can’t be mad at them providing me 2 per season. And yes, the upcoming Spring collection does have both a 12 piece lacquer set and a 12 piece Infinite Shine set.

As implied, this review is going over the companion to the 12 piece regular lacquer Wicked collection that we discussed here. You know the big points already: this is in collaboration with the movie Wicked, a Wizard of Oz prequel with 9 new shades. We’ll of course get even more green and pink shades (did you see how many shades of pink make up Glinda’s wardrobe), as well as “filling” out a color palette inspired by the movie. Overall we have new and different shades here, but there are a few that are getting a touch close to the regular lacquer shades. I’m guessing OPI isn’t assuming most people will be purchasing all 21 polishes, but WE EXIST, OPI.

If you haven’t read any of my other Infinite Shine reviews, or you’re unfamiliar of how it differs from OPI’s regular polishes, here’s a lil rundown. They’re the same OPI bottles, with instead with a silver metallic cap, and they will be more expensive than the regular lacquer – mainly because OPI is claiming that these will give longer wear and shinier finishes. They say they “lock onto nails like gel” but I am here to emphasize that these are absolutely not gel. They do not need to be cured, and they won’t cause any allergies – and they won’t wear as well as true gel. Any polish that’s not in an opaque bottle will not be gel. Overall, I’ll be honest, I can’t say I notice a ton of difference in the formula and application between their lacquer and these Infinite Shine polishes. And in a blind test, I most likely couldn’t tell the difference. I can always find them discounted from sites like Polish Pick or Beyond Polish (affiliated code: GingerlyPolished for 10% off individual items there, no pressure to use it), so that higher price tag doesn’t hurt as much. I can’t ever cover longevity because of my swatching schedule, so these posts are just about showing you the colors and applications.

Now let’s get on into these swatches!

Omg hiiiiii. Yes it’s me, finally publishing my first post of 2025, 28 days into the new year. I have all of these big goals and plans for the year ahead – not just for the blog – and I was sure that I would be hitting the ground and just absolutely running on them right on January 1st. After all, I had that whole day off, what more was there to do? But then I didn’t. And then one week passed, another, and another. And suddenly, here we are 1 month into the new year.

Yet, I don’t feel panicked or like I’m behind (yet). The goals are all still there, I haven’t scrapped them. We still have 11 more months ahead of us for 2025, and I have years and years of swatching and blogging still in my lifetime. It’s almost like this first month has been the “set up”, something which I think is essential for any sort of new resolution. I know it’s been quiet, but I’ve still been here in the background.

You’re probably saying to yourself, (if you’ve followed me for any sort of time) haven’t you had this blog for years now, how have you not figured it out yet? Listen, after almost 10 years of Gingerly Polished, I do ask myself the same thing. I’ve been ebbing and flowing for years, and 2024 was especially sporadic. But my life has gone through so many phases and changes in this decade, how could I ever expect my blog to not do the same?

I started posting to this blog in 2016, in the summer before my senior year of college, as a fresh 21 year old, juggling an on-campus minimum wage job and schoolwork. I was surviving off hot dogs and microwaved cheese quesadillas, and my blog was built on reviews of Sinful Colors collections, as I could buy full sets of 8 polishes for $16. I’ve since graduated, landed a full time job in my field, moved to Chicago, bounced to 4 different apartments and now here we are in 2025. I’m now 30 years old, living in a lovely apartment with my fiancé and our dog, planning our wedding for this year, and in a wildly different financial position. With that privilege, and from also receiving PR from brands now, I’ve been so lucky to be able to purchase and review a wider range of brands than I could ever have imagined back when I started, typing up at the coffee table in my college apartment.

I’ve had my matching Instagram that entire time as well, and I’ve watched as the platform has gone from single photos to 20-photo carousels, and as video has taken over. I remember when 30 likes on one photo felt like an insane number, and I wouldn’t post swatches onto my Instagram until I had the matching blog post published. But with the ever moving and changing algorithm and constant advice of posting every single day and just post more and more, that personal rule quickly fell by the wayside. Instagram has always been the priority, and as mentioned, this is all a hobby alongside my full time job, so one thing had to go, and that was the blog.

But I never fully got rid of it. The blog has always consistently had views – even as my posting floundered. Because the one thing the blog always will have against Instagram is its searchable properties. You can look through and find any brand I’ve posted, any year, and find that specific shade and collection you had seen before and are still thinking about. Instagram is just for scrolling and scrolling. And I think especially as social media platforms continue to change and we see how flimsy they truly are – we did see an entire platform go down and up in one weekend – I think blogging could have another moment. After all, we’re seeing a rise of Substack, a blogging platform, so it’s even more important to use

This is all to say gingerlypolished.com is going nowhere in 2025, and I only want to give it the love it deserves. I have BIG plans for the blog this year, and I thank all of you who’ve stuck around for those empty and quiet months. We’re going back to consistency and I want to reward you with so much content. There’s so much backlog, items that have been up on Instagram without their accompanying blog posts for far too long. I can’t promise that I’ll get every single polish that I’ve every swatched up here, but we’re going to make a true dent.

At the end of last year, I also published a makeup review, and that was only the start of bringing beauty content back into my posting routine. I love reviewing new makeup products almost as much as a new nail polish collection, and again I’m just sitting on a mountain of content that just needs its published moment. The goal is at least 3 posts a week: 2 nail related and 1 makeup related. I’m sure it’ll take a few more months to fully settle into that routine, but you definitely won’t have months of silence again.

AND THERE WE GO, I’M DONE. Listen, clearly I love to yap, that hasn’t changed over these 10 years. I just always love to give myself a little “set up” post, and talk about my thoughts and plans. After being gone for months I didn’t want to just suddenly post like normal. I like to write things down to hold myself accountable, and I’m just excited for the year ahead. I’ve missed this blog, so it’s time to give it the love it deserves. And if you read all of this, I thank you. Thank you for being on this journey with me.

Now for what you’re actually here to read, let’s get on into the swatches.

GINGERLY POLISHED

Tag: wicked

OPI Infinite Shine ‘Wicked’ Winter 2024 Collection – Swatches & Review

OPI x Wicked Winter 2024 Collection – Swatches & Review