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About OPI Nail Polish
You can’t say nail polish without thinking of OPI. The brand, which just turned 40 this year, has dominated the polish market with its witty names, rainbow of colors, and lavish formulas stocked in beauty supply shops, pharmacies, and salons in 100+ countries.
Though the names of its nail polish are definitely a drawing factor, it’s the long-lasting formulas and high color payoff that make an OPI virgin a customer for life. Dedicated to quality for a good price, the brand is no stranger to awards, receiving the 2020 and 2021 Glamour Best of Beauty Award for its Nail Lacquer.
Flip through any popular magazine like In Style, Shape, or Elle and you’ll find one of the brand’s shades gracing its beauty section. Men and women seem to flock to the brand like kids in a candy shop, captivated by its dazzling hues and unlimited selection—a fact reflected by the brand’s collective social media following of 3.5 million across Facebook and Instagram.
Whether you’re a longtime wearer or new to the brand, this OPI nail polish review may come in handy. Here, we’ll paint things clearly about the brand, swiping over its best-selling formulas and shades, and topping it off with a little clear feedback from customers.
Ready to find your new favorite look? You prep your nails, we’ll lay on the details.
Overview of OPI Nail Polish
In all of our research across hundreds of brands, nail polish companies always seem to have the most interesting backstories. OPI, which stands for Odontorium Products Inc. (who would have ever guessed?), was created in 1981 by brother and sister team George Shaeffer and Suzi Weiss-Fischmann who once worked together at a dental supply shop.
Upon realizing that nail technicians were buying dental acrylics for their clients, their gaze was turned at the world of manicures and the lack of life in the at-home market.
Of course, OPI wouldn’t be what it is today without Suzie’s spark and love for color that lives in every shade the brand puts out, marked with an oh-so-perfect name that captures the heart of each hue.
Today, OPI is a subsidiary of Wella Operations US LLC, a professional haircare brand known for its quality. Available in over 100 countries, the accessible nail polish brand creates luxury, professional-quality polishes for the masses, along with tools and accessories to get the job done right.
Now that you know a little more about the brand and how it got its start, this OPI nail polish review will sum up a few advantages before moving on to its enticing polish collection.
Why You Should Trust Us
Our mission is to help you make better, more informed purchase decisions. Our team spends hours researching, consulting with medical experts, gathering insight from expert professionals, reviewing customer feedback, and analyzing products to provide you with the information you need.
Highlights
- 240 shades to pick from
- 5 different polish lines (Gel, Dip, Lacquer, Nature Strong, Infinite Shine)
- Long-lasting wear
- Professional-looking results
- Does not damage your nail bed
- Easily found online or in-store
- Affordable
- Available in 100+ countries
OPI offers 240 different shades of nail polish that range from Lacquer to Gel to Dip to its Nature Strong line. With the ability to browse by color, trend, or type, you’ll discover a candy-shop-esque collection of polishes that take you from the deepest of tones through a spectrum of sticky-sweet hues and out into an impressive range of everyday neutrals.
Not sure how a shade will look on your skin? Use the Try It On feature. You’ll choose the color of your skin, the polish you’re eyeing, and get to see how it looks. Coming up, this OPI nail polish review will take you on a journey through color, time, and space to discover your next polish obsession.
OPI Nail Colors Review
Nestled peacefully in the brand’s five versatile collections lies its Nature Strong line with 30 perfectly pigmented hues. Varying from cheery yellow to aquatic blue and Barbie pink, just below, this OPI nail polish review will reveal the brand’s top-selling color, an opaque black that’s set to steal hearts and set trends.
Nature Strong polishes are vegan and have up to 84% bio-sourced ingredients and are ideal for the environmentalist who wants a classy, earth-inspired look.
OPI Nail Polish Onyx Skies Review
Whether you like your coffee, metal, or yoga pants black, consider adding onyx-toned nails to your everyday mix. Undeniable edgy, the OPI Onyx Skies polish has a witchy, gothic vibe that translates well past Halloween.
OPI Gel Nail Polish Review
All OPI Gel Nail Polish is professional only—you’ll need a special LED light to help them dry. With that said, if you’re a nail tech or can’t wait for your monthly salon visits, this fast-drying polish is a smart pick for a number of reasons.
Not only does it not damage your nail bed, but it lasts for up to 3 weeks and applies super easily. The brand offers 27 different classic and shimmery shades, but ahead, this OPI nail polish review will showcase only its best-selling picks.
OPI Nail Polish Cheers To Mani Years Review
OPI Cheers to Mani Years piles on the multi-colored glitter for an amusing and playful look for late-night events.
A go-to for celebrations that involve a little black dress, this gel polish works as a fun contrast, but we love the idea of it paired with any monochromatic look, like cream or navy to help its dazzling colors truly shine.
OPI Nail Polish Mystic Magenta Review
OPI Mystic Magenta is like looking into a crystal ball through rose-colored glasses. It captures the beauty in this world, pumping up the volume with glitter like a heartfelt laugh.
As a gel, this popping hue is shimmery and thick, marking its place in the brand’s Velvet Vision collection as one of its more plush, rich colors.
OPI Dip Powder Review
Offered in 25 high gloss shades, OPI Dip Powder is a simple way to get an acrylic look without the fuss. We found this collection to be more pensive, including deeper hues that range from dusty green to cool periwinkle grey. Below, we’ll introduce you to the brand’s top-selling dip powder, Pink On Canvas.
OPI Nail Polish Pink On Canvas Review
OPI Pink On Canvas is a dusty rose color. It’s romantic and moody like a passionate kiss to heal a broken heart. Available for professional nail techs only, ask for this shade of dipping powder at your local salon or pick it up for your faithful clientele.
OPI Nail Polish Infinite Shine Review
OPI Infinite Shine is all about turning up the brightness. Within its collection of 200 hues, these shimmery shades are guaranteed to get noticed. Ahead, we’ll feature the brand’s top-selling color, Mylar Dreams.
Love changing your color every week? OPI nail polish Infinite Shines are a great pick. They apply like a dream, last up to 7 days, and come off in a few swipes.
OPI Nail Polish Mylar Dreams Review
Like the holographic foil this polish is named after, OPI nail polish Mylar Dreams has a spacesuit-like quality that will launch you into the cosmos.
Like an oil slick of hot pink madness, this polish pours on the sparkle and is part of the brand’s Celebration collection of 12 shimmering hues. Add a futuristic touch to hands peeking out from an embroidered denim jacket or add a pop of color to a snuggly grey sweater.
OPI Funny Bunny Review
White nails are so in right now, but there’s a difference between formulas like OPI’s Classic Lacquers and ones that resemble that of white-out. Funny Bunny is the grown-up pal of the chalky white liquid you used to French-top your nails during 9th-grade math.
It’s slightly off-white for a mature, neutral look that translates well to neutral wardrobes, especially beige. Partner with camel-toned pants and a long coat for a perfectly sophisticated fall look.
OPI Funny Bunny is semi-sheer, making it a great addition to swipe over other colors to tone them down a notch. Apply 2-3 coats for a more opaque look.
OPI Bubble Bath Review
Like a creamy milk bath, this high-shine Nail Lacquer enhances your natural look. Creating a buttery, glossy finish, OPI Bubble Bath is semi-sheer but builds up nicely with a few coats.
Guaranteed to last up to 7 days, this fun and energetic hue is part of the brand’s Classics collection or versatile, go-to’s.
OPI Nail Envy Review
Not all of us are blessed with long and strong nails, some of us need a little boost. Think of OPI Nail Envy like your BFF, helping you grow and prosper to be the best version of you.
The formula uses calcium and hydrolysis protein to help strengthen your nails naturally. Say goodbye to damaging acrylics and hello to your own gorgeous, totally paintable nails.
To use Nail Envy, simply follow these steps:
- Clean and dry your nails and push your cuticles back
- Swipe on two coats and let dry
- Every other day, top it off with an extra coat
- Use for one week before removing with OPI polish remover
- Repeat as needed
OPI Put It In Neutral Review
For an everyday, versatile look, you can’t beat a classic. Whether you dress in head-to-toe black or subscribe to bold patterns and prints, a delicate glossy pink is a year-round staple.
This one has a tender softness about it, like the frill around a ballerina’s skirt or the sweet pillowy look of a pinch of cotton candy. As part of the Classics GelColor collection, OPI Put It In Neutral glides on effortlessly, self-levels, and dries in 30 seconds under an LED light. You’ll get weeks of chip-free wear from this pretty shade.
OPI Cajun Shrimp Review
This shade will leave you panting. Packed with heat in a chili pepper hue, swipe this bold mama on whenever you want to feel a little spicy.
OPI Cajun Shrimp is part of the Classic Nail Lacquer crew, meaning it delivers high shine and a creamy finish that lasts for up to 7 days.
Who Is OPI Nail Polish For?
Calling women and men of all ages, backgrounds, income levels, and experience levels, OPI polish is for everyone.
With so many lines to choose from (gel, dip, lacquer, plant-based, high shine), along with hundreds of shades (a whopping 111 in its blue-toned range only), OPI is truly an inclusive brand that caters to all skin tones, preferences, and trends.
Perhaps one of the biggest draws to the brand is its cost. Even though its self-leveling polishes put in the work, they’re still affordable and accessible.
OPI Nail Polish Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
We understand that when it comes to nails, some polishes don’t always turn out as we hoped. Too sheer or not the right shade for your skin, it’s important to keep in mind that a lot of disappointment from a manicure comes from personal preference—not the formula itself.
With that said, there are some inexcusable elements of poor quality polish that separate the top-shelf picks from those that sit at the back of our drawers, namely first day chipping and those that don’t seem to set—formulas that don’t pull their own weight.
Though this one is such an iconic brand of which quality is sort of synonymous, it’s still important to take a peek behind the velvety curtain to hear what customers have to say.
In this section of our OPI nail polish review, we’ll do just that, and below, you’ll find a selection of comments and ratings we scoped out from around the web. First up, a few ratings from the company’s site:
- Cajun Shrimp: 4.7/5 stars from 71 reviews
- Nail Envy Original: 4.5/5 stars from 50 reviews
- Funny Bunny: 4.3/5 stars from 33 reviews
- Bubble Bath: 3.7/5 stars from 107 reviews
- Mylar Dreams: 5/5 stars from 1 review
We took a closer look at Cajun Shrimp because we’re obsessed with the name, color, and formula. So why not? Buyers feel the same, raving about what it looks like in person and how well it complements a range of skin tones. One OPI nail polish review that seemed to sum things up read:
“This color goes on great. It’s vivid and stands out much more than the picture shows! It is one of my absolute favorites,” while another shopper said, “This specific shade complements a range of skin tones which my sister and I figured out after trying it on both of us (she tans, I’m just pale and freckled).”
Red can be tricky for a lot of people. It has the tendency to make pale skin look paler and not stand out on darker skin tones. This OPI Nail Color has the right amount of coral that works with light and dark skin making it a great pick for anyone who has usually shied away from the vibrant hue.
For our next dose of feedback, we turned to Influenster to check out OPI GelColor. The ratings here were grouped together for all of the brand’s gels, which scored 4.6/5 stars from 4,539 users. Want to see how that score breaks down? You’ll find the snapshot below:
- 5 stars: 74%
- 4 stars: 19%
- 3 stars: 5%
- 2 stars: 1%
- 1 star: 0%
A gel manicure is what you’ll get done professionally, so it’s important to find out how well OPI’s works and just how good they are. Of the quality, one OPI nail polish review read: “Love OPI gel nails!! It lasts, does not crack or chip. Easy to use, and perfect color and style. Nothing to improve here!”
Honestly, we’d be there all day if we were to count the number of exclamation points users include in their reviews—people really love this polish for its long wear and glossy finish.
For our final stop on the rainbow road to knowledge about the quality and longevity of OPI polishes, we scoped out the Lacquer shade Privacy, Please on Amazon. As a pretty pink, this shade is super popular with a 4.6/5 star score from 13,701 shoppers. It breaks down like this:
- 5 stars: 80%
- 4 stars: 9%
- 3 stars: 5%
- 2 stars: 2%
- 1 star: 4%
So what did users love about this OPI Nail Polish so much? Just about everything you would want in your dream polish. Buyers say it goes on smoothly and gives them a perfect finish. One OPI nail polish review read:
“Way better than I imagined! It goes on very smooth and is not the least bit tacky! I achieved a perfect professional looking manicure…It actually looks like a gel manicure! I love it!”
Even though this is a Lacquer shade, the professional look it gives matches that of a gel. Pretty impressive OPI.
From what we found out, the iconic brand’s nail polishes are everything nail polishes should be, no matter the collection—gel, lacquer, dip, etc. Providing professional-looking results, OPI proves that getting a gorgeous manicure doesn’t have to be expensive and can be done by yourself in your own home.
Is OPI Nail Polish Worth It?
OPI has been in the game a long time, but like any successful brand, it’s evolved to reflect modern trends and the needs of today’s world, shown through its inclusion of gel polishes and use of 20% post-consumer recycled caps.
As a brand, it’s working on making its collective carbon footprint smaller, so little changes like this help. And in a world such as the one we live in today, every step counts.
We’ve been OPI fans for a long time, but really, can you name someone who hasn’t been impressed by at least a handful of its shades? The brand is the go-to in the at-home and salon manicure world, with a paint shop’s worth of colors plus shimmery additions to make any glitter queen’s dreams come true.
Despite our digging for this OPI nail polish review, there’s no dirt on this brand. Like its fantastic formulas, the company is seemingly flawless.
OPI Nail Polish Promotions & Discounts
We’re probably sounding like a broken record in this OPI nail polish review, so please forgive us—but the brand doesn’t sell its polishes on its US website. That means that while it doesn’t offer any specific promotions there, you can sign up to the mailing list to stay up to date on the latest and greatest.
Where to Buy OPI Nail Polish
Want all of the gorgeous, shiny results but with a professional touch? Search the Salon Finder to find out who’s slicking on dreamy OPI shades in your areas.
If you’re an at-home mani girl all day, every day, you can also find the brand’s fancy formulas at stores like Ulta Beauty, Macy’s, and Sally Beauty. Use the Store Locator tool to map out one close by.
And as much as we don’t need Mr. Bezos to get any richer, Amazon has an extensive range of OPI colors that ship around the world. Since you won’t find any “add to cart” option on the brand’s website, the online marketplace is looking mighty appealing.
FAQ
Who owns OPI Nail Polish?
OPI was founded by Suzi Weiss-Fischmann and her brother George Shaeffer. Now, Wella a salon professional haircare brand is the proud owner.
How long should you let OPI Nail Polish dry?
It depends on the formula, but typically for gel and lacquer formulas, it takes around 2-3 minutes between coats, 5 minutes until you can go ahead and move around, and 15 minutes until you can wash your hands without a smudge.
How long does OPI Nail Polish last without chipping?
Again, it’s all about the formula you choose. Since OPI offers a handful of varieties, each one promises different things—take a look at what we mean:
- Lacquers & Nature Strong: up to 7 days
- Infinite Shine: up to 11 days
- Gel Color: 3 weeks
- Nail Dip Powder: 1-3 weeks depending on your daily routines
Does OPI Nail Polish ship internationally?
The US version of the brand’s website doesn’t, but if you pop over to the UK version, you can get your polishes delivered to your door—that is, if you live in the UK.
What is OPI Nail Polish’s Shipping Policy?
Like you, we adore online shopping. Thankfully, since US customers aren’t able to shop the brand’s website, its colors are stocked in over 100 countries around the world and sold by quite a few online retailers.
If you’re ordering from an e-based store like Ulta Beauty or Sally Beauty, refer to their unique shipping policies to find out how quickly you will receive your order and how much it costs.
What is OPI Nail Polish’s Return Policy?
Since you’ll be heading off the brand’s website to do all of your nail polish shopping, you’ll need to refer to the return policy of whatever store you’re visiting for more information—unless you live in the UK.
UK residents have 7 days to return their OPI nail colors, but they need to be unused and in original condition. For more information on the brand’s UK Return Policy, head to OPIUK.com.
How to Contact OPI Nail Polish
We hope you found all the information you came looking for in this OPI nail polish review. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the brand by using the following methods:
- Website Contact Form
- International email: [email protected]
- California residents can pop in to say hi Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm CST at: OPI PRODUCTS INC. 4500 Park Granada Calabasas, CA 91302
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