June 8, 2009
OPI Matte for Fall 2009
OPI will soon be releasing their first fall 2009 collection and it’s all matte! They are not new colors, but they are a new finish. They are not meant to be worn with either a base coat or top coat and they also say to avoid using hand lotion. I assume they say that because a lot of hand lotions make nails glossy and the whole point is to have these matte and flat. I have reviewed matte polishes from a few other brands such as ManGlaze and KO Cosmetics and I really like the finish. Let’s see how these turned out!
Alpine Snow Matte
Normally I am not much of a “white” nail polish person, especially if it’s close to White Out white. But turns out I really liked Alpine Snow! It really is as close to White Out as I can imagine and having the finish be matte made it even more so. It wasn’t as streaky as I thought it would be though it did have some streaks the first two coats. I needed three coats for solid coverage.
Gargantuan Green Grape Matte
I’m not too sure about Gargantuan Green Grape as a matte polish. It was just too chalky for me and I was dying to put a top coat on it and see it glisten in the sun! The color is what I would call a celery green. It covered pretty decently at only two coats.
La Paz-itively Hot Matte
La Paz-itively Hot (which by the way is REALLY annoying to spell out) is a hot fuchsia pink. You can see that this has an almost satin like finish, which I really liked. I only needed two coats.
You Don’t Know Jacques! Matte
You Don’t Know Jacques! was my fav of the collection. As you know, I love me some mushroom colored polishes and to see this in a new light was fabulous. It comes off smooth, satiny and gorgeous! Did I mention that all of these dry lightening fast? Well they do, which is a huge bonus. This was two coats.
Russian Navy Matte
Russian Navy as a matte to me looked better in the bottle than on me for some reason. It looks black indoors and then when in the sun, turns into a very dark, deep navy blue. I dunno, this didn’t really do it for me, if you know what I mean. It covered great in only two coats though.
Lincoln Park After Dark Matte
Lincoln Park After Dark is one of my favorite and most worn polishes ever. I do like it as a matte finish, but nowhere near as much as the shiny version. The color is a very dark, vampy purple that definitely looks black inside or in low light. Again, great coverage in just two coats.
The OPI Matte collection should be available starting July 1st online and in stores. What do you guys think, are there ones you love or hate? Are you happy that OPI is trying out something new and getting on the matte trend?
Welcome! My name is Kelly and Vampy Varnish is a animal friendly beauty blog.
Ooooh no no no!
I don’t prefer matt polishes…to me nails should be oh so shiney. I don’t like any of these and I think they would be a pain to keep looking good!
Hmm. I really like the matte finish I have created myself with Nailtek Foundation (I’m mattifying almost every mani at the moment!) and those I have seen of other people using matte top coats and the ManGlazes, but these look a bit dry and chalky to me. Maybe I need to see them IRL…
I’m glad OPI is doing something a bit different, but GIVE US SOME NEW COLOURS DAMMIT! It just seems like a lazy, low-risk “Let’s just test the waters of this matte trend” decision.
Wow, thanks for showing these! I always thought matte is something I’d never do. I’m loud and eccentric and I like to be flashy. I think my favorite is La-Pazitively Hot Matte. They picked weird colors though. Russian Navy and Lincoln Park look really good in the bottle, but on the nail it seems you may as well wear black. I’ll probably stick to my glossy.
I really like La Paz-itively Hot Matte
wow! thanks for posting these!
normally I would never consider a red or pink(or something inbetween) but I think La Paz is the winner. it looks like some shimmer or something extra comes through making the matte more interesting. the other colors, though I love the glossy versions, look like they are missing something. although I will probably pick up Russian Navy, Gargantuan Green Grape, and You Don’t Know Jacques just because.
how does the matte formula wear? the Maybelline mattes I had years ago were chip city pretty quickly, so I wonder how these will do. and will a matte topcoat like Orly Matte Top added day 2 prolong the manicure?
Hi Kelly,
I hate to say it, but I am not loving the matte finish. To each his own, right? : )
I’m sorry but I really don’t like these! I was looking forward to them just to try something different but I don’t think they are for me. Also, I apply hand cream and cuticle oil religiously!
*gasp*
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay WOW. I am really impressed with the darks. I feel like it’s not going to be worth owning LPH because it’s basically a matte hot pink… which is like owning a neon =P GGG turned out a lot brighter/greenish than it’s regular counterpart, but I love it! I think I’d actually buy that one to put a topcoat over it =P
I can’t wait for these! Hopefully, like with the Sunbelievable collex, these will appear in TS and Ulta stores before the official release date =D
i’m dying to try these! i think La Paz-itively Hot and Alpine Snow are going to be my favorites. i’m super jealous you got to try them so early
Can I ask how you get a hold of these polishes before they’re available? I’m so glad you do, it gets me so excited to pick em up not too far in the future! Thank you, they look great!
I was waiting for these to be swatched somewhere! I’m excited to try out these and Zoya’s, especially Lincoln Park After Dark. Thanks for posting!
Lovely! I do not own a matte polish and I do need a brown one so I think I will buy the You Don’t Know Jacques!It was really gorgeous!
I’m really excited about these. I love mattes! You Don’t Know Jacques! Matte is beautiful! I actually really think all of them are beautiful, and I can’t wait to try them when they are released!
I just typed out a long reply and then my computer crashed so apologies if you get this twice!
I’m not sold on matte. I think you could get an interesting effect applying both the matte and the traditional in some sort of design but I’m just not certain yet.
I like La Paz (I have the original on my toes right now) and YDKJ but then I love those colours anyway.
No doubt I’ll succumb to matte at some point as I like to get in on a trend but it’s likely to be a matte topcoat rather than a whole range of polishes.
Thanks for the photos!
I’m afraid this is one trend I won’t be participating in. I really hate that flat matte finish – as another commenter mentioned, it looks chalky. And no hand lotion? Not in this climate.
That just means more for those who like it!
Thanks for showing these. I was so excited for them, but the only one I like is La Paz. I think I prefer the satin finish look I’ve gotten from the Orly Matte top coat. Still, I think it’s good OPI tried this collection, but the color choices could have been better.
I thought I would keep an open mind with the whole matte trend. But I really don’t like it. I thought I would, but I love me some glossy nails!
I can’t get on the matte bandwagon, it all reminds me of white-out because of the finish and it looks like it would feel awful to the touch.
I’m glad you showed all of these, I’ve been curious about gargantuan green grape as a matte, I will probably pick it up. But none of the others… The matte-ness really seems to show nail imperfections – not that your nails are incredibly ridgey but I can see them, or perhaps it’s your brush strokes, which would drive me crazy either way.
What happens if you do use a base and top coat? I mean I assume you can glossify them up, that the forumla won’t go bonkers xD
And good to hear they do dry fast if you cannot use a top coat! =)
Hope you write about the wear with these… It seems like blasphemy not to use a base coat, I can’t imagine how long these would stay on! =)
I’m sorry, but I just can’t get into the new craze of matte polish. I just love the shiny and glossy nail polishes.
Well, I must admit that I prefer the shiny versions way more. I guess the matte trend hasn’t got me:/ La Paz-itively Hot looks pretty nice though.
thanks for sharing:)
They picked really random colors to make matte. I was excited til I found out they were doing existing colors. Bleh, I don’t think I’m going to bother with any :/
Hi christine,
You are right, I do have a lot of ridges and since I didn’t use a base coat they really stand out with the white and green colors especially.
The reason I don’t usually wear the polishes I swatch before I post is because 99.9% of nail polish shows wear on my nails within 24-48 hours no matter what I do. I think I have a a lot of natural oils on my nails so it just doesn’t stick on me great. Plus I type a ton and wash my hands a lot. So I don’t think I would be giving it a “fair” assessment of wear since most people get a lot more wear out of polish than I do. The ONLY one that works on me for 3-5 days is Zoya’s Color Lock System, the stuff is GOLD!
I just don’t get matte’s…maybe in 5 years time I’ll be loving them, but for now, give me SHINE!!
I think I like the Jacques best. I think the matte finishes are pretty unique.
Welcome back Kel! Looks like you had a fantastic trip
. Ok, so I was really really excited about OPI’s Matte release, but after seeing yours and Michelle’s swatches I just don’t know.. I guess I’ll have to wait to see IRL. Although, the pink one is def smokin!
How do you think these compare to KO’s? I’m serioulsy obsessed with KO’s quality, and these don’t look nearly as smooth. Maybe OPI’s is a true matte verses KO’s more satin like? What do ya think?
Hey Steph,
Yep, I had a great time, thanks!
I know what you mean, I was kind of let down also with the finish. Most of the colors were just ok. I love KO’s finish and it does seem more satiny and smooth compared to OPI’s. The only one that came out satiny of OPI’s was La Paz-itively Hot. The rest were kind of chalky feeling. I am on the fence about this whole thing at this point, LOL! I guess we’ll see what Zoya has in store for us soon with their matte’s!
Wow, I love the matte colours. Especially the pink one!
LOVE the mattes. excited for this trendy to reappear. question: does jacques have a sister shiny color? im curious if it’s as beautiful. and im torn about russian navy and lincoln park – they’re both great as glossies, but also fabulously dark and subtle in the matte.
when are these available in (US) stores?
Hi gansie,
Yes, You Don’t Know Jacques came out in OPI’s French collection last fall. It’s so gorgeous! The Matte colors should be out in July.
hey, vampy. thanks the the quick reply. just letting you know that i am LOVING this blog and have sent it to all of my polish loving friends.
what’s your favorite green for this summer? i need some inspiration.
thanks!
Hi gansie,
Oh thanks so much!
Ok THAT is the $64,000 question! There have been a lot of really supreme greens lately. I think some of the best have been BB Couture’s Green Goblin, Iced Olive and Laguna Lagoon. Some other great greens are Illamasqua’s Elope and Rampage. I have Deborah Lippmann’s new jade green for winter 2009 and let me tell you, it’s one of the best I have EVER seen! Also Nubar is coming out with an entire green collection (6 polishes) which are on their way to me and they are all fantastic also! YAY for green!