Review: OPI x Gwen Stefani Holiday 2014 Collection – Cremes & Shimmers

Product Review

After completely falling in love with the collaboration between OPI and Gwen Stefani earlier this year, I was beyond excited to know that the team had a holiday collection in the works. It’s no secret that anything Gwen touches turns to fabulous, so imagine the stylish possibilities when her touch is complete with an OPI lacquered manicure.

“During the holiday season, women adopt a more glamorous beauty look,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Co-Founder & Brand Ambassador. With the launch of the bold and luxurious collection comes 18 limited edition nail lacquers inspired the edgy-yet-sophisticated style of the No Doubt singer/songwriter, L.A.M.B. designer and “The Voice” coach.

Amongst the line you’ll find a wide assortments of rich jewel-tone cremes and shimmers as well as glittery confections and chrome accents that were offered in cute holiday trio packs (which I separated into different posts highlight, check out the Unfrost My Heart Trio: Review and the Rollin’ In Cashmere Trio: Review).

At first glance, despite the hearts I had in my eyes, I didn’t fail to notice that there was only one green in the collection and zero blue. I was a bit torn on how I felt about that, but it didn’t diminish my excitement to test out of the collection, which I was able to do when OPI sent the shades my way. I hope you enjoy my review.

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Fashion A Bow — A bright reddish-orange. The formula was a bit on the sheer side though very smooth and easy to apply. I used two coats for coverage, though three may possibly be needed.

What’s Your Point-settia? — Probably the most classic holiday red creme out of the whole collection. The formula was great, application was good and I used two coats for complete coverage. You may even be able to get away with one coat on this one.

Cinnamon Sweet — A dark, warm red creme; it reminds me of red hot candies. The formula was nice and easy to apply, in fact I actually only needed ONE coat.

Just BeClaus — This is a beautiful deep berry red, and I adore it! I don’t know if I’d wear it during the holidays, but it’s a color I’d reach for often. Again, the formula was good and I used two coats for coverage.

In A Holidaze — I would say this is the darkest of the reds from the collection, and is actually much darker in the bottle then on the nail. The formula was fine, but almost like a jelly therefore it’s very sheer. I used three coats for my photos and still think it’s a bit patchy in spots.

Red Fingers & Mistletoes — A stunning red packed with gold shimmer, and it’s GORGEOUS! The photos do not do it justice at all. From the bottle it looked like an orange-ish red, but that’s because it’s jam-packed with gold shimmer. It’s ridiculous. Ridiculously stunning. The formula was wonderful; zero problems with application and all I needed for coverage was two coats. The finish was also very smooth and not gritty.

Love Is Hot and Coal — This one confused me as it’s a grayish brown; there’s a very subtle shimmer but that could just be the gray. It also at times looked a bit purple to me. Formula-wise, it was a bit sheer on the first two coats so I used three just to be on the safe side.

I Carol About You — A very pretty deep purple with a very light shimmer to it. I don’t care much for purple during the holidays but some people do and, overall, I love the regal color. This is two coat coverage.

Kiss Me – or Elf! — Not very holiday festive for me, but it’s so pretty! The metallic shimmer is striking, the application was good, and the formula was smooth. I used three coats on this one.

Sleigh Parking Only — A very rich and deep wine creme that has a super smooth look and formula. I used two coats of polish for coverage, but you could probably even get away with one.

Christmas Gone Plaid — To my complete shock, this is the only green in the entire collection! It’s a dark forest green creme, and it’s so pretty! The formula was just as great and smooth as the others with coverage in two coats.

First Class Desires — At first glance this reminded me a lot of OPI’s What Wizardry is This?, but it’s not even close. I definitely wasn’t expecting the purple I got jam-packed with gold everywhere. This has to be the sister to Red Fingers and Mistletoes. This is two coats of awesomeness.

VERDICT: In the end, I was torn with this collection because it wasn’t what I was expecting. I can’t say I disliked it because the formula was pretty great, for the most part, and red is my favorite color (and also Gwen’s signature) so–in my opinion–you can never have too many red polishes. Having said that, I also can’t deny that there were too many reds that looked more alike than not, and the shades that shimmered were too subtle. I would have enjoyed a more diverse palette of tones in that respect. I was also disappointed that there was only one green. A lot more could have been done with red and green, perhaps with some chrome, glitter and heavy shimmer. The holidays are all about celebration, after all. Overall, for me, the MUST HAVES of the collection would have to be Red Fingers and Misteltoes, Comet in the Sky, and Snow Globetrotter (see Rollin’ In Cashmere Trio).

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OPI Launches Limited Edition: Don’t Speak Pure 18K Gold Top CoatWhile I didn’t review this color, a special “Don’t Speak” Pure 18K Gold Top Coat was included with Gwen’s holiday collab. Named after the 1995 hit from No Doubt off their “Tragic Kingdom” record, this gorgeous 18-karat gold leaf and glitter topper comes packaged in a limited edition collectible box.

“As the name suggests, Don’t Speak Pure 18K Gold Top Coat will render you speechless. This luxurious top coat was inspired by Gwen Stefani’s chic, sophisticated style and is the must-have accessory for the holiday season,” explains Weiss-Fischmann. “I recommend layering the top coat over a rich jewel tone like OPI nail lacquer in Just BeClaus, or pairing it with a charcoal brown like OPI nail lacquer in Love is Hot and Coal for a truly show-stopping effect.”

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Gwen Stefani Holiday nail lacquer shades each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Gwen Stefani Holiday is available now, at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, beautybrands.com, Chatters, Dillard’s, Regis, ULTA and ulta.com for $9.50 ($11.50 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter and Instagram @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Product Review