Typically one of the most anticipated things of autumn each year is the new season of “Scandal”, but the political hit ABC drama starring Kerry Washington doesn’t return to TV until January, so that leaves something else to countdown to — the Presidential election this November. OPI capitalized off of both (heh, get it?) by creating an unbelievable fall nail lacquer collection celebrating both with the OPI Washington, D.C. Fall/Winter 2016 Collection. This 15-shade line (which includes 3 Limited Edition colors) is inspired by “Scandal” while also being right on time for Americans to swipe their nails in one of the shades as they cast their vote for the next President of the United States this November. OPI thought of everything — I guess they were channeling their inner Olivia Pope.
I got my hands on the line to give you a peak of all of the new colors, and I think you’re going to love them as much as I do. The only problem I see is that there just aren’t enough days in the season to rock them all. But, hey, that’s where nail art comes in.
NOTE: I took these photos indoors with natural lighting from nearby large windows, however, there is a lot of light shifting in the photos due to extreme fickle weather. That being said, the colors still came out pretty true to tone.
NEVER A DULLES MOMENT Never A Dulles Moment – A sort of mustard yellow that was very difficult to work with. I used three thin coats mostly to try and even out the polish as it had a lot of streaking. I even had to take it off and re-apply three times.
FREEDOM OF PEACH Freedom of Peach – A great fall terracotta orange that I like. The formula was great and easy to apply; I used two coats for coverage.
PALE TO THE CHIEF Pale to the Chief – A toasted pearl nude color; there were lots of streaks on the first coat, and while it evened out a bit by the third coat it wasn’t perfect or unnoticeable.
YANK MY DOODLE Yank My Doodle – A light sort of reddish orange, which is another favorite of mine. Formula-wise, it was super thin–almost with a “jelly” polish feel. However, I really only needed two carefully applied coats.
SQUEAKER OF THE HOUSE Squeaker of the House – A pretty brown with purple tones, and I love it! The formula was really good; not too thin and easy to apply. I used two coats for coverage.
CIA = COLOR IS AWESOME CIA = Color Is Awesome – This is a pretty dark teal, and one I was really looking forward to trying. However, I noticed that it’s very similar to a few other OPI shades from the past. Coverage with two coats was good and no complaints with the formula.
SUZI THE FIRST LADY OF NAILS Suzi The First Lady of Nails – Kind of a mossy green that I didn’t think I’d like very much, but it actually one of my favorites. Formula-wise, it gave me a little trouble as when I tried applying a second coat it kept pulling away from the first that was already there. However, that could have been my fault, and not the formula, if I didn’t wait long enough between coats.
STAY OFF THE LAWN Stay Off the Lawn!! – Blue toned hunter green, and a really nice color. No complaints with the formula; it actually went on pretty smooth and only two coats needed.
SHH IT'S TOP SECRET Shh…It’s Top Secret! – My favorite of the whole lot is this deep dark brown. This was super smooth to apply and not thin at all. I wish it was a bit lighter so you could tell it was brown because it appears black sometimes, but I still love it.
MADAM PRESIDENT Madam President – A sort of pinkish-red; not really a fall color for me. The consistency was a bit on the thin side, but great coverage with two coats. If you’re careful, and have short nails, you could probably get away with one coat.
OPI BY POPULAR VOTE OPI by Popular Vote – Raspberry pink… probably the only shade of pink I would imagine you could wear as a somewhat traditional fall color. I used two coats for full coverage.
WE THE FEMALE We The Female – I’m not sure if I’d call this brick red or raisin. Probably somewhere in between if possible, and I think it’s pretty. I actually thought this was going to be one of my top favorites, but a few other gems ended up topping it.
'LIV' IN THE GRAY “Liv” in the Gray (LE) – A nice blue-toned gray with a great formula. I used two coats for coverage.
INSIDE THE ISABELLETWAY Inside the ISABELLEtway (LE) – A light mocha neutral shade with slightly thin formula. I used two coats and didn’t have any complaints.
KERRY BLOSSOM Kerry Blossom (LE) – Oh, this beautiful plum is perfect for fall! The formula on this one was a bit “jelly” as well, so I used two coats. I probably should have gone with three as I noticed a few ‘bald’ spots after taking photos. Oops!
VERDICT: Overall, I wasn’t as impressed with this collection as I thought I’d be, but considering the theme, I think it was pretty on-point. There were a lot of starter fall shades in there for those who don’t have an extensive polish collection. I think the colors definitely match the season better than more recent collections, but I wish there had been more of a variety on finishes–maybe a few shimmers or glitters instead of all cremes. There were a few stand out colors I would snatch up for the season though: Squeaker of the House, Shh It’s Top Secret!, Kerry Blossom and Suzi The First Lady of Nails.
OPI Washington D.C. nail lacquers retail for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) each at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com.
For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!
