OPI Neutrals Swatches & Nail Art

I am trying to get all of my nail polishes swatched. I don't have an 'untried' pile as I've tried probably 98% of all my nail polishes, but I probably haven't swatched 50% of them. I use a lot of polishes for nail art, and some colours I buy exclusively for nail art.

Since my collection is quickly expanding, I thought it was time to destash. I easily got rid of about 30 polishes, including 10 OPI's and 8 Essie's. Now it's time to swatch the rest and see which ones I really like and actually use.

I have already gone through all my Kester Blacks... I'm keeping them all! And my second favourite brand is OPI.

OPI has a fantastic range of nail polishes and constantly have new collections coming out. It's very tempting to buy all the nail polishes that come out, but they also release a lot of dupes (within their own brand) so realistically, I don't need them all...

I decided to start with my neutrals. I'm obsessed with nude nails and I have quite a large range from OPI. I wanted to try something new. Instead of just swatching the polishes I wanted to add some nail art.

I'll start off with the pinky shades. First up is Tickle My France-y.

This is a very pink toned neutral mauve.

I bought this because I saw so many beautiful swatches of it online, but I'm not sure if this really suits me.

I've put it in the maybe pile.

More info, swatches and nail art after the jump!

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

The first coat is a little sheer, but the second coat covers everything up.

It has a great, easy, smooth formula and effortless application.

Next up is My Very First Knockwurst.

This was from the Germany collection a few years ago.

I loooove this colour. It's the perfect pinky nude. Whenever I'm not sure what to wear, this is usually what I think of first.

I used Barry M Rose Quartz for the glitter gradient, it's much prettier in real life as it's holographic and pink, not silver.

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

The first coat was slightly streaky, but the second coat covered everything up.

The formula was very easy to work with.

Steady As She Rose is another pinky nude from the Pirates Of The Caribbean collection.

It's a little bit lighter than My Very First Knockwurst, but still has that hint of pink.

This could be a little trickier to get your hands on because the Pirates Of The Caribbean collection was (and still is) very popular. But I'm sure amazon or eBay will have it!

I used Glimmer By Erica Twilight Sky for the glitter gradient. I love this combo!

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

The formula is a lot thinner than My Very First Knockwurst, but it's still very easy to use.

The first coat was streaky, but it's fully opaque in 2 coats.

Next is the lightest of the pinky nudes. This is Don't Bossa Nova Me Around.

This is from the pretty recent Brazil Collection and it's still very easy to get your hands on this one.

I used China Glaze Grass Is Lime Greener, At Vase Value and Petal To The Metal for the neon dots.

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

This goes back to the thicker formula similar to My Very First Knockwurst.

It was slightly streaky on the 1st coat, but the second coat covered everything up.

Cream In My Coffee is a re-promoted shade. OPI did this thing where they rereleased some of their shades using a different name. I'm not sure what the original name for this one is, but I love it.

It's a very light creamy off white shade.

This was loosely inspired by a pin I found on pinterest, but unfortunately I forgot to save it :(. I used the barry M nail art pen in black and white and a random pink polish for the ears and nose.

I used 3 coats for the swatch.

This was much more of a crelly formula. It was pretty sheer and streaky on the first 2 coats, but the third coat covered everything up.

It has quite a long dry time, so you'd need a quick drying top coat if you're in a rush.

Do You Take Lei Away is from the Spring Summer Hawaii Collection this year.

This is a very creamy toned nude. It has a hint of beige instead of the previous ones which were very rosy toned.

I paired it with Kester Black Hydrate & Conquer (deep red) and Gold digger.

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

It was almost fully opaque in just 1 coat, but there were very slight streaks so I added a second coat.

Don't Pretzel My Buttons is very similar to the previous polish.

This is another one from the Germany Collection a few years ago.

I think I might actually prefer Don't Pretzel My Buttons over Do You Take Lei Away because it has a hint more colour to it.

At the moment I'm keeping both...

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

The first coat was slightly streaky, but the second coat covered everything up.

Do You Take Lei Away has a slightly better formula and is easier to work with.

Next is Did You Ear About Van Gogh.

This came out in the Holland collection a few years ago.

I've never really been a huge fan of this one. It's so unflattering on my skin tone!! But I've kept it because I'm Dutch.... Yeah not a very good reason is it...

I've decided to get rid of this one, although I love having the Holland Collection this just really does not work for me.

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

There were slight streaks on the first coat, but the second coat covered it all up.

Next up is French Quarter For Your Thoughts. This is a very grey toned neutral.

It's from the Touring America Collection.

I'm not the biggest fan of the colour. Again I bought it because I saw beautiful swatches online, but it really doesn't work for me.

Unfortunately this is going away.

The nail art is inspired by another pin on pinterest, however there was no watermark or credit unfortunately.

I used the black and white Barry M Nail Art Pens and a blue polish from Hema.

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

It was fully opaque in just 1 coat, however I added a second one to deepen the colour.

Taupeless Beach is another one from the Brazil Collection from Last Year.

This is a really beautiful taupe-y colour. I much prefer this slightly warmer shade to the previous few.

I paired it with Baby Please Come Home from the OPI Mariah Carey Christmas Collection. And I used the white Barry M Nail Art Pen.

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

It's perfect at just 1 coat, but the second coat slightly deepens the colour. I actually prefer it at 1 coat.

Next is I Sao Paulo Over There.

This is the third neutral from the Brazil Collection, but this is the darkest of them all. It's a taupey brown.

I paired it with Butter London Bit Faker.

I used 2 coats for the swatch.

It's fully opaque with just 1 coat, but the second coat deepens the colour.

I Brake For Manicures is a very dark brown that has a hint of purple.

This is a really gorgeous colour and I never thought I'd like something like this! I love wearing it in the autumn.

I paired it with The World Is not Enough from the James Bond Collection. It's a very shimmery neutral. It's quite sheer, but builds up very easily. I used 3 coats for it to be opaque.

I used 1 coat for the swatch.

You can tell in the photos it's a little uneven, but you don't see that at all in real life.

I think 1 coat is perfect. If I added a second coat it would have deepened the colour and it would be too close to being black.

The last 2 shades are Ice-Bergers and Fries and Going My Way Or Norway. They're both from the Nordic Autumn 2014 collection.

Ice-Bergers and Fries is the darker of the 2 shades. It's a caramel brown. Going My Way Or Norway is much lighter.

I am not too sure about these, and I've decided I'm definitely getting rid of Going My Way or Norway (even though I love the name!). I'm keeping the other one just until autumn and seeing whether it's a wearable shade.

I used 2 coats for both polishes.

Ice-Bergers and Fries is easily opaque in just 1 coat.

Going My Way Or Norway did need the 2 coats as I had a slight visible nail line on the first coat.












Those are all my OPI Neutrals!! It was quite a bit to get through, and I managed to get rid of (at least) three more shades.

What are you favourite OPI Neutrals?

xx Elaine