Sunday, June 3, 2018

OPI Grease Collection Summer 2018 Swatches and Comparisons

While this collection doesn't scream inventive or mind-blowing, it does totally scream GREASE to me! And if you have followed me for a while, you know yummy OPI creme polishes are my jam and this collection is full of them. I ordered this collection from PolishPick.com and was super impressed with the customer service. I placed my order on a Sunday night, received my shipping notification the next day and my polishes arrived Wednesday. I had never ordered from PolishPick.com before due to their shipping costs, but they have recently updated their shipping fees to be less cost prohibitive. From what I remember it used to be a flat rate of around $10 per order no matter what, now for 1-2 polishes it is $4, 3-4 is $5, and 5 or more is $8. I picked up all 12 polishes from the main collection, but decided not to buy the 3 leather like textured polishes as I know I would not like or use them.

Swatches
Pink Ladies Rule the School
Fun fact- I played a Pink Lady in an end of the year play when I was 12, sadly similar to this polish it was not a good look on me. Mid toned cool pinks like this are just not flattering on my skin tone. While the color is not my favorite, the formula is really nice so if you like pinks like this you will not be disappointed. This polish dries very shiny, but slightly darker than in the bottle.

You're the Shade That I Want
This is not the shade that I want, but this formula is so amazing that I will hang on to this cool toned pinky fuchsia polish. 2 thin coats for opacity, but if I did thicker coats it would easily have been a one coat wonder. I see this polish being a great transitional shade for end of summer to early fall. It photographed slightly warmer than it appears in person. 

Tell Me About it, Stud
This is a yummy, juicy looking red that is super shiny without having a jelly formula. I know this isn't a unique shade, but this color and formula will keep me coming back for more. This color fits perfectly within this collection and totally matches the inspiration but it doesn't really scream summer to me. I don't usually wear such cool toned reds, but I do really like this one. Just a warning, this polish is a stainer. I had some light staining even though I had on base coat and only wore this polish for about 20 minutes.

Summer Lovin' Having a Blast!
I feel like I have Easy Mac or Cheeto powder on my nails. On my skin tone this shade is just not cute at all. Formula is fine, 3 easy thin coats for opacity and the polish was very smooth and easy to control. If you like bright orange polish, I say pick this one up because it is objectively a good one.

Hopelessly Devoted to OPI
This is my kind of pinky polish. Give me a peachy warm pink over a barbie pink any day. Smooth, easy formula that I did 3 thin coats for opacity. I definitely see myself reaching for this polish in the coming summer months because I love how it emphasizes the tiny tan that I have. 

Meet a Boy, Cute as Can Be
Hello lobster fingers :(
This shade took 3 thin coats for creamy opacity, but I probably could have gotten away with 2 medium coats. As much as I hate yellow on my skin, this formula doesn't suck. If I have to wear yellow, this type of buttery pastel shade would be the way to go. This also dries super shiny, my swatch is without top coat. 

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milkshakes
3 thin coats of this pale milky green polish. Like this is almost white with just the smallest hint of green. The formula is alright, but it self levels really well. I'm a big fan of white/off-white polishes, I love how bright and clean it looks on the nail. I took a pic of this mani against a stark white background so you can really see the green undertones.

Was It All Just a Dream?
3 thin perfect coats here. Is it any surprise that is my favorite polish from this collection? I have already rocked this as a full mani a few times since buying this collection.

Teal Me More, Teal Me More
I did 2 thin coats for opacity, but if you do thicker coats this could easily be a one coat wonder... but be warned, this beauty is a stainer. This is another color that I think is the perfect transitional shade from summer to fall. As much as I adore this, I don't think this is a summer shade or really a Grease shade.... even if the name is freaking adorable. 

Chills Are Multiplying!
I did 2 thin/regular coats for opacity here. This is one of the 2 oddballs in this collection. Upon first glance this polish seems like a royal blue crelly with electric blue shimmer but upon swatching I would say the base is more deep teal than deep ultramarine but the shimmer makes it look more blue/purple. The shimmer is very hidden with this polish appearing like a traditional creme unless you look really closely and in the right light. I surprised myself by actually liking this polish.

Frenchie Likes to Kiss?
I used 3 medium coats for opacity here. This polish is pretty thin, but it needs to be for the shimmer to show at all. This pale lilac polish has a stunning bright pinky-purple shimmer that sadly doesn't transfer much to the nail. I'm not a huge shimmer person so that doesn't really both me. 
I surprisingly really liked this polish. 

Danny & Sandy 4 Ever!
I am a dark/black/gray polish lover, but sadly this was my least favorite polish from the collection. This slate gray jelly base totally full of silver micro flakies is just not my cup of tea. It looks nice on, but removal was not fun, those little flakies are not easy to get off so paint carefully with this one.

Comparisons
I tried a different style for comparisons with the Lisbon collection and I didn't love it, for this collection I'm going to go back to my previous method of doing comparison swatches on my nails rather than using the swatch sticks.

Pink Ladies Rule the School (middle/pinky nails) vs Got Myself into a Jambalaya (ring/pointer nails)
I really don't have anything to compare to this one as I don't gravitate towards pinks like this. These are obviously not dupes, and they both photographed warmer and brighter than they appear in real life. From looking at swatches, I think this could be very similar to Tagus In That Selfie (Lisbon Collection Fall 2017), Excuse Me, Big Sur (California Dreaming Collection Summer 2017), and maybe even What's The Double Scoop? (Retro Summer 2016). 

You're the Shade That I Want (middle/pinky nails) vs Madam President (pointer/ring nails)
These are definitely not dupes, but I don't have an extensive collection of pinks so it was the closest that I personally have. Just because I couldn't dupe this doesn't mean an OPI dupe isn't out there somewhere. Neither of these are really my kind of color, but they both have amazing formulas.

Tell Me About it Stud (middle/pinky nails) vs Love is in My Cards (pointer nail) vs Adam Says "It's New Years, Eve" (ring nail)
Colorwise these are all pretty much dupes, but the formulas are different. Adam says is marginally brighter, but if I wore this comparison as a mani I doubt anyone would notice that it isn't all the same polish. Love is in My Cards is the most opaque and creamy, Adam says was very opaque but annoyingly thin, and Stud is almost a crelly, drying very squishy looking.

Summer Lovin' Having a Blast!(middle/pinky nails) vs Santa Monica Beach Peach(pointer/ring nails)
Not dupes, and I definitely prefer SM Beach Peach to Summer Lovin'. Formula is better, but Summer Lovin' is just not the most flattering shade on my nails. Truthfully, both of these shades make my skin look a little dead so I should probably not reach for these until Halloween ;)

Hopelessly Devoted to OPI (middle nail) vs A Great Opera-tunity (pointer nail)vs I'll Have a Gin & Tectonic (ring nail) vs Barking Up The Wrong Sequoia (pinky nail)
Hopelessly Devoted is the odd polish out here and definitely my favorite of the 4. I seriously can't believe that the other 3 are basically dupes for each other. Of all of these polishes, I really only like Hopelessly Devoted to OPI. I think I may keep I'll Have a Gin & Tectonic because the formula is really nice, but the other 2 are off to my destash

Meet a Boy, Cute as Can Be (middle/pinky nail) vs China Glaze Whip It Good (pointer/ring nail)
I know I always try to compare OPI with OPI, I do not have any other OPI yellow polishes, thought I think Cute as Can Be is probably pretty close to OPI One Chic Chick (Soft Shades 2016). These are definitely not dupes, OPI is much creamier and pastel while the ChG is much more neon. For being light yellows, both of these have pretty good formulas requiring 3 thin coats each. 

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milkshakes (middle nail) vs Suzi Chases Portu-geese (pointer nail) vs Set Apart by Tile Art (ring finger nail) vs My Boyfriend Scales Walls (pinky nail)
These are definitely not dupes, but Boyfriend and Milkshakes are definitely the closest. When shown in comparison like this the subtle undertones really stand out. Milkshake looks almost pale green here, but alone it looks whiter. 

Was It All Just a Dream? (middle/pinky nails) vs Can I Bairro This Shade? (ring nail) vs Closer Than You Might Belem (pointer nail)
I totally expected Dream and Bairro to be exact dupes and am pleasantly surprised that they aren't. Dream is what I think you would get if you mixed Bairro and Belem together. Even though none of these are dupes and I do love all of them, I'm kind of bummed that OPI released all 3 within a few months of each other... come one OPI, you can be more creative than this...

Teal Me More, Teal Me More (middle/pinky nail) vs Fly (pointer nail) vs Is The a Spear In Your Pocket? (ring nail)
You cannot convince me that Teal Me More and Spear are not the exact same polish. These are both color and formula dupes. As much as I like this color, I definitely do not need both of these. Fly is much lighter on the nail and is a thinner formula, but all 3 polishes were opaque in 2 coats.

Chills Are Multiplying! (middle/pinky nail) vs Umpires Come Out At Night (pointer nail) vs Give Me Space (ring nail)
 
Obviously these are not even close to being dupes, but they are the only polishes I have that are remotely similar in color. Off the top of my head I can't think of anything that would be a true dupe for Chills Are Multiplying, and while it isn't my favorite nail polish finish I do appreciate an original when I see one. 

Frenchie Likes to Kiss? (middle and pinky nails) vs Purple Palazzo Pants (pointer nail) vs I'm Gown for Anything (ring finger nail)
Frenchie and Gown are pretty much the same shade, but the pinky toned shimmer in Frenchie sets it apart. Due to the shimmer, Frenchie has a thinner formula, I needed 3 coats for opacity here while I only needed 2 of Gown. PPP is the odd man out here, it is much deeper and my least favorite of the 3.

Danny & Sandy 4 Ever! (middle/pinky nails) vs Coalmates (pointer/ring nails)
In the bottle and on the nail these look darn near identical, but Coalmates has tiny little holo glitters that Danny & Sandy doesn't have. Pretty sure the everything else is the same except for the glitters added in to the base. The formula is the same, but I prefer Coalmates due to the subtle holo glitters. 

If you decide to purchase this collection or anything else from PolishPick.com, let them know I sent you by selecting "Sparkle & Polish" at check out  :)

Stay Sparkly,
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