OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Swatches

I was excited to get my hands on this OPI collection.  Grey polishes are some of my favourite and having a collection dedicated to them is just pure heaven especially with the mix of silver, red and sparkle thrown in. With the movie coming out soon, they are pushing Fifty Shades of Grey.  The mall had posters for the movie, the nail polish set at the cash at the beauty salon and the books up front at Chapters.  You just’t can’t get away from it.

In fairness to the review, I bought the mini set and the brushes in mini bottles are known for being harder to deal with so some of my application issues may not happen with the full size bottles.

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey: My Silk Tie

This silky, gleaming silver has got me all tied up. 

I have only just got around to reading the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (for the 2015 reading challenge) so the theme was fresh in my mind when trying the polish and I  imagined the tie to be darker, a steel type silver rather than this bright mirror silver.  That being said, it is a nice colour, kinda metallic/chrome/foil all rolled into one.  The formula on My Silk Tie is finicky.   Brush strokes and bare patches.  Adding a third coat once the second was completely dry helped with the patches but you can see the brush strokes.

Trying again, I used thicker coats and dropped the polish on the nail close but not at the cuticle and pushed it down to get better coverage. It is a pity I didn’t get this one before Christmas, I would have used it a lot in place of my regular silver but  I rarely wear silver at other times of the year

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey: Dark Side of the Mood

This brooding, stormy charcoal is dangerously gorgeous.  

I love the colour of Dark Side of the Mood but the application was horrible.  As I mentioned, this may be partly due to the brush included with the mini bottle but it was patchy, watery and moved all over the nail.  Certainly not what I have come to expect from OPI polishes.

The trick to this one is thick coats and as few brush strokes as possible to get a shiny finish with a deep dark colour.  This isn’t quite black, but it is close – a deep dark grey – almost black – with a navy undertone.  You really can’t describe it better that OPI did on the packaging.  Once you get the application right, it is beautiful on, so don’t give up after the first coat!

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey: Romantically Involved

I’m in a deep relationship with this luscious creme red.  

Red polishes and I do not get along great.  The pink tone in my skin often leaves me looking like a lobster when the red is picked up.  This is one of the few exceptions and one of the better formulations in OPI’s Fifty Shades of Grey collection.

The picture is without topcoat, and you can see how shiny the polish is and how deep the colour is with only two coats. It is definitely more of a sophisticated red than a bright red but still pops.  Of the collection, this is the only one I could see myself buying a full size bottle separately from the minis I already picked up.

 OPI Fifty Shades of Grey: Embrace The Gray

Let this chic, moody gray creme become one with you.  

Why oh why change the spelling to gray?  Yes I know it is American but stick with the Fifty shades of Grey theme?  It would have made sense, no?

The formula on Embrace The Gray was better than the others, full coverage in two thick coats.  It is your perfect darker – but not too dark – grey that will go with almost anything.  There is a clear blue tone to this polish and it appears lighter/darker according to the light.

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey: Shine For Me

This shimmering silver with subtle blue sparkle really turns me on!

This polish is buildable, but it is better as an effect coat/accent nail.  It took three thick coats for full coverage building the polish and two thin ones when using it as a top coat over Cement the Deal or My Silk Tie.

It is textured with full coverage but evens out well with top coat, not quite liquid sand bumpy, just not smooth.  The blue is more obvious when used on top of a polish, when building it for ful coverage, the silver takes over.

I can see myself using this a fair bit, but on accent nails/as a top coat so the mini will be enough but I definitely recommend it.

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey: Cement The Deal

I’d sign anything to get my hands on this stony, cool gray.

Again with the gray?  Why not keep the spelling consistent OPI?  This is my kinda grey, cool toned, doesn’t make my skin look too red.  It has your typical OPI formula of coverage in two coats and was easier to apply than some of the other other greys in the collection.

It appears much lighter and cooler in bright sunlight (should start my swatches earlier in the day, and before the snow hits) and will definitely be one I will wear again.  It looks great with Shine on Me layered on top for an accent nail or and glitter pop when Shine on Me is used on all nails too.

So who is going to see the movie?