OPI and Mariah Carey

Last year, OPI brought us polishes in collaboration with Nicki Minaj, and the year before with Katy Perry. This year, we're getting Mariah Carey's rendering of polish colors.

Clockwise from bottom left: Anti-Bleak, Sprung, A Butterfly Moment, and Pink Yet Lavender.

The much talked about Liquid Sand polishes, clockwise from bottom left: Stay the Night, Get Your Number, The Impossible, Can't Let Go.


And the wheel swatches I was able to shoot under the current conditions in le ol' midwinter Sweden:

A Butterfly Moment, Sprung, Pink Yet Lavender, Anti-Bleak.

Stay the Night, Get Your Number, Can't Let Go, The Impossible.

The wheel swatches can be magnified, but the detail isn't very good due to high iso grain.

The four polishes of more traditional finishes is what could be expected from an artist such as Mariah Carey - they are the more classic, ladylike colors. In contrast to last year's Nicki Minaj collection, they could very well be perceived as boring. A Butterfly Moment has a bit of an unfortunate finish and is somewhat prone to brush strokes, but is definitely an office appropriate color. Sprung is a bronzey copper shade that will suit warmer skin tones nicely, but it doesn't feel very new or spectacular. Pink Yet Lavender is a rather typical OPI glitter of recent years - not too big hexagonal glitters along with smaller silvery, holographic glitters in a clear base. And this pale pink version just isn't all that exciting, even though I can see how those who prefer classic colors will want to reach for this one to do something more bold. Anti-Bleak is the vampy plum creme who will work for a lot of people. It's just that it is painfully close to OPI's own Casino Royale, which of course came in the preceding collection Skyfall. They are not by any means identical, but too close to be released so close to each other in time.

The Liquid Sand polishes is what makes this collection stand out. It has been widely discussed beforehand whether this is a good finish or not. Some are tempted, but others are more skeptical. Regardless of how you feel about actually wearing polishes with the finish of an 50 grit file, they are somewhat interesting. I really like Stay the Night. It looks like lava! Had there been a few sprinklings of an orange glitter, the imagery would have been perfect. A heavy metal oriented person of course can't resist this. The others are a little less alluring. Get Your Number surely is a nice shade of aqua blue, with holographic glitters that makes it sparkle despite the lack of glossy finish, but Can't Let Go falls flat for me. There is nothing that makes it stand out beside the gritty finish. However, if the sandy texture is doing it for you, and you like a medium purple, then perhaps this one's for you. The last member of the family, The Impossible, is sorta bouncing back and forth in the spectrum between interesting and completely disastrous. The color is a bright magenta leaning red, there are the typical OPI hexagon glitters, and there are star shaped glitters. Which you sometimes will have to really fish for. And that will perhaps make an adult feel like a 14 year old. Whether that is good or bad is something we will have to leave to the particular beholder to decide.

This collection leaves me with an ambivalent feeling. It is one that I was very interested in seeing in person, but that I don't really want to wear much from. The only color I really like is Stay the Night. If you think you can handle the finish, I think it's a must have, especially if you're one of them who swears by the typical black with red glitter polishes. That stuff absolutely glows! Despite my feelings, I think the first part of the collection will sell really well, since they speak to the less daring, general crowd. The other part will probably sell better among younger people.

All products were sent for review.

Swedish word of the day:
flytande -adjective liquid
Polishes tend to stop being so after a few minutes of air exposure.