March 30, 2014

OPI Sheer Tints Swatches and Play Time!

 *Sent for review*

I have swatches of the new OPI Sheer Tints for you today and since I've seen a lot of people asking "how can I use these?", I also did a couple of different looks with them. I've been dying to play around with these and once you check them out for a few minutes, your brain starts coming up with all kinds of ways to use them! I did want to show you all of them all alone also, to give you an idea of the color and opacity level. OPI I Can Teal You Like Me is a sheer blue-green. It is more green than it looks in my pictures, not quite as straight up blue.


This is three coats of I Can Teal You Like Me with OPI Top Coat. These are all very shiny by themselves, but I did use top coat in these swatches. The formula is like gel, thicker than normal polish. I didn't have trouble applying this at all and I think the gel-like consistency makes it easier for some nail art looks. You don't have to worry about polish running all over the place.


The most obvious use for these is sandwiching with glitter. Some people thought these might be too sheer for this purpose, but I thought they were just fine. This is three coats of I Can Teal You Like Me, one coat of OPI Which Is Witch?, and one more coat of Teal You Like Me on top.



OPI Don't Violet Me Down is a lovely shade of sheer violet purple.  I can definitely see myself wearing this all by itself or in a jelly sandwich.


This is three coats and the consistency was the same thick gel feeling. Don't Violet Me Down was easy to apply and steak-free. I appreciate this- if you're going to do a sheer/jelly/tint, please keep it streak-free, right?


The OPI Sheer Tints can be layered over polishes to make a totally different look. Below, I used one coat of Don't Violet Me Down over OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. This is like the ultimate pastel violet, so soft and delicate looking. Gorgeous! I would absolutely wear this as a full mani, especially right now during the spring.



 I think OPI I'm Never Amberrassed is the only Sheer Tint I wouldn't wear all by itself. The yellow-orange look is not the most flattering on top of bare nails. It is a true amber color, and all I can think of is the mosquito trapped in amber in Jurassic Park LOL.


This is three coats. Amberrassed has the same gel formula and streak-free finish as the first two Sheer Tints. Once you get used to the thickness, it's easy to apply these.



OPI Be Magentale With Me is a sheer juicy bright pink. This looks so tasty in the bottle. This is the most "normal" looking one to wear all by itself.


This is three coats of Be Magentale and I found it to be less pigmented than the other three. The formula was also slightly less thick. Still streak-free, but I could have used a little more of the hot pink punch that was in the bottle.



I was dying to do a gradient with I'm Never Amberrassed and Be Magentale With Me, but I discovered I didn't have a sponge (I always use sponges for gradients). I decided to see if I could do it without a sponge, just using the brushes of the polishes. Luckily, these Sheer Tints are perfect for this kind of look, no sponge necessary! They really blend all together nicely, especially if you do the work while the base color (Amberrassed) is still wet. I did this look by painting a very very thin coat of Magentale on just half of each nail, over three coats of Amberrassed. I then went back and added more Magentale to the tips of my nails and topped everything off with OPI Top Coat. The top coat helped all the colors blend together too.

*Sent for review*

I am loving these Sheer Tints! I'm definitely not done playing around with them, so I'll have more looks for you soon. For any nail art enthusiast, or anyone who likes to experiment with different nail looks, these are a must have.

The OPI Sheer Tints are available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer. 

1 comment:

Urby said...

Ooh, I'm digging on the gradient and jelly sandwich!