OPI Washington DC Nail Polish Collection

Although we're still in the midst of summer, the beauty world has begun churning out its Fall collections and OPI Fall/Winter 2016 is no exception. Created with the help of OPI's celebrity creative ambassador, Kerry Washington, the Washington DC Collection is an interesting mix of mostly cream shades.

I was so excited for this release and unboxed it the second it arrived in the mail but as you'll see from the swatches below, some are downright gorgeous while others are straight up ugly. It is, however, a big collection so there probably is something for everyone in here... unless you like glitters because there are none.

I was also a little disappointed with some of the polish names. OPI is known for its super creative names (remember OPI x Hello Kitty?) and I thought they could have done a better job with the names in this collection. Maybe it's because I've never watched Kerry Washington's show "Scandal" to get the references or maybe it's just the nature of this collection's theme.

Never a Dulles Moment is a bright taxi yellow. It was not easy to work with (I have yet to encounter a yellow that is) but the final result is worth it.

Freedom of Peach is a creamy orange. It applied well but as you can see it looks terrible on me. Yuck.

Yank My Doodle is a tawny coral/orange shade. Not my favourite but the "crelly" formula makes it a bit different from the other polishes in this collection.

Pale to the Chief is a neutral light beige. I found it a bit streaky but it otherwise settled okay as it dried down.

Squeaker of the House is a milky chocolate brown, slightly reminiscent of my old standby Sally Hansen Commander in Chic and is a clear staple shade for Fall.

Madam President is described by OPI as a "commanding red" but I have no idea why since it's clearly not red. In the bottle and on the nails it's a cool-toned dark fuchsia.

OPI by Popular Vote is described by OPI as a "cool apple red" but again I have no idea why. I think it's more of a berry cream.

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We the Female is a garnet cream. I'm not sure if I like this or think it's ugly... it definitely toes the line.

Suzi - The First Lady of Nails is an olive green. I think this will be hit or miss for some. I personally like it but it's probably not for everyone.

Stay off the Lawn!! is a deep jewel green, reminiscent of lush grass per its namesake.

CIA = Color is Awesome is a dusky teal blue. I like how inky it looks and can't wait to wear this in the Winter months.

Shh... It's Top Secret! reminds me a bit of an old favourite Essie Little Brown Dress since it's got some brown in it but it does lean more black.

In addition to the above shades which are being added to OPI's permanent collection, they've also released three limited edition "bonus" shades which you can get in full-size or mini versions.

Kerry Blossom is a plummy purple. There isn't anything particularly special about this (I swear I have at least 3 other OPI polishes that look almost identical) but if you don't have something similar, this is a good one to add to your collection.

"Liv" in the Gray is my favourite polish out of this entire release... too bad it's limited edition! It's described as a "dark grey" but on the nails appears more as a beautiful greenish grey.

On the other hand, you've got Inside the Isabelletway, which is a tan caramel. I personally think it's hideous. Not only does it clash with my skin tone, it just looks bad. Maybe this would work for others but it's definitely not for me.

OPI Alice Through The Looking Glass Nail Polish Collection (Brights 2016)

Apart from OPI x Hello Kitty, my other hotly anticipated collection from OPI this year was Alice Through the Looking Glass... and now it's here in all of its gloriousness!

Alice In Wonderland has been a favourite book of mine since childhood and longtime readers of my blog may recall that some of my first posts were actually swatches from the original OPI Alice In Wonderland Collection (see here, here, and here). Six years later, we've finally got the sequel to Disney and Tim Burton's creepy-crazy movie being released (today!) and a whole new collection of nail polish as well. Obviously, I'm dying of excitement.

Interestingly, Alice Through The Looking Glass is supposed to be OPI's Brights Collection for this year which, as you'll see from the swatches below, doesn't seem quite accurate? I mean, some of the shades are bright but half of them aren't really at all.

Oh My Majesty! is a gorgeous pearly white. I don't typically like shades like this (they always seem very bridal to me) but this one seems to be an exception. It's so pretty with flecks of gold that show when you tilt your nails to the light. You'll need three coats for complete opacity.

I'm Gown For Anything! is a creamy lilac. I found it a bit streaky on the first few coats but the third coat levelled out the polish.

The I's Have It is a pretty powder blue cream. I like this shade a lot and it was pretty easy to work with. This is three coats.

Hmm... how to describe A Mirror Escape? With the last Alice In Wonderland collection, OPI had some interesting glitters so I feel like this might be their "crazy" polish for this collection. It's a gold with white sandy glitter that leaves your nails with a bumpy texture. I'm not really a fan personally.

Fearlessly Alice is what I would consider quintessential Alice In Wonderland since it matches the blue on Alice's dress. I love this shade and it was perfectly opaque in only two coats.

You can't have an Alice In Wonderland collection without a classic red. Having A Big Head Day is just that. It applies like a dream; this is two coats but I could have gotten away with one if I was feeling lazy.

What's The Hatter With You? is a rich burgundy (reminds me a lot of Nails Inc. NailKale in Holland Walk. It does stain the nails a bit though so I'd recommend a base coat.

Mad For Madness Sake is my favourite colour from this collection. It's a hot raspberry pink that's just perfect for summer.

In addition to the above eight limited edition colours, OPI has also released a special edition polish that comes in its own separate packaging. The company describes What Time Isn't It? as a "matte black with slivers of silver" but this is definitely not matte black. It's clearly grey. I don't like bar glitters (fuzzy muppet, anyone?) so I'm not a fan of this one.

OPI Infinite Shine Spring 2016 Nail Polish Collection

In addition to the new SoftShades 2016, nail polish lovers can look forward to the OPI Spring 2016 Infinite Shine Collection. I swatched last year's summer collection as well, but I think I like the shade range this year much more.

For those unfamiliar with the Infinite Shine system, it's OPI's answer to long-wearing gel-like manis that don't require any heat or UV lamps. The 3-step process requires a Primer (Step 1), Lacquer (Step 2), and Gloss gel polymer top coat  that cures in natural light (Step 3). I've been pretty impressed with the wear time and love how shiny my nails look.

It's Pink P.M. is a baby pink cream that leans white. I was surprised at how much I liked this considering I don't typically gravitate towards pales shades anymore. However, I do love a good white polish in the summer so that's probably why.

Half Past Nude is an opaque nude blush. Not my favourite personally but a good everyday colour, especially for work.

Sunrise to Sunset is a pale orange that kind of reminds me of a creamsicle. Unfortunately I don't think this is particularly flattering on my skin tone.

Rose Against Time is a nice bright pink. I love shades like this and it was very easy to work with.

Reach For The Sky is a super pretty cool grey-blue. It ended up being my favourite in the collection once I swatched everything.

Don't Provoke The Plum! is a bright fuchsia that applies like a dream. It's not a very unique colour but one I know a lot of people like.

Olive For Green was the polish I was most excited for since it looked so nice in the bottle. However, it was also the most difficult to work with. The first coat seemed quite watery and didn't apply that evenly but I was able to reach opacity with the second coat.

In Familiar Terra-Tory is a rich coral that's perfect for summer. I wear colours like this a lot (throwback to this old Essie fave) and this is a good one.

OPI SoftShades 2016 Nail Polish Collection

Every Spring, OPI releases a collection of pale and neutral colours for those who prefer more muted palettes for their nails. SoftShades 2016 is all about creamy pastels for a bit of a "mod" look.

While last year's SoftShades Collection featured a range of pink-toned sheers and even a glitter, OPI has gone in an interesting direction this year by making every finish a cream. This means the colours can be layered for extra opacity and can be used for a myriad of manis, from french tips to accent nails or other nail art.

In my swatches below I've only done two thin coats but you'll see most of the polishes would probably be best with three coats or two thick ones.

Stop I'm Blushing! is a pale creamy pink that leans on the peachy side.

It's A Boy! is easily my favourite from this collection. It's a gorgeous sky blue and even with only two coats was pretty opaque.

I Am What I Amethyst is a light pale lilac. It's not as purple as you would think given the name but is still a nice shade.

It's In The Cloud is a basic white though not as stark as Wite-Out. I personally prefer my whites to be a bit bolder but this is a good option for those who don't.

This Cost Me A Mint is a cool pale green. It's a true pastel green that doesn't lean turquoise which a lot of other similar shades tend to do.

One Chic Chick is a soft yellow and, as you can see, the most streaky of the bunch. It wasn't as yellow as I hoped it would be but is still an interesting colour.

OPI x Hello Kitty Nail Polish Collection

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Hello Kitty and, in fact, it's not uncommon for me to receive numerous Hello Kitty items for any gift giving occasion (cards, balloons, Pez dispensers, first aid kits, stationery, mugs, calendars, earphones, a toaster... you name it). What can I say? I'm easy to shop for. So when I caught word of the new OPI x Hello Kitty Nail Polish Collection I knew this was going to be my dream collaboration. I mean, it combines two of my favourite things: Hello Kitty + nail polish!

OPI sent me the collection to play with and I literally could not contain my excitement when it arrived. The bottles are standard OPI bottles with their famous Pro Wide brush, but also feature a white plastic cover on the tops with a repeating Hello Kitty face pattern. Honestly, the packaging is not really that special because the plastic feels kind of cheap... kind of like the clear plastic you remove from beauty products when you open them. However, it does distinguish the Hello Kitty polishes from the rest of my OPI bottles, which is important when you own as much nail polish as I do.

Where this collection really shines (for me personally, anyway) is the names. OPI is always super creative when it comes to nail polish names but I feel they really outdid themselves with the Hello Kitty Collection. Everything is so damn cute!

Kitty White, which is Hello Kitty's full name, is a pearlescent silver-white. I'm wearing 3 coats here and it applies well, although these metallic shades aren't my favourite to wear. For some reason they just seem very "bridal" to me.

Let's Be Friends (Hello Kitty loves making new friends, obvi) is a very pale pink, bordering on white creme. It wasn't the easiest to work with but is a nice, classic colour.

Small + Cute = ♥ (argh, how cute is the name of this nail polish?) is a sweet and simple light pink. It applied pretty well considering the fact that shades this light often cause trouble and I'm only wearing 2 coats in my swatch.

Super Cute in Pink is a fun hybrid formula of creme + jelly ("crelly") which means it looks kind of squishy (but isn't in actuality). I love the colour and the effect.

Starry-Eyed For Dear Daniel, named after Hello Kitty's boyfriend, is a magenta glitter with a lot of dimension and a somewhat gritty texture. Because of this, I'd recommend a top coat not only for a smoother effect but because without one it is prone to chipping. For a glitter, the polish is quite dense and was opaque in only two coats.

Spoken From The Heart is my favourite polish in the collection. It's a bright pinky coral that I already know I'm going to be wearing a ton this summer. Plus, it applied like a dream. This is only 2 coats.

5 Apples Tall is named after Hello Kitty's height (did you know she also weighs 3 apples? ... I know, it makes total sense to me too, haha). This one has a similar formula to Spoken From The Heart, which means it applies perfectly. I'm not a big fan of red nail polish but this a really good one. It really does remind me of a juicy apple!

My Twin Mimmy, named after Hello Kitty's twin sister who wears a yellow bow, is one of the fun pops of colour in this collection. I love yellows and the application for this one isn't that bad. Just make sure to wait between coats to avoid streaks.

My Pal Joey is named after Hello Kitty's little mouse friend who just so happens to be blue. This is another standout in the collection. Application was great, and you only need 2 coats to reach opacity.

Charmmy & Sugar, named after Hello Kitty's pet cat (because she's a little girl, not a cat, remember?) and pet hamster, is an interesting foil/glitter. It reminds me a bit of some of the polishes in Essie's 2013 Encrusted Treasures Collection which I know was not for everybody. I don't mind it... it kind of reminds me of cotton candy.

Never Have Too Mani Friends! (props to OPI for this clever play on words) is a straight up solid black. Always good to have one of these in the collection but if you already have a black this is nothing special. Unless you want the special packaging and the adorable name, of course!