Hello, my lovelies! How are you doing today?
I am super excited because I have the OPI Washington DC Fall/Winter Collection* swatches to share with you!! This gorgeous collection will be released in about one month. Are you ready for some Fall beauty?

I must say generally Fall collections are my favourites because I love all the warm shimmery shades and golden gleam of glitter on reddy, browny, taupe-y shades... This collection is nothing like that! Neither glitter, nor shimmer, nada! Not even the slightest tiny hidden glimpse of subtle shimmer. These are twelve purely creme shades. If I would define the whole collection in few words I would say wearable and office friendly. The shades with rich and interesting hues that recall fall and winter trendiest colours, that are for the most part ONE COATERS, YES PLEASE!

Today I will be showing you the 12 shades of the collection, after quite a swatching marathon (and two broken-and-fixed nails) I finally managed to get this done before my vacation! Yay!

Let's start with the swatches, shall we? As per usual, I'm showing you all the swatches with two coats of colour and without basecoat or topcoat, so you can appreciate how each shade behaves on application by itself. However, I always recommend using a basecoat to protect your nails and a topcoat to help your manicure last longer. Please, remember you can click on the pics to enlarge them:)

First is CIA = Color is Awesome, what kind of name is that? whatever, this is describe as a dusky blue. I think this colour is the epitome of chicness.  Opaque in one coat, it levels out nicely, I did two coats for the sake of closeups.




 Stay off the Lawn!! is described as a deep lush green. It somehow reminds me of a total stunner Essie released many years ago called "Going incognito" (note to self: compare these two shades!). Again, a one coater wonder (and again I did two ;) )




 Suzi - The first Lady of nails is described as a "chic olive green", it is a tad grayish-khaki to my eye, but it is also very chic! I love it :)




 Never Dulles a moment is described as a curry yellow, subtle enough to be wearable for any occasion. This polish applied less spectacularly than the rest, it needed two coats and extra drying time. It also shows the brush strokes a little. But nothing a good topcoat couldn't even out. Otherwise, it is a great yellow that will make your manicure absolutely stand out.





 Pale to the Chief is the perfect shade of nude to match my skin tone (Thank you OPI!). I think this will be the ideal base for doing nail art designs. Its formula is nice, but it does not apply as wonderfully as the rest, as it shows a bit streaky. It definitely needs 2 coats for full opacity, but that is to be expected from almost every nude shade. It also has an awesome glossy finish.





Yank My Doodle is described as a tawny copper and it is definitely one of my favourites. Its application is perfection and does not need any clean up! Glossy, smooth and screaming "Fall"!




 Freedom of Peach is a creamy peach, more on the soft orange side and slightly murky, which gives it the perfect Fall-ish vibe. It has a very nice formulation and it is opaque in two coats.




 Squeaker of the house described as a chocolate brown, it has a touch of dusky pink to it that makes it so interesting! It reminds me of Chanel Particulier, or OPI You don't know Jacques, but less grey-ish than the latter. (Again, note to self, compare those three)




 Shh... It's top secret is described as a "deep, deep brown" which is exact to me. It reminds me of dark chocolate, it looks black under most lightings but, YOU know it is not black. It is so glossy you could see yourself reflected on it! Another one coat wonder.




 Madam President is a vibrant cool-toned red, a bit raspberry like, but definitely more red than berry. This is another one coat wonder! It applies beautifully it dries fast to a lovely glossy finish.




 OPI by popular vote is described as a cool apple red. It is not exactly how I would describe this colour. To my eyes, it is a true berry, a dusky raspberry, if I can say so. It is my favourite among the red shades of this collection, I find it special and so chic! It's also opaque in one coat .




We the Female is a gorgeous garnet red. I might have 20 similar shades in my stash, so it is definitely not very unique. However, the fact that it is fully opaque in one coat, it doesn't stain the cuticles, it dries fast and has an outstanding glossy finish, makes it one of the best choices available. If this is your kind of colour, I don't think you'll find a better quality one!



Formulation and pigmentation-wise, this collection is among the best that OPI has released lately. They surely know how to do really good creme polishes. The varnishes all dry to an extremely glossy finish without a topcoat. Nine out of twelve were totally opaque in one single coat, except Freedom of peach which needed two coats to be just perfection. Never Dulles a moment and Pale to the Chief are the only varnishes of the bunch that needed a bit more care in application. The consistency of the polishes in general is a pleasure to work with, being thin, self-levelling and fast drying with a maximum opaqueness.

If nailistas might be a bit disappointed that there aren't shimmers and glitters here, those who look for a fast and flawless manicure for the weekdays will be delighted with Washington DC collection.

I am super happy with this collection, I think it is a totally "office friendly" without it being boring at all! My personal favourites here are CIA=Color is Awesome, Suzi -The first lady of nails, Yank my doodle and OPI by popular vote! I also love the yellow one a lot, but as its application was a tad difficult I can't call it a favourite. Which are your favourite shades for next Fall? Let me know if you are interested in seeing some comparisons!

The OPI Washington DC Collection will launch  mid-August 2016 in Switzerland. The collection includes three limited edition shades (see the preview here) that I, unfortunately, didn't get. All the colours are available in classic nail polish and GelColor, with the recommended retail price of 19.90 CHF/bottle (15 ml), you can find your nearest point of sale here: www.opiswiss.ch/wheretobuy.



Love,
Nati


*Press samples. The opinions on this article are purely my own.