OPI Gwen Stefani Collection - 4 In the Morning, I Sing In Color, Over And Over A-Gwen

Did anyone realize back in the 90s that Gwen Stefani would turn out to be a fashion icon? All I knew was that she was MY icon, with her tough, sassy take on vintage glam. I wanted her bleached-out hair (chickened out and got a Rogue streak instead), her abs (yeah, dream on) and her sexy/sporty clothes (see: abs).

I suppose it's only natural that this collaboration between OPI and Gwen happened. Inspired by the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Gala's them of "Chaos: Punk to Couture"*, Suzi Weiss-Fischmann created this 7-piece collection to honour Gwen's influence on music, fashion and style.

It's also no surprise that the OPI Gwen Stefani collection reflects the icon's own vintage/edge style heritage, with a mix of classics and completely new, breakthrough textures.

*Still so very angry that I missed that exhibit by four days.

photo credit: OPI

One of the shades is a mirrored chrome that comes with a specific base coat: Push And Shove, and Lay Down That Base.

The other 6 are:

• Over and Over A-Gwen (signature red creme)
• Hey Baby (pink creme)
• I Sing In Color (blackened maroon creme)
• Love.Angel.Music.Baby (champagne gold satin)
• 4 In The Morning (charcoal satin) 
• In True Stefani Fashion (silver glitter)

I've included press pictures so you can see the caps they come with, as my samples had the regular caps.

 I was able to sample three of them, including one of the new satin textures (which actually looks and feels a little rubberized).

Over And Over A-Gwen, 4 In The Morning, I Sing In Color

4 In The Morning: A dark charcoal, with the teeniest shimmer and an almost green undertone that is only evident in certain lighting. In the shade, this is more of a flat (but soft) black, but in the light you can see some of that shimmer adding depth. I think the shimmer actually adds to the perception of the satin texture, as in the shade it looks entirely matte. It's a very neat shade/texture combo that looks both punk and sophisticated. 

Although they don't recommend adding topcoat, I did use it for the sake of testing. As expected, it makes the shimmer more obvious and is a beautiful colour, though it does lose  a lot of what makes it cool and different.

Application-wise, this took me a while to get right. It flows easily and evenly, but I tend to do my nails quickly, the coats staying wet in between layers. It took me a few tries to figure out that this did best with a very thin base coat, allowed to dry, and then a normal one over that. 

4 In The Morning (no topcoat, in lighting that shows the green undertone)

4 In The Morning (with topcoat)

I Sing In Color:  A classic blackened maroon vamp, this boasts one of the best formulas I've seen for a shade like this. No watery-ness, no pooling, just smooth, free-flowing, self-leveling perfection. And it is glossy, glossy, glossy. It's not unique, but it's a great example of a vamp shade done in a stellar formulation.

Two coats is good, but I did three here because I love saturating near-black shade like.

I Sing In Color

Over and Over A-Gwen: Another classic, done to perfection. This is a medium depth, ever so slightly cool red. It's actually darker than it appears in my pictures, which pull brighter.

OPI does incredible reds, but chances are you have something like this in your collection. It's darker and cooler than Color So Hot It Berns. It's similar to China Glaze Phat Santa, maybe a touch less cool (even though PS looks darker in the bottle).

The formula is, again, what sets the bar high: incredibly smooth, rich and self-leveling, with a lovely gloss finish. Two coats gives perfect pigmentation. If you don't have an excellent red (or you can't resist one that applies like butter) then this a choice pick.

Over and Over A-Gwen

I really, really want to try Love.Angel.Music.Baby, which my friend Eugenia swatched and reviewed over at Ommorphia's Beauty Bar. (Champagne glitter that feels like suede? IN.)

Are you guys grabbing anything from this collection?

Availability: At Trade Secrets and salons, as well as Nail Polish Canada. Suggested price is 10.95$ CAD.

(Items were provided by the brand/PR to be considered for review. This post is not sponsored or compensated. All opinions are my own.)