OPI Pirates of the Caribbean plus Silver Shatter

Ahoy, mates!  I've got goodies for you today!!  I've been waiting FOR-EV-ER for this order to be shipped to me, as I pre-ordered from a wholesaler back in March.  Still no word on my order, so I decided to check my local beauty supply store to see if they had them in.  Lo and behold, an entire set waiting just for me!  (Okay, not really just for me, but I really did luck out!)  I canceled my online order so fast it would make your head spin, and it's been a swatch-a-thon all afternoon!  Just in time for the movie release today, I am SOOOO excited to bring you the entire OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection!  YAY!

When I first heard OPI was doing a Pirates of the Caribbean collection I was like:

Then I found out they were all cremes and pastels, and I was like:

Then I realized the error of my ways.  Just because pastels don't really say "pirates" or "swashbuckling" to me, doesn't mean they don't need love too!  The promo photos looked gorgeous, and I knew I wanted every last one of them!  When I finally got my hands on the collection, I was like this:

(A quick thank you to Jessie for introducing me to http://www.jamesvandermemes.com/, and also a thank you to James Van Der Beek unknowingly starring in this blog post and for being awesomely hilarious!)  ON TO THE POLISHES!

Mermaid's Tears - A muted, kind of dusty creme that falls somewhere between turquoise and sea green.  I love this!!  A color with my name written all over it!  It's dupey to Orly Ancient Jade.  I don't own it, but I did a bottle comparison at Ulta, and while they're very similar, Mermaid's Tears is a bit lighter.  But I'd say if you own Ancient Jade, you can probably pass on Mermaid's Tears and vice versa.

I did a comparison of Mermaid's Tears with OPI Damone Roberts 1968.  You can see how much bluer Mermaid's Tears is.  It's not a mint green at all.

(L) OPI Mermaid's Tears, (R) OPI Damone Roberts 1968

Stranger Tides - Strange is right!  What color is this??  A dusty, greyed green, murky...celery?  I don't know but I LOVE it!  Surprise favorite of the collection!  It's soft but completely different from anything else I own.  It seems similar to Essie Da Bush, but I don't own it to compare.  I chalk this one up as an edgy neutral - I totally wore this to work and it played well in an office setting, and with multiple outfits.  

You've heard me mention "greyed green" before in reference to Essie Sew Psyched, but I did a comparison to show you how different these two are.  Look how yellow Stranger Tides is!  It makes Sew Psyched just look straight up grey!

(L) OPI Stranger Tides, (R) Essie Sew Psyched

Skull and Glossbones - Cute name!!  This is a pale grey creme.  Nothing too special going on here, but I like it.  I'm a sucker for greys.

I compared this to Zoya Dove, which I thought was going to be a really close match.  Wrong!  Skull and Glossbones is warmer, and Dove is darker.  Go figure!  I'd love to see Skull and Glossbones compared to Lippmann's Waking Up in Vegas, but sadly I don't own that one to compare.

(L) OPI Skull and Glossbones, (R) Zoya Dove

Steady as She Rose - Another cute name!  :-)  This one's a dusty pinkish lavender.  Sometimes it looks more pink and sometimes it looks more lavender.  It's nice, but I dunno - I'm just not feeling it.  To its defense, I don't own anything like it, so it's clearly unique!  

Sparrow Me the Drama - Aaaaaand THIS is why I don't do many pink manicures.  As soon as I pulled this one out of the box, I knew we weren't meant to be.  Light pinks don't like to play nicely with my skin tone, and this one was no exception.  Bleh.  I'm sure it would look fab on pretty much anyone but me.  Sigh.

I pulled out Essie Splash of Grenadine, another pink I could never get to work for me.  They're similar, but Sparrow Me the Drama is warmer.  I actually never realized just how blue Splash of Grenadine really was until now!

(L) OPI Sparrow Me the Drama, (R) Essie Splash of Grenadine

Planks a Lot - Dusty medium-toned purple.  Again, nothing too special here, but I do really like it.  It's not nearly as blue as this photo shows, but isn't that just the story of my life?  ;-)

I have a plethora of "dusty purple cremes" in my collection, so I brought them all out for this comparison.  I think Planks a Lot is much truer to color in this photo.  I thought this would be pretty close to OPI Done Out in Deco, but it's clearly darker.  Definitely in the same vein though.  Parlez-Vous, OPI? is much more red-toned - not even close.  It's closest relative seems to be Do You Lilac It?  Planks a Lot is a bit cooler-toned and not quite as bright, but they were pretty similar in real life.  Cool tones work better with my skin tone, so Planks a Lot is the keeper for me of the two.

(L) to (R) - Parlez-Vous, OPI?, Planks a Lot, Do You Lilac It?, Planks a Lot, Done Out in Deco

I was lucky enough to snag a bottle of Silver Shatter at Ulta on Mother's Day when the display was fully stocked, and I definitely wanted to swatch it for you!  As with Black Shatter, Silver Shatter needs to be applied over completely dry polish in order to crackle properly.  Polish takes forever to dry on my hands, so good on-the-nail swatches just weren't going to happen.  Boo!  More nail wheel swatches!  This is Silver Shatter over each Pirates of the Caribbean polish:

(L) to (R) Mermaid's Tears, Stranger Tides, Skull and Glossbones, Steady as She Rose, Sparrow Me the Drama, and Planks a Lot

I was never sold on getting Silver Shatter until someone on MUA said it was like jewelry for your nails! What a great description!  I think it looks nice over the Pirates polishes but I like a little more contrast with the shatter polishes.  So here's Silver Shatter over a couple other colors (click to enlarge for better detail):

(L) to (R) - Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, Milani White, OPI Russian Navy, OPI Ski Teal We Drop, China Glaze Jolly Holly, and Essie Limited Addiction

Overall, I think OPI put out a great collection.  They're not necessarily the most unique colors, but they work nicely, and they're great for spring/summer.  My only complaint is the application.  With the exception of Mermaid's Tears and Planks a Lot (which applied perfectly), the application on the rest of the Pirates polishes was AWFUL.  Terrible.  Turrible.  I don't even know how to describe it.  Almost...chalky?  And streaky.  And patchy.  Kind of like a neon.  It was really strange, and not even close to what I normally expect from OPI.  The only thing that saved those polishes from looking like crap was a good ole coat of Seche Vite.  I would say for those polishes, it's best to wait until each coat is completely dry before starting the next.  

That being said, of my four problem children, I'd say Stranger Tides and Skull and Glossbones are worth the hassle for me.  The other two just don't jive with my skin tone, and I just don't want to deal with awful application if I don't love the colors.  Silver Shatter gets the thumbs-up from me as well.  It doesn't shatter quite as nicely as Black Shatter, but it's still pretty cool, and the overall effect is nice.  I'd say the collection gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.  :-)

And just because it's fun to talk like a pirate - AAARRRRGHHH!  YO HO!  :-P