OPI Katy Perry Collection Swatches & Review
Katy Perry combines her love of music and nails to introduce a new line of lacquers with OPI, launching January 2011. Inspired by Katy’s cutting edge style and latest album, Teenage Dream, the Katy Perry Collection by OPI will include four fierce, irresistible colors for nails and toes.
Complementing Katy’s already daring nail trends on and off the red carpet, a revolutionary Black Shatter™ formula will accompany the collection to create a ground-breaking cracked pattern when applied over each dried bright lacquer. Katy Perry has become a celebrity nail icon thanks to her eye catching nail designs so it only seems natural that a brand like OPI would want to partner with her. Though to be honest, I am surprised that she hasn’t collaborated with a brand know for nail art, like Minx. The Katy Perry Collection utilizes the new OPI Black Shatter polish to add some artistic flare to the colors which include a duo-chrome, sparkly red and two glitters. |
Formula & Application: OPI is a 3-Free brand. They made the switch to 3-Free in 2008 and the Black Shatter formula is also 3-Free. You can identify an OPI with the 3-Free formula by the green lettering on the label. Bottles with black lettering have the old formula. Always check the labels to be sure. The OPI Pro Wide brush is flat, wide and medium in length. It’s of average stiffness and easily spreads out on the nail when pressed. The only downside to the Pro Wide brush is that it can be too wide for slim fingers or little toes.
Due to the varied range of finishes in this collection I will address the application of each in the individual reviews. Know that I used three coats for all the polishes as opacity is not their strong suit.
Black Shatter is a top coat that needs to be applied over completely dry nail polish. It applies like a typical black creme but dries in a “shatter” pattern once dry. A thin coat will shatter more resulting in smaller shards of polish on the nail while a thick coat will make it more chunky. Thanks to a reader suggestion, I applied Black Shatter on my ring nails in a sideways motion to show how you can change the look of the crackle pattern.
Not Like The Movies looks green with a reddish flash in the bottle but on my nails it’s lavendar with green and pink flashes and random flecks of silver micro-glitter. I applied a bit streaky due to the metallic pigment though the glitter kept it from looking like a total brush-stroke nightmare. This color reminds me of a Scherer Chameleon polish I picked up at Rite-Aid and like previous OPI duo-chromes (Significant Other Color) it changes color depending on the angle and lighting which makes this a perfect shade to put under Black Shatter.
On its own I would probably not opt to wear Not Like The Movies but with Black Shatter on top it’s pretty stunning. I’m still on the fence with the whole crackle finish trend but the changing of the base color makes this look really unique and fun. Definitely my fave combination in the collection.
The One That Got Away surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to love this color but I do. In the bottle it looked kind of foil-esque with a hint of duo-chrome but on the nail, SHUT IT DOWN! This deep raspberry has the glass-fleck finish that China Glaze made popular and, as you know, I can never have enough glass-fleck in my life. Any of you who own glass-fleck polishes know that a camera really can’t capture its natural beauty so you know this one is even better in person. It applied utterly flawless even though it needed three coats and yes, I know I’m gushing over a very non-ALU color family but this one’s a winner people.
The One That Got Away definitely pops against Black Shatter but I would rather wear it solo. The rubber textured shatter gives this girly color a bondage-esque edge but I don’t think it needs it.
Last Friday Night is a very sheer pale blue based glitter. The tiny foil micro-glitter and chunkier blue, pink and green hexagonal glitter are evenly peppered throughout the base giving a nice even coverage. The issue is with the opacity. This color is just too sheer for me to wear it on its own. It makes a great top coat but that’s about it. I put a fourth coat on my ring finger and it’s still REALLY sheer.
For me, even Black Shatter can’t save Last Friday Night. The blue is so washed out that it doesn’t pop against the black. Instead it makes my nails look pretty grungy underneath. Not a fan!
Now Teenage Dream is built the same as Last Friday Night but instead of making me look dead, it actually flatters my skin. It’s still to sheer for my taste thought it builds up much better than its blue based counterpart. I’m not much for pink but it’s pretty and fun though I think it makes a much better top coat. The application of both glitters was kind of goopy and jelly-like and I found if I didn’t wait long enough between coats it would drag.
If you’re not using it as a top coat Teenage Dream does look good under Black Shatter. The chunky glitter plays off the light and creates a pretty eye-catching combination. This is the epitome of mixing girly and punk.
Bottom Line: Overall I’m not especially wowed. I think OPI could have done a better job choosing the base colors to pair with Black Shatter. Things that would have popped more against the black. I also wish they would have given us a different Shatter color. China Glaze is coming out with six different crackle polishes certainly OPI could come out with more than one shade.
The One That Got Away is pretty sensational and I give it a thumbs up with or without Black Shatter. The glitters are pretty pointless to me and unless you really need another glittery top coat they get a pass. If you’re into the crackle look definitely get Not Like The Movies to wear under it. You won’t regret it.
The Katy Perry by OPI collection is available now. OPI nail polishes retail for $8.50/ea for a .5oz bottle and can be purchased at salons and spas nationwide including national chains Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA.
Thoughts on the Katy Perry collection? Which color do you like best under Black Shatter? Crackle finish haters are you warming up to the idea the more you see them? Which polishes, if any, will you get from this collection?
Disclosure: Product samples were furnished by OPI. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
I was dissapointed with TD – I wanted it to be a baby pink but its more of a champaign pink, and even kind of mauve-ish in some lights, it just doesnt flatter my skin tone
Same for me. It didn’t look amazing by itself but I layered it over Nfu-Oh #63 and it looks so gorgeous. It adds way more shimmer and I got so many compliments throughout the day!
does anyone have both The One That Got Away and Pure Ice Iced Merlot? how do thy compare?
I totally agree, OPI could have picked better shades to go with Black Shatter- oh wait, they DID pick one- Simply Smashing, Serena Williams’ offering!
Colors with the impact (pun intended) of THAT are what I would have expected from the Katy Perry collection. I mean, Katy Perry is supposed to push boundaries and be shocking (Russel Brand, anyone?) -sadly, nothing in her collection does that for me…*yawn*…
Is any one else having trouble with the OPI glitters? Mine have become gooey and sticky in just a short time…. My Alice in wonderland ones are pretty much toast and I have thinned them 3x and my burlesque polish glitters are already on their way. I have not used the polish much.
i put on two coats of sparkle-licous (whatever) and a coat of seche top coat ( i have to, i can’t stand the gritty feeling) and they slipped off my fingers during the night, it looked like little press on glitter nails in my sheets! it was so crazy, easy removal…..
The same thing happened to my Zoya glitter (Julieanne – purple glitter) polish. I’ve heard some people mention that it might be the fact that Zoya and OPI are Big 3 free nail polishes and when mixed with non- Big 3 free top coats, they’ll chip really easily. Hm…
I just got a sephora by opi color from their Glee collection called mash up. It looks like the same exact shade as not like the movies. It’s odd to me how similar they are and they are both new shades. I picked up teenage dream and can’t wait to use it. It looks really pretty.
Where did you find the katy perry nail polish?
I found the Katy Perry collection at an Ulta near where I live, but unfortunately, they ran out of Teenage Dream. TT_TT That was the only one I was interested in from this collection too…
Katy Perry is easier bought if you go to JC Penny’s
They sell it at Ulta to but their sold out, online is also good such as amazon but its really expensive. I purchased mine today at JC Penny’s the pink teenage dream and the shatter black $13.00 total.
Anybody tried Teenage Dream and Late Friday Night over the black shatter? I’m curious what they would look like if the black shatter was underneath since they’re so sheer.
I was wondering if the glitter polishes were meant to partner with Not Like The Movies and The One That Got Away (the blue and pink respectively). Since Black Shatter came out it seems that everyone is trying that over the accompanying polishes instead of thinking the collection may actually be two polishes wearable alone and then partnered with one of the other three – or one polish, one glitter and then topped with Black Shatter. These applications then result in quite a few more looks.
Just a thought.
i agree, OPI could have picked out other colors for the shatter polish, and Katy Perry… well i was expecting the colors to be more unique! only color thats a winner is NLTM! everything else looks boring
I completely agree with your post, Last Friday Night, disappointed me and “The One that Got away”, stole the show along with “Not like the movies”
So “Black Shatter” is part of both the Katy and Serena collections? Are they exactly the same?
I really love the sideways application! I haven’t seen that anywhere else yet. Thanks!
Ooh, I’m excited to hear China Glaze is coming out with crackle polishes. Is this a spring or summer collection?
Black Shatter is sold out everywhere in Vancouver, Canada. It’s so frustrating!
Didn’t like LFN by itself at all. I put it over China Glaze Seaspray on one of my nail wheels and LOVE. It’s now my pedicure.
i want to see ur swacthes of the texas collection!! hope u post some soon!
I’m wearing Teenage Dream right now and I love it so much. I usually don’t wear pinks (I have more blues and greens and purples), but the glitter in this is amazing and so colorful!
I can’t find Black Shatter anywhere though. My Ulta store sold out in five hours. Sort of upsetting that people are already selling this online for $14+. I’ll just be looking forward to the China Glaze shatters instead.
I was wondering if the One that Got Away looks anything like Ali’s Big Break from the Burlesque collection. I picked up Not Like the Movies, my Ulta also was already sold out of the Shatter polish by the time I got there…not that I was going to purchase it! I thought NLtM might look like Lippmann Wicked Game….
I was only able to get my hands on the mini versions of the katy perry collection, I can’t wait to get the big sizes. I don’t like The One That Got Away, I thought I would but I have other nail colors that are close to that color, I know I won’t be buying a big bottle of that.
I found that if you put Last Friday Night over Essie’s Aruba Blue it looks really nice. I didn’t like Last Friday Night by itself because it is too sheer. But because it is sheer it doesn’t really distort the color of Essie’s underneath and gives it a nice sparkle.
I’m wearing ‘Teenage Dream’ right now and I love it. It’s super pink in the bottle but not so pink on the nails. I noticed after my second coat it looked a little like champagne but after the third it was more pink. I think this is a great color on it’s own or layered over other colors as a topcoat. I love how my nails look like little disco balls.
I agree with previous comments about this polish feeling a bit thick. When I first opened mineI thought I had bought a tester by accident because it was so goopey. But glitter is forgiving and hides poor application well. I just hope it doesn’t get any thicker in the near future!
For those asking about Ali’s Big Break (Burlesque) and The One That Got Away, I have both and IMO they are different. ABA is more red with tiny flecks of glitter while TOTGA is more of pinky color.
Today I tried one coat of OPI Teal The Cows Come Home whit two coats of Last Friday Night and it is so enormously gorgeous!
The colors really compliment each other and the result is a beautiful blue with lots of sparkle!
You have a wonderful blog!
i love all the colours bar teenage dreams but i have to wait till after st patricks day for the collection to be out over here in ireland
hmmm the shatter looks pretty good! but the sparkle just from the bottle looks like childrens cheap nail polish and the blue on the nail makes it look even more so
Can you use a top coat with the OPI crackle? My Ulta finally had it in stock, I have no clue what took so long. Anyways if you use it over Orly Snowcone (its like a ligh sky blue) the crackle effect looks amazing, just saying:)
The One That Got Away (on me, it looks different than your pic – i applied 2 coats) looks like an online pic i saw of OPI La Boheme
OMG! After many days of waiting and searching every single nail polish store in my neighborhood, I FINALLY got my hands on a bottle of the black shatter! I must say, its pretty rad! I didnt think much of it in swatch pictures, but now that I own it, Im in love! I was concerned that there would be some sort of “learning curve” associated with getting a nice even crackle, but I was able to get a phenomenal effect on the first try. The formulation is excellent!
Im wearing it over a reddish-orange base and although the contrast is a bit subtle, it certainly looks nice!
I think I have just found a savior for all my “too bright” or “doesn’t work with my skin color” polishes in my collection.
I cant wait to try it with more bases! I now know why it was sold out EVERYWHERE!
I found 2 similar siblings for Teenage Dream & Last Friday night, if anyone is still looking for those two. It’s a drugstore cheapie called Confetti, which I found at CVS for $1.99, and the pink is called Pink Confetti (clever, huh?) and the blue is called Party Palace Blue.
I dont know if i have a bad bottle of OPI black shatter, or am i using the wrong bottom coat of polish but this black shatter is not working for me and ive tried 5x. It looks nothing like the pictures, it looks ridiculous and dirty. Does the first coat of polish have to be completley dry in order for this to work?
you have to make sure the polish (base color) is really really dry before applying the shatter.
Keep trying and you will love!! the effect
I love wearing The One That Got Away with Teenage Dream over it. I’ve had many compliments.
I think an aqua with depth would have been a great color under the black shattered. I totally agree about Last Friday Night not working with the black. Oh well as usual they did not consult me
I’ve been messing around with my polishes tonight, and I think you should know that one coat of TOTGA over black is quite possibly the most gorgeous magentaish color EVER. You should try it
I loveeee the “Teenage Dream” one! It’s so beautiful!
I love The One That Got Away, but I’m not a huge fan of the rest.
I put Not Like The Movies under Black Shatter and it looked gray…Before that it just looked plain funky,didn’t look green or anything,but it was from the mini collection and I had to hunt down my Black Shatter,TD,and The One That Got Away.Last Friday Night I won’t be buying in full-size,cause I only like it as a top coat for black polish.
[...] just not patient enough. Right now I’m rockin’ OPI’s Katy Perry collection, the “Not Like the Movies” color. It looks silver/gray in room light but flashes green with a little purple in the sunlight. [...]
Did anyone notice that there were TWO different “Not Like At The Movies”…One is completely turquoise glittery silver and one has the turquiose but with pink or purplelish pink hues in it…?
I received The One That Got Away for a gift. I LOVE IT! probably one of my favorite nail polishes ever. Have yet to try crackle with it, but I don’t really want to.