Hey, y’all! My Beautiful Weekend is in full swing, and we all know what that means. Yep! If I’m not running errands or traveling, it means heading into this blog for some nail polish fun. And I am so, so ready for it! Last week was busy, long, and tiring. And so was the week before that. Hmmm … could it be that this is just my life now? Say it ain’t so! (ha, ha!)
For today’s post, I have my first set of indie Opals. In my last Birthstones post, I shared my mainstream Opal picks. Remember how I said I expected I would have more in the indie part of my stash? Well, I was not wrong about that! I’m sure you are already expecting this, given the title for this post. I found a total of 32 polishes in my indie stash that said “Opal” to me. Yep, you read that correctly: 32! Even I was surprised! For today’s post, I am going to share the first half, so I will have 16 polishes to share in this post.
Just as a little refresher, here are the Opal example photos I tried to keep in mind when looking through my indie stash. (Note: All Opal photos are from the website Opalauctions.com.) This is a White Opal, which is translucent or semi-transparent, with play-of-color against a white or light gray background color.
This is an example photo of a Black Opal. These stones have a black or dark background, which makes the play-of-color seem very bright and vibrant.
Finally, here is a photo of a Fire Opal. This type of stone has play-of-color against a red, brown, yellow, or orange body color. It can also be translucent or semi-translucent, and this type of stone is often called “Mexican Opal”.
Okay! With that little refresher out of the way, let’s jump in and look at some pretty polish!
First up is Blush Lacquer, Not Your Average Seahorse. This polish was from one of the Polish Pickup sales, although I don’t remember the exact month off the top of my head.
In looking through my indie photos, I immediately thought “black opal” when I saw this one. I feel it shows even more in the macro. I feel that this mimics play-of-color pretty well, and the colors look vibrant and lovely against this dark blue base. The glitters and flakes in this polish are a bit small to truly look like play-of-color, but still … I think this polish is a great way to start off our list!
Next up is Cameo Colours Lacquer, Blackberry Moscow Mule. I’m pretty sure this is another Polish Pickup polish.
In looking at these photos now, I think this one may be a little more of a stretch. But, when I first looked through my stash pics, this polish immediately made me think “Fire Opal”. It’s the combination of the background color, which is kind of brown and kind of golden and a little bit green with the larger flakes. The flakes reflect color beautifully, and I think they can stand in for play-of-color. Overall, this one may be a little too green and a little too opaque. But — I’m still keeping it on the list.
Cameo Colours Lacquer, Rainbow Moonstone Magic.
Although this one is named for Moonstone, it made me think “White Opal” when I looked at the photos. There is not a huge amount of play-of-color in here, as you can see mostly blue tones from the flakes. But the slightly gray-blue background, the softness of the color, and the blue shimmers all put me in mind of opals I have seen in real life. Granted, I am not a rich person, so the opals I have seen in real life are probably on the lower quality side, since they would be cheaper. Still, this is a pretty one!
Colores de Carol, Aurora.
This one made me think “Black Opal”. The background is nice and dark, and the flakes show so many colors against it. Of course, this wouldn’t truly be an opal, as I don’t believe they come in purples. So we will call this one a bit of artistic license with what would and wouldn’t be an “opal” — ha, ha!
Colores de Carol, Camellia.
This is another White Opal candidate, which (I think) you can see even more in the macro shot. This is suuuuuch a pretty polish. It is delicate and has a soft and rather gentle look on the nail, especially when worn on its own. I think this polish may have been intended as a topper, and it works well that way. But I much prefer wearing it on its own. It takes at least four coats, but it is oh-so-worth it!! Anyhow, the soft, slightly glittery, slightly silvery look to the background and the colors from the flakes make me think Opal with this one.
Colores de Carol, Hotter Than the Sun.
Does this one say Fire Opal to you? Because it does to me!! It does not have a huge amount of play-of-color, as I find the flakes tend to be a little sparse in this one. But, for me, this background color feels spot-on for Fire Opal.
Colores de Carol, Norman.
I can’t decide if this one is more Black Opal or more Fire Opal … or, maybe, somewhere in between those two …?? Whatever the case, I felt it had to go on my list because of the way the background, although more opaque, has that perfect golden shimmer to it, which gives more of a golden-green color. I also think the flakes give a pretty decent play-of-color throughout each layer of manicure with this one.
Colores de Carol, Watch The Sunset.
I’m only sharing a macro of this one, as it is a topper. My swatch photo shows it over a number of different colors, and I also did macros of this over a number of different colors when I swatched it. I’ve also worn this one over several different colors. Anyhow, the point is: I feel this gray looks the most “opal” of all the photos I have for this topper. The play-of-color with this topper is amazing. You can see an entire rainbow of goodness in it. And yes — it really does look amazing over Any Color!
Colores de Carol, Wizard Lizard.
It seems I don’t have a macro photo of this one. This was one of the first iridescent flakie toppers I purchased. It was one of the polishes that made me realize how much I adore iridescent flakies and how much I adore iridescent flakie toppers. Also, when you look at it over a dark blue, as in my photo (over OPI, Coalmates), it has definite Black Opal vibes. Talk about play-of-color!
Cupcake Polish, Diamond.
I know this one is called Diamond, but it makes me think White Opal on its own and Black Opal when topped over a darker polish. This polish has so much play-of-color from the flakes. It is unreal. And it is gorgeous in every way.
Ever After, Playing With Fire.
This is the only polish in my stash that is named for and inspired by Opal. I hesitated to include it, as I know this brand ended up being a little bit controversial. I purchased this polish from a Polish Pickup sale that was themed on gemstones, and, as I said, I had to include it because it is actually based upon opal. The name leads me to think the maker intended to pattern this off of Fire Opal. But, this polish just screams Black Opal to me. It really is perfect in every way, from the dark background to the amazing play-of-color, and even down to the little bits of blue that you can see throughout each layer of manicure.
Glam Polish, Big Damn Hero, Sir.
This is another polish that makes me think Fire Opal when I look at the photos of it. It’s mainly down to the background color, which has that unique combination of yellow, green, gold, and red-orange that I saw in my sample Fire Opal photo. There is not a huge amount of play-of-color on this one, although I feel you get some from the shimmers.
Glam Polish, An Unexpected Journey.
I believe this may be the first iridescent flakie topper I ever purchased. And Wizard Lizard was the second. At any rate, I was in love from moment one! I feel definite “Opal” vibes with this one because you can see so many colors in the flakes. It’s too bad I don’t have a photo of this one over a black or a dark blue, as it would have a definite “Black Opal” look to it. On its own or over a white or light gray, it gives a White Opal vibe.
Moon Shine Mani, A Battle of Wits.
Now this polish definitely has play-of-color! The background, for me, does not really say “opal”, but I had to include this one because of how much color you can see from the flakes. It all reflects beautifully off of this base color, too.
Moon Shine Mani, Ragnarok.
Aaaand, I am closing out the first half of my indie Opals with another Fire Opal candidate. This polish does have play-of-color, as you can see some lovely greens from the flakes. For me, the flakes have always been a bit sparse on this one. I don’t know if they are that way for everyone, or if it’s just my bottle. But the background color for this polish is another one that I feel is nearly spot-on for the background/body color of a Fire Opal.
THE WRAP-UP:
Whew! That was so fun for me. I am still a little bit surprised that I found so many polishes in my indie stash that made me think “Opal” when looking at the photos of them. Then again, perhaps I should not be that surprised. A great way to see play-of-color in a polish is with iridescent flakes or reflective flakes. And y’all know Mama LOVES her flakey polishes!!
What about all of you? Do you have any indies in your stash that mimic Opals or that make you think of Opals when you wear them? I would love to hear all about it!
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