My OPI Designer Series: OPI DS 001 - 003: Shimmer, Exclusive and Original

Hello

I am lucky enough to have all of the regular OPI Designer Series polishes. There are just under 50 and they have been available for around ten years with OPI releasing a few new ones every year. There are a few that were released into the Japanese market. I do not have any of these.

The first few were stunning linear holographic polishes. They have ventured into shimmers, duo chromes, scattered holos, liquid sands and matte along the way. I think it is fair to say the earlier ones are the most sought after and are possibly the most beautiful. I recall gazing at DS Amethyst and Sapphire in wonder at all the rainbow colours. This was 2006-7 and I wasn't really into polish at that time.

I have bought some brand new and many from private sales on eBay or Amazon. Some were gifts from friends. Most were reasonably priced; one or two were rather more expensive but none were super silly priced. I have seen some on eBay recently for very high prices.

I love these polishes and even the later ones have something about them. With holos becoming almost ubiquitous from the Indies, maybe the DS are no longer as unique as they were. They were, at the time, very different and to me, very special. The only gripe I have is that the silver lids (that distinguish them from normal OPI polishes) tend to tarnish over time. They were sold in boxes at one point.

The blue polish on my middle fingers is Enchanted Polish, Bruised Nutcracker. It isn't part of this OPI series but was just there asking to be used.

OPI DS Shimmer (001) is shown on my little finger. It is a white-ish holo with some golden tone to it and needs two or three coats for full coverage. It dries quickly.

The earlier DS polishes are not 3 free and this means that they are a bit on the stinky side. They have that strong nail polish smell; not as bad as Kleancolor by any means but they have a distinctive smell.
 

OPI DS Exclusive (002) is possibly my favourite, it is a rich magenta and it has a thicker formula than most of the early DS polishes. This is two coats.

I have used OPI DS Topcoat to finish off. It seems thicker than other OPI topcoats and reminds me of Seche Vite. It seems to dry reasonably quickly and gives a high gloss finish.

The polish below is OPI DS Original (003). It is a dusky violet and I am sure it is what some experts would describe as a brown leaning violet. This is three coats; it is quite sheer to start with but builds up well. I might have, accidentally, acquired three of this one!

So pretty it deserves its own picture!

Some DS polishes are still available from retail sellers of OPI but most are long discontinued and will have to be found in eBay or Facebook sale pages. It took me about a year to complete my collection once I decided to do so. Many came from the USA so postage is another thing to factor into buying.
 

If you are reading, then I'd love your comments, feedback is always appreciated. I am not a nail technician or a photographer! I do not claim to have fantastic nails. I simply own some fabulous polishes!

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