Reviews and Swatches: OPI - Kermit Me to Speak

I'm usually not one of those people who runs out to buy the brand new collection  from OPI  or China Glaze or Essie or whoever. (Indie brands, however, I DO tend to get excited for... even if I don't always  purchase them right away).  With big, mainstream brands, I tend to wait for sales or clearances or auctions or whatever way I can get them for less than $9 a bottle.

After a job interview yesterday, I elected for some retail therapy and wandered Ulta. I came across a display with the newly-released Muppets: Most Wanted collection and this polish, Kermit Me to Speak, grabbed my eye immediately. Somehow, despite my usual patterns, I found myself buying a brand new polish almost immediately after its release!



Brand: OPI

Name: Kermit Me to Speak

Product Description: "Listen up… I’ve got lots to say about this rosy mauve."

Vintage: March 2014

Collection: Muppets: Most Wanted collection

Limited Edition: yes

Size: 15ml /.5 fl oz
Dupes:

Oh, my duochrome! Look at that color shift.

Kermit Me to Speak is a true duochrome rather than a multichrome, shifting between two colors.  In this case, the polish shifts from a pinkish lavender on one end to a golden olive green on the other. The polish has a good, strong color shift and sometimes I keep finding myself stopping to stare at its beauty. I definitely get a reptilian or amphibian or beetle vibe from the color combination and would love to turn it into some sort of beetle carapace inspired nail art sometime!

Whenever I'm dealing with duochromes and multichromes, I make it a point to try them over a coat of black undies. It tends to bring out the color shift more and add a bit more opacity and boldness. You can also usually achieve full opacity in few coats. It's not always necessary, depending on the formula, but it's not a bad idea to try it out.

All of these photos show three coats of Kermit Me to Speak with no black undercoat on my middle and ring finger. My pinky and pointer finger show two coats of Kermit Me to Speak over one coat of Salon Perfect - Oil Slick, a black creme polish. The verdict? You don't need black undies for this polish, unless you want to use one less coat of Kermit Me to Speak. When brought up to full opacity, three coats and two coats+black look pretty identical.

The polish goes on relatively sheer, with a smooth, thin, formula. Even though the formula was on the thin side, I didn't get the runniness and cuticle-pooling that I always get with some other OPI polishes. Whenever I use Don't Pretzel My Buttons, another thin OPI polish, I always have to do a ton of cleanup.

Manicures/nail art that use this nail polish:

• Beetle Inspired Duochrome Stripes

Amusingly enough, this polish seemed very similar to "Next Stop...The Bikini Zone" from the recent Brazil collection. While they're not dupes, it is surprising to see two violet to green duochromes released in concurrent collections. From what I could see by comparing the bottles in the store, Next Stop... Bikini Zone has more of a shimmer in its formula and its chromatic shift is a lot more subtle than Kermit Me to Speak.

Also, as an aside, I'd like to mention how much it frustrates me that OPI is still using Flash for their website. :/ It makes the web designer / front end developer in my cringe.

• Website: http://www.opi.com/
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Disclaimer: I will give my honest opinion on any reviews and swatches that appear on this site, regardless of origin. All products mentioned in this review were purchased by myself <3