OPI Hawaii Collection and Tropical Tips

Aloha `auinala readers! Are you ready to dive into the beachiest, most exciting collection released this season? Welcome to OPI's Hawaii collection!

"After the long months of winter, women are eager to embrace color - soft pastels to bold accents of gleaming metallics," said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI's goddess co-founder. She certainly brought that desire to life with these 12 shades, which range from more muted, transitional colors (like Just Lanai-ing Around and Do You Take Lei Away?) to the totally tropical metallics like My Gecko Does Tricks. Of course, you can warm up next to some traditional spring shades, like the gorgeous mint creme That's Hula-rious!

I was totally inspired by almost every color, and knew that I wanted to create a super bold Hawaiian print over one of the colors. Here's the end result!

Every single color (except the yellow) is from this collection. The base is Lost My Bikini in Molokini, and I'm holding the previously mentioned That's Hula-rious! because it's simply my absolute favorite.

I'm dying for you to see all these fabulous colors, so let's start with some of my favorites...the pastels!

OPI - That's Hula-rious!

That's Hula-rious! (2 coats) is my new favorite mint creme of all time! No exaggeration! It applies perfectly in two coats. You better believe I've convinced a lot of unsure clients to put this on their toes, and no one's had anything bad to say about it.

OPI - Suzi Shops & Island Hops

Suzi Shops & Island Hops (2 coats) is a trickier formula to work with, but with patience it comes out perfectly pink. This baby pink isn't as chalky as other OPI baby pinks, like Mod About You, so if you've ever been turned off by that, this could be your fix.

OPI - Is Mai Tai Crooked?

Is Mai Tai Crooked? (2 coats) is as smooth and looks as tasty as an orange sherbet ice cream. And how punny is the name?

OPI - Do You Take Lei Away?

Do You Take Lei Away? (2 coats) is a very light nude that looks fantastic on fair skin. It is a few shades darker than My Vampire is Buff, and a few shades lighter than Did You Ear About Van Gogh? (both of which are popular OPI colors not found in this collection). This one just barely squeaks past the non-opaque line, covering perfectly in two coats.

OPI - Aloha From OPI

Aloha From OPI (2 coats) is practically a neon coral creme, but not quite. It's more orange than pink or red, and applies beautifully.

OPI - Lost My Bikini in Molokini

Lost My Bikini in Molokini (2 coats) is a bold and bright, royal purple creme. Again, this is what I used as the base for my nail art. Like most of the other cremes, it's very opaque and easy to work with.

OPI - Hello Hawaii Ya?

Hello Hawaii Ya? (2 coats) is one of the less bright colors in the collection. It's a dark, gray-ple creme that applies easily in two coats.

OPI - Just Lanai-ing Around

Another easy to apply, muted shade is Just Lanai-ing Around (2 coats), which is a rosy mauve neutral creme. I detected a tiny bit of shimmer in this one, which leads us right into the metallics and real shimmers.

OPI - Go With the Lava Flow

Go With the Lava Flow (2 coats) is a bright red foil with a pink-gold duochrome effect. It seems like it will be gritty and streaky, but it works beautifully in two coats too.

OPI - My Gecko Does Tricks

My Gecko Does Tricks (2-3 coats) isn't for those afraid of color! This lime green metallic is very light to go on in the first coat, and may take up to three coats to reach the opacity you prefer. Additionally, you can see the streaks (like almost every single metallic on earth). It does lend itself perfectly to the theme though!

OPI - This Color's Making Waves

This Color's Making Waves (2 coats) also looks sheer when you apply its first coat, but blends well in the second to create this fun teal and blue duochrome metallic with micro specks of foil. You'll see streaks again because of the metallic finish.

OPI - Pineapples Have Peelings Too!

Finally, there's Pineapples Have Peelings Too! (2 coats). This has to be one of the weirdest mixes of color, finish, and glitter I've ever seen. It's a brassy gold foil with different sizes of glitter in different colors, which all get masked by the metallic finish, muting them all. Sorry OPI, I think you missed the mark with this one, and I'm normally a huge fan of yellows! It certainly starts conversation, but it's all been questionable at best.

Of all the shades in this bunch, I hope that OPI keeps That's Hula-rious! and Do You Take Lei Away? as permanent fixtures in their staples. A good nude and mint are always in style, especially now that it's officially spring! Which would you make staples, and which would you pitch into the volcano for sacrifice?

Mahalo OPI for sending these samples, and to you all for reading!

The products in this post were given for review purposes. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.