When I first laid eyes on OPI Stranger Tides from the Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, it was like X marks the spot!
Pirate booty is the best kind of booty call! And I wouldn’t mind getting shipwrecked if Johnny Depp was there with me and we were enjoying a bottle o’ rum.
This anemic, murky green won me over because a) I hadn’t seen a green like it before and b) it gave me a slight case of Zombie Hands, which I actually like.
Plus I give kudos to OPI for putting out more greens lately. In the past, we’ve seen red after red in so many collections. It was great to see that they’re expanding and testing the waters.
If you’re looking for a unique green that looks both sophisticated and zombie-ish at the same time, you’ll love Stranger Tides by OPI as much as I do!
OPI Stranger Tides Pictures
OPI Stranger Tides Swatches
All swatches have:
- 1 coat of OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
- 2 coats of OPI Stranger Tides
- 1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Indoors - Natural Light
Indoors - Natural Light
Indoors - Natural Light
Indoors - Natural Light
Indoors - Natural Light
Flash
Flash
Indoors - Natural Light
Flash
Claim: TRUSTED
√ Sage green
Key Notes
- Name: OPI Stranger Tides
- Collection: OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Collection 2011
- Colors Available in OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Collection: Stranger Tides, Skull & Glossbones, Mermaid’s Tears, Steady As She Rose, Sparrow Me the Drama, Planks a Lot & Silver Shatter
- Amount: 15 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: $9.95 CAD
- Where to Buy: Trade Secrets, select salons & Trans Design (currently out of stock, but they could restock)
OPI Stranger Tides Review
Color
I’d describe Stranger Tides by OPI as an anemic green because it’s very pale and could look sickly on some skin tones. But this Zombie Hands effect that it gave me while still being a sophisticated hue really intrigued me. Plus, I don’t own any dupes of this, which makes it unique to me.
Picture a squeaky-clean minty green polish that decided to take a stroll through the shady part of town. It comes back corrupted and several shades murkier as a result.
But even though this is a down and dirty type of green, it can actually look classy because it’s demure. Somehow, Stranger Tides is able to walk the line.
Application & Formula
What a breeze this baby was to apply! Smooth. Perfection. And it has a forgiving formula since even if you apply too much polish in a section, it levels itself out.
Finish
Without a top coat, this green creme still shines, but it’s not as shiny as glass or like when you use Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. (But you should always wear a top coat to increase your manicure mileage! Yes, I’ll keep nagging you because I’m your Manicure Mom. Now, go and tidy up your room!)
OPI Stranger Tides vs. Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down
These are both awesome colors, but if you aren’t getting both (awww!), then here’s the color breakdown for ya.
- OPI Stranger Tides is a much-lighter murkier green that could wash out some skin tones.
- Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down is the same kind of fatigue hue that green khaki pants come in and I can’t see this shade washing out any skin tones. Of the 2 colors, this one I think is more universally flattering.
Get fresh with the link if you want to see my swatches and review of Caught With My Khakis Down to compare.
Brush
Stranger Tides comes with the famous OPI ProWide Brush that is wider (duh!) than your typical nail-polish brush. It picks up a lot of polish and covers more of your nail at one time, so you can give yourself a manicure faster. You’ll also reduce how many times you have to dip your brush back in to get more lacquer.
Some people, however, hate this brush. If you have super-small nail beds, then I’d say stay away from this kind of brush because you’ll get polish all over your cuticles. But if you have average-to-large nail beds, this is perfect and very easy to get the hang of using.
I have small feet (shoe size is 5!), and my toenails are small, too. I find that although I love this brush for my fingernails, I hate it for my toenails because the brush is too big and makes it harder to avoid getting polish on the cuticle.
Ingredients
Stranger Tides by OPI doesn’t have any Formaldehyde, Toluene, or DBP, so people who are trying to make healthy polish choices will appreciate this.
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 9/10
I’m really enjoying wearing this dirty green, and it’s a breath of fresh air especially since I’ve been seeing so many typical mint greens. Mint greens can sometimes make my hands look really red, but a subdued green like OPI Stranger Tides doesn’t do that.
Do you like murky, anemic greens like I do? Will you be watching The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? Does Johnny Depp make you drool?
This color looks great on you! I started out thinking I didn’t need any from this collection…now I am slowly trying to acquire them all. I recently wore “Steady As She Rose” and love that one. I like how this one is neutral enough but still different because it is green!
Shimmer recently posted: Revlon Sunshine Sparkle Pictures & Review
Hey Shimmer!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Hehe, I’m the same as you. I’ll see a collection and think, “Yes, I can pass on it and save some money!” Then I see swatches or pass by the bottles again. After taking a longer look, I sometimes change my mind about some. The polish companies always get us!
Lovely, lovely color Mary 😉 Do you think the collection generally is worth it?
Alaeis recently posted: Cherry blossom spiring design –
Hey Alaeis!
Thanks for the compliment! (The way to this woman’s heart is through compliments on my nails! :P)
The Pirates of the Caribbean collection is very pretty, but I won’t be buying all the colors because I’m trying to save money (hehe…good luck with that, right?) and since my nail-polish collection is pretty large, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m trying to avoid buying colors that are too similar to what I already own…unless it’s a green or duochrome. Hehe!
To me, Stranger Tides is the absolute must-have from this collection because it’s unique. Also, Silver Shatter is pretty awesome for anyone who’s into the crackle trend, but I’ve had a tough time finding this in stores near me. They’re sold out everywhere I checked. (A very kind Twitter follower actually picked up a bottle for me. It’s on its way over, and I can’t wait to try it and then blog about it!)
Mermaid’s Tears looks very pretty, and if you don’t already have something similar, this is a good 2nd choice. But I don’t feel like it’s as unique as Stranger Tides.
Saw Skull & Glossbones in the store, but I left it behind because I’m not the biggest fan of pale grays and, again, I was trying to save money. It looked like there might be a touch of green in it, but it looked mostly gray to me.
The 2 pinks looked pretty, but I have such a hard time wearing pinks. Unless they are medium-to-dark and saturated, they can make my fingernails look dirty. I haven’t figured out the trick to finding a good pink that flatters my skin tone. But I’ve seen these on others, and they’re very nice.
Planks a Lot, the purple, looks extremely pretty, but I have so many purples already (OPI Do You Lilac It?, OPI Done Out in Deco, China Glaze Grape Pop, plus so many more) that I didn’t feel a need to get it.
They have the mini set with 4 tiny bottles (Skull & Glossbones, Sparrow Me the Drama, Planks a Lot, and Stranger Tides) if you wanted to test out the colors without committing to the full-size bottle. Only thing with those is that the brush is super small and the bottles can be hard to open if you get dried polish around the neck. (I actually like using these smaller brushes for my toenails because I have really small feet.)
Hehe…I know that was a long-winded answer to your question! Just wanted to cover most of the bases. Hope that helps!
Are you planning to get any from the collection?
Stranger tides and crackle polish for sure…Like you I’m not a big fun of pinks…but I’ll definitely check them out in the store just in case 😉
Alaeis recently posted: TAG!
Hehe…good idea. Leave no polish unturned!
Hmm Im undecuded, I like the shade when it looks darker, but not in the photo with the flash. It almost seems flat to me, but I am TOTALLY in for some colours other than red coming out!!
M recently posted: Random Wednesday
Hey M!
The pictures I took in natural lighting better reflect how Stranger Tides looks most of the time. The photos with flash drastically washed out the color a lot. Hope that helps you decide. 🙂
And I also apparently can not spell undecided…..lol.
M recently posted: Random Wednesday
Hehehe