As many of you know, I tend to wear more reds around Christmas, but hardly any during the rest of the year. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some reds that make my heart beat faster and my pupils dilate.
Even though OPI churns out a lot of reds, OPI Vodka & Caviar is one of the few that I’m highly impressed with because it has a glossy, perfect formula.
I’ve worn this a few times, and the strange thing is that I keep forgetting how awesome it is. Then I’ll wear it and think, “I should wear this more often!”
Aside from festive red glitters, OPI Vodka & Caviar is my favorite red. Why? There are tons of red creme polishes out there, but this, my fellow nailphiles, is a saturated red jelly polish!
Maybe it’s because I don’t wear many red nail polishes, but whenever I wear Vodka & Caviar, I think it looks very classy…traditionally feminine.
Plus I get a kick thinking that I have ‘vodka’ and ‘caviar’ on my nails. How absolutely decadent, dahhhling! Hehe…but no, I’ve never eaten caviar. Fish eggs are too rich for my blood. Nail polish is not.
OPI Vodka & Caviar Pictures
OPI Vodka & Caviar Swatches
All swatches have:
- 1 coat of OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
- 2 coats of OPI Vodka & Caviar
- 1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight
Flash
Flash
Sunlight
Flash
Claim: TRUSTED
√ Elegant, indulgent shade of rich crimson
Key Notes
- Name: OPI Vodka & Caviar
- Collection: OPI Russian Collection (Fall/Winter 2007)
- Colors in the OPI Russian Collection: Vodka & Caviar, Boris & Natasha, Siberian Nights, An Affair in Red Square, Russian Navy, Ruble for Your Thoughts, Catherine the Grape, Cosmo-Not Tonight Honey!, Midnight in Moscow, Suzi Says Da!, Kreme de la Kremlin & St. Petersburgundy
- Amount: 15 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: Nothing! (This was a birthday gift from Matty a couple of years ago. It retails for $9.95 CAD.)
- Where to Buy: Trade Secrets & beauty-supply stores
OPI Vodka & Caviar Review
Color
OPI Vodka and Caviar is a rich red. Very classic. I’d classify it as medium in terms of brightness. This is the kind that I love because if you take reds for a walk on the dark side, it comes out vampy. While I love dark-cherry reds, this is actually the shade of red I crave more often than not.
Finish
Now for the exciting part! Vodka & Caviar has a jelly finish. What does that mean? It isn’t opaque and flat like a creme polish can be. A jelly is saturated, translucent color. The result is a look that seems ‘squishy’ – it delivers high glossiness!
The downside of a jelly finish (or a Sorbet finish as OPI has introduced with the more recent, Texas Collection) is that it’s prone to visible nail lines. It wasn’t too bad on me because right now my nails are short, but if you have long nails, it’ll be more obvious. Maybe it’ll bug you. Maybe it won’t. It doesn’t bother me because I just love this finish so much!
Application & Formula
Perfect! It was smooth and thin. With just 2 coats, I got great coverage for a jelly nail polish. The formula was the easiest to work with – went where I wanted it to go.
Ingredients
OPI Vodka and Caviar doesn’t contain any Formaldehyde, Toluene, or DBP. However, it does contain Formaldehyde resin, which makes this polish Big-3-Free and not Big-4-Free.
Pros
|
Cons
|
Final Verdict: 9.5/10
Even if reds aren’t your thing, you’ll absolutely love this one – glossy and classic. I only subtracted half a point because of the visible-nail-line issue since it might be a deal breaker for you.
If you want a go-to red for almost any occasion, OPI Vodka & Caviar is it!
What are your favorite shades of red to wear? Do you also think that OPI puts out too many red nail polishes? Have you ever eaten caviar? Ever have it with vodka (if you’re of age)?
gorgeous! You’ve sold me on this colour. I’ve seen other swatches and not been that fussed but now I just have to try it. x
Lesley recently posted: espresso brown
Hey Lesley!
Thank you so much! 🙂 Oh, you’re going to love this. When I first wore it years ago, I didn’t think it was anything special – mainly bought it because I liked the snobby name…haha! Then I put it on and it was like, “Ooooohhhh!” Although there is some visible nail line, I can deal with it because the formula is incredibly easy to apply and it’s so shiny!
When you try it out, c’mon back and let me know what you thought of it. 🙂
Do you have any other reds you like, or are you similar to me and don’t wear too many of them except around Christmas?
I love this red on you, Mary! Very classic and pretty 🙂
Ruthe recently posted: China Glaze Crackle over Pure Ice Celestial
Hey Ruthe!
Why, thank you! This is definitely a red worth owning because it’s not like the usual 357398640646 red cremes you see out there. Jelly polishes have so much depth!
Do you have any red polishes that you like to wear?
I used to like vampy reds, but I’ve grown to love bright, rich reds exactly like Vodka & Caviar. I have this Almay polish that I”ve had forever but still love; it’s similar to Vodka & Caviar, but its a creme with a tiny bit of shimmer.
Ruthe recently posted: China Glaze Crackle over Pure Ice Celestial
Hey Ruthe!
How is the formula of Almay polishes? I’ve never tried any…hmm…and actually, maybe I had my blinders on because I didn’t even know they made nail polish! *Gasp* Did they discontinue them? Don’t think I’ve ever seen them.
I love this colour it’s probably my favourite red (well tied with Ruby Pumps) as it works well all year (not too bright, not too dark) and is that little bit more sophisticated than Big Apple Red. I especially love your photos, with your nail shape and the colour it looks right out of the 40’s or 50’s 🙂
Hey Stacey!
It’s definitely one of my favourite reds, too. Application is a breeze and the finish is so jellyish and shiny.
Thanks! The 40s and 50s had really cool fashion and makeup. That’s a HUGE compliment! 😀
I have this color and thought it was just a wonky formula. Now I realize that the nail line will show in this type of formula. I’m going to apply a third coat and see how it does.
Hey atlcharm!
You can also try layering jellies over cremes to get opacity without the visible nail line.