Whenever a new OPI Designer Series polish comes out, I get really excited because I keep hoping that the company will bring back some of the amazing hard-to-find holographic lacquers that people are going nuts over!

One of the latest additions to the Designer Series line is OPI DS Luxurious. No, it’s not holographic, but it sure is gorgeous! You’ll be able to get your hands on it in September…or sooner because some smaller shops tend to stock them earlier.

If you’ve been reading my blog posts for a little while, you’ll know that even though I have several orange nail polishes, they definitely are a minority in my collection. However, I’m trying to wear more because I’m starting to branch out and appreciate more shades rather than always sticking to my ‘comfort polishes’.

OPI DS Luxurious is one of my prettier orange polishes. Allow me to tell you more and show you swatches! Later on in this post, I’ll also compare it to 3 other nail polishes.

OPI DS Luxurious Pictures

OPI DS Luxurious Swatches

All swatches have:

• Nubar Foundation Base Coat
• 2 coats of OPI DS Luxurious
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Claim: TRUSTED

√ Coral-red with a golden glisten

Key Notes

• Name: OPI DS Luxurious
• Collection: OPI Designer Series Collection
• Press Release: Click here to see the OPI Designer Series press release featuring 2 new colours added
• 2 New OPI DS Colours: DS Luxurious & DS Indulgence
• Amount: 15 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
• What I Paid: Nothing! (This was provided by PR.)
• Where to Buy: Trade Secrets & select salons, spas & beauty-supply stores (Available in September, but you may be able to find it sooner at smaller stores.)

OPI DS Luxurious Review

Colour

Okay, OPI is fancier than me because they describe the colour as a coral-red. I’d just describe the base colour as a reddish orange. You can also say that it’s tangerine because it’s not as soft as orange, but it’s not as red as, say, a cherry red. It hits that sweet spot right in the middle.

Finish

The finish is what makes DS Luxurious by OPI special. Without it, it’d be nice enough, but not memorable.

It has small gold glassflecks. Well, it’s metallic-looking and not transparent like glass, so maybe it’s better for me to call them ‘goldflecks’. These flecks catch the light very easily and make the entire polish look like burning embers, which is quite stunning.

Unlike OPI DS Temptation that had extremely gritty glitter and a chunky finish without a top coat, OPI DS Luxurious is extremely smooth and grit-free without a top coat.

I also want to let you know that removing this polish is eaaassssy! I was extremely surprised that even with 2 medium coats of it, it came off as easily as a creme polish! (I’m not exaggerating. I didn’t have to scrub my nail much with the cotton ball. The polish just came off easily…even those goldflecks!)

Application & Formula

The formula is perfect. Yes. Perfect. It’s smooth and not too thin or too thick. It’s also extremely self-levelling, so the polish spreads itself evenly even if you apply it hastily.

Price

OPI Designer Series polishes are always significantly more expensive than regular OPIs. We’re talking about $14.95 CAD compared to the standard $9.95 CAD.

So is OPI DS Luxurious worth the high price tag? Well, yes, the colour is spectacular, but I felt like it wasn’t mind-blowing enough for me to justify the price hike.

(If you can never justify paying nearly $15 CAD on one bottle of polish, don’t worry – continue reading because I’m going to suggest and show another polish that’s less expensive and that has a similar look.)

OPI DS Luxurious Dupes?

You may have been thinking, “Haven’t I seen this shade before?” when looking at my swatches of OPI DS Luxurious. In fact, I thought I had a dead-on dupe…but did I?

I pulled out the orange polishes from my Helmer that I thought would be the closest. Here’s what I came up with:

As you can see, I wasn’t able to find a dead-on dupe for OPI DS Luxurious. It could be that I don’t have tons of orange polishes to begin with, but I think it’s more than OPI DS Luxurious actually is quite special in its own right.

Below are some swatches I did on a nail wheel so you can hopefully better see them compared side-by-side. I used 2 coats of each polish.

China Glaze Orange Marmalade was way sheerer and more watery than the other 3 polishes. It also was a muted orange in comparison. Out of all the colours I compared, this was the furthest away from being a dupe.

China Glaze Riveting was the closest to being a dupe of OPI DS Luxurious, but it’s not a dead-on dupe. If you need to squash a lemming for DS Luxurious due to your budget or because you can’t find it in the store, I highly recommend that you get Riveting. The base orange leans more orange than red (like DS Luxurious), but the gold shimmer complements the orange nicely and has that burning embers effect. I think the shimmer in Riveting is a bit smaller than DS Luxurious, though. Still, it’s a great option. The formula is very pigmented.

Zoya Myrta had a slightly different orange base than OPI DS Luxurious, and it certainly isn’t a dupe because the shimmer is a combination of gold and silver. That gives off a completely different effect. It was, however, very pigmented.

(Click here to see my detailed Zoya Myrta Swatches & Review post if you’re curious to learn more. Zoya Myrta was provided by PR.)

Note: All 4 polishes had pretty much the same smooth finish. None of them were gritty.

Pros Gorgeous orange-gold combo looks like glowing embers Great pigmentation Self-levelling formula is easy to apply

Cons Costs much more than a standard OPI polish There are polishes from other brands that are relatively close & that cost much less

Final Verdict: 8.5/10

OPI DS Luxurious is striking on the nail as well as in the bottle. If you see it in the sunlight, you’ll ooh-and-ahh over it.

(Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture it as a full manicure with my camera when the sun was out. Most of the sun seemed to come out when I was at work. Then, when I was whipping together this post, the sun came out, so I could take the bottle photos in the sunlight, but I had already changed my manicure! Thankfully I was able to paint a nail wheel and snap it!)

If you’re looking for an orange-gold polish that’s fully alive, this is beautiful! However, if the price deters you, just try to find China Glaze Riveting instead.

What finishes for your orange polishes do you prefer? Do you like OPI DS Luxurious or China Glaze Riveting better? What’s your favourite OPI Designer Series polish you own or have seen?