Just a couple of days ago, you saw that I posted the press release on this OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set!

Well, today, I have an in-depth review and tons of swatches to share with you.

This will be a little different than usual. Normally, I review one shade in a separate post. However, since most people who are interested in this set will be buying it for all the colours and not just one, I think it makes more sense to show you them together. (Hehe, plus I wanted an excuse to wear a skittle manicure. Not that I needed one!) 😉

OPI recommends that you wear 1 coat of the OPI White Base, 2 coats of colour, and then a clear top coat.

In this post, I’ll show you a skittle manicure with all these colours using OPI’s suggested application method. But, you’ll also see what 1 coat of the OPI White Base looks like on its own and just the colours without the white base. I’ll also show you what a single coat of colour looks like over the white base.

It’s going to be pretty picture-heavy because of all the combinations, but I think it’ll help you make a better decision whether you like it or not.

OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set Pictures

Size Comparison

 

OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set Swatches

All swatches have:

• OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener (Used as a base coat)
• 1 coat of OPI White Base
• 2 coats:
  • OPI Don’t Say It – Yellow It! (Yellow)
  • OPI The Time Is Pow! (Orange)
  • OPI Pink Outside the Box (Pink)
  • OPI Blue It Out of Proportion (Blue)
• OPI Top Coat

Natural Light Photos

Flash Photos

OPI Don’t Say It – Yellow It! Swatches

OPI Don’t Say It – Yellow It! Review

This was advertised as a spiked-lemonade yellow. It’s definitely a lively yellow to wear, but I think it’s more bright and not really neon.

Over the white base, it popped. Without the base (as you’ll see below), I noticed that it actually has a jellyish quality to it because it’s a bit translucent.

As with a lot of yellows, this one’s streaky. If your white base is streaky, applying even 2 coats of this yellow on top will still make it look streaky. So, my advice if you want better results is to apply 2 coats of the white base and then 2+ coats of the yellow polish.

OPI The Time Is Pow! Swatches

OPI The Time Is Pow! Review

Out of all the shades in this collection, I felt like the orange popped the most. It was very bright and saturated. And I felt like it covered well, too, both with and without the white base.

Although I don’t usually wear many oranges, this is one that I really love. It’s vibrant, and it definitely reminds me of summer! (Great formula, too!)

This was the only one in the set that I considered to be close to a neon. Love it!

OPI Pink Outside the Box Swatches

OPI Pink Outside the Box Review

The pink also seemed to be one of the ones in this set that had better coverage with or without the white base.

I still don’t consider this pink to be neon, but it is fun and bright.

The formula was easy to work with.

OPI Blue It Out of Proportion Swatches

OPI Blue It Out of Proportion Review

Second only to the orange, this was my favourite. The bold shade contrasted nicely against my skin tone, and I loved how the formula was jellyish and reminded me a little of water (well, water in comic books!).

It was easy to work with, but a little streaky. It wasn’t as pigmented as the orange or pink, but there’s just something about this kind of dramatic blue that makes me forgive its streakiness.

Claim: BUSTED, but Product: TRUSTED (I still enjoyed these colours a lot, despite not being true neons.)

• Neon (No) – I only considered the orange as being close to a neon. The others just seemed bright. (Very lovely, but not neon compared to other neons I’ve worn.)

Key Notes

• Name: OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set
• Press Release: Click here to see the OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set press release
• What You Get in the Set: White Base, Don’t Say It – Yellow It!, The Time Is Pow!, Pink Outside the Box, Blue It Out of Proportion & Top Coat
  
• Amount: 6 bottles x 3.75 mL (1/8 fl. oz.)
• What I Paid: Nothing! (This was provided by PR.)
• Where to Buy: Trade Secrets & select spas, salons & beauty-supply stores

OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set Review (Overall Thoughts)

Colours

I really like how the OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set lets you try a bunch of shades without having to commit to full-size bottles. Not everyone has the money to buy 6 full-size OPI shades, so this is a cute and nice way to build your collection and to see what type of colours you like (or don’t like).

This set would be great to give to someone who likes to do nail art. The white base is a staple for lots of designs, and with this one set, you could come up with some really playful summer manicures and pedicures! Plus the skittle possibilities are virtually endless!

The orange seemed to be the closest to a true neon, and I found that the other shades were just bright. (But that’s because I have a lot of neons in my collection, and those ones are retina-burning in comparison!)

These are still great stand-alone shades to own, but if you want the retina-burning type of neons, you’ll be disappointed, unfortunately.

OPI White Base

OPI recommends that you use one coat of the included White Base to make the colours pop. It does work, and you can think of it like ‘polish underwear’. 

This is a great trick for when you encounter streaky polishes that need a little boost.

Here’s what a single coat of the OPI White Base looks like. As you can see, it does apply better than a lot of whites, however, it’s still streaky. (I would actually suggest using 2 coats if you don’t want any streaks. Good formula for a white, though. A lot are muchhhh streakier than this! If this came in a full-size bottle, I would buy it to use for nail art.)

OPI Neon Revolution Nail Polishes without the White Base (3 Coats)

I realize that not everyone likes to use a white base, so here are some pictures to show you what each colour looks like by itself.

I used 3 coats to see if the streakiness of the yellow would go away. It didn’t. The yellow was so streaky on its own that I wouldn’t recommend wearing it without the white base. (Yeah, you could wear 3+ coats, but I don’t think a lot of people have time for that.)

The orange, pink, and blue looked pretty good, even without the white base, so I think that if you’re willing to wear 3 coats, you could use them solo no problem. Keep in mind, though, that with those, you won’t get 100% opacity. But, from a normal viewing distance, they’re really good and the very slight streakiness you may see isn’t a big deal.

Natural Light Photos

Flash Photos

1 Coat Over White Base

While I was painting my nails, I thought it would be a good idea to snap photos of the colours with just a single coat over the white base so you could see the pigmentation and finish better.

They dry to a dull finish, so you should definitely wear it with a top coat, unless you like that look.

OPI Top Coat Review

Okay, if you follow my blog, you’ve probably noticed that in 99.9% of all my nail-polish posts, I mention that I used the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (except with textured polishes). That’s because I don’t like waiting for my nails to dry. Fast-drying top coats like this are the only way I’m able to paint my nails as often as I do.

The OPI Top Coat is not fast-drying. For these photos, I’m wearing just the OPI Top Coat, but after I photographed everything and wore this as my manicure, I had to put on Seche Vite because I didn’t have time to wait for the manicure to cure.

There’s nothing wrong with the OPI Top Coat – it adds a nice glossy finish! However, I’m so accustomed to having my manicures dry fast that a regular top coat seems really slow. (Spoiled much? Hehe!) 😉

If you use this top coat, I suggest pairing it with quick-drying drops or the quick-drying sprays to speed things up.

Small Mini Brush

I’ve heard a lot of people complain about how they don’t like mini brushes because they’re harder to use. Well, if you have small fingernails and small toenails like I do, these mini brushes are actually amazing to use!

I have women’s size 5 feet, and my baby toe is, well, realllly tiny! Haha! So I especially love using mini brushes on my toenails since there are fewer chances of me painting my cuticles by mistake.

Also, I have small hands and narrow fingers, so with this tiny brush, I feel like it suits my size.

If you have wide nail beds or average-to-large fingers, then, yes, I can see how these small brushes would pose a challenge.

I think this set would be a wonderful gift for a lucky kid. The small brush seems ideal for children (hehe, or women like me who are like little kids)! 😉

Pros Lots of fun, summery shades Comes with a white base Comes with a clear top coat Great set for nail art Cute, collectible bottles Tiny brush is great for painting little nails (on kids and for those with small feet like me!)

Cons Only the orange is close to being a neon Clear top coat doesn’t dry fast

Final Verdict: 8/10

I really like this set, even though the neons aren’t as neon as I expected.

In fact, if you just take the name “Neon Revolution” away and just take this set for what it is, it has a really nice combination of colours that you can use together or separately, for full manicures/pedicures, skittles, or nail art. If they just added a black, it would actually be 100% ideal for nail art, hehe, but that would go against their “Neon Revolution” statement.

Out of all the colours, the orange is my top pick. I know I’ll be wearing that one again as a full manicure. Next would be blue, followed by the pink and lastly the yellow.

What do you think of the OPI Neon Revolution Mini Set? Which is your favourite shade from the bunch? Do you use mini polishes?