Ever since I caught wind of OPI Save Me from the OPI Nicki Minaj Collection this year, it went straight on my To-Buy List.
Although I have 500+ bottles of nail polish, I don’t have any bar glitters.
(Well, when I was in high school, I had at least one bar-glitter polish, but I misplaced my entire high-school polish collection…so I consider this to be my first now.)
Instead of giving in right away to instant gratification, I decided to stick to my self-imposed strict budget and only purchase this when I achieved my goal.
This month, I reached my goal, so I rushed over to Trade Secrets and bought a bottle.
Okay, maybe I’m crazy (probably), but this polish was a let-down for me. It’s beautiful, of course, but I was expecting more. (I’m so demanding, I know! :P)
OPI Save Me Pictures
Flash
Natural Light
OPI Save Me Ingredients
OPI Save Me Swatches
All swatches have:
- Seche Clear Crystal Clear Base Coat
- 2 coats of Illamasqua Kink (This was sent to me by the company.)
- 1 coat of Save Me
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Flash Photos
Natural Light Photos
Crappy Artificial Light Photos
(I included these because the bar glitters showed up well.)
Claim: TRUSTED
√ Silver rainbow glitter
Key Notes
- Name: OPI Save Me
- Collection: OPI Nicki Minaj Collection 2012
- Colours Available in the OPI Nicki Minaj Collection: Save Me, Fly, Pink Friday, Metallic 4 Life & Did It On ‘Em
- Amount: 15 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: $9.95 CAD
- Where to Buy: Trade Secrets & NailPolishCanada.com
OPI Save Me Review
Colour
Save Me by OPI is predominantly silver. There’s small, dense silver glitter, and there’s holographic bar glitter that flashes blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and purple. It’s a fiesta on your nails!
While it looks magnificent in the bottle, the reason why I was a bit disappointed when it was on my nails was because it seemed to overwhelm the base colour and make it look too silvery for my liking.
Finish & Grittiness
This is a bar-glitter polish, so there’s noticeable texture on your nails. The bar glitters can be a little scratchy, especially when they hang over the edge of your nails. (I tried to push them back with the brush, but if even a little bit of the bar glitter hangs over the edge, it feels scratchy.) You can put an extra layer of top coat to smooth it out a little.
Some people have described the bar glitter as looking ‘hairy’ on their nails. I agree, it does! 😛 But, really, who doesn’t want to have hairy, holographic nails? 😉
Application & Formula
Save Me by OPI didn’t have a thick formula like I was expecting, but I can see how over the years, this one’s going to thicken up quickly, and I’ll need to use thinner to bring it back to a useable consistency.
Applying this was just okay. You can use the brush to push around the glitter to get the even distribution that you’d like, but I really didn’t like how the bar glitter had a tendency to stick out over the edge of my nails.
Layering Experiments
In my manicure above, I wore OPI Save Me over Illamasqua Kink, which is a deep green with a rubberized finish.
I was hoping that the green would show up more, but the silvery glitter really overtook Kink.
Very strange, but I thought Save Me would look best over a dark polish. After playing around on my nail wheel, I actually prefer how it looks over Illamasqua Stance (fuchsia violet) and the bare nail wheel (which is white).
(In case you’re curious, you can see my Illamasqua Stance swatches & review here without the glittery top coat.)
Note: All Illamasqua polishes shown here were sent to me by the company.
Flash (Base Colours Left-Right, All with 1 coat of OPI Save Me on Top): Illamasqua Scorn, Bare white nail wheel, Cult Nails Living Water, Illamasqua Kink & Illamasqua Stance)
Natural Light (Same order as above.)
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 5.5/10
This is a pretty polish that I love admiring in the bottle, but, on my nails (over a dark shade), I sadly wasn’t feelin’ it. Maybe I’ll fall for it over a pastel?
Did you get any of the colours from the OPI Nicki Minaj Collection? What do you think of bar glitter?
Morning Mary! You’re absolutely right. The silver in this “takes over” the base color. Although, it’s not too bad over a brighter base coat. (I guess that would explain why that collection was so bright. ;)) I had the problem with the bars hanging over the end of my nails too. I filed them off. Happy Easter!
Hey The KnitMaster!
Good morning to you, too! 😀 These days, it’s so beautiful and sunny out – really does wonders to boost the spirits!
Yes, you’re right – that’s probably why the rest of the collection was really bright. You know, when I see silver glitter, I usually think of layering over a dark colour. But this is the first case I’ve come across that defies that ‘rule’. And good idea about filing off the bar glitter that hangs over the edges. I didn’t even think of doing that.
HAPPY EASTER to you, too! 😀
Wow, this glitter applies really thick in one coat! Would you ever consider trying to make it go opaque? I’m not really feeling the whole bar glitter trend, myself–the bars remind me of those pictures of viruses in biology textbooks.
Hey Jessica!
Yes, it was so dense with just a single coat. I wonder if I put some thinner in it, if it would make it less dense.
I’d consider wearing it solo to make it opaque sometime, but I’d have to use the Foil Method to remove it because I’m sure it’ll take a lot of extra time getting this one off.
Hahahaha, I never thought of the bar glitter akin to pictures of viruses, but now that you mention it, I see it! Actually, haha, that makes me like it just a smidgeon more because it’s a little gross.
Oh no!! I’m so sorry it was a let down for you, especially since you “earned” it. I am on the other side though, it exceeded my expectations. I absolutely love it (but not so much with your base coat either). I tried on top of a silver and Wow! I couldn’t stop staring at my nails! I really encourage you to layer it with a silver before you complete write it off. I also tried it when Fly too but it doesn’t seem to be as memorable to me. Save Me & Silver= SCORE! =)
Hey Miranda!
Okay, I’ll give it another go sometime, but over silver. Good idea! 😀 Maybe I’ll use China Glaze Millennium.
This one practically jumped off the shelf and pinged me in the head when it came out.
I couldn’t wait to get it and have only worn it a few times because of the whole ‘hairy nails’ look. I did find that the bar glitters push back much better using a fingertip than the brush or an orange stick.
Silly as it sounds, never considered layering it over anything because of the dense silver glitter, but it does look pretty great over that fuschia and it does really well under shatters…even the OPI Pink Shatter looks good over it and, let’s face it, that Pink Shatter doesn’t look good over very many things.
Hey karen!
Hehe, it sure knows how to get attention, but why does it have to be so violet? Oh, that’s right – it’s been lifting bar glitter all day on the store shelf. 😉
Interesting to know that it works well under the Shatter polishes. (I also have the Pink Shatter and haven’t used it because I had a hard time pairing it with another colour. Thanks for your suggestion! :D)
I love Nicki, I wanted to get her whole colletion, but I am still not feeling the bar glitter. But I will admit you do make this polish look good! Also I actually think it fits in well with the rest of the Nicki Minaj collection.
Karen recently posted: Purple Gradient
Hey Karen!
Don’t blame you – lots of people weren’t feeling the bar glitter. I wanted it so much because it was pretty different than a lot of what I already have. But…sigh…what a let down. *Sniff sniff*
Aww, thanks for the compliment! 😀
I found I like this better over bright colors… I put it over a dark and was disappointed. I did really like it over OPI Fly, from the same collection.
I trimmed (with nail cutters) the little bits that hung over when it was all said in done… it was driving my bonkers and I knew I would start picking at them if I didn’t rectify the situation lol 😉
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Hey Kelly!
You’re right – it totally defied my previous rule that silver-glitter polishes tend to look best over dark base colours. Interesting! I’ll certainly have to try it over more bright colours…or even solo.
I got a similar holographic bar glitter in a black jelly base from H&M’s Love and Beauty line and I loved it in the store. As soon as I had it on my nails I HATED it so much I removed it before it had even dried. I couldn’t figure it out for a while, why I had such a strong reaction to it but after a few days I realized it reminds me of the whisker stubble my husband leaves on the bathroom floor after he shaves, blech. I will never never use bar glitter again. I will never be able to get that association out of my head.
Hey Heidi!
Some polishes are such beauties in the bottles. Then they reveal with beastly side when they’re on the nails. Guess it really is a case of “It’s What’s Inside That Counts”. 😉 Although…I like admiring bar glitter in the bottle still.
Hahahahahaha…oh my gosh! That’s so funny how it reminded you of the whisker stubble! HAHAHA! You crack me up, but it’s so true now that I think about it.
I didn’t like this one either! Like you, I thought it would look best over something dark, but I hated it that way! I haven’t found a way that I like to wear it yet – and I don’t think I ever will!
Hey Cristina!
Okay, so I’m not going crazy (or crazier). I’m relieved (but also saddened) that a bunch of other people have had the same disappointment in this polish. It was so promising in the bottle.
Some people on here are suggesting to wear it over brighter colours. Have you tried that?
I find bar glitter really annoying to work with. I do like this one but only over a dark gray base.
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Hey lacquerloon!
It’s not the easiest to work with when they hang over the edge of your nails, that’s for sure! Next time I’ll file them down so they’re not so sharp.
Oh, you liked it over a dark colour! I think you’re the only one on here so far who does – that’s great! 😀
Welcome to bar glitter! Zoya has 3 fun ones that came out at holiday – a blue in blue base – fuchsia and a green – the green is really St. Patty’s or Xmas read to me but the other 2 are lots of fun. This one you got is fun as it has more than just bar in it.
Hey beachgal!
Thank you – I’m really glad to now become an official member of the Bar Glitter Board. 😉
Yes, the Zoya ones looked awesome! 😀
I got the mini set from Carolina (Coloresdecarol.com).
I have yet to play with them and this bar glitter is one of them… Don’t know if I’m too keen on them actually… (I too remember owning a bottle back in the days of my youth 😉 ).
I know china glaze came up with a purple bar glitter too!
I actually really like this layered over white and the fuchsia !
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Hey Marta!
That was really sweet of Carolina! 🙂 Those mini polishes are just so darn cute, and I love how the set lets you try out a bunch of colours without having to shell out a lot.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the bar glitter when you try it.
Bar glitter is an occasional thing because it can be really annoying. I end up filing the ends of my nails to get rid of the hangers that I failed to push back while it’s wet. I wish it didn’t take over the under polish so much but I forgive it because it’s so bling-tastic. I prefer to wear it opaque.
Hey Nicole!
This is the first time that I’ve used bar glitter since maybe when I was in high school. I was really excited to try this…maybe I overhyped it up for myself.
Good tip about filing the ends. Next time I’ll be sure to do that so the edges are less scratchy.
I agree – if it didn’t cover up so much of the base polish, this could be more fun to layer with. It’s slightly too dense.