Saturday, March 10, 2012

OPI Did you 'ear about Van Gogh? review



         When the OPI Holland Spring 2012 collection was released, I knew I had to get my hands on OPI Did You 'ear about Van Gogh? nail polish. I loved the clean neutral color and the name certainly tickled my fancy! OPI Did you 'ear about Van Gogh is light and neutral stony chino creme nail polish. Depending on the lighting look more khaki or more stone. The significant khaki presence makes it more spring, as opposed to greyer 'greige' polishes. The neutral to cool color makes it easier for me to wear than nudes with warm or yellow tones. The formula is on the thicker side. It's not as smooth and dreamy as some OPI formulas, but it's not too bad. It levels out well and two coats is sufficient.

          I thought I would take a moment to discuss the color's namesake. Vincent Van Gogh was a post impressionist Dutch painter. You may know him for his vibrant paintings of Starry Night, sunflowers, wheat fields and a number of portraits and self portraits. The story of Van Gogh's lost ear is a famous one. It was originally thought that he cut it off himself during a fit of madness. More recently, historians argue that it was sliced off with a rapier during an argument with his friend (and fellow artist) Paul Gaugin. They purportedly kept a pact of silence so no-one knows the real story. You can read more about that story here. Here is a self portrait of him with his bandaged ear. Van Gogh's life story was quite tragic; his life was punctuated by episodes of madness and he died at 37 due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His work was appreciated by very few people until after his death.

A Van Gogh self portrait
          I've made a few comparison swatches to demonstrate the color of OPI Did you 'ear about Van Gogh. You can see that it is a far cry from last spring's OPI San Tan-Tonio. It's lighter and clearly not brown. I thought Sephora OPI Going Nude Eh? would be a close match, however you can see the Going Nude Eh? is more of a warm yellow based nude, while Did you 'ear about Van Gogh is has more khaki grey tones. However, you can see that Did you 'ear about Van Gogh is definitely not a grey when compared to Sephora by OPI Run with it.

Swatches from left to right: OPI San Tan-tonio, OPI Did you 'ear about Van Gogh?, Sephora by OPI Going Nude Eh?, Sephora by OPI Run with it
          In conclusion, OPI Did you 'ear about Van Gogh is a chic, airy, and slightly edgy neutral that will wear well for spring. I imagine that it would pair well with unabashed colors like Matisse blue or clover green. Thanks for reading! What were your picks from OPI Holland? Do you prefer neutral or bright nail colors for spring?

Love, Dovey.

33 comments:

  1. I have $OPI's run with it and was really ready for a new putty-coloured nail. I didn't realize I wanted it to be a creme until I saw this post :)

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    1. Hi Procrastinator, Thanks! I'm glad I was able to put creme puttys (that does sound a bit funny doesn't it?) on your radar!

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  2. i am glad muted grey/taupe colors are still in for the season!
    the color looks very chic against your skin tone. :)
    i am a little iffy about the name itself but certainly understand how an art lover could be intrigued by it. ;)

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    1. Hi Lena, me too. They fit nicely into bright spring colors! (Or rather the bright spring colors I wish I had in my wardrobe :D)

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  3. oh i LOVE the name!!! I have not checked out the OPI holland collection yet! and i went to look at OPI nail polishes today! darn! i am all abut the neutrals but summer is crazy with pastels!

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    1. Hehe, I'm glad you love the name too! Hm, I will have to start looking into more pastels now to anticipate summer. I don't think I have so many in my collection :)

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  4. Lovely! I have a few peachy neutrals and a few grays, but nothing that is greenish like this. I like this one, and the new pistachio-colored Butter London (I forget the name, though). Thankfully I'm on a ban and not purchasing any more bottles of nail polish, or else I'd come home with far too many pieces of this collection!

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    1. Thanks Larie--- I should probably go on a ban too; my nail polish drawer is filling up at an alarming rate! Argh, I can't remember the pistachio BL name either. It was definitely a unique color and piqued my interest!

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  5. I like the subtle color and the cream texture. I think a yellow-toned nude is quite unique.

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  6. Love the brief on Van Gogh! Poor guy.

    I like the vibrant orange and muted blues from the collection. We'll see if I can get my hands on any this! I'm already way over my spending allowance for the month. :x

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    1. Hi Liz, I think the saddest part is that his work wasn't well known til after he passed! Sigh. In terms of Holland, I loved the Orange too. I almost came home with it, but I new I had Dior Aloha at home which needs some love.

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  7. I love this color! It's muted but perfectly chic. :)

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  8. I love the name and colour of this. x

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  9. I think I'll be picking this up now! I managed to limit my choice to "I Don't Give a Rotterdam," but the name of this alone was tempting.

    I quite like the putty shade ... it looks lovely on the nails.
    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Hi Jessica, I gave IDGAR a good look too. It's such a relaxing blue!

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  10. Thank you for the comparisons. You are so great at describing colors! :) I was lucky to find the Holland collection at my local wholesale nail shop and picked this one up.

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    1. Hi S, Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it. I've never tried wholesale shops before; I end up getting them at Ulta.

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  11. This colour is lovely, especially next to Sephora's - Going Nude, EH?which I have.. and I thought I was content with until seeing this post!
    I've tried to avoid looking at the Holland collection, but I might just go have a peek.. I just did a post of all the nail polishes I'm excited for for spring.. they're all brights & pastels.

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    1. Hi Lindsey, I'm glad the comparison was helpful! I did see your post, it was quite the beautiful collection of spring colors :)

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  12. The name of the polish kind of makes me LOL but how cool that they included a mention of him in the collection! I had read so many books about him a couple years back. The end of his life was really sad. His style of painting was definitely really different and unique (and awesome) for the time period. I really like how he uses the color yellow in almost all of his paintings (my favorite color hahaha). Too much about Van Gogh, not enough about the polish! Anyway, it is a really nice color! :D

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    1. Hi Maggie, that's amazing that you read so much about him! I love how you describe it. (I have just one art book, but I haven't actually read through it yet). I really like yellow too, it makes things seem brighter and more optimistic.

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  13. They're getting all artistic about it now huh? :) lovely matte shades!

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    1. Hi RD&L, haha! You never know what to expect with OPI names :P

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  14. Quite unique colour, really sophisticated and elegant neutral :)

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  15. I just love the name <3

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    1. Hi Sarah! Me too, I have a weak spot for makeup with interesting or fun names.

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  16. This looks like such a pretty color! It kind of reminds me of that skull and gloss bones polish they came out with the pirates of the carribean collection last summer!

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    1. Hi Kelly, Good point, I almost went for Skull and Glossbones last year; that was a really cool color too!

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  17. I love this shade...it really caught my eye but I'm afraid I might look like I have dead nails due to my skin tone... I got I don't give a rotterdam....because I don't have that kind of dusty blue shade in my collection and I'm really getting into blues this season. I am attracted to coral and greens this spring as well...

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