Sephora by OPI Dark Room. Three coats over Qtica base with Nubar Diamont topcoat. Taken after 12 hours of wear.Alas, it was not meant to be. That rich, leafy blackened green that I saw on the website didn't exist. Instead, I got this murky blackened teal. Boo.
I really had my hopes up with this polish. I thought it would be... well... green? This is way too blue for me to really call it green. Blue green, maybe. Teal, okay. But this is not forest green, this is not emerald green, and it certainly doesn't look like the promo pics.
Then I thought, well, maybe it will grow on me! So I left it on overnight. By the next morning I couldn't wait to take it off. It has that same almost-black quality that I hated about OPI Light My Sapphire. It's too black to be blue and it's too blue to be black... It's an 'almost' color.
Aside from the color disappointment, the formula left me disappointed as well. First of all, it was kinda sheer. That doesn't bother me, really, but I know it bothers some people so it's worth mentioning. I did three coats to make it even. It's that same base of green speckles that Zoya Envy and OPI Here Today Aragon Tomorrow have, just more watery and less dense. The polish texture gave me trouble- very watery and runny. I wasn't expecting it as the Sephora by OPI polishes are normally very thick. Drying time was average, not terribly long but not super fast either. As for these being the same formula as OPI... they aren't! I don't care what anyone says, these don't resemble the formula of any OPI I've ever used, and if you've read this website for any amount of time, you'll know that's a ridiculously high number.
Bah... maybe next time. Maybe someone else will release the perfect Zulu-esque rich, saturated dark grass green I've been looking for.
But, if you like those 'Almost black but not quite' type of colors, you might love this! This one has that stylish "murky" muddy look that's been really popular the past couple years. It's not a crisp, clean type of color.
This is available both in store and on Sephora.com and it retails for $9. It says it's a Beauty Insider exclusive, so you might have to request it... I'm not sure how it works in store, but online you have to be signed in to add it to your cart.
Interesting, i got mine yesterday. 1st coat was sheer but 2nd was perfect. not runny at all.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think it's gorgeous. I love it! I love "almost" black colors, and I loved Light My Sapphire indeed.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say this is green at all. To me it looks blue, no hints of green whatsoever, but that could be my monitor.
Pity non US citizen can't order it. Booh!
I have seen it in stores and on amazon. Looks like it's not so "exclusive."
ReplyDeleteI didn't buy it and I'm not sure I will. It's just too murky and will definitely be mistaken for black. My favorite "green" of the season so far has been Lippmann Don't Tell Mama.
Love your blog, BTW! You are awesome!
I don't know. I loved it and ordered it. Saw swatches on Steph's Closet and was disappointed by the blue. Then mine arrived in the mail and I kinda dug it. Put it on and loved it. It's almost-a-color quality kinda draws me in. I thought it actually looked more green than blue, but I do admit that could be the lighting in my house (as it was thunderstorming pretty bad last night and couldn't take my pics outside nor want to go outside :) ) I didn't have runny problems with it. Thanks for your take on it!
ReplyDeleteI like it from your swatch. I like the murky quality but I wish it was a titch lighter.
ReplyDeleteyes, ITA w/ u. im still waiting for mine, but the swatches arent promising :/ thanks sephora for effing it up. uuugggghh.
ReplyDeleteOh no! I hate it when online swatches are inaccurate. I know some things are going to be lost in translation, but when Sephora is showing a completely different color, it's a problem.
ReplyDeleteI think it looks great on you!! There's something edgy and vampy about it. I, too, was disappointed at first but I actually fell in love with the color anyway! I think it's one of those colors that you either love or hate!
ReplyDeleteI find almost black colors kind of annoying. Either it's black or it's not. I want to be able to tell I am wearing a color if I am.
ReplyDeleteIt may have been you, Scrangie, but someone mentioned on MUA that the $OPI polishes aren't even manufactured in the same plant as regular OPI polishes.
I ordered it online and right after read Steph's post and saw the swatch. I was really hoping for that forest green as it appears in the ads. Also I happened by Sephora the other day and there it was in the store. Exclusive my behind! Could have saved the shipping cost if I had gone to the store and bought it. Dangit!
ReplyDeletei had high hopes too. your swatch makes me not want it as much :/
ReplyDeleteBah! Where were you when I ordered this with my Illamasquas Scrangie?! Crap, I should've known it was a bad photo. Stupid false green advertising. Oh well, more franken fodder. :)
ReplyDeletethis is sad i wanted to love this color..oh well
ReplyDeleteGlad you feel the same way. I was very disappointed when when I saw it in the bottle but I did a mani with it thinking it would grow on me. Like you, the next day I could not wait to get it off. I returned it to my Sephora today, with no problem, thank goodness. Very disappointing how the site makes it sound like this luscious green.
ReplyDeleteBleh. Make Zulu already someone, instead of great but not extraordinary blackened greens. It's like throwing darts at a bullseye and all the arrows landing in the inner 2 rings but not the center. -_-;
ReplyDeleteDisapointment....Boo! I too was hoping for that perfect deep green...oh well, someday!
ReplyDeleteAt first when you said it was a dark green and I was wondering if the color on my screen was wrong because it looked blue to me. haha. I don't really see any hint of green in it at all.
ReplyDeleteI seriously thought you had put the wrong picture in your post when I read you were reviewing Dark Room. That is NOT green. It's not even close. It looks almost, dare I say it, NAVY! WTF Sephora? Totally not worth it. Especially since the price of the Sephora by OPI n/p is so high. Bummer.
ReplyDeleteAfter looking at swatches, I agree with you. This is too black to be called blue and too blue to be called black!
ReplyDeleteThanks for swatching this. Now I am off to pre-order my Scrangie RBL... Woo!
DanaCerise
for a couple of weeks i've been wondering if i should get this color since i have a sephora card.. lets just say i'm glad i didn't end up buying this color. it looks like something i can franken myself, and it doesn't even look like the swatch on the website.. BOOOOOO
ReplyDeletethanks for your review on this! i was skeptical from the jump, so i got the orly "enchanted forest" (i think it's called) for a deep green cream that's still cream and not black at all. i look forward to wearing it in the fall!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Angel - your swatches are pretty but it'd be prettier, IMO, just a tiny bit lighter (but still dark and muddy). I hadn't seen it on the Sephora site yet, and would have passed it by as a too-blue and too-dark muddy green for me. Now y'all actually have me wanting to buy it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could enter Illamasqua's contest to create a polish with a lovely dark green?
ReplyDelete