I’ve been interested in giving the OPI Infinite Shine nail system a go for quite a while now but I’ve always been skeptical. Between riding horses and working as a bartender my nail polish rarely remains in tact for more that a couple of hours and to be completely dramatic, I’ve given up hope when it comes to regular nail polish.
Ulta recently had a buy 2 get 1 free sale so I figured it was the perfect time to give the system a go! I picked up the Base, the Top Coat and the Infinite Shine version of one of my all time favorite OPI shades, “You Don’t Know Jacques.” One quick trip to Starbucks and I was on my way home to binge on some Netflix and paint my nails.
Application
Application was incredible. The base coat applied smoothly and dried to a nice tacky surface within seconds (I like my bases to have a bit of stick to them so this was right up my alley.) When it came to the color coat I was a little disappointed at first, it was weak and streaky but after a good shaking everything went smoothly (so make sure you shake your color before application.) The top coat is a love hate situation with me. I’m a firm believer that your top coat is where more of your staying power comes from, and when it comes to staying power this one takes the cake, however when I look at my nails I can see very distinct brush streaks, even with a very heavy handed quickly applied coat. These streaks are very minor and don’t even show up in the picture so I can live with it.
Longevity
Day 1
I am beyond impressed with the staying power of this nail system. I wasn’t expecting much so when I got done with work (serving/bartending) later that night I looked at my nails expecting chips and wearing. None. Not a single chip. My nails look freshly painted.
Day 2
Day 2 was spent at the barn, I got a ride in, cleaned some saddles and organized the tack room, all of which usually result in me losing all my nailpolish! Once again not a single chip. Even after another shift behind the bar, nothing. Hardly any wear and no chips.
Day 3
I got a tiny chip on my right pinky finger during work on day 3, but it’s barely noticeable. Usually by day 3 of nailpolish wear my right index finger is all but stripped of polish but I only had the tiniest bit of wear on the very edge.
Day 4
My right hand was starting to show some wear with chips on my pinky, ring and middle finger, still nothing on my index finger which is usually first to go!
Day 5
Same as day 4. Not a single chip on my left hand, and only 3 chips on my right. I usually get chips on every single finger after one night of work so this is fantastic!
Day 6
Worked a double today at the restaurant (basically a 12-14 hour shift), both serving and bartending, I did start to see quite a bit of chipping, however for 6 days of wear through serving I am still extremely impressed.
Day 7
There is chipping on every nail at this point. Keep in mind that my hands are absolutely abused at work, and tacking and untacking horses takes a pretty heavy toll on nails as well, so if you’re not as rough on your hands the longevity of this nail polish would probably be much better. I’ve linked some pictures down below so you can see how they fared. These pictures are with no touchups throughout the week, and no reapplication of top coat.
Final Thoughts
I am ready to replace my entire nailpolish collection with Infinite Shine Colors. Since starting as a bartender I have had zero success with anything but dipgel nails. The color range is wonderful (currently 42 colors and more being added), the formula is excellent and the longevity is out of this world. The price is a little steep for a “drugstore” brand but I can deal with $12.50 to avoid paying $50 a month for dipgels.
Have you tried the infinite shine range? What do y’all think? I’ve linked some of my favorite colors down below!
xoxo
Liz
