Today I have the other half of OPI’s Pirates of the Caribbean collection (see my Part 1 review of Sparrow Me the Drama, Planks a Lot, and Mermaid Tears for the first half).  Sadly, still no Silver Shatter.  I’m told that the Ulta around here hasn’t received it yet.   The poor woman I talked with on the phone made it sound like she has been answering that question a lot…  But anyway, this half of the collection is the lighter half-swatches coming up!

I chose Stranger Tides to try first out of all of the polishes.  It’s actually the polish that I was most looking forward to, and I really like the effect that it gives.  It’s a pale, celery-looking green that is murky and yellowy and also has some grey in it.  It looks kind of dirty.  Which I love!  It’s a complicated, kind of funny color that is restrained enough that I felt fine wearing it at work.  It’s pale enough that I felt like I could get away with it.  I think this one is my favorite of the whole collection, it’s so unusual and kind of elegant while being kind of grungy at the same time.  The formula on it was not any better than the others-it took three coats and the first was really streaky.  On the plus side, it does seem like this formula is on the drier side, so it’s controllable rather than being goopy, which is nice.  But it’s not the silky-dry of most Chanel polishes.

In the shade the green comes out more, but the yellow creaminess is still so strong that it doesn’t look a lot darker.  It’s like a pastel that’s not pastel!  I like this for summer, especially during the work week when I can’t get away with brights.

Next is Steady As She Rose.  This one came out really fleshy and grey on me-I didn’t see as much purple as some people have seen.  I don’t know if this is a skintone thing or what.  But I really liked it, too; it’s very quiet and a bit purple-pink but not in a distracting pastel-colored way.  It’s very neutral and soft, I think because it has a lot of grey in it.  This one also is a great work polish that is interesting and fun but people who aren’t paying attention won’t notice it.

And the final polish, Skull & Glossbones.  I wasn’t that excited about this one-I admit, I bought it just because I was totally buying the other five and it seemed silly to have an incomplete set.  It’s okay but I’m still not that excited about it.  I like that it’s a weird grey, with a lot of yellow and sometimes a very strong green look on me.  But I do think that I have other greys that would serve this same purpose.  It reminded me a little of Deborah Lippmann’s Waking Up in Vegas and Essie’s Master Plan (which look almost the same, as I confirmed by buying both, oy), and even a little bit of Essie’s Sand Tropez, a lighter neutral with a greenish-yellow cast.  It’s a bit greener than those other greys, so if you are an emphatic fan of grey polish, then you might need to get this too.  But if not, I’m not sure.

I actually really like it in this picture below, the name and the pronounced yellow-ness give it a kind of ominous, brooding quality.  It went on just like the others, with three coats that looked problematic at the first coat but then looked okay.  So I’m happy that I have this color as well.  I did end up with a bubble on my middle finger but for now I’m blaming it on my top coat (slightly-thickened bottle of China Glaze Fast Forward: be warned).

Overall, I’m so satisfied with this collection.  I like how all the polishes have a muted quality with strong grey tones, and are a bit unexpected because of it.  They seem perfect to wear for the summer during the middle of the week when I really shouldn’t be wearing neons.  And they also seem kind of mermaid-y and decayed, I can still get on board with the pirate theme, too.  Now I just need the Silver Shatter! (Ed: now I have it, see the link below for my big Silver Shatter post!)

Remember to check out my post on the other half of the Pirates of the Caribbean collection if you haven’t yet: OPI Sparrow Me the Drama, Planks a Lot, and Mermaid Tears.

P.S. Since writing this I’ve managed to track down the OPI Silver Shatter from the Pirates collection. Click here to see my write-up of it, it’s really fun!