OPI Infinite Shine Review & Swatches
OPI Infinite Shine Review
OPI has entered the gel hybrid game with OPI Infinite Shine. A concept similar to CND VINYLUX, Sally Hansen Miracle Gel and Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy, it claims to deliver gel-like shine and 10-day wear with the ease of removal you get from regular nail polish.
Though, differentiating itself from the others, OPI Infinite Shine is a 3-Step system. After experiencing dulling with VINYLUX, staining with Gel Envy and a streaky finish with Miracle Gel, I was curious how OPI’s version would compare so, I picked up a couple bottles and put it to the test.
Formula & Application
OPI Infinite Shine nail polish is 5-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor) but it should be noted that the Infinite Shine Primer contains camphor. The patented OPI bottles get a makeover in the Infinite Shine line, with a chrome cap. The brush is the same OPI Pro-Wide version with its flat, wide shape and flexible bristles.
The Infinite Shine system consists three steps, Primer, Lacquer and Gloss. The Primer sets this gel-like product apart from the others that eliminate the base coat. The Primer not only helps the product adhere to the nail, it prevents staining.
The Gloss dries like other top coats in this category, in that it delivers high shine and continues to harden and cure with exposure to natural light. It doesn’t require light to dry but, exposure aids in longevity.
The lacquers I tried are both cremes and they have a smooth, liquid texture that applies nice and even on the nail. They are also well pigmented, only needing two coats. And thanks to the protective Primer, I didn’t have any staining with the blue. No smurf fingers, yay!
OPI Infinite Shine Swatches
OPI Infinite Shine Get Ryd-of-thym Blues is mid-tone royal blue creme. It’s really rich and walks that fine line between vivid and moody. While I expected to have an OPI dupe in my stash, nothing comes close. They’re all either too greyed, bright or dark. Sally Hansen Thinking Of Blue is similar but no longer available.
OPI Infinite Shine Get Ryd-of-thym Blues
OPI Infinite Shine Steel Waters Run Deep is an elephant grey creme. It has yellow undertones so it leans warm but not so much that cooler skin tones can’t wear it. Again, I have no OPIs that match, not even the Fifty Shades colors. It’s most like Dior Gris Montaigne, just a bit lighter.
OPI Infinite Shine Steel Waters Run Deep
OPI Infinite Shine Wear Test
I’ve worn these OPI Infinite Shine colors a few times now and, I’ll say, I’m glad I gave it a few tries. My first attempt did not go as well as I would like. I hastily applied it, so tip wear appeared after a couple days though the shine factor didn’t disappoint.
The next two times I wore Infinite Shine, I made sure to wrap my tips and the results were much improved. I didn’t begin to see any tip wear until Day 5 and chips didn’t appear until a week after applying. However, when I got out of the shower on Day 8, the cracks and chips were so bad, I had to quickly take it off before rushing out of the house. I certainly couldn’t have worn it 10 Days, as the product claims.
OPI Infinite Shine Wear Test
OPI Infinite Shine swatches
Bottom Line: Of the four gel hybrid products I’ve tried, Infinite Shine is definitely my favorite. I rarely wear polish for more than a week, let alone 10 days, so not living up to that claim isn’t an problem for me. The fact that it didn’t dull or stain my nails makes it a winner over the others in my book.
However, regular nail polish generally wears similarly on my nails so, I wouldn’t say you need to invest in this system unless that’s an issue for you. This is best for someone who doesn’t get great wear out of traditional polish but is leery of wearing UV gel polish.
OPI Infinite Shine officially launches in March 2015 at salons nationwide but it’s already online at LoxaBeauty.com and coming soon to ULTA.com. OPI Inifinte Shine retails for $12.50/ea. For more info, visit OPI.com.
***LoxaBeauty.com is offering Free Shipping through 1/31/15 with code FREESHIP.
What do you think of Infinite Shine? Is this a product you will try? Which do you prefer, traditional nail polish or gel hybrids?
Disclosure: I purchased the products featured in this post. Affiliate links appear in this post. When you purchase through an affiliate link, you help support this site. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
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Spa pediccure chairs
I love these type of reviews! Thank you for testing these ones out.
There nice.
Ooooooh Gosh, That is my cup of tea, dark colors and so glossy.
Please make a swatch of the black one
The black one is the top coat. It’s in an opaque black bottle to keep light out.
That blue is gorgeous! I’m definitely one for traditional polish. I’m always skeptical of gel hybrids and their claims! I’ve only tried the Sally Hansen ones so far, but it was a HUGE let down.
Both of these are gorgeous colors, though I don’t think this is something I’ll invest in.
These two nail colors are simply pretty. Love both colors and the finish is simply amazing. They look great even without top coat.
Really looking forward to trying these. I can get about 5-6 days wear from regular polish so I’d like to see how I do with this. Thanks for posting!
I tried the o.p.i. infinite shine 2 and it does not stay on..I thought is was a gel but it is not….i paid a lot for the product I do not think I will use it again
I am in Ohio and have had the Infinite Shine for several months. The colors are beautiful but also have not gotten the fully advertised wear out of it.
I change out my polish too often to be interested in these types of polishes. I am sorry, but I am actually starting to resent them. The other day, I went across town to my favorite nail supply store. They used to have tons and tons of regular polish. They have now cut that supply almost in half to accommodate this type of polish that all the brands are bringing out. It nearly made me weep to see so much polish gone. The lady tried to get me interested in the lightless gel, even saying I could use them for vacation, but I told her I just am not interested. I also see them taking shelf position from regular polish in stores like Sally’s. Ugh…
I saw these at my local beauty supply place last week and was like WHOA what is this? Great post, thank you for the info !
I found that the top coat bubble on the red and black. I own a small salon, we are doing about 200 services a month and we never had that happen with any other polish. We had that happen on and off with Infinite Shine so I can’t risk it on clients anymore. We use Vinylux top coat over IS with awesome results. Overall I love IS. Lasts a week on our clients (on hands) so the 10 day is a huge stretch. Also what drives me nuts is…. This is NOT a gel polish. Looking at ingredients it’s a regular polish. Top coat can be UV dried but CND and others had that 10 years ago already. I HATE misleading claimes. The polish DOES NOT wear like a gel polish (but without the light). Not even close!
Sorry, the damn auto correct-
“I found that the top coat bubbled…”
Wow, Anna, that’s so interesting. I haven’t experienced any bubbling but I can see why you wouldn’t want to use it on clients if that was happening. It’s great to know that using the VINYLUX Top Coat works over IS. I use it over regular polish with no problems. And I agree, the gel hybrids need to stop with the unrealistic claims. It’s never going to be gel.
I think, rather than invest in any of the special long-wear nail polish systems that set themselves apart from Regular Nail Polish, since I am a gel polish addict first, and a RNP buyer second, I’ll continue to extend RNP wear, when I wear them alone, by intensive use of a good topcoat like Seche Vite or Orly Glosser, every other day, and remember to cap the tips. But it’s just the way it is, any nail polish wears great over a gel manicure! You just get used to the soak-offs.
That’s a great point Sandy. Gel polish isn’t for me but it is a great base for regular polish.
I have used the CND Vinylux and the Revlon
gel. I do use a basecoat . The polish seems to wear the same as without it. I probably won’t but the nrw OPI gels because of cost and having to use the system , more expense.
I love these two colors though.
Thanks for showing them.
You’re welcome Deanna. I hear you about the added investment. I have been using the VINYLUX Top Coat over other polishes just because I like it
Thank you so much for doing this test! I have been wanting to venture into the gel hybrids and I am such a fan of OPI but I love to read reviews before making a polish investment.
You’re so welcome, Emily. Glad you found it helpful
This 3-step system reminds me of L’Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque line. I have a couple of colors in that one, and more colors from the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel line because I always seem to have a coupon for it. I also have a couple colors from Revlon Gel Envy, but the blue (“Wild Card”) dulls so quickly I haven’t tried the teal (“Dealer’s Choice”) yet. Ultimately I’m like you: I change too often, and get decent wear out of polish to begin with. I just like the variety of options! And I love that OPI’s line doesn’t stain.
Glad to finally see a review on these. Glad to know the polishes are 5-Free. Does this formula wear well with a typical base/top coat or do you have to use a gel formula top coat (such as the VINYLUX)? The colors are lovely. Nice swatches!!
Guys, even the name “gel hybrid” drives me crazy. These polishes are just longer wearing polishes. That’s it. They don’t have gel in them and just because their top coat contains an ingredient that its sensitive to light- it doesn’t make it gel. Please read the lables/ingredients ;). It’s an eye opener!
^^^Thats like saying that snow is the new ice cream because it contains frozen water.
Ps. One thing I have to add- their nude colors are excellent! They go on like butter! Fantastic formulas! They don’t streak one bit and they cover perfectly! Highly recommend them!!
I have a few bottles of the OPI Infinite Shine collections. I noticed the polish wasn’t very glossy, even when the polish was fairly fresh. Did you notice that too? Any suggestions on how to fix this? Thanks!
Hi Laura! I didn’t have an issue with the polish being shiny. Did you roll the top coat well before using? I think it’s necessary to make sure it is mixed well.
I love the base coat and polish…which I have found to be very shiny. The top coat is a problem. I have let the polish dry for well over an hour and the top coat STILL removes color when applied. The bottle of top coat is ruined due to this…I’ll stick to Seche Vite for the top coat.
Hi!
Nice review! But I do have a question, do you think it is possible to wear the infinite shine base and topcoat with a normal OPI lacquer instead of the infinite shine lacquers?
Thank you!
I’m excited about this line. Nail polish generally chips pretty quickly on me even with base and top coats. The colors aren’t anything to write home about, but I’ll probably pick one up to try it out when my no-buy is over.
I’m a shameless nail polish/gel addict, so I certainly appreciate any informative swatching/review blog I can get my beautifully manicured hands on. So, thanks for your efforts. I certainly appreciate it.
I’ve actually just today, purchased the IS system on Amazon ($7.45/bottle was a darn good deal!). Pretty Pink Perseveres is the color I chose. Trying to get out of my blue/purple/violet/blue-violet/purply-blue/bluish-purple box I always find myself stuck in. Should arrive Feb 4th, so I shall report back either singing its praises or give you 10 reasons why it shouldn’t be “a thing”.
I like the “gel” polishes because when I don’t have the time to do my gels, it doesn’t take as long and the finished finish is the same AND I still get a great selection of colors.
I really do LOVE my gel systems though. Broke my cherry with Couture Gel Nail Polish. Then fell in love with RCM after I broke it off with Gelish and was hugely let down by CND. What a disappointment there. Then along came Finger Paints and Gelaze (prob my #1 faves so far). I haven’t ventured into INK, Lechat or IBD yet. But I certainly plan to! Any suggestions there????
Hi Kirsten! You would love the blog, Chickettes.com. Andrea writes solely about gel polish systems and collections. I’ve only tried Shellac so I’m not the best person to ask. Though it’s interesting that you like RCM and not Gelish since they are made by the same company. RCM is the retail version.
Really? I had no idea! RCM is my go to. Then FingerPaints. Then Gelaze.
Gelish continued to disappoint in pigment, coverage and wear. No matter the amount or type of bonder/primer I use, scuffing/roughing of the nail, etc. RCM has never disappointed me. LOVE the selection.
I’ll have to check her out. Thanks for the tip.
Ok, so I finally received my IS system from Amazon. Applied it Thursday (2/4). I don’t love it. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it. Coverage was horrible. Streaky and uneven. Finally got it to where it was acceptable for me. And after all that work, it only lasted me for 4 days before the first chip. HOWEVER…I used it with one of my regular formula OPI colors (did the whole thing: base coat, color, to coat) and it lasted me 1 actual full week before I saw even a hint of a chip. That NEVER happens for me. I’ll definitely use it in that capacity again for sure.
By the way, Michelle, have you heard of or tried CG’s new Ever Glaze yet???? OMG! It’s so amazing. I think it’s going to blow IS away. Already has for me.
Thanks for the feedback on IS. Good to know that you were able to use the system with regular polish. I know some people were wondering about that. And I’m DYING to get my hands on Ever Glaze. I think it is arriving this week.
Hi! Glad I found your page. I’m getting amazing results with Infinite Shine. I have a photo of my clients nails after 13 days! And the shine was still there! I would post it if I knew how to your site. My only concern about this product, is wondering if it dries nails out. I used Vinylux for a short while and then I noticed my clients nails were getting dried out and the colors did get gloppy quickly. I’m done with that product. Dry nails lead to problems. Back to my concern, I’m waiting to see if this dries out nails. Healthy nails are VERY important to me with my clients. The health of their nails are in my hands. Today her nails looked a little dry to me so I used a protein base coat as an experiment with the IS color and top. I explained to her what and why I was doing and she was in agreement with the experiment. I look forward to seeing her in 10 days to see how it goes. Yikes. She also wanted it on her toes which I didn’t feel was necessary but we’ll see. (Her toes have had dry spots on them lately and I don’t know why. She oils, maybe too much cleansing before I polish.) Thanks for listening!
Hi Jill! Thanks for sharing your client experience with us. I haven’t worn IS long enough to know if it is drying. I have heard that from multiple techs about VINYLUX but nothing about IS yet. I’m always testing new products so I don’t wear one brand repeatedly. I’m curious to hear how the protein base works with the system.
It’s not dryness. It’s surface damage from wearing and “old” and inflexible polish too long. I wrote a huge article about it here
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10152601955676300&substory_index=0&id=638386299
Thanks for sharing Anna! I read it last night at it’s very interesting theory. I don’t know enough about nail and product chemistry to weigh in.
Hmm. Just tried it now after buying about five colours. Seemed so good in the salon. But it’s really hard to apply. It’s kinda not so smooth as regular nail polish so I am going to remove it and use normal polish
Actually it’s just the ‘Withstands the test of Thyme’ that is the really bad one. The others go on a bit easier!
I’m glad you tried other colors. Bummer to hear about that one being bad.
I painted my nails with the three step system for the first time yesterday afternoon. By this evening I had two chipped nails. I am unimpressed.
I’m sorry to hear that Shannon. The extended wear polishes, in general, seem to be pretty hit or miss. A reader raved about China Glaze Ever Glaze but my first run with it was a giant fail.
Well, gel polish does require a capital outlay for the lamp, and a significant effort to remove; but you do get an almost instant cure, and when you’re experienced, an almost impossible to chip, ultra-long-lasting glossy polish. The extended-wear systems don’t seem to have solved the puzzle of how to provide all the benefits without the problems, yet. Maybe for some girls with just the right nail surfaces, they work, but not most of us.
I agree, Sandy! I don’t get significantly better wear with the extended wear polishes. I think they’re trying to take advantage of the gel trend without the light/removal, but nothing compares to UV/LED gels.
Trying OPi IS primer and top coat with RNG OPI colors. Hoping it works. Lifelong nail biter (I am 60!) and two months ago stopped chewing. Huh?! Not sure why but I am vigilant in keeping them filed to quick while growing out damage from tips and acrylics. Happy to have “sturdy” choice with the gels. I have some old favorite OPi colors (long time fan of OPI) that I am using with the gel printer and top coat. Hope it works!
Nancy, to heal your nails oil is the trick. I have used Delore Naturals which is a blend of vegetable oils. Put it on twice daily and you will grow beautiful long strong nails. Mink oil also works well. I have always had soft brittle nails until I discovered the miracle of using a good oil treatment. I leave a manicure on for a week or so, and then I take the polish off and really clean the nail bed and soak my nail with oil intensively for a day before re-doing nail polish. I have never had nicer nails in my life! And I am 62 years old, so that is saying something!