OPI in "Peel Me a Gobi Grape"

(NOTE: This was written late at night on Saturday, January 12th. The photos are from Monday, January 14th. If there appears to be any wear or shrinkage to the polish, that's because it's a couple of days old, and Seche Vite is known to shrink polish around the edges.)

Hey guys! So, if you read my previous post, you'd know that I finally got my hands on the most beautiful, amazing VHTF polish. OPI's Peel Me a Gobi Grape, or PMAGG for short, comes from their very hard-to-come-by 1998 Painted Desert collection. Yes, you read that right - 1998! This polish is 21 years old. It's older than me! It's definitely not the oldest polish I own, not by a long shot, but it's still kind of amazing when you think about it. I'd say it's the rarest and most valuable polish in my collection, though.

Anyway, I got this polish from the fantastic eBay user prettythingsforyouandme*123. She's a veteran eBay seller who's been on the site since 1999 and specializes in rare/HTF polishes, especially OPI. She made the listing special for me and sent it out real quick in a box marked "fragile". I seriously can't thank her enough for it!

On to the actual polish now: this is BEAUTIFUL. I mean, seriously. It's everything I ever dreamed of and more. It's gorgeous in low light too, but under the OttLite is where it really shines. That lovely medium purple paired with that dreamy copper shimmer is just... AH! I wish I had the words to explain how pretty it is! I was worried that it might not look as good in person, but that was such a silly fear. It's absolutely byoutiful in person, maybe even more so than in photos. I really wish I was able to explain how perfect it is.

Here are some pictures. I couldn't accurately represent this color. For whatever reason, my camera just wouldn't pick up on it correctly. In person, it's generally lighter than in the photos. I took photos in several lighting conditions to show the subtle nuances of this polish. It will be shown in 2 coats with Seche Vite on top. Please refer to the note at the top if anything looks a little "off" to you!



Here it is in the plain daylight of my room.



There it is with flash on. For whatever reason, the OttLite made absolutely no difference when paired with daylight.



There's an up-close of it. I made the photo a little larger so you could see the detail more easily.





Here it is in the sun. I think this shows off that copper shimmer the best! And yes, that white-and-brown fluffiness in the background is my cat. :-)





Finally, here are some bottle shots. Look at the font on that bottom label!

Isn't it so preeeetty? Augh, I love it so much already. The closest thing I already have in my collection to compare it to is China Glaze's "Mink Frost". That one's definitely more of a brownish/mauvish color, and it's got gold shimmer instead of copper, but the vibe is the same. This, though, is obviously a lot prettier to me. How many times have I said "pretty" so far? Who knows. The best dupe I could find for this is Contrary Polish's "Desert Fruit". I think it was created as a homage to Gobi Grape. C'mon... "Desert Fruit"? "Gobi Grape"? It's gotta be a reference! I don't have that, though, so I can't tell you how close it really is. Judging by photos, though, it's pretty close.

Finally, I'll address the elephant in the room: this was before the time of B3F. OPI made their big switch over to a big-3 free formula in 2006, which is obviously after this polish was produced. Yes, in 1998 no one really cared about the fumes they inhaled while prettying up their nails. I still don't really care, seeing as I don't seek out B3F polishes and I even choose these vintage ones with outdated formulas - in the end, the amount of fumes you inhale is pretty negligible. That being said, the smell is a little funky, but it's definitely not the worst I've smelled. I'd say my old China Glazes circa 1999 are far more potent than this.

The formula of this is also remarkably good for a polish this old. As mentioned above, it took 2 coats and the coverage is great. It was also a good consistency, too - on the thinner side, but not too runny. This good formula could be attributed to the fact that this polish was unopened before purchase. Yes, I realize that the value has now plummeted since I used it, but I'm not looking to give it away any time soon!

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I'm still really happy that I acquired this amazing polish, and I'm very satisfied with it. Until next time...