OPI An Affair in Red Square

An Affair in Red Square was originally released by OPI as part of the Russian Collection for fall 2007 and is now part of the core line. It is a nicely saturated medium-dark classic crimson filled with very finely-milled shimmers -- I've seen them described as gold but they appear tone-on-tone in the polish. The ultrafine shimmers give this cool-leaning red a softly-reflective, semi-metallic look on nail, the sort of finish that automobile enthusiasts would classify as a pearl. It is especially noticeable in direct light, where the visual texture of the finish takes on a fine lustrous glow like heavy silk satin. In indirect light, this polish has a semi-metallic reflective gleam and a radiant, lit from within quality that reminds me of the matted metallic finish of Christmas tree ornaments. Resplendent, sensual, and classically feminine, this stunning blue-based red has a vibrant, celebratory quality on the nail with boatloads of high-end pomp and glamor.

Application was lovely. The consistency of An Affair in Red Square is fluid, smooth and full-bodied with a velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent, with wearable opacity in only one coat. I used two for completely even opaque coverage and full bottle color. Due to its semi-metallic nature, nailbed flaws are slightly accentuated, but its self-leveling properties are such that that the worst of these (such as prominent nail ridges, ahem) are for the most part smoothly tucked away beneath the softly reflective finish. Cleanup is fairly painless for such a well-pigmented polish, with a bit of pigment dispersal that removes easily with an extra swipe of the cleanup brush and only occasionally leaves traces of itself behind. An Affair in Red Square dries naturally in slightly longer than average time to a smooth shiny finish. To my eye, topcoat provides the extra depth and glow of an "under glass" look.

Photos show two coats of An Affair in Red Square over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite.

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

OPI An Affair in Red Square

An Affair in Red Square is often compared to another popular OPI shimmery red, I'm Not Really a Waitress. I don't have the latter to compare them myself, but the consensus seems to be that while they are both cool-toned reds, I'm Not Really a Waitress has more of a deep pink/berry tone to it where An Affair in Red Square is brighter and leans more to a true neutral red. And I gather that the shimmers in An Affair in Red Square are finer and more abundant than those in I'm Not Really a Waitress. 

A closer comparison might be made between An Affair in Red Square and Butter London's Knees Up or A-England's Perceval. All three are blue-based cool-leaning crimsons with ultrafine shimmers that read as tone-on-tone and produce a glowing molten semi-metallic look on the nail, and all three are gorgeous with great formulas. Perceval takes the "lit from within" award amongst these three for me, with its blackened edges that serve to emphasize the radiance in the center of the nail.

But I'm sure that there are places for all of these lacquers in a red lover's polish wardrobe, no? If sentimental attachments are included in the weigh-in, there is often a huge difference between so-called similar polishes, especially when it comes to older favorites like An Affair in Red Square. I had been craving this polish forever when it appeared in my mailbox courtesy of my NPBFF, the lovely Marisa of Tiny Twinklings, where she blogs with passion and humor about polish, cosmetics, literature, travel and the vagaries of life in general. That she gifted me An Affair in Red Square is testament to her keen insight, ha!

love,
Liz