We Tried OPI's Wicked Nail Polish Collection & Were Granted (Mostly) Bewitching Manicures

Something has changed within the realm of nail polish, and it's a truly wicked development. All puns aside, you've probably heard about the upcoming film adaptation of Broadway's "Wicked," starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda (aka Glinda). The film officially hits theaters November 22, but manicure mavens can get their Ozian fix right now with OPI's new line of "Wicked"-inspired nail polishes. Available at retailers like Ulta and Amazon, the OPI x "Wicked" Nail Lacquer Collection features 12 striking shades that pay tribute to its two leading ladies in contrasting colors. You can find the full set in the OPI x Wicked 12 Piece Mini Pack, which features pull-apart advent calendar windows to reveal each polish and retails for $49.99. Alternatively, the latest lacquers are also up for grabs in individual full-size bottles that retail for $11.99 each.

As a longtime OPI lover and Broadway fan, I flew (on a broom) to Ulta the moment I heard the "Wicked" polish collection had dropped. Considering OPI's creative prowess and the gorgeous green and pinks associated with Elphaba and Galinda, I had a feeling the collaboration would be a smash success. After swiping on shade after shade, my suspicions were confirmed: The new "Wicked" release is one fall nail polish collection that will send your heart soaring. From crème greens (like Witch O'Clock) to glittering golds (à la Love You So Munchkin), the OPI x Wicked collection has everything you need to create magical manicures all year long.

Looking for a sunflower-yellow polish for painting autumnal floral manicures and more? Your wish has been granted with OPI x Wicked's Love You So Munchkin, a warm, golden yellow filled with flecks of gold microglitter. The cheerful nod to the land of Oz's yellow brick road is part of Elphaba's side of the Wicked collection, and the sunny shade is the perfect complement to its soothing spectrum of deep greens.

As soon as I placed Love You So Munchkin on my nails, I had visions of all the incredible fall-themed nail art you could create with it. Candy corn, straw hats on scarecrows, sunflowers, and crescent moons are just a few of the fun designs you could paint with this pigmented polish. Still, Love You So Munchkin looks pretty impressive all on its own, and its shimmering, self-leveling formula is opaque enough to get away with just one coat of polish.

To be totally honest, blue isn't a color I use very often in my manicures when not testing nail polishes for Glam. That said, Fiyero's My Mani took me totally by surprise, given how much I enjoyed its inky blue hue. Fiyero, for those who may be unaware, is a well-liked Winkie prince in "Wicked" who's portrayed by Jonathan Bailey. A pupil of Shiz University, the handsome scholar catches the attention of more than one witch during his time there. But enough of all that — let's focus on his eponymous nail polish from the OPI x Wicked collection, shall we?

This glossy shade is an intensely pigmented lapis blue, one that looks best with two or more coats of color for full coverage. If you're willing to wait a little longer, I'd recommend adding an extra coat for enhanced dimension and shine. The formula dries to such a shiny, mirror-like finish that it hardly needs any top coat at all. And if that weren't enough to set your sights on Fiyero's My Mani, I found out that this lovely lacquer lasts all day long without accumulating a single chip or crack.

If I had to choose a few favorite shades from the OPI x Wicked nail polish collection, Ozitively Elphaba would easily be at the top of the list, and that's not just because I'm an avid fan of Cynthia Erivo or Elphaba. This lustrous, green lacquer has a similar pearlescent look to Glinda the Good!, meaning you can create a magnificent two-toned manicure with their coordinating effects and contrasting colors. Ozitively Elphaba is mixed with a generous dash of gold dust, but I felt it looked more like a deep, metallic green most of the time.

Since this emerald green is so richly pigmented, two coats are all you need to fully coat the nails. If you'd like a little more coverage, a third layer of polish deepens its color brilliantly. Now, as fun as Ozitively Elphaba is to paint on, it's also kind of mesmerizing to remove. In a witchy turn of events, I discovered that this green polish comes off as blue when you wipe it off with nail polish remover and a cotton pad — magical!

One of six shimmer shades in the OPI x Wicked nail polish collection, Let's Rejoicify isn't an easy color to pin down. The company itself refers to the polish as a plummy purple that's "oz-ified with bright red and gold shimmer," though it appears raisin brown from inside its bottle. The unusual blend of purple, red, and gold makes Let's Rejoicify a bit of a shapeshifter shade — one moment, it's maroon, and the next, it's nearly violet.

I had mixed opinions on OPI's glitter polish range inspired by "Wicked." Some, like Love You So Munchkin and Defying Gravity, quickly captured my interest with their vivid base colors or dazzling effects. Others, including Let's Rejoicify and I'm the Wonderfullest, weren't quite my cup of tea. That's not to say there were any technical problems with Let's Rejoicify's formula, however. I'm simply not a big fan of '90s-esque plum shimmers, but if you are, Let's Rejoicify will be right up your alley.

Could you really imagine Galinda's side of the OPI x Wicked nail polish collection without a super bright pink (or two)? The good witch of "Wicked" and Barbie seem to have a lot in common, as Glinda the Good! is a terrifically pigmented pink that calls to mind Hi Barbie! from the Barbie x OPI collection I tested for Glam last year. However, Glinda the Good! is a slightly deeper pink with a mesmerizing pearlized finish. 

If you look closely, you'll notice this attractive, fruit punch-colored shade features swirls of pink, peach, and gold glitters in the mix. At certain angles, Glinda the Good! leans almost reddish thanks to the microglitter's multichromatic effects. While the consistency of this polish is a little thicker than its fellow OPI x Wicked nail shades, it's still relatively easy to work with. The nail-art possibilities are endless with a pretty pink like Glinda the Good!, but I find that it truly stands out next to Ozitively Elphaba's sultry emerald shimmer.

Even if you don't know "Wicked" from "Cats," revealing the meaning behind this next OPI x Wicked shade name isn't too much of a spoiler for those folks that reside way, way-off Broadway. In fact, "Defying Gravity" is one of the most recognizable musical numbers from the entire production, and the song features prominently in several trailers for the upcoming film. As Elphaba in 2024's silver screen version of "Wicked," Stockwell-born beauty Cynthia Erivo lends her mellifluous voice to the Broadway tune originally sung by Idina Menzel.

Such a powerful track deserves a fitting artistic interpretation, and OPI x Wicked's Defying Gravity certainly lives up to the challenge. At first glance, it's hard to make out this shade's exact finish, but the luscious, black lacquer looks seriously starlit by the first brush of paint. The licorice shade is as deep as the night sky, with silvery flecks of glitter that stand out against its backdrop. Its formula glides onto nails super smoothly, and it's a breeze to remove for an onyx-colored polish. Whether you wear it alone or pair it with another Ozian shade, it's sure to win over any "Wicked" fan.

Maybe you can't stand working with glitter nail polish, or perhaps you've always been infatuated with Elphaba. Either way, something tells me you're going to adore Witch O'Clock, a glamorous crème polish from OPI's "Wicked" collection. This groovy grass shade is a velvety, mid-toned green, perfect for accentuating the outer beauty of any witch. With many polishes in pearl, shimmer, and glitter finishes scattered throughout the collection, Witch O'Clock is a welcome change of pace in the OPI x Wicked nail polish collection.

Right away, I noticed the cute green crème from Elphaba's shelf was an absolute dream to paint with, and it dried to an elegant, glassy-looking finish. Though two coats of polish may provide more than adequate coverage, I felt three layers really made its color pop. The shiny jade shade doesn't have any shimmer or sparkle, but it's more than striking enough to make your next manicure very "Popular" with others.

In a rare departure from her signature pink color palette, I found a curious blue shade sitting on Galinda's side of the OPI x Wicked nail polish collection. Its name? I'm the Wonderfullest. While it's nice to see the good witch step outside of her comfort zone, this aquamarine polish is something of an acquired taste. Truth be told, I didn't think it did my olive skin any favors, but who knows? You might think the sparkling, sky blue offering from Galinda is the best of the bunch.

Similar to other sparkly shades in the OPI x Wicked nail polish collection, I'm the Wonderfullest applies very smoothly and dries fast in spite of its nubby consistency. However, it's not quite as pigmented as its fellow glitter gang members — Love You So Munchkin, for example, blows this one out of the water. Some folks are sure to like I'm the Wonderfullest right off the bat, but I had a tough time warming up to this cool, sky-blue shade.

With just enough color to get around the "no white after Labor Day" rule, Oh, for Oz Sake is a flashy addition to any nail polish collection for fall. Seemingly made with Y2K fashion lovers in mind, Oh, for Oz Sake is a cool-toned pearl white with a hint of lilac shimmer — certain to evoke millennial memories of satin flares, frosted lip gloss, and body glitter, to name a few. In the OPI x Wicked Collection, the delicate cream color is nestled in Galinda's neck of the woods, rounding out her bouquet of pinks and reds.

Of all the polishes I tested in the OPI x Wicked range, it stood out for its way of making an impression with just one coat. And after applying two more layers, I realized I actually preferred a lighter application of this chromatic color. One coat of Oh, for Oz Sake gives your manicure a beautiful, opalescent sheen, while two or more improve opacity yet remove some of its rainbow shimmer. This color is a bit trickier to work with the more you layer it, so I suggest using it as a topper or quick one-coat mani color instead.

It may look somewhat swampy upon first impression, but Oz-Mazing turned out to be one of my favorite OPI x Wicked polishes of them all. Interestingly enough, it's not terribly green once you brush it onto your nails. Despite its verdant look in the bottle, Oz-Mazing applies like a cool, translucent gold with a faint olive undertone. What I liked most about this unique OPI shade was the fact that it contained not one but two types of iridescent glitter: a larger variety that looked like flakes of fool's gold, and tiny waves of microglitter for even more shine.

While I'm deducting a few points from the nail polish brand for its uncharacteristically redundant choice of name — we have two other "Oz" shades in the collection, OPI; come on now — this charming chartreuse picked up the slack with its overall appearance. Not quite acid green, sage, or gold, this chameleon-like color is suitable for myriad manicure looks.

Apparently, even Galinda needs a break from wearing pink every once in a while. Enter Nessa-ist Rose, named for Nessarose, Elphaba's little sister and the Wicked Witch of the East. This sultry shade is the only crimson color in the OPI x Wicked collection, described by the brand as an "unapologetically bold deep red." It has a hint of magenta on the first coat, but two to three layers of Nessa-ist Rose create an ultra-glossy, candy-apple-red manicure.

If you're a fan of classic red nail polishes, you really can't go wrong with Nessa-ist Rose. Still, I had a small bone to pick with this polish: Removing it literally left me red-handed. That said, the downside of any deep red nail polish bursting with pigment is its ability to soak into the cuticles for days, so I can't really hold it against the super sanguine shade for doing its job properly.

In case you haven't noticed, the Ariana Grande's style transformation has been heavily Galinda-coded ever since she landed the role of the good witch in "Wicked." There's been plenty of all-pink everything in the pop star's signature look, from glittery, pastel lip gloss to her rosy-colored gowns. As such, I like to think that a shade like Ga-Linda would be right at home on Grande's vanity, given its chic, blush-like color with a hint of sparkle. The pale, pinky polish has a faint champagne glimmer when viewed from inside its bottle, and this multidimensional hue is even more beautiful in action.

Though Ga-Linda's rose-gold lacquer has flecks of glitter sparkling throughout it, the shade is still understated enough to serve as a base coat to a simple French manicure. When it catches the light, it reveals a flash of golden microglitter that brings out its warm, peachy undertones. In fact, it's close in color to Ariana Grande's 2024 Oscars dress, a dreamy, pastel-pink ensemble with Ozian flair. Ga-linda gives the nails a charming wash of color, and it's an obvious choice from the OPI x Wicked collection if you're going dressed as the good witch to catch "Wicked" in theaters this fall.