Today I have another random swatch post. I have a lot of random shades just laying around that do not belong to any collection in particular, but it’s still fun to share those! This time, I pulled out OPI ‘Deer valley spice’. This cranberry shimmer polish was originally released in the OPI Alpine collection for fall/winter 1993. At the time, OPI already did their 12-piece fall/winter and spring/summer collections, as they do today! I wasn’t able to find any pictures of that original collection, but I was able to find this quote:
No secret love potions needed – just the 12 long – lasting , chipresistant shades of the OPI Alpine Collection. You’ll fall head over heels for colors like romantic Nordic Nights, Himalayan Hideaway and Aspen Afterglow. Afraid of commitment? Don’t be – at least when it comes to stronger, healthier nails!
I believe Deer valley spice became one of the most popular colors from that collection, and it became part of OPI’s core collection until 2010 when it was finally discontinued. In 2018, OPI released their ‘Fan Faves’ collection, and brought back nine popular discontinued shades, in an infinite shine formula. Deer valley spice was one of those colors, and that’s how I ended up with my bottle!
OPI Deer valley spice is best described as a cranberry color with lighter pink shimmer. Sometimes the base leans red, sometimes it leans very pink. I immediately get retro vibes from this color, and I can imagine that it must have been a popular shade in the 90s and 00s.
The formula of this polish is very thin. I am wearing two coats in the picture, but I later applied a third one because the shade was just too translucent in real life. I heard that the original OPI Deer valley spice suffered from the same problem, and was very translucent, which might have been the reason it was discontinued.
Of course, as usual, I was very curious how Deer valley spice would compare to pink and red shimmer that are still part of OPI’s core collection today. I first pulled out OPI Pompeii purple, since it is also a pink shimmer. Pompeii purple is however much lighter and much brighter than OPI Deer valley spice. The second shade I pulled out was the famous OPI I’m not really a waitress. This shade is however much deeper than Deer valley spice, and you can really see a clear difference. Finally, I also own OPI Dressed to the wines, but it is even darker than OPI I’m not really a waitress and clearly not a dupe for Deer valley spice.
In terms of color, I’m really surprised that Deer valley spice is discontinued. It’s very clearly different from the red/pink shimmers OPI currently has in their core collection, and I think they could use an in-between color like this!
Availability & Conclusion
I personally really enjoyed Deer valley spice, and I find it so much fun to discover such an old shade. OPI Deer valley spice is not produced anymore, but it is not that difficult to find. On eBay you can still find bottles in the original formula from the 00’s, and newer bottles in the Infinite shine formula. I purchased mine from PolishPick, where they still have the entire Fan faves collection for sale from 2018!
In the end, I will admit that even though OPI doesn’t have a shade like this in the core collection, they do often release a pink shimmer in their Holiday collection. This year is no different!
