OPI Midnight Mantra: The Inky Navy Blue I Didn’t Expect to Love
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OPI Midnight Mantra, shown here, is in the Intelli-Gel GelColor formula, which is HEMA-free, TPO-free, and vegan.
One of the things I really like about this shade is that you can also get it in polish form, making it easy to do a matching pedicure.
I first started wearing OPI GelColor last year after predominantly sharing OPI standard lacquers and Infinite Shine for years. I was looking for an even longer-lasting manicure than Infinite Shine, and I noticed that many of my readers were purchasing OPI GelColors.
At the same time, OPI had just reformulated their GelColor line into the new Intelli-Gel System, so it felt like the perfect moment to make the leap.
So far, I’ve tried several OPI GelColor shades, including a few from the 2024 spring collection, Lincoln Park After Dark, Big Apple Red, Bubble Bath, and I also purchased the full GelColor system - the lamp, base coat, and top coat.
I have to be honest: I really like it.
I find OPI GelColors easy to work with, and I love that each coat cures in just 30 seconds.
Now, back to OPI Midnight Mantra. It’s a deep midnight blue crème - you could also call it a dark navy blue.
It’s not as blackened as some navy shades I’ve featured on the blog.
As you’ll see in the swatches below, it responds to the lighting well giving it slightly nuanced appearances depending on the ambient light. In certain lighting it almost reads as a deep royal blue or even a dark denim.
When Beyond Polish asked me last fall asking which products I’d like to feature in an upcoming cycle, I added this shade to my list. Blue tones are trending, and this navy has remained one of OPI’s most popular blues since its release in the 2022 Fall Wonders Collection.
What I didn’t expect was how much I would love it once I started wearing it and that was such a pleasant surprise.
Don’t you love when you wish for something and end up loving it even more than you expected?
That feeling is the best.
What I love most about this shade is how inky it looks. It has real depth, and it appears slightly different in every type of lighting. There’s something very sophisticated and elegant about it.
In this post, I’m wearing three thin coats. You could absolutely stop at two, and I almost did, but curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see how the color depth built with an extra coat, and it does deepen noticeably with the third.
Let’s take a look at swatches of OPI Midnight Mantra:
For reference, check out my basic DIY OPI gel manicure blog post for the full process I followed here.
I avoided showering or submerging my hands in water for the first 24 hours after this manicure, and I’m still wearing it now.
I’ve found that showering a few hours before my manicure - and avoiding long, hot showers right after - helps my gel manicures last longer, so that’s become part of my routine.
If you love long-lasting manicured nails, I’ve found that small lifestyle adjustments like this can really help preserve their beauty.
Scroll down for swatches…
Okay, so what do you think?
I took photos of this color in a bunch of lighting scenarios throughout the course of a single day so you could see how varied it can look.
Some photos are indoor morning overcast light directly in front of a south facing window, some are indoor mid-day sun in indirect, ambient lighting and others are outdoor afternoon sun, all in the winter.
This was to give an idea of the depth of color with this shade - it may look different depending on your skin tone or in other seasons/environments, direct sun/indoor shade.
Personally, I love shades that respond to the light like this - it feels like you’re wearing a different nail color all throughout the day, which creates a spark of new joy whenever you look at it.
Plus, you normally only get this kind of light play with glitter or holographic colors, which is why I wanted to show that this navy crème does it too, making the wear experience a very enjoyable one.
Are you an OPI Midnight Mantra fan yet?
I truly think this shade is gorgeous for both fall and winter, but it would also be such a pretty option around the 4th of July, when navy nails start trending for patriotic parties.
Dark blue nail colors like this are some of my favorites to wear in January, though, so this was the very first shade I reached for this year.
To end, if you’re looking for a navy blue gel polish shade from OPI, Midnight Mantra is my vote.
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