OPI • A True Ab-original • Polishes

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ClassyMinx on 7/3/2012 4:34:00 AM more reviews by ClassyMinx

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Hazel    

I really like this colour, but as an Australian I think the name is a little bit contraversial... That being said the colour is gorgeous. I've had it on my toes for 2 weeks now (with topcoat) and it still hasn't chipped. It's a warm and bright coral colour. At first I wasn't sure about the colour, but after a day when I got over the shock (I'm used to wearing true reds on my toes) it has really grown on me. Looks nice on my warm toned skin.

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*TOP REVIEWER* darkharbour on 8/8/2010 4:33:00 PM more reviews by darkharbour

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

Simply put: the perfect deep, vivid coral. Just a perfect blend of rich pink and peach with soft shimmer. Stunning on tanned skin. When dry it can look almost like a vivid red at some angles--a Chanel lippie trademark coral-red. HG! HG! HG!

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lrinke218 on 3/21/2009 6:29:00 PM more reviews by lrinke218

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

I thought Charged Up Cherry was my favorite color until I came across this in my nail polish box and put it on. I completely forgot about it - which I don't know how because I've ALWAYS LOVED IT! It's perfect for Spring and Summer.

Generous hues of oranges and reds. I'm partial to metallics but this is more shimmery than metallic. I absolutely love it.

It looks nice against my fair skin and I know once I get my Summer tan it will really pop. LOVE IT!

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*TOP REVIEWER* baby_grazi_x05 on 7/27/2008 11:38:00 PM more reviews by baby_grazi_x05

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

I have acrylic nails, so my nailpolish collection is quite small. I only have a few staples. I picked this one on a whim because I thought it looked like MAC's L'il Sizzler lipgelee, LOL! Turns out.. this shade is PERFECT for the summer! I absolutely fell in love with it, and immediately went to Ulta and picked up a bottle.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Mel_C on 3/5/2008 8:47:00 AM more reviews by Mel_C

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

It took me forever to finally try this shade, but now that I have, it will become a summer staple. I know most describe this as a coral, but to me its more than that. Its a bright shimmery mix of coral, red, and orange. Its bright, but not too bright for tips in my opinion. The application was super-smooth and props to the pro-wide brush as always. This looks great with my cool/neutral skintone.

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*TOP REVIEWER* OmToast on 2/7/2008 10:40:00 AM more reviews by OmToast

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Coarse   Eyes: Hazel    

Yaaaaaay! I'm revisiting my old friend, A True Ab-original today! We've had 2 consecutive days of 80 degrees, so I'm ready for spring (even if nobody else is). I LOVE this polish and rank it among my faves. Like a reviewer below, I have a hard time defining this as either warm or cool so, um, neutral anyone? I'm pale at the moment (NC15-20), but the highly pinky coral color of this makes me look considerably less dead -- it brightens up my toes (I only wear this on toes) and make my winter-white feet (ick) presentable for early flip flop wearage. Love, love love this and will never be without it!

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*TOP REVIEWER* strawberrytaurus on 10/3/2007 8:45:00 PM more reviews by strawberrytaurus

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I LOVE this nailpolish. I don't know why it took me so long to try it out. I purchased it in May or June and I just now (Oct.) tried it out. It looks a little too bright and scary in the bottle but it looks just divine on my toes!!! It's a really pretty reddish coral color. It's very summertime and a little bright. It's true, it does make me look more tan and overall it's just a gorgeous color. I'm glad I have this polish.

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*TOP REVIEWER* sheisontherun on 9/10/2007 6:19:00 PM more reviews by sheisontherun

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

This is a beautifully rich polish - a true coral with a nice sheen. The brush is fabulous and the formula never streaks. Wears great, too. This would look nice on fair and tanned skin alike.

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lotusblossom2 on 8/8/2007 3:58:00 PM more reviews by lotusblossom2

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair, Warm   Hair: Other, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

I like OPI polishes because they go on so nicely - no clumping or unevenness. They also last for a long time with no chipping. A True Ab-Original is a summery shade - bright (almost neon) coral. I was looking for something orange-y and this worked for me. Here's a photo of my toes 1 week after application. No chips! http://img.makeupalley.com/4/3/4/3/731216.JPG

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twinmom7688 on 5/2/2007 9:06:00 AM more reviews by twinmom7688

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

I have several bright orangy/coral colors, but this one stands above the others as a truly gorgeous color. I absolutely love this one! It even trumps my old fav of Cajun Shrimp.

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*TOP REVIEWER* shanghaisweetie on 3/19/2007 12:54:00 PM more reviews by shanghaisweetie

Age: 30-35   Skin: Other, Cool   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

There is something very Magda from the movie "There's Something About Mary" about this polish. That sounds odd, I know, but one look of this polish on my nails and the first thing I could think of was the tanorexic Magda! Perhaps it was because this glowing warm coral made my hands and feet look so much more tanned than they naturally are (I'm an NC30-35). Aside from that nutty observation, this is a fun, far-from-subtle polish that was a pleasure to paint on (thanks ProWide brush!) and wear. A True Ab-Original is part of OPI's Australia Collection.

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*TOP REVIEWER* suggrr on 2/7/2007 12:01:00 PM more reviews by suggrr

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

A True Ab-original (NL A50) is a corally orange polish that was released with OPI's Spring/Summer 2007 Australia collection. OPI's website describes it as a "gleaming coral." I would say that ATA is about 25% pretty orange, 25% cheerful pink, and 50% hot but not overly bright red. I am a cool-toned NW 15/Winter and I think this polish is really pretty on my nails. I don't find a lot of blue in the base color of this polish, so I assume the pink tones are what is making this polish work with my skintone. I can't easily peg this polish as a warm or cool color, though.


I compared ATA to OPI's Bright Lights - Big Color at two coats of polish each. BLBC bears some resemblance to ATA in the bottle. However, on the nail, differences are obvious. ATA is more opaque and more pink-red than the more orange and more sheer BLBC. In addition, BLBC has golden and green microshimmer, while ATA has has shimmer that is maybe a shade lighter than the polish itself. In all, ATA is truly an original color in my small collection. If corals are a staple of your polish collection, you might find that you already have something close to this shade. However, ATA is so pretty and bright without being garish that I'm sure most people who like this color and can wear it will really enjoy it.


This polish went on easily, and dare I say it... almost flawlessly with OPI's ProWide Brush. I enjoy working with it and it does make painting my nails easier. I love how opaque this polish is at two coats; coverage at two coats is great. I have not had any tipwear while test-driving this polish over the past few days with no basecoat and Poshe topcoat. While my nail tips are almost to my fingertips, I'm sure that wear will also be great on nails that extend past my fingertips. If I find that wear on longer nails is anything less than great, I will edit my review to reflect that.


It can be noted that the Australia collection contains no Dibutyl Phthalate, Toluene, or Formaldehyde.

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