Has the composition of OPI's Cajun Shrimp nail polish been altered?
A Southern Nail Polish Saga:
First whispers of trouble bubbled up on TikTok. Our Senior Lifestyle Editor Ivy Odom was showcasing her signature nail polish palette in a video, and, naturally, she included OPI's Cajun Shrimp, the spunky coral-y red shade that's been a Southern institution for decades. "I've heard OPI changed up the Cajun Shrimp color?!?!?!" one viewer cried out, panicking. Another jumped on the bandwagon, "They've changed the formula. It's not the same." Yet another added, "I've been told that the formula has changed and it's nowhere near the same! I'm crushed."
A peek into Google revealed that TikTok wasn't the only crowd grumbling about the shade tweak. Plenty of influencers joined in the lament, including Nashville-based @fairy.godmorgan, who declared her once go-to color was now "neon" and "definitely not OPI Cajun Shrimp."
But it wasn't until mama texted a picture of her recent pedicure - where she'd "asked for Cajun Shrimp, and the bottle said Cajun Shrimp, but it wasn't Cajun Shrimp, it was Aunt Fanny!" - that I had to acknowledge the ugly truth. OPI might have tampered with our beloved polish.
Like any Southern woman determined to get to the bottom of things, I reached out to the brand directly. Here's what OPI had to say: There's been no change to the Nail Lacquer formula of Cajun Shrimp.
Whew.
That said, OPI did acknowledge a tweak to the gel formula: "The GelColor formula was recently updated to meet the highest global safety and quality standards. This update includes a higher pigment load, which can make certain shades like Cajun Shrimp appear more vibrant. For best results, we recommend nail-techs apply thin coats and shaking the bottle well to ensure even pigment distribution. It's also worth noting that shade variations can naturally occur due to differences in formula type (lacquer vs. gel vs. dip), product age, and storage conditions."
Southern Traditions and Polish
If you, somewhat rightly, are questioning whether a polish formula change truly matters, especially given the economic climate, let me enlighten you. For many Southerners, it's not solely about color pairing with our favorite shoes or our skin tones. For many of us, our choice of nail polish shade is a sentimental matter of tradition.
In my case, OPI's Cajun Shrimp has been a family fixture for years. My grandmother, whom we referred to as Ghee Ghee, wasn't a high-maintenance lady, but she had a regular rendezvous with her nail technician, Miss Mona, and she alternated solely between OPI's Bubble Bath and Cajun Shrimp. Along with her coveted hot dog chili recipe and her occasionally naughty sense of humor, my mom inherited these as her own signature hues, and passed them on to my sisters and me. When I tied the knot, Cajun Shrimp was the only color I even considered for my heeled-sandal-wearing toes. Nobody really got a good look at the paint job, since my feet mostly hid under my poofy dress, but the coral-y red polish was there. It was a bit of "something borrowed" that made me feel a little closer to Ghee Ghee.
OPI, if you're listening, I'm officially pulling the dead grandmother card... please don't ever change our beloved Cajun Shrimp! I hate to be dramatic, but some of our most treasured family traditions hang in the balance.
- Despite the economic climate, many Southerners consider their choice of nail polish shade as a sentimental matter of tradition, a Southern institution like OPI's Cajun Shrimp.
- For decades, OPI's Cajun Shrimp has been a family fixture for the speaker, passed down from their grandmother to their mother and sisters, and even chosen for their wedding nails.
- In a recent pedicure, the speaker's mother was given a shade labeled as Cajun Shrimp, but it wasn't the same, leading the speaker to question if OPI had tampered with their beloved polish.
- OPI confirmed that there had been no change to the Nail Lacquer formula of Cajun Shrimp, but acknowledged a tweak to the gel formula, increasing the pigment load for more vibrant shades like Cajun Shrimp.
- Southern Living magazine, a leading source for fashion-and-beauty and home-and-garden inspiration, encourages nail technicians to apply thin coats and shake the bottle well for even pigment distribution when using the updated gel formula of Cajun Shrimp.
- The speaker implores OPI to consider the emotional impact a change to Cajun Shrimp could have on Southern families who hold the polish as a cherished tradition, using the 'dead grandmother card' as a dramatic plea to preserve the original formula.
