I don't buy polish online all that often, but I've hit an awkward point where I have pretty much everything I want from the current collections. I found myself sitting at work one night, itching for
something new. I wandered over to
More Nail Polish. I love her swatches and nail art, but she focuses mostly on indies and Australian brands and I worry I'll fall in love with something that'll be way out of my price range or that I flat-out can't get, so I don't read her blog as often as I might. One of the first posts I saw was her review of Born Pretty Holo shades 7-12. I was deeply, deeply smitten with 11 and 12. I'd kinda sworn off non-grayscale holos back in April, but I decided to give it another try. I ordered 1, 11, and 12, some nail wheels, and a stamping plate...and the wait began.
Born Pretty Store's prices are very good, and the shipping is free, but they ship from China and the wait is sizable. They arrived this week and I was so excited to finally try them out! Maybe a little too excited. This is a VERY long post!
Holo Polish 1 has a clear base.
The shade is sold as a stand-alone silver, but it would take *a lot* of coats to get that result. I got this for its layering potential and I am THRILLED with it! There are a ton of Spectraflair top coats out there (
Nichole has one) and I've always eyed them, so I jumped to add this to my order. My problem with holo polishes is usually the color choices. Pink, blue, peach, etc...almost always pastel. This adds a fine linear holo to any base color with just one coat! Yay! The flame isn't in-your-face, but it's there in every light I've tried it in. I'm impressed with any holo that flames in the dim light
here at my desk. Under my LED lamp, it's dazzling!
Even in standard indoor lighting, it's there! I really like the level of holo-ness. It's enough to be obvious, but not enough to overpower the base color. It plays pretty nice with top coat too. My index nail has a coat of NYC Grand Central Station and there's no drastic dulling.
Holo Polish 11 has a dark blue-toned purple base.
 |
| 11 - natural evening light indoors |
Hallelujah!! This...THIS...is what I've wanted! Not pastel. Not too blue. Vampy, deep, and yet still has a good flame to it. Yes. So very VERY yes! This is three coats, without top coat. I think it looks even better in natural light than in LED. I'm completely in love either way!
 |
| 11 - LED light |
As much as I love it, I'll admit, it's not as bold in artificial light as I might like. I use my upstairs bathroom for completely artificial light shots and the flame is there, but only at some angles.
 |
| 11 - incandescent lighting |
Holo Polish 12 has a deep cool green base.
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
12 has a fair amount of flame to it, but the color is so saturated that it overwhelms the holo a bit. This is three coats, no top coat. I wore 12 before the other two and I love it. It looks disappointing in comparison, but it's the kind of holo that's *entirely* better in person. The rainbows are there, but you notice them more as they move across the nails. Even under the LED lamp, it doesn't look as dazzling in stills as the other shades.
 |
| 12 - LED light |
In artificial light, it's the same deal. They're there, but more visible when in motion. I took 151 photos of this polish and none *quite* capture what it's like in person.
 |
| 12 - incandescent lighting |
The really baffling part was what happened when I stepped outside and tried it in overcast sunlight. Flat. Totally flat. Weird, right?
 |
| 12 - overcast direct sunlight |
....and because they're holos, here are waaaaaaaaay more photos of them than you could possibly ever want! Yay! The bottom line is after the spam.
 |
| 11 - natural evening light indoors |
 |
| 11 - natural evening light indoors |
 |
| 11 - dim natural light indoors |
 |
| 11 - dim natural light indoors |
 |
| 11 - LED light |
 |
| 11 - incandescent lighting |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
|
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - ...not sure of the light source |
 |
| 12 - blend of incandescent and natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - natural light indoors |
 |
| 12 - LED light |
Bottom Line: The only downside to these is they're tiny. Really tiny. They're just 0.2fl oz/6ml. That's less than half of the standard size polish bottle or one third the size of an Orly full-size. Still, they're on sale right now and I know Born Pretty Store has frequent sales. Full price ($12.80) is more than I'd personally pay for these, but a sale price of $5-7 including shipping isn't bad at all. They're far more holo than the
China Glaze Hologlams, but not as strong as the Color Club
Halo Hues. 11 and 12 are exactly the deep, saturated holos I've always wanted and 1 works beautifully as a holo top coat. I tried stamping with shade 1 and it worked really well, but I didn't take a photo. Overall, I'm very impressed with all three and I might even get a second bottle of 1.
Still with me? Wow, you're tenacious! I'm so excited about my next polish post! I discovered something really cool yesterday.
See for yourself, if you'd like.
Posts
They look awesome, thanks for sharing! What kind of setup do you use for your photos? I am trying to get a consensus and set up my own. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! :D I don't really have a setup, just spots in my house where I've found good light. I walked around with my camera, looking for the best places.
DeleteThe green one reminds me a bit of the Glitter Gal color Lizard Belly. All 3 are super pretty :)
ReplyDeleteI can see what you mean! Cool! And thanks! :)
Delete