purchased by me
ILNP is a new-ish brand I've admired from afar for almost as long as it's existed. Owner Barbra's recent timing couldn't have been better. During PGS's first two xmas seasons, I was broke as a joke because of the flood of gorgeous holiday polish from drugstore brands. This year? ...not so much. Right in time to pick me up out of that let-down and spend the money that usually would have gone to CVS and Walgreens, Barbra announced thirteen Ultra Chrome Flakies. My head spun as I tried to figure out which to buy. I slapped this quick collage together and suddenly my order became completely obvious. This was my first polish preorder, but because of ILNP.com's terrific setup, it was a breeze! There was a little delay in shipping, but they arrived fairly quickly and in the usual cute packaging. I couldn't wait to swatch them and got right to it the moment I could...
All four that I've tried have identical formulas, so I'll touch on that here and mostly let the swatches speak for themselves after this. The base is thick enough to keep the flakes well suspended, but isn't sticky or gloppy. They go on very smoothly and evenly, with almost no dabbing needed to get the desired look. These aren't the iridescent mylar flakes that you're probably used to. Instead, they're metallic, like vanishingly thin foil bits. This makes them more like Lacquistry Amazeballz than Essie Shine Of The Times. The big surprise was the cleanup. I was expecting a hassle, but it was eerily easy. Any stray flakes disintegrate at the slightest contact with acetone. Removal was a breeze too. Now on with the swatches!
[All swatches are one thick coat of flakies over the base color.]
Supernova goes from teal, to blue, then fuchsia.
 |
| over Sally Hansen Wet Cement |
Look at that shift! Just look at it! Of these four, Supernova has the second strongest shift. The fuchsia end of the shift is even stronger in person.
 |
| over Sally Hansen Wet Cement |
Of course I had to see how it looked with matte top coat...
 |
| over Sally Hansen Wet Cement, with OPI Matte Top Coat |
As usual, the individual pieces and the stages of the shift are both more obvious when it's matte. With this "ovalmond" shape and this combo, my nails look like the eggs of some magical creature.
 |
| over Sally Hansen Wet Cement, with OPI Matte Top Coat |
Electric Carnival shifts from fuchsia, through yellow, to green.
 |
| over OPI The "It" Color |
When I said Supernova had the second strongest shift, this was why. Hot damn! Again, the fuchsia is more intense in person. This may be the brightest, clashiest combo I've worn in ages. There's also a metallic luster and sparkle that photos can't quite show.
 |
| over OPI The "It" Color |
 |
| over OPI The "It" Color, with OPI Matte Top Coat |
Open Fields has hints of yellow, then strong warm and cool greens, and ends with teal.
 |
| over Misa Dirty Sexy Money |
After the previous two firecrackers, Open Fields almost looks subdued. The shift is softer, but still very noticeable.
 |
| over Misa Dirty Sexy Money |
Mattified, this combo is gloriously mermaidy.
 |
| over Misa Dirty Sexy Money, with OPI Matte Top Coat |
Atlantis is mostly blue, with a red-violet edge and orange at the farthest extreme.
 |
| over OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui |
I won't call Atlantis' shift weak, but it is decidedly soft when compared with the other three I bought.
 |
| over OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui |
...until it's matte. That's when it comes alive.
 |
| over OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui, with OPI Matte Top Coat |
When the orange extreme end of the shift comes out, it almost looks like a sunset. They're all so...magical!
 |
| over OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui, with OPI Matte Top Coat |
To really highlight the differences I layered all four over black, side-by-side.
This is one coat each:
 |
| Electric Carnival * Open Fields * Supernova * Atlantis |
The differences really show this way. While each has a few colors in common with at least one of the others, none of them have the same range or order.
 |
| Electric Carnival * Open Fields * Supernova * Atlantis |
It becomes even more apparent with a second coat.
 |
| Electric Carnival * Open Fields * Supernova * Atlantis |
A tilt changes all of them.
 |
| Electric Carnival * Open Fields * Supernova * Atlantis |
Keep tilting and they'll keep changing.
 |
| Electric Carnival * Open Fields * Supernova * Atlantis |
I did my usual shifty polish finger wiggling for almost an hour taking endless photos trying to catch all four "in the act" at the same time.
 |
| Electric Carnival * Open Fields * Supernova * Atlantis |
I wandered from room to room, tilted, turned, meandered...
 |
| Atlantis * Supernova * Open Fields * Electric Carnival |
Then suddenly my hand became a rainbow! See what I mean about them being magical?
 |
| Electric Carnival * Open Fields * Supernova * Atlantis |
Bottom line: This will shock no one, but I love all four of these! The formula is great and they're overwhelmingly beautiful. If I had to find a fault anywhere, it would be with the fact that there are thirteen of them in total and many look similar. I feel like I can confidently say that the four I bought are the standouts in their color groups and my strongest recommendations go to Electric Carnival and Supernova.
Unfortunately, they're all out of stock right now. I am so sorry! Don't despair though. They're not limited edition and should be back in stock at some point. They're absolutely worth stalking the ILNP Facebook page for restock notices!
all products in this post were purchased by me
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! Your feedback, comments, compliments, questions, etc are always appreciated...especially the compliments! ;)
Please don't post a link to your own blog *unless* you're linking to a related post (same/similar technique, theme, shade, etc). If you comment using your Google account, your blogspot blog can easily be found in your profile. If you want us to check out your blog, please contact us through email or on twitter.
Spam, harassing comments, and those blatantly promoting blogs or websites will be deleted.