(Pictured, from L-R)
Top Row: Envious, Desire, Mum's the Word, First Glow, Sly as a Fox
Bottom Row: Violetta, The Emperor's New Clothes, (Sample) Pink Fizz, (Sample) I Blue Up the Dance Floor
Here is Part 1, Part 2 shall be uploaded shortly. This part shall cover Desire (+ stamping with the 'I Blue Up the Dance Floor' sample), Sly as a Fox, and Mum's the Word.
SM Polish is owned and operated by Shakila Meer, and based in Queensland. Their shop is currently run via Etsy and they have a Facebook page as well as an Instagram account.
Shipping turnaround was extremely quick - I got a shipping notification and a tracking number in just one day. It took 4 days to reach me in Melbourne from the other end of the country, which is actually faster than Australia Post usually is. Everything was well packed and arrived safe and sound. I did a rainbow-skittle swatch of most of the polishes on my non-swatching hand, and I could tell right away that I LOVED these polishes and this brand.
First of all, let's talk about the formula, which was basically the same for all the polishes I swatched. It is somehow thin without being too sheer. It is not patchy at all and perfect for building up opacity and letting personal preference dictate final finish. I actually liked a lot of these applied sheer enough to see a hint of VNL - it made it look very pretty and natural, almost like a summery, vibrant twist to the translucency of a classic french manicure. Each layer dried very quickly but it was important to get it fully dry before applying the next coat to prevent dragging.
All my swatches are applied over a base coat (I used Emily de Molly's Special Effects Base Coat which is my HG base) and sealed with a layer of Seche Vite's Dry Fast Top Coat. I will also place the link to each polish at the very end of the post. With all that said, let's get straight to the pretty pictures!
♥♥♥
First up is Desire from the most recent Emotions collection. Desire is described as "a beautiful pink nail polish with icy blue shimmers".
I noticed that most of the polishes looked a lot warmer on me compared to the swatches in their descriptions - I would put that down to a difference in skin tone / shade. I love the way all the polishes I bought look on me and Desire was no exception. It was a soft, subtle shade and perfect for a subdued-but-not-boring mani.
This is 3 thin coats, although 2 coats would have easily done the same.
My favourite thing about all these polishes was that each one had some tiny detail like an unexpected shimmer or microglitter colour that really gave it depth and showed attention to detail. I tried to capture that by photographing the bottles under lower directional lighting, so I will be adding a bottle shot for each polish I managed to do it with. Isn't that blue shimmer lustrous?
This shade makes me think of a pretty princess dress with layers upon layers of chiffon. I thought it was the perfect backdrop to do a little stamping. I decided to try the I Blue Up the Dance Floor sample over one of my Emily de Molly plates.
I Blue Up the Dance Floor worked surprisingly well as a stamping polish. The formula was same as its pink counterpart - a lot more fluid and less viscous than most stamping polishes. It was packed with glitter and looked a bit sheer on the plate but transferred perfectly and produced a crisp image. I have yet to try it on its own but I will definitely be!
♥♥♥
Sly as a Fox was my surprise favourite. When I put this on I instantly had heart eyes - I can't even put my finger on exactly why - perhaps I have a thing for glowy semi-sheer coral shades? (coughFFC'sCityoftheSun)
Sly as a Fox is a soft coral/tan shade with scattered holo from the 'Hidden Depth' collection. The word I would use to describe it is 'juicy'. Pictures show 3 coats but I loved it worn slightly sheer at 2 coats. It makes me feel like I'm on holiday as I think the shade makes me look sunkissed and freshly tanned. That is definitely a welcome feeling in the middle of Melbourne's chilly winter.
As the bottle shot shows, there is also some gold/coral microglitter. A really layered polish with depth and is absolutely stunning.
♥♥♥
Next up is First Glow from the 'Dreaming of Summer' collection. It seems to be more heavily pink in all the pictures I've seen, but in real life I remember thinking it was a Rose Gold. Perhaps it had to do the with the lighting, or the warmth of my skin tone.
The finish reminds me of that 'foil' look in that so many brands have for their metallic shades, but this did not have the streakiness that is usually associated with that polish at all. This is 3 coats, but mostly opaque in 2. It is really imperative to let each layer dry before applying the next for this formula (much like Envious, which I will review in Part 2).
Isn't that shine just glorious? It definitely looks like molten metal. The 'subtle thing I love' in this polish was the red sparks of microglitter. When viewed up close or from the right light, that sparkle just hits you! I think it's also where it gets its rosy glow from. You can see that detail in the bottle shot below.
♥♥♥
Last but not least is Mum's the Word - a bright, bright pink holographic polish. This is another one that screamed JUICY! in flashing neon (holo?) lights. This is two coats, and I even included a close up because neon holo.
My pictures do not do this polish justice. The colour reminded me of an amped-up version of Dragonfruit skin. (I am now thinking of all sorts of nail art ideas...) It wasn't a chalky-type neon, but incredibly luscious-looking on my fingers.
And the bottle shot... Look carefully around the outside rim for that sprinkling of holo rainbow. Hnnnnnggggggg.
That concludes Part 1, Part 2 should hopefully be coming soon. As promised, here are the links to each polish featured:
No comments:
Post a Comment