Flakie-palooza, part 1

All photos can be clicked for a full-sized version.

Flakie-palooza part 2 can be found here.

One of the problems with testing polishes in Canada in winter is that the sun (when it's out) is out so briefly, you really have to rush to get your pictures taken! I wasn't expecting any sun today at all, but I got lucky and had about two hours over lunchtime to work with. I managed to swatch four of my 11 flakies, all over Deborah Lippmann's Edge of Glory black creme.

First, the creme. This is probably overlooked because it's just a black polish, and is overshadowed by the gorgeous holo it comes packaged with. But I have to say this is the nicest black creme I've ever applied. It flows onto the nail like ink, almost floating off the brush and onto the nail bed. With careful application, one coat is completely opaque and streak free.

This was the base for all my flakie swatches - one good coat of Edge of Glory. I'd love to see this offered on its own because the formula is just to die for!





I managed to get through all of the Picture Polish flakies and Essie's Shine of the Times before the sun disappeared.

Up first, Essie's Shine of the Times.

The bottle:





One coat:



Two coats:



This is the most bling-tastic of the bunch - almost fully flaked out with just two coats. It shimmers green, gold, red, and orange in the sun, bright and intense.

To be honest I found this a little TOO packed with flakes. It's difficult to control just how much you're getting. I'm going to try swatching it over a light colour at some point to see if it's less in your face.


Next up, Picture Polish Splendour.

The bottle:





One coat:



Two coats:



While this has the same colour composition as Essie's Shine of the Times, it's much sparser on the flakes. This gives you a little more control over just how flaky your polish gets, but I found this one a bit TOO light on the flakies. I do love the variety of shapes and sizes though, and what flakes are there are extremely vivid.


Next is Picture Polish Hypnotic

The bottle:





One coat:



Two coats:



Like Splendour, this one was fairly spare on the flakies. It built a little more nicely, and I really like the varied colour scheme. This one flashes blue, orange, and green, all in varied flakie sizes. In the sun, it reminded me of a paint spatter effect on the black polish.

Finally for today is Picture Polish Festival.

The bottle:





One coat:



Two coats:



The final Picture Polish is also my favourite of the bunch. This one flashes every colour of the rainbow, and is slightly heavier on the flakies than the other two. It built nicely with two coats, and the variety of shapes, sizes, and colours made it my favourite swatch of the day. I saw red, pink, yellow, orange, green, purple, and blue all mixed together even on the first coat.

Deborah Lippmann's Edge of Glory came from Gaga's Workshop at Barney's NY (a Christmas gift from my wonderful boyfriend). Picture Polish can be obtained from their site, or at Harlow & Co. Essie Shine of the Times is available in various shops, and on Amazon.

That's part one of flakies done for now. If the sun cooperates, I should be able to get through the rest tomorrow!