Butter London's Artful Dodger of yesterday's manicure turns out to be well-nigh a perfect match for the base of Oceans of Alloys....
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| Butter London Artful Dodger and Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys, bottle shot |
Oceans of Alloys has a medium murky sky blue crelly base with copper and golden glitters in two shapes and sizes, golden flecks and small iridescent blue glitters. It's a gorgeous concoction, shimmering and organic but also wonderfully ornamental. This combination of stylistic elements is the sort that Nikole, founder and creative force behind Hare Polish, excels at and is, I believe, one of her greatest creative hallmarks as a polish formulator.
I think it's a good idea to have polish thinner on hand when applying an indie polish, or any polish really. Poking the brush into the bottle a few times told me that Oceans of Alloys had thickened up a bit since I last used it in May, so I added a couple of generous squirts of thinner, gave it a good shake and let it sit for about five minutes. Voilà, perfectly liquid, smoothly applying polish. Even with all the glittery goodness it carries, Oceans of Alloys disperses evenly across the nail bed and self-levels like a dream. You don't have to finangle the glitter spread either, or worry about stacking.
This is the kind of polish that has you spellbound as you apply it. Watching the beautiful glitters flow onto your nails is a visual treat that I wish could go on forever!
I applied two coats over the Artful Dodger manicure, with a topcoat of Seche Vite to hasten the drying process and protect against smudges. On it's own, Oceans of Alloys has a fairly quick dry time, drying to a slightly textured finish due to the glitters that is easily smoothed with a good thick topcoat. Some of the glitters did end up protruding over the free edge of a few of my nails, but if you catch these before the polish sets you can easily guide them back off their perch with a gentle push. Those I didn't catch I gently filed off with a glass file after the polish was dry.
Oceans of Alloys could certainly be used without an underwear polish and would probably take two coats to achieve opacity. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to layer it over Artful Dodger and I'm really happy with how this combination turned out. Of course, you could probably paint Oceans of Alloys over hot pink and I'd think it was awesome. Well, maybe not. But you know what I mean.
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger on the nail, Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys in the bottle |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger on the nail, Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys in the bottle |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys, macro shot in the bottle |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger, macro shot on the nail, slightly blurry sorry! |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
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| Hare Polish Oceans of Alloys over Butter London Artful Dodger |
For me, this is such a stunning polish, I think it's magical. And great for fall also, not as dark or warm as some of your more traditional autumn polishes. It has a lovely subtantial and empowering feel to it too, on the nail. Like your favorite piece of jewelry, it just lifts your spirits and makes you feel whole as the torrents of life run round you. A beautiful respite from chaos, a place where your mind can be still and feel joy.
At least, that's the effect it has on me! But given the speckled splendor of this polish, I doubt I'm the only one.
love,
Aunt Liz
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