Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Klein Trink Wasser was released by indie polish maker Indigo Bananas as part of the debut February 2013 Launch collection. Considered a core color, this completely handmade creme is a perfect match for International Klein Blue, a medium, vivid, well-saturated ultramarine blue. Creator Andrea says of Klein Trink Wasser, "Very very hyper blue color -- can go from dark blue indoors, to near-neon violet tinged blue in bright lights or certain angles. Thin consistency creme polish, 2-3 coats, handmade from a pigment mix. Compared to YSL Bleu Majorelle/Nails Inc Baker Street, this polish is ~20% darker, and more vibrant in blue color, but it is the same color family." There's a slight translucence to this polish that may account for its difference in appearance in certain lights. The more light there is, the more of it will be caught and held by the polish, thus the neonesque quality in direct sun. To me, it is vibrant and saturated almost all the time except for in very dim light, where it deepens a bit. 

Application was lovely. The consistency of Klein Trink Wasser (love this name so much!) is fluid and smooth, with a fabulous even flow over the nail and very good self-leveling properties. I love painting with Indigo Bananas' relatively long-wanded brush -- it provides exceptional control and precision during application. Pigmentation is also very good, with some initial sheerness on the first coat quickly building to even opaque coverage in two medium coats. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with absolutely no trace of staining. Awesome! Klein Trink Wasser dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a good topcoat for gloss, which I believe shows off the glorious color to its full potential.

Photos show two coats of Klein Trink Wasser over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. 

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

In the etsy listing for this color, Andrea notes that this particular batch of Klein Trink Wasser does not have the rubbery finish of previous batches. "Different techniques = smoother, shinier polish, basically." I did find the finish to be exceptionally smooth with some shine, but prefer this polish topped with a glossy topcoat over the natural finish. I think it does more justice to the brilliance of the color. 

There's a really great online interview with Andrea that Sminkan and Emma published on their blog in July 2013. One of their questions was about whether there was a type of polish that was more difficult to make than others. Andreas response was fascinating and a window into the world of artisanal polish formulation:

Yes! Actually, if we are talking about making 100% from scratch polish, which not a lot of people do (that is, raw pigments, and not mica mixes – and they are harder to dissolve completely), cremes are the most difficult finish to make. They require complete dispersion of the pigment, you need to compare the batch of color you make to tester bottles three, four, five + times to make sure the colors match, and if you are making it by hand there is a high likelihood that the finish of the polish will be less glossy, and sometimes satin/matte because of the techniques required to suspend that much pigment smoothly in polish. Labs that make commercial polishes do not make cremes (or pigment bases) in the same manner at all.

If I had to choose between Klein Trink Wasser and, say, Nails Inc Baker Street, I would choose Klein Trink Wasser hands down. I'd much rather wear a handmade polish created with all the care and attention to detail that you see in the above paragraph over a lab or plant manufactured polish. Using and supporting artisanal creations is much more satisfying and you're allowed to participate in the process in a way that you'll never be able to do with a mass-produced product.

If you are interested to actually see how this polish compares to Nails Inc Baker Street, there's a comparison photo at the end of this post on Klein Trink Wasser from the blog Ashley is PolishAddicted.

love,

Liz